Scaling down: Researching household water practices

摘要: The thematic title of this special themed section ACME — “Scaling Down: Researching household water practices” is a corrective to the excessive emphasis on “scaling up” frequently encountered in discourses management. Scaling up concept essentially derived from engineering procedure whereby small-scale models designs are trialled before full-size working built. In positivist social science, idea scaling seems now have been accepted without much debate; researchers empirically study phenomena within given context develop theories that then extrapolated. When technocrats think about and deal with water, they seem accept as only valid approach. advise bureaucrats management, tend define approach most rational, technically sound economically efficient Technological fixes perceived bypass entanglement messy value-laden domains society politics. A technocratic treats change an problem, where individuals provided expert opinions aimed at changing their attitudes produce more rationalist set consumption behaviours.