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Revisiting the “trans-human” Gestalt: Discussing ‘Nature’ and ‘Development’ with Students of Sustainable Business

This article explores the perceptions of development through metaphor use by students of International Business Management Studies at The Hague University. Students’ reflections upon the concepts of nature and development before and after educational intervention are examined through discourse analysis and narrative analysis. Results show that initially students reflect the dominant development paradigm which tends to conflate ‘nature’ with ‘natural resources’. This study suggests that the critical course has the potential to shift the student focus from the unquestioning acceptance of economic development and instrumental view of nature to recognition of more ecologically benign and culturally variable paths to sustainability. In terms of pedagogy, the ‘trans-human’ Gestalt, or mindset conducive to planetary consciousness, may require a distinct type of didactic strategy, discussed in this article. It is concluded that while transformative social learning towards sustainability requires the integrative switching back and forth between the various mindsets, effective, ecologically engaged and critical learning may require a more fixed, committed and above all affirmative action approach. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973408214529989 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/

Controlling the Valves

Conflict lies at the core of urban sustainability transitions and the indispensable structural changes that accompany them. In this chapter we examine the RESILIO project, a multi-actor collaboration in Amsterdam aiming to transition towards a 'climate proof' city through smart water retention systems on urban roofs. The focus is on the conflict that emerged during discussions about controlling the smart valves on the rooftops which are designed to prevent urban flooding. Using a discourse analytical framework, the study analyses participant interactions, conflicting positions, and discursive strategies employed by the partners involved in the initiative. Participants utilised several discursive strategies, including identity, stake, and accountability management, to manage their positions in the conflict and influence the discourse. The study highlights the challenges of addressing conflict that involves redefining accountability and responsibility between public and private actors in the collaborative setting of transition initiatives. By doing so the findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how conflict can shape learning processes and foster sustainable urban transitions.

Unpacking Energy Needs

Accounting for Sexual Issues Related to Cancer

Cancer and its treatments cause significant changes in sexuality that affect the quality of life of both patients and their partners. As these issues are not always discussed with healthcare professionals, cancer patients turn to online health communities to find answers to questions or for emotional support pertaining to sexual issues. By using a discursive psychological perspective, we explore the social actions that participants in online health forums perform when discussing sexuality. Data were collected by entering search terms in the search bars of three online health forums. Our analysis of 213 threads, containing 1,275 posts, provides insight into how participants who present themselves as women with cancer account for their sexual issues and, in doing so, orient to two intertwined norms: Having untroubled sex is part of a couple’s relationship, and male partners are entitled to having untroubled sex. We discuss the potential harmful consequences of orienting to norms related to sexual behaviour. Yet, our findings can also help healthcare professionals in broaching the topic of sexuality in conversations with cancer patients. The insights of this study into what female patients themselves treat as relevant can assist health professionals in better aligning with patients’ interactional concerns.

From efficiency to reduction

This book presents the results of the international research project CODALoop: Community Data Loop for Energy Conscious Lifestyles. It dissects the energy practices that make urban households demanding energy in their daily life and reveals the pathway towards reducing this energy demand.To unpack energy practices, the authors of this volume move away from efficiency problems studying the interaction between human and new technologies. Instead, they use a repertoire of different analytical instruments to study how interaction between humans, and between humans and data, change the social norms that shape energy needs.The volume offers a synthesis of a cross-disciplinary study of energy reduction carried out in three different countries through multiple methodological approaches. The project at the source of the book was funded under the Joint Program Initiative 'Urban Europe' and the ERA-net framework.

Shaping energy norms in digital communities

Reducing energy consumption in urban households is essential for reaching the necessary climate research and policy targets for CO2 reduction and sustainability. The dominant approach has been to invest in technological innovations that increase household energy efficiency. This article moves beyond this approach, first by emphasising the need to prioritise reducing energy demand over increasing energy efficiency and, second, by addressing the challenge of energy consumption at the level of the community, not the individual household. It argues that energy consumption is shaped in and by social communities, which construct consciousness of the energy implications of lifestyle choices. By analysing a specific type of community, a digital community, it looks at the role that communication on online discussion boards plays in the social process of questioning energy needs and shaping a “decent lifestyle”. The article explores three social processes of community interaction around energy practices – coercive, mimetic, and normative – questioning the ways in which they contribute to the activation of energy discursive consciousness. In conclusion, the article reflects on the potential implications of these social processes for future research and interventions aimed at reducing energy demand. To illustrate how the three selected social processes influence one another, the article builds on the results of a research project conducted in Amsterdam, analysing the potential contribution of online discussion boards in shaping energy norms in the Sustainable Community of Amsterdam Facebook group.