Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication
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Sustainability Solutions Initiative, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
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Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
3
School of Economics, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2013, 5(10), 4195-4221; https://doi.org/10.3390/su5104195
Received: 29 July 2013
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Revised: 14 August 2013
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Accepted: 11 September 2013
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Published: 25 September 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication for and about Sustainability)
Sustainability science seeks to identify and implement workable solutions to complex problems. This transdisciplinary approach advances a commitment to work across boundaries that occur among individuals, disciplines, and institutions to build capacities for informed and innovative decision making in the face of uncertainty and change. The concept of boundary work and related discussions of boundary objects and organizations are important, expanding focal areas within sustainability science. While communication is described as central to boundary work, insights from the field of communication have largely yet to inform theorizing about boundaries within sustainability science. In this paper, we highlight three communication perspectives, namely media studies, collaboration and partnerships, and systems theories, which are particularly relevant for understanding how boundaries form, the social context in which boundary work occurs, and informed strategies for enhanced boundary spanning and management. We use three case studies to illustrate how communication theories and methods provide dynamic and strategic lenses within transdisciplinary processes to enable collaborators to build capacity for change, sustain critical and reflective inquiry, and approach difference as generative in collective efforts to produce sustainability.
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Keywords:
sustainability science; boundary work; communication theory; transdisciplinarity; media analysis; collaboration and partnerships; systems theory
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
McGreavy, B.; Hutchins, K.; Smith, H.; Lindenfeld, L.; Silka, L. Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication. Sustainability 2013, 5, 4195-4221. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5104195
AMA Style
McGreavy B, Hutchins K, Smith H, Lindenfeld L, Silka L. Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication. Sustainability. 2013; 5(10):4195-4221. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5104195
Chicago/Turabian StyleMcGreavy, Bridie, Karen Hutchins, Hollie Smith, Laura Lindenfeld, and Linda Silka. 2013. "Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication" Sustainability 5, no. 10: 4195-4221. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5104195
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