| 1. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Ecology and sociotechnical systems research – motivations for theoretical and methodological integration across fields
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Sustainability Transitions conference 2017.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Currently, we are witnessing a number of global trends that do not promise well for the future. Accelerating climate change, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, disappearance of natural forest and degradation of fishing grounds and agricultural lands are just a few of the serious environmental problems that threaten the functional and structural integrity of ecosystems, to an extent that also human societies risk collapse. The scale of human impact is now such that scholars suggest that we live in the Anthropocene. The trends are driven by several linked factors, which are not easily disentangled into manageable specific problems to be solved by specific policies. More than ever, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations are needed in order to address these urgent challenges. The objective of this paper is to argue for the importance of research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES) rather than social-ecological (SES) and sociotechnical systems (STS) separately. Hence, we address researchers in both the social-ecological and sociotechnical fields. We organize the argument around six reasons why “technology” should be integrated into SES studies. We call these reasons: (1) the interface and mediation aspect, (2) ambivalence, (3) the agency aspect, (4) the question of scale, (5) the question of governance and politics, and (6) the question of epistemology and framing. We also highlight potential conceptual conflicts and mistranslations. Our discussion is primarily a theoretical argument, exemplified with empirical examples.Among the conceptual challenges, we note that SES scholars, if they consider technology in their analyses, generally treat it as an exogenous factor or as a passive background element. Similarly, STS scholars tend to neglect ecological dynamics and refer to the ecological domain mainly in terms of inputs and outputs, e.g. natural resources, environmental and health problems caused by human activities. In light of the discussion, we conclude that the importance of collaborating across the two fields goes beyond each field adding pieces together. We argue that integration and translation across these domains will lead to qualitative change in the theoretical and methodological approaches of both fields; and that technology, society and ecology should be given symmetric analytical attention.
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| 2. |
- Gallardo, Gloria, et al.
(författare)
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We adapt … but is it good or bad? Locating the political ecology and social-ecological systems debate in reindeer herding in the Swedish Sub-Arctic
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Political Ecology. - Arizona : The University of Arizona. - 1073-0451. ; 24:1, s. 667-691
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract Reindeer herding (RDH) is a livelihood strategy deeply connected to Sami cultural tradition. This article explores the implications of two theoretical and methodological approaches for grasping complex socioenvironmental relationships of RDH in Subarctic Sweden. Based on joint fieldwork, two teams – one that aligns itself with political ecology (PE) and the other with social-ecological systems (SES) – compared PE and SES approaches of understanding RDH. Our purpose was twofold: 1) to describe the situation of Sami RDH through the lenses of PE and SES, exploring how the two approaches interpret the same empirical data; 2) to present an analytical comparison of the ontological and epistemological assumptions of this work, also inferring different courses of action to instigate change for the sustainability of RDH. Key informants from four sameby in the Kiruna region expressed strong support for the continuation of RDH as a cultural and economic practice. Concerns about the current situation raised by Sami representatives centered on the cumulative negative impacts on RDH from mining, forestry and tourism. PE and SES researchers offered dissimilar interpretations of the key aspects of the RDH socio-economic situation, namely: the nature and scale of RDH systems; the ubiquitous role of conflict; and conceptualizations of responses to changing socioenvironmental conditions. Due to these disparities, PE and SES analyses have radically divergent sociopolitical implications for what ought to be done to redress the current RDH situation.
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| 3. |
- Lundsten, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Motives for Participation in Formal Standardisation Processes for Geographic Information : An Empirical Study in Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Standardization Research (IJSR). - : IGI Global. - 2470-8542 .- 2470-8550. ; 15:1, s. 16-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to investigate the personal motives for participation in formalstandardization processes for geographic information. The method involved interviewing membersof technical committees at the Swedish Standards Institute, SIS. The results are that the majority ofthe interviewees are very motivated in their work and they think their participation is well-financedby their organizations allocating them to a technical committee. The main motives are to contributeto development of society and be at the forefront of development. However, this article also showsthat several members participating in this study felt that they do not have sufficient time for workingwith tasks related to their technical committees. Their daily work in their respective organizationsoften has higher priority in relation to standardization work. This contrasts with the organizationalgoals of the participating organizations and may slow down the development of standards and otherpublications due to lack of resources.
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| 4. |
- Saunders, Fred P., et al.
(författare)
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Knowledge for environmental governance: probing science–policy theory in the cases of eutrophication and fisheries in the Baltic Sea
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. - : Routledge. - 1523-908X .- 1522-7200. ; 19:6, s. 769-782
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How science and policy interact has been a major research focus in the International Relations (IR) tradition, using the epistemic community (EC) concept, as well as in the alternative perspective of Science and Technology Studies (STS). Should science be autonomous and as apolitical as possible in order to ‘speak truth to power’, as suggested by EC or should the inevitable entanglement of science and politics be accepted and embraced so as to make advice more conducive to negotiating the explicit travails of political decision-making as suggested by STS? With this point of departure, we compare similarities and differences between science–policy interactions in the issue areas of eutrophication and fisheries management of the Baltic Sea. To examine how knowledge is mobilised, the concepts of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘coherence’ are developed, drawing on both EC and STS thinking. We then reflect on the explanatory value of these approaches in both cases and discuss how a separation of science and policy-making in the pursuit of achieving scientific consensus leads to ineffectual policies. Drawing on STS thinking, we urge for a re-conceptualisation of coherence in order to accommodate a more reflexive practice of science–policy interactions.
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| 5. |
- von Oelreich, Jacob, 1978-
(författare)
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Shorelines of adaptation and fields of innovation : Emerging sustainability transformations in sea-level rise planning and the food system
- 2017
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This licentiate thesis builds on the understanding that there is an urgent need for radical and systemic transformations towards sustainability in all parts of society, since current socio-ecological relations are highly unsustainable. The aim of the thesis is to explore emerging societal transformations towards strengthened sustainability through case studies within planning for sea-level rise and the food system, respectively.A warmer climate leads to rising sea levels. Although it is uncertain how fast sea levels will rise, and by how much, preparing and adapting to sea-level rise is crucial for society. The global food system is profoundly unsustainable and in need of transformations to sustainability. This thesis links two separate studies, one examining the state of planning for future sea-level rise in Swedish municipalities, the other exploring to what extent organic food initiatives can push the dominant food system in the direction of sustainability transformations. In both studies, the main methods used are qualitative interviews and document surveys.The results show that transformational change towards sustainability builds on different strategies in different fields. Whereas in planning for sea-level rise the emphasis lies on handling and adapting to one of the main impacts of climate change, rising sea levels, under conditions of uncertainty, the focus within food systems change directed at sustainability lies on creating sustainable alternatives that can challenge the dominant food regime. However, in both fields there is a need for moving from a currently dominant regime or paradigm to one characterized by sustainability and dynamic robustness, respectively. This requires a shift in understanding of socio-ecological relations, in turn connected to values and politics.Key recommendations from this thesis include that planning for sea-level rise should be guided by dynamically robust planning approaches, worst-case scenarios for future sea-level rise should be taken into account, a long-term perspective should be considered, and a national strategy for sea-level rise planning in Sweden should be developed. To strengthen the sustainability of the food system, a variety of organic food initiatives, methods and models should be encouraged, organic food initiatives should persistently strive to build niches and alliances departing from Organic 3.0 values, and as sustainability transformations require radical and systemic changes in values, governance, social practices, policies and economic structures, food systems change should be aimed accordingly.
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| 6. |
- Pascual, Unai, et al.
(författare)
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Valuing nature's contributions to people : the IPBES approach
- 2017
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435. ; 26-27, s. 7-16
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nature is perceived and valued in starkly different and often conflicting ways. This paper presents the rationale for the inclusive valuation of nature's contributions to people (NCP) in decision making, as well as broad methodological steps for doing so. While developed within the context of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), this approach is more widely applicable to initiatives at the knowledge–policy interface, which require a pluralistic approach to recognizing the diversity of values. We argue that transformative practices aiming at sustainable futures would benefit from embracing such diversity, which require recognizing and addressing power relationships across stakeholder groups that hold different values on human nature-relations and NCP.
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| 7. |
- Lindkvist, Emilie, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Strategies for sustainable management of renewable resources during environmental change
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 284:1850
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a consequence of global environmental change, management strategies that can deal with unexpected change in resource dynamics are becoming increasingly important. In this paper we undertake a novel approach to studying resource growth problems using a computational form of adaptive management to find optimal strategies for prevalent natural resource management dilemmas. We scrutinize adaptive management, or learning-by-doing, to better understand how to simultaneously manage and learn about a system when its dynamics are unknown. We study important trade-offs in decision-making with respect to choosing optimal actions (harvest efforts) for sustainable management during change. This is operationalized through an artificially intelligent model where we analyze how different trends and fluctuations in growth rates of a renewable resource affect the performance of different management strategies. Our results show that the optimal strategy for managing resources with declining growth is capable of managing resources with fluctuating or increasing growth at a negligible cost, creating in a management strategy that is both efficient and robust towards future unknown changes. To obtain this strategy, adaptive management should strive for: high learning rates to new knowledge, high valuation of future outcomes and modest exploration around what is perceived as the optimal action.
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| 8. |
- Törnberg, Petter, 1987
(författare)
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Worse than Complex
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis engages with questions on the boundary between what has traditionally been understood as social and natural. The introductory essay contextualizes the specific contributions of the included papers, by noting and exploring a reinvigoration of "naturalism" (the notion of a continuity between the human realm and the rest of natural phenomena) under the banner of Complexity Science. This notion is put under explicit light, by revisiting the age-old question of naturalism and connecting ideas in complexity science with the work of e.g. Roy Bhaskar, Mario Bunge, William Wimsatt, and David Lane. A philosophical foundation for a complexity science of societal systems is thereby sketched, taking the form of an integrative and methodologically pluralist "complex realism". The first two papers provide a theoretical perspective on the distinction between social and natural: Paper I notes that societal systems combine two qualities that are commonly referred to as complexity and complicatedness into an emergent quality that we refer to as "wickedness", and that is fundamentally and irreducibly different from either quality in isolation. This explains the recalcitrance of societal systems to the powerful approaches that exist for dealing with both of these qualities in isolation, and implies that they indeed ought to be treated as a distinct class of systems. Paper II uses the plane spanned by complexity and complicatedness to categorize seven different system classes, providing a systematic perspective on the study of societal systems. The suggested approach to societal systems following from these conclusions is exemplified by three studies in different fields and empirical contexts. Paper III combines a number of theories that can be seen as responses to wickedness, in the form of evolutionary developmental theories and theories of societal change, to develop a synthetic theory for cultural evolution. Paper IV exemplifies how simulation can be integrated with social theory for the study of emergent effects in societal systems, contributing a network model to investigate how the structural properties of free social spaces impact the diffusion of collective mobilization. Paper V exemplifies how digital trace data analysis can be integrated with qualitative social science, by using topic modeling as a form of corpus map to aid critical discourse analysis, implying a view of formal methods as aids for qualitative exploration, rather than as part of a reductionist approach.
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| 9. |
- Gargano, Francesco, et al.
(författare)
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Large-scale effects of migration and conflict in pre-agricultural groups: Insights from a dynamic model
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : PLOS. - 1932-6203. ; 12:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The debate on the causes of conflict in human societies has deep roots. In particular, the extent of conflict in hunter-gatherer groups remains unclear. Some authors suggest that large-scale violence only arose with the spreading of agriculture and the building of complex societies. To shed light on this issue, we developed a model based on operatorial techniques simulating population-resource dynamics within a two-dimensional lattice, with humans and natural resources interacting in each cell of the lattice. The model outcomes under different conditions were compared with recently available demographic data for prehistoric South America. Only under conditions that include migration among cells and conflict was the model able to consistently reproduce the empirical data at a continental scale. We argue that the interplay between resource competition, migration, and conflict drove the population dynamics of South America after the colonization phase and before the introduction of agriculture. The relation between population and resources indeed emerged as a key factor leading to migration and conflict once the carrying capacity of the environment has been reached.
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| 10. |
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