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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2018) | Viewed by 128783

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Roland W. Scholz

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Economics and Globalization, Knowledge and Information Management, Danube University, A-3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
2. Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), D-14467 Potsdam, Germany
3. Natural and Social Science Interface, ETH Zurich, Rämistrasse 101, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Interests: coupled human–environment systems; sustainable digital environments; sustainable resources management; industrial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Gerald Steiner

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Knowledge and Communication Management, Danube-University Krems, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems, Austria
2. Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), Harvard University, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Interests: sustainability-oriented innovation systems/-processes; sustainable resource management; phosphate rock mining; organizational and regional innovation systems; organizational communication
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Peter Parcycek

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Guest Editor

Departement of E-Governance in Business and Administration, Danube University, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
Interests: e-governance; e-democracy; e-participation; open access; digital environments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ongoing digital revolution is changing all domains of life and technology. Against this background, it is remarkable that so little attention has been given to the unintended feedback loops (i.e., rebound effects) that may be faced by social, economic, and environmental systems. In a discussion of the major changes and threats, a recent paper (https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/726) elaborated that the current digital transformation heralds a new stage of evolution. A main environmental concern is that the large-scale manipulation of genetic processes and cell processes (i.e., directed evolution) is inducing new regulatory processes in evolution. Others stress that big data, the Internet of Things, and the global networking of all human minds are double-edged swords, and may endanger systems and structures that should be sustained from a resilience or sustainable development perspective.

The special issue, Sustainability and Digital Environments, will address a broad range of topics that should help readers to understand both the generic and specific aspects of the critical developments related to the spread of digital environments. Thus, the issue may include papers on challenging economic questions (e.g., the potential loss of workplaces and employment due to digitalization and what the future of both may look like), sociopolitical issues (e.g., altered human behavior, communication, or networking and different forms of cyber addiction), or environmental questions (e.g., the loss of agrobiodiversity linked to digital technologies). However, in addition, contributions related to technological aspects such as durable digital storage are welcomed. In particular, we invite contributions that reflect on the unintended side effects of digital technologies and papers that contribute to the structuring of critical aspects or types of rebound effects related to digital environments, as well as from epistemological or ethical perspectives. Finally, we invite papers that sketch processes related to the type of transdisciplinary or other processes of science and practice collaboration needed to establish sustainable digital environments.

In order to build sustainable digital environments as a component of sustainability science, those who are interested in the field but unsure whether their work may align with the goals of this Special Issue are invited to correspond with the guest editor of this special issue.

Prof. Dr. Roland W. Scholz
Prof. Dr. Peter Parcycek
Prof. Dr. Gerald Steiner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

digital revolution
rebound effects of digital technologies
sustainable digital environments
vulnerability
resilience management

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Application of an Assessment Complement for Production System Audits Based on Data Quality, IT Infrastructure, and Sustainability

by Aitor Goti, Alberto De la Calle, María José Gil, Ander Errasti, Pedro R. D. Bom and Pablo García-Bringas

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4679; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124679 - 8 Dec 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4729

Abstract

Some companies improve their production performance using manufacturing or operations models. In the last decade these models have come to be known as “X” production systems (XPS), or company-specific production systems. XPS systems have been oriented mainly to implement lean manufacturing and continuous improvement principles, but have shown little progress in terms of sustainability principles. The emergence of databases (DBs), big data, and business intelligence (BI) systems have enabled the creation of system panels to measure performance and manage business processes. These panels also allow assessment of the implementation of the principles, methods, and tools of the XPS. The effectiveness of these systems requires sufficient IT infrastructure and an acceptable quality of data, but the key performance indicator (KPI) panels of XPSs often lack consistent and acceptable data. In other cases, the IT infrastructure does not cover the needs of the personnel managing the operations, which limits the progress of XPSs. This paper documents the positive experience of one company in jointly auditing and improving data quality and IT infrastructure, which better aligned its XPS with sustainability objectives. It explores, using an empirical case study where the researchers were actively involved, the possibility of complementing the KPI panel system of XPS assessment systems with the principles of sustainability, data quality, and IT infrastructure. The paper describes the development and testing of an assessment tool based on those principles, and offers a number of results that may benefit similar small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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17 pages, 814 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Industry 4.0 and Climate Change—Exploring the Science-Policy Gap

by Kerstin Fritzsche, Silke Niehoff and Grischa Beier

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4511; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124511 - 30 Nov 2018

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 6920

Abstract

The paper aims to explore the gaps and overlaps between statements of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) working at the intersection of climate change, sustainable energy, and industrial development regarding the role of Industry 4.0 for climate change mitigation and the scientific literature addressing the energy and resource efficiency of Industry 4.0. To fulfill this objective, we conduct a two-tier review of relevant literature from both IGOs as well as academia. The analysis of documents from IGOs shows that Industry 4.0 is strongly associated with energy efficiency potentials that could contribute to climate change mitigation and more sustainable energy use in the industrial sector. Based on a review of the scientific literature, however, the paper concludes that it is currently not possible to validate this assumption and provide concrete figures since analyses providing a more comprehensive picture of potential energy savings, including possible negative effects and rebounds, are lacking. We suggest that these issues be addressed in further research, e.g., through concrete case studies that go beyond the assessment of single Industry 4.0 technologies. Furthermore, efforts should be strengthened to communicate findings from technology-centered research into political strategy-building and decision-making processes and, at the same time, raise awareness in the technological domain for the information needs of policymakers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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48 pages, 2341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unintended Side Effects of the Digital Transition: European Scientists’ Messages from a Proposition-Based Expert Round Table

by Roland W. Scholz, Eric J. Bartelsman, Sarah Diefenbach, Lude Franke, Arnim Grunwald, Dirk Helbing, Richard Hill, Lorenz Hilty, Mattias Höjer, Stefan Klauser, Christian Montag, Peter Parycek, Jan Philipp Prote, Ortwin Renn, André Reichel, Günther Schuh, Gerald Steiner and Gabriela Viale Pereira

Sustainability 2018, 10(6), 2001; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062001 - 13 Jun 2018

Cited by 83 | Viewed by 18095

Abstract

We present the main messages of a European Expert Round Table (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of the digital transition. Seventeen experts provided 42 propositions from ten different perspectives as input for the ERT. A full-day ERT deliberated communalities and relationships among these unseens and provided suggestions on (i) what the major unseens are; (ii) how rebound effects of digital transitioning may become the subject of overarching research; and (iii) what unseens should become subjects of transdisciplinary theory and practice processes for developing socially robust orientations. With respect to the latter, the experts suggested that the “ownership, economic value, use and access of data” and, related to this, algorithmic decision-making call for transdisciplinary processes that may provide guidelines for key stakeholder groups on how the responsible use of digital data can be developed. A cluster-based content analysis of the propositions, the discussion and inputs of the ERT, and a theoretical analysis of major changes to levels of human systems and the human–environment relationship resulted in the following greater picture: The digital transition calls for redefining economy, labor, democracy, and humanity. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based machines may take over major domains of human labor, reorganize supply chains, induce platform economics, and reshape the participation of economic actors in the value chain. (Digital) Knowledge and data supplement capital, labor, and natural resources as major economic variables. Digital data and technologies lead to a post-fuel industry (post-) capitalism. Traditional democratic processes can be (intentionally or unintentionally) altered by digital technologies. The unseens in this field call for special attention, research and management. Related to the conditions of ontogenetic and phylogenetic development (humanity), the ubiquitous, global, increasingly AI-shaped interlinkage of almost every human personal, social, and economic activity and the exposure to indirect, digital, artificial, fragmented, electronically mediated data affect behavioral, cognitive, psycho-neuro-endocrinological processes on the level of the individual and thus social relations (of groups and families) and culture, and thereby, the essential quality and character of the human being (i.e., humanity). The findings suggest a need for a new field of research, i.e., focusing on sustainable digital societies and environments, in which the identification, analysis, and management of vulnerabilities and unseens emerging in the sociotechnical digital transition play an important role. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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26 pages, 1356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rationalizing a Personalized Conceptualization for the Digital Transition and Sustainability of Knowledge Management Using the SVIDT Method

by Ulrich Schmitt

Sustainability 2018, 10(3), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030839 - 16 Mar 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6005

Abstract

The objective of a current design science research (DSR) undertaking is responding to the call for a decentralizing Knowledge Management (KM) revolution by conceptualizing a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system. The rationale is rooted in today’s accelerating information abundance and lack of adequate tools which signify—in the author’s view—the presently emerging and most crucial barriers to individual and collective development. For validation, it employs prototyping and verifies its design decisions against DSR guidelines and KM-related methodologies and practices. For the latter purpose, this article employs the SVIDT methodology (Strengths, Vulnerability, and Intervention Assessment related to Digital Threats) by adopting a hindsight reverse-engineered logical perspective in order to present the line of reasoning from the proposed technologies back to the underlying motivations. Its focus is the sustainability of PKM systems, processes, and outcomes combined with SVIDT’s concerns with goals and environments, actors and affiliations, strengths and weaknesses, threat and intervention scenarios, and synergies and strategies. In following the SVIDT’s nine steps, the broad span of the Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) concept’s “wicked” problem space is presented. The results reaffirm the DSR concept of theory effectiveness in terms of the system’s utility and communication, and present the PKM concept and system as sustainable interventions to confront opportunity divides independent of space (e.g., developed/developing countries), time (e.g., study or career phase), discipline (e.g., natural or social science), or role (e.g., student, professional, or leader). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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15 pages, 539 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Broadcasting and Telecommunications Industries in the Convergence Age: Toward a Sustainable Public-Centric Public Interest

by Hwanho Choi

Sustainability 2018, 10(2), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020544 - 19 Feb 2018

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7433

Abstract

The emergence of new digital technologies, such as the Internet and new business models such as over-the-top (OTT) operators that utilize them, has transformed the media and broadcasting industries. As advanced technologies and business models are adopted, convergence between the broadcasting and telecommunication (“telecom”) sectors has become a common business practice. Using the South Korean case study of a failed acquisition attempt of CJ HelloVision by SK Telecom, this research identifies the three essential features (economic, sociocultural, and industrial structure issues) related to convergence in the broadcasting and media industries. Further, this study reveals the potential consequences of convergence to the public, industry, and society, and offers critical implications for future policy direction. Finally, this study suggests the need for a change in the policy direction in the age of convergence in the broadcasting and media industries. In addition, it calls for the importance of a public-centric public benefit. Social and consumer welfare, and not profit or industrial growth, should dictate the public interest orientation in the broadcasting and media industries. Therefore, the meaning of public interest in broadcasting and media should not be limited in the industrial context of media; rather, it should consider the access to service by the public, the condition of consumption, and its consequences in the perspective of social and consumer welfare. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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1364 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transition: Perspectives of Japanese Experts

by Masahiro Sugiyama, Hiroshi Deguchi, Arisa Ema, Atsuo Kishimoto, Junichiro Mori, Hideaki Shiroyama and Roland W. Scholz

Sustainability 2017, 9(12), 2193; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122193 - 28 Nov 2017

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7666

Abstract

The core of the digital transition is the representation of all kinds of real-world entities and processes and an increasing number of cognitive processes by digital information and algorithms on computers. These allow for seemingly unlimited storage, operation, retrieval, and transmission capacities that make digital tools economically available for all domains of society and empower human action, particularly combined with real-world interfaces such as displays, robots, sensors, 3D printers, etc. Digital technologies are general-purpose technologies providing unprecedented potential benefits for sustainability. However, they will bring about a multitude of potential unintended side effects, and this demands a transdisciplinary discussion on unwanted societal changes as well as a shift in science from analog to digital modeling and structure. Although social discourse has begun, the topical scope and regional coverage have been limited. Here, we report on an expert roundtable on digital transition held in February 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. Drawing on a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, our discussions highlight the importance of cultural contexts and the need to bridge local and global conversations. Although Japanese experts did mention side effects, their focus was on how to ensure that AI and robots could coexist with humans. Such a perspective is not well appreciated everywhere outside Japan. Stakeholder dialogues have already begun in Japan, but greater efforts are needed to engage a broader collection of experts in addition to stakeholders to broaden the social debate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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3980 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Threat and Vulnerability Management: The SVIDT Method

by Roland W. Scholz

Sustainability 2017, 9(4), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040554 - 5 Apr 2017

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 10628

Abstract

The Digital Revolution is inducing major threats to many types of human systems. We present the SVIDT method (a Strengths, Vulnerability, and Intervention Assessment related to Digital Threats) for managing the vulnerabilities of human systems with respect to digital threats and changes. The method first performs a multilevel system–actor analysis for assessing vulnerabilities and strengths with respect to digital threats. Then, the method identifies threat scenarios that may become real. By constructing, evaluating, and launching interventions against all identified digital threats and their critical negative outcomes, the resilience of a specific human system can be improved. The evaluation of interventions is done when strengthening the adaptive capacity, i.e., a system’s capability to cope with negative outcomes that may take place in the future. The SVIDT method is embedded in the framework of coupled human–environment systems, the theory of risk and vulnerability assessment, types of adaptation (assimilation vs. accommodation), and a comprehensive sustainability evaluation. The SVIDT method is exemplarily applied to an enterprise (i.e., a Swiss casino) for which online gaming has become an essential digital-business field. The discussion reflects on the specifics of digital threats and discusses both the potential benefits and limitations of the SVIDT method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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Review

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25 pages, 812 KiB

Open AccessReview

Transformative Sustainable Business Models in the Light of the Digital Imperative—A Global Business Economics Perspective

by Barbara Brenner

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4428; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124428 - 27 Nov 2018

Cited by 89 | Viewed by 20610

Abstract

The considerable body of literature on business models, business model innovation, and sustainable business models has yet to fully account for the impact of external dynamics—including the digital imperative—on generating sustainable value propositions. To address this issue, we developed a multifaceted framework of transformative sustainable business models, spanning three levels: the external environment, the organization, and the individual. We drew on the resource-based view and the literature on digitization to explain how organizations can capitalize on dynamic transformative capabilities to generate novel value propositions, based on both reconstructionist logic and shared-value logic. These include elements such as co-creation, usage-based pricing, agility, closed-loop processes, asset sharing, and collaborative business ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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Other

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8 pages, 488 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Governance Strategies for a Sustainable Digital World

by Igor Linkov, Benjamin D. Trump, Kelsey Poinsatte-Jones and Marie-Valentine Florin

Sustainability 2018, 10(2), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020440 - 8 Feb 2018

Cited by 133 | Viewed by 25563

Abstract

Digitalization is changing society by the increased connectivity and networking that digital technologies enable, such as enhancing communication, services, and trade. Increasingly, policymakers within various national governments and international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are examining the original sustainability policy concepts applied within the Brundtland Report of 1987 through the lens of digitalization. While the growth of a digital economy may increase productivity and benefit local and global economies, digitalization also raises potential sustainability challenges pertaining to social (i.e., the benefits or costs imposed by disruptive digital technologies upon social networks and ways of life, including threats to economic sustainability and the rise of economic disparity) and environmental wellbeing (i.e., natural resource stewardship and concern for future generations) driven by the automation of information processing and delivery of services. Various perspectives have been raised regarding how the process of digitalization might be governed, and national governments remain at odds regarding a single best strategy to promote sustainable digitalization using the Brundtland concept to meet the development needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations (i.e., social and environmental well-being). This paper reviews three governance strategies that countries can use in conjunction with adaptive governance to respond to digitalization sustainability threats: (i) a laissez-faire, industry-driven approach; (ii) a precautionary and preemptive strategy on the part of government; and (iii) a stewardship and “active surveillance” approach by government agencies that reduce the risks derived from digitalization while promoting private sector innovation. Regardless of a state’s digital governance response and how it is shaped by political and institutional realities, adaptive governance approaches are likely necessary to address the economic and social sustainability challenges posed within differing manifestations of digitalization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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21 pages, 689 KiB

Open AccessHypothesis

Towards Homo Digitalis: Important Research Issues for Psychology and the Neurosciences at the Dawn of the Internet of Things and the Digital Society

by Christian Montag and Sarah Diefenbach

Sustainability 2018, 10(2), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020415 - 6 Feb 2018

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 18691

Abstract

The present article gives an overview on central challenges humans face at the dawn of complex digital societies and the Internet of Things (IoT), i.e., a world completely connected to the Internet. Among the many challenges to be handled in digital societies is a growing fragmented life style leading to loss of productivity as well as moments for self-reflection. In all this, it is of tremendous importance to understand the impact of digital worlds on our brains and psyches and to reveal possible unintended side-effects of technology use. Does human nature change due to constant interactions with virtual realities? In this context, we also face the challenge to design digital worlds according to our mammalian-emotional heritage deeply anchored in subcortical areas of the human brain. Here, we refer to emotional needs as carved out by Panksepp’s Affective Neuroscience Theory and how they can or cannot be fulfilled in digital worlds. Aside from a review of several key studies dealing with the raised challenges, some first solutions to successfully meet the mentioned problems are provided to achieve sustainable and healthy digital worlds, with whom humans can interact carefree on a daily basis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Environment)

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