Envisioning a sustainable consumption future

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Aitken ◽  
Leah Watkins ◽  
Sophie Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Sustainable Future ◽  
Government Education ◽  
The Status

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand what a sustainable future would look like and the nature of the changes needed to achieve it. Continued reliance on economic growth to meet the demands of a growing population is unsustainable and comes at an unacceptable social and environmental cost. Given these increasing demands, radical changes to present practices of production and consumption are needed to enable a sustainable future. Design/methodology/approach To address this the projective technique of backcasting was used in a pilot study to explore student visions of a sustainable future. An integrative framework comprising housing, clothing, travel, leisure and food provided the structure for six focus group discussions. Findings Thematic analysis identified three key characteristics of a sustainable consumption future, namely, efficiency, sharing and community and three critical elements, namely, the role of government, education and technology, necessary for its achievement. Research limitations/implications Demonstrating the usefulness of backcasting will encourage its application in a wider range of consumption contexts with a broader range of participants. The vision of a sustainable future provides a blueprint that identifies its nature, and the basis upon which decisions to achieve it can be made. Originality/value The research introduces the technique of backcasting and demonstrates its usefulness when dealing with complex problems, where there is a need for radical change and when the status quo is not sustainable. Unexpectedly, results suggest a commitment to prosocial values, collaborative experience, collective action and the importance of community. Research and social implications demonstrating the usefulness of backcasting will encourage its application in a wider range of consumption contexts with a broader range of participants. The vision of a sustainable future provides a blueprint that identifies its nature, and the basis upon which decisions to achieve it can be made.

A critical scenario analysis of end-of-life ship disposal

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Cairns
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Ship Breaking ◽  
Future Status

Purpose – This paper aims to critically engage with the premise of development at the “bottom of the pyramid” through consideration of the current and potential future status of the workers who dismantle end-of-life ships in the breaking yards of “less developed countries”, here with specific reference to the dynamic situation in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – The study applies “critical scenario method” (CSM) to explore different possible and plausible futures for the ship-breaking industry globally and locally. Findings – The paper argues that the status of the workers in the ship-breaking industry of Bangladesh can be conceptualised as firmly set at the “bottom of the pyramid”, and that, for most if not all, this situation cannot be changed within any industry future without wider, radical change to socioeconomic and political structures both in the country and globally. Originality/value – This paper offers a contribution to the discourse on consumption at the “bottom of the pyramid” as a development process.

Social enterprise as poverty reducing strategy for women

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Fotheringham ◽  
Chad Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
The Status ◽  
Practical Tool ◽  
Poverty Reduction Strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of social enterprise as a strategy for poverty reduction for women. Design/methodology/approach – A literature synthesis on the topic was conducted and patterns, linkages and gaps were examined among key themes to identify how social enterprise can potentially serve as a poverty reduction strategy for women. Findings – The paper presents the findings in terms of specific factors contributing to women’s poverty and hypothesizes mechanisms through which social enterprises can mitigate or address these factors in practice. The paper organizes these findings in an integrative framework that highlights the need to ensure a solid policy foundation is in place before a number of key support mechanisms are enabled, which then facilitate specific types of work that can then grow in a sustainable manner. Research limitations/implications – While the mechanisms and proposed framework are based on the extant literature, additional empirical investigation is required. Practical implications – Women are disproportionately burdened by poverty and the framework presented provides a very practical tool to guide the design of new or diagnosing existing social enterprises targeting poverty reduction for women. Social implications – Without a strategic approach, the risk is either perpetuating the status quo, or worse, placing those women engaged in social enterprises in a worse financial and social position. Originality/value – There is limited research on the poverty reducing role of social enterprise for women and the proposed mechanisms and integrative framework presented provide a means of synthesizing our current knowledge while providing the basis for future investigations.

Over-tourism and sustainable consumption of resources through sharing: the role of government

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Agyeiwaah
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Residents Attitudes

Purpose Over-tourism signifies the dilemma of managing tourism growth in cities. With growing media sensationalism and an oversimplification of the phenomenon of over-tourism, its academic theorization has become extremely important. Using Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China as a case in point, the purpose of this paper is to theoretically explore the nexus between over-tourism and sustainable consumption in cities, highlighting governments’ inevitable role in this successful convergence. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a selective systematic literature review (SLR) of existing studies in the form of both news material and academic journals. It investigates the growing concern of over-tourism and the contribution of sustainable consumption grounded in strong political support. It also adopts a case study approach with specific reference to Macau. Findings The general overview of the literature provides evidence of an age-old concept that has re-emerged to make local residents’ voice more pronounced. Generally, the studies concentrate on understanding residents’ attitudes, the perceived impact of over-tourism, community resilience and sustainable strategies to tackle the problem. Most popular studies are recent (i.e. 2018 and beyond) and empirically set in developed cities of Europe. Research limitations/implications The SLR used in the current study requires further empirical testing to validate some of the proposed concepts in the literature. Practical implications The study highlights the role of government in ensuring that sustainable consumption is sustainably implemented in the context of over-tourism. Originality/value Given the re-emergence of over-tourism, yet with few theoretical discussions on the concept, this study serves as a knowledge-base for future studies both empirically and theoretically.

Austrian election could herald radical change

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
General Election ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Force ◽  
People's Party ◽  
The Status ◽  
To Come

Subject Profile of Sebastian Kurz. Significance Rising political star Sebastian Kurz is using his position as foreign minister as a springboard in a bid to become chancellor after the October 15 general election. The 31-year-old Kurz has reinvented the Austrian People’s Party (OeVP), a leading political force since 1945 and junior partner in a coalition led by Chancellor Christian Kern’s Social Democrats (SPOe), to create a challenge to the status quo. Impacts A Kurz-led coalition would seek sweeping changes, cutting taxes and cracking down on welfare abuse to increase individual initiative. If Kurz fails, the OeVP will plunge into chaos and internal disputes. Kurz could become a victim of his own success and prompt rival parties to come together despite their differences, in an effort to stop him.

A study of the application of the physical hydronomics methodology to assess environmental costs of European rivers

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Uche ◽  
Amaya Martínez ◽  
Beatriz Carrasquer
Keyword(s):  
Economic Value ◽  
Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Tools ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to check out the status of collected data in European water-related information tools, with the final aim of analyzing the cost to reach the good environmental status in European rivers, from recorded physical and chemical data, within the second law of thermodynamics. Design/methodology/approach – The study is especially focussed in an economical assessment to account for the environmental costs of water bodies according to the Water Framework Directive. The Catchments and Rivers Network System, the most important information tool in Europe nowadays, constitutes the support of this work. This study shows a methodology to estimate the cost to restore water bodies in energy terms with the help of an aggregated indicator, from physical and chemical characteristics of rivers. More over, energy results are converted later into an economic value. This work presents diverse case studies, starting from Garonne, Rhone, Rhine, Danube, Ebro and Seine rivers. Findings – Figures show that total environmental costs in rivers with higher flows are more important due to the more quantity of water to be restored. Making a contrast among years with different hydrological behavior, total environmental costs are higher in wet years due to the more availability of water to be supplied that consequently implies higher withdrawals. However, rivers with higher total environmental cost are not necessarily the most polluted ones. Regarding to the availability of data, although European monitoring and reporting is in progress, homogeneity of data and consensus in the management of basins are needed. Originality/value – Authors make an estimation of costs to reach the good status of European rivers. This work proposes the Exergy as an aggregate indicator to assess cost for water restoration in monetary values. This paper gives a reference of environmental cost as an important instrument to establish costs recovery prices, to be used in the management of water resources as a complement of other kind of indicators.

scholarly journals Devolving healthcare services redesign to local clinical leaders: does it work in practice?

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Storey ◽  
Richard Holti ◽  
Jean Hartley ◽  
Martin Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Models Of Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Leadership ◽  
The Status ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the findings arising from a three year research project which investigated a major system-wide change in the design of the NHS in England. The radical policy change was enshrined in statute in 2012 and it dismantled existing health authorities in favour of new local commissioning groups built around GP Practices. The idea was that local clinical leaders would “step-up” to the challenge and opportunity to transform health services through exercising local leadership. This was the most radical change in the NHS since its inception in 1948. Design/methodology/approach The research methods included two national postal surveys to all members of the boards of the local groups supplemented with 15 scoping case studies followed by six in-depth case studies. These case studies focused on close examination of instances where significant changes to service design had been attempted. Findings The authors found that many local groups struggled to bring about any significant changes in the design of care systems. But the authors also found interesting examples of situations where pioneering clinical leaders were able to collaborate in order to design and deliver new models of care bridging both primary and secondary settings. The potential to use competition and market forces by fully utilising the new commissioning powers was more rarely pursued. Practical implications The findings carry practical implications stemming from positive lessons about securing change even under difficult circumstances. Originality/value The paper offers novel insights into the processes required to introduce new systems of care in contexts where existing institutions tend to revert to the status quo. The national survey allows accurate assessment of the generalisability of the findings about the nature and scale of change.

Sustainable consumption and production of wildlife tourism in Indian tiger reserves: a critical analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahender Reddy Gavinolla ◽  
Vikrant Kaushal ◽  
Agita Livina ◽  
Sampada Kumar Swain ◽  
Hemant Kumar
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wildlife Tourism ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Tiger Reserve ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
The Status

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to review the existing landscape of consumption and production in wildlife tourism and, more precisely, discuss how tiger tourism is packaged and produced as a product or commodity for the consumption of wildlife tourists. In doing so, the study explores the issues and challenges for responsible consumption and production (SCP) of wildlife tourism in the context of progress toward sustainable development goal (SDG12) responsible consumption and production. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines an analysis of existing literature and insights from the tiger reserve stakeholders. Qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews and participant observation methods are used to derive insights. Findings This paper explores the status of SCP of wildlife tourism, particularly tiger tourism in Indian national parks. The paper then discusses the implications of SCP for various stakeholders in wildlife tourism. Originality/value This paper explores the perspective of SCP in wildlife tourism, and it provides innovative approaches that stakeholders should adopt.

Responsible innovation and social innovation: toward an integrative research framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 742-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Bolz ◽  
Anne de Bruin
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Responsible Innovation ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Integrative Research ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Innovation Study

PurposeResponsible innovation (RI) and social innovation (SI) are two fields of innovation study experiencing burgeoning policy, practice and research interest. Despite this rapid rise in popularity, the scholarly literature in these two related areas of innovation study remains quite separate, stymieing the growth of shared research insights. The purpose of this paper is to propose a pragmatic, process-based framework that lends itself to advancing systematic research in both fields while retaining their distinct identities.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper outlines an analogy-inspired framework that builds on the logical thinking put forward by Philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine in 1962. It focusses on key processes that cross-cut both fields.FindingsReflexivity, collaboration and design are identified as three broad core processes that span both the RI and SI fields and form the basis of an integrative framework that highlights the scope for cross-field research pollination.Originality/valueThe literature that draws these two fields together is virtually non-existent. The paper uses analogy to facilitate awareness of the parallels between these two areas of innovation study. The integrative framework put forward in the paper is of value for advancing cumulative research in innovation fields of critical importance to the society.

A status quo analysis of disaster risk reduction policy and legislation in Cameroon

foresight ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.E.A. Ashu ◽  
Dewald Van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Institutions ◽  
The Status

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the status quo of disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy and legislation in Cameroon. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative method, this paper examines historical data from sectoral administrative reports, plans, declarations, commitments and speeches, texts and peer-reviewed journals on disaster and risk management in Cameroon for the period 1967-2017. Empirical data from ten selected government sectors were used to analyze the status quo, together with quantitative data collected by using four instruments (i.e. HFA Priority 1 & 4, USAID Toolkit, GOAL Resilience Score and the Checklist on Law and DRR). Findings Findings show that Cameroon largely still practices disaster response through the Department of Civil Protection. Transparency and accountability are the sine qua non of the state, but the lack thereof causes improper implementation of DRR within development institutions. DRR is seen as an ad hoc activity, with the result that there is not effective institutional capacity for implementation. The need to develop a new national DRR framework is evident. Originality/value Analyzing the status quo of DRR in Cameroon could assist with the review and reevaluation of a new DRR framework within the Cameroonian territory.

A brief history of small business in Australia, 1970-2010

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Schaper
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
History Of ◽  
Training And Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development of the SME sector in Australia, concentrating on a number of key areas: small business definitions and numbers; the role of government; the emergence of key industry groups; and the evolution of education, training and research services. Design/methodology/approach – The study is a result of extensive literature reviews, desk research and the recollections of various participants in the field. Findings – There have been major changes to the Australian small business sector over the last 40 years. In 1983-1984 there were an estimated 550,000 small firms, and by 2010 this had grown to almost two million. Government involvement in, and support for, SMEs was virtually non-existent before 1970. Following the delivery of the Wiltshire report (1971), however, both state and federal governments responded by developing specialist advisory services, funding programmes and other support tools. Virtually non-existent before the 1970s, several peak industry associations were formed between 1977 and the 1990s. At the same time, formal education and teaching in the area expanded in the 1970s and 1980s and is now widespread. Practical implications – Development of the small business sector in Australia has often paralleled similar trends in other OECD nations. State and territory governments have often (but not always) been the principal drivers of policy change. Originality/value – There has been no little, if any, prior documentation of the evolution of the small business sector in Australia in the last 40 years.

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