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| Action research is an approach in social science research that combines investigation and transformation of social problems within the research process and enables social groups to participate in democratic decision procedures. By experiments in real settings, action, research and learning of all participants are recursively combined as a triangle to develop at the same time valid knowledge and the competences of the social groups to solve the problems. | |
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Adaptive management was developed in the USA in the 1970s. The aim of Adaptive Management is to manage natural resources on the basis of a trial and error approach. It involves close collaboration between research and practice. Institutional innovations, transparency with regard to uncertainty and participation are key aspects of this approach. |
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The assessment of chemicals approach integrates scientific and ethical criteria for the assessment of the distribution of chemicals in the environment. It aims to combine scientific criteria and the precautionary principle. The scientific analysis is based on the two criteria of persistence (i.e. life span of a chemical) and spatial reach. |
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The case study method was developed by the Department of Environmental Sciences at the ETH in Zurich for an interdisciplinary undergraduate course. The problem definition is taken from a concrete real-life situation for which a decision has to be taken. The method is structured in three distinct phases. The first phase involves the framing of the problem, the second involves e formulation and collection of the required knowledge and the third phase involves knowledge synthesis. The projects involve collaboration between lecturers from several departments of the ETH, students and external experts. |
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| The NSSI case study method was developed by the group Environmental Sciences: Natural and Social Science Interface (NSSI) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) for a transdisciplinary undergraduate course. The NSSI case study encompasses teaching, research and application. Each case study team’s activity starts with a comprehensive understanding of the case and its set of problems. The case protagonists are „systems experts of another kind“: Their co-operation with students and lecturers not only concerns the definition of problems but the elabotation of orietantions as well. The goal is to achieve a „mutual learning„ process. Both sides stand to gain equally from this dialogue. | |
| Ecological economics was developed during the 1970s in the USA with the aim of integrating ecology and economics. The metaphor of a co-evolution of ecological and economic systems lies at the centre of this approach. In contrast to comparable approaches such as human ecology, ecological economics is rooted directly in classical macroeconomics. Ecological services of ecosystems is a key term in ecological economics. | |
| As part of its Green Hydropower project, the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG) developed a label for eco-friendly electricity. In this project, an interdisciplinary team of scientists from the social, natural and economic sciences are working with experts from outside academia. | |
| The keyword "History of Materials" covers approaches which analyse the historical development of the social integration of materials using both historical and scientific methods. | |
| Human ecology is grounded in geography and aims to develop an integrative perspective on man-environment relationships. This is often done by combining concepts from evolution and system theory. | |
| Industrial ecology focuses on the sustainable conversion of industrial systems. Material-flow analysis and life-cycle assessment are important methods used as part of this approach. | |
| Integrated assessment is a broad research field that focuses on the integrative assessment of the social, economic and ecological consequences of environmental change. An important part of integrated assessment is the combined assessment of the impacts of climate change. Complex computer simulation models are an important instrument used in integrated assessment. | |
| Livelihood approaches deal with the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. | |
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MAB is a research program that was initiated by UNESCO and aims at establishing an integrative understanding of coupled ecological and social systems on a regional scale. A MAB project on the Alps and tourism was carried out in Switzerland in the 1980s. |
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| The need field approach was developed as part of the Swiss Priority Program Environment (SPP Environment). Its basic assumption is that research questions focused on sustainability must be derived from real-life problems. A reduction of the complexity is achieved by applying an approach derived from human action theory. Human actions in a need field, e.g. nutrition, provide the focus for the framing of the problem. The objective of the project was to identify strategies for sustainable nutrition in Switzerland. The heuristic approach "options and restrictions" was developed for this purpose. | |
| Political ecology deals with the complex relationships between socio-political systems and ecological problems. | |
| In real-world experiments, controlled interventions are carried out under natural (real) conditions and their effects on the dynamics of investigated systems are observed in a process of recursive design. | |
| Based on the metaphors of metabolism, colonialisation and cultural evolution, an interdisciplinary group of social and natural scientists at the Department of Social Ecology at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Austrian Universities (IFF) is developing a transdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between nature and society. | |
| This transdisciplinary approach to sustainability was initiated by the Institute for Socio-Ecological Research (SOE) in Frankfurt and aims to establish a systematic linkage of knowledge concerning systems, goals and implementation strategies and deals with associated methodical problems. | |
| Sustainability indicators serve in the operationalisation of the sustainability concept. The three pillars of sustainability: society, economy and ecology necessitate an interdisciplinary approach. | |
| The syndrome approach was developed by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The approach aims to identify recurring local patterns of global change which are known as syndromes. These global syndromes represent patterns of anthropogenic degradation of the environment. The understanding of the functional interrelations between the identified syndromes provide the basis for the development of problem solving strategies. | |
| The SYNOIKOS project is a collaborative project being implemented by the Institutes of Architecture and Urban Design and Resource and Waste Management at the ETH in Zurich. The aim of the project is to create scenarios for the sustainable conversion of a Swiss urban region. The method aims to establish a link between scientific material-flow analyses and urban design. | |
| Systems analysis and modelling cover the analysis of systemic relationships as well as their mathematical description in models. Their aim is to describe complex phenomena by changing values of variables. | |
| The Earth Systems Analysis approach was developed by the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (PIK). Its aim is to attain a better understanding of coupled natural and societal systems. The synthesis of the results is based on mathematical models and metaphors drawn from cybernetics. | |
| Technology Assessment (TA) attempts to provide policymakers with a rational basis for their decisions. TA proceeds in an interdisciplinary way: ideally, social, economic, technical, legal, ecological etc. aspects are dealt with together. From a methodological point of view, there is TA that focuses on expert knowledge and there are participatory forms that integrate interest groups, decision-makers and lay people directly in the TA process. Modern, "constructive" TA studies attempt to get involved at a very early stage of the development of a new technology and to shape its very development. | |
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