Articles and Publications
These are abstracts of recent papers and articles.
A review of the philosophy of engineering; Engineers Australia; 84, 9, September 2011, 50-51.
A review of the philosophy underlying modern
engineering practice and a call to establish a firmer philosophical
foundation to deal with the enormous challenges of the 21st century.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article title.]
Sustainability and Sustainable Development : philosophical distinctions and practical implications. Under peer-review. (Co-authored with Emeritus Prof J.G. Petrie, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney and Dr C. B. Christensen, Dept. of Philosophy, Australian National University).
The terms “sustainability” and “sustainable
development” entered the popular vernacular over the last 25 years
or so, since publication of the report of the Brundtland
Commission. Often, “sustainability” is thought to represent some
long-term goal and “sustainable development” a means or process by
which to achieve it. Here it is argued that this delineation is
simplistic, misleading and ultimately self-defeating in advancing an
holistic and inclusive development agenda. A brief historical
perspective on the way in which the underlying concerns arose
identifies two distinct utilitarian philosophical positions: one,
referred to here as a “prudentially conservationist” position, is
concerned with conserving precious resources for their instrumental
value both to humanity today and to future generations; the other is
a “deep-ecology” position, which is more concerned with the
intrinsic value of nature and the moral right that other species and
ecosystems have to share the planet with humans. This paper
explores the distinction between these two fundamental and
conflicting philosophical positions, and argues that sustainable
development cannot be a pathway to sustainability. In particular,
it challenges the expedient view that both terms ultimately serve
holistic development, and that, if there is a meaningful
distinction, it is in their relative inclusiveness of all salient
viewpoints and issues. It is argued here that to perpetuate the
interchangeability or an unclear distinction between the two
positions is not helpful. This is particularly important in the
development of policy whose efficacy will be limited if it does not
resonate with the broadest possible gamut of beliefs and value
systems. Equally, this distinction has implications for the
practice of decision-making, in particular the critical processes of
problem-framing and stakeholder engagement. Although there are
arguments that reject the influence of utilitarian philosophy in
environmental ethics, it would be wrong to deny its influence on
contemporary environmental policy formulation.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article title.]
A problem-structuring method for complex societal decisions : its philosophical and psychological dimensions, Hector, Christensen, & Petrie, European Journal of Operational Research, 193, 3, 693-706, 16 March 2009, [doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2007.06.058]
A novel approach to problem-structuring
for decisions relating to the sustainable development of large-scale
infrastructure is presented. The philosophical (a critical realist
ontology and epistemology), psychological (implications of
behavioural and cognitive psychology), and systems dimensions
(dynamics and emergent properties) of the problem are discussed, and
form the basis of the approach. The problem is structured as a
system of ‘‘trilemmas’’ (a means of representing and criticising
sets of three competing forces), representing different aspects of
the problem and considered in the context of a number of problem
dimensions. A case study relating to the development of a
sustainable water system for a major Australian metropolis is
developed to test the value of the approach.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article title.]
New perspectives on governance structures : judgement and ethical decision-making for boards, Ethical Excellence in the Public Sector, Sydney, Australia, 19–20 February 2009
This conference workshop advances three
propositions:
Proposition 1 – Four important themes emerge that society wants to
see addressed in the way its corporations are governed and directed:
most corporations have some form of economic contribution expected
of them; business ethics are important; corporations should consider
environmental and social issues as well as economic performance; and
the statutory and regulatory framework should reflect society’s
desire for these issues to be addressed.
Proposition 2 – Consider the corporation to be an artificial, moral
person in which the board is the mind of this artificial person.
The principal role of the board is to determine and to establish the
moral position of the organisation.
Proposition 3 – The board should consider and discuss the existence
of different values and value-systems in the community and recognise
the richness which can be gained from diverse experience. In order
for this to have maximum effectiveness, there needs to be a
critical, self-reflective approach which acknowledges and considers
the aspects of human knowledge and interrelationships of importance
to the institution.
[For further information on the workshop, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article title.]
Towards a New Philosophy of Engineering : structuring the complex problems from the sustainability discourse; Donald Hector; Doctoral thesis; University of Sydney; March 2008
The dissertation explores the development of
philosophy of science, particularly in the last 70 years. It is
noted that, unlike the philosophy of science, the philosophy of
engineering has not been influenced by developments of critical
theory, cultural theory, and postmodernism, which have had
significant impact in late 20th-century Western society. This is
seen as a constraint on the practice of engineering. Thus, a set of
philosophical principles for sustainable engineering practice is
developed. Such a change in the philosophy underlying the practice
of engineering is seen as necessary if engineers are to engage with
and contribute to the resolution of the high complex problems from
the sustainability discourse. A novel problem-structuring approach
is developed on three levels. A set philosophical foundation is
established; a theoretical framework, based on general systems
theory and established behavioural and cognitive psychological
theory, is devised; and a set of tools is proposed to model Type 3
complex problems as a dynamic systems. The approach is different to
other systems approaches, in that it enables qualitative exploration
of the system to plausible, hypothetical disturbances. The
problem-structuring approach is applied in a case study, which
relates to the development of a water subsystem for a major
metropolis (Sydney, Australia). The technique is also used to
critique existing infrastructure planning processes and to propose
an alternative approach.
[To access the thesis, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.
Invited Green Paper, The Start of the Road : Sustainable Metropolitan Water Systems, A report to the Institution of Chemical Engineers, October 2008 [Read at Chemeca 2008, Newcastle, Australia – 29 September 2008 and ChemEng08, Birmingham, UK, 30 October 2008]
A novel approach to problem structuring for
decisions relating to the sustainability of public infrastructure is
presented. The philosophical (a critical realist ontology and
epistemology), psychological (the effect of biases and heuristics on
decision outcomes), and systems dimensions (dynamics and emergent
properties) of the problem are discussed, and form the basis of the
approach. This is structured as a system of “trilemmas”,
representing different dimensions of the problem. A case study in
the Australian water supply industry is developed to demonstrate the
value of the approach.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
A Problem Structuring Method for Complex Societal Decisions : its Philosophical and Psychological Dimensions, (Co-authored with Emeritus Prof J.G. Petrie, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Dr C. B. Christensen, Dept. of Philosophy, Australian National University), Euro XXI, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2—5 July, 2006 (This paper is abridged from the author's PhD research program.)
A novel approach to problem structuring for
decisions relating to the sustainability of public infrastructure is
presented. The philosophical (a critical realist ontology and
epistemology), psychological (the effect of biases and heuristics on
decision outcomes), and systems dimensions (dynamics and emergent
properties) of the problem are discussed, and form the basis of the
approach. This is structured as a system of “trilemmas”,
representing different dimensions of the problem. A case study in
the Australian water supply industry is developed to demonstrate the
value of the approach.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Sustainability, Risk, and Corporate Governance, The Safety Conference, Sydney, 26—28 October 2005 (This paper is abridged from the author's PhD research program.)
The focus of corporate governance over the last 20
years broadly has been in two areas: the growing awareness of risk
and uncertainty and the need to manage it; and a recognition that
globalisation, rapid economic growth, and ecological impact of
modern industry has the potential to cause major problems to our
current way of life. This paper traces the development of these two
trends, concluding that they are essentially manifestations of the
same problem. Consideration is then given to the modern approach to
corporate governance, proposing that this has the potential to make
substantial progress on both fronts.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Problem Structuring for Complex Sustainability Decisions : the case of Sydney’s water supply, (Co-authored with with Emeritus Prof J.G. Petrie, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Dr C. B. Christensen, Dept. of Philosophy, Australian National University), 7th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Glasgow, Scotland, 10—14 July, 2004
Problems encountered in sustainable development
can be complex “messes”, requiring the engagement of multiple
stakeholders in the decision-making process. Often, the
stakeholders have widely differing perspectives and interests, based
on diverse beliefs and values. This paper explores ways in which
complex problems of sustainability may be approached and introduces
a novel means of capturing and ordering information from a wide
spectrum of interested parties, with a range of agendas, based on
widely differing belief and value systems. An example of this
problem-structuring approach is presented in the context of
considering the water supply to metropolitan Sydney. Population
growth in Sydney has been relatively high over the last 20 years,
with the greater city now having a population of over 4 million
people. Australia’s climate is prone to extended periods of drought
and Sydney is currently experiencing a prolonged dry spell. For the
first time in nearly 50 years, Sydney is subject to major water
restrictions and there is an emerging concern about the long-term
viability of its water supply. The case study considers the history
of the provision of water infrastructure in Sydney, the evolution of
the decision-making processes and the implications for determining
how Sydney’s water needs may be satisfied over the next 50 years, in
particular ways to engage the widely varying, in some cases,
conflicting interests in providing a reliable, high quality water
supply.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Complex problem-solving in major sustainable development projects : philosophical and psychological influences, Chemeca 2004, Australian Technology Park, 27-29 September, 2004 (co-authored with Emeritus Prof J.G. Petrie, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney).
Many sustainable
development projects on which engineers work require the engagement
of multiple stakeholders, often with quite different views of the
world. In today’s society, where there are many different interests
and points of view demanding to be heard, the engineer’s role in
finding successful solutions to major projects can be daunting.
This paper explores some of the philosophical and psychological
influences which determine worldviews and the nature of the
“meta-problems”, which chemical engineering in the 21st century is
likely to encounter. Further, it attempts to identify some of the
challenges for the chemical engineering profession in entering into
a dialogue with interest groups and proposes some principles which
may be useful in resolving complex problems.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Sydney’s Water Supply : how should engineers take the leadership role in solving complex, technological problems? Engineering Leadership 2004, Sydney Convention Centre, 23—24 September, 2004. (Co-authored with Dr C. B. Christensen, Dept. of Philosophy, Australian National University)
Sydney potentially
faces an extremely serious water crisis. The aim of this paper is
not to identify solutions to the water problem, rather it is to use
the problem as an example of the kind of large-scale, complex
problem whose solution cannot be determined in isolation by
engineers (or any other group). Rather, there needs to be a process
of involving the community, which addresses the interests of all
affected parties with an extremely wide and diverse range of
perspectives and values. This throws up the central question for
discussion: what kind of process involving the community?
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.] [Also see background
paper below.]
Sydney’s Water, Sewerage, and Drainage : A Brief Historical Overview and Background; Engineering Leadership 2004, Sydney Convention Centre, 23—24 September, 200
This paper traces
the history of Sydney's water supply from the early days of the
colony until the present day, outlining the lurches from crisis to
crisis that have occurred. This is a background paper for the
discussion held at Engineering Leadership 2004 (see paper above).
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Engineering Practice in the 21st Century : Philosophical and Social Challenges; Engineering Leadership 2004, Sydney Convention Centre, 23—24 September, 2004
Engineering, as it is practised today, is a product
of the so-called “modern” era. Based on scientific foundations,
engineers seek to identify complex problems, understand them, and
using rigorous analytical techniques, find innovative solutions.
This approach has been extremely successful, confirmed by a glance
at the technological artefacts of the last two centuries. About 60
years ago, some disquiet started to emerge, questioning the
foundations of the modernist approach. In the last 30 years,
“postmodernism” has gained momentum, questioning the validity of
scientific and technological progress. Engineers have seen public
confidence in their profession eroded, often with little apparent
rational basis, other than unease with accepting complex
technologies, which are not readily understood. It is unrealistic
to expect to recreate the unquestioning public confidence and
respect which the engineering profession enjoyed in the 19th and
early 20th centuries. However, by changing the way in which the
engineering profession engages with the community, and being
sensitive to the changing values of the last 50 years, engineers can
regain much of their original status. This paper traces the
influences of modernism and postmodernism on the engineering
profession and identifies challenges and issues which engineers need
to consider, if they are to be regarded as valuable contributors to
society in the 21st century.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Successful Business Succession — client briefing paper
Retirement is looming for a
significant group of small business owners. 31 percent of small
business owners in Australia are over the age of 50. Many do not
have adequate superannuation and face a bleak retirement if they
cannot access the value they have built in their business. To
implement effective succession arrangements requires a relatively
long planning period – often up to five years or more. This article
examines the issues of planning business succession in small- and
medium-sized businesses, particularly those which are family-owned.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility : Corporate Citizenship — client briefing paper
In the last 25 years,
there has been considerable discussion in literature as to whether
corporations are moral persons. This paper considers why companies
should be treated differently to other collections of individuals
and examines some of the arguments relating to "moral personhood" as
it might apply to companies. An argument is proposed that a concept
of corporate citizenship framed around the moral responsibilities
which might be associated with a corporation considered to be a
moral person is a better approach than the recent notion of
corporate social responsibility. Some consideration is given to the
types of problems which directors of corporations face and how they
might approach them, based on a moral approach of citizenship,
rather than more the traditional reductionist problem solving
methodologies.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Approaches to Corporate Governance : a comparison of corporate governance policy in some Western countries — client briefing paper
Since the spate of corporate collapses
which ushered in the new millennium, there has been no shortage of
regulations and guidelines relating to corporate governance. This
article compares approaches taken in the United States, Europe,
Australia, and the OECD more generally and draws conclusions
regarding the direction of public policy relating to governance.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article title.]
Sustainability : an overview — client briefing paper
In recent years, there has been growing concern about the
long-term sustainability of the economic development that has
emerged during the past 200 years, largely as a result of the
Industrial Revolution. This paper examines sustainability in its
broad context, with some examples of organisations and institutions
which are among the oldest in the world. It also looks at
sustainability in the modern industrial context, particularly as it
relates to corporations, using the relatively simple model of the
“triple bottom line”. There is an examination of the issues of
sustainability, in particular the challenges relating to
uncertainty, risk and implications for strategy and
decision-making. In many cases, this involves situations where
scientific data are inconclusive, there are different ways of
interpreting the evidence, or there are widely differing views on
social and economic issues.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Decision-Making, Judgment and Governance — client briefing paper
In the last
decade, there has been an ever-increasing momentum behind making
directors ever more accountable for the decisions they make on the
boards of companies and other organisations. Two of the most
critical skills that directors require are the ability to make good
decisions and to use sound judgment. This paper explores a number
of the influences which directors should be aware of which can
profoundly affect situations they might encounter and how they can
manage the risk this entails.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Sustainability, Planning and Strategy for Not-For-Profit Organisations — client briefing paper
Recently, there has been much attention given to the
concept of corporate sustainability. Although this has application
to many companies, it is even more relevant to not-for-profit
organisations. The oldest institutions in the world, from hospitals
to universities, schools to professional associations, have mostly
been not-for-profit organisations. If not-for-profit groups are to
be successful in the long-term they need to develop sound strategies
to ensure their financial health but not at the expense of achieving
the benefits for the communities for which they were established.
Application of relatively simple strategic planning techniques can
be of great benefit to most not-for-profit organisations.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Due Diligence in Venture Capital Financing — client briefing paper
“Due diligence” inspections are a key part
of any investment transaction made by venture capital providers.
Due diligence inspections can be thought of in two parts: business
due diligence, and legal due diligence. Business due diligence
looks at the risks specifically as they relate to the venture and
business environment and whether the venture capital investor is
likely to be able to gain the relatively high rates of return
required. Legal due diligence is ensuring that there are no
unexpected problems relating to the legal structure, existing equity
participants, existing financial liabilities, and security of both
real and intellectual property. Adequately preparing for due
diligence inspections can save a considerable amount of time. This
paper gives an overview of the two processes so entrepreneurs can
prepare for due diligence inspections.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Venture Capital Investment in Australia : an overview and key issues for entrepreneurs — client briefing paper
In last decade in Australia, there has
been a substantial increase in the amount of capital invested in the
venture capital market. Although venture capital is used to fund
only a small proportion of businesses, it is an important part of
the capital market, particularly for the funding of both start-up
companies and buy-outs. This paper gives an overview of the venture
capital market in Australia and outlines some of the key issues that
entrepreneurs need to consider if they are to be successful in
attracting venture capital investors.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Profiting from Uncertainty : increasing board effectiveness through controlling and reducing risk, Local Government Human Resources Conference, Port Macquarie, NSW, November 2002
The
traditional approach to risk management followed by many boards is
to develop the accountabilities, strategies and policies for the
organisation and then use some form of risk assessment process to
determine the risk exposure. This paper argues for an alternative
process which reverses the approach. It starts with the assessment
of risks and opportunities which face the organisation and then
develops plans which optimise "upside" opportunity and limit
"downside" risk. Board structure is then adjusted to ensure optimal
board involvement in areas of critical risk, with the appropriate
membership and skills to optimise the impact of uncertainty.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
A Model for Assessing the Sustainability of Organisations; 9th Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress; Christchurch, NZ, September 2002
There
are many approaches to the issue of corporate sustainability. One
of the most quoted is the concept developed by John Elkington, the
"triple bottom-line". The triple bottom-line refers to maintaining
a balance between profitability, environmental responsibility and
social responsibility. This approach has the advantage of
simplicity but has limitations. A model is under development to
describe the sustainability of organisation, as a means of
identifying areas of where sustainability is compromised and ways to
improve long-term sustainability. This paper considers a number of
the issues relating to the triple bottom-line and how organisations
can determine and measure their long-term sustainability. It will
provide a means for benchmarking against other organisations and
industries.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
The Future of the Chemical Engineering Profession in Asia/Pacific; 9th Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress; Christchurch, NZ, September 2002
Chemical engineering as a profession started about
100 years ago. In that first century the chemical industry as
a whole grew very dynamically for the first 70 years. In the
last 30 years, parts of the industry showed signs of reaching
maturity, becoming heavily commoditised. Even the specialty
segment became far more competitive and less profitable than in the
previous 70 years. In the most recent decade, there has been
massive restructuring of the industry, particularly in Europe,
resulting in much of the traditional high-volume commodity business
moving to developing countries, mainly in Asia, and to the United
States. The traditional European chemical companies, along
with their competitors in United States have invested very heavily
in life sciences. The period of restructuring of the industry has
presented the profession of chemical engineering with its greatest
challenge. This paper draws upon recent history, together with
some projections about the direction of the industry and how this
will impact upon the profession of chemical engineering in
Asia/Pacific, in particular how the profession needs to reinvent
itself to maintain its relevance in the 21st century.
[To request
the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Principles of Crisis Management — client briefing paper
This article examines the
principles of crisis management. Of particular importance is the
need to prepare, so the likelihood of crises emerging is
substantially reduced. Having a sound crisis management plan is a
good way to prepare for a crisis and possibly avoid it but is also
an essential element of good corporate governance. This is becoming
particularly important for directors of organisations, where having
a crisis management plan reasonably could be considered to be a part
of a director’s duty of care. Failure to have acted can result in
directors being held personally liable. If a crisis does occur,
there are a number of principles to follow. In particular,
admitting the problem and being as open in its resolution as
possible, isolating management of the problem and broadening the
issue will normally improve the outcome.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
The Specialty Chemicals Industry in Australia and New Zealand, 6th World Congress of Chemical Engineering; Melbourne, September 2001
Rationalisation of the global chemical industry that
has taken place in the last decade has to some extent marginalised
the specialty chemical industry in Australia and New Zealand. Many
small private and public companies have been bought by multinational
companies and all have had increased profit pressure from imports.
As the industry has globalised and rationalisation of the local
industry has forced consolidation of resources, much manufacturing
has closed and moved to larger economies in Asia, North America and
Europe. This phenomenon has been a major force, both within
the industry and with its customers. This has brought some unique
forces into play which will have a lasting effect, both on the local
industry, which has not been negatively influenced by the phenomenon
of globalisation and also on the practice of chemical engineering in
the region. This paper examines the brief recent history of
consolidation of the specialty chemical industry in Australia and
New Zealand; the challenges and opportunities for the Australian and
New Zealand industry to remain viable in the Asia-Pacific region and
also to develop niche markets globally, and the implications for the
practice of the chemical engineering profession in Australia in a
business environment which has now changed permanently after
deregulation of the Australian and New Zealand economies.
[To
request the full article, click
Article Request.
Please include your name and the article title.]
Responsible Care and Product Stewardship, 2nd Australian Chemical Summit, Melbourne; July 1999
The Responsible Care programme has been active in Australia for
10 years and has delivered a major benefit to the Australian
community, through improving the focus on the management of the
risks associated with the chemical industry. This paper will focus
on the background of Responsible Care, a brief explanation of the
Responsible Care codes and the benefits of the Responsible Care
programme to the community and to business. It will then explore
implications of the decline of chemical manufacture in Australia on
Responsible Care and effective Product Stewardship.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]
Minor Product – Global Headlines : a case study of the gel-filled silicone breast implant issue, Conference of the Australian Chemical Industry Council, Leura, NSW, February, 1994.
This paper gives an overview of the silicone
breast implant litigation as it was developing in the mid-1990s.
This turned out to be one of the largest commercial insurance claims
in history, impacting not only Dow Corning Corporation but other
major medical device manufacturers.
[To request the full article, click
Article Request. Please include your name and the article
title.]