In this paper, we report on the development of The Sustainable Port video game, which aims to simulate the complex dynamics and decisions occurring in the present and future development of a port area considering environmental aspects (CO2 emissions) and profit. To evaluate if this game fulfills its purpose, we asked 75 students and 34 employees at the Port of Rotterdam (PoR) to play The Sustainable Port. Our results show that PoR employees score higher than students suggesting a transfer between (...) real-life experience of being an employee in the port and performance in the game. Furthermore, port participants reported that The Sustainable Port can be successfully used to start discussions about the future of the Port of Rotterdam and to raise awareness about the complexity characterizing the decision-making processes occurring in a port environment. Our results, taken together, provide evidence of the effectiveness of The Sustainable Port in simulating dynamics occurring in port development and give us optimism about future applications. (shrink)

While it is well known that SME owner–managers’ sustainability values and attitudes impact their company’s sustainability activities, they often face profit-driven institutional orders. In a qualitative study, we investigate which identities are critical for their engagement in sustainability and how these identities interrelate with their institutional environment. We applied a qualitative design with narratives from 29 owner–managers of hospitality businesses who belong to a New Zealand-based sustainability network. Our study revealed no single overarching sustainability identity; instead, six identities could be (...) identified as sustainability-related and be linked to different institutional orders. By analyzing the interplay between the identities and the institutional environment, we also found mechanisms on how SME owner–managers impact on their business’ sustainability. We revealed that an adequate institutional environment can foster the development of sustainability-related identities, which in turn can lead to cultural evolution towards more sustainability. By integrating identity theory with organizational institutionalism, we contribute to theoretical development and to further sustainability research at individual and institutional level. (shrink)

Concerns about the unsustainability of the conventional food system have brought attention to so called alternative food networks, which are widely thought to be more sustainable. However, claims made about AFNs’ sustainability have been subject to a range of criticisms. Some of them present counterevidence, while others have pointed to problematic underlying features in the academic literature and popular discourse that may hamper our understanding of AFNs’ sustainability. Considering these criticisms, together with the fact that the literature often addresses a (...) specific type of AFN or a specific sustainability-related issue, it is hard to form a clear overall picture of the sustainability promise of AFNs. In this article, we seek to contribute to a clearer understanding of this promise through a structured review, focusing on links between AFN characteristics and sustainability. Through an analysis of AFN conceptualizations reflected in the literature, we identify and consolidate their key characteristics. We then synthesize claims of how these characteristics may translate into sustainability, finding a wide range of potential direct and indirect impacts. Examining these from different angles, we find that the sustainability promise of AFNs found in these claims is qualified by the presence of potentially unaddressed issues, by criticisms regarding for example the evidence base of the assumed impacts and their power in addressing sustainability, and by considerations of how these impacts might play out in actual, real-life food networks. Indirect impacts of learning and participation may be highly significant for sustainability. We conclude with recommendations for research and practice. (shrink)

The increasing strategic importance of environmental, social and ethical issues as well as related performance measures has spurred interest in corporate sustainability performance measurement and management systems. This paper focuses on the balanced scorecard, a performance measurement and management system aiming at balancing financial and non-financial as well as short and long-term measures. Modifications to the original BSC which explicitly consider environmental, social or ethical issues are often referred to as sustainability balanced scorecards. There is much scholarly discussion about SBSC (...) architecture and how it can be designed to relate performance dimensions, strategic objectives and the logical links among these elements. To synthesise the widely scattered research findings and publications on the SBSC, we conducted a thematic analysis based on a systematic literature review containing 69 relevant articles spanning a period of two decades. We found that sustainability-oriented modifications of the BSC architecture are motivated by instrumental, social/political or normative theoretical perspectives. Moreover, these modifications can be mapped with a typology of generic SBSC architectures. The first dimension of the typology describes the hierarchy between performance perspectives and strategic objectives and how it is related to the organisational value system. The second dimension describes how sustainability-related strategic objectives are integrated into SBSC performance perspectives and how this is related to corporate sustainability strategy. This study contributes to the development of the emerging SBSC literature and practice and, more generally, to research on corporate sustainability performance measurement and management. We conclude with a research agenda and implications for management. (shrink)

Synthetic biology, materials chemistry and soft robotics are fast becoming leading disciplines within the field of practices which look to nature for inspiration and opportunities. In this article I discuss how these molecular-scale practices fit within the existing trends of bio-informed design defined at the macro level, that is, bionics, biomimetics and more specifically biomimicry. Based on the metaphysical views underlying bio-informed design practices, I argue that none of them currently fit the biomimicry model, as they are not consistently concerned (...) with environmental sustainability. While biomimetic chemistry loosely belongs to the field of biomimetics, and soft robotics to the field of bionics, both practices have a profound impact on their respective fields, as they question the places of nature and engineers. (shrink)

This paper examines informal networks that support the British Asian business community. Ethnic communities have been crucial to facilitating the economic development of their migrant members, as they make the transition from economic refugees to citizens. The basis of this informal support is the notion of social capital offered to kinsmen who arrived with finite resources. However, as successive generations have become more integrated with the wider community reliance on these resources is forecast to decrease. Research has shown that subsequent (...) Asian generations are developing complex relations in their attitudes and reliance towards their ethnic community (Janjuha-Jivraj and Woods, 2002) it is still an area that is very active in providing crucial informal business support. There is however, a distinct difference in attitudes between first and second generations in terms of accepting business support from the ethnic community. This issue is further compounded by difficulties among external support agencies in penetrating ethnic businesses. This leads to the following questions: • What forms of social capital are evident and how important are they in sustaining relationships within the religious-ethnic community? • How crucial is the ethnic community in providing an infrastructure to offer support. This paper is based on a network of businesses that are members of a sub-group across Greater London. It is anticipated that the findings will help to unravel the impact of migratory bonds on community members. This in turn will provide useful information for service providers when considering how to successfully target ethnic businesses. (shrink)

Globally, consumers are increasingly turning to sustainable consumption practices. This article emphasizes the importance of social and cultural context in the study of sustainable consumption, drawing on social representations. It attempts to explain and empirically demonstrate how sustainable consumption is socially represented. The aim of the study was to investigate the construction of representations of sustainable consumption as knowledge and its appropriation in relation to the purchase and consumption of food. Online focus groups were employed in a cross-sectional study (...) conducted in Slovenia and Austria. The results of the study not only show how the “global” concept of sustainable consumption is appropriated and reflected in practices in a specific national and cultural context, but also highlight the importance of social representations in terms of how their meanings can influence the emergence of new practices. Furthermore, they show how sustainable consumption can occasionally be seen in actions that precede reflection or exist in a more abstract form unrelated to actions. The results offer several implications for practitioners seeking to promote sustainable consumption. (shrink)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), consisting of 17 specific goals such as ending poverty, reducing inequality, and combating climate change, were proposed by the UN member states in 2014 for the ongoing UN agenda until 2030. These goals articulate the growing need for the international community to build a sustainable future. To progress and build a truly sustainable future requires not only the immediate support of individuals for the current SDGs, but also their personal long-term commitment to the needs of (...) future generations (i.e., intergenerational altruism). Reminders of death can influence attitudes, motivation, and behavior in various aspects of our lives. In the current research, we thus explored whether reminding individuals of their own death will influence their intergenerational altruism and perceived importance of the SDGs. Using a three-condition (mortality salience vs. dentist visit vs. neutral) randomized experiment, we found that mortality salience led participants to place a higher priority on the needs of future generations only when compared to the neutral condition. Further, we conducted a factor analysis that generated two SDGs factors (socially related SDGs and ecologically related SDGs). We found that mortality salience reduced participants’ perceived importance of the socially related SDGs when compared to both the dentist visit and the neutral conditions, and mortality salience decreased participants’ perceived importance of the ecologically related SDGs only when compared to the neutral condition. (shrink)

Several insider accounts of the formation of the Sustainable Development Goals suggest that the process (the procedures used and the emergent organizational and governance system features) was as important as the resulting goal-set. The paper looks at both aspects, and relationships between them: the rising influence of Southern nations (seen in the roles played by Colombia, Brazil, some African countries and the G77); the partial transcendence of traditional inter-bloc negotiation, including through adoption of elements of deliberative decision-making; the major involvement (...) of civil society and business organizations, thanks especially to the IT revolution; the adoption of a goals-targets-indicators frame that has flexibility at national level and implicit reliance on intensive further civil society activism and monitoring. The paper considers these features and the implied prospects for the SDGs in relation to various perspectives on global governance, with special reference to norm-setting: Ruggie’s concepts of ‘global public domain’ and ‘polycentric global governance’, Risse and Sikkink’s ‘norms cascade’, Murphy’s posited required elements for progressive global innovation, and Raskin’s model of transition through responses to crises. It concludes with questions for further work, including regarding the possibly problematic absence of an explicit inspirational value-core. (shrink)

Introducción. La tutoría académica concreta el proceso educativo sustentado en estándares de calidad, características y necesidades de aprendizaje del estudiante; se desenvuelve confrontando actividades pedagógicas y consolida solidaridades. En este contexto, el estudio se realizó con el propósito de realizar la analítica de la solidaridad que surge de la relación tutorial. Método. Desde el ámbito de la hermenéutica, se realizó un estudio en cuatro fases: analítica, comprensiva, reconstructiva, crítica. Se construyó el concepto de solidaridad en la relación tutorial con propuestas (...) de Gadamer, Habermas, Adela Cortina y Edgar Morín. Las categorías de análisis fueron: construcción social del sentido en la relación tutorial, relación tutorial de naturaleza epistémica, compleja, infinita y cambiante; y práctica tutorial generadora de solidaridades. Resultados. La solidaridad como praxis humana orientada al cuidado del otro promueve el encuentro con el estudiante. La tutoría académica regula la experiencia vital de la dualidad enseñar-aprender; articula la decisión del docente y alumno con la responsabilidad solidaria. El docente concreta un asentimiento aconsejado por la amistad de estar-ahí-con el estudiante, acompañándolo, posibilitando elecciones y decisiones entre posibilidades para una vida sustentable mediante la virtud de la phrónesis. Conclusiones. La solidaridad en la relación tutorial como horizonte de sentido engarza la cosmovisión del binomio docente-estudiante en la relación tutorial. Dado el vínculo social, se ubica en el escenario de la relación tutorial el sentido originario de la amistad y la solidaridad con los siguientes baremos: compasión, saber hacer, confidencialidad, confianza, conciencia de sí mismo y del otro, tacto, escucha atenta y solícita, comprensión del otro. Introduction. Tutoring specific educational process based on quality standards, characteristics and needs of student learning; it operates confronting educational activities and strengthens solidarity. In this context, the study was conducted with the purpose of performing analytics solidarity arising from the mentoring relationship. Method. From the field of hermeneutics, a study was conducted in four phases: analytical, comprehensive, reconstructive, critical. The concept of solidarity is built with Gadamer, Habermas, Adela Cortina and Edgar Morín proposals. The categories of analysis were: social construction of meaning in the mentoring relationship, relationship epistemic tutorial, complex, infinite and changing nature; tutorial praxis generating solidarities. Results. The solidarity as praxis oriented caring for others promotes the meeting with the student. Tutoring regulates the vital experience of duality teaching-learning; articulates the decision of the teacher and student with joint liability. The teacher specifically advised by a nod of friendship being-there-with the student, accompanying, allowing choices and decisions between possibilities for sustainable living by virtue of phronesis. Conclusions. The solidarity as horizon of meaning engages the worldview of the teacher-student duo in the mentoring relationship. Given the social bond is at the stage of the tutorial regarding the original meaning of friendship and solidarity with the following rates: compassion, expertise, confidence, trust, awareness of self and other, touch, attentive listening and caring, understanding others. (shrink)

The practice of relational leadership is essential for dealing with the increasingly urgent and complex social, economic and environmental issues that characterize sustainability. Despite growing attention to both relational leadership and leadership for sustainability, an ethical understanding of both is limited. This is problematic as both sustainability and relational leadership are rife with moral implications. This paper conceptually explores how the moral theory of ‘ethics of care’ can help to illuminate the ethical dimensions of relational leadership for sustainability. In doing (...) so, the implications of ethics of care more broadly for the practice of relational leadership development are elaborated. From a caring perspective, a ‘relational stance’ or logic of effectiveness can be fostered through engaging in a reflective process of moral education through conversation. In starting this dialogue, we can begin to build capacity for relational leadership for sustainability and, thus, support the development of individual well-being and organizational and societal flourishing. (shrink)

When dealing with complex value-driven problems such as sustainable development, individuals need to have values and norms that go beyond the appropriation of tangible business outcomes for themselves. This raises the question of the role played by individual moral antecedents in the entrepreneurial process of opportunity recognition for sustainable development. To answer this question, an exploratory empirical research design was used in which 96 would-be entrepreneurs were subjected to real-life decision-making processes in an online environment. The participants were guided through (...) the process of opportunity recognition for sustainable development. Furthermore, they were subjected to several tests linked to individual moral antecedents. The mixed methods design used to analyze the results led to the conclusion that pro-environmental behavior values and moral competencies are important indicators of the ability to recognize opportunities for sustainable development. These results provide useful insights about relating moral antecedents to idea generation for sustainable development and can help researchers, higher education institutes, and sustainable entrepreneurs to further develop the concept of sustainable entrepreneurship and its underlying processes. (shrink)

This paper aims at understanding Sustainable Development Goals as normative ends to be achieved by normative means in the context of global ethics. It distinguishes the descriptive and the normative senses of sustainability and development and puts forward a case for exploring the role of human moral obligations as the normative means to attain the goals of sustainable development. It argues that it is only when basic human moral obligations and role-related obligations are fulfilled that human well-being and that of (...) the non-human elements of the eco-system can be achieved. Furthermore, it also explains how such a concept can be inclusive, diverse and integrative. (shrink)

Introduction: sustainable critique and the lost vocation of international relations -- "For we born after:" the challenge of sustainable critique -- Sustainable critique and critical IR theory: against emancipation -- The realist dilemma: politics and the limits of theory -- Communitarian IR theory -- Individualist IR theory: disharmonious cooperation -- Conclusion: toward sustainably critical international theory.

This paper undertakes a content analysis of newspaper articles from Australia, the UK, and the US concerned with a variety of issues relevant to sustainable food and agriculture from 1996 to 2002. It then goes on to identify the various ways in which sustainability, organic food and agriculture, genetic engineering, genetically modified foods, and food safety are framed both in their own terms and in relation to each other. It finds that despite the many competing approaches to sustainability found (...) in scientific and agricultural production discourses, media discourses tend to reduce this complexity to a straightforward conflict between organic and conventional foods. Despite regular reporting of viewpoints highly critical of organic food and agriculture, this binary opposition produces discourses in which organic foods are seen as more-or-less synonymous with safety, naturalness and nutrition, and their alternatives as artificial, threatening, and untrustworthy. Particularly controversial food-related issues such as genetic engineering, food scares, chemical residues, and regulatory failure are treated as part of the same problem to which organic food offers a trustworthy and easily understood solution. (shrink)

Nowadays, pushed by the belief that the world will dramatically change by 2050, governments from all over the world are searching for new visions to inspire alternative forms of development. These visions are founded on the idea that current development paradigms are deeply unsustainable in terms of energy production and consumption and on the fear that, should these paradigms remain unchallenged, the resilience of our ecosystems will soon be surpassed. The specter of ecological catastrophe (and of the consequent economic and (...) political collapse) has become a dominant element in global development politics, particularly in relation to present and future models of urbanization. According to a number of institutions .. (shrink)

For society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the agri-food industry needs a substantial sustainability transition toward food systems capable of delivering greater volumes of nutritious food, while simultaneously lowering the environmental footprint. This issue of AHV focuses on the big picture—on mechanisms of sustainability transition, from social innovation, to models of finance and institutional systems, and calls for business and agricultural researchers to transform the sector together. Contributors to this issue embrace a transdisciplinary outlook, including scientific, technical, social and (...) political dimensions of agroecology. This issue is a call to action: to encourage the community of social entrepreneurs, ecosystem players and researchers to contribute analytical methods, experiences and scientific insights on emerging social innovations related to food, agriculture and rural–urban transformation. (shrink)

Caregivers should usually accede to parents’ requests for life-sustaining treatment. For such decision-making, the best interests standard is too limited. John Arras’s “relational potential standard,” con-joined to a contemporary care ethics framework, provides a better guide.

In this paper we investigate the connection between forms of sustainability and masculinity through a study of everyday life in a Danish alternative slaughterhouse. In contrast to the predominant form of slaughterhouses today in Western contexts, the ‘alternative’ slaughterhouse is characterized as non-industrial in scale and articulating some form of a sustainability orientation. Acknowledging the variability of the term, we firstly explore how ‘sustainability’ is understood and practiced in this place. We then illuminate the situated manifestations of masculinities, which appear (...) predominantly- though not exclusively- hegemonic in nature. We next reflect on how the situated and particular sustainability of this site come to bear on a workplace long characterized as a masculinized site of, e.g., violence and repression, showing how the sustainability of the alternative slaughterhouse has potential to nourish alternative masculinities. We finally call for more attention at this nexus of sustainability and masculinities studies, to examine how the broad sustainability turn in food systems needs to be further examined in relation to what masculinities it perpetuates, as well as how a focus on masculinities may enhance our understanding of varying forms of sustainability, especially their potential for ecologically and socially just food systems. (shrink)

The world is not on track to achieve Agenda 2030—the approach chosen in 2015 by all UN member states to engage multiple stakeholders for the common goal of sustainable development. The creation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) arguably offered a new take on sustainable development by adopting hybrid and principle-based governance approaches, where public, private, not for profit and knowledge-institutions were invited to engage around achieving common medium-term targets. Cross-sector partnerships and multi-stakeholder engagement for sustainability have consequently taken (...) shape. But the call for collaboration has also come with fundamental challenges to meaningful engagement strategies—when private enterprises try to establish elaborate multi-stakeholder configurations. How can the purpose of businesses be mitigated through multi-stakeholder principle-based partnerships to effectively serve the purpose of a common sustainability agenda? In selecting nine scholarly contributions, this special issue aims at advancing this discourse. To stimulate further progress in business studies, this introductory essay, furthermore, identifies three pathways for research on multi-stakeholder engagement processes in support of the Decade of Action along three coupling lines: multi-sector alignment (relational coupling), operational perception alignment (cognitive coupling) and goal and strategic alignment (material coupling). (shrink)

Although spiritual practices such as prayer are engaged by many to support well‐being and coping, little research has addressed nurses and prayer, whether for themselves or facilitating patients' use of prayer. We conducted a qualitative study to explore how prayer (as a proxy for spirituality and religion) is manifest—whether embraced, tolerated, or resisted—in healthcare, and how institutional and social contexts shape how prayer is understood and enacted. This paper analyzes interviews with 21 nurses in Vancouver and London as a subset (...) of the larger study. Findings show that nurses' kindness can buffer the loneliness and exclusion of ill health and in this way support the “spirit” of those in their care. Spiritual support for patients rarely incorporated prayer, in part because of ambiguities about permission and professional boundaries. Nurses' engagement with prayer and spiritual support could become a politicized site of religious accommodation, where imposition, religious illiteracy, and racism could derail person‐centered care and consequently enact social exclusion. Spiritual support (including prayer) sustained nurses themselves. We propose that nursing's equity‐oriented knowledge encompass spirituality and religion as sites of exclusion and inclusion. Nurses must be supported to move past religious illiteracy to provide culturally and spiritually sensitive care with clarity about professional boundaries and collaborative models of spiritual care. (shrink)

En el trabajo se propone difundir la teoría y los enfoques referidos a la ciencia de la sostenibilidad, con especial énfasis en el contexto académico cubano, al relacionar su emergencia a las urgencias que surgen en los vínculos entre la ciencia, la naturaleza y la sociedad, así como mostrar las articulaciones de la Ciencia de la Sostenibilidad con la política científica, la educación universitaria y la salud pública. In this paper, the theory and the approaches of the science of sustainability (...) is promoted. Special emphasis is put on the academic Cuban context, when relating its emergence to the urgencies that appear within the links among science, nature and society. The interconnections of the science of sustainability with the scientific policy, the university education and the public health is shown as well as. (shrink)

My aim in this paper is to show the necessity and possibility of implementing inclusive development that is sustainable in Africa-China relations using the Conversational technique. I contend that the foremost challenges facing inclusive and sustainable developments are the dearth of constructive and balanced relationships. If a programme of development is constructive, that is, takes into consideration every relevant variable and practicable measure, it would be sustainable; and if it is balanced, that is, being fair to all groups, it would (...) be inclusive. Michelle and Paula have proposed that inclusive development is possible through a community-based strategy. This approach is bedeviled with difficulties which conversational thinking overcomes. Conversational thinking is a new approach in philosophical cogitation developed from the African place, but universally relevant. Its significance lies in the fact that it recognises the relevance of contending variables in a given project, and creates room for their creative engagement that opens new vistas for thought, concepts and interactions. Conversational thinking prioritises relationships that exist among development variables or groups designated as either nwansa or nwanju and purveys strategies for making such relationships constructive and balanced. In highlighting the importance of cultivating constructive and balanced relationships and sustaining the same, I appeal to conversational philosophy as the needed pathway for the implementation of the ideals of sustainable-inclusive development in Africa-China relations. My methods will be expository, prescriptive and analytic. Keywords : Sustainability, Inclusive Development, Conversational Thinking, Chimakonam, Africa-China Relations. (shrink)

Controversies around large-scale development projects offer many cases and insights which may be analyzed through the lenses of corporate social (_ir_)responsibility (CS_I_R) and business ethics studies. In this paper, we confront the CSR narratives and strategies of _WeBuild_ (formerly known as _Salini Impregilo_), an Italian transnational construction company. Starting from the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas), we collect evidence from NGOs, environmental justice organizations, journalists, scholars, and community leaders on socio-environmental injustices and controversies surrounding 38 large hydropower schemes built (...) by the corporation throughout the last century. As a counter-reporting exercise, we code (un)sustainability discourses from a plurality of sources, looking at their discrepancy under the critical lenses of post-normal science and political ecology, with environmental justice as a normative framework. Our results show how the mismatch of narratives can be interpreted by considering the voluntary, self-reporting, non-binding nature of CSR accounting performed by a corporation wishing to grow in a global competitive market. Contributing to critical perspectives on political CS(I)R, we question the reliability of current CSR mechanisms and instruments, calling for the inclusion of complexity dimensions in and a re-politicization of CS(I)R accounting and ethics. We argue that the fields of post-normal science and political ecology can contribute to these goals. (shrink)

Drawing on the disciplines of Islamic and Christian Ethics, International Affairs, Environmental Science, History and Anthropology, Sustainable Diplomacy: Ecology, Religion and Ethics in Muslim-Christian Relations is a highly constructive work. Set in the context of modern Moroccan-Spanish relations, this text is a direct critique of realism as it is practiced in modern diplomacy. Proposing a new eco-centric approach to relations between nation-states and bioregions, Wellman presents the case for Ecological Realism, an undergirding philosophy for conducting a diplomacy that values the (...) role of popular religions, ecological histories, and the consumption and waste patterns of national populations. Sustainable Diplomacy is thus a means of building relations not only between elites but also between people on the ground, as they together face the real possibility of global ecological destruction. (shrink)

After decades of postcolonial development planning in the former colonies of Africa, one question that has been asked over and over again concerns how much has changed in Africa since the launch of what used to be called the first, second, third and other development decades. There is no doubt that national development policies and plans have played significant roles in influencing the direction of the post-political-independence development processes in Africa. This paper argues, however, that far more serious attention needs (...) to be paid by the African public to the important contributions that the nature of their development plans can make in the transformations of their lives. This paper uses development plans as an exemplar of social mechanisms in critical realist philosophy and argues that the development planning authorities in Africa need to take seriously the nature of the relations between their ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ sectors in the formulation and implementation of their development plans. (shrink)

The preschool education profession often faces many challenges and preschool teachers, as important members of the preschool education profession must respond to a variety of emergencies with young children, which also leads to high levels of job stress and can have a negative impact on their ongoing well-being. Past research has pointed out that a healthy lifestyle is one of the key factors in enhancing sustainable well-being in high-stress work situations and many studies have found that good leisure activity engagement (...) as a healthy lifestyle is associated with higher levels of well-being. However, the relationship between preschool teachers’ leisure engagement and sustainable well-being has been less explored. Therefore, this study proposed seven research hypotheses based on the engagement theory proposed by Fredricks et al. and developed a research model to explore the relationship between three types of leisure engagement, including behavioral, affective and cognitive, and preschool teachers’ job stress and sustainable well-being, using age as a control variable. This study used a cross-sectional web-based questionnaire with a convenience sample of 500 preschool teachers in China. The collected data were analyzed for reliability and validity, model fit testing and structural equation modeling for model validation after removing invalid data and incomplete responses. The results of the study showed that behavioral engagement was not related with either the job stress or sustainable well-being of preschool teachers; Emotional and cognitive engagement were negatively related to job stress but positively related to the sustainable well-being of preschool teachers; and Job stress was negatively related to the sustainable well-being of preschool teachers; Age is an effective control variable. From the above results, it is clear that not all three types of leisure engagement are effective in terms of reducing the work stress of preschool teachers. As well as being related to the sustainable well-being of preschool teachers emotional and cognitive engagement contributed more to sustainable well-being acquisition. (shrink)

Drawing from research on strategic choice, this study investigates the relationship between market turbulence and firms’ sustainable behavior, in the context of sustainability-related institutional adversity. It argues that the relationship between market turbulence and sustainability is mediated by network embeddedness, and this mediating role in turn is moderated by a firm’s innovative orientation. Data collected from a sample of Ontario restaurants inform predictions about firms’ propensity to adopt local wines in their portfolios, despite the limited market and normative support that (...) these wines receive compared with imported wines. The study shows that market turbulence enhances sustainable firm behavior, through the development of strong network relationships. Furthermore, the mediating effect of network embeddedness is particularly salient among firms that exhibit a stronger innovative orientation. These findings reveal how and when turbulent market conditions can contribute to a firm’s sustainable behaviors in the presence of limited institutional support for such behaviors. (shrink)

The paper analyses the meaning and implementation of the notion of sustainable development from the viewpoint of Henryk Skolimowski’s eco-philosophy. Skolimowski formulates a radical criticism of the Western civilisation with its dominating forms of rationality and the resulting technological implementations. In his opinion, this system is a source of imbalance both in the nature and social life of people in the global scale, which results in various types of civilizational crises. We will particularly pay attention to the theoretical proposals formulated (...) by Skolimowski in his The Genius of Light and Sacredness of Life. In this work he refers to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s vision of evolutionary philosophy, enriched with his own original philosophical ideas. Skolimowski particularly emphasises the emergence of the photosynthesis phenomenon, and subsequently logo- and theo-synthesis in evolution process. He claims that these are the forms of light condensation whose laws of development control our planet as well as the whole cosmos. The human species participates in this process taking part in the evolutionarily developing possibilities of transcendence and self-realisation. As Skolimowski suggests, the process of self-realisation and transcending should manifest the character of the conscious self-limitation of man in his relations and interactions with nature and society. The idea of cosmic ethics, of imperative character, developed by him is to serve this purpose. (shrink)

This paper explores stakeholder relations of sustainable banks as organizations that simultaneously pursue the community development and market profitability goals. The study features the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), an international group of 62 financial institutions and 16 strategic partners, which collectively hold $200 billion USD of assets under management. Using the organizational identity orientation framework (Brickson, 2005, 2007), it reveals that, contrary to widely held assumptions that community-focused organizations serve a broad common good purpose, sustainable banks take (...) a relational stance based on effectively prioritizing community issues aligned with their missions and establishing strong partnerships with selected counterparts. Sustainable banks approach their stakeholder relations through the relational identity orientation expressed in the practices of inclusion of affected communities, full incorporation of local needs, philanthropic inclusiveness, transparency and power balance among stakeholders, governmental commitments, and relational hiring and socializing. (shrink)

This volume provides an extensive overview of the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence for the Sustainable Development Goals. The authors are experts contributing with perspectives from different fields. The comprehensive collection of chapters illustrates the pressing governance problems related to using AI for the SDGs, and case studies describing how AI is advancing and can advance the achievement of the Goals. Students, scholars, and practitioners working on AI for SDGs, the ethical governance of AI, sustainability, and the fourth revolution can find (...) this book a helpful reference. (shrink)

The meaning of welfare and the conditions for making it sustainable seemingly are related. This is at least a common idea in current discussions with the implicit assumption that conditions conducive to general welfare improvements also will secure certain sustainability objectives. In this chapter, we challenge this by way of a conceptual analysis of welfare, focused on its descriptive adequacy. Although there are different substantial theories about welfare, they all have to account for its subject-relative nature: individual welfare is whatever (...) is good for an individual from their own point of reference. Sustainability, on the other hand, is the normative requirement that economic growth and development must not be pursued to the detriment of geographically and temporally distant others. With these clarifications of relevant concepts, we provide a tentative argument against certain ‘win-win arguments’ of ‘sustainable welfare’. To respect the sustainability proviso means leaving some sources of welfare untapped, which, although it does not guarantee a decrease, neither assures an increase in welfare. We end by introducing the concept of social capital as an alternative way of accommodating the sustainability proviso. This would imply balancing individual sacrifices in welfare with mobilisation of social capital for the collective good of sustainability. (shrink)

This book addresses the theme of global sustainable development across two dimensions.First it introduces its progress and prospects in both rich and poor countries. It then outlines the major trends that will in practice influence the direction of sustainable development into the next century. It encompasses an understanding of sustainable development as both a theoretical framework for thinking about how to deal with human needs and environmental limits on the one hand, and a more material understanding of it as a (...) set of practices, on the other.The book is written by a group of internationally-recognised experts in the field, and is distinctive in offering a variety of philosophical and ethical reflections on sustainable development. Core issues covered include economic growth, poverty reduction, future generations, technology, population and diversity, making it an ideal text for students.Key Features: The only available text to introduce the philosophical and ethical issues surrounding sustainable developmentContributors are internationally-renowned experts in the field and include activists and policy makers, as well as academicsCore areas include global equality, technology, women and populationAn ideal course textbook for Politics, Philosophy and International Relations student. (shrink)

Along with the developments in social, scientific, and technological fields, today’s conditions are constantly changing and becoming much more complex. Humans must keep pace with the rapidly changing world, meet requirements, and solve various problems encountered with minimal damage. One of the most crucial obligations is to preserve the delicate balance between nature and culture to make it sustainable for humanity. This study is carried out pursuant to semiotics with an interdisciplinary perspective dealing with the relation of culture with (...) nature and the role of humans, as a subject, in this relation regarding both natural and cultural heritages of Latmos. The study examines the subject’s acts and possible influences on nature, culture, and society in the region. It is seen that there is an uphill battle between two different subjects; the reason for this is a conflict of interest encountered on individual and social planes. On the one hand, one of the subjects is aware of the positive effects of preserving natural and cultural values on society and its future. On the other hand, another subject is unaware of all these or is aware of them but ignores natural and cultural values and destroys them for the sake of self-interest. (shrink)

This analysis of the emergent automated vehicle technology focuses on the friction at its interface with society, clouding its future. The sequential focus of development → deployment is reconfigured as reciprocal: society ↔ technology. A best path forward is presented that incorporates environmental and social sustainability factors as they relate to climate change and public health. The path’s signpost is automated electric vehicles deployed in public and private fleets. This course has promise to recover automobility from the damaging, unsustainable legacy (...) of personal internal combustion vehicles—highlighted by their toxic and carbon emissions, and road casualties. (shrink)

The epistemic basing relation is the relation occurring between a belief and a reason when the reason is the reason for which the belief is held. It marks the distinction between a belief's being justifiable for a person, and the person's being justified in holding the belief. As such, it is an essential component of any complete theory of epistemic justification. ;I survey and evaluate all theories of the basing relation that I am aware of published between (...) 1965 and 1995. These include causal theories, , theories involving pseudo-overdetermination relations , theories involving what a person would appeal to in defense of her beliefs , and doxastic theories , involving an appeal to meta-beliefs. My discussion of these theories includes a detailed analysis of variations of Lehrer's case of the gypsy lawyer which, I show, can be reformulated to pose a decisive objection to causal theories, if not causal analyses, of the basing relation. ;Rejecting all published theories, I present a new kind of causal analysis of the basing relation which I call the causal-doxastic theory. This theory states that a belief is based on a reason if the reason bears an appropriate causal relation to the belief, or, it does not bear such a causal relation, but an appropriate meta-belief is present. A causal analysis of which meta-beliefs are appropriate is given, so as to count as inappropriate rationalizations, mistaken meta-beliefs, etc. In developing the causal-doxastic theory, I present a solution to the problem of deviant causal chains, a discussion of the causal sustaining of beliefs, an account of rejecting reasons, and a partial analysis of showing that one is justified. I then discuss implications of my theory regarding foundationalism, inference, basic and non-basic belief, holistic and linear coherentism, process reliabilism, internalism and externalism, and various closure principles. (shrink)

Paradoxically, the rise of neoliberal economic thinking and its rejection of concepts of both state intervention in the economy and the pursuit of purposes bybusiness that are not directly related to profit maximization, has been accompanied by intensified social criticism of business and concerns about sustainability. The article explores the implications of these paradoxes and relates them to active consumerism and to the issue of market externalities.

While public discourse emphasizes the social role of businesses, a gap remains between the theory and practice observed in corporate strategies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the UN 2030 Agenda. Many studies have pointed to the lack of research on uncommon teaching methodologies to develop reflexivity and critical thinking in future managers as a meta knowledge being more inclusive of SDGs in the future. This gap causes educators and researchers in the marketing management field to continuously (...) question the adequacy of current teaching methodologies. This paper uses new lenses to address this gap. Using reflexivity model in case studies and relating it to bounded agency, this paper aims to explore how adopting reflexivity in higher education programs in the fields of business and marketing prepares future managers to embrace SDGs. The results underline the importance of the educator as a facilitator, as well as the student's engagement in: semi-structured reflexivity, decontextualization, recontextualization, deconstruction as a path to a mindset involving SDGs and awareness of contexts, paradigms, and meta analytic dimensions. Practical implications around pedagogy depict practices to be adopted in order to facilitate, develop, and diffuse SDG-related reflexivity and critical thinking with a long-term strategic ambition to make sustainability development an “ordinary” business paradigm. (shrink)

Each of four sections in this paper sketches the philosophical problems associated with a different dimension of sustainability. The untitled introductory section surveys the oft-noted discrepancies between different notions of sustainability, and notes that one element of the ambiguity relates to the different points of view taken by a participant in a system and a detached observer of the system. The second section, “Sustainability as a System Describing Concept,” examines epistemological puzzles that arise when one attempts to assess the truth (...) or falsity of claims that attribute sustainability or non-sustainability. In particular, such claims generally presume bounded systems, but boundary conditions are value-laden. The third section, “Sustainability as a Goal Prescribing Concept,” examines puzzles that arise in attempting to define sustainability in normative terms. In particular, the question of whether sustainability is an intrinsic or instrumental value is examined. The final section, “Sustainability and Bliss,” offers an analysis of the moral responsibilities that human beings have, given the fact that knowledge of conditions for achieving sustainability can never be complete. (shrink)

To add to the currently limited research on the degree of cultural uniqueness of Chinese EFL learners’ anxiety and the multidimensional nature of second language writing anxiety (SLWA), the present qualitative study used think-aloud protocol and interview to examine Chinese EFL learners’ three dimensions of SLWA and the related variables, so as to probe into this problem that could pose an obstacle to sustainable second language writing. Findings showed that Chinese EFL learners experienced much Cognitive Anxiety, but relatively little Avoidance (...) Behavior. Learner-internal, teacher-related, and human-external variables interacted with SLWA in a dynamic way. To a certain degree, Chinese EFL learners showcased uniqueness in some aspects of SLWA, under cultural influences, regarding ethnic culture, local culture, academic culture, and disciplinary culture. (shrink)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most employees face increasing career-related stress, particularly those who work in multinational corporations, because the international travel constraints prevent them from going back to their families. Hence, it is imperative to investigate the critical impact of employees’ occupational burnout on career-related outcomes. In response, this research explores the moderating effect of OB on the relationships between career competencies and career sustainability. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of relevant issues, we adopted a mixed-method research design (...) that includes both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Findings indicate that all the three dimensions of CCs were positively related to CS; moreover, OB negatively moderated the individual relationships of CC and BC with CS. The main contribution of this study is to enrich the existing career literature by addressing the critical moderating role of OB in the links of CC and BC individually with CS. Practical implications are also discussed in this study. (shrink)

Sustainability and welfare are concepts that are often mentioned in the context of fishing and fish farming. What these concepts imply in practice, how they are defined and made operational is less clear. This paper focuses on the role of fish buyers as a key actor in the supply chain between the fisher or fish farmer and the consumer. Using semi-structured interviews, we explore and analyze whether and how the interviewed fish buyers define and implement moral values related to animal (...) welfare and sustainability. The eight fish buyers who were interviewed suggest that moral values are used in their work, but also result in a number of value conflicts (moral and non-moral). The focus on sustainability and animal welfare appear to be driven by external and market factors. Sustainability mainly reflects fishing methods and quotas and fish welfare is seen as part of sustainability. Fish welfare seems more important for farmed than for wild fish as the buyers feel a responsibility regarding these kept animals. Further, the decision whether a product is sustainable is mainly based on labels. Fish buyers argue that labels are useful as a business-to-business tool. Nonetheless, based on the interviews, we argue that the relevance of these labels for addressing the ethical dilemmas of buyers is limited. Labels often are a rather procedural solution that deals with the genuine dilemmas only to a limited extent. We conclude that in order to move forward, the sector needs to further reflect and elaborate on its core values. (shrink)

Vietnam, with a geographical proximity and a high volume of trade with China, was the first country to record an outbreak of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2. While the country was expected to have a high risk of transmission, as of April 4, 2020—in comparison to attempts to contain the disease around the world—responses from Vietnam are being seen as prompt and effective in protecting the interests of its citizens, (...) with 239 confirmed cases and no fatalities. This study analyzes the situation in terms of Vietnam’s policy response, social media and science journalism. A self-made web crawl engine was used to scan and collect official media news related to COVID-19 between the beginning of January and April 4, yielding a comprehensive dataset of 14,952 news items. The findings shed light on how Vietnam—despite being under-resourced—has demonstrated political readiness to combat the emerging pandemic since the earliest days. Timely communication on any developments of the outbreak from the government and the media, combined with up-to-date research on the new virus by the Vietnamese science community, have altogether provided reliable sources of information. By emphasizing the need for immediate and genuine cooperation between government, civil society and private individuals, the case study offers valuable lessons for other nations concerning not only the concurrent fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also the overall responses to a public health crisis. (shrink)

This paper examines the implications for sustainability policy of environmental uncertainty and indeterminacy, and relates the associated problems with a conventional understanding of sustainable development to Hayek's critique of collective planning. It suggests that the appropriate recourse is not, however, a Hayekian endorsement of the free market, but an extension of his key idea of spontaneous order to characterise the learning society. The argument is illustrated by a practical application: the analysis of natural capital explored in this Special Issue is (...) shown to be directly relevant to the improvement of the UK's headline sustainability indicators package. (shrink)

Teacher education students, as an important reserve in the field of education, their growth and development are related to the future of science, economy, sustainable development of education. Through participation in the educational practice of STEAM, which integrates science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics is more beneficial for them to acquire 21st century skills like communication, collaboration, learning innovation and critical thinking. However, little has been seen about the use and effectiveness of short videos in STEAM education activities and how (...) they can be used to support and promote teacher education students STEAM learning performance and sustainable inquiry behaviors. Therefore, this study combines the framework of triadic reciprocity determinism theory and technology acceptance theory to propose six research hypotheses and develop a research model to explore the relationship between collaborative self-efficacy, perceived usefulness of short videos, perceived ease of use, STEAM learning performance and teacher education students’ sustainable inquiry behavior. To achieve the purpose of this study, this study used purposive sampling and invited teacher education students from five classes of preschool education at a university in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, to participate in this study. A total of 8 h of instructional guidance was provided over a four-week period, in which participants used short videos for collaborative group learning and independent inquiry and applied STEAM concepts to kindergarten science activities. Participants’ STEAM performance was measured and surveyed during the fourth week. The results of the study validation showed that teacher education students CS-E had a positive effect on the PU and PEOU of short videos; Teacher’s education students PEOU of short videos had a positive effect on usefulness; Teacher’s education students PU and PEOU of short videos had a positive effect on STEAM learning performance; Teacher’s education students’ STEAM learning performance had a positive effect on sustainable inquiry behavior. (shrink)

What kind of futures does agro-food imaginaries enable and who can get involved in the making of agro-food futures? In this respect, what can the increasingly influential idea of circular economy potentially offer in terms of enabling more sustainable agrofood futures? We approach this task by first outlining the interconnected challenges that the agro-food system is facing related to environmental degradation, economic crises and social problems. Then we consider the way these challenges are being addressed in agro-food studies. We argue (...) that agro-food research in recent years has seen important contributions in relation to studies of alternative food networks and the “quality” turn. These research agendas have challenged the current logic of the food system in terms of offering alternative visions of future development. We highlight two examples from the literature—the eco-economy and the integrated territorial agri-food paradigm—that develop broader frameworks for rethinking the future of the agro-food system and which have distinguished themselves in contrast to the industrialized and globalized conventional food system. We find that with respect to reorienting and reconfiguring economic structures and relations all three approaches share a common goal, but circular economy stands out in relation to the actors that are included by, for example, emphasizing collaborations and partnerships with extant agro-food businesses. Also with regards to scalar politics, it would be prudent to consider the potentials offered by the increasingly influential ideas around circular economy. (shrink)

Sustainable development (SD) – that is, “Development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations” – can be pursued in many different ways. Stakeholder relations management (SRM) is one such way, through which corporations are confronted with economic, social, and environmental stakeholder claims. This paper lays the groundwork for an empirical analysis of the question of how far SD can be achieved through SRM. It describes the so-called SD–SRM (...) perspective as a distinctive research approach and shows how it relates to the wider body of stakeholder theory. Next, the concept of SD is operationalized for the microeconomic level with reference to important documents. Based on the ensuing SD framework, it is shown how SD and SRM relate to each other, and how the two concepts relate to other popular concepts such as Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. The paper concludes that the significance of societal guiding models such as SD and of management approaches like CSR is strongly dependent on their footing in society. (shrink)

Sustainability, and the related concept of climate change, is an emerging domain within nursing and nurse education. Climate change has been posited as a serious global health threat requiring action by health professionals and action at international level. Anåker & Elf undertook a concept analysis of sustainability in nursing based on Walker and Avant's framework. Their main conclusions seem to be that while defining attributes and cases can be established, there is not enough research into sustainability in the nursing literature. (...) This paper seeks to develop their argument to argue that sustainability in nursing can be better understood by accessing non‐nursing and grey literature and, for example, the literature in the developing web‐based ‘paraversity’. Without this understanding, and application in nursing scholarship, nurses will have a rather narrow understanding of sustainability and its suggested links with social and health inequalities and the dynamics underpinning unsustainable neoliberalist political economy. This understanding is based on the social and political determinants of health approach and the emerging domain of planetary health. However, this is a major challenge as it requires a critical reflection on what counts as nursing knowledge, a reflection which might reject sustainability and political economy as irrelevant to much of nursing practice. (shrink)

For more than 20 years, sustainable development has been advocated as a way of tackling growing global environmental and social problems. The sustainable development discourse has always had a strong technological component and the literature boasts an enormous amount of debate on which technologies should be developed and employed and how this can most efficiently be done. The mainstream discourse in sustainable development argues for an eco-efficiency approach in which a technology push strategy boosts efficiency levels by a factor 10 (...) and more in industrialised and developing countries. A minority argues for a socio-cultural lifestyle switch, relying on new values, quality of life, sufficiency and redistribution strategies, with calls for appropriate and soft technologies. It is remarkable, however, that the articles, books and policy debates on sustainability seldom explicitly draw in a discussion of the nature of technology, how technology influences and is influenced by society, and what this implies for sustainable development. The mainstream interprets technology as neutral and instrumental: technology is no more than an instrument to reach a goal; it cannot be judged on its intrinsic characteristics, only on its use. The alternative view often builds on an autonomous and substantive interpretation of technology: technology is an autonomous, almost uncontrollable power that fundamentally reshapes our culture. A more balanced approach seems to be growing in the research on socio-technical sustainability transitions where the focus shifts to the co-evolution of technology and society, and to the networks, seamless webs and complex multi-actor processes that may carry a sustainability transition forward. This approach builds on insights from recent traditions in the philosophy and sociology of technology, in particular the social construction of technology (SCOT) and actor-network theory (ANT). While this provides for a better understanding of the nature and potential role of technology in sustainability policies, it remains to be seen whether it will actually influence the choice between technologies. This article investigates the different conceptualisations of technology in the sustainability debate. It first distinguishes between different approaches of sustainability and how these are related to differing views on technology. It then moves on to how the socio-technical transitions research incorporates insights from contemporary philosophy and sociology of technology. It reflects on the potential of transitions research to give guidance in technology choices, suggesting that the transition approach might be strengthened by drawing in insights from critical theory of technology and by taking a more political stance in defining sustainable development. (shrink)