Andrew Campbell

Title of Work: 

Resource Policy in the Face of Climate Change and Linguistic and Intercultural Observations: Insights from a Research Experience in Ecuador

Abstract:

This work presents insights acquired through a research internship facilitated by Northern Arizona University’s Interdisciplinary Global Program, in partnership with Universidad San Francisco de Quito. The research encompasses an extensive literature review examining the interconnections among water, energy, and food resources from socio-political and economic perspectives within Latin America and the Caribbean, with the goal of informing decision-making and advancing sustainable climate solutions. Additionally, the research includes an analysis of linguistic and intercultural insights gained during the internship, highlighting the influence of indigenous language and culture, power distance, and socioeconomic disparities on sociolinguistic and cultural frameworks. Reflections on navigating a collectivist culture, in contrast to the home culture, are also discussed, providing meaningful lessons in intercultural adaptation. 

Title of Work (Global Language):  

La Política Recursaria ante el Cambio Climático y Observaciones Lingüísticas e Interculturales: Perspectivas desde una Práctica Profesional en Ecuador

Abstract (Global Language):

Este trabajo se enfoca en las observaciones y conocimientos adquiridos durante una práctica profesional proporcionada por el Programa Global Interdisciplinario de la Universidad del Norte de Arizona, en colaboración con la Universidad San Francisco de Quito. En esta investigación se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sobre las interdependencias entre los recursos de agua, energía y alimentos, desde enfoques socio-políticos y económicos en el contexto de América Latina y el Caribe lo cual pretende informar la toma de decisiones y el desarrollo de soluciones sostenibles ante el cambio climático. Además, se realiza un análisis de observaciones lingüísticas e interculturales adquiridas durante la práctica. Se resalta cómo la lengua,  la cultura indígena y los factores como la distancia de poder y la disparidad socioeconómica influyen en los rasgos sociolingüísticos y en aspectos culturales. También, se destacan las lecciones aprendidas al adaptarse a una cultura más colectivista en comparación con la cultura de origen. 

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript: 

0:01- Hey everybody, I'm Andy, and with IGP, I'm studying environmental and sustainability studies in Spanish. I had the awesome opportunity to spend all of last year in Ecuador, Studying at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and here I have some pictures of the campus and the view of Cotopaxi from my neighborhood.

0:18- is an amazing place, especially for someone who loves nature and the outdoors and wildlife like I do, which is also why I'm studying environmental and sustainability studies.

0:33- Ecuador is just awesome with how biodiverse it is. With the Amazon, the Andes Mountains and even the Galapagos

0:44- So it's kind of funny that since I got to school, even though I was so interested in wildlife and nature, I ended up focusing way more on the social-political side of environmental studies, focusing more on policy,  activism and sustainable development. And that's kind of where my,, internship was. So the main idea of my internship is what's called the water-energy food nexus.

1:08- Specifically, I conducted a literature view,  focusing on this framework in,, Latin America  and the Caribbean, um, in the face of climate change, Latin America.

1:18- Um, and yeah, just to explain to you guys super quick, the way I like to explain what the water energy food nexus is, is a framework for decision making in which you take into account.

1:27- all of the interdependencies between the three most critical resources, which are water energy, and food.

1:33- So obviously for basic human needs, you need all three of these things on their own, but  they're interdependent. So for example, um, you need water to be able to produce food, and you need water, is  to produce energy, especially using hydroelectric.

1:49- But then, at the same time you need energy to be able to process and distribute water and you need energy to be able to harvest crops and produce food.

1:58- So what happens is if one of these resources become stressed, such as water, especially what we're seeing in Latin America and the Caribbean now is with drought.

2:05- all of a sudden you have resource insecurity across the board, which in the case, especially in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean directly results in economic, social,  and political insecurity.

2:19- Which is a, hot button issue for the region, as it would be anywhere. The  best example I can give you guys is right now, and  actually, even when I was down in Ecuador, I saw just the beginning of an energy crisis because Ecuador is hyper-dependent on,  hydroelectricity for

2:38- power generation and that's caused a lot of issues, um, down the road, uh, with both people not being able to keep their businesses open, the government becomes limited in its ability to function.

2:50- Um, so it's really important to understand these interrelationships. 

An awesome thing about my internship, um, I made my own schedule, so I worked out of my house.

2:59- Here I am. This is the house that I worked out of if I had power and Wi-Fi. but then with that flexibility, I was able to go camping every weekend, so that was really awesome.

3:08- Again, with that flexibility, I got to spend a lot of time outside of academic context, outside of the classroom, and so you'll see the way I speak Spanish, is definitely different than other people, and , I think that was an awesome opportunity that I wasn't expecting.

3:23- But yeah, that's one I'm going to talk about in my presentation. I hope you guys come. Bye. Bye

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