Feola, G. What is transformation? A review of emerging concepts. 11th International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics, 30 June-3 July 2015, University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Abstract The study of societal transformation in response to environmental
change has become established, yet little consensus exists regarding the
conceptual basis of transformation. This paper aims to provide structure to the
dialogue on transformation, and to reflect on the challenges of social research
in this area. Concepts of transformation are identified through a literature
review, and examined using four analytical criteria. It is found that the term
transformation is frequently used merely as a metaphor. When transformation is
not used as a metaphor, eight concepts are most frequently employed. They
differ with respect to (i) system conceptualization, (ii) notions of social
consciousness (deliberate/emergent), and (iii) outcome
(prescriptive/descriptive). Problem-based research tends to adopt concepts of
deliberate transformation with prescriptive outcome, while concepts of emergent
transformation with no prescriptive outcome tend to inform
descriptive-analytical research. Dialogue around the complementarities of
different concepts and their empirical testing are priorities for future
research. |
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