IRES alumnus Megan Peloso and IRES faculty Leila Harris have a new published article out now!

IRES alumnus Megan Peloso and IRES faculty Leila Harris have a new published article out now!

Congratulations to IRES alumnus Megan Peloso and IRES faculty Leila Harris for their recently published article!  The article is now available on Taylor & Francis Online.

Click the link below to view article:
Pathways for Participatory Water Governance in Ashaiman, Ghana: Learning from Institutional Bricolage and Hydrosocial Perspectives

Abstract

Coupling a hydrosocial perspective with institutional bricolage, this research considers possibilities for participatory water governance in Ashaiman, a peri-urban settlement of Accra, Ghana. We explore three questions: (1) How do people in Ashaiman evoke ideas or experiences of water in general and water governance in particular? (2) What possibilities currently exist for engaging the community in key water-related decisions? (3) What possibilities exist for enhanced participatory water governance in this context, including potential for and interest in new institutions and engagement processes? Results of qualitative interviews and semistructured observation suggest that a siloed, water-centric approach inadequately captures everyday realities of water as hydrosocial and of existing institutions in Ashaiman. In contrast to “modern water,” we propose that water issues may be more meaningfully addressed as bundled with social welfare. Potential implications and alternative ways of understanding socio-institutional arrangements for participatory water governance are explored.

 

 

Photo Credit: Stuart Allen from flickr/ Creative Commons

RES PhD Student Graham McDowell received the IDRC Doctoral Research Award- Congratulations!

The IRES department is happy to announce that PhD student Graham McDowell received the IDRC Doctoral Research Award!

BIO: https://ires.ubc.ca/person/graham-mcdowell-2/

Photo Credit: Graham McDowell

 

 

 

Happy Holidays from IRES!

The IRES Staff and Faculty would like to wish you all happy holidays and a well deserved break!

The IRES Administrative Office is open until December 21, 2017.

We are closed December 22, 2017 to January 1, 2018 and will re-open January 2, 2018.

 

Our first IRES Seminar Series in Term 2 will be on January 4, 2018 with Jocelyn Stacey, Assistant Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. Click here for more information.

See you in the new year!

IRES faculty Leila Harris, RMES alumnus Danika Kleiber and RES PhD candidate Lucy Rodina have a new publication out!

Congratulations, we’re delighted to let you know that IRES faculty Leila Harris, RMES alumnus Danika Kleiber and RES PhD Candidate Lucy Rodina’s final published article (the Version of Record) is now on Taylor & Francis Online.

Abstract:

We analyze the relationship between perceptions of domestic water access, and quality, in relation community engagement. While others have suggested linkages between material conditions of water access and engagement (e.g., that poor water access might spur engagement), to date there have been no studies those test these relationships using statistical methods. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey data from underserved sites in Accra, Ghana, and Cape Town, South Africa, our results show that water access and quality are both predictive of community engagement. The analysis also makes a strong case that there are different dimensions when considering the material conditions of water—in this case, water access and quality each condition engagement in opposite directions. Furthermore, consistent with other studies, our study also shows different demographics (notably gender) mediate these relationships in important ways.

 

You can read the whole article here:

Water Materialities and Citizen Engagement: Testing the Implications of Water Access and Quality for Community Engagement in Ghana and South Africa

 

Leila’s Bio: https://ires.ubc.ca/person/leila-harris/ 

Lucy’s Bio: https://ires.ubc.ca/person/lucy-rodina/

 

IRES Adjunct Professor Colin Levings’ book makes it to Kamchatka

October 30 2017

IRES Adjunct Professor Colin Levings’ book made it to Kamchatka!

This press release is in Russian and English. Click link below to view:

http://www.kamniro.ru/presscenter/news/ekologiya_lososevyh_v_estuariyah_vsego_mira

 

Colin’s bio: https://ires.ubc.ca/person/colin-levings/

Nathan Bennett, IRES Postdoctoral Fellow, “Committing to socially responsible seafood” article published

Science Magazine PDF file.

Supplementary materials for Committing to socially responsible seafood pdf click here

Kittinger JN, Teh L, Allison E, Bennett NJ, Crowder LC, Finkbeiner EM, Hicks C, Scarton CG, Nakamura K, Ota Y, Young J, Alifano A, Apel A, Arbib A, Bishop L, Boyle M, Cisneros-Montemayor AM, Hunter P, Le Cornu E, Levine M, Jones RS, Koehn JZ, Marschke M, Mason JG, Micheli F, McClenachan M, Opal C, Peacey J, Peckham SH, Schemmel E, Solis-Rivera V, Swartz W, Wilhelm A (2017). Committing to socially responsible seafood. Science, 356 (6341), 912-913.

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Summary: Seafood is the world’s most internationally traded food commodity. Approximately three out of every seven people globally rely on seafood as a primary source of animal protein (1). Revelations about slavery and labor rights abuses in fisheries have sparked outrage and shifted the conversation (23), placing social issues at the forefront of a sector that has spent decades working to improve environmental sustainability. In response, businesses are seeking to reduce unethical practices and reputational risks in their supply chains. Governments are formulating policy responses, and nonprofit and philanthropic organizations are deploying resources and expertise to address critical social issues. Yet the scientific community has not kept pace with concerns for social issues in the sector. As the United Nations Ocean Conference convenes in New York (5 to 9 June), we propose a framework for social responsibility and identify key steps the scientific community must take to inform policy and practice for this global challenge.

 

Link to article: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6341/912.full

 

Press Release from Conservation International – A sea change for seafood: http://stories.conservation.org/a-sea-change-for-seafood – Scroll to bottom for additional stories

 

Press Release from University of Washington – Scientists launch global agenda to curb social and human rights abuses in the seafood sector: http://www.washington.edu/news/2017/06/01/scientists-launch-global-agenda-to-curb-social-and-human-rights-abuses-in-the-seafood-sector/

 

And on Eureka Alert: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uow-slg060217.php

Photo Credit: Lain from flickr/ Creative Commons
 

RES alumni Margaret Morales in the news: examining housing costs in Seattle

Click link below for the news article:

https://www.planetizen.com/node/94565/mapping-differences-between-multi-family-and-single-family-housing-costs

Photo Credit: Perri VanderClock from flickr/ Creative Commons

Mark Johnson (IRES Faculty) and Michael Lathuilliere (PhD Candidate)- 2 new publications

Mark Johnson an IRES faculty and Michael Lathuilliere a RES PhD candidate has just published 2 articles with their team in the Journal of Geophysical Research- Biogeosciences:
 
From Mark Johnson, Michael Lathuilliere and Jordan Graesser (Navin’s former Ph.D student) (as co-authors): “Spatial patterns of DOC concentration and DOM optical properties in a Brazilian tropical river-wetland system” (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017JG003797/full
 
From Michael Lathuilliere, Mark Johnson and Alicia Speratti: “Soil CO2 concentrations and efflux dynamics of a tree island in the Pantanal wetland” (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017JG003877/full
 
Photo Credit: Phil Whitehouse from flickr/ Creative Commons

Kai Chan – Inducted into Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Congratulations to IRES faculty member Kai Chan for being named as one of 70 new members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists!

Six UBC faculty have been named as members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Those named to the College represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada.

See the links below for more information:

https://science.ubc.ca/news/two-ubc-science-researchers-inducted-college-new-scholars-artists-and-scientists

https://research.ubc.ca/ubc-faculty-named-members-rsc-college-new-scholars-artists-and-scientists

Congratulations Harold Eyster — International Doctoral Fellowship Winner!

Harold Eyster received the International Doctoral Fellowship.

This is a new award, intended to support top international students beginning UBC Vancouver doctoral programs.

Click here for more information on Harold.

 

 

Photo credit: Julian S. Yates