Invitation to investigate the link between Social Learning Systems and Communities of practice and disaster risk reduction and recovery.

Greetings all,

Let me take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you a happy new year.

Introduction

With part two of TU812- Managing systemic change: Inquiry, action and interaction, under the bridge, and a heavily thumbed and lined Systems Practice: How to act in situations of uncertainty and complexity in a climate change world.  We turn our attention to to the wider involvement of the systems thinker in the inquiry into to Social learning systems and Communities of practice.

Although  I know that the submission date for TMA 03 is a few weeks away: March 22, 2018, Question 1 (b) asks us to reference sources, and provide evidence that a situation of interest that you have identified as in need of social learning has /is being discuss(ed) The question suggests that third-party perspectives could be obtained from one-one discussions, with family or friends, or in forums such as the module forum or among your peers in the workplace.

What we want to do

In light of this assignment, I am inviting fellow students who have previous experience of being a victim of a disaster, directly or indirectly; or who has been a volunteer in the aftermath or been involved with the management of resources to respond to a disaster. Alternatively, this post is for anyone who has a deep interest in environmental matters, particularly in discussing the issues around social learning systems  and Communities of practice as it relates to disaster risk reduction and recovery.

To begin, here is a graphical representation of the complex relationships between islands of the Caribbean, who share a common boundary of the Caribbean sea  and the atlantic Ocean geographically. However, the social history and development of each island or subsets of islands, within the Caribbean archipelago, could not be more varied on the question of  international relations, and colonial and post-colonial regulatory frameworks that governed how the British, French, Dutch and American governments responded during and in the wake the 2017 North Atlantic Hurricane season. In this scenario, we have many actors, including the survivors and the Caribbean diaspora. As well as a host of  humanitarian organisations and world bodies and agencies.

Background

The Commonwealth of Dominica was struck by Hurricane Maria on the 18-19th of September, 2017 which was perhaps the worst North Atlantic hurricane season on record. I was born in the UK, and lived in Dominica between 1972 and 2004 during which time I survived  Hurricane David in 1979.

Two major hurricanes ripped through the Caribbean with two weeks last year: Hurricane Irma on September 6 which killed over 134 persons and caused catastrophic damage in Barbuda, Saint Barthelemy, Sint Martin, Anguilla. the British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Cuba and Florida. Two weeks later, Hurricane Maria, a category 5 hurricane almost totally obliterated  Dominica leaving over 96 persons dead or missing.

Questions

1 What lessons have been learned from this hurricane season?

2.What are your views on  climate-change?

3. Is there a case for the intervention of  Social learning Systems in the  Caribbean?

Final thoughts

Below is graphical representation taken from an IRIN News  article entitled Hurricane response: Caribbean disaster agency comes of age.

I decided to share this because it somewhat focuses the mind on on what we are discussing.  I sincerely hope that this thread will generate some discussion of the subject stated above in the days and weeks to come prior to our tutorial  on February 12 where I am looking forward to more guidance on getting to grips with the contribution of Sir Geoffrey Vickers, Donald Schön and others with this very illuminating aspect of managing systemic change.

Regards

Albert

                                                               A post-disaster map of Caribbean politics and aid status (IRIN. 2017)

References 

IRIN. (2017). Hurricane response: Caribbean disaster agency comes of age. [online] Available at: https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2017/09/28/hurricane-response-caribbean-disaster-agency-comes-age [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

IRIN. (2017). Hurricane response: Caribbean disaster agency comes of age. [online] Available at: https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2017/09/28/hurricane-response-caribbean-disaster-agency-comes-age [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Euan McKirdy, C. (2018). Dominica PM: Hurricane Maria ‘devastates’ island. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/18/americas/atlantic-storms-maria-jose-lee/index.html [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

IN. 2017)

Hello There!

Well, hello might be the appropriate greeting phrase since the reader of this blog, in all probability has never met the author, but let's hope that as the course progresses that we can become sort of virtual classmates.

My name is Albert Williams, I was born in the UK, but spent the better part of 32 years in the lovely, Caribbean Island of the Commonwealth of Dominica(not the Dominica Republic) where I was raised eating coconuts, bananas and mangoes, and dasheen, yams and sweet potatoes and flying fish. And bathing in lurk warm rivers and sees, and jumping up on Carnival Monday and Tuesday and doing all the things that Caribbean youths do growing up.

I am a mature students here at Open University, meaning that I am just over 18 years old(just kidding) actually, I am 48 years, 3 months and 20 days and ...young, and I am signed up to begin the M150 Data, Computing and Information module in a few days, working my way towards a qualification, in BSc (Honours) Computing and  IT which is a Bachelor of Science (that what BSc stands for), undergraduate degree.

Actually, I am not a bachelor, I am happily married. I am a published author of a few books of poetry, a book of short stories and had a stint as a newspaper and I have been a freelance contributor for as long as I can remember. I also dabble a bit in music, to be precise: reggae.

This year, my wife and I founded our cable network and television production company which although is in its infancy stages is bound for bigger things. Have you guessed it yet?...Yes that where pursuing the degree named above comes in. We believe that having a specialised degree in the subject we give me a hands on approach to things geeky around the office.

I am what some may called a self-educated Rastafarian, meaning, back in the 70's when Rastafarianism was spreading over the Caribbean like a wild fire, youngsters like took to the philosophy like a moth to a flame and many (of us) dropped out from employment and school and re educated I and I selves through the reasoning of Rastafarian elders and so forth and so fifth. I did manage to reach to fifth form, but that is far as formal education went. But what did save me was a love for literature and the English language.

I eventually did a correspondence course with International Correspondence School(ICS) in Journalism and short Story Writing from which I was able to hone and sharpen my writing enthusiasm and like they say the rest was history.

Besides building my company and writing a history of the Rastafari movement in Dominica, I am employed with Tesco, as a security guard. I am a shop steward/health and safety representative of USDAW and a certified first-aider.

To say that I am really looking forward to really getting my hair around this course and also the T175 Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies in February is the understament of the year...nay of the last century. I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Here's hoping that you feel the same way too, and that we can all successfully complete the course(s) together.

Sincerely

Albert Williams