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The idea that universities should become entrepreneurial, commercialized, private commodities or should serve politicians and governmental agencies has been promoted by the university–industry–government relationship-based Triple Helix approach and is reality in many places. In contrast, a reemphasis on universities serving the public good has been demanded by proponents of transdisciplinary sustainability research. To better understand the tensions between public-good–oriented approaches of transdisciplinarity and entrepreneurial, market-oriented Triple Helix and third-mission approaches of science—practice collaboration, this paper takes a closer look at the history of universities’ roles and functions. We then elucidate the practice of transdisciplinary processes and discuss the “science for and with society” approach of transdisciplinary sustainable transitioning. We argue that transdisciplinarity for producing groundbreaking sociotechnical solutions has to serve (a) the public good and (b) calls for independence, academic freedom, institutionalization, and proper funding schemes. Third-mission conceptions that follow the commercialization/capitalization of scientific knowledge are in conflict with the conception of science and of transdisciplinarity serving sustainable transitioning. The development of groundbreaking ideas for sustainable transitions must acknowledge the complexity and contextualization of real-world settings. Therefore, collaboration between practice and transdisciplinarity calls for the input and cooperation of authentic practitioners, i.e., the experts of practice and real wold complexity. The challenge of transdisciplinarity is to properly relate the fundamental expertise of practice to validated academic rigor. This implies that transdisciplinary research is a critical element of the university’s research mission.
Roland W. Scholz. Transdisciplinarity: science for and with society in light of the university’s roles and functions. Sustainability Science 2020, 15, 1033 -1049.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. Transdisciplinarity: science for and with society in light of the university’s roles and functions. Sustainability Science. 2020; 15 (4):1033-1049.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2020. "Transdisciplinarity: science for and with society in light of the university’s roles and functions." Sustainability Science 15, no. 4: 1033-1049.
This paper presents the main messages of a South American expert roundtable (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of digital transformation. The input of the ERT comprised 39 propositions from 20 experts representing 11 different perspectives. The two-day ERT discussed the main drivers and challenges as well as vulnerabilities or unseens and provided suggestions for: (i) the mechanisms underlying major unseens; (ii) understanding possible ways in which rebound effects of digital transformation may become the subject of overarching research in three main categories of impact: development factors, society, and individuals; and (iii) a set of potential action domains for transdisciplinary follow-up processes, including a case study in Brazil. A content analysis of the propositions and related mechanisms provided insights in the genesis of unseens by identifying 15 interrelated causal mechanisms related to critical issues/concerns. Additionally, a cluster analysis (CLA) was applied to structure the challenges and critical developments in South America. The discussion elaborated the genesis, dynamics, and impacts of (groups of) unseens such as the digital divide (that affects most countries that are not included in the development of digital business, management, production, etc. tools) or the challenge of restructuring small- and medium-sized enterprises (whose service is digitally substituted by digital devices). We identify specific issues and effects (for most South American countries) such as lack of governmental structure, challenging geographical structures (e.g., inclusion in high-performance transmission power), or the digital readiness of (wide parts) of society. One scientific contribution of the paper is related to the presented methodology that provides insights into the phenomena, the causal chains underlying “wanted/positive” and “unwanted/negative” effects, and the processes and mechanisms of societal changes caused by digitalization.
Gabriela Viale Pereira; Elsa Estevez; Diego Cardona; Carlos Chesñevar; Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo; Maria Alexandra Cunha; Eduardo Henrique Diniz; Alex Antonio Ferraresi; Frida Marina Fischer; Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia; Luiz Antonio Joia; Edimara M. Luciano; João Porto De Albuquerque; Carlos O. Quandt; Rodrigo Sánchez Rios; Aurora Sánchez; Eduardo Damião Da Silva; João Silvestre Silva-Junior; Roland W. Scholz. South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation. Sustainability 2020, 12, 718 .
AMA StyleGabriela Viale Pereira, Elsa Estevez, Diego Cardona, Carlos Chesñevar, Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo, Maria Alexandra Cunha, Eduardo Henrique Diniz, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, Frida Marina Fischer, Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia, Luiz Antonio Joia, Edimara M. Luciano, João Porto De Albuquerque, Carlos O. Quandt, Rodrigo Sánchez Rios, Aurora Sánchez, Eduardo Damião Da Silva, João Silvestre Silva-Junior, Roland W. Scholz. South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (2):718.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGabriela Viale Pereira; Elsa Estevez; Diego Cardona; Carlos Chesñevar; Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo; Maria Alexandra Cunha; Eduardo Henrique Diniz; Alex Antonio Ferraresi; Frida Marina Fischer; Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia; Luiz Antonio Joia; Edimara M. Luciano; João Porto De Albuquerque; Carlos O. Quandt; Rodrigo Sánchez Rios; Aurora Sánchez; Eduardo Damião Da Silva; João Silvestre Silva-Junior; Roland W. Scholz. 2020. "South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation." Sustainability 12, no. 2: 718.
We present a Strengths, Vulnerability, and Intervention Assessment related to Digital Threats (SVIDT) method, which provides a problem structuring and decision support for organizational vulnerability and resilience management with respect to changes of the digital transition. The method starts from (i) a multi-level actor analysis, (ii) identifies strengths and weaknesses of organizations, (iii) constructs digital threat scenarios and provides judgment-based expert assessments on the organization's vulnerability, (iv) develops intervention scenarios for tangible threat scenarios, and (v) suggests win-win action scenarios when referring to the multi actor system analysis as for strategic management. A first validation and application include a structural analysis of the response patterns and a quantitative and qualitative appraisal of the organizations’ managers. This validation is based on an application of the method to 18 German and Austrian organizations of different types and magnitudes. We show how the basic concepts of vulnerability (i.e., sensitivity, exposure adaptive capacity) can be quantitatively operationalized when constructing consistent combinations of threat and intervention scenarios. The validation approaches indicate that the method provides meaningful data and assessments and that the managers provided a positive feedback on the method and the recommendations which they received. It is further deliberated whether the assessment method supports organizations’ specified resilience management in an overly complex, systemic digital transition in a (semi)quantitative manner. In addition, we discuss needs for future research regarding practical utility of SVIDT, as well as the positioning of SVIDT in relation to soft operational methods and other methods of operational research.
Roland W. Scholz; Reiner Czichos; Peter Parycek; Thomas J. Lampoltshammer. Organizational vulnerability of digital threats: A first validation of an assessment method. European Journal of Operational Research 2019, 282, 627 -643.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz, Reiner Czichos, Peter Parycek, Thomas J. Lampoltshammer. Organizational vulnerability of digital threats: A first validation of an assessment method. European Journal of Operational Research. 2019; 282 (2):627-643.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz; Reiner Czichos; Peter Parycek; Thomas J. Lampoltshammer. 2019. "Organizational vulnerability of digital threats: A first validation of an assessment method." European Journal of Operational Research 282, no. 2: 627-643.
This article summarizes the panel session “Life Cycle Management approaches to support Circular Economy” of the 8th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM2017 conference, Luxembourg). Four panellists were invited to share their point of view on this topic. Each of them brought a different perspective, addressing the topic from both the academic and industrial point of view; focusing on a raw materials aspect or considering a life cycle (or eco-design) related scope; in the context of a certification process (for products or activities) or of an eco-innovation process (including new business models for circular economy). After short presentation by each of the panellists, the discussion especially addressed the complementarity between several LCM concepts to be considered jointly when developing circular concepts and models.
Sébastien Zinck; Anne-Christine Ayed; Monia Niero; Megann Head; Friedrich-W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz; Stéphane Morel. Life Cycle Management Approaches to Support Circular Economy. Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies 2018, 3 -9.
AMA StyleSébastien Zinck, Anne-Christine Ayed, Monia Niero, Megann Head, Friedrich-W. Wellmer, Roland W. Scholz, Stéphane Morel. Life Cycle Management Approaches to Support Circular Economy. Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies. 2018; ():3-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSébastien Zinck; Anne-Christine Ayed; Monia Niero; Megann Head; Friedrich-W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz; Stéphane Morel. 2018. "Life Cycle Management Approaches to Support Circular Economy." Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies , no. : 3-9.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. Peak gold? Not yet! A response to Calvo et al. (2017). Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2018, 134, 313 -314.
AMA StyleFriedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer, Roland W. Scholz. Peak gold? Not yet! A response to Calvo et al. (2017). Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2018; 134 ():313-314.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFriedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. 2018. "Peak gold? Not yet! A response to Calvo et al. (2017)." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 134, no. : 313-314.
We present the main messages of a European Expert Round Table (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of the digital transition. Seventeen experts provided 42 propositions from ten different perspectives as input for the ERT. A full-day ERT deliberated communalities and relationships among these unseens and provided suggestions on (i) what the major unseens are; (ii) how rebound effects of digital transitioning may become the subject of overarching research; and (iii) what unseens should become subjects of transdisciplinary theory and practice processes for developing socially robust orientations. With respect to the latter, the experts suggested that the “ownership, economic value, use and access of data” and, related to this, algorithmic decision-making call for transdisciplinary processes that may provide guidelines for key stakeholder groups on how the responsible use of digital data can be developed. A cluster-based content analysis of the propositions, the discussion and inputs of the ERT, and a theoretical analysis of major changes to levels of human systems and the human–environment relationship resulted in the following greater picture: The digital transition calls for redefining economy, labor, democracy, and humanity. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based machines may take over major domains of human labor, reorganize supply chains, induce platform economics, and reshape the participation of economic actors in the value chain. (Digital) Knowledge and data supplement capital, labor, and natural resources as major economic variables. Digital data and technologies lead to a post-fuel industry (post-) capitalism. Traditional democratic processes can be (intentionally or unintentionally) altered by digital technologies. The unseens in this field call for special attention, research and management. Related to the conditions of ontogenetic and phylogenetic development (humanity), the ubiquitous, global, increasingly AI-shaped interlinkage of almost every human personal, social, and economic activity and the exposure to indirect, digital, artificial, fragmented, electronically mediated data affect behavioral, cognitive, psycho-neuro-endocrinological processes on the level of the individual and thus social relations (of groups and families) and culture, and thereby, the essential quality and character of the human being (i.e., humanity). The findings suggest a need for a new field of research, i.e., focusing on sustainable digital societies and environments, in which the identification, analysis, and management of vulnerabilities and unseens emerging in the sociotechnical digital transition play an important role.
Roland W. Scholz; Eric J. Bartelsman; Sarah Diefenbach; Lude Franke; Arnim Grunwald; Dirk Helbing; Richard Hill; Lorenz Hilty; Mattias Höjer; Stefan Klauser; Christian Montag; Peter Parycek; Jan Philipp Prote; Ortwin Renn; André Reichel; Günther Schuh; Gerald Steiner; Gabriela Viale Pereira. Unintended Side Effects of the Digital Transition: European Scientists’ Messages from a Proposition-Based Expert Round Table. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2001 .
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz, Eric J. Bartelsman, Sarah Diefenbach, Lude Franke, Arnim Grunwald, Dirk Helbing, Richard Hill, Lorenz Hilty, Mattias Höjer, Stefan Klauser, Christian Montag, Peter Parycek, Jan Philipp Prote, Ortwin Renn, André Reichel, Günther Schuh, Gerald Steiner, Gabriela Viale Pereira. Unintended Side Effects of the Digital Transition: European Scientists’ Messages from a Proposition-Based Expert Round Table. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (6):2001.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz; Eric J. Bartelsman; Sarah Diefenbach; Lude Franke; Arnim Grunwald; Dirk Helbing; Richard Hill; Lorenz Hilty; Mattias Höjer; Stefan Klauser; Christian Montag; Peter Parycek; Jan Philipp Prote; Ortwin Renn; André Reichel; Günther Schuh; Gerald Steiner; Gabriela Viale Pereira. 2018. "Unintended Side Effects of the Digital Transition: European Scientists’ Messages from a Proposition-Based Expert Round Table." Sustainability 10, no. 6: 2001.
Approximately half of today's annual worldwide crop yields can be attributed to the application of mineral fertilizers. Globally, we rely and depend on additional yields as a cornerstone of present and future global food security. In areas with very low nutrient loads, subsidies for appropriate and responsible fertilizer use may help farmers to increase their yields and improve soil fertility. In many countries of the world, fertilizer subsidies are applied as direct payments; however, they have also become an environmental risk factor. We deliberate in what way(s) maximizing the farmer's economic yield conflicts with maximizing societal interests. We show (mathematically) that, from the perspective of a single farmer, under the assumption that crop yields increase monotonically with the application of fertilizers, any fertilizer subsidy provides an economic incentive to increase the application of fertilizer, independent of the amount that has already been applied. We suggest feebate systems (i.e., fee- and rebate-based mechanisms like penalty taxes and subsidies based on a specific reference point or borderline) as an economic strategy for regulating both over- and under-fertilization. This acknowledges the various roles that subsidies have played historically, ranging from agricultural systems that have generally over-fertilized, such as urban agriculture in China, Vietnam, or Indonesia, to countries where fertilizer subsidies are provided to compensate for significant land degradation. In order to connect feebates to fertilization based on a sustainable reference or borderline, we provide a conceptual, multilevel environmental and sustainability assessment that is linked to conventional and market-based economic means, such as farm-specific feebates or cap and trade.
Roland W. Scholz; Bernhard Geissler. Feebates for dealing with trade-offs on fertilizer subsidies: A conceptual framework for environmental management. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 189, 898 -909.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz, Bernhard Geissler. Feebates for dealing with trade-offs on fertilizer subsidies: A conceptual framework for environmental management. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018; 189 ():898-909.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz; Bernhard Geissler. 2018. "Feebates for dealing with trade-offs on fertilizer subsidies: A conceptual framework for environmental management." Journal of Cleaner Production 189, no. : 898-909.
The German government has adopted a law that requires sewage plants to go beyond the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater and to promote recycling. We argue that there is no physical global short- or mid-term phosphorus scarcity. However, we also argue that there are legitimate reasons for policies such as those of Germany, including: precaution as a way to ensure future generations’ long-term supply security, promotion of technologies for closed-loop economics in a promising stage of technology development, and decrease in the current supply risk with a new resource pool.
Roland W. Scholz; Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer. Although there is no Physical Short‐Term Scarcity of Phosphorus, its Resource Efficiency Should be Improved. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2018, 23, 313 -318.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz, Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer. Although there is no Physical Short‐Term Scarcity of Phosphorus, its Resource Efficiency Should be Improved. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2018; 23 (2):313-318.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz; Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer. 2018. "Although there is no Physical Short‐Term Scarcity of Phosphorus, its Resource Efficiency Should be Improved." Journal of Industrial Ecology 23, no. 2: 313-318.
Several of the comments on the Managing Complexity paper deal with theoretical issues regarding Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism (TPF) (Mumpower; Hoffrage) or its application to sustainability planning groups (Mieg; Susskind). Other commenters extend the space of application of the TPF to better frame innovation or open data management (Steiner; Yarime) or focus frameworks of how to conceptualize modeling or transdisciplinary processes in sustainable transitioning (Wilson; Dedeurwaerdere). This response paper first clarifies several general issues, such as how to approach the evaluation of single TPF principles such as representativeness, in what way TPF may improve sustainability planning groups’ performance, how sustainability may be conceived as a terminal focal variable, and in what way groups are organisms. Based on an acknowledgment of the eight comments and their groundbreaking ideas, we discuss two shortcomings in the current use of the TPF, i.e., the definition of cues (sign-significates) and the challenge of how motivational and emotional approaches can be related to Brunswik’s framework of how the organism cognitively interacts with its environment. We conclude that the TPF will become a theoretical framework for structuring, representing, describing, understanding, modeling, and managing complex, inextricably coupled human–environment systems. This is of special interest not only for decision sciences but also for planning, environmental, and sustainability sciences.
Roland W. Scholz. Ways and modes of utilizing Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism: new perspectives for decision and sustainability research? Environment Systems and Decisions 2018, 38, 99 -117.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. Ways and modes of utilizing Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism: new perspectives for decision and sustainability research? Environment Systems and Decisions. 2018; 38 (1):99-117.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2018. "Ways and modes of utilizing Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism: new perspectives for decision and sustainability research?" Environment Systems and Decisions 38, no. 1: 99-117.
The first stage of the circular economy, mining, is examined from the perspective of sustainability. The authors discuss how to maximize the use of phosphate rock, a primary commodity. To attract investment capital in a market economy system, a mine has to operate profitably, i.e., its lifetime must be optimized under economic conditions, for example, according to Taylor’s Rule. From a sustainability perspective, however, the lifetime should extend as long as possible and the grades mined be as low as possible. The authors examine methods for optimizing a mine’s lifetime under economic conditions according to practical experience and learning effects to optimize exploration and exploitation. With the condition of sustainability, a recently developed concept of cut-off grade for a layered phosphate deposit is examined and considerations for prolonging a mine’s lifetime are discussed. As there are big losses from the current and potential future value chains above and below the current cut-off grade, we argue that the losses and use efficiency of phosphorus are key parts of a circular economy.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. What Is the Optimal and Sustainable Lifetime of a Mine? Sustainability 2018, 10, 480 .
AMA StyleFriedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer, Roland W. Scholz. What Is the Optimal and Sustainable Lifetime of a Mine? Sustainability. 2018; 10 (2):480.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFriedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. 2018. "What Is the Optimal and Sustainable Lifetime of a Mine?" Sustainability 10, no. 2: 480.
The core of the digital transition is the representation of all kinds of real-world entities and processes and an increasing number of cognitive processes by digital information and algorithms on computers. These allow for seemingly unlimited storage, operation, retrieval, and transmission capacities that make digital tools economically available for all domains of society and empower human action, particularly combined with real-world interfaces such as displays, robots, sensors, 3D printers, etc. Digital technologies are general-purpose technologies providing unprecedented potential benefits for sustainability. However, they will bring about a multitude of potential unintended side effects, and this demands a transdisciplinary discussion on unwanted societal changes as well as a shift in science from analog to digital modeling and structure. Although social discourse has begun, the topical scope and regional coverage have been limited. Here, we report on an expert roundtable on digital transition held in February 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. Drawing on a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, our discussions highlight the importance of cultural contexts and the need to bridge local and global conversations. Although Japanese experts did mention side effects, their focus was on how to ensure that AI and robots could coexist with humans. Such a perspective is not well appreciated everywhere outside Japan. Stakeholder dialogues have already begun in Japan, but greater efforts are needed to engage a broader collection of experts in addition to stakeholders to broaden the social debate.
Masahiro Sugiyama; Hiroshi Deguchi; Arisa Ema; Atsuo Kishimoto; Junichiro Mori; Hideaki Shiroyama; Roland W. Scholz. Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transition: Perspectives of Japanese Experts. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2193 .
AMA StyleMasahiro Sugiyama, Hiroshi Deguchi, Arisa Ema, Atsuo Kishimoto, Junichiro Mori, Hideaki Shiroyama, Roland W. Scholz. Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transition: Perspectives of Japanese Experts. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (12):2193.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMasahiro Sugiyama; Hiroshi Deguchi; Arisa Ema; Atsuo Kishimoto; Junichiro Mori; Hideaki Shiroyama; Roland W. Scholz. 2017. "Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transition: Perspectives of Japanese Experts." Sustainability 9, no. 12: 2193.
Coping with the multitude of information, relationships, and dynamics of the biotic and abiotic environment is a fundamental prerequisite for the survival of any organismic system. This paper discusses what contribution the Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism (TPF) of Egon Brunswik (1903–1955), which was originally developed for visual perception (including certain cognitive processes) and later for judgment, may provide today. The present paper elaborates that the principles of TPF go beyond the common weighting and regression analysis-based model of information processing that has been associated with the Brunswikian Lens Model. We argue that Brunswik’s TPF rather provides basic principles of how organisms interact with complex environmental systems when processing cues (instead of information) and thus are able to produce evolutionarily stable representations of and judgments about the environment. TPF was formulated with no references to physiological processes. The present paper aims to demonstrate how well these principles correspond with current biophysical and neurophysiological findings, models, and simulations of sensation. We then discuss in what ways planning groups may be seen as organisms and how groups resemble and differ from (biological) organisms on the level of the individual and below. Based on this, we suggest how the principles of TPF can be used to describe planning groups’ activities when constructing planning variants or scenarios for sustainable transitioning. We illustrate the ways in which (under ideal constraints that may be provided in ideal transdisciplinary processes) planning groups follow principles such as vicarious mediation. Here, we reflect on the ways decision theoretic tools (such as Formative Scenario Analysis and Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis) can serve to construct robust (i.e., “evolutionarily stable”) orientations for the future. It is difficult to validate big theories such as TPF. Thus, special attention is paid to the question of how strategies of validation (according to normal scientific principles) for different principles and TPF as such can be developed. We conclude that (in the context of sustainable transitioning) TPF can be utilized from a descriptive, prescriptive, and normative perspective. All three perspectives call for different strategies of validation.
Roland W. Scholz. Managing complexity: from visual perception to sustainable transitions—contributions of Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism. Environment Systems and Decisions 2017, 1 .
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. Managing complexity: from visual perception to sustainable transitions—contributions of Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism. Environment Systems and Decisions. 2017; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2017. "Managing complexity: from visual perception to sustainable transitions—contributions of Brunswik’s Theory of Probabilistic Functionalism." Environment Systems and Decisions , no. : 1.
This study evaluated the effects of site-specific, soil-testing-based fertiliser recommendations on maize yields using the transdisciplinary (TD) process. The TD process utilizes knowledge from science and practice. Farmers, extension officers, local financial institutions, and other practitioners collaborated with local scientists from the University of Eldoret in the process of financing, purchasing, and applying fertilisers in adequate amounts and composition. A total of 144 farmers participated in the study, which lasted for two seasons. The data sampling was based on a randomized 2 × 3 × 4 × 2 factorial complete block design, including the following factors: TD (non-participation vs participation in the TD process); ST (soil testing in the following categories: fertiliser application with no soil testing, fertiliser application following government recommendations, and application of site-specific, soil-testing-based fertiliser recommendations), and location (Kapyemit, Kipsomba, Ng’enyilel, and Ziwa). The “no soil testing” (ST1) category refers to farmers’ own practices at an average fertilisation of about 60 kg N ha−1 and 15 kg P ha−1. The government recommendation (ST2) calls for 75 kg N ha−1, 25 kg P ha−1, and 6 t ha−1 manure, and site-specific fertiliser recommendations (ST3) were based on actual soil-testing results; generally, this resulted in the recommendation of 90 kg N ha−1, 30 kg P ha−1, 25 kg K ha−1, 2 t ha−1 lime, and 1 t ha−1 manure. Highly significant effects were seen where farmers participated in the TD process (TD) for soil testing (ST). The farmers’ yields in Uasin Gishu County of 4.5 t ha−1 increased by approximately 1.5 t ha−1 based on site-specific, soil-testing fertilisation recommendations and by approximately 1.0 t ha−1 based on participation in the transdisciplinary process. However, as indicated by a significant interaction of the variables ST and TD—and while there is a significant main effect of participating in a TD process—the latter increase occurs only if site-specific, soil-testing-based recommendations can be used in the transdisciplinary process with farmers.
Arusey Chebet; Njoroge Ruth; Otinga A. Nekesa; Wilson Ng’Etich; Koech Julius; Roland W. Scholz. Efforts Toward Improving Maize Yields on Smallholder Farms in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya, through Site-specific, Soil-testing-based Fertiliser Recommendations: A Transdisciplinary Approach. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal 2017, 82, 201 -213.
AMA StyleArusey Chebet, Njoroge Ruth, Otinga A. Nekesa, Wilson Ng’Etich, Koech Julius, Roland W. Scholz. Efforts Toward Improving Maize Yields on Smallholder Farms in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya, through Site-specific, Soil-testing-based Fertiliser Recommendations: A Transdisciplinary Approach. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal. 2017; 82 (2-4):201-213.
Chicago/Turabian StyleArusey Chebet; Njoroge Ruth; Otinga A. Nekesa; Wilson Ng’Etich; Koech Julius; Roland W. Scholz. 2017. "Efforts Toward Improving Maize Yields on Smallholder Farms in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya, through Site-specific, Soil-testing-based Fertiliser Recommendations: A Transdisciplinary Approach." East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal 82, no. 2-4: 201-213.
The rapid change of technological, social, and cultural structures is challenging universities to offer new educational programs. The Global Leader Program for Social Design and Management (GSDM) of the University of Tokyo can be seen as a forerunner in this field. The paper provides definitions of social design as well as of global leadership and provides a proposal for the definition of the objective of the GSDM program, i.e., multi-level resilient human–environment system. These subjects are embedded in the framework of human–environment systems (HES). We identified the different types of knowledge integration that ‘global leaders for social design’ should master. The core of a sustainable social design is to (1) properly conceptualize and manage “resilient coupled human-environment systems” and to (2) integrate or relate different systems, epistemics, interests, cultures, and knowledge systems. The specific challenge in this context is to cope with conflicting cultural–religious systems or to understand how the vulnerability of different human systems with respect to digital environments. Social design is conceived as all rules, mechanisms, and preferences that govern the interaction of humans with material, biophysical, technological, and socio-cultural epistemic environments. The goal of education for global leadership for social design may have to progress from the T-shaped skills profile (i.e., being specialized in one discipline and having the capability to collaborate with other disciplines) to the π-profile. Students for leadership in global designs must be qualified in a social and an engineering/natural science and literate and capable to know, relate, and govern different disciplines, cultures, or systems which have to be included in the sustainable transitioning of cultural and socio-technological systems. The paper elaborates in what way transdisciplinarity is needed and why resilience management should be seen as a proper objective of GSDM. The challenges of the new educational program for the science system and institutions as well as for students and professors are discussed.
Roland W. Scholz; Masaru Yarime; Hideaki Shiroyama. Global leadership for social design: theoretical and educational perspectives. Sustainability Science 2017, 13, 447 -464.
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz, Masaru Yarime, Hideaki Shiroyama. Global leadership for social design: theoretical and educational perspectives. Sustainability Science. 2017; 13 (2):447-464.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz; Masaru Yarime; Hideaki Shiroyama. 2017. "Global leadership for social design: theoretical and educational perspectives." Sustainability Science 13, no. 2: 447-464.
This paper discusses the role normative aspects play in different approaches of science–practice collaboration, in particular as action research, (Mode 2) Transdisciplinarity (Td), Transition Management (TM), and Transformative Science (TSc). We elaborate on the different roles that scientists in these processes play. They work as facilitators (or contribute to a facilitated Td process), as activists (i.e., activist researchers) in TM projects, and as catalysts in TSc. Td processes develop socially robust solutions for sustainable transitioning and impacts on the science system through mutual learning and by integrating epistemics (i.e., ways of knowing) from science and practice and focusing on the empowerment of stakeholders. Science is viewed as a public good aiming to serve all key stakeholders. Researchers involved in TM projects strive to influence ongoing transition processes by actively engaging and participating in them, including lobbying for and empowering transformative changes toward sustainability based upon the researchers’ own analyses and world views. The TSc approach takes a catalyst perspective of the scientist’s role in inducing processes of strategic (societal) transition when including certain stakeholder groups. The paper focuses on what roles normative aspects play in the different approaches and new societal demands imposed on science and universities. Based on this, we conclude that a new order of universities, public knowledge institutions, and boundary institutions is forthcoming.
Roland W. Scholz. The Normative Dimension in Transdisciplinarity, Transition Management, and Transformation Sciences: New Roles of Science and Universities in Sustainable Transitioning. Sustainability 2017, 9, 991 .
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. The Normative Dimension in Transdisciplinarity, Transition Management, and Transformation Sciences: New Roles of Science and Universities in Sustainable Transitioning. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (6):991.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2017. "The Normative Dimension in Transdisciplinarity, Transition Management, and Transformation Sciences: New Roles of Science and Universities in Sustainable Transitioning." Sustainability 9, no. 6: 991.
The aim of this paper is to develop two concepts regarding phosphorus that will serve as a contribution fulfilling the call for intergenerational equity: to improve knowledge of future resources and to develop a framework by setting priorities for maximizing availability with a hierarchy of natural resources. The increasing human demand for minerals and metals is causing persistent concern about long-term supply security. This holds true particularly for phosphorus. Phosphorus is bioessential; it cannot be substituted. There are no unlimited resources for phosphorus. The question of how large the reserves are and the potential for finding additional reserves and resources for a long-term supply are, therefore, of interest to numerous stakeholders, from governments to individuals. We examine governments’ needs and individuals’ rights to know private exploration data. Because of the essential nature of phosphorus, we emphasize the public’s special right to know as much as possible about phosphate reserves, resources and the geopotential for new discoveries, based upon the basic human right to feed oneself in dignity. To fulfill the call for intergenerational equity, however, knowledge alone is not enough; guidelines for management have to follow. This can be achieved by defining a hierarchy of natural resources for setting priorities. For humankind’s technological and cultural development, a sufficient supply of energy resources must be considered the key element; therefore, efforts to maximize information that will enable best decisions to be made have been the strongest. A hierarchy of natural resources with fossil and nuclear energies at the top was proposed. However, with the new development of renewable forms of energy and the decreasing role of fossil-fuel energy, the hierarchy of natural resources that defines priorities must be revised. We propose a hierarchy that replaces fossil-fuel energy at the top with phosphorus.
Friedrich-W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. Putting Phosphorus First: The Need to Know and Right to Know Call for a Revised Hierarchy of Natural Resources. Resources 2017, 6, 20 .
AMA StyleFriedrich-W. Wellmer, Roland W. Scholz. Putting Phosphorus First: The Need to Know and Right to Know Call for a Revised Hierarchy of Natural Resources. Resources. 2017; 6 (2):20.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFriedrich-W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. 2017. "Putting Phosphorus First: The Need to Know and Right to Know Call for a Revised Hierarchy of Natural Resources." Resources 6, no. 2: 20.
The Digital Revolution is inducing major threats to many types of human systems. We present the SVIDT method (a Strengths, Vulnerability, and Intervention Assessment related to Digital Threats) for managing the vulnerabilities of human systems with respect to digital threats and changes. The method first performs a multilevel system–actor analysis for assessing vulnerabilities and strengths with respect to digital threats. Then, the method identifies threat scenarios that may become real. By constructing, evaluating, and launching interventions against all identified digital threats and their critical negative outcomes, the resilience of a specific human system can be improved. The evaluation of interventions is done when strengthening the adaptive capacity, i.e., a system’s capability to cope with negative outcomes that may take place in the future. The SVIDT method is embedded in the framework of coupled human–environment systems, the theory of risk and vulnerability assessment, types of adaptation (assimilation vs. accommodation), and a comprehensive sustainability evaluation. The SVIDT method is exemplarily applied to an enterprise (i.e., a Swiss casino) for which online gaming has become an essential digital-business field. The discussion reflects on the specifics of digital threats and discusses both the potential benefits and limitations of the SVIDT method.
Roland W. Scholz. Digital Threat and Vulnerability Management: The SVIDT Method. Sustainability 2017, 9, 554 .
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. Digital Threat and Vulnerability Management: The SVIDT Method. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (4):554.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2017. "Digital Threat and Vulnerability Management: The SVIDT Method." Sustainability 9, no. 4: 554.
The objective of this paper is to provide a conceptual and empirical historic analysis of applications, misunderstandings, and fallacies surrounding the Hubbert curve, the U-shaped production curve of a commodity, and peak minerals. We show that the ultimate recoverable resources (URR) cannot be predicted by fitting a symmetric curve to the data of past (historic) production for any commodity on a global scale. Without knowledge of the URR, it is not possible to determine the peak production time. For well-confined areas, in the case of a supply market, it might be possible today to construct a satisfactory Hubbert curve and to determine peak production. For phosphate, the case of Nauru Island is a good example, but so far, it is not possible for any commodity worldwide. URR comprise past production, presently known reserves, and future reserves developed from resources (known, but uneconomic at present) and parts of the geopotential (not yet known, but by geological reasoning and technological innovations, reserves can be expected to be discovered). The concept of reserves is a dynamic one, determined by economic conditions, technological developments, etc. The reserves of today can be the resources of tomorrow and vice versa. These factors also influence production curves. Therefore, it is not justified to interpret every peak as caused by geological constraints. In most cases so far, peak curves are demand driven and not at all influenced by geological availability. In only a very few cases (like the curve for the lower 48 states of the USA for oil by Hubbert in 1956 or gold production in South Africa), they are supply driven, i.e., true Hubbert curves. Gold showed four peaks in the twentieth century. Since gold mining is “money mining,” there is always a demand for gold. Therefore, the causes for the peak development must be economic ones with no influence of physical-production demand factors, purely supply factors—a model case to study. We also show how the kind of commodity, government regulations, technologies, and commodity prices influence U-shaped production curves. For phosphate, we show that a peak cannot be predicted with the present base of knowledge. We face a reserve-to-consumption ratio of higher than 300, which is higher than for every major commodity and at least 10 times the length of innovation cycles in the mineral industry. If we take the dynamic nature of reserves into account, we doubt that it is very meaningful to discuss the reliability of reserve and resource data. Instead, under the aspect of long-term future supply and a postulated right to know based on the universal right to feed oneself in dignity, the geopotential of phosphorus as the source of future reserves and resources should be regularly examined by an international scientific body.
Friedrich -W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. Peak minerals: What can we learn from the history of mineral economics and the cases of gold and phosphorus? Mineral Economics 2016, 30, 73 -93.
AMA StyleFriedrich -W. Wellmer, Roland W. Scholz. Peak minerals: What can we learn from the history of mineral economics and the cases of gold and phosphorus? Mineral Economics. 2016; 30 (2):73-93.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFriedrich -W. Wellmer; Roland W. Scholz. 2016. "Peak minerals: What can we learn from the history of mineral economics and the cases of gold and phosphorus?" Mineral Economics 30, no. 2: 73-93.
This paper identifies and discusses the benefits, threats, and vulnerabilities related to the digital revolution. It aims to motivate research and its funding regarding digital threats and vulnerabilities related, in particular, to anticipating unintended, undesirable rebound effects, tipping points, critically fast evolutionary change rates, trade-offs, etc. A brief analysis of the history of the mind and technology reveals slow technological development over tens of thousands of years (including the invention of a place-value digital number system). Then, a small series of groundbreaking ideas (e.g., binary logic, Shannon’s symbolic analysis of relay and switching circuits, architectures of computing) enabled the industry-driven invention of programmable computing machines. Ultimately, the mastery of electron and semiconductor physics allowed for economical and seemingly unlimited storage capacity that made digital tools available to all domains of society. Based on the historical analysis, a coupled human-environment systems perspective (that includes a hierarchy assumption ranging from the human cell to the human species) enables the identification of several potential challenges to society and science. First, digital nano-engineering promotes genetic modifications (i.e., directed evolution), and synthetic biology enables a new level of the appropriation of nature. The understanding of cell-based biocomputers may call for new forms of logic. These and other challenges require thorough sustainability research in order to anticipate major changes on all levels of human systems. Second, the human individual is exposed to new forms of vulnerability. In particular, the potential epigenetic effects resulting from the excessive use of digital information of historically unknown speed, density, and contents and the loss of (the Western common-law right to) privacy resulting from big data (whose ownership is often unknown) should become subjects of research. Third, digital technologies are responsible for rapid changes in all social and economic structures. The paper suggests that thorough, discipline-based interdisciplinary research is needed in order to develop basic knowledge for creating and managing resilient relationships between human systems and their digital environments.
Roland W. Scholz. Sustainable Digital Environments: What Major Challenges Is Humankind Facing? Sustainability 2016, 8, 726 .
AMA StyleRoland W. Scholz. Sustainable Digital Environments: What Major Challenges Is Humankind Facing? Sustainability. 2016; 8 (8):726.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland W. Scholz. 2016. "Sustainable Digital Environments: What Major Challenges Is Humankind Facing?" Sustainability 8, no. 8: 726.
Several recent papers deal with concerns about the longevity of the supply of the mineral phosphorus. The paper by Edixhoven et al. (2014), for instance, expresses doubts about whether the upward estimate of reserves by the IFDC (2006, 2010) and the USGS (2010) provides an accurate, reliable, and comparable picture, as it is based on reports that do not clearly differentiate between phosphate ore and phosphate products (i.e., marketable phosphate rock concentrate). Further, the indistinct use of the terms reserves and resources is criticized. Edixhoven et al. (2014) call for a differentiated inventory of world phosphate reserves including "guidelines which determine the appropriate drill hole distances and a detailed granularity". The claim that "humanity is on the safe side" with respect to future phosphate supply is doubted, as the validity of the IFDC's upgrading of the Moroccan data to 50 Gt phosphate is questioned. The main achievement of Edixhoven et al. (2014) is to elaborate that in the literature frequently used data on phosphate rock ore and phosphate concentrate are not properly distinguished, resulting in incorrect summary figures. In addition, it is commendable to raise the question how transparency concerning reserve and resources data and information on the geopotential of phosphate can be achieved because phosphorus is a special element. As fertilizer, it cannot be substituted and there are no unlimited resources as for the other main nutrients potassium in sea water and nitrogen in the air. However, the paper by Edixhoven et al. (2014) contains in the opinion of the authors some incorrect statements. Our comment elaborates first that several statements, such as that the upgrading of the Moroccan data is "solely based" on one scientific paper, are incorrect. Secondly, the paper comments on and illuminates a set of, in our opinion, misleading statements. These include the fact that the dynamic nature of reserves (which depend on price, technology, innovation for exploiting low-grade deposits, etc.) is acknowledged, but the right conclusions are not drawn, including the mixing of finiteness and staticness, and the way in which the critique of the USGS upgrading of the Moroccan reserves has been linked to Peak P. In particular, we clarify that reserves are primarily company data that serve mining companies for their strategic planning and may, by no means, be used as proxy data for providing global Peak P estimates. Likewise, we elaborate that drilling plans for assessing reserves have to be adjusted to site characteristics, in particular, in the case of four plateaus in Morocco and the Western Sahara comprising an area greater than 10 000 km2. We reconstruct the IFDC and USGS estimates and conclude that there is no evidence for considering the somewhat surprising increase to 50 Gt phosphate concentrate to be an unreasonable estimate for Moroccan reserves. However, the partial mixing of different units (e.g., phosphate ore and phosphate concentrate or marketable product) in the USGS data may be avoided by improving the database and using proper conversion factors. When applying these factors and assessing all reserves of marketable Gt of phosphate rock (PR-M), which is a common scale for measuring annual consumption, the magnitude of the 2014 USGS estimates of 67 Gt PR reserves does not change essentially but decreases from 64 (IFDC assessment) to 57.5 Gt PR-M (a worst-case calculation). We agree that a better harmonization of the (national) classification systems is meaningful. The discussion includes several ideas and thoughts that go beyond the paper by Edixhoven et al. (2014). We suggest that the discrepancies in the resource estimates are often caused by missing system understandings, different conceptions of sciences, and diverging world views. Finally, we suggest the establishment of a solidly funded, international standing committee that regularly analyzes global geopotential for assuring long-term supply security.
R. W. Scholz; F.-W. Wellmer. Comment on: "Recent revisions of phosphate rock reserves and resources: a critique" by Edixhoven et al. (2014) – clarifying comments and thoughts on key conceptions, conclusions and interpretation to allow for sustainable action. Earth System Dynamics 2016, 7, 103 -117.
AMA StyleR. W. Scholz, F.-W. Wellmer. Comment on: "Recent revisions of phosphate rock reserves and resources: a critique" by Edixhoven et al. (2014) – clarifying comments and thoughts on key conceptions, conclusions and interpretation to allow for sustainable action. Earth System Dynamics. 2016; 7 (1):103-117.
Chicago/Turabian StyleR. W. Scholz; F.-W. Wellmer. 2016. "Comment on: "Recent revisions of phosphate rock reserves and resources: a critique" by Edixhoven et al. (2014) – clarifying comments and thoughts on key conceptions, conclusions and interpretation to allow for sustainable action." Earth System Dynamics 7, no. 1: 103-117.