Ecology and Human Affairs Dr. Sanda Kaufman, Instructor MW 6:00 - 9:30 MGL College of Urban Affairs 1st 6 weeks Summer Semester, 2011 Cleveland State University ECOLOGY AND HUMAN AFFAIRS SYLLABUS COURSE OBJECTIVES Our natural environment, a key limited resource, is often the subject of heated debate among concerned individuals, communities, the business sector, and agencies at all government levels that engage in policy formulation and in regulatory and permitting activities. Decisions are usually fraught with conflict that delays or prevents any action. Decision making that affects the environment has to take into account conflicting values, information with heavy scientific content, and the possibility that consequences will affect numerous people for extended periods of time. One measure of the quality of decisions is their implementability. The implementation of environmental policies and decisions can be hampered by decision processes geared to the interests of some parties to the near exclusion of other interests. Such processes predictably foil implementation by failing to ensure the participation of those who can assist or prevent it. On the other hand, broad participatory processes can also reach impasse as various interest groups successfully block each other's initiatives. What types of processes are most likely to yield decisions and policies that can be implemented? Ecology and Human Affairs addresses this question. It introduces students to principles, techniques and examples of decision making in contexts with environmental linkage. It develops the student's ability to assess decision situations affecting the environment, by: • discussing the kinds of process challenges that decision makers encounter in the realms of planning and environmental decision making; • identifying strategies (negotiation, litigation, lobbying, etc.) suitable for various decision situations -- such as one-shot versus on-going, two-party versus multiparty, local versus national -- with focus on implementability; • carrying out the analysis on which decisions can be based, generating implementable strategies, and negotiating them with others who have a say in implementing a selected strategy; • honing skills for presenting results of the analysis and of negotiations to constituencies. At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to: • identify the joint aspects of an environmental decision situation; • analyze own interests, options, and likelihoods of consequences; • identify potential stakeholders in the decision, map their interests, resources and strategies; • understand the design needs for a negotiation process that leads to an acceptable and implementable decision; • understand what is necessary for arguing in favor of selected decisions before a constituency.Sanda Kaufman Ecology and Human Affairs, Summer 2011 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS COURSE OBJECTIVES 1 IMPORTANT CSU DATES 2 SPECIAL NEEDS 2 COURSE METHOD 3 TEXTS, MATERIALS 3 EVALUATION PROCEDURE 5 OFFICE, PHONE 5 UNIVERSITY POLICIES 5 SCHEDULE 6 HOMEWORK 1 7 HOMEWORK 2 7 CASE STUDY 7 PRESENTATION SCHEDULE 8 IMPORTANT CSU DATES See CSU Academic calendar, http://www.csuohio.edu/registrar/calendar.html STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Anyone anticipating the need for special accommodations to participate in the class or complete assignments must identify him/herself to the instructor by the end of the first week of classes. These accommodations are available to students with university-documented challenges. Connect to the course WEB page: http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/syl/env.htm for syllabus and for up-to-date links to other related WEB sites.Sanda Kaufman Ecology and Human Affairs, Summer 2011 3 COURSE METHOD The course consists of: • lectures on decision making and negotiations principles and strategies; • class discussions of current issues and case studies; • student presentations on assigned questions regarding case studies; • negotiation simulation games. ⇒ Students are expected to: attend all classes; participate actively in games and discussions, asking clarifying questions; read text materials as assigned. ⇒ Assignments should be handed in ON TIME (typed). Since written assignments serve the goal of sharpening communication skills that complement the analytic ones, pay attention to completeness, clarity and aspect. Grading will be based on both soundness of the analytical thinking and effectiveness of interpretation and communication of conclusions. ⇒ Prepare for class sessions by reading text assignments, identifying topics that need clarification or discussion in class. Feel free to raise questions to ensure that you thoroughly understand discussed analytical frameworks and can apply them outside the classroom. TEXTS, MATERIALS 1. Lawrence Bacow & Michael Wheeler: Environmental Dispute Resolution, New York: Plenum (1984). 2. Class web site: http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/syl/env.htm & related pages: o http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/envir/sust.htm (sustainability sources) o http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/conflict.htm, http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/envir.htm (environmental sources) o http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/dec.htm, and http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/gis.htm (methods and GIS sources) Related Readings1 M.H. Bazerman, 1986. Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. Wiley. H. Baer & M. Singer, 2008. Global Warming and the political ecology of health. Left Coast Press. G. Bammer & M. Smithson, eds., 2008. Uncertainty and risk. Earthscan. W.J. Baumol & W.E. Oates, 1979. Economics, Environmental Policy, and the Quality of Life. Prentice Hall. D.J. Bem, 1970. Beliefs, Attitudes, and Human Affairs. Brooks/Cole. V. Brown, D. Ingle Smith, R. Wiseman, J. Handmer, 1995. Risks and Opportunities: Managing Environmental Conflict and Change. Earthscan. F. Bouder, D. Slavin & R. Lofstedt, eds., 2007. The tolerability of risk. Earthscan. S.L. Carpenter and W.J.D. Kennedy, 1988. Managing Public Disputes. Jossey-Bass. S. Cutter, 2006. Hazards, vulnerability and environmental justice. Earthscan. J. Darmstadter, ed., 1992. Global development and the Environment: Perspectives on Sustainability. Resources for the Future. M. Denny, 1993. Air and Water: The Biology of Life’s Physical Media. Princeton