Small, Local, and Low-Tech Firms as Agents of Sustainable Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 230-253
Author(s):  
Iana Nesterova
Keyword(s):  
Moral Agency ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Ecological Economics ◽  
Sustainable Change ◽  
World Views ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Ecological Degradation ◽  
Strong Sustainability ◽  
To Receive

With severe ecological degradation unfolding, the strong sustainability approach underpinned by ecological economics calls for a post-growth vision of the economy. This chapter adopts a philosophical perspective of critical realism and argues that such a vision of the economy does not arise on its own. It is the result of intentional transformation of structures by agents, the result of sustainable change. The chapter proposes small, local, and low-tech firms as agents of sustainable change. Such agency needs to be operationalized, which should be done via the development of the moral agency of individuals. The chapter warns that sustainable change is not an easy undertaking, since agents are constrained by structures which operate against it. It concludes that it is not merely concrete practices, but moral agency and the values and world views of individuals that need to receive more attention in investigating sustainable change and bringing about a post-growth world.

The complexity continuum, part 2: modelling harmony

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1626-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Yolles
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Agency Theory ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Viable Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Viable System

PurposeComplex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that includes Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In part 1 the purpose was to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In part 2 the two the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.Design/methodology/approachExplanation is provided for the anticipation of behaviour cross-disciplinary fields of theory dealing with adaptive complex systems. A comparative exploration of the theories is undertaken to elicit concepts relevant to a complexity continuum. These explain how agency behaviour can be anticipated under uncertainty. Also included is a philosophical exploration of the complexity continuum, expressing it in terms of a graduated set of philosophical positions that are differentiated in terms of objects and subjects. These are then related to hard and softer theories in the continuum. Agency theory is then introduced as a framework able to comparatively connect the theories on this continuum, from theories of complexity to viable system theories, and how harmony theories can develop.FindingsAnticipation is explained in terms of an agency’s meso-space occupied by a regulatory framework, and it is shown that hard and softer theory are equivalent in this. From a philosophical perspective, the hard-soft continuum is definable in terms of objectivity and subjectivity, but there are equivalences to the external and internal worlds of an agency. A fifth philosophical position of critical realism is shown to be representative of harmony theory in which internal and external worlds can be related. Agency theory is also shown to be able to operate as a harmony paradigm, as it can explore external behaviour of an agent using a hard theory perspective together with an agent’s internal cultural and cognitive-affect causes.Originality/valueThere are very few comparative explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches in the field of complexity and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony. There is also little pragmatic illustration of a harmony paradigm in action within the context of complexity.

scholarly journals Institutions and moral agency: the case of Scottish banking

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Robson ◽  
Ron Beadle
Keyword(s):  
Moral Agency ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Causal Power ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Corporate Goals ◽  
Moral Choices ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

AbstractIt has been an enduring concern of institutional economics and critical realism to understand how individuals are able to exercise agency in the context of social structures, and to maintain appropriate connections, separations and balances between these two levels of causal power. This paper explores the contribution of Alasdair MacIntyre's neo-Aristotelian philosophy to the topic. Empirical data are provided from the career narratives of senior Scottish bankers recalled in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007/8. The method of the study is interpretive, using themes drawn from MacIntyre's writings. These bankers faced moral choices as tensions developed between their own professional standards and the new corporate goals of the banks. We discuss MacIntyre's understanding of individual moral agency as a narrative quest in the context of different types of institution with different and often conflicting ideas about what constitutes good or right action. Habituation and deliberation are important in enabling action, but fully developed moral agency also depends on individuals being able to make choices in the space opened up by tensions within and between institutions.

scholarly journals Konseptualisasi Pembangunan Komuniti melalui Analisis Konsep Struktur Sosial, Teori Modal Sosial dan Perspektif Realisme Kritikal

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
AHMAD SHUKRI ABDUL HAMID
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Conventional View

This article discusses the conceptualization of community development through sociological analysis of the concept of social structure and social capital through the lenses of critical realism. The main goal of the discussion is to develop a novel conceptual framework of community development using the typical setting of a Malay community that practices the Islamic way of life as the basis. Social capital theory, structuration theory and critical realism philosophical perspective were utilized as the theoretical basis for the development of the framework. The concept of social capital regards the community as incubators for resources deemed crucial for individual and community well-being. The harnessing of these resources in the form of social capital is considered an important factor in the overall process of community development. perspective provide the theoretical basis capable of delineating the processes and mechanisms involved in the production of social capital and thereby increase the community functioning. The resulting conceptual framework provides a non-conventional view of the process of community development and provides better understanding of the role of religious institutions such as the community mosque. Additionally, structuration theory and critical realism  

Minneapolis SLPs to Receive Salary Increase

ASHA Leader ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (19) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Annett
Keyword(s):  
Salary Increase ◽  
To Receive

Older Men Less Likely to Receive Depression Tx

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
ROXANNA GUILFORD-BLAKE
Keyword(s):  
Older Men ◽  
To Receive

The Effects of a Caffeine Placebo and Experimenter Expectation on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Well-Being, and Cognitive Performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Walach ◽  
Stefan Schmidt ◽  
Yvonne-Michelle Bihr ◽  
Susanne Wiesch
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Being There ◽  
To Receive

We studied the effect of experimenter expectations and different instructions in a balanced placebo design. 157 subjects were randomized into a 2 × 4 factorial design. Two experimenters were led to expect placebos either to produce physiological effects or not (pro- vs. antiplacebo). All subjects except a control group received a caffeine placebo. They were either made to expect coffee, no coffee, or were in a double-blind condition. Dependent measures were blood pressure, heart rate, well-being, and a cognitive task. There was one main effect on the instruction factor (p = 0.03) with the group “told no caffeine” reporting significantly better well-being. There was one main effect on the experimenter factor with subjects instructed by experimenter “proplacebo” having higher systolic blood pressure (p = 0.008). There was one interaction with subjects instructed by experimenter “proplacebo” to receive coffee doing worse in the cognitive task than the rest. Subjects instructed by experimenter “antiplacebo” were significantly less likely to believe the experimental instruction, and that mostly if they had been instructed to receive coffee. Contrary to the literature we could not show an effect of instruction, but there was an effect of experimenters. It is likely, however, that these experimenter effects were not due to experimental manipulations, but to the difference in personalities.

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