Title: Towards transition: resourcing socially learned decisions

Authors: Terry Nolan; Richard J. Varey

Addresses: School of Human Sciences, Newman University, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3NT, UK ' The Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand

Abstract: This conceptual paper examines the need for deliberative public decision making to create a sustainable society, and the potential for social learning and public decision making in the online collective intelligence. Concepts and evidence are synthesised from studies of sustainability, decision-making, communication, deliberative democracy, knowledge management, and information and communication technology. The future of the relationship between humans, society, and nature is being co-constructed, and ICT may act to improve or to diminish the quality of this relationship. Further understanding of the potential of ICT to enable and support public/social learning and democratic decisions on courses of action will be a signpost to a pathway to a sustainable future. The synthesis of understandings from sustainable development, communication, knowledge management, and online web domains creates a meta-level appreciation of converging issues facing humans and society in relation to nature. This is a contribution to understanding online communication for building a pathway out of crisis into a sustainable society.

Keywords: sustainable society; online communication; social learning; great transition; participatory decision making; collective deliberation; Web 3.0; sustainable development; sustainability; public decision making; online collective intelligence; ICT; democratic decisions; democracy; knowledge management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2014.061782

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2014 Vol.17 No.2, pp.208 - 226

Received: 15 Oct 2012
Accepted: 22 May 2013
Published online: 30 Jun 2014 *

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