Job Vacancy Announcement

Two Assistant or Associate Professors

The Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, home to the anthropology program at ASU, invites applications for two sociocultural anthropology positions available at the assistant or associate professor level. We are seeking individuals whose research focuses on human-environment dynamics. ASU strongly encourages excellence in scholarship and teaching that transcends traditional subdisciplinary and disciplinary boundaries.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can articulate the rigorous ethnographic study of local peoples, cultures, and the environment with other research strengths at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and ASU, such as urbanization, health, globalization, migration, environmental and social justice, technology and society, environmental social science, institutions, and social complexity.

Minimum qualifications include a Ph.D. in anthropology or a closely related discipline; research interests in environmental anthropology, broadly construed; and an ability to contribute to undergraduate and graduate instruction in sociocultural anthropology. Preferred qualifications include an active ethnographic research program that involves students and an ability to contribute to the school’s new transdisciplinary social science-based degree programs, such as environmental social science, in addition to the anthropology degree programs. Qualifications that are required for applicants at the associate professor level and preferred for applicants at the assistant professor level include a demonstrated record of: scholarly achievement, ability to obtain external funding, leadership in professional activities, and teaching effectiveness.

Review of applications will begin on January 8, 2010 and will continue weekly until the search is closed. Applicants must apply online at http://academicjobsonline.org and include a letter of application that includes a statement of professional interests and goals, a statement of teaching philosophy, curriculum vitae, and the names and email addresses of three references. Please make sure your name appears in each uploaded file name. You may address your letter to Professor James F. Eder, Search Committee Chair.

Information about the School can be found at http://shesc.asu.edu. A background check is required for employment. Arizona State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. See https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/

Call for Papers on Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation

Arun Agrawal, Maria Lemos, Benjamin Orlove, Jesse Ribot

Workshops of ICARUS

The Initiative for Climate Adaptation Research and Understanding through the Social Sciences

We invite your participation in two linked ICARUS workshops on vulnerability and adaptation. The first will be on ‘Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation: Theory and Cases’, to be held 11-13 February 2010 at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. The second will be on ‘Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation: Methods and Cases’, and will be held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 3-5 April 2010.

These workshops follow an initial planning meeting held at SNRE at the University of Michigan in Winter 2009. They are a part of a series of meetings sponsored by the newly established ‘Initiative for Climate Adaptation Research and Understanding through the Social Sciences’ – ICARUS. ICARUS intends to further the conversation and research on the subjects of climate vulnerability and adaptation. We are particularly interested to draw young scholars and advanced graduate students into the discussion, and welcome proposals to write and present theoretical and case-based papers at the workshops. A subset of papers presented at the first workshop will be invited for discussion at the second meeting after they have been revised by their authors in consultation with advanced scholars working on climate change.

Vulnerability and adaptation have emerged as key concepts in the social science literature on climate change. Both concepts have long inter-linked histories. Scholars of development and of crisis working on acute disasters and slowly unfolding hunger, famine and dislocation have contributed insights on the meanings and drivers of vulnerability. Development of systematic ideas about adaptation continues to occur in a variety of fields – in both the ecological and the social sciences. The ways these writings are applicable to understanding and intervening in climate-related stress, crisis and response remains a vigorous arena of discussion. In recent years there have been many calls (by IPCC, NSF, Stern Review and others) for greater social science engagement in climate research. ICARUS responds to these calls.

At the first we propose to hold several panels on “Theorizing Vulnerability and Adaptation” to help improve the understanding of these two inter-related concepts, identify theoretical frontiers, and to build frameworks and approaches that move beyond what is currently available. Panels will also feature empirical cases that help interrogate and illuminate these concepts. Some of the major themes around which we expect papers include:

• Frameworks for understanding vulnerability and adaptation,
• Forms, causes, and outcomes of vulnerability and adaptation,
• Contextual conditions that affect vulnerability or the prospects for successful adaptation, with a particular focus on local particularities,
• Politics, policies and policy processes relevant to vulnerability and adaptation,
• Types of private and civic action to reduce vulnerability and support adaptation.

Selected papers from the workshops will be brought together to produce one or more edited volumes and/or special issues of journals. Coherent groupings of papers will also be invited to participate in a series of ICARUS panels at the Second International Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid Regions (ICID), a Rio+20 preparatory meeting focusing on climate and vulnerability issues to be held in Fortaleza, Brazil 16 to 20 August 2010.

The ICARUS workshops are sponsored by the Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy (SDEP) Initiative of the Department of Geography, School of Earth Society, and Environment and Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois and the International Forestry Resources and Institutions research initiative (IFRI) and the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) of the University of Michigan. The workshop organizers have a small pool of funds to support participation in the two ICARUS meetings at University of Illinois and University of Michigan. Support will also be available from the ICID organizing committee for participation in the ICID 2010 conference.

Those interested in participating in the workshop and contributing papers on theories, frameworks, and empirical applications of the concepts of vulnerability and adaptation should submit their title, 150 word abstract, and contact information at the ICARUS website. For clarifications, contact icarus@icarus.info. Additional information about the workshops will be circulated shortly, and will also become available at the ICARUS website. Web Page: http://www.icarus.info/registration-instructions/ E-Mail: icarus@icarus.info

Visiting Professor Position

The Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity at Arizona State University has a visiting professorship program for scholars employed in non-OECD countries and Mexico to spend a sabbatical at the center. Each financial year the program will support one 12 month visit or two 6 month visits with a stipend of up to $40,000 on an annual basis. This will allow the visitor to stay at the center and interact with faculty and students and participate with the broader community of ASU. To be considered for this program, the visiting professor should:

• have a regular professor appointment or equivalent in a non-OECD country or of Mexico;
• have an independent research agenda that overlaps with the aims of the center and;
• be willing to deliver a number of seminars during their stay.

This position is aimed at those on sabbatical leave who are interested in spending it at ASU within the period July 1 2010 – June 30 2011. To apply for this program applications must include the following:

• a most recent CV;
• one or more relevant publications and;
• names and addresses of referees.

Proposals should be submitted under one cover via email to Marco.Janssen@asu.edu by March 1, 2010. Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.

Congratulations to Elinor Ostrom from IASC President Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Monday’s news of Elinor Ostrom winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is still reverberating, causing much excitement. In awarding the prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted it is "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons". It is so encouraging to see the explicit recognition, by the economics profession, of her landmark studies in the factors that encourage cooperation.

Those who have been privileged to work with her know how richly deserved this recognition is. Those who are not familiar with her work, who still believe in the inevitability of Garrett Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” have a treat in store, discovering her research. She is a brilliant scholar who can still communicate her ideas to a wide audience, an inspiring teacher and generous colleague.

I am fortunate to be in the former group. I have been following her work on cooperation for managing water, forests, and other shared resources (even the internet!) for more than 20 years. She was the founding President of the International Association for Study of the Commons (IASC), instrumental in building an organization that brings together researchers and practitioners to build understanding and improve institutions for the management of resources that are (or could be) held or used collectively by communities in developing or developed countries. I’m privileged to be the current President of IASC, able to build on the foundations of her work and that of hundreds of others who are helping to learn how to craft institutions to govern the commons effectively.

From this vantage point, let me point out two aspects of Prof. Ostrom’s work that are noteworthy, especially for a Nobel Laureate in Economics Sciences. The first is that her work is grounded in empirical observations. She draws on theory, but also questions the underlying assumptions and tests them against the actual behavior of people and institutions. She looks for the commonalities—and differences—in the way people relate to different types of resources, in developing countries as well as the US and other industrialized countries, using case studies, structured comparable data collection across sites, and experimental games, both in the lab and in the field.

The second significant aspect of her work is that she is transcends disciplines. A political scientist who wins the highest prize in economics, she works with the whole range of social scientists, but also with foresters, ecologists, mathematicians, … the list goes on. She learns from each discipline, and offers conceptual frameworks (notably the Institutional Analysis and Design, or IAD framework) that help integrate knowledge and insights. And more importantly, the combination of perspectives helps to address important practical problems of resource management and crafting institutions that are sustainable and equitable.

For those who want to learn more, a list of her key publications that are available free online is at www.iasc-commmons.org . Over 100 of her online articles are also available in the Digital Library of the Commons at http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/browse?value=Ostrom%2C+Elinor&type=author



See what others thought of her award:

* Elinor Ostrom and the Future of Economics (Umair Haque, Harvard Business)
* Elinor Ostrom breaks the Nobel mould (Kevin Gallagher, Guardian)
* Governing the Commons (Vernon Smith, Forbes)

(This blog posting is copublished with the International Food Policy Research Institute www.ifpri.org)

Press Conference of Elinor Ostrom named Nobel laureate

http://www.broadcast.iu.edu/

Elinor Ostrom wins Nobel Prize in Economics

Elinor (Lin) Ostrom, a past president, founding member, and active inspiration to the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) has been selected as a recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. In awarding the prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted it is "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons".

“Many natural resources, such as fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes, and groundwater basins are managed as common property. That is, many users have access to the resource in question. If we want to halt the degradation of our natural environment and prevent a repetition of the many collapses of natural‐resource stocks experienced in the past, we should learn from the successes and failures of common‐property regimes. Ostrom’s work teaches us novel lessons about the deep mechanisms that sustain cooperation in human societies.”

The theme of the award is Economic governance: the organization of cooperation.

Prof. Ostrom shares the award with Oliver E. Williamson "for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm"

The International Association for the Study of the Commons DEEPLY congratulates Dr. Ostrom for this well‐deserved recognition of her research on “Governing the Commons”. And want to let her know how privileged and happy we feel to have her as a mentor and colleague at IASC.

We encourage anyone interested in more information to read the prize committee’s excellent overviews of the contributions of these new laureates, with versions for the general public at

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2009/info.pdf

and for the scientific community at

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2009/ecoadv09.pdf.

International Association for the Study of the Commons USA Regional Meeting
Hosted by the Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity

September 30 - October 2, 2010
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona, USA

Theme: Capturing the Complexity of the Commons

The regional meeting of the US branch of the IASC will have as its theme “capturing the complexity of the commons” reflecting the increasing efforts to understand commons over time at multiple levels of scale. The goal is to foster more discussion and collaboration especially among US researchers working on commons from an interdisciplinary point of view. We invite scholars from the natural and social sciences as well as humanities and arts.

The conference is interdisciplinary and open to any individual interested in common-pool resources and common property issues. It is aimed at encouraging the discussion on the conference topics among researchers and practitioners living in US or elsewhere. This should result in a stronger research network and an enhanced exchange of experiences primarily among US researchers and students working on the Commons and also with scholars elsewhere.

The conference is organized in 3 subthemes:

Complexity
This theme address the increasing focus of commons research on cases with historical depth, multiple resources and resource uses, and multiple levels of social and ecological processes. Topics included in this subtheme are the resilience of common pool resources, institutional learning and adaptation, and transboundary commons and conflicts.

New Commons
This theme includes commons that can be grouped in four broad classes: the urban commons, the virtual commons, the environmental services and public health. Research on those topics using conceptual tools designed for the study of commons has strongly increased in the last few years. Moreover, many of those commons are, at present, crucial for the welfare of human beings as a whole.

Multiple Methods to Study the Commons
This theme addresses the methodological contributions to study the commons including ethnographic case studies, collaborative field studies, experiments, formal modeling and participatory processes. Besides contributions of the individual methodologies we recognize the benefits of using multiple methods to address the same research questions.

We welcome proposals for panels, workshops, and individual papers relating to the three subthemes of the conference:

Panels and Workshops. Submit a proposal to organize a 1.5 hour concurrent panel session (3 to 4 speakers and session chair) or workshop (a practically-oriented session with 2 or 3 speakers, session facilitator, and sufficient time for audience questions). Proposals include an abstract of the goal and topic of the session (maximum of 350 words), include names and affiliations of the organizer and individual presenters, and provide abstracts for the individual papers (maximum 250 words).
Proposals for panels and workshops are due April 1, 2010.

Individual Papers. Submit an abstract to give a 20-minute oral presentation. Abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words. Include the name, title and affiliation of each author. Abstracts will be peer reviewed and are due April 1, 2010. Confirmation of acceptance of the abstract will be sent by May 1, 2010. Final papers are due September 1, 2010 (details will be sent to authors upon abstract acceptance).

Conference Proceedings. All abstracts and submitted papers will be made available online and provided to the. All conference paper submissions will be peer reviewed and a selected of the papers will be considered for a special issue of the International Journal of the Commons.

Submission of Abstracts. All abstracts must be submitted electronically in Word, text, or pdf format. Abstracts should be submitted via the conference website.

Fulbright Commission- Politecnico of Turin, Italy
RESEARCH LECTURESHIP IN
POLICIES AND TOOLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
AT THE POLITECNICO DI TORINO
A.Y. 2010 – 2011


Information

According to the agreement, signed in 2008 by the Politecnico of Turin and the Fulbright Commission, a Fulbright Distinguished Senior Lecturer will be selected for a six months period of teaching and research at the Politecnico in academic year 2010-11 (see other information at: http://www.fulbright.it/publicity/2010-11/lectureships/Polito_0305.pdf).
Teaching activities will involve a Module in “Policies and Tools for Environmental Sustainability” within the Master in Pianificazione territoriale, urbanistica e paesaggistico-ambientale (Territorial, Urban, Landscape and Environmental Planning), in the second Facoltà di Architettura (School of Architecture), while research activities will be developed in the Dipartimento Interateneo Territorio (DITER).
Both activities are related to the issue of sustainable development, with a particular focus on public policies and on planning and evaluation tools through which to attain the environmental sustainability in territorial innovation and transformation processes. This approach includes also subjects such as the international cooperation for nature and landscape conservation, and protected areas management.
These issues resume, with a broader trans-scale attention, some of those which are the focus of the teaching activity of a Fulbright Distinguished Chair on “International Environmental Policies and Legislation” which has been developed in the BA in Pianificazione territoriale, urbanistica e ambientale (Territorial, Urban, Landscape and Environmental Planning), each year since 2002. This teaching experience (held in English) has involved seven diverse American teachers and has been greatly appreciated by the students.
Now, this past experience scope should be broadened taking into account the growing political and cultural interest for the global changes affecting not only the climate conditions and their physical effects, but also the economic, social and cultural processes and the planning and governance perspectives. This implies scientific comparisons, exchanges and interactions between the most meaningful American and European (and particularly Italian) experiences.
Teaching activities can also include lectures and seminars in the PhD address in “Territorial Planning and Local Development”, organised by DITER within the Politecnico PhD Course “Environment and Territory”.

In the light of the past experience, it seems important to associate to the teaching activity the research one. Such research activity can be linked to the research activities theme developed within DITER, which will host the Fulbright Lecturer.
DITER was born at the beginning of the ‘80s from a joint initiative of geographers, economists, sociologists, planners and architects partly belonging to the University of Turin, partly to the Politecnico, and it is the only inter-universities Department still existing in Italy.
Research activities are carried out by means of research Centres and groups.
DITER hosts three Research Centres:
o ECD-NPP, European Centre of Documentation on Nature Parks Planning
o EU-POLIS Centre for Research and Documentation on European and Mediterranean Urban Systems
o CCTM – Third World City Centre

The activity of these Centres and of other research groups operating in DITER is focused on a wide range of themes, such as human and economic geography, urban and regional governance and planning, environment and landscape policies and planning, spatial development and European policies, cooperation and planning in developing countries, sustainability and assessment of plans and programmes.
Each of the above Centres and the other research groups has important relationships with International Associations and Networks, such as, for instance, the IUCN (the World Conservation Union) and UNISCAPE (European Network of Universities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention). Such relationships could make easier for the incoming lecturer to interact with the national and international networks.

DITER, where the Lecturer will have his office, is located in the Castle of Valentino, on the river Po, just in the historic centre of Turin, the old seat of Politecnico since the middle of the 19th century and one of the main seats of the Savoy Court since the 17th century (for more information about Turin and Politecnico see http://www.fulbright.it/publicity/2010-11/lectureships/Polito_0305.pdf).