Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Factors such as institutional membership, professional training, self-
interest, socialization through membership in political and professional
groups as well as deeply held values and beliefs contribute to the variabil-
ity. These differences can be grouped into four categories: (1) Problem
solving according to predetermined objectives; (2) Problem definition;
(3) Dominant interpretive frames; (4) Worldview.
Worldview denotes deeply held values with regard to the preferred
social order, including such issues as justice, fairness, equality, freedom,
and private versus public good. Discourse at this level rarely occurs, is
unlikely to produce changes, and is most dangerous for a collaborative
project. This is because the views of this order are very stable within
each participant group. Rather than closing gaps in deeply held beliefs,
an open discourse in this domain may lead to a deadlock. Of course, dif-
fering worldviews do play a role in the overall process. They do so indi-
rectly, by impacting the way individual participants interpret the mean-
ing of the project
vis-a-vis
the private and public interests, or how they
define a problem.
By interpretive frame we mean the approaches to making sense of
observations and to identifying the most salient characteristics of a par-
ticular situation. It is strongly linked to institutional and professional
affiliations of its holder, his/her self-interest, as well as the worldview.
Well-established professional assumptions and norms of behavior can
strongly influence one's interpretive frame. Interpretive frames resists
change but can support change, especially in crisis situations.
Problem definition denotes specifying the task at hand or problem
to be solved. Participants do so by examining the features of a particu-
lar situation through the lens of their respective interpretive frames and
worldviews. Discourse on this level is a struggle or negotiation about how
to pair a problem definition with a problem solution. For instance, pro-
fessionals with a technical background are inclined to define the problem
as technical whereas social scientists or public agency employees would
develop a more social problem definition. Learning on this level is adjust-
ing problem definitions to reach consensus or at least congruence. This
is first-order learning.
