This thesis develops a framework for making ecologically sustainable decisions. It is an
integrative thesis that draws its data from the fundamental concepts underlying the disciplines
of psyschology, linguistics and biology. Its orientation is essentially theoretical, but its
application is practical. It is presented in three parts. Part 1 sets out the theoretical context
and proposes a basis for understanding decision-making processes in an interactive,
evolutionary context. This part focuses particularly on subjective factors that play a role when
an organism is in the process of making a decision. Part 1 provides an underpinning for the
core of the thesis.
Part 2 forms this core. It considers the context in which decisions are made and
overviews current decision-making frameworks that aim at ecologically sustainable
outcomes. It proposes a process of metabolic mapping of materials and energy flows
across integrated socio-political bioregions as a basis for decision-making.
Part 3 considers the implications of the approach in terms of its utility, reliability and
validity. This part also looks at the role of ethics in decision-making and outlines the
strengths and weaknesses of the new approach.
The principle rinding is that research and decision-making are fundamentally distinct, often
confused concepts. An integrative approach to decision-making is required to counter the
increasing fragmentation in research and professional and administrative specialisation. A
research tool that bridges the plethora of theoretical orientations is proposed. This involves
the use of a semantic metalanguage to capture meaning in a rigorous and verifiable way. Such
a metalanguage gives us a means of understanding the subjective experience of organisms,
and in particular, their subjective perception of reality which guides their decision-making. A
second finding is that, unlike research, which necessarily involves a process of context
reduction, sound decision-making necessarily involves a process of context augmentation. And
finally it proposes a method of metabolic mapping on a bioregional basis operating under the
principle of subsidiarity as the most appropriate route towards sustainable decision-making.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219315 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Schooneveldt, Jan C., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Resource, Environmental & Heritage Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Jan C. Schooneveldt |
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