The idea that water management should take an integrated approach has become the global paradigm over the past two decades. This new paradigm has come to be known by many different names. This paper explores the use, history and meaning of these competing terms, and discusses the possible implications of this term-proliferation. The literature indicates that a minimum of 26 distinct terms have been used. The use of different terms appears to have underwritten a belief that each term identifies a distinctly different field of study. After analysing sample definitions and subject areas for the eight most frequently used terms, it has been determined that some terms do have fundamental differences and others are essentially the same. This unnecessary term-proliferation contributes to a ‘knowledge silo’ effect, impeding knowledge-sharing and research advancement within the water management field. It is recommended that both academia and industry start actively considering term-proliferation when searching and publishing literature.
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Research Article|
July 17 2014
Analysing the terminology of integration in the water management field Available to Purchase
Casey Furlong;
Casey Furlong
*
aSchool of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Australia
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Lachlan Guthrie;
Lachlan Guthrie
aSchool of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Australia
bCapital Planning and Investments, Western Water, Australia
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Saman De Silva;
Saman De Silva
aSchool of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Australia
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Robert Considine
Robert Considine
cIntegrated Water Strategy, Melbourne Water Corporation, Australia
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Water Policy (2015) 17 (1): 46–60.
Article history
Received:
November 21 2013
Accepted:
June 01 2014
Citation
Casey Furlong, Lachlan Guthrie, Saman De Silva, Robert Considine; Analysing the terminology of integration in the water management field. Water Policy 1 February 2015; 17 (1): 46–60. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2014.185
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