Complexity and creative capacity : reformulating the problem of knowledge transfer in environmental management

The Ningaloo Reef is Australia’s largest fringing coral reef and an iconic tourist destination; however tourism development in Ningaloo has been ad hoc and the area is challenged by human pressure on numerous fronts. In response to these challenges a number of research agencies brought together a range of scientists to study the effects of human interaction on the reef. Moving from research to practice has been understood to depend on the adaptive capacity of the institutions responsible for governing human activities, in this case in the Ningaloo area. Knowledge transfer describes the suite of strategies used to try to bridge the gap between research and management. Knowledge transfer efforts, however, seldom have the desired impact of seeing research applied to decision-making. The ubiquity of knowledge transfer difficulties across disciplines suggests a common root to the problem, based in our shared cultural assumptions. This study pairs a multidisciplinary theoretical investigation with action research to shed light on why knowledge transfer efforts so often fall short in terms of seeing research applied to practice. Recent environmental management perspectives on knowledge transfer illustrate the shift towards stakeholder participation as a means of improving knowledge transfer success. As such, the action research study involved the researcher embedding herself in the Ningaloo community for 18 months, adopting the role of a knowledge broker and engaging and collaborating with modelling researchers and local stakeholders on knowledge transfer efforts. However, despite intensive stakeholder engagement, evaluation interviews at the end of the process indicated that although the knowledge transfer process had the effect of catalysing relationships between stakeholder groups in the region, and between regional stakeholders and scientists, it appeared to have relatively little effect on the representational knowledge of local stakeholders or the actual application of research in practice. This led to the question of whether knowledge transfer is itself is part of the research uptake problem, as per the principles of problem formulation, which specify that resolving seemingly intractable problems requires examining the assumptions that underpin our thinking about the problem situation. On this basis, the theoretical component of this study explored the Newtonian assumptions that inform our understanding of knowledge transfer. An alternative complexity-based ontology is proposed, unifying the metaphysics of materialism and idealism, based on a synthesis of process philosophy, mathematical logic, quantum theory, general systems theory and the complexity sciences. The phenomena of cognition, learning, knowledge and organising are compared in relation to how they’ve been understood within the Newtonian paradigm, and how they are now being explained from the perspective of a complexity-based paradigm. By reframing the action research results from a complexity perspective, the Ningaloo knowledge transfer process does not constitute a failure in terms of enhancing the capacity of the Ningaloo system to make more sustainable decisions. Rather, the increased connectivity between stakeholder groups and scientists can be viewed as more importantly enhancing the creative capacity of Ningaloo’s governance system. It is posited that the research uptake problem should be reformulated from the basis of complexity paradigm, and the notions of knowledge transfer and adaptive capacity reconceptualised accordingly. Instead of devising rational objective arguments for someone else to improve the ‘adaptive capacity’ of human systems, scientists should focus instead on improving their own creative capacity in their local interactions

Outcomes of a participatory approach to interpretive planning in the Shark Bay World Heritage area, Western Australia

This thesis examines a participatory approach to interpretive planning, employed in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Western Australia. At the project outset relations between the conservation agency responsible for administering World Heritage and the local community were strained, and complicated by a history of conflict over the World Heritage listing and subsequent management of the area. A participatory approach to interpretive planning was adopted in the hope that doing so would achieve the following: improved relations between polarised stakeholder groups, increased community support for the plan and its implementation, and improved access to the variety of knowledge pools within the Shark Bay community. Effectively ongoing and integrating the interests of the area\u27s polarised stakeholders meant that their social, political, organisational and disciplinary divisions had to be overcome. To do this, a novel participatory interpretive planning method was developed using action research. This method employed a combination of techniques, including a modified Delphi Technique based on indepth interviews, key informants, and direct prolonged emersion of the researcher in the community. The practical results of the project were the production of a stakeholder-derived communications strategy and interpretive plan for the World Heritage Area. These products embodied the collective social, cultural, economic and environmental interests of Shark Bay stakeholders, and included agreed-upon objectives, messages, stories for representing Shark Bar to the outside world. The participatory planning process also resulted in a number of instrumental and transformative outcomes including: surfacing of latent community issues, quieting of dominant rhetoric, identification of common values among stakeholders, collection of knowledge from multiple sources and contexts, equalisation of power between community segments, empowerment of marginalised community members, creation of social capital, and generation of support and commitment to plan implementation. In addition, the study demonstrated that participatory processes are vulnerable to cooption and manipulation by powerful stakeholders, and that the success of such processes relies more on the creation of trusting relationships (i.e. social capital) between stakeholders and facilitators than on the application of formulaic group techniques used to garner public input. With respect to interpretive planning, this project showed how a participatory approach to interpretive planning can be used as an ethical means to develop multiple narratives for interpretation that are just and legitimate representations of the community’s interests and stories. Other implications of this project, particularly in relation to the creation of social capital and horizontal and vertical relationships between community and agency groups, indicate that participatory interpretive planning can be used as an intervention in situations where conservation initiatives have resulted in conflict with local communities. Positive change is achieved through the creation of a common platform of values, mutual understanding and knowledge, from which further dialogue and reciprocal cooperation can take place. The evidence presented suggest that the stakeholder-centred approach to interpretive planning used in Shark Bay may form a useful basis for collaborative environmental management in a range of contexts and landscapes where new conservation initiatives are being contemplated. Lessons learned through application of this novel approach to interpretive planning may prove useful to interpretive professionals, environmental managers, governments and businesses attempting cross-disciplinary integration of multiple stakeholder interests

Unhealthy sport sponsorship continues to target kids

In the final month of the countdown to the Olympic Games, our sports stars are probably not eating and drinking the Games sponsors\u27 foods. Again, as in previous Olympics, the Olympic Games sponsors are Coca-Cola, McDonald\u27s and Cadburys, whose foods and drinks are not good choices for athletes due to their lack of nutrition and high levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats

Teaching and learning analogue electronics in undergraduate courses : preliminary findings from the ETL project

This paper describes ongoing research into the teaching and learning of analogue electronics in three course units at two research-intensive universities. It draws on students' experiences of teaching and learning in analogue course units to explore the nature of the learning they were undertaking and examines the teaching-learning activities they found most supportive of their studying

Multicentre observational cohort study of NSAIDs as risk factors for postoperative adverse events in gastrointestinal surgery

Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as postoperative analgesia by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society. Recent studies have raised concerns that NSAID administration following colorectal anastomosis may be associated with increased risk of anastomotic leak. This multicentre study aims to determine NSAIDs' safety profile following gastrointestinal resection. Methods and analysis: This prospective, multicentre cohort study will be performed over a 2-week period utilising a collaborative methodology. Consecutive adults undergoing open or laparoscopic, elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection will be included. The primary end point will be the 30-day morbidity, assessed using the Clavien-Dindo classification. This study will be disseminated through medical student networks, with an anticipated recruitment of at least 900 patients. The study will be powered to detect a 10% increase in complication rates with NSAID use. Ethics and dissemination: Following the Research Ethics Committee Chairperson's review, a formal waiver was received. This study will be registered as a clinical audit or service evaluation at each participating hospital. Dissemination will take place through previously described novel research collaborative networks

Disruption, Disaster and Transition: Analysis of Electricity Usage in Japan from 2005 to 2016

This research analyzes the changes to electricity generation and demand in Japan following both the Global Financial Crisis and Disaster of March 2011. Monthly electricity demand and generation data for all regions of Japan from April 2005 to March 2016 were reviewed to identify differences in disruption-response between different types of electricity users. We apply inferential statistics to identify underlying trends, which we find are dominated by differences in user scale response. Higher capacity users reduced demand in response to the Global Financial Crisis, whereas smaller domestic scale users reduced electricity demand after the Disaster. Analysis reveals that regions within the 50Hz grid that were directly impacted by the Fukushima event and resulting load restrictions showed a statistically significant sustained reduction in monthly electricity demand post-disaster. However, Kansai and Shikoku, regions that are both outside the area directly impacted by the Fukushima event, also showed the same sorts of sustained significant reductions. By considering two disruptions to the same sociotechnical system we can draw conclusions that add to the discourse of electricity use behaviors, which informs both disaster response planning and policy for the broader issues of electricity demand reduction for climate stabilisation. In particular, the results highlight the importance of tailoring engagement and intervention actions to the preferences and needs of different types of electricity users