Collaborative Research: AOC: Reconceptualizing the Genesis of Change in Rural African Societies: Exploratory Research on the Co-Production of Land Use and Livelihood Change

该奖项是一个项目的三个合作奖项之一，该项目支持来自三所美国大学（西弗吉尼亚大学，南卡罗来纳州大学和俄勒冈州州立大学）的社会科学家与马拉维大学的合作者合作，研究土地利用变化如何促进马拉维的生计系统，反之亦然，这是一个发展中的非洲国家。自然资源是穷人生计系统的重要组成部分。在地球仪各地，人类对这些资源的使用正在迅速增加，但对这如何影响贫穷程度却知之甚少。研究的中心目标是测试的假设，土地利用和生计的变化是共同产生的，也就是说，审议决定有关的两个是同时作出的，而不是在一个？驾驶员反馈正如人们经常建议的那样。研究人员将实施各种方法，包括实地调查，家庭经济建模和地理信息系统。研究成果将包括家庭访谈数据集、土地利用和土地覆盖变化图以及与项目有关的经验证据。的主要假设。美国科学家将通过官方大学联系和个人长期工作关系与外国合作者进行合作。PI和Co-PI将贡献时间在马拉维大学教授课程。这项研究将为多达四名美国大学生提供直接的教育经验，前往马拉维从事科学实地考察。间接地，许多其他学生将受益于四位教授在课堂上展示的视频和项目相关信息。该项目将使决策者了解贫穷和自然资源问题，重点是一个问题的变化如何影响另一个问题的变化。然后，许多发展中国家的决策者在制定战略以缓解贫困、艾滋病和气候变化对当地人口的影响等问题时，可以利用项目成果。

This award is one of three collaborative awards for a project that supports social scientists from three U.S. universities (West Virginia University, the University of South Carolina, and Oregon State University) to partner with collaborators at the University of Malawi to study exactly how land use changes contribute to livelihood systems, and vice-versa, in Malawi, a developing African country. Natural resources are an essential component of the livelihood systems of poor people. Across the globe, human use of such resources is increasing rapidly with very little understanding of how this affects poverty levels. The central objective of the research is to test the hypothesis that land use and livelihood changes are co-produced, that is, deliberative decisions relating to both are made simultaneously, rather than in a ?driver-feedback? manner as has often been suggested. The researchers will implement a diverse range of methods including field-based surveys, household economic modeling, and geographic information systems. The research outcomes will include a dataset of household interviews, maps of land use and land cover change, and empirical evidence relating to the project?s main hypotheses. The U.S. scientists will engage their foreign collaborators through both official university linkages and personal, long-standing, working relationships. The PI and Co-PIs will donate their time to teach courses at the University of Malawi. This research will provide direct educational experience for up to four U.S. university students to travel to Malawi to engage in scientific fieldwork. Indirectly, many other students will benefit from videos and project-related information presented in classes by the four professors. This project will inform policy makers on poverty and natural resources issues, focusing on how change in one affects change in the other. The project outcomes can then be used by policy makers in many developing countries as they develop strategies to alleviate such issues as poverty, AIDS, and the impact of climate changes on local populations.