While transdisciplinarity offers a way to tackle complex social-ecological challenges, transdisciplinary research is a challengingtask in itself. The integration of research methods across academic disciplines, the collaboration between researchers andpractitioners, and the need to balance societal and disciplinary academic impacts pose many difficulties even to experienced applied scientists and even more so to early-career researchers. Drawing on existing literature, an early-career researcher workshop, and our own experience as junior researchgroup leaders, we discuss specific challenges and respective solution strategies of transdisciplinary research within the context of sustainability.

This article was published in GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society (4/2018), pages 379 till 386. It can be accessed here. 

Wissenschaftler und Praktiker aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Verwaltung, die sich mit dem nachhaltigen Wirtschaften beschäftigen, wissen, dass die derzeitige Form der Ressourcennutzung nicht zukunftsfähig ist. Daher geht es darum, in den kommenden Jahrzehnten einen Transformationsprozess zu einer ressourcenleichten Gesellschaft durchzuführen. Erschienen in: Jahrbuch Nachhaltige Ökonomie 2016/2017. Metropolis-Verlag für Ökonomie Gesellschaft und Politik GmbH.

Planned obsolescence has recently been a common allegation to manufacturers, but proof apart from isolated cases is missing. This paper analyses the situation for smartphones, looks at use- and lifetime of smartphones and the underlying reasons for their obsolescence. Surveys show that a majority of consumers believes in “planned obsolescence” as a fact on the market and would like to have more durable products.