Chapter 2
The Use of Paradigms and Theories
in the PULSE 3 Analytical Framework
Abstract In Chap. 1, I indicated how paradigms and theories influence and enable
green and ecological infrastructure projects, particularly within the framing of a
grey epistemology. In this chapter, I will expand on the role and functioning of
paradigms and theories from the philosophy of the natural and social sciences.
Paradigms and theories are vital in generating knowledge, which, in turn, constitutes agency through policy development, recommendations and implementation.
It is significant to note that the way we think of the world and surrounding situations, influences our actions. Paradigms and theories are part of an interdependent
and nonlinear causal chain. Based on the role and importance of these cognitive
instruments in the policy process, I have developed an analytical framework by utilising the meta-theoretical assumptions of five identified research paradigms, several
theoretical perspectives, four causal mechanism types, and I also use the distinction between the grand and problem-solving theories. I have called this framework
PULSE
3 , which stands for People Understanding and Living in a Sustained Environment. The cube (
3 ) denotes three forces, namely, thinking, acting and change, the
latter of which is omnipresent in society and the natural environment. I base PULSE
3
on the argument that positivism, when employed as the sole paradigm by investigators, has difficulty investigating and explaining fundamental social processes that are
manifested in ambiguities, paradoxes, uncertainties and contradictions. The purpose
of PULSE
3 is to generate a healthier appreciation of issues that are faced by policymakers and practitioners. All in all, PULSE
3 is an analytical tool that can be used
to assist researchers and practitioners to investigate policies, plans, programmes and
strategies and to gain a deeper understanding of issues and practices, based on their
paradigmatic and theoretical foundations.
Keywords Paradigm · Theory · Causation · Practice · Analytic eclecticism ·
Causal mechanism · PULSE
3
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Meissner, eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53051-8_2
25
The Use of Paradigms and Theories
in the PULSE 3 Analytical Framework
Abstract In Chap. 1, I indicated how paradigms and theories influence and enable
green and ecological infrastructure projects, particularly within the framing of a
grey epistemology. In this chapter, I will expand on the role and functioning of
paradigms and theories from the philosophy of the natural and social sciences.
Paradigms and theories are vital in generating knowledge, which, in turn, constitutes agency through policy development, recommendations and implementation.
It is significant to note that the way we think of the world and surrounding situations, influences our actions. Paradigms and theories are part of an interdependent
and nonlinear causal chain. Based on the role and importance of these cognitive
instruments in the policy process, I have developed an analytical framework by utilising the meta-theoretical assumptions of five identified research paradigms, several
theoretical perspectives, four causal mechanism types, and I also use the distinction between the grand and problem-solving theories. I have called this framework
PULSE
3 , which stands for People Understanding and Living in a Sustained Environment. The cube (
3 ) denotes three forces, namely, thinking, acting and change, the
latter of which is omnipresent in society and the natural environment. I base PULSE
3
on the argument that positivism, when employed as the sole paradigm by investigators, has difficulty investigating and explaining fundamental social processes that are
manifested in ambiguities, paradoxes, uncertainties and contradictions. The purpose
of PULSE
3 is to generate a healthier appreciation of issues that are faced by policymakers and practitioners. All in all, PULSE
3 is an analytical tool that can be used
to assist researchers and practitioners to investigate policies, plans, programmes and
strategies and to gain a deeper understanding of issues and practices, based on their
paradigmatic and theoretical foundations.
Keywords Paradigm · Theory · Causation · Practice · Analytic eclecticism ·
Causal mechanism · PULSE
3
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Meissner, eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53051-8_2
25