Dynamic Realities
Crossing Scales and Boundaries to Improve Sustainability and Resiliency in Universities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Gretchen Vanicor
Universities are uniquely positioned among stakeholders in larger socio-ecological systems which lead efforts in addressing sustainable development, resiliency, and other areas of societal concerns because of their unbiased role as societal educators and researchers (Downs & Golovko, 2016). Further, scholars argue higher education institutions should be at the center of sustainable development research and education (Mossman, 2018). This research provides a socio-ecological view explaining the interrelationship of possible institutional and external factors distinguishing higher performing universities from others which have completed the AASHE STARS assessment, an integrative explanation of the common characteristics and strategies of the highest rated universities, and future guidelines for improving sustainability and resiliency of higher education institutions. This research explores the interrelationship of institutional and external factors distinguishing the high-performing AASHE STARS universities from others; measures the effect of these factors on sustainability performance; identifies commonalities between and distinctions among the sustainability and resiliency strategies of AASHE STARS rating groups; and provides a model for improving sustainability and resiliency in universities through a comprehensive socio-ecological approach. Universities have the unique opportunity to model the best sustainability and resiliency practices through the operation of campus functions, while benefitting from more efficient and effective operations, improving the quality of life for the campus community, providing research opportunities, and serving as a living lab for instruction. Increased resiliency of campus operations through strategic planning with local agencies could provide mutually beneficial outcomes in the case of disasters or long-term stresses.
Dealing with Climate Change: How “Generation Z” Copes with Complexity and Ambiguity
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Janne Fengler,
Stefanie Greubel
Dealing with climate change and its effects and finding a way to respond to it can be seen as one of the most pressing challenges of our time. In the face of this far-reaching global development, the so-called “Generation Z” is currently facing particular challenges to prove itself in a world which is experienced as volatile, uncertain, complex and full of ambiguities. The paper focuses on the overarching question of how young people of this age group deal with this challenge and to what individual behavioral goals are being achieved. In a quasi-experimental study, N = 2219 German students aged 12 to 18 years from schools with different pedagogical focuses were surveyed with questionnaires. The constructs included personal, systemic and social resources, environmental knowledge, attitudes towards sustainability and environmental behavior. Descriptive and multivariate analyses show that students are very sensitive to sustainability issues. The data provides a differentiated insight into the relationship between attitudes and behavior and shows that young people experience similarities and discrepancies in their own internal and external dealings with the climate catastrophe. Implications for education, social work and politics can be derived from this understanding.
Sustainability of a World of Time: Proposed Elements of Sustainability and Their Opponents View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Maximilian M. Etschmaier
We define sustainability for a world of time in which everything has a beginning and an end, as does time itself, and as does, on its own, every element of the world. Every creature and every material element represents a purposeful system that descended from the original purposeful system which was created at the beginning of time and possessed all information necessary to evolve (unfold), through its offspring, the entire world, while fully respecting the free will of every offspring. Based on the free will, every element, within its unique circumstances, is charting its own path, from its beginning to its end. And sustainability can only be realized by every creature on its own, seeking harmony with, and respect for the uniqueness of all other creatures. Humans represent only a small part of this world. They contribute to sustainability through an evolutionary process of emerging policy measures. Access to information and the truth is of critical importance and needs to be freely available to all persons. Ethical norms as well as technologies and economic orders directing benefits to select individuals and groups impede the overall sustainability system.
