Luis T. Gutierrez, Ph.D.
Independent Consultant & Researcher
This web site is the home of
A Knowledge Organization Project on Humanity, the Human Habitat, and Sustainable Development
Including:
Analyses of the UN Millennium Development Goals
Directory of Sustainability Education Resources
Directory of Sustainable Development Resources
Directory of Human Development Resources
Monthly Digest of Current Research and Emerging Issues
"A custom without truth is ancient error." St. Cyprian, 3rd Century CE
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." Marie Curie, 1867-1934
Global ~ Europe ~ North America ~ Latin America ~ Asia ~ Africa ~ Oceania ~
France ~ Mexico ~ Brasil ~ China ~ Japan ~ Egypt ~ Tanzania ~ South Africa ~
Australia ~ New Zealand ~ Fiji Islands ~
English ~ Spanish ~ French ~ German ~ Italian ~ Portuguese ~ Polish ~ Chinese ~ Japanese ~ Russian ~
Greek ~ Swahili ~ Arabic ~ Turkish ~ Hebrew ~ Persian ~ Armenian ~ Korean ~
EVIDENCE-BASED ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
This is a brief description of the evidence-based method for Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA). The basic process is a feedback loop with four recursive phases: requirements definition (what additional evidence is needed?), information gathering (what evidence is found?), evidence analysis (what is the gap between existing and required evidence?), and evidence synthesis (how can newly acquired evidence be integrated with previously existing evidence?).
As everyone who has done this kind of work knows, it is seldom a matter of iterating through a succession of discrete cycles. Most often, the work must unfold in two, three, or even all four phases simultaneously. Nevertheless, to keep things in perspective, and to measure progress, it is useful to think in terms of the four phases, and keep status records for each phase. There are limits to physical resources, but there are no limits to information, knowledge, or evidence.
EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS
Reducing complexity and ambiguity are critical for the definition of evidence requirements. Evidence (knowledge) taxonomies, maps, and relational databases of links to supporting data are useful in defining requirements.
The are thousands (or millions) millions of website directories, libraries online, and search engines in any given subject matter area. In addition to gathering evidence from people, a good search strategy is critical to find the required information in a cost-effective manner.
To view sample collections of online resources used to gather information, click
HERE, HERE, and
HERE.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
A synthesis explains how information subsets interact to produce knowledge. This may require a topic map or a causal-loop diagram and a simulation model. Click on the following thumbnail:
See Powersim for the software used. There is a wide variety of software tools to support knowledge synthesis.
EVIDENCE ANALYSIS
When review and analysis reveals interdependencies among chunks of evidence, several techniques can be used to understand the nature of the interdependencies, e.g., precedence diagrams, causal-loop diagrams, interdependency matrices, etc. Click on the following thumbnail to see an example of an interdependency matrix analysis:
See Problematics for the software used. There is a wide variety of methods available to support evidence analysis, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
WORK SAMPLES
For an interdependency analysis of the UN Millennium Development Goals, click here.
For a system dynamics analysis of the conditions for sustainability, click here.
For a system dynamics analysis of the software development process, click here.
For relational databases of links to interdisciplinary web content relevant to sustainability, click here and here.
For graphical data analyses and time series analyses of several data sets, click here.
For a taxonomy to organize the links to websites with project-specific content, click here.
For a gallery of links to selected web resources, click here.
For a gallery of links to selected news services and RSS news feeds, click here.
For a list of selected, recently published books with links to Amazon, click here.
For the home page of the Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence e-newsletter, click here.
The Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence (SSNV) Newsletter is a monthly digest of research on the most critical global issues at the intersection of technology, religion, and society. The Bible and other sacred scriptures provide provide a solid foundation of divine wisdom, albeit mediated by human minds. System theory and mimetic theory are the primary methods of analysis. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are used as point of reference. Send feedback to Luis T. Gutierrez, SSNV Editor.
The following is a list of the research reports posted, 2005-2008:
POSTED
V1 N1 May 2005
V1 N2 June 2005
V1 N3 July 2005
V1 N4 August 2005
V1 N5 September 2005
V1 N6 October 2005
V1 N7 November 2005
V1 N8 December 2005
V2 N1 January 2006
V2 N2 February 2006
V2 N3 March 2006
V2 N4 April 2006
V2 N5 May 2006
V2 N6 June 2006
V2 N7 July 2006
V2 N8 August 2006
V2 N9 September 2006
V2 N10 October 2006
V2 N11 November 2006
V2 N12 December 2006
V3 N1 January 2007
V3 N2 February 2007
V3 N3 March 2007
V3 N4 April 2007
V3 N5 May 2007
V3 N6 June 2007
V3 N7 July 2007
V3 N8 August 2007
V3 N9 September 2007
V3 N10 October 2007
V3 N11 November 2007
V3 N12 December 2007
V4 N01 January 2008
V4 N02 February 2008
V4 N03 March 2008
V4 N04 April 2008
V4 N05 May 2008
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