The SfAA Podcast Archive

Advancing Applied Research: Calls for Interdisciplinary Sophistication and Mixed Methodologies (Part 4/4 - Q&A)

CHAIR: PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy)
CUSTRED, Glynn (CSUEB) Anthropology as an Integrated Science
VAN DOLAH, Elizabeth (UMD) Enhancing Anthropology’s Relevance: New Opportunities to Engage in Multi-Disciplinary Research
PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy) Social Ecology as Social Action Theory: A Model of Empowerment
Session took place in Albuquerque, NM at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2014.

Advancing Applied Research: Calls for Interdisciplinary Sophistication and Mixed Methodologies (Part 3/4 - Preister)

CHAIR: PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy)
PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy) Social Ecology as Social Action Theory: A Model of Empowerment
ABSTRACT: Social Ecology as Social Action Theory: A Model of Empowerment. Insisting on a descriptive approach through entering the routines of daily life, social ecology distinguishes between informal and formal cultural systems in community and organizational settings. The informal networks through which people communicate and support each other, the gathering places for socializing cultural information, the network “archetypes” such as caretakers and communicators, the human geography by which people distinguish one population from another, and the actionable issues that motivate people form the basis of discovery. Action is an outcome of reflection that enhances empowerment through strategies to align informal and formal cultural systems. kevinpreister@gmail.com
Session took place in Albuquerque, NM at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2014.

Advancing Applied Research: Calls for Interdisciplinary Sophistication and Mixed Methodologies (Part 2/4 - Van Dolah)

CHAIR: PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy)
VAN DOLAH, Elizabeth (UMD) Enhancing Anthropology’s Relevance: New Opportunities to Engage in Multi-Disciplinary Research
ABSTRACT: Enhancing Anthropology’s Relevance: New Opportunities to Engage in Multi-Disciplinary Research. Anthropology’s holistic approach is particularly well-suited for engaging in multi-disciplinary research, and opportunities to do so are increasing as other disciplines seek to better understand the human dimensions of their emergent problems. The ecosystem science community has identified such opportunities in defining new ecosystem science research that aligns thematically with anthropological interests in drivers of change, social structures, process and function, and enhancing relevance to broader research communities and the public. As anthropology moves towards defining its own research “destinations,” this presentation will provide examples from ecosystem science of how anthropology can benefit from engaging in these broader conversations. vandolah@umd.edu
Session took place in Albuquerque, NM at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2014.

Advancing Applied Research: Calls for Interdisciplinary Sophistication and Mixed Methodologies (Part 1/4 - Custred)

CHAIR: PREISTER, Kevin (Ctr for Soc Ecology & Public Policy)
CUSTRED, Glynn (CSUEB) Anthropology as an Integrated Science
ABSTRACT: Anthropology as an Integrated Science. Some believe that science should no longer be the principal mission of anthropology. This raises the question; what is science, and how does it apply to a discipline that ranges from the natural sciences (physical anthropology), through the social sciences to the humanities? We answer these questions by employing the German term Wissenschaft, in both its ordinary language and technical sense. When understood from this perspective, we see that anthropology constitutes an integrated science across all fields of its application. glynncustred@sbcglobal.net
Session took place in Albuquerque, NM at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2014.

2013 SfAA Awards Ceremony

Margaret Mead Award Winner: Erin P. Finley (for her book, Fields of Combat: Understanding PTSD Among Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan)Bronislaw Malinowski Award Winner: Anthony Oliver-SmithIntroduced by Paul DoughtyDisaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: The View from Applied AnthropologyIn working with and researching in communities that have suffered the impacts of disasters or displacement over the last 40 years, I am convinced of the need to link theory topractice in applied anthropology. The trying circumstances faced by people in disasters and displacement, as well as the enormous variation that these millions of people in theirdiverse contexts represent, test the resilience of real communities, the fundamental constructions we have developed about community, and the theories and methods employedto assist them in recovery. In my work, I have found that it is both appropriate and necessary that theoretical and policy oriented projects be closely linked. If policies and projectsrelated to disasters and displacement are not based on a solid understanding of human behavior in general and cultural behavior specifically, their success in terms of how theyrespond to human needs is jeopardized. By the same token, policy and practice can form the testing ground for theory. In other words, if policy or practice fail to producebeneficial outcomes, it is not the fault of the people, but in effect, signals us that we need to improve our theory and methods in addressing the losses and needs of affectedpeople. In broader terms, then, my goals have always been to bring theory and practice together to better inform applied anthropological practice in disasters and displacement.The 20th century saw enormous numbers of people and their communities damaged, destroyed, or uprooted by conflict, environmental upheaval, natural and technologicaldisasters, and infrastructural development projects. Forces ranging from intensified disasters, ethnic nationalism, global climate change, and globalized forms of developmentpromise more of the same for the century we are just beginning. This paper traces the development of applied anthropological theory and method in meeting the challengesposed by such forces in the 21 st century.

Challenging Issues in Community Building

CHAIR: DRISCOLL, David L. (UAA)
Session Participants:LAMM, Rosemarie Santora (Rath Senior ConNEXTions & Ed Cr) Master Class: Senior Scholars Life Review; Community Culture BrokerageOTSUKI, Kei (UNU-ISP) Individual Reflexivity, Household Coping, and Community Resilience in Northern GhanaBLATTEL, Carrie (IUPUI) Delivering Community Resources to Latino Immigrants
Session took place in Denver, CO at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2013.

Troubled Waters: 21st Century Challenges in the American West

CHAIR: GIBSON, Jane W. (U Kansas)
ABSTRACT: The U.S. West is characterized by uneven distribution of water and access to it. The region is home to millions of people, major industries, farming, and ranching, allfaced with growing demand, persistent droughts, and climate change. Water planning was once viewed as the exclusive purview of engineers and hydrologists who managed this"economic resource" with physical control and manipulation. This panel demonstrates that social science can contribute to water management. Presenters consider theexperiences, perspectives, and meanings assigned to water by users and managers in the 21 st century U.S. West where access to water presents new and serious challenges.
DISCUSSANT: WUTICH, Amber (ASU)
Session Participants:SHERIDAN. Thomas E (U Arizona)GROENFELDT, David (Water-Culture Inst)SIMMS, Jason L. and YELVINGTON, Kevin A. (USF)GRAY, B.J. (U Kansas)
Session took place in Denver, CO at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2013

The Political Ecology of Fire: Natural Process or Natural Disaster?

CHAIR: CHARNLEY, Susan (USDAFS)
ABSTRACT: Wildland fire, a natural process integral to maintaining the health of fire-adapted ecosystems, is often perceived as anatural disaster, especially in the United States.This session examines thesocial, political, economic, and/or cultural variables that contribute to the experience of wildland fire as either a natural process or a natural disaster,andthat prevent it from being managed more as a natural process. It also examines the social and environmental consequences of current fire management policies andpractices. We ask how applied social science can help restore the role of fireas a natural process to prevent disaster.
Session Participants:WILLIAMS, Gerald W. (Retired, Chief Historian)SPOON, Jeremy and LEFLER, Brian (Portland State U)POE, Melissa R. (IFCAE)WILLIAMS, Daniel R. (USDAFS)COUGHLAN, Michael R. (U Georgia)
Session took place in Denver, CO at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2013.

Manifest Localism: How Power, Livelihood, and Resistance Shape the American West

CHAIRS: OSCARSON, Alex and ZACKARY, Burditt (UC-Denver)
ABSTRACT: This panel will explore contemporary power relations in the American West as it is played out in the allocation of resources. Included in this are physical landscapes,labor, livelihood and discourse as they relate to the shifting dynamics of the West. Recent explorations in resistance to asymmetrical power call for a neworientation focusing onhistory, signification and intergroup dynamics. As resources in the West are converted into energy, recreation, as well as political objects it is of high importance to represent thecontested nature of landscapes and the politics of culture.
DISCUSSANT: HINES, Dwight J. (Point Park U)
Session Participants:KIRNER, Kimberly (CSUN)FELDMAN, Lindsey (U Arizona)SIMMS, Crystal and RIEL-SALVATORE, Julien (UC-Denver)
Session took place in Denver, CO at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2013.

The Gap Between Knowledge, Policy, and Practice Concerning Disaster (Part 2)

CHAIR: HOFFMAN. Susanna (Hoffman Consultina)
DISCUSSANT: JEGGLE. Terrv (U Pitt)
Session Participants:BROWNE, Katherine E. (CSU)SCHULLER. Mark (NIU. U d'Etat d'Haiti)CASAGRANDE. David (Lehiah U). MCILVAINE-NEWSAD, Heather (WIU). and PINTER. Nicholas (SIU)BECKER. Per (Lund U)
 
Session took place in Denver, CO at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2013.