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SUMMARY
Welcome to the Pelican Web!
The world is in transition. It is a transition from unsustainable material growth to sustainable human development. It is a transition from patriarchy to solidarity, from growing rich-poor gaps to egalitarian sustainability, from violence to nonviolence.
This open access web site is a repository of interdisciplinary resources for sustainable development. The intent is not to replace Google, but to provide a gateway to selected resources that might be useful to global citizens involved in the transition toward sustainable development.
Content and/or links to the following resources are available:
Knowledge taxonomy and links to knowledge content/expertise
Menu of news feeds and other news sources
Menu of directories and search tools to find information
Menu of databases on key dimensions of sustainable development
Menu of databases on the UN Millennium Development Goals
Matrix methods for analysis of sustainable development interdependencies
Simulation methods for analysis of sustainable development dynamics
Archive of the E-Journal of Solidarity, Sustainability, and Nonviolence
Is this index of resources useful to you? Is there something you cannot find? Do you know about other resources that shuld be included in this index? Please send feedback to pelican.
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LOGO
The logo of the Pelican Web is an image (author unkown) rich in symbolism. The pelican is a legendary (BCE) symbol of commitment to generous service to others, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Furthermore, the pelican is a symbol of commitment to service at all levels -- physical, mental, and spiritual. The following excerpt from the Physiologus (author unknown, circa fourth century CE) captures this ideal:
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"The long beak of the white pelican is furnished with a sack which serves as a container for the small fish that it feeds its young. In the process of feeding them, the bird presses the sack against its neck in such a way that it seems to open its breast with its bill. The reddish tinge of its breast plumage and the redness of the tip of its beak fostered the folkloristic notion that it actually drew blood from its own breast."
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The Physiologus found the action of the pelican, interpreted in this manner, to be a symbol of sacrificial service and, therefore, a particularly apt symbol of Jesus of Nazareth. While remaining independent of any specific religious institution, this journal is inspired by the Christian tradition and is fully committed to foster nonviolence, human solidarity, and sustainable development.
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MISSION
There is overwhelming evidence that violence is the main obstacle to sustainable development. It is also well known that there is an intrinsic link between patriarchy and violence. Therefore, mitigating violence requires overcoming the patriarchal mindset in both secular and religious institutions.
The mission of The Pelican Web is to collect and analyze knowledge on patriarchy-induced obstacles to sustainable development, and to publish the free subscription, open access E-Journal of Solidarity, Sustainability, and Nonviolence (JSSNV). The e-journal provides a monthly digest on current research pursuant to human solidarity, ecological sustainability, and both secular and religious non-violence.
Each issue includes links to relevant "best of the web" content. The basic philosophy of the journal is Christian, but no source of wisdom is excluded. The U.N. "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) are used as a point of reference.
BASIC REFERENCES:
Bible Texts & Bible Commentary: Exploring the original biblical texts, early Christian writings, and Christian values, practices, teachings, and history prior to 313 A.D. Edited by Robert Nguyen Cramer et al. NB:
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"It is important to note that beginning in 313 A.D., Christian teachings and practices began to dramatically change. Prior to 313 A.D. the Christian attitudes and practices were standards advocated by most Christians within their own Christian communities. Christians did not attempt to force those attitudes or practices on non-Christians. Christians did feel free to include them as part of the gospel, the Good News, they preached to non-Christians -- not as a judgmental rebuke but as joyful witness to the freedom of their own life in Christ."
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN, 1948.
The Science of "Muddling Through", Charles Lindblom, 1959.
Counterintuitive Behavior of Social Systems, Jay Forrester, 1970.
Our Common Future (Brundlandt Commission Report), UN WCED, 1987.
The Ecocosm Paradox, Willard Fey & Ann Lam, 1999.
Millennium Development Goals, UN, 2000-2008.
Knowledge Portal, Map, Taxonomy, Chaim Zins, Jerusalem, 2002-2008.
Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary, Paul Nuechterlein, 2005-2008.
The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard, 2007-2008.
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RESEARCH METHODS
Research methods used in this project include the following:
Review of sustainability and sustainable development resources
Review of sustainability and sustainable development news
Review of sustainability and sustainable development databases
Review of resources on the UN Millennium Development Goals
Review of knowledge taxonomies and knowledge management
Matrix methods for analysis of sustainable development interdependencies
Simulation methods for analysis of sustainable development dynamics
The humiliation avoidance techniques of Evelin Lindner
The mimetic theory and scapegoating analysis of René Girard
The socioeconomic democracy model of Robley George
The knowledge organization models of Chaim Zins
The E-Journal of Solidarity, Sustainability, and Nonviolence
The monthly, open access E-Journal of Solidarity, Sustainability, and Nonviolence is the method used to self-publish and communicate research progress. To visit the home page and archive of the e-journal, click HERE.
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION & INTEGRATION
Knowledge for sustainable development is partitioned as follows:
- Dimensions (Social, Economic, Environmental + subdimensions)
- Geography (Global, National, Regional, Local)
- Languages (English, French, Spanish, ....)
- Religious Traditions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism ...)
Knowledge acquisition and integration follows the spiral method:
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EVIDENCE BY DIMENSION
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![[arrowright]](arrowright.gif)
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Agricultural ~
Biodiversity ~
Biome ~
Biosphere ~
Democracy ~
Ecological ~
Economic ~
Ecosystem ~
Education ~
Engineering ~
Environmental ~
Financial ~
Geographical ~
Governance ~
Healthcare ~
Migration ~
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EVIDENCE BY LOCATION
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![[arrowdown]](arrowdown.gif)
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Global ~ Europe ~ North America ~ Latin America ~ Asia ~ Africa ~ Oceania ~
France ~ Mexico ~ Brasil ~ China ~ Japan ~ Egypt ~ Tanzania ~ South Africa ~
Australia ~ New Zealand ~ Fiji Islands ~
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![[arrowup]](arrowup.gif)
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EVIDENCE BY RELIGION
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Christianity (2.5 billion) ~
Islam (1.4 billion) ~
Hinduism (1 billion) ~
Buddhism (375 million) ~
Sikhism (23 million) ~
Judaism (14 million) ~
Bahá'í (7 million) ~
Tao ~
Shinto ~
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![[arrowleft]](arrowleft.gif)
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EVIDENCE BY LANGUAGE
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English ~ Spanish ~ French ~ German ~ Italian ~ Portuguese ~ Polish ~ Chinese ~ Japanese ~ Russian ~
Greek ~ Swahili ~ Arabic ~ Turkish ~ Hebrew ~ Persian ~ Armenian ~ Korean ~
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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
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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.
![[evidencereqs]](evidencereqs.jpg)
The advent of the
semantic web,
and the use of tools such as
semantic diagrams,
topic maps, and
knowledge maps,
may mitigate the vexing problem of evidence fragmentation.
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EVIDENCE
GATHERING
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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.
![[evidencegath]](evidencegath.png)
To view some examples, click
HERE, HERE, and
HERE.
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EVIDENCE
INTEGRATION
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Integration (or 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 below:
![[MTCLD7SS]](MTCLD7SS.gif)
See the Powersim software tool.
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EVIDENCE
ANALYSIS
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When review and analysis reveals interdependencies among chunks of evidence, several techniques can be used to analyze interdependencies and develop a plan to resolve the required tradeoffs. Click below:
![[mdgmatrix3]](mdgmatrix3.png)
See the Problematics software tool.
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![[littleearthshow]](littleearthshow.gif)
![[groups_medium]](groups_medium.gif)
