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Environmental Modeling with Stakeholders pp 3–23Cite as

Cognitive, Material and Technological Considerations in Participatory Environmental Modeling

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Abstract

Drawing on philosophical and social science investigations of computational modeling, we argue that participatory modeling must take into account: (1) unrecognized implicit, cognitive knowledge and values embedded in the participatory modeling process that affect outcomes (models and decisions derived from models); (2) social, material, and technological dynamics in the participatory modeling process that create meaning and shape understanding, and (3) participatory environmental modeling leads to changes in conceptualizations and the potential dynamics of the broader socio-ecological system of which the models and processes are a part. We examine these dimensions of participatory modeling drawing upon examples from the Chesapeake Bay.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Vilhelm Bjerknes developed a set of nonlinear differential equations that provided a link between fluid dynamics and thermodynamics. These equations were later used by Lewis Fry Richardson and others to approximate global atmospheric flows in order to make weather and climate predictions. These equations are at the core of the general circulation models used to model climate change (Edwards 2010).

  2. 2.

    A current example of this staged implementation of the collaborative learning is Deal Island Peninsula Project (www.dealislandpeninsulaproject.org).

  3. 3.

    Excellent practical guidelines for collaborative learning activities can be found in Feurt 2008.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Michael Paolisso & Jeremy Trombley

Authors
  1. Michael Paolisso
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  2. Jeremy Trombley
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Correspondence to Jeremy Trombley .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Steven Gray

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Michael Paolisso

  3. Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Rebecca Jordan

  4. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand

    Stefan Gray

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Paolisso, M., Trombley, J. (2017). Cognitive, Material and Technological Considerations in Participatory Environmental Modeling. In: Gray, S., Paolisso, M., Jordan, R., Gray, S. (eds) Environmental Modeling with Stakeholders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25053-3_1

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