scholarly journals Solutions to Plastic Pollution: A Conceptual Framework to Tackle a Wicked Problem

2021 ◽  
pp. 333-352
Author(s):  
Martin Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Solution Space ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
Ethical Consumerism ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Problem Formulations ◽  
Preferred Solutions

AbstractThere is a broad willingness to act on global plastic pollution as well as a plethora of available technological, governance, and societal solutions. However, this solution space has not been organized in a larger conceptual framework yet. In this essay, I propose such a framework, place the available solutions in it, and use it to explore the value-laden issues that motivate the diverse problem formulations and the preferences for certain solutions by certain actors. To set the scene, I argue that plastic pollution shares the key features of wicked problems, namely, scientific, political, and societal complexity and uncertainty as well as a diversity in the views of actors. To explore the latter, plastic pollution can be framed as a waste, resource, economic, societal, or systemic problem. Doing so results in different and sometimes conflicting sets of preferred solutions, including improving waste management; recycling and reuse; implementing levies, taxes, and bans as well as ethical consumerism; raising awareness; and a transition to a circular economy. Deciding which of these solutions is desirable is, again, not a purely rational choice. Accordingly, the social deliberations on these solution sets can be organized across four scales of change. At the geographic and time scales, we need to clarify where and when we want to solve the plastic problem. On the scale of responsibility, we need to clarify who is accountable, has the means to make change, and carries the costs. At the magnitude scale, we need to discuss which level of change we desire on a spectrum of status quo to revolution. All these issues are inherently linked to value judgments and worldviews that must, therefore, be part of an open and inclusive debate to facilitate solving the wicked problem of plastic pollution.

scholarly journals The Habitus of Heritage: a Discussion of Bourdieu's Ideas for Visitor Studies in Heritage and Museums

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bella Dicks
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Visitor Studies ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Visitor Research ◽  
Cultural Taste

This article argues that Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual framework of habitus, field and symbolic capital has much to offer museum and heritage visitor studies. However, rather than focusing on his well-known critique of high-cultural taste, the discussion here concerns displays of the ‘ordinary’ and social histories - of occupations, crafts, places, communities. Habitus reveals how visitors to such sites are involved in making value judgments, not solely of aesthetics but also of the social identities on display. In particular, it directs analytic attention to the active positions that visitors take up during the visit. Instead of focusing on their immediate actions and responses, however, or on exhibitions alone, I approach the visit as a moment in a person’s life, where a relationship is constructed between an individual biography, a social field that assigns value to different identities, and the particular set of symbols encountered during the visit. It is suggested that these are appropriated as symbolic ‘tokens’ in accordance with individuals’ practical relation to the world they inhabit. Past experience, memory, and class become crucial here, as these illuminate the subjective stances visitors adopt to the symbols on display, which also involve important affective and non-ideational dimensions. Data from prior visitor research conducted by the author are reanalyzed to illustrate the points made. The aim is to show how visiting is a social practice that mobilises symbolic dimensions of memory and class experience, one which cannot be understood by examining exhibit-visitor interactions in isolation.Key words: visitor studies, heritage, museums, Bourdieu, habits, symbolic capital.

scholarly journals An overview of psychological and social factors in Charles Bonnet syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 251584142110347
Author(s):  
Lee Jones ◽  
Lara Ditzel-Finn ◽  
Jamie Enoch ◽  
Mariya Moosajee
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Response ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Visual Hallucinations ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
Charles Bonnet Syndrome ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Normal Individuals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Insight Into

Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is a condition where cognitively normal individuals with sight impairment experience simple and/or complex visual hallucinations. The exact pathogenesis of CBS is unknown; however, deafferentation is often recognised as a causal mechanism. Studies have provided insight into the multifaceted impact of CBS on wellbeing. Onset of CBS may cause distress among those believing visual hallucinations are indicative of a neurological condition. Hallucinatory content is often congruent with the emotional response. For example, hallucinations of a macabre nature typically result in a fearful response. Visual hallucinations may be highly disruptive, causing everyday tasks to become challenging. Clinical management relies on forewarning and pre-emptive questioning. Yet, knowledge and awareness of CBS is typically low. In this review, we provide a summary of the social and psychological implications of CBS and explore recent developments aimed at raising awareness and improving patient management.

The relatable entrepreneur: Combating stereotypes in entrepreneurship education

2021 ◽  
pp. 095042222110174
Author(s):  
Stephanie E Raible ◽  
Karen Williams-Middleton
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Steve Jobs ◽  
Entrepreneurial Careers

Despite an estimated 582 million entrepreneurs globally, stereotypes plague the social cognitive concept of “the entrepreneur,” shaping assumptions of what entrepreneurship is while being far from representative of possible entrepreneurial identities. “Heroic” stereotypes of entrepreneurs (e.g., Steve Jobs or Elon Musk) stemming from the popular media shape the assumptions of students entering entrepreneurship classrooms. These stereotypes are strong and limiting, framing entrepreneurship as attainable only through exceptional skill and talent, and are often characterized by exclusively masculine qualities. Involving identity work in entrepreneurship education can expose the limitations that stereotypes impose on students aspiring to be entrepreneurs and introduce more heterogeneity. The use of narrative cases allows educators to facilitate a threefold approach: (1) raising awareness of stereotypes, (2) creating a structure for more realistic examples and socialization through narrative comparisons and (3) teaching students the basics of identity management for sustaining their entrepreneurial careers. The approach encourages direct conversations about what is—and who can become—an entrepreneur and reveals the limiting beliefs that students may bring with them into the classroom. Such discussion informs the educator on how to foster students’ entrepreneurial identity and empower their identity management.

scholarly journals A conceptual framework for understanding the social acceptance of energy infrastructure: Insights from energy storage

Energy Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Devine-Wright ◽  
Susana Batel ◽  
Oystein Aas ◽  
Benjamin Sovacool ◽  
Michael Carnegie Labelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals The Selectionist Paradigm: More Implications for Sociology

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Social Contagion ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Individual ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Two Bodies

This paper argues that despite 50 years of empirical research, the phenomenon of social contagion is still poorly understood. Social contagion research has produced an eclectic, largely confused and jumbled body of evidence that lacks any comprehensive organising principle or conceptual framework. Whilst the great majority of this empirical research has identified and confirmed existence of the social contagion phenomenon, results have been undermined because the phenomenon itself has been variously and ambiguously defined and operationalised. This has meant that the potential radical implications of social contagion research findings for an orthodox understanding of the human individual as a rational Cartesian agent, have been largely ignored. It is suggested that the emerging evolutionary paradigm of memetics may providea novel conceptual framework for understanding and explaining the empirical phenomenon of social contagion, by understanding it as the observable action of selfish memes replicating through a population. The article concludes by proposing a memetic theory of social contagion, and ends with a call for the synthesis of the two bodies to create a comprehensive body of theoretically informed research.

scholarly journals The International Day of Light - May 16th

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Dominik Dorosz
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Further Development

During 39th session of UNESCO General Conference which held on 7 November 2017 the date May 16th was proclaimed as International Day of Light (IDL). This decision was made after the success of the International Year of Light (IYL) celebrated in 2015. It confirmed that raising awareness of the social role of photonics is crucial for further development. Based on the rich experience of IYL 2015 ("more than 13,000 activities took place in 147 countries to reach an estimated 100 million people"), the most important goals are to be followed by the IDL, including: raising social awareness, education, showing the influence of photonics on culture and art, promoting foreign cooperation and the important role of conducting basic research. As a result, it will lead to the creation of new solutions based on photonic technology, which has resulted in increased energy efficiency and improved quality of our life.

scholarly journals Building Resilience through Collective Engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Audrey O. Esteban
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Continuous Exposure ◽  
Basic Premise ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Engagement

The basic premise of this study is that the collective engagement of the citizens in a disaster-prone city helps transform their city to become resilient. Many urban managers encourage citizen participation by providing a venue for citizens to engage in public issues, including those of city planning and management. Citizen participation is important in building a cohesive community, empowering its citizens, and enhancing their sense of ownership of their community and city as a whole. The research underscores that collective engagement and action have an influence in the transformation of a city. The study will use the concept of resilience in the socio-ecological systems context to build a conceptual framework on the transformation process. Cities are ecological systems with both natural- and built-environment characteristics. Cities are complex multidimensional systems with both the social (human) and the ecological (natural and built environments) tied together. The changing landscape and continuous exposure to disturbances put pressure on the social and ecological systems of a city. The paper discusses collective engagement as a systemic process for how a disaster-prone city transforms itself to become disaster resilient. Using the concept of panarchy as a process of adaptation and transformation, the paper will build a conceptual framework that highlights collectiveness as a way to become resilient. The paper underscores that collective engagement and action have an influence in the transformation of a city.

scholarly journals Transforming the news value chain in the social era: a community perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Jose Hernandez Serrano ◽  
Anita Greenhill ◽  
Gary Graham
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Firm Strategy ◽  
Consumer Participation ◽  
Community Type ◽  
Local News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
News Industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework to understand the influence that the social era is having on the value chain of the local news industry. The authors theoretically advance value chain theory by, firstly, considering the influence of community type and age on consumption and, secondly, exploring the role that consumers can play in value-adding activities. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in moving from a transactional approach towards consumer relationships in the value chain towards managing consumers as a source of relational value (e.g. co-creation and integrated perspectives). Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual framework is theoretically positioned in relation to community and digital community practices in the social era. A series of research questions are presented, then these questions are explored drawing on empirical data from the Pew database. The authors then advance the framework further to consider news firm strategy towards its consumers. Fifteen in-depth executive interviews were conducted with local news organizations in the Manchester area of the UK. Findings – The authors illustrate that different types of communities (merging cohorts and locations) are influencing levels of technological and social connectivity within the value chain. The authors also found that the news industry is experimenting with reconfiguring its consumer relations from a purely transactional to a co-created and participatory value-added activity in the social era. In terms of its policy impact, the findings in this paper show that the whole strategic value chain ideology of the news industry needs to change radically; away from its largely transactional (and lack of trust) approach in the ability of consumers to create value in the supply chain (other than to buy a product) and, move towards much greater consumer involvement and participation in value chain processes (creation, production and distribution of news products and services). Originality/value – The change associated with social media and connectivity is changing the way that different community types and consumer groups are now consuming and participating in news content creation. Unlike previous studies, the authors show that there is variance and complexity in the levels of consumer participation by community type/age group. Using the Pew data, the authors contribute to knowledge on the value creation strategy of news firms in the social era, by identifying how communicative, social and communicative logics influence value and co-creation activities in the local news supply chain. Through interviews, the authors advance value co-creation theory from its strategic and marketing origins to operational and supply chain implementation.

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