Understanding and Assessing Technologies for Sustainability (GEO42608)
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Universiteit Utrecht (UU)
This document provides you (almost) all answers of the Food for Thought and Numerical Exercises given during the lectures. When learning these answers, you should be well prepared for the exam. I have used this document to prepare myself and passed with an 8,2. Good luck!
Understanding and Assessing Technologies for Sustainability (GEO42608)
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Food for thought 1:
1) Provide some questions and answers when you want to analyse/look at a system
2) Apply Meadows’ work on a system of your choice
o Looking to the class as a Stock-Flow Diagram:
Inflow: students walking in the class and sit-down
Outflow: students walking out
Stock: the classroom
o The in- and outflow are not directly coupled, but they are contingent (afhankelijk) on factors
to which the stock is subject. For example: is there a lecture given? Is het professor
interesting? Could there be a virus around, limiting the inflow? This all depends which
boundaries you give the system and how complex one dares to make the system
3) Explain the importance of the buffer. What are the important criteria for the buffer itself?
o Buffer: improves system resilience. A buffer allows a system to decouple its inflow and
outflow, which allows it to be imbalanced for some time before returning to a balanced state
if it is not stretched or pushed too far for an extended period.
4) Explain the importance of the feedback loop in Meadows’ work
o Feedback loops: the interconnection between elements and the function/purpose a system
is trying to achieve. Feedback loops convey information between elements so elements can
respond to information so that the function or purpose of the system may be achieved,
changed, or evolve. Systems are interconnected elements with a purpose, or function, in
which feedback loops convey the information.
5) What are the leverage points in the intervene in a system?
o Parameters: the relatively mechanistic characteristics typically targeted by policy makers
1. Parameters (such as subsidies, taxes and standards)
2. The size of buffer stocks, relative to their flows
3. The structure of material stocks and flows
o Feedback: the interactions between elements within a system of interest that drive internal
dynamics
4. The length of delays, relative to the rate of system change
5. The strength of negative feedback loops
6. The gain around driving positive feedback loops
o Design: the social structures and institutions that manage feedbacks and parameters
7. The structure of information flows (access to information)
8. The rules of the system (incentives & constraints)
9. The power to add, change or self-organize system structure
o Intent: the underpinning values, goals, and world views of actors that shape the emergent
direction to which a system is oriented
10. The goals of the system
11. The mindset/paradigm out of which the system arises
12. The power to transcend paradigms
6) Explain the influence of the system’s goal as a leverage point
o If the goal of the systems changes radically, then all lower leverage points change
automatically with that change. If the game's goal of football is suddenly not to win but pass
as much as possible, all structures and information relays in the system change radically
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,7) What and how are the rules of the system defined and influence the system as a leverage point?
1. Define its scope, boundaries, and degree of freedom
2. Designed and created by mental models and paradigms we have regarding the system:
Human made systems purpose is explicit and does not evolve over time
Natural/social systems purpose is implicit and may evolve over time
8) How can you apply concepts from the reading material (e.g., The integrated model of Systems
Thinking, 3 Great Systems Thinking Questions, 7 Systems Thinking Competencies, Guidelines for
Living in a World of Systems) in your daily life?)
o Via The integrated model of Systems Thinking, one can, in an organised manner, analyse
their surroundings and test their findings against the framework to see in what layer their
findings should go. To see whether changing something there would/ could be a sustainable
solution to their problems
o 3 great systems thinking questions (Weinberg)
1. Why do I see what I see?
2. Why do things stay the same?
3. Why do things change?
o The 7 system thinking competencies (Valerdi)
1. Ability to define the universe appropriately: the system operates in this universe
2. Ability to define the overall system appropriately: defining the right boundaries
3. Ability to see relationships: within the system and between the system and universe
4. Ability to see things holistically: within and across relationships
5. Ability to understand complexity: how relationships yield uncertain, dynamic,
nonlinear states and situations
6. Ability to communicate across disciplines: to bring multiple perspectives to bear.
7. Ability to take advantage of a broad range of concepts, principles, models,
methods, and tools: because any one view is inevitably wrong
9) According to Monat and Gannon, there are 8 fundamental systems tools. Explain each one of
the tools using an example where you could use them during your career
BRICSSSS
1. Behaviour over time graphs
2. Causal loops diagram with feedback and delays
3. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM)
4. Root cause analysis
5. Stock and flow diagrams (including Main Chain Infrastructures)
6. System dynamics/Computer modelling
7. Systemigrams
8. Systems archetypes
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,10) The following graph shows how the inflow and outflow behave for a given system. From that
information, draw the behaviour of the stock in the given system
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, Food for thought 2:
DONE 11) Meadows (2008) gives a list of “take away” messages for systems (thinking)
practitioners. Which are the three most appealing messages to you and why?
1. Celebrate complexity
2. Defy the disciplines
3. Do not erode the goal of goodness
4. Expand the boundary of caring
5. Expand time horizons
6. Expose your mental models to the light of day
7. Get the beat of the system
8. Go for the good of the whole
9. Honour, respect, and distribute information
10. Listen to the wisdom of the system
11. Locate responsibility in the system
12. Make feedback policies for feedback systems
13. Pay attention to what Is Important, not just what is quantifiable
14. Stay humble, stay a learner
15. Use language with care and enrich it with systems concepts
Considering these three steps should provide a good insight into complex systems with a defined
boundary, define its internal and external relationships and feedback, and finally determine who is
responsible AND able to change aspects in the system.
DONE 12) Fisher (2017) concludes that Environmental law is neither a set of magic wants nor a
form of crude political power-plays. Hence, there are no simple solutions in Environmental Law.
However, she argues that the nature of environmental law is explained by four concepts, briefly
explain each of these concepts:
De Finale Show Cafe
o Legal diversity: having different environmental regulations everywhere. Environmental law is
diverse in three ways:
1. Different jurisdiction in different places
2. Diversity of environmental problems in different places
3. Different legal responses to tragedies of the commons
Because of legal diversity in environmental law, there is no standard set of legal forms
(regulation, rules, principles, etc) for environmental law.
o Legal stability: is complex regarding environmental law because legal stability comes from
the substantive reasoning of law, which is required to show rigour, logic, and attention to
detail and is grounded in established principles and doctrines.
o In the case of environmental law, this has not been established because it is a new field of
law that still requires the development of principles that remain changing fast in the current
industry.
o Many existing parties, transcending pollution boundaries and the dynamic nature of
environmental problems cause an uncertain framework
o Legal categorization: is important for environmental law because it defines concepts as a
legal definition. For example if a nature reserve is legally defined, policy measures can
categorise landscapes and give it a legal status.
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