icis-e-book-21.pdf
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… of their veracity – assumptions matter because they inform and guide actions. Our findings show how assumptions based on personal beliefs, previous experiences and (strategic) evaluation find their way into the construction, implementation and outcomes of an initiative targeting lifestyle changes. Chapter 21 Assuming change for the better 241 21.1 Introduction Consumerist lifestyles in the Western world and among the wealthy across the globe are blamed for the many social, economic, and environmental problems that current and future generations are faced with. For decades now, calls for change towards sustainability have been becoming more and more numerous, urgent and loud. Not only is it a challenge to agree on the kind of change needed, but another question is how to bring about any kind of change. These two questions are closely related, of course, because a change … of an educational initiative aimed at sustainable lifestyle changes. Theories of social practices, our second conceptual basis, take people’s “sayings and doings” (Schatzki, 1996) as the unit of analysis and look at how the material world, skills and competences, as well as meanings that people attach to them, shape and are shaped by practices. A practice can be simply defined as a cluster of behaviours, e.g. cooking, taking a shower, travelling to work, or taking care of others. Practices require …
