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9.1 Chapter Summaries
This book aims at examining the applied framing in sustainability research. The
editors try to achieve this goal in the first three chapters by focusing on the theoretical discussions on framing itself, and in the subsequent five chapters introducing
different types of practical framing on specific topics or empirical cases. The present volume does not allow a full coverage of all types of sustainability issues; however, the editors believe the book serves as an initial step for reviewing different
types of framing applied in sustainability research and actions.
Chapter 1 by Mino and Kudo describes what framing is in general and why discussing framing in sustainability science is essential when addressing sustainability
issues. Framing explains how people perceive, understand, and interpret a particular
topic or event based on the assumptions, social norms, and values that people have
in their daily lives. Framing defines what situations are relevant to people, who
should be responsible for them, and who should take measures to improve the situation or avoid possible undesirable situations. Sustainability is essentially a normative concept and it requires people to frame what to sustain in society. In reality,
when addressing a sustainability issue, multiple framings by different actors always
exist and often conflict to one another. Hence, acknowledging the multiplicity in
framing is critically important in sustainability research. Sustainability experts are
expected to facilitate the communication among multiple framings posed by different groups of people and lead the discussion that results in concrete actions for
sustainability. In this chapter, Mino and Kudo propose a conceptual framework that
suggests key elements to be examined when addressing sustainability issues. The
framework combines holistic treatment and trans-boundary thinking to incorporate
multiple framings when understanding the complexity of a sustainability issue. The
proposed framework also contributes to verifying whether the proposed actions
reflect both global sustainability manifestation and unique values based on individual, case-specific contexts.
Chapter 2 by Jerneck and Olsson discusses pluralism and unification in sustainability research. They argue that pluralism allows collaborations among scholars
and social actors for sustainability, and that it also ensures a more theoretically
informed understanding of society. Pluralism is a better way to share understanding
about the complex sustainability challenges from the points of various social actors,
hence it helps addressing complex sustainability challenges compared to conventional views such as environmental determinism, functionalism, and rational choice
theory to be tackled. The authors suggest ‘social fields and natural systems’ as a
new framing concept that integrates social science theory and a systems science
perspective. This framing aims to bridge ontological barriers between natural science and social science, and avoids three common weaknesses of knowledge integration–namely, the use of environmental determinism, functionalism, and rational
choice theory–to explain social changes. Additionally, a new theoretical typology
was suggested to show how sustainability visions and pathways are linked with
T. Mino and S. Kudo
9.1 Chapter Summaries
This book aims at examining the applied framing in sustainability research. The
editors try to achieve this goal in the first three chapters by focusing on the theoretical discussions on framing itself, and in the subsequent five chapters introducing
different types of practical framing on specific topics or empirical cases. The present volume does not allow a full coverage of all types of sustainability issues; however, the editors believe the book serves as an initial step for reviewing different
types of framing applied in sustainability research and actions.
Chapter 1 by Mino and Kudo describes what framing is in general and why discussing framing in sustainability science is essential when addressing sustainability
issues. Framing explains how people perceive, understand, and interpret a particular
topic or event based on the assumptions, social norms, and values that people have
in their daily lives. Framing defines what situations are relevant to people, who
should be responsible for them, and who should take measures to improve the situation or avoid possible undesirable situations. Sustainability is essentially a normative concept and it requires people to frame what to sustain in society. In reality,
when addressing a sustainability issue, multiple framings by different actors always
exist and often conflict to one another. Hence, acknowledging the multiplicity in
framing is critically important in sustainability research. Sustainability experts are
expected to facilitate the communication among multiple framings posed by different groups of people and lead the discussion that results in concrete actions for
sustainability. In this chapter, Mino and Kudo propose a conceptual framework that
suggests key elements to be examined when addressing sustainability issues. The
framework combines holistic treatment and trans-boundary thinking to incorporate
multiple framings when understanding the complexity of a sustainability issue. The
proposed framework also contributes to verifying whether the proposed actions
reflect both global sustainability manifestation and unique values based on individual, case-specific contexts.
Chapter 2 by Jerneck and Olsson discusses pluralism and unification in sustainability research. They argue that pluralism allows collaborations among scholars
and social actors for sustainability, and that it also ensures a more theoretically
informed understanding of society. Pluralism is a better way to share understanding
about the complex sustainability challenges from the points of various social actors,
hence it helps addressing complex sustainability challenges compared to conventional views such as environmental determinism, functionalism, and rational choice
theory to be tackled. The authors suggest ‘social fields and natural systems’ as a
new framing concept that integrates social science theory and a systems science
perspective. This framing aims to bridge ontological barriers between natural science and social science, and avoids three common weaknesses of knowledge integration–namely, the use of environmental determinism, functionalism, and rational
choice theory–to explain social changes. Additionally, a new theoretical typology
was suggested to show how sustainability visions and pathways are linked with
T. Mino and S. Kudo