The HES framework

Chapter overviewIn the spirit of cultivating environmental literacy we present the human–environment systems (HES) framework as a practical way to cope with the complexity of human–environment relationships. Its design and our suggestions for its use assume that most environmental problems are cause...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironmental Literacy in Science and Society pp. 453 - 462
Main Authors Scholz, Roland W., Binder, Claudia R., Lang, Daniel J.
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published 21.07.2011
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ISBN0521192714
0521183332
9780521192712
9780521183338
DOI10.1017/CBO9780511921520.020

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Summary:Chapter overviewIn the spirit of cultivating environmental literacy we present the human–environment systems (HES) framework as a practical way to cope with the complexity of human–environment relationships. Its design and our suggestions for its use assume that most environmental problems are caused largely by human activities, a view that could be called the anthropocenic redefinition of the environment.Our unveiling of the HES framework describes how it is a structure–process template or methodological guide for research about HES. The HES framework highlights how the HES Postulates offer principles that foster a comprehensive analysis of HES.Next we describe how the HES framework offers principles for environmental research and transdisciplinary processes. After an initial phase of formulating a guiding question and defining system boundaries, a first step is to conduct an analysis of the environmental situation (as stated by the Environment-first Postulate P7), which is a typical subject of transdisciplinary processes.
ISBN:0521192714
0521183332
9780521192712
9780521183338
DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511921520.020