New TATuP on care concepts in sustainability transformations

How can concepts of precaution and care be harnessed for a socio-ecological transformation? And what impetus can they give to technology assessment? These are the questions addressed by the current TATuP.
Zeitschriftencover von TATuP über Nachhaltigkeit und Fürsorgepraktiken.
TATuP issue 34/1 (2025) “Practices and concepts of care in sustainability transformations: Critical perspectives in technology assessment”

In a broad sense, the concept of care includes not only care for people, but also precaution and care in dealing with the environment and technical artifacts. Care practices can therefore be of particular importance when assessing the risks and uncertain consequences of technologies.

Against this background, the Special topic “Practices and concepts of care in sustainability transformations: Critical perspectives in technology assessment,” edited by Sarah Hackfort, Lena Reinermann, and Daniela Gottschlich, examines how care can be integrated into TA research. The editors aim to develop a new perspective that expands the understanding of the impact of technologies and thus promotes a socio-ecological transformation.

The articles in this Special topic demonstrate, among other things, the relevance of care concepts in transformation processes and how they specifically contribute to solving the problem of marine plastic litter or to developing an everyday ethics for dealing with social media.

Interview: How can we take good care of technology?

In the TATuP interview, transformation researcher Andrea Vetter has her say. She is a recognized critic of the belief in “techno-fixes” as the only way out of socio-ecological problems such as the climate crisis. Instead, Vetter is convinced of the need for new, collaborative ways of dealing with people and technologies.

The current issue also includes research articles with a critical TA view on the challenges of self-reporting on health platforms and on the findings of social network analysis for the transformation of the mobility sector. Also in this issue: conference reports, book reviews, and news from the TA community. (01.04.2025)

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