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From material flow analysis to material flow management Part II: the role of structural agent analysis
- Source :
- Journal of Cleaner Production. 15:1605-1617
- Publication Year :
- 2007
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2007.
-
Abstract
- This paper presents a heuristic for supporting the transition from material flow analysis to material flow management. The heuristic combines material flow analysis with a newly developed method, structural agent analysis (SAA). The latter is based on Giddens structuration theory and provides a basis for understanding the social structures restricting or enabling strategies for managing material flows. We consider the specific advantages of SAA to be that it does the following: (i) it considers the interaction and dynamics of social structure and human agency and, thus, allows for including the role of structural factors such as culture in the analysis; (ii) it provides a cross-level approach allowing the study of interferences among agent groups; and (iii) it considers the different time scales of change of social structures constraining the implementation of options for improving material flows.
- Subjects :
- Structure (mathematical logic)
Operations research
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Heuristic
Strategy and Management
Material flow analysis
Structuration theory
Sociology
Industrial engineering
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Social structure
General Environmental Science
Material flow
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 09596526
- Volume :
- 15
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........de0f9c94d299fed1aba2b69a18e083dd