Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking scienc... more Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of 'trading zones' developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain-applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved.
As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable commun... more As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable community has emerged as one-way societies might respond to the challenge. In Scotland this has been operationalised in the Climate Challenge Fund, a Scottish Government fund designed to financially support communities become more sustainable through local carbon reduction projects. Drawing on recent debates in Policy Studies and Science & Technology Studies related to framing processes, in this paper we ask: how did the goal of sustainable communities become part of the policy agenda? And, how was the idea constituted in particular ways? We suggest that electoral politics matters for shaping shifts in discourse and policy and that in the movement from identification of problems, to the articulation of solutions and the mobilisation of action, a range of options is available as an outcome of the policy process. Land Reform (Scotland) White Paper published May Scottish Parliament Election (SL & SLD control) Portobello in Edinburgh becomes Scotland's first transition town October Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change published by HM Treasury April Scotland's Climate Change Declaration signed by all 32 local authorities April SGP manifesto for SP elections published, which includes the CCF as a key policy Scottish Parliamentary Session Three (20072011): Scottish National Party minority control, supported by Scottish Green Party May Scottish Parliament Election (SNP minority control, supported by SGP) May Renamed Scottish Government announces five new Strategic Objectives November Scottish Budget Spending Review, includes funding for the CCF June CCF launched by Cabinet Secretary and opens for first applications September CCF round 1 announced November CCF round 2 announced January CCF round 3 announced April CCF round 4 announced June Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009) unanimously passed by Scottish Parliament June Climate Change Delivery Plan published by Scottish Government September CCF round 5 announced September First CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) December Climate Change Adaptation Framework published by Scottish Government December CCF round 6 announced March CCF round 7 (tranche 1) announced May Second CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB June CCF round 7 (tranche 2) announced July Scotland misses first statutory targets on gas emissions in the climate change legislation March Sustainable Development Commission closes March CCF round 8 announced March SL manifesto for Scottish Parliament Elections is published & includes the CCF April SGP, SNP & SLD manifestos for Scottish Parliament Elections are published & all include the CCF 2011Present: Scottish National Party majority controls Scottish Parliamentary Session 4 May Scottish Parliament Elections (SNP win with first ever majority in the Scottish Parliament) June CCF Review by Brook Lyndhurst & Ecometrica published by Scottish Government September The Scottish Budget Spending Review-includes commitment to funding the CCF until 2015 November Third CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB March CCF round 9 announced June CCF round 10 announced August CCF round 11 announced November Fourth CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB November Minister for Environment & Climate Change announces refresh of the CCF November CCF round 12 announced
Environment And Planning E: Nature And Space, Jan 15, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously-doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of 'work' and 'care', drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and sustainability in households. Our conclusion considers tensions and overlaps between work and care to identify how they can be re-entangled. We argue that re-entangling work and care requires holding them in dynamic tension with care being the context for work and in this way a doubly progressive approach to household sustainability emerges.
Families,Relationships and Societies, Nov 28, 2022
Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourish... more Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourished. Efforts to do so, however, must attend to gender dynamics. Our aim is to improve our understanding of how gender and sustainability intersect at the household level and engage with progressive politics in this context. To do so, we present a collaborative autoethnography focused on gender and sustainability in our household covering five years during which we experienced multiple lifecourse transitions. Building on this we answer two questions. First, how does the encounter between personal experiences and scholarship shape conceptual refinement? Second, how do personal experiences and scholarship combine to shape what we understand as progressive politics? This article not only advances the understanding of gender and sustainability in households and progressive politics in this context but also shows that collaborative autoethnography offers a valuable methodological toolkit for advancing research towards progressive politics.
Growing awareness of environmental issues and their relation to consumption patterns has given ri... more Growing awareness of environmental issues and their relation to consumption patterns has given rise to calls for sustainable consumption across the globe. In this article, we focus on the zero waste lifestyle movement, which targets high-consumption households in the Global North as a site of change for phasing out waste in global supply chains. Our article is concerned with asking how gender and household sustainability are mutually constituted in the zero waste lifestyle movement. We establish an analytical tension between understanding zero waste living as a further intensification of feminised responsibility for people and the planet and as offering potential for transformational change – as feminised concern or feminist care. Through qualitative content analysis of the 10 most influential zero waste blogs globally, we show how the five zero waste rules of conduct – refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot – guide consumers towards everyday and situated engagements with waste. Or...
Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourish... more Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourished. Efforts to do so, however, must attend to gender dynamics. Our aim is to improve our understanding of how gender and sustainability intersect at the household level and engage with progressive politics in this context. To do so, we present a collaborative autoethnography focused on gender and sustainability in our household covering five years during which we experienced multiple lifecourse transitions. Building on this we answer two questions. First, how does the encounter between personal experiences and scholarship shape conceptual refinement? Second, how do personal experiences and scholarship combine to shape what we understand as progressive politics? This article not only advances the understanding of gender and sustainability in households and progressive politics in this context but also shows that collaborative autoethnography offers a valuable methodological toolkit for ad...
Although public engagement is now part of the business of doing science, there is considerable di... more Although public engagement is now part of the business of doing science, there is considerable divergence about what the term means and what public engagement ought to be doing. This paper refl ects on these heterogeneous meanings and agendas through an analysis of focus group data from research on public engagement in stem cell research. Three broad visions of public engagement are identifi ed: as education and information provision; as dialogue; and as participation in policy making. In analysing the implications of these visions three dimensions are highlighted: weakly and strongly structured visions of public engagement; the co production of roles and relationships; and the framing of what is at stake. Each of these has the potential to include or exclude some groups in public engagement. We conclude that social scientists should seek to maintain the plasticity of public engagement as a necessary condition for greater participation and reflexivity in science policy, practice and...
I would also like to say a huge thank you to my supervisors-Sarah Cunningham-Burley and Wendy Fau... more I would also like to say a huge thank you to my supervisors-Sarah Cunningham-Burley and Wendy Faulknerfor their ongoing support and advice in numerous ways, and for leaving me to get on with it for the most part! No thesis acknowledgements would be complete without mentioning Mum and Dad, whose love and support have greased the wheels of life in countless ways. Thank you. Finally, a very special mention goes to my "Charming Man" and, more importantly, my best friend Nick, to whom this thesis is dedicated.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously – doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of ‘work’ and ‘care’, drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and s...
As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable commun... more As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable community has emerged as one-way societies might respond to the challenge. In Scotland this has been operationalised in the Climate Challenge Fund, a Scottish Government fund designed to financially support communities become more sustainable through local carbon reduction projects. Drawing on recent debates in Policy Studies and Science & Technology Studies related to framing processes, in this paper we ask: how did the goal of sustainable communities become part of the policy agenda? And, how was the idea constituted in particular ways? We suggest that electoral politics matters for shaping shifts in discourse and policy and that in the movement from identification of problems, to the articulation of solutions and the mobilisation of action, a range of options is available as an outcome of the policy process. Land Reform (Scotland) White Paper published May Scottish Parliament Election (SL & SLD control) Portobello in Edinburgh becomes Scotland's first transition town October Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change published by HM Treasury April Scotland's Climate Change Declaration signed by all 32 local authorities April SGP manifesto for SP elections published, which includes the CCF as a key policy Scottish Parliamentary Session Three (20072011): Scottish National Party minority control, supported by Scottish Green Party May Scottish Parliament Election (SNP minority control, supported by SGP) May Renamed Scottish Government announces five new Strategic Objectives November Scottish Budget Spending Review, includes funding for the CCF June CCF launched by Cabinet Secretary and opens for first applications September CCF round 1 announced November CCF round 2 announced January CCF round 3 announced April CCF round 4 announced June Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009) unanimously passed by Scottish Parliament June Climate Change Delivery Plan published by Scottish Government September CCF round 5 announced September First CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) December Climate Change Adaptation Framework published by Scottish Government December CCF round 6 announced March CCF round 7 (tranche 1) announced May Second CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB June CCF round 7 (tranche 2) announced July Scotland misses first statutory targets on gas emissions in the climate change legislation March Sustainable Development Commission closes March CCF round 8 announced March SL manifesto for Scottish Parliament Elections is published & includes the CCF April SGP, SNP & SLD manifestos for Scottish Parliament Elections are published & all include the CCF 2011Present: Scottish National Party majority controls Scottish Parliamentary Session 4 May Scottish Parliament Elections (SNP win with first ever majority in the Scottish Parliament) June CCF Review by Brook Lyndhurst & Ecometrica published by Scottish Government September The Scottish Budget Spending Review-includes commitment to funding the CCF until 2015 November Third CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB March CCF round 9 announced June CCF round 10 announced August CCF round 11 announced November Fourth CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB November Minister for Environment & Climate Change announces refresh of the CCF November CCF round 12 announced
Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking scienc... more Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of 'trading zones' developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain-applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously-doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of 'work' and 'care', drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and sustainability in households. Our conclusion considers tensions and overlaps between work and care to identify how they can be re-entangled. We argue that re-entangling work and care requires holding them in dynamic tension with care being the context for work and in this way a doubly progressive approach to household sustainability emerges.
In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow ste... more In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow stem cell research to use human embryos. By identifying what Mulkay calls "discursive regularities" [Mulkay, M. (1993) Rhetorics of hope and fear in the great embryo debate, Social Studies of Science, 23, p. 723], this paper examines the rhetorical strategies of and manoeuvrings over the meanings of stem cells, cloning, and embryos within the parliamentary context. I focus upon the "return to the embryo question" and the significance" of this for the stem cell debates in terms of form and content. This feeds into an analysis of the ways in which two specific groups are discursively invoked and constructed--those with diseases and disabilities who have been identified as likely to benefit from stem cell therapies, and couples undergoing fertility treatment who are needed to donate spare embryos. In doing so, I draw upon similar analyses of the earlier embryo debates-...
In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow ste... more In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow stem cell research to use human embryos. By identifying what Mulkay calls "discursive regularities" [Mulkay, M. (1993) Rhetorics of hope and fear in the great embryo debate, Social Studies of Science, 23, p. 723], this paper examines the rhetorical strategies of and manoeuvrings over the meanings of stem cells, cloning, and embryos within the parliamentary context. I focus upon the "return to the embryo question" and the significance" of this for the stem cell debates in terms of form and content. This feeds into an analysis of the ways in which two specific groups are discursively invoked and constructed--those with diseases and disabilities who have been identified as likely to benefit from stem cell therapies, and couples undergoing fertility treatment who are needed to donate spare embryos. In doing so, I draw upon similar analyses of the earlier embryo debates--those of Mulkay, Franklin, Kirejcyk and Spallone--leading up to the establishment of the 1990 HFE Act. In conjunction with these analyses, I am able to identify parallels between the rhetorical devices mobilized and the legislative outcomes.
Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking scienc... more Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of 'trading zones' developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain-applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved.
As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable commun... more As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable community has emerged as one-way societies might respond to the challenge. In Scotland this has been operationalised in the Climate Challenge Fund, a Scottish Government fund designed to financially support communities become more sustainable through local carbon reduction projects. Drawing on recent debates in Policy Studies and Science & Technology Studies related to framing processes, in this paper we ask: how did the goal of sustainable communities become part of the policy agenda? And, how was the idea constituted in particular ways? We suggest that electoral politics matters for shaping shifts in discourse and policy and that in the movement from identification of problems, to the articulation of solutions and the mobilisation of action, a range of options is available as an outcome of the policy process. Land Reform (Scotland) White Paper published May Scottish Parliament Election (SL & SLD control) Portobello in Edinburgh becomes Scotland's first transition town October Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change published by HM Treasury April Scotland's Climate Change Declaration signed by all 32 local authorities April SGP manifesto for SP elections published, which includes the CCF as a key policy Scottish Parliamentary Session Three (20072011): Scottish National Party minority control, supported by Scottish Green Party May Scottish Parliament Election (SNP minority control, supported by SGP) May Renamed Scottish Government announces five new Strategic Objectives November Scottish Budget Spending Review, includes funding for the CCF June CCF launched by Cabinet Secretary and opens for first applications September CCF round 1 announced November CCF round 2 announced January CCF round 3 announced April CCF round 4 announced June Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009) unanimously passed by Scottish Parliament June Climate Change Delivery Plan published by Scottish Government September CCF round 5 announced September First CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) December Climate Change Adaptation Framework published by Scottish Government December CCF round 6 announced March CCF round 7 (tranche 1) announced May Second CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB June CCF round 7 (tranche 2) announced July Scotland misses first statutory targets on gas emissions in the climate change legislation March Sustainable Development Commission closes March CCF round 8 announced March SL manifesto for Scottish Parliament Elections is published & includes the CCF April SGP, SNP & SLD manifestos for Scottish Parliament Elections are published & all include the CCF 2011Present: Scottish National Party majority controls Scottish Parliamentary Session 4 May Scottish Parliament Elections (SNP win with first ever majority in the Scottish Parliament) June CCF Review by Brook Lyndhurst & Ecometrica published by Scottish Government September The Scottish Budget Spending Review-includes commitment to funding the CCF until 2015 November Third CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB March CCF round 9 announced June CCF round 10 announced August CCF round 11 announced November Fourth CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB November Minister for Environment & Climate Change announces refresh of the CCF November CCF round 12 announced
Environment And Planning E: Nature And Space, Jan 15, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously-doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of 'work' and 'care', drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and sustainability in households. Our conclusion considers tensions and overlaps between work and care to identify how they can be re-entangled. We argue that re-entangling work and care requires holding them in dynamic tension with care being the context for work and in this way a doubly progressive approach to household sustainability emerges.
Families,Relationships and Societies, Nov 28, 2022
Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourish... more Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourished. Efforts to do so, however, must attend to gender dynamics. Our aim is to improve our understanding of how gender and sustainability intersect at the household level and engage with progressive politics in this context. To do so, we present a collaborative autoethnography focused on gender and sustainability in our household covering five years during which we experienced multiple lifecourse transitions. Building on this we answer two questions. First, how does the encounter between personal experiences and scholarship shape conceptual refinement? Second, how do personal experiences and scholarship combine to shape what we understand as progressive politics? This article not only advances the understanding of gender and sustainability in households and progressive politics in this context but also shows that collaborative autoethnography offers a valuable methodological toolkit for advancing research towards progressive politics.
Growing awareness of environmental issues and their relation to consumption patterns has given ri... more Growing awareness of environmental issues and their relation to consumption patterns has given rise to calls for sustainable consumption across the globe. In this article, we focus on the zero waste lifestyle movement, which targets high-consumption households in the Global North as a site of change for phasing out waste in global supply chains. Our article is concerned with asking how gender and household sustainability are mutually constituted in the zero waste lifestyle movement. We establish an analytical tension between understanding zero waste living as a further intensification of feminised responsibility for people and the planet and as offering potential for transformational change – as feminised concern or feminist care. Through qualitative content analysis of the 10 most influential zero waste blogs globally, we show how the five zero waste rules of conduct – refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot – guide consumers towards everyday and situated engagements with waste. Or...
Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourish... more Households are sites where a progressive politics of change towards sustainability can be nourished. Efforts to do so, however, must attend to gender dynamics. Our aim is to improve our understanding of how gender and sustainability intersect at the household level and engage with progressive politics in this context. To do so, we present a collaborative autoethnography focused on gender and sustainability in our household covering five years during which we experienced multiple lifecourse transitions. Building on this we answer two questions. First, how does the encounter between personal experiences and scholarship shape conceptual refinement? Second, how do personal experiences and scholarship combine to shape what we understand as progressive politics? This article not only advances the understanding of gender and sustainability in households and progressive politics in this context but also shows that collaborative autoethnography offers a valuable methodological toolkit for ad...
Although public engagement is now part of the business of doing science, there is considerable di... more Although public engagement is now part of the business of doing science, there is considerable divergence about what the term means and what public engagement ought to be doing. This paper refl ects on these heterogeneous meanings and agendas through an analysis of focus group data from research on public engagement in stem cell research. Three broad visions of public engagement are identifi ed: as education and information provision; as dialogue; and as participation in policy making. In analysing the implications of these visions three dimensions are highlighted: weakly and strongly structured visions of public engagement; the co production of roles and relationships; and the framing of what is at stake. Each of these has the potential to include or exclude some groups in public engagement. We conclude that social scientists should seek to maintain the plasticity of public engagement as a necessary condition for greater participation and reflexivity in science policy, practice and...
I would also like to say a huge thank you to my supervisors-Sarah Cunningham-Burley and Wendy Fau... more I would also like to say a huge thank you to my supervisors-Sarah Cunningham-Burley and Wendy Faulknerfor their ongoing support and advice in numerous ways, and for leaving me to get on with it for the most part! No thesis acknowledgements would be complete without mentioning Mum and Dad, whose love and support have greased the wheels of life in countless ways. Thank you. Finally, a very special mention goes to my "Charming Man" and, more importantly, my best friend Nick, to whom this thesis is dedicated.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously – doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of ‘work’ and ‘care’, drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and s...
As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable commun... more As concern about climate change has moved up political agendas, the concept of sustainable community has emerged as one-way societies might respond to the challenge. In Scotland this has been operationalised in the Climate Challenge Fund, a Scottish Government fund designed to financially support communities become more sustainable through local carbon reduction projects. Drawing on recent debates in Policy Studies and Science & Technology Studies related to framing processes, in this paper we ask: how did the goal of sustainable communities become part of the policy agenda? And, how was the idea constituted in particular ways? We suggest that electoral politics matters for shaping shifts in discourse and policy and that in the movement from identification of problems, to the articulation of solutions and the mobilisation of action, a range of options is available as an outcome of the policy process. Land Reform (Scotland) White Paper published May Scottish Parliament Election (SL & SLD control) Portobello in Edinburgh becomes Scotland's first transition town October Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change published by HM Treasury April Scotland's Climate Change Declaration signed by all 32 local authorities April SGP manifesto for SP elections published, which includes the CCF as a key policy Scottish Parliamentary Session Three (20072011): Scottish National Party minority control, supported by Scottish Green Party May Scottish Parliament Election (SNP minority control, supported by SGP) May Renamed Scottish Government announces five new Strategic Objectives November Scottish Budget Spending Review, includes funding for the CCF June CCF launched by Cabinet Secretary and opens for first applications September CCF round 1 announced November CCF round 2 announced January CCF round 3 announced April CCF round 4 announced June Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009) unanimously passed by Scottish Parliament June Climate Change Delivery Plan published by Scottish Government September CCF round 5 announced September First CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) December Climate Change Adaptation Framework published by Scottish Government December CCF round 6 announced March CCF round 7 (tranche 1) announced May Second CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB June CCF round 7 (tranche 2) announced July Scotland misses first statutory targets on gas emissions in the climate change legislation March Sustainable Development Commission closes March CCF round 8 announced March SL manifesto for Scottish Parliament Elections is published & includes the CCF April SGP, SNP & SLD manifestos for Scottish Parliament Elections are published & all include the CCF 2011Present: Scottish National Party majority controls Scottish Parliamentary Session 4 May Scottish Parliament Elections (SNP win with first ever majority in the Scottish Parliament) June CCF Review by Brook Lyndhurst & Ecometrica published by Scottish Government September The Scottish Budget Spending Review-includes commitment to funding the CCF until 2015 November Third CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB March CCF round 9 announced June CCF round 10 announced August CCF round 11 announced November Fourth CCF Gathering of CCF funded community groups organised by KSB November Minister for Environment & Climate Change announces refresh of the CCF November CCF round 12 announced
Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking scienc... more Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of 'trading zones' developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain-applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2021
In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where prog... more In rich, developed countries, many stakeholders are focusing on households as settings where progress can be made on environmental and sustainability issues. Related research, policies and interventions, however, tend to ignore gender dynamics, thus treating them as irrelevant, or exploit them to achieve sustainability goals. We challenge this regressive treatment and show how household sustainability can be progressive in relation to gender and sustainability simultaneously-doubly progressive. Specifically, we ask: How do gender and sustainability intersect in households? What are the normative implications of these intersections? To answer these questions, we disentangle the perspectives of 'work' and 'care', drawing on feminist and gender scholarship, and explore both in the domestic setting by focusing on sustainable technologies and sustainable consumption. In this way, the twin normative agendas of equality of work and expansion of care emerge as ways of linking gender and sustainability in households. Our conclusion considers tensions and overlaps between work and care to identify how they can be re-entangled. We argue that re-entangling work and care requires holding them in dynamic tension with care being the context for work and in this way a doubly progressive approach to household sustainability emerges.
In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow ste... more In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow stem cell research to use human embryos. By identifying what Mulkay calls "discursive regularities" [Mulkay, M. (1993) Rhetorics of hope and fear in the great embryo debate, Social Studies of Science, 23, p. 723], this paper examines the rhetorical strategies of and manoeuvrings over the meanings of stem cells, cloning, and embryos within the parliamentary context. I focus upon the "return to the embryo question" and the significance" of this for the stem cell debates in terms of form and content. This feeds into an analysis of the ways in which two specific groups are discursively invoked and constructed--those with diseases and disabilities who have been identified as likely to benefit from stem cell therapies, and couples undergoing fertility treatment who are needed to donate spare embryos. In doing so, I draw upon similar analyses of the earlier embryo debates-...
In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow ste... more In April 2001, the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) was amended to allow stem cell research to use human embryos. By identifying what Mulkay calls "discursive regularities" [Mulkay, M. (1993) Rhetorics of hope and fear in the great embryo debate, Social Studies of Science, 23, p. 723], this paper examines the rhetorical strategies of and manoeuvrings over the meanings of stem cells, cloning, and embryos within the parliamentary context. I focus upon the "return to the embryo question" and the significance" of this for the stem cell debates in terms of form and content. This feeds into an analysis of the ways in which two specific groups are discursively invoked and constructed--those with diseases and disabilities who have been identified as likely to benefit from stem cell therapies, and couples undergoing fertility treatment who are needed to donate spare embryos. In doing so, I draw upon similar analyses of the earlier embryo debates--those of Mulkay, Franklin, Kirejcyk and Spallone--leading up to the establishment of the 1990 HFE Act. In conjunction with these analyses, I am able to identify parallels between the rhetorical devices mobilized and the legislative outcomes.
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Papers by Sarah Parry