The Western Australian regional forest agreement: economic rationalism and the normalisation of political closure

This article explores the constraints imposed by economic rationalism on environmental policy-making in light of Western Australia\u27s (WA) Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) experience. Data derived from interviews with WA RFA stakeholders shed light on their perceptions of the RFA process and its outcomes. The extent to which involvement of science and the public RFA management enabled is analysed. The findings point to a pervasive constrainedness of WA\u27s RFA owing to a closing of the process by the administrative decision-making structures. A dominant economic rationality is seen to have normalised and legitimised political closure, effectively excluding rationalities dissenting from an implicit economic orthodoxy. This article argues for the explication of invisible, economic constraints affecting environmental policy and for the public-cum-political negotiation of the points of closure within political processes

Tackling 'wicked' problems holistically with institutionalist policymaking

One of our most pressing needs in creating a more sustainable world is the explicit development of holistic policy. This is becoming increasingly apparent as we are faced with more and more ‘wicked problems', the most difficult class of problems that we can conceptualize. Such problems consist of ‘clusters’ of problems, and include socio-political and moral-spiritual issues. This paper articulates a methodology that can be applied to the analysis and design of underlying organizational structures and processes that will consistently and effectively address wicked problems while being consistent with the advocated 'learning by doing' approach to change management and policy making. This transdisciplinary methodology—known as the institutionalist policymaking framework—has been developed from the perspective of institutional economics synthesized with perspectives from ecological economics and system dynamics. In particular it draws on the work first presented in Hayden’s 1993 paper ‘Institutionalist Policymaking’—and further developed in his 2006 book, at the heart of which lies the SFM—and the applicability of this approach in tackling complex and wicked problems

Double degrees: double the trouble or twice the return?

Double degrees (also called joint or combined degrees)—programs of study combining two bachelor degrees—are increasingly popular in Australian universities, particularly among women. A case study using qualitative and quantitative surveys of current and past double degree students is presented. The study indicates that double degrees benefit students in providing a broad education and increasing skills and options. However, benefits are not fully realised because of administrative difficulties, lack of support and absence of ‘learning communities’. These problems arise because double degrees sit outside the disciplinary structure of universities. As such, however, double degrees have potential to provide transdisciplinary education. We suggest initiatives that would improve the experience, performance and persistence of double degree students. They would also build the skills of integration, boundary work, communication and teamwork associated with transdisciplinarity. These skills not only equip students for a range of employment; they are sorely needed in society

Sense making of (Social) sustainability: A behavioral and knowledge approach

Although sustainability is often discussed solely in ecological terms, it cannot be disconnected from the way humans behave in their social environment. This article presents a theoretical approach toward sustainability that takes a human behavior and knowledge view on sustainability as a starting point. This approach requires that human behavior should change, individually and collectively, in order to achieve sustainability. Knowledge is identified as the driving force behind human behavior and its effect on the ecological and social environment. In connecting knowledge with sustainability, two concepts are introduced: knowledge of sustainability (KoS), which refers to the sustainability content of knowledge, and sustainability of knowledge (SoK), which denotes the dynamics of the continuing process of knowledge creation and application. To apply SoK and KoS, we argue that a cognitive interpretation of human behavior should be formulated within a knowledge management approach that incorporates the stages of knowledge creation, integration, and application and that ensures the critical evaluation of created knowledge. In order to show that our new approach is practical, we use existing research from the Dutch starch potato industry to reformulate possibilities for the enhancement of sustainability in terms of KoS and SoK. In addition, the research led to the development of a mechanism for evaluating knowledge. Group interaction, information technology, and decision support systems are used to realize knowledge integration. The combination of conceptual design and domain of application is common in the engineering sciences, where a design methodology is used to make the steps from conceptual design to functional design and technical implementation. A conceptual design may show ways to improve existing practices, which in turn might result in superior practices. Of course, it is necessary to empirically test the interventions in reality. For AGROBIOKON that has not been done, yet. © 2010 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved