Competing Public Values: Coping strategies in heavily regulated utility industries

Policy, Organization, Law & GamingTechnology, Policy and Managemen

Different Natures of Reality Inform Different Realities of Nature: What Karen Perceptions of Forest Reveal about Nature Conservation in Indigenous Contexts

Karen people’s interactions with the forest are informed by their ontologies. Important aspects of these ontologies are the influence of spirits, the cycle of the moon and communication with nonhumans. We foreground that Karen ontologies and knowledge systems are heterogeneous yet different from other ontologies and knowledge systems informing forest conservation in Myanmar (Burma). We recognise that interaction between Karen people and other conservation actors needs to be understood in the context of socio-economic and transformative political factors and is affected by spirits and other nonhumans. Based on empirical research, we argue that Indigenous people andconservationists can better support each other if they are each understood concerning their own ontology. This way, spirits and other nonhumans can be recognised as having agency in forest management and governance. We demonstrate how spirits, nonhumans and religious beliefs affect Indigenous ontologies and prompt us to think of ontologies as heterogeneous and overlapping. We conclude that moving past Eurocentric dualisms opens up new ways to think about how different ontologies inform our ideas about what is considered important in makingforest conservation in Myanmar more sustainable and socially equitable

Inzicht in transparantie: Een essay over trade-offs achter algoritmische besluitvorming

Algoritmen in het openbaar bestuur worden steeds vaker bekritiseerd om een gebrek aan transparantie. Wetgever en de burger verwachten dat besluiten die genomen worden op basis van algoritmen en die van invloed zijn op het leven van individuen, transparant zijn. Dit artikel beredeneert de organisatorische context achter dit idee van transparante algoritmen. We zien transparantie als een waarde, net als waarden als veiligheid, duurzaamheid of privacy. Daarmee wordt al snel duidelijk dat transparantie op gespannen voet kan staan met andere waarden. Indien niet alle waarden maximaal geborgd kunnen worden, ontstaat er waardenconflict. Hoe gaan organisaties met waardenconflict om bij algoritmische besluitvorming? Daarover is niet veel bekend. In deze bijdrage theoretiseren we de omgang met waardenconflict in organisaties. We concluderen dat er meer aandacht nodig is voor de transparantie van de organisatie achter waardenconflict, in plaats van de transparantie van algoritmen. We sluiten af met een onderzoeksagenda

The Role of Spirits in Indigenous Ontologies and Their Implications for Forest Conservation in Karen State, Myanmar

Karen ontologies are largely informed by an animist mode of interpretation that reveals itself in people’s perceptions of and actions related to the forest. Important aspects of these ontologies are the influence of spirits, cycle of the moon, and communication with animals, which together act as a form of discipline, rhythm, and meaning. Our research demonstrates how indigenous knowledge is underpinned by ontologies that are different from the ontologies underpinning scientific knowledge and conservation practice. We argue that when spirits are not recognized as integral to the ontologies of indigenous Karen people, their knowledge is (mis)understood, and miscommunication and friction occur, which may eventually lead to conservation conflict. We propose that spirits are recognized as part of indigenous ontologies, which should be equally considered on a par with naturalist ontologies underpinning mainstream nature conservation. This demands an increased awareness of the role of spirits in forest use and practice, which inevitably leads to reconsideration of what is considered sustainable and equitable forest conservation