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An Analysis of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) Discourse Using an Ability Expectation Lens

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  • Jacqueline Noga

    (Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary T2N 4N1, Alberta, Canada)

  • Gregor Wolbring

    (Faculty of Medicine, Department Community Health Sciences, Stream of Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary T2N 4N1, Alberta, Canada)

Abstract

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) was hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 20–22, 2012, 20 years after the first Earth Summit, with the intention of creating solutions to current global environmental issues. In this paper we present the results of an analysis of academic and newspaper articles that covered the Rio +20 summit, using an ability expectation lens. Articles were collected from academic databases such as EBSCO, as well as from newspapers such as the Globe and Mail (Canada) and China Daily; the articles collected were coded for ability expectations using an extensive list of codes which has been designed to identify ability expectations. Analysis of the discourse has revealed a number of ability expectations, such as the ability to produce and consume, the ability to work, and the ability to control. These ability expectations reveal what is seen as a necessary part of development. The opportunities and challenges which occur during development may be related to the expectations of the public, academic, private and not-for-profit sectors. The authors submit that in order to move forward towards universal sustainable development, it is critical to consider the ability expectations which are both explicitly and implicitly included in the Rio +20 discourse.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacqueline Noga & Gregor Wolbring, 2013. "An Analysis of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) Discourse Using an Ability Expectation Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(9), pages 1-25, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:9:p:3615-3639:d:28207
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    Cited by:

    1. Raquel Pérez-delHoyo & María Dolores Andújar-Montoya & Higinio Mora & Virgilio Gilart-Iglesias & Rafael Alejandro Mollá-Sirvent, 2021. "Participatory Management to Improve Accessibility in Consolidated Urban Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Farshad Amiraslani & Andrew Cooper, 2022. "Learning from the Past: Lessons from the First United Nations Report on Problems of the Human-Environment," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-13, September.
    3. Alberto Dello Strologo & Edoardo D’Andrassi & Niccolò Paoloni & Giorgia Mattei, 2021. "Italy versus Other European Countries: Sustainable Development Goals, Policies and Future Hypothetical Results," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-46, March.
    4. Emmanuel Okewu & Sanjay Misra & Jonathan Okewu & Robertas Damaševičius & Rytis Maskeliūnas, 2019. "An Intelligent Advisory System to Support Managerial Decisions for A Social Safety Net," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Gregor Wolbring & Theresa Rybchinski, 2013. "Social Sustainability and Its Indicators through a Disability Studies and an Ability Studies Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(11), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Boushra Abdullah & Gregor Wolbring, 2013. "Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Active Aging through the Lens of the 2002 World Health Organization Active Ageing Report: A Policy Framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Glo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Chiara Salvatore & Gregor Wolbring, 2021. "Children and Youth Environmental Action: The Case of Children and Youth with Disabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, September.
    8. Radosław Wolniak & Bożena Skotnicka-Zasadzień, 2021. "Improvement of Services for People with Disabilities by Public Administration in Silesian Province Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-26, January.
    9. M. Rut Jiménez-Liso & Manuela González-Herrera & Isabel Banos-González, 2020. "Socio-Ecological Controversies in the News as Trigger of a Model-Based Inquiry Instructional Sequence about the Effect of Global Warming on the Great Barrier Reef," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, June.
    10. Virgilio Gilart-Iglesias & Higinio Mora & Raquel Pérez-delHoyo & Clara García-Mayor, 2015. "A Computational Method based on Radio Frequency Technologies for the Analysis of Accessibility of Disabled People in Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-29, November.

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    Keywords

    ability studies; ability expectations; Rio +20; content-analysis; discourse;
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