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Elizabeth Shove

Bio: Elizabeth Shove is an academic researcher from Lancaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social practice & Energy policy. The author has an hindex of 54, co-authored 148 publications receiving 17258 citations.


Papers
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Book
17 May 2012
TL;DR: The Dynamics of Social Practice Introducing Theories of Practice Materials and Resources Sequence and Structure Making and Breaking Links Material, Competence and Meaning Car-Driving: Elements and Linkages Making Links Breaking Links Elements Between Practices Standardization and Diversity Individual and Collective Careers The Life of Elements Modes of Circulation Transportation and Access: Material Abstraction, Reversal and Migration: Competence Association and Classification: Meaning Packing and Unpacking Emergence, Disappearance and Persistence Recruitment, Defection and Reproduction First Encounters: Careers and Carriers Collapse and Transformation
Abstract: The Dynamics of Social Practice Introducing Theories of Practice Materials and Resources Sequence and Structure Making and Breaking Links Material, Competence and Meaning Car-Driving: Elements and Linkages Making Links Breaking Links Elements Between Practices Standardization and Diversity Individual and Collective Careers The Life of Elements Modes of Circulation Transportation and Access: Material Abstraction, Reversal and Migration: Competence Association and Classification: Meaning Packing and Unpacking Emergence, Disappearance and Persistence Recruitment, Defection and Reproduction First Encounters: Networks and Communities Capture and Commitment: Careers and Carriers Collapse and Transformation: The Dynamics of Defection Daily Paths, Life Paths and Dominant Projects Connections Between Practices Bundles and Complexes Collaboration and Competition Selection and Integration Coordinating Daily Life Circuits of Reproduction Monitoring Practices-as-Performances Monitoring Practices-as-Entities Cross-Referencing Practices-as-Performances Cross-Referencing Practices-as-Entities Aggregation Elements of Coordination Intersecting Circuits Representing the Dynamics of Social Practice Representing Elements and Practices Characterizing Circulation Competition, Transformation and Convergence Reproducing Elements, Practices and Relations between Them Time and Practice Space and Practice Dominant Projects and Power Promoting Transitions in Practice Climate Change and Behaviour Change Basis of Action Processes of Change Positioning Policy Transferable Lessons Practice Theory and Climate Change Policy Configuring Elements of Practice Configuring Relations between Practices Configuring Careers: Carriers and Practices Configuring Connections Practice Oriented Policy Making

2,250 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and assumptions and present a short and deliberately provocative paper.
Abstract: In this short and deliberately provocative paper I reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and conce...

1,944 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is a growing recognition of the holistic, unavoidably interrelated nature of contemporary environmental problems and of the need for fresh approaches and forms of governance capable of engaging with complex challenges of this kind.
Abstract: Green is not alone in contending that `̀ environmental c̀rises' require fundamental changes in the socio-technological structure of the way we live and work.''(1) For those concerned with sustainability, the idea of transitionöof substantial change and movement from one state to anotheröhas powerful normative attractions. If `we' can steer change, shape future development, and manage movement in desired directions, perhaps `we' can make the environment a better and more sustainable place in which to live. But how so to do? In a manifestly complex world dominated by hegemonic ideologies of neoliberal capitalism, global finance, and commodity flows is it really possible to intervene and deliberately shift technologies, practices, and social arrangementsönot to mention their systemic interaction and interdependenciesöonto an altogether different, altogether more sustainable track? Across the board there is growing recognition of the holistic, unavoidably interrelated nature of contemporary environmental problems and of the need for fresh approaches and forms of governance capable of engaging with complex challenges of this kind. Theories and models of sustainable transition management, derived from a blend of academic traditions in innovation, history, and technology, appear to fit this bill and it is no wonder that they are now catching on across a number of policy domains. In the Netherlands, government-sponsored programmes have explicitly adopted methods of `transition management' (Kemp and Loorbach, 2006) and in the UK, the policy relevance of similar theories and methods is being explored and actively promoted through projects and events like those supported by the ESRC's Sustainable Technologies Programme. Academically, and in just a few years, there has been rapid growth in the transition management literature and in the appeal of approaches characterised by an alluring combination of agency, complexity, uncertainty, and optimism. We do not intend to provide a thorough review or critique of what is in any case a burgeoning and quickly evolving literature, but at a time when the notion of transition management is capturing so much attention it is as well to reflect on the distinctive features of this particular policy innovation. With this limited aim in mind, we offer some cautionary comments and identify a handful of questions that deserve more explicit attention. The notion of transition is firmly rooted in traditions of system thinking which highlight the coevolution of the social and the technical and which seek to understand and analyse the emergence, transformation, and decay of sociotechnical systems. Much of the `systems in transition' literature makes use of Rip and Kemp's (1998) `multilevel' model of innovation which distinguishes between the macrolevel of the sociotechnical landscape, the mesolevel regime, and the microlevel niche. The key Commentary Environment and Planning A 2007, volume 39, pages 763 ^ 770

928 citations

Book
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: Shove as discussed by the authors investigated the evolution of these changes, as well as the social meaning of the practices themselves, concluding that routine consumption is controlled by conceptions of normality and profoundly shaped by cultural and economic forces, and that habits are not just changing, but are changing in ways that imply escalating and standardizing patterns of consumption.
Abstract: Over the past few generations, expectations of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have altered radically, but these dramatic changes have largely gone unnoticed. This intriguing book brings together the sociology of consumption and technology to investigate the evolution of these changes, as well the social meaning of the practices themselves. Homes, offices, domestic appliances and clothes play a crucial role in our lives, but not many of us question exactly how and why we perform so many daily rituals associated with them. Showers, heating, air-conditioning and clothes washing are simply accepted as part of our normal, everyday lives, but clearly this was not always the case. When did the daily shower become de rigueur? What effect has air conditioning had on the siesta at one time an integral part of Mediterranean life and culture? This book interrogates the meaning and supposed normality of these practices and draws disturbing conclusions. There is clear evidence supporting the view that routine consumption is controlled by conceptions of normality and profoundly shaped by cultural and economic forces. Shove maintains that habits are not just changing, but are changing in ways that imply escalating and standardizing patterns of consumption. This shrewd and engrossing analysis shows just how far the social meanings and practices of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have eluded us.

869 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that Nordic walking, a form of speed walking with two sticks, arise through the active and ongoing integration of images, artifacts and forms of competence, a process in which both consumers and producers are involved.
Abstract: The idea that artifacts are acquired and used in the course of accomplishing social practices has important implications for theories of consumption and innovation. From this point of view, it is not enough to show that goods are symbolically and materially positioned, mediated and filtered through existing cultures and conventions. Twisting the problem around, the further challenge is to explain how practices change and with what consequence for the forms of consumption they entail. In this article, we suggest that new practices like Nordic walking, a form of ‘speed walking’ with two sticks, arise through the active and ongoing integration of images, artifacts and forms of competence, a process in which both consumers and producers are involved. While it makes sense to see Nordic walking as a situated social practice, such a view makes it difficult to explain its growing popularity in countries as varied as Japan, Norway and the USA. In addressing this issue, we conclude that practices and associated cultures of consumption are always ‘homegrown’. Necessary and sometimes novel ingredients (including images and artifacts) may circulate widely, but they are always pieced together in a manner that is informed by previous and related practice. What looks like the diffusion of Nordic walking is therefore better understood as its successive, but necessarily localized, (re)invention. In developing this argument, we explore some of the consequences of conceptualizing consumption and consumer culture as the outcome of meaningful social practice.

840 citations


Cited by
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Book Chapter
01 Jan 1996
TL;DR: In this article, Jacobi describes the production of space poetry in the form of a poetry collection, called Imagine, Space Poetry, Copenhagen, 1996, unpaginated and unedited.
Abstract: ‘The Production of Space’, in: Frans Jacobi, Imagine, Space Poetry, Copenhagen, 1996, unpaginated.

7,238 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Thaler and Sunstein this paper described a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications, as a general approach to how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society.
Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

3,435 citations

01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The the practice of everyday life is universally compatible with any devices to read and is available in the digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly.
Abstract: Thank you very much for downloading the practice of everyday life. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their chosen novels like this the practice of everyday life, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some malicious bugs inside their desktop computer. the practice of everyday life is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our books collection spans in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Kindly say, the the practice of everyday life is universally compatible with any devices to read.

2,932 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the intellectual contours of this emerging field by conducting a review of basic conceptual frameworks, together with bibliographical analysis of 540 journal articles in the field.

2,406 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The multi-level perspective (MLP) has emerged as a fruitful middle-range framework for analysing socio-technical transitions to sustainability as discussed by the authors. But the MLP also received constructive criticisms.
Abstract: The multi-level perspective (MLP) has emerged as a fruitful middle-range framework for analysing socio-technical transitions to sustainability. The MLP also received constructive criticisms. This paper summarises seven criticisms, formulates responses to them, and translates these into suggestions for future research. The criticisms relate to: (1) lack of agency, (2) operationalization of regimes, (3) bias towards bottom-up change models, (4) epistemology and explanatory style, (5) methodology, (6) socio-technical landscape as residual category, and (7) flat ontologies versus hierarchical levels.

1,976 citations