Janet Stephenson is a research professor at the Centre for Sustainability, an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Otago, New Zealand. As a social scientist with a background in sociology, planning and cultural geography, Janet has a longstanding interest in the social determinants of the transition to a sustainable future. Much of her research examines the interplay between culture and sustainability in a variety of contexts. She is passionate about collaborative, interdisciplinary research and applying diverse knowledge systems to sustainability challenges.
The Cultures Framework is the culmination of 18 years of research and theoretical development. Its genesis was in several interdisciplinary research programmes co-led by Janet on 'energy cultures'. This cultural framing was widely adopted internationally for research on diverse sustainability-related topics. Inspired by its flexibility and broad applicability, Janet undertook further research to conceptually strengthen the framework and to demonatrate, with many examples, how it can be used for research and policy development. The result is this book, Culture and Sustainability.
