CODES 2027 Research Team 2

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SOURCE ANALYSIS #2

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

ALEJANDRA MARIA BELTRAN

RESEARCH TEAM

DR. JACK

SOURCE ANALYSIS #2

 

With this source analysis (reading assignment) being the second that we do for this class, I can notice that the central theme will continue to be sustainability and everything that surrounds it. This time, the main purpose of this chapter is to guide us on problem analysis and solution development. In the past source analysis, I defined the meaning of sustainability and talked about theproblems related to it. This gave me an introduction to what I learned in this reading and helped me to understand everything we are about to talk about on this source analysis. The beginning of the lecture describes how the sustainability problems don’t have a final solution because sustainability is a process. To be able to find a solution and work on it we must organize our mind and our ideas and on page 123 we can find a TSR framework that would helpus to give a detailed and deep answer to the next questions: Where are we (current state), Where are we heading? (Future scenarios), How do we get there? (Sustainable development strategy), and last but not least, where do we want to go? Now, I would like to highlight the following points.
1. Defining the system and classifying drivers.
2. Causal Chain Analysis.
3. Stakeholder Analysis.

To begin with the point number one, it’s important to mention and define Drivers as governing forces that act on a system, either causing it to change or to remain in its current state and it divides on direct and indirect drivers, and they can be natural or human-caused. Direct drivers are drives that clearly and unequivocally influence the behavior of a system and the Indirect Drivers are the ones that influence the behavior of a system in a more diffuse way by altering one or more direct drives. It is important to mention that drivers cannot be classified until the specific system is defined and that one of our first steps. Defining a system means to identify the boundaries, components, processes, and drivers relevant to a problem that is embedded in a specific place, and context. A part that we need and really should not miss is to define the system boundaries, componentsand interactions. System boundaries are significant because they have an impact on how a system is viewed, comprehended, designed, implemented, and managed. Setting clear and suitable system boundaries allows you to concentrate on a system’s crucial components and connections while minimizing needless complexity. It is also possible to specify the interfaces and interactions between a system and its surroundings as well as the sources and sinks of information, energy, and materials that flow into and out of a system. Finally, you can develop standards and metricsfor assessing a system’s effectiveness and efficiency, as well as its results. Just like we say in Mexico: A problem with neither head nor feet will be impossible to resolve, so it’s really important to start with this.

When systems are defined in a way that is specific to a local context, then local drivers can be accurately identified, and appropriate solutions will be found and applied more effectively. The next thing I want to talk about is about classifying Driver scale. “Drivers span many spatial scales” When a system and its drivers are successfully identified, it is essential to take into account scaling at bigger and smaller spatial scales both outside and inside the system’s limits.Given that socio-ecological systems are open systems in which energy, matter, and information can move across system boundaries, this is necessary for a full comprehension of the forces that govern the system. Moving forward a little but still talking about Drivers, we need to classify their influence. “Natural and human drivers can influence socioecological systems either directly and unequivocally, or indirectly and more diffusely. The definition of direct and undirect drivers thatwe described a couple of paragraphs before was defined by the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Now that we are done defining everything about Drivers, we can move forward to talk about Causal chain Analysis. Causality is the relationship of cause and effect, the principle that nothing can happen without being caused. “Cause is complicated, but establishing cause is necessary for finding targeted solutions to sustainability problems”.

Causal chain analysis helps trace cause-effect pathways form the problem back to the drivers regulating the socioecological system and considers the relationship among interacting drivers. I really liked the example on page 147 because it made everything easier to comprehend. “The reason that you have sour milk in your fridge might be because you were so busy this week that you did not have time to go to the grocery store to get fresh milk.” Then the chain will look like this: Hectic week (Indirect Driver), sour milk (Direct Driver), Stomachache (Effect).

(Indirect Driver)——- (Direct Driver)———– (Effect).
Before delving into these aspects of causal chain analysis, one more note on causality must bemade: CORRELATION—CAUSATION. Means that if two variables are correlated, one does not necessarily cause the other. Another great example that helped me to understand this is: In the late 1940s, a nationwide study found a strong correlation between the incidence rate of new cases of polio among children in a community and per capita ice cream consumption inthat community. In other words, as ice cream consumption increased, polio incidence increased. This led some to believe that polio was caused by ice cream consumption. However, other researchers realized that the data sets showing a strong correlation between high icecream consumption and high incidence of new polio cases were gathered in the summer. Data gathered in the winter showed a lower incidence of new polio cases and a lower rate of icecream consumption. We now know that polio is a viral infection that spreads more easily when children gather to play in unsanitary conditions, such as during summer vacation, than when children play together under more sanitary school conditions during the winter. Imagine if policy makers had listened to researcher’s first explanation of causation: “Polio is caused by ice cream consumption.” This could have led to an unnecessary ice cream ban! It also would have delayed the development of a vaccine for the disease.
Our last but not least topic is: Identifying Stakeholders. Stakeholders may be broadly describedas anyone with an interest or investment in a particular policy, dispute, or organizational seek, but are not always easy to identify. There are three general types of methods that can be employed: Focus groups, interviews and snow-ball sampling. There are also types of Stakeholders that are primary, secondary and key Stakeholders. The primary one means the ones who strongly affect others by their actions or are profoundly affected by the actions of other Stakeholders. The secondary one means the ones who are intermediary and indirectly affect others. The key one means that a critical class of them, can be primary or secondary or neither, and have the power to significantly influence or change a given situation.

Stakeholder involvement in and influence over a sustainability issue reveals power dynamics, advantageous alliances, and serious threats. Stakeholder behavior factors lead to actions that have an impact on the sustainability of a system. There is an image of a framework created by sustainability scientist Professor Arnim Wiek on page 166, that describes various factors to take actions that contribute to, and are affected by, a sustainability problem.

“Dictionary Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/dictionary. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

“Dictionary Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/dictionary. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

SOURCE ANALYSIS #1

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

ALEJANDRA BELTRAN

RESEARCH TEAM

DR. JACK

SOURCE ANALYSIS #1

For a really long period of time, it was hard for me to understand the term sustainability. Reading this couple of pages helped me finally understand this word’s real meaning and definition. Sustainability needs ecological, human, and economic cooperation. It mentions Wicked problems and it really caught my attention. There are 6 characteristics that are reasons why these wicked problems might not be able to be fixed.

-Vague problem definition

-Undefined solution

-No endpoint

-Irreversible

-Unique

-Urgent

Some of them involve teamwork, cooperation, and commitment. This is how I now go to the next topic that I consider that it is essential to mention because it’s a principle that we, as a research team, are going to need to consider. The figure 2.3 in page 77 shows the socioecological system and how it works. This is a 2-way system where both are important, and both contribute with energy, material, and information Figure 2.7 on page 80 shows a bike and this was the best example to explain the whole and true meaning of sustainability. The bike, as we can see, has different parts that work together so we can be able to ride it. Each one of them has their own purpose. If any of these parts ever stop working the main purpose of the bicycle will not be achieved. Why? Because it is a joint effort where each one of the parts need to work in perfect conditions. JUST AS LIFE.

This is what I keep with me from this reading assignment. Sustainability, Teamwork, give and receive, responsibility, analysis, vision, ability to resolve problems. We are really going to need them to achieve our goal as CODES.

Zachary Tobias Source Analysis #4

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

                        UnEarthed Podcast Relation to MBG

       When listening to the UnEarthed Podcast and relating it to the Missouri Botanical Garden,  the author and broadcaster James Wong talks about  the history of inequality and how the garden has history behind it of just plants.  James brings up the idea of what else could be done to make the garden open for everyone. With the Missouri Botanical Garden our focus is how we can represent the history of the garden not just on the looks, but at a more deeper driven focus level. Behind the garden is more than just flowers and plants.  James talks about the Royal Botanical Garden and how they are committed to revealing the true story that often is not been told and making the garden more of a welcoming place as a stomping ground full of knowledge and history. As our team partners with the Missouri Botanical Garden we are working on a collaborative project of making the history come to fruition. 

Multimodal Composition #1 – TaKara

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Multimodal Composition #1: Defining Our Wicked Problem

Introduction 

We are partnering with Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) to repair the injustices of garden owner and notable community member, Henry Shaw. As we seen on our field trip Henry Shaw’s Garden is beautifully cultivated and nurtured, but it is upsetting to know that this beauty started on the hands and knees of enslaved people. As we already know Shaw neglected the hard work of the enslaved people and took the credit for how well kept the garden was. As explained in the MOBOT website, the recorded documents of the enslaved people Shaw owned have no details about the specific duties of the enslaved people, but they are aware that their duties varied from outdoor lawn care to cooking in cleaning inside of the Tower Grove house. Even though Shaw wasn’t married and had no children the legacy of the garden remained, but how the enslaved people that contributed to his legacy story goes untold.  

What is our Wicked Problem? 

Our research team textbook, Sustainable World defines a wicked problem as “difficult problems that cannot be addressed using only traditional approaches, such as scientific technological advances, and that require continuous attention because they can never be completely solved.” This leads me to identifying our wicked problem which is that we want to publicly communicate the hidden injustices of Henry Shaw and acknowledge how those enslaved people impacted the botanical garden, making it what it is today. To better identify a wicked problem Sustainable World, highlights six general characteristics of a wicked problem: 

  1. Vague Problem Definition  
  1. Undefined Solution 
  1. No End Point 
  1. Irreversible  
  1. Unique  
  1. Urgent  

All the six general characteristics above can be used to characterize our wicked problem. I will be using each of them to dive into exactly how wicked our problem is and what ideas can consider moving forward. Even though the characteristics were at first difficult to understand these were the ways that I was able to connect them to our problem. 

  1. Vague Problem Definition 

Our problem is vague because exactly how do we address the public about the notable yet shameful history of Henry Shaw, we must consider that not everyone will be as willing to hear the truth about who Shaw was and the enslaved people he owned at the garden. Sustainable World explains that in a vague problem definition there is diversity amongst stakeholders, meaning that everyone may not agree with the issue or even view the problem as an issue. This fact reminds me of the discussion question held in research team with Dr. Jack, “What if at the Garden we begin publicly telling the stories of the enslaved people stakeholders and people who fund the garden no longer want to contribute?” To challenge this question, we entertained the thought that even if the MOBOT’s loses stakeholders and funding there is usually another group of stakeholders or means of funding that may be attracted to the truth of enslavement at the garden. 

  1. Undefined Solution 

With our problem in particular there is no specific solution. There isn’t any certain way to communicate with the public and address the injustices of Henry Shaw, the problem is how it’s been kept a secret from the public for so long and is only known to those that are impacted directly. On the Missouri Botanical Garden Website there is a page that attempts to approach the truth of slavery at the garden and further explains that the garden is working toward diversity and inclusion, this work is followed up by the goal of trying to tell the stories of the enslaved people at the garden. With the garden seeking to make a change they acknowledge that they are making their best efforts to involve the stories of the enslaved people stories as a part of the visitor experience. There’s no exact model or display of how the enslaved people’s stories are to be told, we don’t know if it’s a statue, plaque, article, brochure, no matter what we come up with it must communicate to the public about the truth. 

  1. No End Point 

This characteristic reminds me of a ripple effect once we implement a solution to the wicked problem, new problems can arise and cause cascading effects and unintended consequences. Even though we don’t intend for negative things to happen it is possible that they could. As I mentioned in vague problem definition even if the MOBOT loses its stakeholders and funding by telling the stories of enslaved people it could be detrimental to the functioning of the garden. Addressing the truth of Henry Shaw and the garden will be an ongoing process. The fact that the solution to our problem is undefined entails that there is no distinct form of resolution making it never ending. Sustainable World voices the idea that solutions must be continually adapted to new conditions, what may look like a resolution, may not look like a resolution later and more of a step either in the right or wrong direction. 

  1. Irreversible  

Just like posts made on social media once they are made public, they can’t be taken away, even if they are deleted after the fact, they are still accessible to the public. This same analogy works to represent the effectiveness of a solution or social media post, that will not change once it’s been implemented or posted. Sustainable World seconds this notion by indicating that implementing a solution creates changes in the world that can’t be undone and will have real consequences. The coolest yet scariest part about presenting this problem is that once we start finding solutions it won’t stop. Even if our entire cohort were to drop this project all together the MOBOT can review all our e-portfolios and see what our thoughts were and where they could start finding solutions. The irreversibility of resolving this problem and finding solutions is impactful and no matter what we do it will affect how the gardens present the truth to the public. 

  1. Unique  

The reason why we can characterize our problem as unique is because in most prominent places that involve enslavement there are museums, plaques, statues, or other forms of physical display to tell the stories of the enslaved people. Not to say that the gardens won’t one day have those forms of physical display but to tell the stories we can find many other ways to communicate the truth to the public in ways that are interactive or even digitally engaging. The uniqueness of our problem is carried by the idea that we are dealing with the truth of Henry Shaw and enslavement and as uncomfortable as this topic may seem MOBOT wants to make it a part of the visitor experience. We also may have to meet specific confidential requirements that can make our approach toward the truth look different from other places. We want to amplify the truth of the enslaved people without offending their families and making them feel uncomfortable about being in the garden. The uniqueness of our problem is weighed on by the means of people directly and indirectly affected by the garden and the garden’s history. 

  1. Urgent 

At first, I didn’t view this as a characteristic for our problem because we don’t have to meet any specific deadlines or due dates. With urgency we automatically think date and time it wasn’t until I read in Sustainable World, “Problems are urgent because of failure to act will result in permanent harm to human and natural systems.” This indicates that the problem is urgent in the matter of if we decide to do nothing about the truth, we put future generations in danger of being oblivious and ignorant of the truth. MOBOT’s website already communicated that they have no distinct way they want to communicate the truth to the public, but they’d like to try. As we partner with them in this project, we make their try into an effort induced push to think about possible solutions so that they don’t have to hide the truth any longer.  

Inconclusion 

Overall, our wicked problem is that we want to publicly communicate the hidden injustices of Henry Shaw and acknowledge how those enslaved people impacted the botanical garden, making it what it is today. Sustainable World introduces us to six characteristics of a wicked problem including: vague problem definition, undefined solution, no end point, irreversible, unique, and urgent. Our problem is vague because exactly how do we address the public about this hidden truth, which then makes the solution undefined. The irreversibility of resolving this problem and finding solutions is impactful and no matter what we do it will affect how the gardens present the truth to the public, this makes our whole problem unique. The urgency of this matter lies in the impacts we make in the present that will affect the future possibilities beyond MOBOT but the region’s historical enslavement background. 

 

Source Analysis #2 – TaKara

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Source Analysis #2: Current State Analysis

When I read Sustainable World, Ch. 3: Current Analysis I gained a deeper understanding about approaches to analyzing and resolving wicked problems. This chapter was incredibly easy to comprehend, and I was able to grasp the overall key concepts because of the examples that were explained. The three key concepts that were highlighted in this chapter are defining the system and classifying drivers, casual chain analysis, and stakeholder analysis. All three of these concepts provided me with different strategies that altered my way of thinking about how to approach and perceive a wicked problem.

The first key concept in this chapter is defining the system and classifying drivers. In the beginning of my reading, I was oblivious to what the intent or use of the word “driver” was, when applying it to solving a problem. Sustainable World’s clearest explanation was that “Drivers are the governing forces that act on a system, either causing it to change or remain in itscurrent state,” (pg.124). Within this fact, I realized that drivers are more prominent factors of a system that makes it function in its current state. There are two main types of drivers: direct drivers and indirect drivers. From my understanding, direct drivers influence the behavior of a system more directly. As opposed to an indirect driver that influences the behavior of a system ina way that is more spread out by changing the direction of a direct driver. Sustainable World thenprovides visual representation of systems and drivers through examples found in socioecological systems. These visual representations allowed me to see the rippling effects of how drivers impact systems and the factors in drivers that influence systems.

The next key concept that is introduced in the chapter is casual chain analysis. Sustainable World defines casual chain analysis as “a tool for analyzing socioecological systems by classifying key drivers, establishing the relationships among drivers, and determining their relative influences on a system,” (pg. 123) The visual representation of systems that helped me understand what drivers are, were also examples of casual chain analysis. After reading about causal chain analysis, I was intrigued by the thought of what other ways casual chain analysis is used. I wanted to see more visual representations, so through a google search I was able to witness the different organizations in systems of casual analysis beyond the socioecological perspective. I noticed that some representations used more labeling with tables or graphing, others were simplistic with the causes and effects of a system. With the key concept casual chain analysis, I came to an understand that it is a tool for analyzing any system by classifying key drivers.
The final key concept that is exhibited in this chapter is stakeholder analysis. One of the best ways that I think Sustainable World communicated how stakeholders contribute to problem-solving is “However, the current state of analysis of a system is not complete until the people and organizations with a stake in a sustainability problem are considered. This is where stakeholder analysis comes into the picture,” (pg.161). This fact acknowledges how groups of individuals also play a role in impacting a system other than drivers. Stakeholders are the people that are impacted by the system regardless of how much or how little, some of them have authoritative influence within the system. For example, key stakeholders can be either indirectly or directly affected by a system yet possess the power to drastically impact a system. Sustainable World coherently addresses how important it is to be able to identify the types of stakeholders when problem solving.

Remington – Doucette, Sonya. Sustainable World. 2nd ed., Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2013. pp. 123, 124, 161.

Source Analysis #4

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Cullen Krieg

Dr. Jack

CODES

12 October 2023

Analysis #4

 

In this podcast that we listened to this week, I thought it was hard to understand. They continued to jump from many different main topics. However, I did learn about some information that I usually wouldn’t have learned. 

The Botanical Gardens that they spoke about were used for spiritual redemption. It wasn’t based on plants but more religious type of terms. 

Another one of the people that spoke talked about how gardening doesn’t always have to mean that you have a full fledged garden with many different types of plants. But gardening can be as small as one singular plant on the window sill. He also spoke about how gardening is a peaceful and life saving way to cope. 

The next guy that was up to speak spoke about how gardening is for everyone. He said that everyone can be in botany and having people say that you may not be ready to become a gardener should not stop you from letting you start. 

All in all, I was able to understand a little bit from the podcast but it was also very hard. I liked that I was able to catch the key things that stood out to me. Those few topics have stood out to me a little bit more than others in the podcast because that’s what I feel like I implement in my life and my sports.

Source Analysis #3 – Hunter

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

The man in the article was just trying to have his plants grow by themselves. He tookconstant care of them, and made sure that none of the plants he had were invasive. Despite all ofthis however, the city still gave him violations, even though it is stated that this kind of thing isencouraged. An important part of the article that I saw was that the officer that toured his homesaid that there was no planning involved in the growth of the plants. However, just a line or soabove, it said that Vest took him on a tour around his home, and told him his future plans for thegarden.

One point that I saw was that he has had his yard like this for years now. Only now arethey giving him citations. He is trying to contribute to something that Edwardsville became inJune, the Pollinator Pathway City. This basically states how they are open to the pollination ofnative plans via bees, butterflies, etc. Vest was trying to contribute to that cause, and instead of itbeing helpful to the city, they deemed it a violation. This, to me, seems a little counterintuitive.Edwardsville was the first city in Illinois to become a Pollinator Pathway City, but they are goingagainst it by getting rid of the yards and gardens that people have to contribute to this. He wasable to go along with this for a while, but recently the city noticed and eventually got rid of theyard in its entirety.

I feel that this is not fair to Vest, he was just trying to be a contributor and also trying tohelp the city of Edwardsville. In return, the city got rid of his yard and his native plants.

Source Analysis #3

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Cullen Krieg

Dr. Jack

CODES
5 October 2023

 

Overgrown?

 

In the article, “City clears Edwardsville man’s yard deemed out of compliance” there is a man that wanted to grow out natural vegetation in his yard and keep it maintained. He wanted it to be labeled as a nature preserve so that individuals could come look at the beauty. He told the writers that he wasn’t planting anything invasive, leading the reader to assume that he was taking care of it. 

However, Edwardsville had gotten different news delivered to them. Vest had gotten many complaints from the city telling him that it needed to be taken care of but he never took action. He understood what he needed to do to “maintain” his yard and the regulations that were allowed. Vest feels like he has done everything in his power to keep it contained in his yard. I kind of agree with what Vest says because if he owns his own property he should be able to grow whatever he wants as long as it is nice looking. I can also see how Edwardsville would want the growth cut down. Too much vegetation on a property that is less than .5 of an acre will make it look overgrown even if it is taken care of. 

A key factor in the article that really caught my attention was that when it said: “Risavy said there are many yards and sites such as at the Edwardsville Children’s Museum that have native plants grown with a plan, managed and kept up, and they meet city ordinance requirements. This caught my attention because it shows that other yards are doing just what Vest has done yet they meet the city requirements. Which leads me to believe that Vest must have a neighbor that doesn’t like to look at that many items of vegetation. 

Source Analysis #2 – Hunter

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

To determine system conditions, one must first look at the drivers. As the book states “they are analogous to the driver of a car” (Remington-Doucette 124). Meaning that they are just like the drivers of a car, whenever they drive, they drive forward or toward something. There are two main types of drivers like indirect and direct. Indirect means that it does not deal with the problem specifically, but still affects it somehow. Direct drivers are things that correlate directly to the problem itself and are driving it forward. There are the main types of changes in a problem and those are “critical transitions”. These are basically the “point of no return,” you cannot usually reverse these transitions, and they are very difficult to predict.

There is something called causal chain analysis which helps in finding solutions to problems. This just takes a larger look at the problem at hand, and finds the indirect and direct causes to a problem and the effect. There are also stakeholders in a problem as well. These are people who contribute to the problem, or the ones that are being affected by the problem. As the book states “identifying stakeholders is not a straightforward process.” There are many ways to know about stakeholders, but the main ones are interviews, or focus groups that think about the ways that a stakeholder operates. These include their values and beliefs, while also including their resources and technology.

Source Analysis #1 – Hunter

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

There are many ways to approach a problem, and also many ways to solve a problem. But certain approaches have varying disadvantages and advantages. There are six general characteristics of wicked problems. These are problems that could be detrimental to humans if left unattended for a period of time. Problems can also be solved in a series of systems. There are both open and closed systems. Open systems, in general, take in the aspect of outside intervention and conditions while a closed system does the opposite. A closed system just relies on itself and does not take the outside world into effect. Some solutions can be sustained for longer periods of time while other solutions are only temporary. Overall, this chapter was very informative on how to solve problems from multiple angles and the different ways that a problem could be solved and the effects on other things by taking a certain approach.

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