| 1. |
- Cakici, Baki, 1984-
(författare)
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The Informed Gaze : On the Implications of ICT-Based Surveillance
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Information and communication technologies are not value-neutral. I examine two domains, public health surveillance and sustainability, in five papers covering: (i) the design and development of a software package for computer-assisted outbreak detection; (ii) a workflow for using simulation models to provide policy advice and a list of challenges for its practice; (iii) an analysis of design documents from three smart home projects presenting intersecting visions of sustainability; (iv) an analysis of EU-financed projects dealing with sustainability and ICT; (v) an analysis of the consequences of design choices when creating surveillance technologies. My contributions include three empirical studies of surveillance discourses where I identify the forms of action that are privileged and the values that are embedded into them. In these discourses, the presence of ICT entails increased surveillance, privileging technological expertise, and prioritising centralised forms of knowledge.
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| 5. |
- Ornetzeder, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Of solar collectors, wind power, and car sharing : Comparing and understanding successful cases of grassroots innovations
- 2013
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 23:5, s. 856-867
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Grassroots activities so far have not been sufficiently appreciated as sources of innovation. Transition processes towards more sustainable socio-technical energy, transport or production systems, however, are hardly imaginable without a broader participation of engaged citizens. This paper presents and compares three cases of successful grassroots innovations for sustainability. In particular we compare the development of wind technology in Denmark, the solar collector do-it-yourself movement in Austria, and the development of car sharing in Switzerland. The paper aims at a better understanding of the preconditions, patterns of growth and change and factors of success of grassroots innovations for more sustainable socio-technical regimes such as energy and transport. In the analysis we focus on dimensions such as the structural conditions and resources of origin, motivations of social actors involved, learning processes and outcomes, competences and activities of those actors, processes of institution-building, and the relationships to mainstream market actors. Based on the empirical background the paper discusses implications for the theorisation of grassroots innovations for greater sustainability and draws implications for further research.
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| 8. |
- Rohracher, Harald, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Improving the public perception of bioenergy
- 2012. - 2nd
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Ingår i: Handbook Biomass Gasification (Second Edition). - Enschede : BTG. - 9789081938501 ; , s. 433-448
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 11. |
- Rohracher, Harald, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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The interplay of urban energy policy and socio-technical transitions : The eco-cities of Graz and Freiburg in retrospect
- 2014
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Ingår i: Urban Studies. - : Sage Publications. - 0042-0980 .- 1360-063X. ; 51:7, s. 1415-1431
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cities of Graz in Austria and Freiburg in Germany have been perceived as ecological model cities since the late 1980s.This is shown by various international awards, press coverage and many visitors from other municipal administrations. Both cities have been well known for their attempts to bring about transitions towards more sustainable and low-carbon energy systems. The comparison of Graz and Freiburg over a period of two decades enables us to study how differing contexts, actor constellations and historic developments shape the transformation of energy systems towards greater sustainability. It is argued that understanding the role of cities for energy transitions requires a detailed examination of the coupled dynamics of socio-technical interactions across the levels of niches, regimes and landscapes on the one hand, and multilevel systems of governance on the other. At these intersections new, although spatially confined, socio-technical constellations of sustainable energy provision may emerge and be stabilised. Nevertheless, empirical evidence shows that it is misleading to conclude that true socio-technical transitions are taking place in these cities, even though a number of foundations for long-term change processes have been laid.
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| 12. |
- Rohracher, Harald, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Transitions towards sustainability - learning from Graz and Freiburg?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Serbian Architectural Journal. - 1821-3952. ; 4, s. 75-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Innovation policies in the European Union increasingly address so-called ‘grand challenges’ such as climate change, resource depletion or aging societies. Such transformations go far beyond conventional product or process innovations and require a restructuring of broad socio-technical regimes, e.g. the built environment, systems of mobility, the energy system or the way we organize processes of production and consumption.The distributed nature and specific socio-technical dynamics of large-scale transition processes towards greater sustainability makes cities an important arena of infrastructure transformation and a crucial nexus between different levels of governance and strands of socio-political discourse. The article is based on an analysis of the cases of Graz and Freiburg which since at least two decades have been regarded as ‘eco-cities’ and particularly advanced in their environmental policies and actions. We will investigate to which extent these cities were indeed capable of system innovations and fundamental shifts towards the aim of a “sustainable city“ and we will then draw some conclusions about the ‘room for manoeuvring’ of cities within broader sustainability transitions.
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| 15. |
- Späth, Philipp, et al.
(författare)
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‘Energy Regions’ : The transformative power of regional discourses on socio-technical futures
- 2010
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Ingår i: Research Policy. - : Elsevier. - 0048-7333 .- 1873-7625. ; 39:4, s. 449-458
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ‘Guiding visions’ play an important role in the transition management approach as a central means of ‘mobilizing social actors’. The development and social propagation of such visions is an inherently political and contested process involving much strategizing and anticipation of conflict. How is social compliance with such visions achieved? And what effects can such visions, if developed specifically for a small region, have on transitions of a broader scope, e.g. the transition towards a more sustainable energy regime?Austrian initiatives of regional development called ‘Energy Regions’ are an example for the promotion of such guiding visions of a future energy system (e.g. a set of objectives and means to achieve net regional energy self-reliance by 2015). We scrutinize the regional politics of guiding visions and the interrelation of regional discourse and network building with the developments at other governance levels for instructive lessons about new forms of governance in support of socio-technical transitions towards sustainability. After identifying some shortcomings of the literature on socio-technical change especially when it comes to conceptualise such discursive and institutional dynamics at various spatial scales, we suggest a combination of concepts from the fields of technology and policy studies to be further integrated into a new approach.We find that regionally grown ‘guiding visions’ can particularly support certain discourse coalitions by developing ‘translations’ of radical visions into achievable practical solutions (even if these relate to regions particularly ‘privileged’ in this respect), providing visible evidence of their principal feasibility and in effect orienting a broad actor coalition towards an envisaged transition.
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| 16. |
- Späth, Philipp, et al.
(författare)
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Local Demonstrations for Global Transitions—Dynamics across Governance Levels Fostering Socio-Technical Regime Change Towards Sustainability
- 2012
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Ingår i: European Planning Studies. - : Routledge. - 0965-4313 .- 1469-5944. ; 20:3, s. 461-479
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Which role do spatial dimensions play in the transformation of socio-technical regimes, in particular the energy system, towards more sustainable configurations? Concepts such as the multi-level perspective on socio-technical change have not given sufficient attention to space and place so far.We develop our considerations around the case of an ‘Energy Region’ in Austria where people try to bring about a substantive shift in their local energy supply structure and have the ambition to contribute to a general transition towards sustainable energy systems. However, if this ambition is to stand the test of reality, what are the mechanisms and processes through which regional governance can have a broader impact on the transition of the energy system? What are the resources it can draw upon? What are the linkages with other governance levels?We investigate in detail how one regional showcase for the feasibility of a non-fossil, sustainable energy system was set up in Murau, a remote, alpine district of Austria. Starting from the multi-level framework for the modelling of niche-regime interaction we put particular emphasis on the formation of discourse coalitions and dynamics of multi-level governance. Our findings support the view to pay considerably more attention to the interplay of local and non-local discourses and the dynamic relations between local initiatives and non-local networks which can provide specific opportunities for the legitimization and entrenchment of alternative socio-technical configurations.
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| 18. |
- Ulsrud, Kirsten, et al.
(författare)
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The Solar Transitions research on solar mini-grids in India : Learning from local cases of innovative socio-technical systems
- 2011
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Ingår i: Energy for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier. - 0973-0826 .- 2352-4669. ; 15:3, s. 293-303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article presents new empirical material from a case study on longstanding, pioneering efforts on implementation and use of solar mini-grid systems in the Sunderban Islands in India. These local, socio-technical experiments have been investigated by a trans-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners in order to gain a deep understanding of the diversity of social and technical factors influencing the ways in which the systems work at different levels. This socio-technical research highlights the dynamics between technology and society and how they are mutually influencing and shaping each other. These dynamics create gradual changes in the socio-technical system of technical devises, people, practices, knowledge and other elements, requiring adjustments also by the implementing actors. A range of technical and non-technical factors at various levels are found to be relevant for the implementation, operation, sustenance and further development of the solar power supply systems. The research points to important factors that should be taken into account and considered when planning similar activities. In addition to the analysis of the research findings, the article includes a brief review of literature on the implementation and use of solar photovoltaic technology in developing countries, with an emphasis on solar mini-grid systems.
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| 19. |
- Weber, K. Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Legitimizing research, technology and innovation policies for transformative change : Combining insights from innovation systems and multi-level perspective in a comprehensive ‘failures’ framework
- 2012
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Ingår i: Research Policy. - : Elsevier. - 0048-7333 .- 1873-7625. ; 41:6, s. 1037-1047
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The recent policy debates about orientating research, technology and innovation policy towards societal challenges rather than economic growth objectives only call for new lines of argumentation to systematically legitimize policy interventions. While the multi-level perspective on long-term transitions has attracted quite some interest over the past years as a framework for dealing with long-term processes of transformative change, but the innovation systems approach is still the dominant perspective for devising innovation policy. Innovation systems approaches stress the importance of improving innovation capabilities of firms and the institutional settings to support them, but they are less suited for dealing with the strategic challenges of transforming systems of innovation, production and consumption, and thus with long-term challenges such as climate change or resource depletion. It is therefore suggested to consider insights from transition studies more prominently in a policy framework that is based on the innovation systems approach and the associated notion of ‘failures’. We propose a comprehensive framework that allows legitimizing and devising policies for transformative change that draws on a combination of market failures, structural system failures and transformational system failures.
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| 20. |
- Wirth, Steffen, et al.
(författare)
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Informal institutions matter : professional culture and the development of biogas technology
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. - : Elsevier. - 2210-4224 .- 2210-4232. ; 8, s. 20-41
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Institutions play a crucial role for the development and diffusion of novel technologies. Many studies have analyzed the role of formal institutions such as support policies or specific R&D programs, while informal institutions have received less attention. With this paper, we contribute to the institutional analysis of emerging technological fields as we examine how the effects of formal institutions depend on informal institutional structures. We present findings from a comparative study of biogas technology in selected Austrian regions. Our findings suggest that the professional culture in which farmers are embedded modulates the effects of feed-in tariffs and investment subsidies to a considerable extent. This explains regional differences in the diffusion as well as variations in the design and operation of biogas plants. We argue that studies on emerging technologies benefit from a systematic analysis of the interplay of regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutions. We also argue that socio-technical variation is an important indicator to look at in addition to diffusion rates.
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| 23. |
- Wächter, Petra, et al.
(författare)
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Towards a Sustainable Spatial Organization of the Energy System : Backcasting Experiences from Austria
- 2012
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 4:2, s. 193-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The transition to a sustainable energy system faces more challenges than a simple replacement of fossil energy carriers by renewable sources. Since current structures do not favour sustainable energy generation and use it is indispensable to change the existing infrastructure. A fundamental change of the energy system also requires re-organizing spatial structures and their according institutions and governance structures. Especially in Austria, urban sprawl and unsustainable settlement structures are regarded as one of the main developments leading to increased energy demand. One of the aims within the project E-Trans 2050 was to identify socio-economic constellations that are central to the further transformation of the energy system and to focus on actors and their socio-technical framework conditions. Based on a sustainable future vision for the year 2050 a backcasting workshop was conducted to identify necessary steps for the envisaged transition to a more sustainable energy system. The results shed light on the necessary changes for a transformation towards sustainability in the specific Austrian situation. Critical issues are region-specific production of energy and its use, settlement and regional structures and values and role models, which all have a determining influence on energy demand. Combining the knowledge of extensive energy use with available energy resources in spatial planning decisions is a main challenge towards a long term sustainable energy system.
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