Colliding stories; how discourses in ocean acidification are subsumed in climate change

This is my MSc thesis in climate change and ocean acidification.  It touches on the idea of evolutionary policy making in managing events as they arise - which what we are doing now, and the idea of revolutionary policy making - disruptive policy making - what we should be doing, but are not.

All questions, comments and suggestions welcome and I will try to respond where possible. 

Abstract

Like climate change, ocean acidification is a globally complex problem caused by increasing atmospheric CO2 as a result of human consequences from carbon intensive social practices. Using inductive discourse methods and thematic analysis, this study examines the complex interplay of social ideas using Hajer’s storyline framework as the method of choice to draw comparisons between narrative features in ocean acidification and climate change discourses and identifies whether ocean acidification is characterised together or separately from climate change as a result of new storylines. Any separation may not only benefit ocean acidification but may also alter the current resolution pathway for climate change. Interview research drives emergent narrative themes which are configured using data coding categories. The number of categories is limited partly by design to make it easier to interpret and analyse interview participant viewpoints and their corresponding storylines. Narratives are contextualised into three emergent themes with focus on political, technological and social pathways, with particular focus on storylines that are energised and routinised by participants through social everyday practice.