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Dissertation Information for Kristine Kelly

NAME:
- Kristine Kelly

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- SUNY, Albany (USA) (1999)

ADVISORS:
- Anthony M. Creswell

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- George Richardson
- David Andersen

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: A systems approach to identifying decisive information for sustainable development

Abstract: This study develops and evaluates an alternative approach to identifying decisive information for sustainable development.

The multi-method approach examined decision making in the Adirondack Park, a sixmillion acre mix of public and private land in New York State. The study examined the impacts of a systems thinking intervention on the identification of decisive information for sustainable development in the Park. The study employed interviews, surveys, archival analysis, and an experiment to identify relevant decision-making domains and to assess the impact of the intervention.

The study identified characteristics of sustainability and critical issues facing development decision makers in the Park. The research examined perceptions of the effectiveness of State-level decision making processes and information use in supporting sustainable development. Barriers and enablers to the effective integration of information in decision making were identified and the importance of information relative to other aspects of decision making was examined.

The study's experiment demonstrates that the systems thinking intervention: (1) had marginal effects on perceptions of importance of sustainable development issues; (2) had little impact on perceptions of importance of a range of sustainable development indicators or measures; (3) resulted in decreased alignment or increased variability in perceptions of importance of issues and measures; and (4) identified critical areas of uncertainty about system structure and behavior.

This study provides evidence that critical areas of uncertainty about system structure and behavior can be identified through the development of causal loop diagrams for important sustainable development issues. This uncertainty points to key areas where new information or new knowledge is needed and questions that might be addressed through simulation modeling. More commonly used approaches to identifying information for sustainable development fail to identify the need for this type of information and, therefore, are likely to result in ineffective or detrimental policies and decisions. The results underscore the proposition that sustainable development requires both improved measures of performance and enhanced understanding of the complexity of systems in which development decisions are made.

The study results have direct implications for development decision makers in the Adirondack Park and general implications for researchers and practitioners in sustainable development worldwide.

MPACT Scores for Kristine Kelly

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:13:17

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