Social Science
Social Science Component
In phase III of Alaska EPSCoR, the science components are integrated into one program addressing social-ecological systems in Alaska. Here the social science component is described.
Alaska presents a unique opportunity to study rapid social change in the context of complex interactions with rapid climatic and ecological change. It is well documented that Alaska’s rural communities and its indigenous residents are undergoing rapid social and cultural change. Alaska is experiencing substantial population increase, changes in land-use patterns associated with increased industrial development, and increased rural-to-urban migration—characteristics that it shares with many developing nations. In combination with climate and ecological change, socio-economic drivers of change raise important questions concerning the capacity of rural communities in Alaska to sustain themselves and provide for village well-being. These dramatic changes are unfolding in a state that has considerable wealth to address social problems, but has insufficient information and understanding to guide social policy decisions. In part for these reasons, the research and development plan of the state of Alaska notes that societal, regulatory, or legal problems, not technological ones, are the issues for which research and development are needed.
To address these questions, we focus our social science component on the resilience and well-being of Alaskan rural communities, including their important connections to urban centers. We organize our investigations around three topics important in rapid change: i) community use of ecosystem services, including differing human values and food and nutritional security; ii) social networks and rural-urban human mobility; and iii) institutional effectiveness in fostering community and regional resilience.
Our inquiry focuses on three overarching research hypotheses: i) because of their significant contributions to the social and nutritional well-being of residents, projected changes in the food systems of rural communities could negatively affect social and nutritional well-being; ii) social networks, along with their linkages to urban centers, contribute to cultural resilience of rural Alaskan communities. Changes in climate, shifts in rural-to-urban migration patterns, and in the participation of key individuals in sharing networks will alter the social systems of communities; and iii) the design, fit, and performance of institutional arrangements for the management of commonly shared keystone resources are inadequate to facilitate the social learning and adaptation needed to sustain the well-being of rural communities in times of rapid change.
In phase III of Alaska EPSCoR, the science components are integrated into one program addressing social-ecological systems in Alaska. Here the social science component is described.
Alaska presents a unique opportunity to study rapid social change in the context of complex interactions with rapid climatic and ecological change. It is well documented that Alaska’s rural communities and its indigenous residents are undergoing rapid social and cultural change. Alaska is experiencing substantial population increase, changes in land-use patterns associated with increased industrial development, and increased rural-to-urban migration—characteristics that it shares with many developing nations. In combination with climate and ecological change, socio-economic drivers of change raise important questions concerning the capacity of rural communities in Alaska to sustain themselves and provide for village well-being. These dramatic changes are unfolding in a state that has considerable wealth to address social problems, but has insufficient information and understanding to guide social policy decisions. In part for these reasons, the research and development plan of the state of Alaska notes that societal, regulatory, or legal problems, not technological ones, are the issues for which research and development are needed.
To address these questions, we focus our social science component on the resilience and well-being of Alaskan rural communities, including their important connections to urban centers. We organize our investigations around three topics important in rapid change: i) community use of ecosystem services, including differing human values and food and nutritional security; ii) social networks and rural-urban human mobility; and iii) institutional effectiveness in fostering community and regional resilience.
Our inquiry focuses on three overarching research hypotheses: i) because of their significant contributions to the social and nutritional well-being of residents, projected changes in the food systems of rural communities could negatively affect social and nutritional well-being; ii) social networks, along with their linkages to urban centers, contribute to cultural resilience of rural Alaskan communities. Changes in climate, shifts in rural-to-urban migration patterns, and in the participation of key individuals in sharing networks will alter the social systems of communities; and iii) the design, fit, and performance of institutional arrangements for the management of commonly shared keystone resources are inadequate to facilitate the social learning and adaptation needed to sustain the well-being of rural communities in times of rapid change.