The Normative Nature of Social Practices and Ethics in Professional Environments


Book Description

Professionals function in what can be called “social practices.” Norms in the practice set professionals’ responsibilities and rights and classify what is seen as morally proper and improper. Tensions arise when norms emerge that are not coherent with the nature of the practice. For example, when a hospital is assessed on the basis of economic criteria only, staff will feel uncomfortable and find difficulty in functioning properly in that practice. The Normative Nature of Social Practices and Ethics in Professional Environments is an essential research book that helps professionals in a variety of practices understand how normativity in their practice either helps or hampers them to function well and align with what they see as their personal and professional responsibility. Additionally, it explains the normative practical model/approach and how it can be applied to a series of concrete practices, as well as the role of innovative and disruptive technologies in these practices. Featuring a broad range of topics such as governance theory, sustainable development, and engineering, this book is ideally designed for managers, philosophers, sociologists, professionals, academicians, and researchers.




Innovation Research in Technology and Engineering Management


Book Description

Philosophy may not seem to be an obvious source to discover methods for successful product innovation management. However, this book shows that systematic reflection on the nature of product innovation management, supported by insights from the philosophy of technology, can illuminate the innovation process in technology and engineering. Presenting methodological guidelines and philosophical reflections, this book guides readers through each phase of product innovation. At each step, ideas from the philosophy of technology are translated into practical guidelines for managing these processes. The book works through the philosophical perspectives on innovation, methods in innovation design and research, and the value and ethical implications of innovation. Bridging the gap between philosophical context and practical methodologies, this book will be highly valuable for postgraduate students and academics researching and teaching innovation and philosophy of technology.




Interdisciplinary and Social Nature of Engineering Practices


Book Description

This book covers practical and philosophical aspects of Engineering, paying special attention to the social impacts of emerging technologies. Some fundamentals of philosophy of technology are introduced followed by social, economic, and environmental discussion and implications in different disciplines. Each chapter provides insights on the responsibilities involved in the design of engineering projects. The examples presented combine concepts about the impacts of Engineering in society at the same time that incorporates new technological models, yielding an innovative approach about the topics.




Relational Anthropology for Contemporary Economics


Book Description

This open access book offers a multidisciplinary dialogue on relational anthropology in contemporary economics. A particular view of the human being is often assumed in economic models, but seldom acknowledged let alone explicated. Addressing this neglected area of research in economic studies, altogether the contributors touch upon the importance and potential of virtues, the notions of freedom and self-love, the potential of simulation models, the dialectics of love, and questions of methodology in constructing a relational anthropology for contemporary economics. The overall result is a highly informative and constructive dialogue, establishing inter alia a research agenda for future collaborative and multidisciplinary study.




Process Intensification


Book Description

Process Intensification is a comprehensive textbook and treats the theory of process intensification design, and all innovation steps from idea generation to commercial implementation, and all focused on contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This book covers the ‘hard’ elements of design, modelling, and experimental validations and the ‘soft’ elements, values of engineers, interests of stakeholders and beliefs of society.




Towards A New Christian Political Realism


Book Description

Towards A New Christian Political Realism presents a new theoretical approach to understanding the role of religion in international relations, considering the strengths of Christian realism, classical realism, and neorealism, as well as the literature about the relevance of religion for IR. The book discusses the resurgence of religion and how it has become ‘public’ in the world since around the 1960s. It extensively describes the role religion plays in Hans Morgenthau’s classical realism and Kenneth Waltz’s neorealism and how both thinkers are indebted to an Augustinian way of thinking that has influenced political realism through Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian realism. The book presents an alternative approach inspired by the Amsterdam School of Philosophy: a new Christian political realism. It incorporates the theological inspiration of political realism and the necessity of theorizing while doing justice to the relevance and manifold manifestations of religion in international relations. This book will be of interest to scholars and higher-level students of International Relations, the Amsterdam School of Philosophy, Classical Realism, Neorealism, Christian Realism, and Religious Studies, as well as practitioners working in the field of International Relations.




Recent Social, Environmental, and Cultural Issues in East Asian Societies


Book Description

East Asian societies continue to react to developments occurring in the Western part of the world as well as influence development elsewhere due to the global reach of East Asian economies and the increased political weight of East Asian societies. These systems have distinctive features often connected with local social and cultural traditions. However, these traditions are constantly being reinterpreted, and the changing meanings attached to them must be taken into account. Recent Social, Environmental, and Cultural Issues in East Asian Societies is an essential research book that explores various social, environmental, and cultural issues challenging modern East Asian cultures and their implications on society. Featuring a wide range of topics such as local identity, social risk, and government policy, this book is ideal for researchers, policymakers, sociologists, managers, anthropologists, politicians, diplomats, academicians, and students.




Engineering and Ecosystems


Book Description

This book demonstrates how the inclusion of nature in engineering decisions results in innovative solutions that are economically feasible, ecologically viable, and socially desirable. It advances progress toward nature-positive decisions by protection and restoration of ecosystems and respect for ecological boundaries. The topic of this book is an active area of academic research, and leading companies are including goals associated with ecosystem services in their sustainability plans. This book is the first collection of methods and applications that explicitly include the role of nature in supporting engineering activities and describes the role that ecosystems play in supporting technology and industry. It describes approaches, models, applications, and challenges for innovation and sustainability that will be useful to students and practitioners.




Christianity and Psychiatry


Book Description

This book aims to help readers appreciate the many-faceted relationship between Christianity, one of the world’s major faith traditions, and the practice of psychiatry. Chapter authors in this book first consider challenges posed by historical antagonisms, church-based mental health stigma, and controversy over phenomena such as hearing voices. Next, others explore both how Christians often experience conditions such as mood and psychotic disorders, disorders in children and adolescents, moral injury and PTSD, and ways that their faith can serve as a resource in their healing. Twelve Step spirituality, originally informed by Christianity, is the subject of a chapter, as are issues raised for Christians by disability, death and dying. A set of chapters then focuses on the state of integration of Christian beliefs and practices into psychotherapy, treatment delivery, educational programming, clergy/clinician collaboration, and treatment by a non-Christian psychiatrist. Finally, there are chapters by a mental health professional who has been a patient, a Jewish psychiatrist, a Muslim psychiatrist knowledgeable about Christianity and psychiatry in the Muslim majority world, and a Christian psychiatrist. These chapters provide context, diversity and personal perspectives. Christianity and Psychiatry is a valuable resource for mental health professionals seeking to understand and address the particular challenges that arise when caring for Christian patients.




Shaping an Inclusive Energy Transition


Book Description

This open access book makes a case for a socially inclusive energy transition and illustrates how engineering and public policy professionals can contribute to shaping an inclusive energy transition, building on a socio-technical systems engineering approach. Accomplishing a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy in 2050 is a daunting challenge. This book explores the challenges of the energy transition from the perspectives of technological innovation, public policy, social values and ethics. It elaborates on two particular gaps in the design of public policy interventions focused on decarbonization of the energy system and discusses how both could be remedied. First, the siloed organization of public administration fails to account for the many interdependencies between the energy sector, the mobility system, digital infrastructure and the built environment. Cross-sector coordination of policies and policy instruments is needed to avoid potentially adverse effects upon society and the economy, which may hamper the energy transition rather than accelerate it. Second, energy and climate policies pay insufficient attention to the social values at stake in the energy transition. In addressing these gaps, this book intends to inspire decision makers engaged in the energy transition to embrace the transition as an opportunity to bring a more inclusive society into being.