Causal Chain Analysis

Kasey Tipton

October 11, 2023

Multimodal Composition #2- Causal Chain Analysis

According to chapter three in Sustainable World, written by Sonya Remington-Doucette, a causal chain analysis is “a tool for analyzing socioecological systems by classifying key drivers, establishing the relationships among drivers, and determining their relative influences on a system.” (Remington-Doucette, 123). A causal chain analysis is needed to identify indicators relating to sustainability, link our problem to the drivers that are causing our problem and the extent of them, and to see how human interaction is affecting our problem. Causal chain analysis can be made in different ways. As graphs, charts, or even simply listing them out. Below is a graph example of a causal chain analysis.

An Example of a Causal Chain Analysis

https://iwlearn.net/manuals/tda-sap-methodology/development-of-the-tda/causal-chain-analysis/what-is-causal-chain-analysis

To understand our causal chain analysis, we need to identify our problem: Reparative Justice. According to the New England Board of Higher Education, “reparative justice is  a way of thinking about justice (a mindset) that centers those who have been harmed, and focuses on repairing past harms, stopping present harm, and preventing the reproduction of harm.” (NEBHE). Within our CODES cohort, we are working with the Missouri Botanical Gardens in order to help emphasize biodiversity within their plant conservation. There are many different problems within the herbarium and their plant catalogs. This is an issue that needs to be stopped right away in order to prevent our future generations from being hurt. Furthermore, it needs to be helped in order for the problem to not repeat itself. As you will see below, there is a chart demonstrating how community, victims, and offenders all tie in together to our theme of reparative/restorative justice. 

The Factors that are Relating to Reparative Justice

https://www.marincounty.org/depts/pb/divisions/adult-services/restorative-justice

“Causal chain analysis promotes deeper understanding of sustainability problems by connecting drivers to the problem.” (Remington-Doucette pg. 147) In order to solve any wicked problem, it is very important to know the direct and indirect drivers of a problem. Direct drivers are things/people that have a direct influence on an issue. Indirect drivers are the things/people that are not directly causing a problem, but they are problems that are learning into the direct drivers. In our case of reparative justice, we need to understand our drivers. 

Direct and Indirect Drivers Chart Created By Me

Within the chart above, I have identified a few of the possible drivers of our problem. One driver in reparative justice is the lack of historical representation. This can be caused by having bias in choosing what gets displayed at the gardens and online. It can be influenced by the people or group of people who are responsible for this aspect of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Our second driver is the lack of diversity within the plant conservation. This is affected by several indirect drivers. For example, where the data is being taken, when the data was recorded, and who recorded the data. A third direct driver could be a bias in our data. Nowadays, plant conservationists and researchers tend to prioritize western science. Additionally, bias can be affected by the motivation of the person recording the data, who is collecting the data, and when. A final direct driver could be the access to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. However a person decides to view the gardens, whether that be online or in person, it costs money. Entry tickets for the gardens are roughly around $14 depending on the day/time a person plans to visit. Furthermore, if someone wants to access the garden online, they have to have access to the internet (which also costs money). 

Causal Chain Analysis Created by Me

As you may see, I took the direct drivers from my first chart, in order to create my causal chain analysis. Even though I chose the main problem as being “cultures may feel overlooked/scammed when visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens”, there are many different problems an individual may choose based on reparative justice. Reparative justice is a broad term, especially dealing with the gardens because there are many different reasons reparative justice needs to be fixed. Such as healing the individuals/cultures that have been influenced, displaying proper biodiversity within the gardens, and to stop future generations from being hurt by the lack of cultural representation.

In conclusion, according to Sustainable World, written by Sonya Remington-Doucette, a causal chain analysis is “a tool for analyzing socioecological systems by classifying key drivers, establishing the relationships among drivers, and determining their relative influences on a system.” (Remington-Doucette pg 123). A causal chain analysis is very important for individuals who are trying to solve a wicked problem. In our case, we need to act promptly and knowledgeably in order to help restorative justice at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  

Sources:

“Reparative Justice.” New England Board of Higher Education, https://nebhe.org/reparative-justice/. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023.CloseDeleteEdit

Remington-Doucette, Sonya. Sustainable World.

October 8, 2023

Defining the systems and classifying the drivers of a specific system.

In my CODES 120 cohort, we are reading “The Sustainable World” by the author, Sonya Remington-Doucette. In the novel, Remington-Doucette reveals the concept of taking a deeper dive and exploring the cause and effect of wicked problems. She uses different techniques to start solving these wicked problems. More specifically we are reading chapter 3 of that book. In chapter 3 we look at defining the systems and classifying drivers. Let’s look at exactly what drivers are. Drivers are separated into two different groups: indirect and direct drivers. direct drivers are defined as clearly and unequivocally influence the behavior of that system. Indirect drivers are defined as drivers that influence the behavior of that system in a more diffuse way, by altering one or more direct drivers.

The herbaria at Missouri botanical gardens are a very beautiful place. The herbarium is a home for many species of plants from all around the world. Some as far as China and others as close as down the street. The Missouri botanical gardens have been around for hundreds of years. Henry Shaw became the founder of the Botanical gardens Saint Louis in the year of 1859. It is widely considered one of the top three most famous botanical gardens. The garden is a national and historic landmark right here in Saint Louis Missouri. Though the garden is beautiful and has come a very long way, there is a past that the garden has. Me and my fellow CODE scholars are still trying to uncover the mysteries and the rooted problems the garden is still recovering from.

Not taking any value from the herbaria at Missouri botanical gardens but even beautiful things can have deep rooted problems. There are many different things we can take away from the chapter 3 of “The Sustainable World” by Remmington Doucette. At the garden there are many different effectors. Even if you look at the plant pressings in the herbarium you can see a few problems of how they are pushing for a westernized science. With that they are suppressing and degrading other cultures and heritages.

The herbaria undergo a series of problems. And the Herbarium itself is at a consent state of a loop of problems. Some new problems and some old. Especially with the gardens using and prioritizing western science. Though western science is not a bad concept I believe it takes away from other cultures and their experiences. With prioritizing the Westernized sciences, we are losing many different experiences and thought processes. A lot of those thought processes and experiences can be very helpful tools to the Herbarium.

Within this chart I made above I am taking a deeper dive into the herbarium and its problems. Classifying the drivers and indirect drivers and their connections to the herbarium. As of right now I cannot say we have a defined answer to all of the problems we are facing but we are now a few steps ahead to where we used to be.

Yet we are still nowhere near the finish line of this problem. We can continue to work with the garden and pulling recourses from different gardens and different scholars as well.

What is a current state analysis?

A current state analysis is a process used to evaluate and understand the present-day situation of any given system. Looking at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, our system is the wicked problem of inequality in plant knowledge. There are 4 questions that we should ask ourselves as researchers for this process: 1) Where are we? 2) Where are we headed? 3) Where do we want to go? and 4) How do we get there?

A system can be best described as a set of interconnected components organized in such a way that they cannot act individually and achieve the same results. Regulation of these systems is conducted through direct drivers and indirect drivers. Direct drivers unequivocally impact the overall behavior of a system. Indirect drivers influence the system’s behavior in a more diffuse and subtle way. (Make sure to refer thinking in systems back to the textbook)  

Our research problem in The Missouri Botanical Gardens is an example of a complex adaptive system meaning that it develops over time to adapt in a way that ensures its survival. When you approach this system using reductionist thinking, you can more clearly see how the components interact with each other on a smaller scale. Pictured below is a system of a few direct and indirect drivers that contribute to the issue of plant inequality at MOBOT.  

One of the most impactful direct drivers in this situation is the practice of colonialism extraction used to retreive the plants. This selection process is biased in every aspect incluidng where the plants are collected from, what plants are collected, and who collects the plants. Usually, white men get to decide all of these things which means that the plant selction is often rooted in personal biases and preferences. This breeds an indirect driver of cultural insensitivity. The people who depend on these plants locally often get no say in the extraction of these plants that have medicinal and nutritous uses for them. Taking these plants from their space and transporting it for research else where might provoke strong feelings of anger and despair.

The prioritization of western science is another direct driver for our system. The complete disregarding or minimization of indigenous knowledge of plant has resulted in a collection of plant knowledge curated almost entirely by the minds of white men. Western science is based on things such as global verifacation, quantatative written record, and mathematical models. Traditonal Native knowledge is rooted in things such as qualitative world record, practical application, and holistic thinking. These two approaches to research and science should be carefully integrated and applied when collecting plant specimens and when the binomial nomenclature process is being conducted. Although these systems of thinking should be combined its essential that their is emphasis placed on the traditonal native knowledge because the plants are local to their areas and are heavily relied upon by the native people.

The names given to plants by the Native people are particularly important to understanding not only the cultural knoweldge surrounding it. It also gives entail about the uses of the plant.

Priscilla Kincanon

Hildebrandt

CODE 120

20 Sept. 2023

MC #1

A societal or cultural problem is referred to as a “wicked problem” when it cannot be resolved because of a lack of information or knowledge that is inconclusive, a large number of people and points of view, a heavy financial burden, or the interconnectedness of the problem with other problems. Wicked problems are characterized as problems that cannot be solved; on the contrary, easy fixes are problems that have a straightforward and fast way of solving them. An easy fix seeks to solve the immediate problem but may not solve the underlying problem. 

The Missouri Botanical Gardens can be seen as a wicked problem. Page 68 of our class text, Sustainable World, talks about the six characteristics of wicked problems. These characteristics are vague problem definition, undefined solution, no endpoint, irreversible, unique, and urgent. The Missouri Botanical Gardens fits under a wicked problem because it goes with these characteristics. 

The first characteristic is the vague problem definition. There is diversity among stakeholders. Not everyone will agree with the issues that go along with the problem. There are many factors like geographic locations, different capacities to deal with it, different cultures, beliefs, values, and informal norms. Slavery played a crucial role in both the history of the United States and the city of St. Louis. Slavery left a lasting impression on our state, our city, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, from the Missouri Compromise to the legal dispute between Dred and Harriet Scott to the deeds of notable people in St. Louis history, such as Henry Shaw.

The next characteristic is the undefined solution. There is no definite solution when there’s a wicked problem. MBOT has a few methods. Most of what we know about the people enslaved by Shaw comes from archival records—bills of sale, tax records, census records, newspaper ads, and an early version of Shaw’s will. Examination of these records and the broader history they represent was carried out in collaboration with organizations and institutions that engage with challenging history.

Another characteristic is that there’s no endpoint. There are no final solutions to wicked problems. This is one of the methods MOBOT is using. More than 30 pages of pertinent documents from The Garden’s archives have been converted to digital format. We wish to provide others the chance to conduct their own study about the lives of the people featured here by making these source papers freely available to the public. 

The fourth characteristic is irreversible. The text says “Implementing a solution creates changes in the world that cannot be undone and will have real consequences.” (Remington-Doucett, 68). The garden is working on good solutions. Here is another one. The Garden continues to provide interpretive programming, displays, signage, and significant methods to communicate this heritage with our neighborhood. They invite everyone to continue on this path toward being a welcoming community. 

The 5th characteristic is unique. There are certain factors that go into a wicked problem that mean that the same solution will not work in all places. There are factors like cultural, political, social, environmental, technological, economic, and other issues depending on the problem. Shaw’s contacts with slavery were not isolated, which in no way excuses his behavior. Henry Shaw’s history is entwined with the histories of St. Louis, Missouri, and the United States as a whole. In this way, the recording of Shaw’s personal history aids in our comprehension of this larger history.

Characteristic number six is the one of a wicked problem and it is urgent. If there is no action right away, it could result in permanent harm to humans and/or natural systems. The textbook, Sustainable World, states “solutions must often be pursued prior to fully understanding the problem.” (Remington-Doucett, 69). The garden is working on fully understating the issue. The Missouri Botanical Garden webpage is where I get this next information. While keeping his city townhouse, Shaw opened the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1859 and spent a lot of time at Tower Grove House. Again, the lack of documents makes it difficult to determine where or for what types of jobs these slaves were employed.

Based on the material at our disposal, we are unable to declare with certainty if the Garden itself was constructed by slaves. It seems likely that Shaw’s slaves at this time were doing forced domestic labor at Tower Grove House, such as cooking and cleaning, based on the ages and genders indicated in the 1860 census.

The Garden is dedicated to expanding on its efforts to share the narratives of Shaw’s slaves and to draw attention to other individuals and underrepresented groups who have contributed to the Garden’s current success. The garden’s behavior and its duty to the community it serves are informed by understanding and respecting this past. To make these stories a more prominent part of the visiting experience, the Garden is actively reviewing the signage and display space on this wicked problem.

MC #1

Evitt Nashed

edited oct. 12

The Remington-Doucette book explains thoroughly the concept of what a wicked problem is. They are known as “wicked” because these problems have a harder understanding and could possibly need different factors to help it. Wicked problems have 6 different factors that can affect a problem. The six characteristics of a wicked problem include.

1. vague problem definition
2. undefined solution
3. no endpoint
4. irreversible
5. unique
6. urgent

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Characteristics-of-wicked-problems-adapted-from-Rittel-Webber-1973_fig10_332669251

The Botanical Gardens suffers with multiple wicked problems. They go through many undefined and irreversible solutions for plants. The Botanical Gardens go through vague problems that needs attention before things can get worse. The idea of a wicked problem is that there’s no endpoint. The Gardens suffers with many problems that seem to not end.

Evitt took this picture.

Certain people, referred to as botanists, work there to try and figure out if they can grow more of the plants that they have that are endangered. The endangered species the garden has are very unique that we need more of it and that means we need to do a lot of research about the plants. That is an urgent and vague problem the garden suffers with.

https://www.dreamstime.com/photo-two-male-botanist-examining-herbs-plant-nursery-image156725027

While looking through the MOBOT website, I learned that a group of people go to Madagascar to do science research for the garden. it quotes, “The program that has been built in Madagascar is highly respected and we need to leverage the prestigious position the Garden holds there to continue to push for the growth of science and conservation in a country with one of the most threatened floras in the world.”  reading this made me realize that the gardens will always have problems that can’t be solved but instead resolved, which means the garden’s problems don’t have an endpoint. An endpoint is an example of a wicked problem.

Us students as a research team needs to do something. We need to protect the garden and its history behind it all. There might not be a complete defined solution, but helping instead of just sitting around will have a better impact. We need to restore the life the garden has brought to us. We should work closely with communities to help us research more about the garden.

A characteristic of a wicked problem can be vague meaning that it can lead to multiple other problems and doesn’t have a definite solution. Even though a problem could be vague, doesn’t mean we can’t find the problems causing it. Us as people need to take different approaches to helping our environment.

Another characteristic of a wicked problem is being irreversible. For example, when you do something, you can’t really time travel into the past and fix it. You just have to learn from it and revise. Some things we do in nature can harm the environment and its quite irreversible to fix when everyone is not caring about our world. Some things we can do to help is documenting and learning about the climate change we have in the world. This can help identify what type of environment is needed for plants to thrive. We should also connect with nutritional needs for the plants. We need to know what type of nutrition it needs to also thrive and not die off. That helps with our endangered species in knowing what can help us produce more of it. Restoring forests that have been dying can help produce more of what we need. Nature is what makes us humans. Without it we wouldn’t be living. All our social norms would be changed upon it. The animals we count on, count on the food nature produces. Without it then the animals will die off and so will we as humans. That is why we all need to take a step and help out our environment.

Wicked problems can also be referred to as unique meaning it can hold special value. The DNA of the plants that are paper pressed in the herbarium holds such a unique feature. Those DNA samples of plants gives us an idea of the families those specimens are related too. DNA can also give us an insight of what living condition it needs to grow in. DNA samples can also help scientist figure out the Latin translation name of the plants.

    Wicked problems can be defined as urgent. Urgent meaning that without anyone helping, it will just get worse from there. People need to take action immediately to help our environment.

Disease prevention is a big urgent problem the garden has. Diseases are very easy to catch for plants and once we eat them, then we get a disease. Although this problem cannot be fixed forever, however, it can resolve how we can block these diseases off. Research can help us in many ways. We should research ways to block off diseases in plants and what type of nutrition and environment changed are needed to help in that case. A disease that is common in the garden, is a fungus called Ganoderma lucidum. This disease attaches to either younger or older trees and kills them off immediately. Us as a research team should look up ways to prevent this from happening. This fungus attacks the lower heartwood and causes the tree to be weak and flimsy. This disease can be common around trees that are Maplewood, oaks, or honey locusts. Although it can be found in other trees, but those are those most common ones. Trees affected by fungus can change the color of the tree to a more yellowish color. The leaves are also to be weak and flimsy with weird coloration. To identify this fungus, we look at either the trunk or root of the tree and see if they have this mushroom-like fungus growing out of it. To resolve this problem, we need to focus on the nutrition it gets, the climate its growing in and how to avoid damaging the tree.

references

Search Results (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

Ganoderma Root Rots (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

About – Discover + Share (discoverandshare.org)

Important, Urgent and Knowing the Difference

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