Dare we jump off Arnstein's ladder? Social learning as a new policy paradigm

Participation is now a central consideration of policy discourses at EU; national and local levels, particularly in relation to environmental resources. As it becomes a social expectation so the form, meaning and purpose of participation has diversified. While Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation (Arnstein, 1969) revealed that much ‘participation’ does little to broker a reassignment of power, this paper argues that it is perhaps time to jump off the ladder. In doing so, we suggest that an emphasis on social learning constitutes a paradigm shift in the thinking and practices of policy-making. Our rationale is based on findings from several research projects on social learning for water resource management in the EU and UK. These suggest conventional policy responses to environmental problems (regulation; fiscal instruments; information) are only effective where there is pre-existing agreement on the nature of the problem and its resolution. In practice, many resource management issues are best described as ‘messes’ (Ackoff, 1974), with high degrees of interdependency; complexity; uncertainty; and multiple stakeholding. These characteristics challenge notions of participation because no single group can pinpoint with confidence the nature of the problem and its solution. We explore how the term social learning rather than participation more accurately embodies the new kinds of roles, relationships and sense of purpose which will be required to progress complex, messy issues. The discussion leads to the conclusion that social learning can be understood as an emerging governance mechanism to promote concerted action, thereby enabling transformation of complex natural resource management situations

Recombinant production and characterisation of two Fasciola hepatica cathepsin L proteases

The cysteine proteases of the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, are of great importance to the virulence of the organism. Previous work has established the involvement of these enzymes in catabolism, migration through host tissues and defence against host immune attack. They have therefore been identified as important vaccine targets. In this study, sequence analyses compare the F. hepatica cathepsins LI and L2 with each other and with other cathepsin Ls of F. hepatica and the related parasite, F. gigantica. Groupings of enzymes based on propeptide and active site cleft sequences are established, indicating possible functional diversity in both species. Comparisons with other trematode and mammalian cathepsin Ls were also performed, focusing on a propeptide motif involved in enzyme processing. Production of the recombinant enzymes was by expression in the Pichia pastoris yeast expression system, providing sufficient quantities of enzyme for characterisation studies. Enzyme activity against fluorogenic substrates and native collagens was compared, demonstrating differences in substrate specificity and therefore possible function between the two enzymes. Processing and activation of the enzymes was also investigated, with inactive mutant enzymes produced for this purpose. Finally, details are given of various collaborations with other laboratories utilising the recombinant enzymes produced during this project