Description
Book SynopsisIn today's society, hidden beliefs can subtly guide the management of parks, such as treating them as natural resources rather than national assets. Resulting management practices often lead to deferred maintenance on park infrastructure, causing inadequate protection from vandalism, poaching, and theft of artefacts. A sad demise, often due to an out-dated belief that parks are non-essential leisure services rather than necessities for a vibrant modern life. This book challenges the reader to examine the core beliefs that created our public parklands, comparing them with the beliefs that guide contemporary park stewardship in an effort to improve the management of parks and reassess their purpose in modern life.
Table of ContentsA: Foreword Part I: Growing Parks in the Fields of Belief 1: The Ecology of Belief - It's all in the Connections 2: The Power and Theory of Belief - The Real Limits of Preservation 3: The Ecology, Energy, and Dynamics of Belief 4: Norms, Ethics, and Beliefs in Our Parks 5: Organizational Beliefs - From Visionary to Functionary 6: Beliefs, as Values, Possessions, and Lenses Part II: Ploughing the Fertile Fields of Belief 7: Credibility, Authenticity, Believability, and Park Maintenance 8: Patterns of Thinking - Structures of Believing 9: The Nesting Habits of Beliefs - and the Belief Tree 10: The Symbolism of Beliefs: Signs, Symbols, Icons, and Omens 11: This I Believe - Discovering Your Belief System 12: Belief Bites - Truisms, Metaphors, Aphorisms, and the Wisdom of the Ages 13: Beliefs as Environmental Super Highways and Roadblocks Part III: Exploring the Far-Flung Fields of Belief 14: Belief-Based Science and Research Methods 15: From Beliefs to Science and Back Again 16: The Politics of Belief - Park Wildlife as a Case Study 17: Environmental Beliefs as Spiritual, Sacred, and Religious 18: Toward Environmental Sanity through the Ecology of Belief 19: Parks as Belief - Making Peace with Paradox 20: Afterword: The Human Need Maslow Rejected - The Need to Believe B: Appendix: A Kit of Belief-Based Tools for Interpreting Environmental Issues
