Difficult to imagine that fifteen years have passed since I worked as a 'rapporteur' for the Part 2 Inquiry in to Walkerton's water contamination. Tying that experience to my current research, I sat down to reflect on what can be learned from that event. A longer 'research version' -- co authored with Stephanie Cote and [...]
means brainstorming a grant proposal while waiting to be called in for for a follow up mammogram. It means calculating a four-year budget -- how many graduate students can I fund? -- in my head as the technician tells me not to breathe or move.
Water is a gift from god. We have lots of water. I am poor. Water supply is the government’s responsibility. The prospect of paying for water never fails to irritate people. But metering and paying for water services are essential if urban water supply is to be clean and adequate. As part of my studies [...]
Tessa S. -- a graduate student in the Faculty of Environment -- has completed a terrific video for her SSHRC Storyteller's submission. She profiled my SSHRC funded research on the link between emotions, water, Terror Management Theory and decision making. Her submission video is here. Thanks for all of your hard work Tessa!
Global News covers flooding events You can be pretty sure that urban water managers did not plan for this type of 'extreme' event when the infrastructure was constructed way back when. But these types of flash flood events are become ever more common. So we need to learn, assess, and plan in different ways.
Funded Graduate (MES) Opportunity starting in September 2015. The funded research is a comparative analysis of female water professionals (CND) who indicate that mentorship and/or sponsorship have played a role in their career progression or trajectory. Potential applicants for this project should be excellent writers, have a strong understanding of both gender and water issues; [...]
Funded Graduate (Courses + Project) Opportunity (starting in September 2015). The research requires an analysis of existing data on 'blue builders' and 'green plumbers' -- residential builders and plumbers who subscribe to water efficiency practices — using Terror Management Theory as an analytical framework. Potential applicants for this project should be excellent writers, have a [...]
Thankfully, I (mostly) enjoy writing. But I sympathize with my students and their never-ending deadlines for essays, assignments, reports etc. I try to make it easier for them by suggesting tips and tricks -- write every day, have lists of smaller tasks you can tackle when the energy to write raw text isn't there etc [...]
On October 24th and 25th, 2013 I hosted a small workshop on the nature of interdisciplinary, graduate-level water education. The complex, multi-faceted nature of most current major water issues transcends disciplinary boundaries. As a result, water managers and decision-makers are increasingly making use of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches. The ability to work successfully in these environments [...]
I am currently recruiting self-directed, interdisciplinary students with an interest in the social dimensions of water for Sept 2014 or 2015. Potential grad students should have a very strong GPA, diverse resume and an academic background in fields such as environmental studies, psychology or sociology, human dimensions of geography, resource management, international development, political science and/or [...]