Suchergebnisse

Economic growth has both benefits and detriments for the sustainability of human flourishing. Economic growth has resulted in increased natural resource utilisation and discharges of emissions and wastes, which is worrying from a sustainability perspective. However, economic growth is intrinsically not a bad thing. It has many beneficial aspects, in particular the increasing supply of necessary goods and services that are needed to facilitate the flourishing of a growing human population. Furthermore, all types of economic growth are not necessarily impacting negatively on the natural environment. The key point is that global policy should not simply target economic growth with the aim of constraining it and striving for negative growth as a means to solving environmental sustainability concerns. This paper outlines the concept of ecological limits associated with natural resource utilisation and discharge of harmful emissions and wastes. It suggests that, instead of targeting economic growth, policies should target specific natural resource utilisation and emission discharge rates that exceed their ecological limits. Action plans should be developed and implemented using socioeconomic and technological approaches that try to bring these specific utilisations or discharges back to within their ecological limits. This may impact negatively on economic growth in the short to medium term but it is targeting specific resources and emissions that are unsustainable and the economic growth associated with them only. In the longer term, these actions may facilitate economic growth, while remaining within ecological limits.

Psychoanalytic studies of criminal motivation generally have followed the salient trends within the his torical development of psychoanalytic theory. The first trend, initiated by Sigmund Freud in an essay entitled "Criminals from a Sense of Guilt" (1916), highlighted the motiva tional priority of unconscious psychosexual conflict. Social and economic factors were minimized. Psychoanalytic ego psychologists subsequently have questioned the explanatory adequacy of the libido theory and have modified the theoretical orientation of psychoanalysis. This theoretical reorientation has been reflected in recent psychoanalytic studies of crime, which not only seek to account for the contextual diversity of antisocial behavior but also emphasize the etiological significance of character development, the adaptational functions of the ego, and the important role played by the environment in the criminal's life.

PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES OF CRIMINAL MOTIVATION GENERALLY HAVE FOLLOWED THE SALIENT TRENDS WITHIN THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY. THE 1ST TREND, INITIATED BY SIGMUND FREUD IN 1916 ("CRIMINALS FROM A SENSE OF GUILT," IN THE STANDARD EDITION OF THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SIGMUND FREUD, VOL 14, LONDON, ENGLAND: THE HOGARTH PRESS, 1953-74), HIGHLIGHTED THE MOTIVATIONAL PRIORITY OF UNCONSCIOUS PSYCHOSEXUAL CONFLICT. SOCIAL & ECONOMIC FACTORS WERE MINIMIZED. PSYCHOANALYTICAL EGO PSYCHOLOGISTS SUBSEQUENTLY HAVE QUESTIONED THE EXPLANATORY ADEQUACY OF THE LIBIDO THEORY & HAVE MODIFIED THE THEORETICAL ORIENTATION OF PSYCHOANALYSIS. THIS THEORETICAL REORIENTATION HAS BEEN REFLECTED IN RECENT PSYCHOANALYTICAL STUDIES OF CRIME, WHICH NOT ONLY SEEK TO ACCOUNT FOR THE CONTEXTUAL DIVERSITY OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR BUT ALSO EMPHASIZE THE ETIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, THE ADAPTIONAL FUNCTIONS OF THE EGO, & THE IMPORTANT ROLE PLAYED BY THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE CRIMINAL'S LIFE. MODIFIED HA.

This paper is presented within the broader theme of considering what non-engineering-discipline specific sustainability / sustainability development (SD) knowledge and competences should be included in engineering education, in particular for four year undergraduate or four to five year integrated master's programmes. Over the last 20 years, sustainability / SD has grown in importance, and consequently many engineering programmes have endeavoured to integrate it within their programmes. The UCC chemical engineering is one of these programmes. The inclusion of sustainability / SD content inherently contains engineering discipline specific content, but also includes content that is non-discipline specific and could potentially be undertaken by any engineering student. This paper looks at the University College Cork (UCC) Process and Chemical Engineering programme, and outlines the content that is considered as non- discipline specific. This includes the following which are briefly outlined in more detail within the paper: Basic concepts in sustainability and SD: What is it all about? The importance of framing; The environmental dimension, ecological systems thinking and importance of ecological limits; The role of environmental legislation; Humanity's grand challenges; the food-energy-water nexus and climate change; The game-changer: The socio-economic dimension (including ecological economics); its essential role in transitioning to and maintaining a sustainable society; its impact on engineering and to what extent engineering can have influence on the socio-economic dimension; Holistic thinking; inherent interconnectedness, life cycle thinking and assessment; Energy, its importance and its commonality to all engineering disciplines, and beyond; Acquiring soft skills of critical thinking, communication, working with others, embracing uncertainty and complexity; Transdisciplinarity, emergent knowledge, and the need to be able to work with others outside our disciplinary "silo"; Values, ethics and the normative nature of sustainability choices and narratives; Worldviews, paradigms, and links with consumptive growth (material, energy, information); Transformational change; going beyond the quantitative and reductionist and the role of narrative, imagination, myth and metaphor in precipitating authentic societal and cultural change.

PurposeThis paper aims to present key findings from an inquiry into engineering accreditation and curricula renewal. The research attempted to ascertain conceptions of requisite sustainability themes among engineering academics and professionals. The paper also reflects on the potential role of professional engineering institutions (PEIs) in embedding sustainability through their programme accreditation guidelines and wider implications in terms of rapid curricula renewal.Design/methodology/approachThis research comprised an International Engineering Academic Workshop held during the 2010 International Symposium on Engineering Education in Ireland, on "accreditation and sustainable engineering". This built on the findings of a literature review that was distributed prior to the workshop. Data collection included individual questionnaires administered during the workshop, and notes scribed by workshop participants.FindingsThe literature review highlighted a wide range of perspectives across and within engineering disciplines, regarding what sustainability/sustainable development (SD) themes should be incorporated into engineering curricula, and regarding language and terminology. This was also reflected in the workshop discussions. Notwithstanding this diversity, clusters of sustainability themes and priority considerations were distilled from the literature review and workshop. These related to resources, technology, values, ethics, inter‐ and intra‐generational equity, transdisciplinarity, and systems and complex thinking. Themes related to environmental and economic knowledge and skills received less attention by workshop participants than represented in the literature.Originality/valueThis paper provides an appreciation of the diversity of opinion regarding priority sustainability themes for engineering curricula, among a group of self‐selected engineering academics who have a common interest in education for SD. It also provides some insights and caveats on how these themes might be rapidly integrated into engineering curricula.