Clinical Associate Professor facilitating collaboration among scholars and practitioners in projects that integrate sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, and resilience.
Hundreds of sustainability programs have emerged at universities and colleges around the world ov... more Hundreds of sustainability programs have emerged at universities and colleges around the world over the past 2 decades. A prime question for employers, students, educators, and program administrators is what competencies these programs develop in students. This study explores convergence on competencies for sustainability programs. We conducted a Delphi study with 14 international experts in sustainability education on the framework of key competencies in sustainability by Wiek et al. (Sustain Sci 6: 203–218, 2011), the most frequently cited framework to date. While experts generally agreed with the framework, they propose two additional competencies, suggest a hierarchy of competencies, and specify learning objectives for students interested in a career as sustainability researcher. The refined framework can inform program development, implementation, and evaluation to enhance employability of graduates and facilitate comparison of sustainability programs worldwide.
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2010
PurposeAcademic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, includ... more PurposeAcademic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, including problem‐solving skills and the ability to collaborate successfully with experts and stakeholders. These key competencies may be most fully developed in new teaching and learning situations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the kind of, and extent to which, these key competencies can be acquired in real‐world learning opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper summarizes key competencies in sustainability, identifies criteria for real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability programs, and draws on dominant real‐world learning models including project‐ and problem‐based learning, service learning, and internships in communities, businesses, and governments. These components are integrated into a framework to design real‐world learning opportunities.FindingsA “functional and progressive” model of real‐world learning opportunities seems most conducive to introduce st...
Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 2010
PurposeSustainable housing and community recovery processes in the aftermath of tsunamis have to ... more PurposeSustainable housing and community recovery processes in the aftermath of tsunamis have to cope with direct impacts, such as fatalities, destroyed buildings, and loss of economic assets, as well as indirect impacts caused by shortcomings in recovery management. Recent studies on post‐tsunami recovery tend to focus on direct impacts, ranging from monitoring to prevention studies. Less attention is paid to recovery as a complex bundle of multi‐agent processes causing subsequent problems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from field studies evaluating post‐tsunami recovery processes in Sri Lanka against the concept of sustainable housing and community recovery. Semi‐structured observations and interviews were conducted on eight sites in the south‐western part of Sri Lanka during field visits 2005‐2006. The research involved beneficiaries and other citizens, representatives from government and administration, field workers (non‐governmental organizations), and s...
Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); ... more Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); Wiek et al (2011); Keil (2009); Stauffacher et al. (2008); Blackstock et al. (2007); Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn (2007); Moll & Zander (2006); Bergmann et al. (2005). ... Implementation of solution-options by SH; research on their implementation ... Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); Wiek et al (2011); Keil (2009); Stauffacher et al. (2008); Blackstock et al. (2007); Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn (2007); Moll & Zander (2006); ...
Practitioners and scholars increasingly view disasters as an opportunity not only to mitigate fut... more Practitioners and scholars increasingly view disasters as an opportunity not only to mitigate future disaster risk, but also to actively pursue change towards sustainability, i.e., making progress on poverty, environmental pollution, climate change, and social injustice. While the rhetoric of using windows of opportunity for building back better proliferates, the accounts of these achievements are mixed. Furthermore, few studies exist that research how people and organizations—in the midst of post-disaster devastation and loss—were able to see and seize opportunities for change towards sustainability. The post-disaster recovery process from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastating Aceh, Indonesia is one of the cases with mixed accounts that framed their recovery around the goals of building back better. Thus, this study looks at this case to shed light on how opportunities were seen and seized over the last 10 years. The initial research findings suggest that major achievements tow...
Lebanon has undergone 10 years of a governmental program of reconstruction, which was also design... more Lebanon has undergone 10 years of a governmental program of reconstruction, which was also designed to restructure the wider society. Since Lebanese state politics are traditionally characterized by a liberal and laisser-faire mentality, state-run reconstruction has neglected the development of social welfare services. Other actors have therefore filled this gap, such as the Maronite Church and Hezbollah. Both organizations can be considered to be key actors at the political and social level of Lebanese society. They provide a wide range of high-quality social services, covering sectors such as housing, education, health, communication, and infrastructure. These sectors are all relevant to the integration of the society. Moreover, they overlap with the housing sector. Activities in housing and housing-related spheres influence processes of integration and disintegration, as the home is both the centre of daily life and a rent-yielding commodity. The Maronite Church and Hezbollah hav...
Hundreds of sustainability programs have emerged at universities and colleges around the world ov... more Hundreds of sustainability programs have emerged at universities and colleges around the world over the past 2 decades. A prime question for employers, students, educators, and program administrators is what competencies these programs develop in students. This study explores convergence on competencies for sustainability programs. We conducted a Delphi study with 14 international experts in sustainability education on the framework of key competencies in sustainability by Wiek et al. (Sustain Sci 6: 203–218, 2011), the most frequently cited framework to date. While experts generally agreed with the framework, they propose two additional competencies, suggest a hierarchy of competencies, and specify learning objectives for students interested in a career as sustainability researcher. The refined framework can inform program development, implementation, and evaluation to enhance employability of graduates and facilitate comparison of sustainability programs worldwide.
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2010
PurposeAcademic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, includ... more PurposeAcademic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, including problem‐solving skills and the ability to collaborate successfully with experts and stakeholders. These key competencies may be most fully developed in new teaching and learning situations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the kind of, and extent to which, these key competencies can be acquired in real‐world learning opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper summarizes key competencies in sustainability, identifies criteria for real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability programs, and draws on dominant real‐world learning models including project‐ and problem‐based learning, service learning, and internships in communities, businesses, and governments. These components are integrated into a framework to design real‐world learning opportunities.FindingsA “functional and progressive” model of real‐world learning opportunities seems most conducive to introduce st...
Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 2010
PurposeSustainable housing and community recovery processes in the aftermath of tsunamis have to ... more PurposeSustainable housing and community recovery processes in the aftermath of tsunamis have to cope with direct impacts, such as fatalities, destroyed buildings, and loss of economic assets, as well as indirect impacts caused by shortcomings in recovery management. Recent studies on post‐tsunami recovery tend to focus on direct impacts, ranging from monitoring to prevention studies. Less attention is paid to recovery as a complex bundle of multi‐agent processes causing subsequent problems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from field studies evaluating post‐tsunami recovery processes in Sri Lanka against the concept of sustainable housing and community recovery. Semi‐structured observations and interviews were conducted on eight sites in the south‐western part of Sri Lanka during field visits 2005‐2006. The research involved beneficiaries and other citizens, representatives from government and administration, field workers (non‐governmental organizations), and s...
Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); ... more Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); Wiek et al (2011); Keil (2009); Stauffacher et al. (2008); Blackstock et al. (2007); Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn (2007); Moll & Zander (2006); Bergmann et al. (2005). ... Implementation of solution-options by SH; research on their implementation ... Sources: among others: Brundiers & Wiek (2011); Morse & Bell (2011); O'Meara et al. (2011); Wiek et al (2011); Keil (2009); Stauffacher et al. (2008); Blackstock et al. (2007); Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn (2007); Moll & Zander (2006); ...
Practitioners and scholars increasingly view disasters as an opportunity not only to mitigate fut... more Practitioners and scholars increasingly view disasters as an opportunity not only to mitigate future disaster risk, but also to actively pursue change towards sustainability, i.e., making progress on poverty, environmental pollution, climate change, and social injustice. While the rhetoric of using windows of opportunity for building back better proliferates, the accounts of these achievements are mixed. Furthermore, few studies exist that research how people and organizations—in the midst of post-disaster devastation and loss—were able to see and seize opportunities for change towards sustainability. The post-disaster recovery process from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastating Aceh, Indonesia is one of the cases with mixed accounts that framed their recovery around the goals of building back better. Thus, this study looks at this case to shed light on how opportunities were seen and seized over the last 10 years. The initial research findings suggest that major achievements tow...
Lebanon has undergone 10 years of a governmental program of reconstruction, which was also design... more Lebanon has undergone 10 years of a governmental program of reconstruction, which was also designed to restructure the wider society. Since Lebanese state politics are traditionally characterized by a liberal and laisser-faire mentality, state-run reconstruction has neglected the development of social welfare services. Other actors have therefore filled this gap, such as the Maronite Church and Hezbollah. Both organizations can be considered to be key actors at the political and social level of Lebanese society. They provide a wide range of high-quality social services, covering sectors such as housing, education, health, communication, and infrastructure. These sectors are all relevant to the integration of the society. Moreover, they overlap with the housing sector. Activities in housing and housing-related spheres influence processes of integration and disintegration, as the home is both the centre of daily life and a rent-yielding commodity. The Maronite Church and Hezbollah hav...
Uploads
Papers by Katja Brundiers