Search results

The purpose of this paper is to refer to ecological economics using two meanings of the term “ecological”. In the strict scientific sense, ecological economics refers to an economic system that is consistent with and honors the basic principles of ecology, which, ultimately, are identical with what the authors call the systemic principles of life. In a broader sense ecological economics refers to economic theory and practice that see the economy as operating within, rather than dominating, the spheres of nature, society, and culture.

The authors distill four fundamental principles for ecological economics based on systems theory of life and philosophy of organism. The four principles are; nested systems, self-generating networks, open systems, and cognitive interactions. The authors discuss how these principles can be applied to design an ecological economic system that is life-enhancing on individual, social and ecological levels.

The authors argue that ecological economics should give priority to activities that maximize well-being of human and non-human beings, as well as entire ecosystems, and that its central purpose should be to serve the life processes in social and ecological systems.

In this paper, the authors connect ecological economics to systems theory and come up with principles relevant for developing economic theory and practice within, rather than dominating, the spheres of nature, society, and culture.

This conceptual paper aims to explore ecoliteracy in education as originated in Fritjof Capra's ongoing efforts to foster ecological awareness through schools. Future leaders as ecoliterate will have developed an enhanced perception, a sense of value‐judgment in experience and sustainable self and other relations.

The argument is supported by contemporary science of the complementary pairs as based on coordination dynamics.

The paper presents Capra's work positioning it alongside new “transdisciplinary education”. The paper argues for the critical examination of the particular structure of knowledge able to inform/develop ecoliteracy, as well as of the nature of educational leadership.

The paper revisits John Dewey's philosophy and his pragmatic inquiry as especially significant for developing ecological thinking and presents his method of deliberation as remarkably similar to “imaginative narrative”, one of the methodologies of futures studies.

Reports statistics that show that the number of economics majors in the USA achieved a peak in 1989‐90 but had declined by 11 percent by 1993 and experienced further 8.8 percent drop from 1992‐93 to 1993‐94 while at the same time the number of overall Bachelor’s degrees granted in all fields climbed steadily. Examines the possible causes for this decline in numbers and explores two possible outcomes and their effects on the discipline of economics.

The world needs more Eastern knowledge and, ergo, more consciousness. Humanity will unlikely experience a quantum leap in consciousness if we keep ignoring Eastern and other sources of perennial wisdom in the design and development of our socioeconomic and ecological systems. This chapter aims to bridge the consciousness gap by exploring the meaning and application of Buddhist and Taoist systems thinking to regenerative systemic leadership, design, development and sustainable transformation.

The essence of the ecological crisis is not that resources are out of reach, but that the relationship between living beings has deteriorated. For this reason, ecology cannot simply be seen as a scientific matter but rather as a genuine social problem that requires social actions.

The law in its present form falls short of managing ecological problems despite the fact that the right to a natural environment is recognized in most jurisdictions as a basic one and that international covenants have been created to protect the natural environment. Environmental law ought to bring about a reverence for life and promote the cooperation of biotic communities. A legal system given to innovation could offer foresight-based regulation, integration of the ensemble of living beings, and cooperation in the living world. One of the main challenges the law has to meet is the exploration of a theoretically established and practically viable basis for extending its influence to address the problems of future generations.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a hierarchically structured system of regenerative architecture indicators for assessing research-educational building projects.

First, based on a literature review of the historical roots of regenerative design and related approaches and the interviews held with experts of the related field, the paper proposes a structured framework of architectural indicators suitable for the context of Tehran. Later, the importance of criteria is estimated by the analytic hierarchy process method based on a survey of experts. Finally, the results clarify the order of indicators’ importance for enhancing research-educational buildings with the aim of developing regenerative design in the context.

The rankings revealed that, in the environmental dimension, “Design of site & building” and “Site & context considerations” are the top priorities of learning spaces in Tehran followed by “Water management,” “Energy management” and “Materials & waste management” ranked as less significant, but still important indicators. In the social dimension, “Design for people & human health” was considered much more important than “Social interaction” and “Interaction with nature,” and in the cultural dimension, “vernacular & historical features of design” was more important than “Aesthetic feature.” In the economic dimension, “Energy storage & production” indicator was ranked highest followed by “Adaptability & multiplicity of design solutions” and “Using waste to produce new resources.” Generally, for achieving regenerative architecture in learning spaces, the environmental criterion was given the highest weight among all dimensions. After that, the higher rank was given to social dimension; while cultural and economic dimensions took the third and fourth place.

The paper has limitations because of the limited number of experts in the field of regenerative approach.

This research seeks to answer the following question: what is the ranking of regenerative architecture indicators in the design of research-educational building projects in the context of Tehran? To answer this question, the indicators of regenerative design in the architectural field are explored through a detailed study of literature and interview with experts of the related field; later, they are ranked based on a survey approach that investigates the opinions of experts. The final results are then explained based on logical analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding. The prioritization of indicators actually provides a simple framework for designers and architects to have a clear path in developing an architectural regenerative project when different contexts vary in influential features. The selection and prioritization of indicators in this research depended mainly on their relevance to the conditions of Tehran and can be used for regions with similar conditions as well.

The purpose of this paper is to learn from successful educational frameworks how to inform a possible framework for design education that includes ecological literacy, systems thinking leading to more sustainable and ecological designs.

The author comparing two models for education, the first being that of the Polynesian Voyaging Society which re-emerged as a cultural and educational framework in Hawaii. Second that of the Center for Ecological Literacy in connection with the edible schoolyard. Both frameworks involve systems thinking.

Certain elements that may inform design education. Among these are attention and vision, values, care for nature, culture, community and learning based on systems thinking, exploration and perception of the environment. Language, traditions and a strong local grounding also play a role in the Hawaiian framework.

The sources are from personal observations in design education and documentation material provided by educators. The groups with which these principles were enacted are children, whereas my goal is to inform a framework for higher education.

The shared characteristics used in the two frameworks might be used to inform curricula for design education from both theoretical perspectives and practical applications.

Polynesian voyaging and ecological literacy have both been very successful as educational frameworks since their implementation. Designing is necessary and design education can possibly learn much from these two examples to adapt to future changes. Ecological literacy, an educational perspective, incorporates ideas around sustainability, networks, nested systems, circularity and flows, and using this knowledge to create “sustainable human communities.” Traditionally this is not part of design education.

Technological innovation is needed to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, recycling and redesigning industrial processes. More fundamental strategy levels need re‐examining: policy models, assumptions, institutional inertia and cultural values fueling today's drive toward increasing unsustainability. This study seeks to examine this issue

Reviews the current scientific debate about the unwarranted predominance of economics in public and private decision making; whether economics is a science or a profession and the demands by mathematicians, physicists and other scientists that the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economics be de‐linked from the original Nobel prizes.

Conventional economic models still drive such unsustainability: the malfunctioning “source codes” replicating traditional industrialism world‐wide. Scientific research on the human brain and ecosystems now refutes most of economics' core tenets. Multi‐disciplinary policies and appropriate metrics beyond money coefficients are needed for steering societies toward sustainability and quality of life.

Strengthens the case for strategies for global sustainability to address current economic models that are driving today's unsustainable forms of globalization.

This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly congruent with a “postmodern” approach to organization. Indeed chaos theory itself is presented as part of a similar postmodern shift within natural science. However, these sentiments have been subject to stinging criticism by scientists. Here, the deterministic underpinning of chaos theory is used to show that chaos theory is an entirely modernist enterprise. In this case the indeterministic messages taken by organizational theorists are something of a misunderstanding. Consequently, I discuss whether this is enough to threaten the interdisciplinary status of chaos theory, particularly when it is used in a self-consciously ‘metaphorical’ fashion.