Exploring the well-being and ecosystem services relationship through the capability approach

This thesis investigates the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being through a case study in Cornwall, UK. The study examines how aspects of the economic and socio-cultural environment interact and influence participants’ constructs of well-being, as well as mediate, through mechanisms of access, their ability to benefit from ecosystem services. The research design is informed by Sen’s capability approach as well as insights from literatures on access theory, human well-being, and ecosystem services. While Sen’s approach potentially offers a novel means to explore the ecosystem services and well-being relationship, it is currently underutilised in this research context. Adopting an in-depth qualitative research approach, data collection took place over 21 months with the same cohort of participants, who face various types of socio-economic disadvantage. Focus groups, life history interviews, photo elicitation, and semi-structured interviews were used to (a) elicit local constructs of well-being, (b) explore the role of ecosystem services for well-being, and (c) identify mechanisms of access that mediate participants’ ability to benefit from valued ecosystem services. The analysis shows that capabilities are interlinked and multidimensional. Therefore, existing socio-economic constraints have important implications for capability formation, and also lead to a series of trade-offs in converting capabilities into well-being. The findings deliver new insights into existing conceptualizations of the ecosystem services and well-being relationship, highlighting the role of cultural practices as sources of well-being, and identifying cultural ecosystem services as an overarching theme rather than a discrete service type. Four types of access mechanisms emerge from the data, including psychological mechanisms, demonstrating that physical distance is an insufficient indicator of exposure to ecosystem services. The thesis concludes by suggesting that developing a capability theory for ecosystem services could aid disaggregated analyses and deliver more nuanced insights into the complex links between ecosystem services and well-being, by shifting the focus from outcomes to opportunities and the processes that contribute to particular outcomes

Facilitating change : towards resident-oriented housing modernisation with collaborative design

Collaborative design can deal with open-ended and complex systems. Its aim is to collectively create proposals for alternative futures, and bring value for people, organisations and society alike. So far the research on collaborative design has primarily focused on methodical development. Less attention has been focused on long-term examination of connections between design and appropriation. The present dissertation focuses on this research gap by providing an empirical view on the contribution of collaborative design in systemic change. This dissertation is a longitudinal case study. It addresses Finnish repair construction as a complex system, its systemic change, and he contribution of a collaborative design project in the change. The research material consists of project documents, follow-up interviews, documents on following developments, and the author’s personal experience in the project. The multi-method analysis builds an in-depth narrative of the systemic change and the contribution of design within a timespan of seven years between 2004 and 2011. The analysis shows that the systemic change of repair construction refers to a paradigmatic transformation from technical orientation towards an ideal vision of resident-oriented housing modernisation in several levels of the system. The vision was created in the IKE project in 2004 and 2005. IKE was a preliminary study commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment to define the development requirements for repair construction. The project applied collaborative design to explore and envision repair construction. Empathic and participatory approach joined multi-disciplinary project participants including residents, repair construction professionals and design researchers. The research shows that the vision built commitment to long-term change in repair construction. By 2011, the vision was adopted as an idea innovation by nearly seventy percent of the project participants. The field had started to shift its focus on residents in addition to the housing company board. Replumbing was becoming reinterpreted as a service business. Additionally, a need for long-term maintenance culture of the built environment was arising. The vision was applied in fifty development projects and solutions in private and public sectors. The research illustrates commitment to change in individual, organisational and governmental levels. The three main streams of development following the ideal vision involve resident-orientation as a novel criterion for repair construction, investment in developing repair service offering, and resident-oriented housing modernisation in building policy. The contribution of collaborative design in the systemic change of Finnish repair construction resides in facilitation. Facilitation with collaborative design in the IKE project involved 1) producing various occasions for stakeholders to participate exploration and envisioning, 2) establishing reciprocal empathic encounters between residents and repair construction professionals, 3) producing experiential material for reflection between the everyday and society, and 4)reifying the ideal vision with visualisations and storytelling for later use. The term facilitation represents the contribution and position of collaborative design. Facilitation positions collaborative design in change: design did not initiate or implement the change, but rather responded to the professional practitioners’ need for establishing a shared starting point for change. The contribution of design was to enable consistent transformation in the field by providing means to simultaneous innovation creation and adoption. The research provides insights on facilitating systemic change to scholars and practitioners of collaborative design and repair construction alike. The book presents an account of the recent history of repair construction in Finland.Yhteissuunnittelulla voidaan kehittää avoimia ja monimutkaisia järjestelmiä. Sen tavoitteena on luoda vaihtoehtoisia tulevaisuuskuvia, jotka tuovat arvoa yhtälailla yksilöille, organisaatioille kuin yhteiskunnalle. Yhteissuunnittelun tutkimus on tähän mennessä keskittynyt lähinnä menetelmien kehittämiseen. Vähemmälle huomiolle on jäänyt sen hyödyntämisen yksityiskohtainen ja pitkäaikainen arviointi. Tämä väitöstyö esittää empiirisen näkökulman yhteissuunnittelun panoksesta systeemiseen muutokseen. Väitöstyö on pitkittäinen tapaustutkimus. Työssä tutkitaan empiirisesti suomalaista korjausrakentamista monimutkaisena järjestelmänä ja sen systeemistä muutosta sekä erään yhteissuunnitteluhankkeen roolia muutoksessa. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu projektidokumenteista, seurantahaastatteluista ja muutoksiin liittyvistä dokumenteista sekä tekijän henkilökohtaisesta kokemuksesta projektityössä. Monivaiheisen analyysin tuloksena väitöskirja kuvaa systeemistä muutosta ja muotoilun panosta seitsemän vuoden ajalta vuosina 2007 — 2011. Analyysi osoittaa, että korjausrakentamisen systeeminen muutos tarkoittaa alan käännettä teknisestä painotuksesta kohti yhteistä tavoitetta — asukaslähtöistä perusparantamista — järjestelmän useilla tasoilla. Yhteinen tavoite luotiin IKE-projektissa vuosina 2004 — 2005. Projekti oli Ympäristöministeriön rahoittama esiselvityshanke, jonka tavoitteena oli määritellä suomalaisen korjausrakentamisen kehitystarpeet. Projektissa sovellettiin yhteissuunnittelua korjausrakentamisen tarkasteluun ja visiointiin. Empaattinen ja osallistuva ote edesauttoi monialaisten projektijäsenten kuten korjausrakentamisen ammattilaisten, asukkaiden ja muotoilututkijoiden yhteistyötä. Yhteinen tavoite edisti sitoutumista korjausrakentamisen muutokseen pitkäaikaisesti. Vuoteen 2011 mennessä miltei seitsemänkymmentä prosenttia projektiin osallistuneista oli omaksunut tavoitteen. Ala oli alkanut huomioida asukkaat asunto-osakeyhtiöiden hallituksen lisäksi. Putkiremontti alettiin nähdä palveluliiketoimintana. Lisäksi asuntokannan pitkän aikavälin ylläpitokulttuuri oli syntymässä. Tavoitetta sovellettiin viidessäkymmenessä kehittämishankkeessa ja ratkaisussa yksityisellä ja julkisella sektorilla. Tutkimus kuvaa muutokseen sitoutumista yksilöiden, organisaatioiden ja valtion hallinnon tasoilla. Kolme yhteistä tavoitetta seuraavaa pääkehityskulkua ovat: asukaslähtöisyys korjausrakentamisen uutena kriteerinä, investointi palvelutarjonnan kehittämiseen, ja asukaslähtöinen perusparantaminen valtion hallinnossa. Yhteissuunnittelun panos suomalaisen korjausrakentamisen systeemiseen muutokseen on fasilitointi. IKE-projektissa fasilitointi tuotti 1) tilaisuuksia, joissa osallistujat saivat osallistua korjausrakentamisen tarkasteluun ja visiointiin, 2) kohtaamisia asukkaiden ja korjausrakentamisen ammattilaisten kesken, mikä synnytti vastavuoroista empatiaa, 3) kokemusperäistä aineistoa, joka tuki pohdiskelua arjen ja yhteiskunnan kysymysten välillä, ja 4) kuvallisen ja tarinallisen kuvauksen yhteisestä tavoitteesta. Fasilitointi terminä kuvaa yhteissuunnittelun panosta ja asemaa muutoksessa. Fasilitointi sijoittaa yhteissuunnittelun muutosta tukevaksi toiminnaksi, korjausrakentamisen ammattilaisten vastatessa muutoksen aloitteesta ja toteuttamisesta. Yhteissuunnittelu mahdollisti johdonmukaisen muutoksen korjausrakentamisessa. Se edisti erityisesti hankkeen aikaista rinnakkaista innovaation luomista ja omaksumista. Väitöstyö tarjoaa näkökulmia systeemisen muutoksen fasilitointiin tutkijoille sekä muotoilun ja rakentamisen ammattilaisille. Samalla kirja luo katsauksen suomalaisen korjausrakentamisen lähihistoriaan

Accessibility of E-government Services for Persons with Disabilities in Developing Countries- The Case of Ghana

Several benefits have been attributed to E-government, including the potential to promote independence and belongingness for persons with disabilities (PWD) by enhancing participatory and inclusive governance. Hitherto, government services that required several and long journeys followed by long queues waiting for service at government offices can now be accessed online irrespective of the geographical location via E-government services. As a result, developing countries like Ghana continue to commit resources to the implementation of E-government to harness the associated benefits. Accessibility has been acknowledged, by both practitioners and those in academia, as a key consideration to prevent disparities among citizens which may put PWD at risk of exclusion. However, providing solutions to accessibility challenges for PWD has consistently proven difficult in most E-government implementation projects in developing countries. Therefore, this study investigates the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD in Ghana with the aim of identifying how key E-government stakeholders perceive accessibility and the contextual drivers that lead to the exclusion of PWD in the development of E-government services. Also, this study seeks to understand if and how these stakeholders and contextual drivers reinforce the exclusionary process. The study employed an interpretive, inductive approach, with sensitising concepts from Egovernment accessibility literature, and the social exclusion framework. Multiple data collection methods were used, namely; observations as a preliminary step to obtaining a better understanding of how the visually impaired use ICTs; interviews as the primary data collection technique from 37 participants; and document analysis. The study involved 3 groups of participants: the visually impaired, E-government web developers and government officers. Data analysis was carried out in two phases- firstly thematic analysis was used to report on perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility and the experiences of PWD. Contextual drivers impeding accessibility and affecting accessibility experience of PWD were also derived from the thematic analysis. Secondly, E-government and disability policy documents mentioned in interview discussions were analysed using content analysis. The findings of the content analysis were used to validate, clarify and to conduct post-interview checking. The findings show that government officers and developers play a key role in the development of E-government services. Whilst Government officers and developers were identified as powerful agents whose practices determined the accessibility of services that were developed; PWD were side-lined and not involved in the E-government development project. Also, perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility vary from those of PWD. While government officers and developers believe that with little assistance from third parties PWD can access E-government services, PWD perceive accessibility should offer them the independence to retrieve government information and engage in electronic transactions of their choice. Evidently, accessibility perceptions of E-government implementers differ from that of PWD. Further, the findings show that exclusion of PWD from E-government services is as a result of the intertwining of several contextual drivers, including political, socio-cultural, technological and personal. Political, socio-cultural and technological drivers influence the perceptions and practices of government officers and developers and determine their responses to the accessibility needs of PWD. Personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD to access Egovernment services and impact on their accessibility experiences. Contextual drivers independently facilitate the exclusion of PWD; however, their interactions with government officers and developers shape their perceptions and constitute crucial exclusionary forces. These exclusionary forces when fed into the development of E-government services reinforce the exclusion of PWD. Given that personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD, their inabilities to act as change agents reinforce their exclusion. Moreover, power differentials among stakeholders play a vital role in the exclusionary process. The study contributes to better understanding of influences on the E-government development process, how services become inaccessible and the accessibility challenges PWD face. Practically, the study has several implications on the development and implementation of E-government services in developing countries like Ghana. For example, the findings are useful to inform the political leadership on policies and structures to put in place to enhance the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD

Heritage Dynamics: Understanding and adapting to change in diverse heritage contexts

How does heritage emerge, change, stagnate, disappear and/or revive over time? Should heritage be approached as a ‘non-renewable resource’ that needs to be sustained for eternity, or as a ‘renewable resource’ that adapts to change and transformation? Heritage Dynamics deconstructs the dynamic nature of heritage. Heritage as a socio-cultural practice goes through non-linear, continuous lifecycles, where certain factors will be the catalyst for the ending of one lifecycle and the revival for another. Kalliopi Fouseki develops a theoretical and methodological framework of ‘heritage dynamics’, which is used as the analytical thread of six heritage contexts: heritage-led transformation in historic urban places; decision-making on energy efficiency and heritage conservation in ‘everyday heritage’ residential buildings; lifecycles of heritage collections; exhibition dynamics and the impact of participation with emphasis of ‘difficult heritage’; dynamics of dissonance on contested museums and the dynamics of ‘intangible heritage’ with emphasis on flamenco. The book offers a new theoretical and methodological framework that will enable heritage scholars and practitioners to unpack the ways and conditions under which heritage changes. The new theoretical framework will re-orientate current thinking of heritage as a thing, a process or discourse towards a new, more systemic thinking that captures the complexity of heritage. Methodologically, Heritage Dynamics introduces the potential of systemic methods, such as system dynamics, in capturing the dynamic nature of heritage. The new theory and method not only opens up new avenues for theoretical explorations, but also offers a significant tool for heritage managers and policymakers

Heritage Dynamics

How does heritage emerge, change, stagnate, disappear and/or revive over time? Should heritage be approached as a ‘non-renewable resource’ that needs to be sustained for eternity, or as a ‘renewable resource’ that adapts to change and transformation? Heritage Dynamics deconstructs the dynamic nature of heritage. Heritage as a socio-cultural practice goes through non-linear, continuous lifecycles, where certain factors will be the catalyst for the ending of one lifecycle and the revival for another. Kalliopi Fouseki develops a theoretical and methodological framework of ‘heritage dynamics’, which is used as the analytical thread of six heritage contexts: heritage-led transformation in historic urban places; decision-making on energy efficiency and heritage conservation in ‘everyday heritage’ residential buildings; lifecycles of heritage collections; exhibition dynamics and the impact of participation with emphasis of ‘difficult heritage’; dynamics of dissonance on contested museums and the dynamics of ‘intangible heritage’ with emphasis on flamenco. The book offers a new theoretical and methodological framework that will enable heritage scholars and practitioners to unpack the ways and conditions under which heritage changes. The new theoretical framework will re-orientate current thinking of heritage as a thing, a process or discourse towards a new, more systemic thinking that captures the complexity of heritage. Methodologically, Heritage Dynamics introduces the potential of systemic methods, such as system dynamics, in capturing the dynamic nature of heritage. The new theory and method not only opens up new avenues for theoretical explorations, but also offers a significant tool for heritage managers and policymakers

Collaborative Ethnography With Social Movements: Key Dimensions and Challenges

In diesem Artikel untersuche ich die kollaborative Ethnografie als Mittel, um in der Forschung zu sozialen Bewegungen eine Brücke zwischen Theorie und Praxis, Wissen und Handeln zu schlagen und Wissen zu produzieren, das sowohl für die akademische als auch für die nichtakademische Öffentlichkeit relevant und nützlich ist. Zu diesem Zweck werde ich eine Gruppe von miteinander verbundenen Dimensionen und Herausforderungen vorstellen, die die Praxis der Forschungszusammenarbeit mit sozialen Bewegungen prägen: ein situiertes, handwerkliches und experimentelles Ethos in Bezug auf Methoden und Ergebnisse; Elemente geteilter Autorität, Mitentscheidung, Mitanalyse und Ko-Theoretisierung in der Feldforschung; die dezentrierte Rolle von Wissenschaftler*innen; die Spannung zwischen akademischer und außerakademischer Relevanz; die Verbindung zwischen Vertrauen, Zugang und Zusammenarbeit; epistemische und methodologische Fragen des Schreibens und der Repräsentation; die Bedeutung von Zeit für das Weben und die Aufrechterhaltung der Zusammenarbeit; und die Art und Weise, wie sich die beteiligten Akteur*innen zu Wissenspraktiken und Theorieproduktion verhalten. Mit diesen acht Dimensionen veranschauliche ich, wie ethnografische Zusammenarbeit in konkreten Forschungsprojekten stattfindet (oder scheitert) und hebe Elemente hervor, die die Koproduktion von Wissen mit unseren Mitforscher*innen erleichtern oder behindern.In this article, I explore collaborative ethnography as a means to bridge theory and practice, knowledge and action, in social movement research, and to produce knowledge that is relevant and useful both inside and outside academia. For this purpose, I will present a group of interconnected dimensions and challenges that shape the practice of research collaboration with social movements: a situated, artisanal and experimental ethos regarding method and outcomes; elements of shared authority, co-decision, co-analysis, and co-theorization in fieldwork; the decentered role of scholars; the tension between academic and extra-academic relevance; the link between trust, access, and collaboration; epistemic and methodological questions of writing and representation; the significance of time for weaving and sustaining collaboration; and the ways in which the actors involved relate to knowledge-practices and theory production. These eight dimensions illustrate how ethnographic collaboration takes place (or fails to materialize) in actual research projects, highlighting elements that will facilitate or hinder the co-production of knowledge with our co-researchers

Methodology for Research with Early Childhood Education and Care Professionals

This open access book addresses the growing trend in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) research named collaborative knowledge building in which researchers and ECEC personnel collaborate. This kind of research encompasses a number of approaches, such as design studies, action studies, Learning Studies, Lesson Studies, and combined research and development studies. There are important differences between these approaches, but they also share some features, which makes it possible to see them as examples of a particular tradition of knowledge building. Collaborative knowledge building constitutes close ties between developing practices of early childhood education and care, and generating empirically grounded theoretical knowledge. This book contributes to the methodology of practices-developing research by mapping this movement through exemplifying themes actualised in such studies, and through conceptualizing important and recurring gains and challenges. It also describes how the latter can be taken on

DEVELOPING COMPETENCE FOR INNOVATION IN KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE: an exploration of the sustainability science-policy interface

This thesis is motivated by institutional claims for a “new type of knowledge” in the sustainability science-policy interface. It thus explores the thinking and practice of experts in the field about professional competencies necessary to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice. The thesis proposes a novel conceptual framework, synthesising (1) five key features informing claimed innovations in knowledge practice of science-policy sustainability ‘boundary organisations’, (2) a set of ten differentiating individual competencies deemed critical to induce such type of innovations and (3) required approaches to effective development of such competencies. In doing so, this thesis suggests an operative framework to engage with a competence-based approach in response to the need for innovations in knowledge practice within boundary organisations. Under the conceptual framework above, the thesis engages in an empirical work exploring the thinking and praxis of experts in the field, around three key questions: (1) How do practitioners in the field perceive the need for and the pertinence of such type of innovations, (2) How do they relate to the notion of individual competence and the need for different types of competencies to induce innovations in their own knowledge practice and (3) How can professionals working in the science-policy interface most effectively learn and develop such new set of competences, given their specific organisational / institutional contexts? Methodologically, this thesis engaged a combined set of empirical research instruments, mostly including semi-structured interviews with professionals operating in the sustainability sciencepolicy interface, three focus-groups in The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, with actors operating within the remit of sustainability boundary organizations, and participatory observation within the European Environment Agency. Outcomes of this research indicate that, while the need for a new type of knowledge is clearly acknowledged by practitioners in ‘boundary organisations’, notions associated with required innovations in knowledge practice – such as co-creation, systems thinking, transdisciplinarity, reflexivity and action-orientated knowledge – are still subject to ambiguity and controversy within the institutional context they operate. As practitioners struggle to engage the notion of individual competence in this debate, the type of competencies deemed critical to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice resonates with their own experience. Experts in boundary organisations identify though a lack of institutional frameworks to support their efforts to generate innovations in knowledge practice. While this research synthetises and presents existing examples of learning programmes and approaches to help develop such type of competencies, practitioners in the field manifest scepticism on the extent to which such learning approaches are feasible in their given institutional settings