RESEARCHER
Impact the real world
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Research is key to sustainable development -- but unfortunately, many studies fail to have real world impact. This can happen if the epistemological and methodological frameworks the researchers use speak only to those from the same discipline or area of technical expertise as the researchers themselves. A more transdisciplinary approach can help persuade stakeholders and policymakers that action is needed -- and that the recommendations provided are good ones. Even more importantly, community-based research approaches can reframe how we conceptualize research questions, problems, and possible solutions. The old "basic" vs "applied" research dichotomy should be abandoned: well-designed applied research can contribute novel insights.
With a perspective grounded in both the natural and social sciences (not to mention years spent working in an engineering milieu, i.e., with USPCASW), I have a unique lens through which to conceptualize and design research. It also means that I value -- and have the analytical tools for doing -- research that draws on diverse frameworks, concepts, and theories. Insights can come from both inductive and deductive approaches and both quantitative and qualitative data. Knowing when to use one approach or another -- and how different approaches can complement each other -- is important for building effective transdisciplinary teams.
I have led two major international research projects, one in Nicaragua and one in Pakistan. Both projects focused on natural resource management challenges, but both also used core concepts (e.g., social capital) and theoretical frameworks (e.g., game theory) that could be applied to other contexts. Indeed, I have applied many of these ideas to my work in institution building for higher education (see Advisor).
The research project in Pakistan was a collaboration involving the U Water Center (University of Utah), USPCASW (Mehran University of Engineering and Technology), and the Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh). Our research team produced a report with policy recommendations to improve equitable outcomes under participatory irrigation management. The study developed a novel method for measuring social power asymmetry that was culturally relevant but could be conceptually transferred to other cultural contexts. Our findings highlighted the importance of fully understanding informal institutions before trying to introduce new formal ones, such as often occurs through externally-driven development interventions.
The research project in Nicaragua received funding from a Fulbright grant and resulted in my (open access) dissertation Common Property and Cosmology: Conservation Incentives among the Miskitu of Nicaragua. The project would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of local field assistants and the warmth and engagement of the local communities. Over the course of a year living in Kipla Sait Tasbaika, I was able to learn a great deal about the Miskitu people's way of life and the challenges they face. I also learned through a set of three interrelated studies how ideational and institutional factors impact people's pro-sustainability behaviors. In contrast to many other cultural studies, my analyses focused on within-culture variation. In this way, I applied a methodological approach from psychology to anthropological research, with interesting results that continue shape my understanding of why people do what they do.
Additional research experience includes several "field schools." I've participated in an NSF-funded field school in Bolivia on quantitative methods of cultural anthropology, a semester abroad program in tropical biology run by the Organization for Tropical Studies / Duke University in Costa Rica, and the interdisciplinary Island Ecology Program at Sewanee, my alma mater. These were all intensive, field-based research experiences which ingrained in me a profound appreciation for the value of hands-on learning (see Educator).
I have led two major international research projects, one in Nicaragua and one in Pakistan. Both projects focused on natural resource management challenges, but both also used core concepts (e.g., social capital) and theoretical frameworks (e.g., game theory) that could be applied to other contexts. Indeed, I have applied many of these ideas to my work in institution building for higher education (see Advisor).
The research project in Pakistan was a collaboration involving the U Water Center (University of Utah), USPCASW (Mehran University of Engineering and Technology), and the Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh). Our research team produced a report with policy recommendations to improve equitable outcomes under participatory irrigation management. The study developed a novel method for measuring social power asymmetry that was culturally relevant but could be conceptually transferred to other cultural contexts. Our findings highlighted the importance of fully understanding informal institutions before trying to introduce new formal ones, such as often occurs through externally-driven development interventions.
The research project in Nicaragua received funding from a Fulbright grant and resulted in my (open access) dissertation Common Property and Cosmology: Conservation Incentives among the Miskitu of Nicaragua. The project would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of local field assistants and the warmth and engagement of the local communities. Over the course of a year living in Kipla Sait Tasbaika, I was able to learn a great deal about the Miskitu people's way of life and the challenges they face. I also learned through a set of three interrelated studies how ideational and institutional factors impact people's pro-sustainability behaviors. In contrast to many other cultural studies, my analyses focused on within-culture variation. In this way, I applied a methodological approach from psychology to anthropological research, with interesting results that continue shape my understanding of why people do what they do.
Additional research experience includes several "field schools." I've participated in an NSF-funded field school in Bolivia on quantitative methods of cultural anthropology, a semester abroad program in tropical biology run by the Organization for Tropical Studies / Duke University in Costa Rica, and the interdisciplinary Island Ecology Program at Sewanee, my alma mater. These were all intensive, field-based research experiences which ingrained in me a profound appreciation for the value of hands-on learning (see Educator).
