Yan Cimon is an associate professor of strategy at Universite Laval, in Quebec City, and is also currently the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Innovation at the University of Washington. He has studied how Quebec could use e-government—that is, the Internet and other information technology—to help provide services to residents of remote places. With a population comparable to that of Virginia and an area three times that of France, Quebec shares many of the same challenges as Alaska in providing consistent services to all residents.
Communities in Alaska and around the Arctic—especially those where Alaska Natives and other indigenous peoples make up most of the population—face many forces of change, including the effects of climate change, pressures on subsistence resources and on mixed cash-subsistence economies, rising costs of living, and lack of jobs for young people—including in coastal communities, where opportunities in commercial fisheries have diminished. ISER researchers study issues affecting Arctic communities, often with national or international partners. Examples of that work include assessments of the resilience and adaptability of communities in the face of change.
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Two new publications by Ginny Fay and Alejandra Villalobos Melendez of ISER provide the big picture of electricity around Alaska. Both are based on research done for the Alaska Energy Authority.
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Broadband (high speed Internet) is being extended to 65 communities in Southwest Alaska. As part of its ongoing research on the role of telecommunications in the socio-economic development of rural Alaska, ISER is conducting a telephone survey in SW Alaska in June. The purpose of the survey is to learn about current access to the Internet and what different high speed Internet could make for residents of the region.
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Sara Komarnisky is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She has been a visiting research scholar at ISER since September 2011, and is in Anchorage working on an ethnographic project that traces the connections between Anchorage and a town in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. Please join us for an informal discussion about what she’s learned so far.
When: Tuesday, June 5, 12 to 1
Where: ISER Conference Room, Fifth Floor, Diplomacy Building. Free parking.
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Heather Hudson, ISER's director, is one of the authors of a new book, The Changing Culture of Communications, published by the Global Telecom Women's Network in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The book is intended to recognize the achievements of the current generation of women in the telecommunications sector and encourage the next generation to go into the sector. Dr. Hudson's chapter is "From Northern Village to Global Village." This publication can now be found in the UAA Scholarworks collection.
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A new analysis by Scott Goldsmith and Sohrab Pathan at the Institute of Social and Economic Research and Nathan Wiltse at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center looks at broad effects of the state Home Energy Rebate Program so far. That program rebates homeowners part of what they spend to make their houses more energy-efficient and less expensive to heat. The analysis was done for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which administers the program.
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A new analysis by ISER researchers Ginny Fay, Alejandra Villalobos Meléndez, and Tobias Schwörer examines how the current Power Cost Equalization (PCE) program formula affects incentives for rural communities to increase their energy efficiency and add renewable energy sources. The state PCE program helps bring the high cost of electricity in small rural places closer to costs in urban areas, by paying eligible utilities part of the costs of the first 500 kilowatt hours of electricity for each residential customer every month. PCE rates are currently linked to fuel costs and use.
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Whitney Lackenbauer of the University of Waterloo in Ontario is one of Canada’s leading scholars on contemporary Arctic sovereignty and security issues. He will talk about Canadian and American perceptions about the Arctic since the 19th century, focusing on why many Canadians have deep-seated concerns about American intentions in the North American Arctic. This is a joint presentation of the Canadian Consulate, University Advancement at UAA, and ISER. Pizza and soft drinks will be served.
When: Tuesday, March 27, 12 to 1
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Amy Lauren Lovecraft of the University of Alaska Fairbanks is studying how climate change in the Arctic affects men and women differently, as well as key differences in the vulnerability of populations to changing climate in the Arctic and in more arid or tropical areas to the south. Please join us to hear Dr. Lovecraft talk about her research.
When: Monday, February 13, 12 to 1
Where: ISER Conference Room, Fifth Floor, Diplomacy Building
Download the PDF announcement (209KB).
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Heather Hudson gave a presentation on “Broadband Policies for the North” for the Anchorage chapter of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) on November 16. Her presentation can be found here. This presentation can be found here.