Showing papers by "Gregory A. Kiker published in 2019"

Scientists and Stakeholders, Data and Diagnostics: Crossing Boundaries for Modeling the Impacts of Highway Paving in a Tri-national Frontier in the Amazon

Abstract: The goal of our project was to evaluate how improvements in road connectivity affect ecological resilience as determined by simulation modeling and global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. We convened a team that spanned multiple types of boundaries, between disciplines, organizations, and countries. Here we feature crossing boundaries between (1) stakeholders and scientists, (2) data personnel and modelers, and (3) modelers and model evaluators. We discuss the challenges we faced and the practices we employed to effectively cross these three types of boundaries and thereby advance our project. This chapter presents a suite of vignettes on the many challenges tied to specific boundaries we crossed, noting whether and how our strategic practices were effective. We conclude with reflections on our experience and lessons learned as they may support future collaborative projects that seek to span divides.

Modeling Gender Inequity in Household Decision-Making

Abstract: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that if female farmers in developing countries had access to the same resources as men, the number of undernourished people would decrease by 12%–17% [9]. Clearly, gender equity is a vital part of increasing agricultural production to feed the world’s projected 9.7 billion people by 2050. However, programs designed to empower women in agricultural systems are expensive, and no quantitative model exists to define and explore the efficacy of policies in cultural contexts. We introduce a formal model of household decisions embedded in an agent-based model of community gender dynamics and show how the explicit definition of gender inequity can help inform decision-making about programs intended to empower women.