A ‘Knowledge Ecologies’ Analysis of Co-designing Water and Sanitation Services in Alaska

Fam, D; Sofoulis, Z

A ‘Knowledge Ecologies’ Analysis of Co-designing Water and Sanitation Services in Alaska

Fam, D

Sofoulis, Z

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Science and Engineering Ethics, 2017, 23 (4), pp. 1059 - 1083
Issue Date:: 2017-08-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fam, D https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5549-5034	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sofoulis, Z	en_US
dc.date.available	2016-09-28	en_US
dc.date.issued	2017-08-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Science and Engineering Ethics, 2017, 23 (4), pp. 1059 - 1083	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1353-3452	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/110164
dc.description.abstract	© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Willingness to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries is necessary but not sufficient for project success. This is a case study of a transdisciplinary project whose success was constrained by contextual factors that ultimately favoured technical and scientific forms of knowledge over the cultural intelligence that might ensure technical solutions were socially feasible. In response to Alaskan Water and Sewer Challenge (AWSC), an international team with expertise in engineering, consultative design and public health formed in 2013 to collaborate on a two-year project to design remote area water and sanitation systems in consultation with two native Alaskan communities. Team members were later interviewed about their experiences. Project processes are discussed using a ‘Knowledge Ecology’ framework, which applies principles of ecosystems analysis to knowledge ecologies, identifying the knowledge equivalents of ‘biotic’ and ‘abiotic’ factors and looking at their various interactions. In a positivist ‘knowledge integration’ perspective, different knowledges are like Lego blocks that combine with other ‘data sets’ to create a unified structure. The knowledge ecology framework highlights how interactions between different knowledges and knowledge practitioners (‘biotic factors’) are shaped by contextual (‘abiotic’) factors: the conditions of knowledge production, the research policy and funding climate, the distribution of research resources, and differential access to enabling infrastructures (networks, facilities). This case study highlights the importance of efforts to negotiate between different knowledge frameworks, including by strategic use of language and precepts that help translate social research into technical design outcomes that are grounded in social reality.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Science and Engineering Ethics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s11948-016-9830-x	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Applied Ethics	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Ecology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Sanitation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Public Health	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Waste Management	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Water Purification	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Culture	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Alaska	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Alaska Natives	en_US
dc.title	A ‘Knowledge Ecologies’ Analysis of Co-designing Water and Sanitation Services in Alaska	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	23	en_US
utslib.for	2201 Applied Ethics	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	23	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Willingness to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries is necessary but not sufficient for project success. This is a case study of a transdisciplinary project whose success was constrained by contextual factors that ultimately favoured technical and scientific forms of knowledge over the cultural intelligence that might ensure technical solutions were socially feasible. In response to Alaskan Water and Sewer Challenge (AWSC), an international team with expertise in engineering, consultative design and public health formed in 2013 to collaborate on a two-year project to design remote area water and sanitation systems in consultation with two native Alaskan communities. Team members were later interviewed about their experiences. Project processes are discussed using a ‘Knowledge Ecology’ framework, which applies principles of ecosystems analysis to knowledge ecologies, identifying the knowledge equivalents of ‘biotic’ and ‘abiotic’ factors and looking at their various interactions. In a positivist ‘knowledge integration’ perspective, different knowledges are like Lego blocks that combine with other ‘data sets’ to create a unified structure. The knowledge ecology framework highlights how interactions between different knowledges and knowledge practitioners (‘biotic factors’) are shaped by contextual (‘abiotic’) factors: the conditions of knowledge production, the research policy and funding climate, the distribution of research resources, and differential access to enabling infrastructures (networks, facilities). This case study highlights the importance of efforts to negotiate between different knowledge frameworks, including by strategic use of language and precepts that help translate social research into technical design outcomes that are grounded in social reality.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/110164