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SCOPE AND CONCERNS | EDITORS AND ADVISORY BOARD | ASSOCIATE EDITORS| JOURNAL PROFILE | CONTACT

ISSN 1832-2077

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability creates a place for the publication of innovative theories and practices of sustainability. The journal is cross-disciplinary in its scope, a meeting point for natural and social scientists, researchers and practitioners, professionals and community representatives.

The perspectives presented in the journal range from big picture analyses which address global and universal concerns, to detailed case studies which speak of localised applications of the principles and practices of sustainability. The papers traverse a broad terrain, sometimes technically and other times socially oriented, sometimes theoretical and other times practical in their perspective, and sometimes reflecting dispassionate analysis whilst at other times suggesting interested strategies for action.

The journal is relevant for academics in the social sciences, applied sciences, the humanities, the professions and education, research students, public administrators in local, provincial and state government, representatives of the private sector and trainers and industry consultants.

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability is fully peer-reviewed with a rigorous refereeing process to ensure a high standard of quality. The editors and advisory board comprise leading scholars in the sustainability field.

For information on where the journal is listed/indexed, please visit this page.

Scope and Concerns

Our times call for interdisciplinary and holistic approaches. As the challenges to our human and planetary existence become less capable of being addressed by purely personal, corporate, local or short-term solutions, so too narrowness of thinking will no longer suffice. This is not to say that we do not need to develop careful, finely grained, locally nuanced and deeply grounded knowledge and social practices of sustainability. Such perspectives are, if anything, more critical than ever. But increasingly they need also to be situated in the context of longer, broader and deeper views.



Four Fundamentals

Four foundations - four fundamentals - constitute a fourfold 'bottom line' for sustainability.

Environment: nature is a dynamic thing in and of itself, and sometimes convulsively so. Over several millennia, the human species has become one of the forces of nature, a critical part of its destiny, and ever more so today and tomorrow. Perhaps even, the human species may be a catalyst in another convulsion in the course of natural history. As nature more and more becomes an object of human artifice, its prospects become a subject more and more at the forefront of human consciousness. ‘What have we done with nature?’ we may well ask ourselves. What have been the forms and effects of our interventions? What are the implications of our newfound species-role as a force of nature, and what the responsibilities that accompany this role? How can we create a viable home for ourselves and the other lifeforms of the planet?

Culture: this is the stuff of our human natures, our subjectivities, our shared meanings and our memories. Culture is the glue of similarity (‘identity’, literally) that grounds our sociability. It is also a matter of difference or cultures in the plural, the multilayered combinations of which forms persons in the plural: ways of seeing, ways of thinking, ways of meaning, ways of relating to each other, ways of connecting with nature. The challenge of culture is as much to forge a productive diversity for the human species (ethnos, gender, ecosystemics) as it is to nurture the sources of cohesion and commonality.

Economy: or the dynamics of our material life, where our social relations and our tools mix their energies with the natural world to meet our human needs. Here, the challenge is to create economic systems which are environmentally viable, not destroying or damaging our life sources as natural beings; which are culturally viable, not harming our identities and ultimately what is humane in our natures; and which are socially viable, not creating destructive tensions and unsustainable injustices around axes of inequality of access to material and social resources.

Society: or our systems of regulation and governance. What allows for all our participation as autonomous yet social beings? What makes for good citizenship? How do we create, manage and propagate knowledge? How do we integrate the four fundamentals of environment, culture, economy and society so we can address our human futures and live to the full our human potentials?

The journal attempts to locate the now, the here and the felt in longer, broader and deeper views of the four fundamentals of sustainability.

Longer Views

On a length dimension, we may wish to question the now-ness of our interests and actions: organisations which measure performance in solely in terms financial years; people who measure wellbeing in terms of instant gratification; communities which compromise future generations by satisfying their wants in the present. Of course, we need to live in the here and now, but that living is limited if it is purely for the here and the now and so prejudices environment, culture, economy or society in the longer view.

Broader Views

On a breadth dimension, we may question the here-ness of our interests and actions: acting locally without thinking globally; living personally without knowing politically; living in our cultures but sensitive to the diversity of others; operating to narrow economic or social goals without taking into account their ecosystemic sources and effects.

Deeper Views

On a depth dimension, we may question the this-ness of our interests: what we feel in our everyday lifeworlds in relation to deep and less immediately tangible social, economic and ecological structures; our individual and corporate motivations in relation to human and ecological values; monetary value in relation to human value; the hidden hand of personal self interest as opposed to the conscious hand of good governance, responsible citizenship and the values of caring for nature and each other.



Editors and Advisory Board

Editors |Advisory Board

Editors of the International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability

  • Amareswar Galla,The University of Queensland and Director, Pacific Asia Observatory for Cultural Diversity in Human Development.
  • Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

International Advisory Board

  • Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia.
  • Wan Izatul Asma, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia.
  • Dang Van Bai, Ministry of Culture and Information, Vietnam.
  • Richard M. Clugston, University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, Washington DC, USA.
  • Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
  • John Dryzek, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
  • Dato’Abdul Razak Dzulkifli, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
  • Robyn Eckersley, University of Melbourne, Australia.
  • Steven Engelsman, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, The Netherlands.
  • John Fien, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Amareswar Galla, The University of Queensland , Australia.
  • Steve Hamnett, University of South Australia, Australia.
  • Paul James, Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
  • Nik Fuad Nik Mohd Kamil, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia.
  • Lily Kong, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  • Thangavelu Vasantha Kumaran, University of Madras, India.
  • Jim McAllister, Central Queensland University, Australia.
  • Nik Hashim Nik Mustapha, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia.
  • Helena Norberg-Hodge, The International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC).
  • Peter Phipps, Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Koteswara Prasad, University of Madras, India.
  • Judy Spokes, Cultural Development Network, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Manfred Steger, Illinois State University, and The Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
  • David Wood, University of Waterloo, Canada.
  • Lyuba Zarsky, Globalism Institute, RMIT, Australia, and Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, United States.

Associate Editors


The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Volume 1 (Download PDF)

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Volume 2 (Download PDF)

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Volume 3 (Download PDF)


Journal Profile


STATISTICS/CITATIONS

Statistics/citations

At this stage we are unable to provide citation statistics as the journal is relatively new. However, we envisage a high impact factor insofar as the journal is both part of the conventional world of academic publishing and highly visible to internet search engines.

Abstracted/Indexed in

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory - http://www.ulrichsweb.com/ulrichsweb/

Genamics JournalSeek - http://journalseek.net/

Sociological Abstracts - http://www.csa.com

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