Kate Sherren

Landscapes - People - Global change

Category: Work with me (Page 1 of 5)

Recruiting a PDF for WEFT

August 30, 2024 /

As Transforming Climate Action (TCA) lines up on the runway for takeoff, Ian Stewart and I are recruiting for a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) to take on a lead role in our work package of TranSECT (Transformative adaptations to Social-Ecological Climate change Trajectories), one of the Large Research Projects in TCA. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated PDF with broad interests in applied work on the epistemic challenges of interdisciplinary integration in social-ecological systems (SES) research. In work package WEFT (Weaving expertise for transformation), this post-doctoral research position will engage in both field work and theoretical reflection on case studies emerging within the larger research project TranSECT (Transformative adaptations to Social-Ecological Climate change Trajectories) whose focus is on studying climate change adaptations through a case-study approach in communities throughout the Maritime provinces and eastern Quebec. TranSECT is a collaboration between Dalhousie University, University of Quebec at Rimouski, and the University of Laval (see below for a diagram of the project structure). The full job ad for the role can be found here.

WEFT is the ‘reflexive’ moment within TranSECT. The successful candidate for this PDF will be inspired to dig deeper into climate change adaptation challenges at the coastal community level studied by TranSECT case studies, and be able to work alongside discipline-focused researchers across STEM, social science, health and humanities fields. They will have a drive to draw on their background in an array of disciplines and fields that support and inspire SES as boundary objects, likely using qualitative inter-and transdisciplinary methods. Relevant backgrounds could include Science and Technology Studies/History Philosophy and/or Sociology of Science, Anthropology, Human Geography, Sustainability Studies and/or Cognitive Science, but this is not an exhaustive list.

There is a two-stage application process described in the job ad. Pre-submission enquiries are welcome where potential applicants have specific questions. Review of applications will begin on Oct 1, 2024, and the successful candidate could start as early as January 2025. Open until filled.

The structure of TranSECT; WEFT is work package 5.4

Recruiting MES for fall 2022 – Understanding ecosystem service trade-offs

July 6, 2022 /

**Note: this position is now filled**  We are currently recruiting the last student position for NSERC ResNet’s Bay of Fundy landscape case study, to enroll in an MES at Dalhousie’s SRES starting in September 2022 . The student will be helping us integrate some of the primary research done and underway about ecosystem service delivery from historic dykelands and tidal wetlands in the Bay of Fundy area, to help us understand the trade-offs represented by decisions to modernize the system in the face of climate change. We expect the student to deploy Bayesian Belief Networks in doing this, so a  student who has strong quantitative skills is sought, as well as someone with interests in ecosystem services and social ecological systems. Read more about the position here, and if you are interested please make an enquiry or an application as described there. Note that the short timelines mean that we are looking for Canadian citizens or permanent residents to apply. There is a full funding package on offer, and a vibrant community of students, partners and international experts to join.

Recruiting a postdoc for ResNet

May 17, 2021 /

ResNet is up and running, and the primary research outcomes are starting to roll in from our Bay of Fundy dykeland landscape case study. It is thus time to recruit a postdoctoral fellow to help us integrate that work and start bringing it together into a modelling context so that we can better understand the ecosystem service implications of decisions such as dyke reinforcement or dyke realignment and salt marsh restoration, and for which beneficiaries. We are currently accepting applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellow in the field of Integrating, modelling, and translating the ecosystem services implications of land use on the Bay of Fundy coast, starting September 2021 or as soon as possible after that. Please see the full job ad here: ResNet L1PDF1 postdoc advertisement. We will start reviewing applications on July 1, 2021, so if you want to be in that first phase of review, please submit your materials by midnight Atlantic time, June 30, 2021. But the job is open until filled.

Recruiting for an OGEN PhD fellow in SIA/culturomics

January 6, 2021 /

Several colleagues and I are excited to offer a lucrative PhD fellowship within the Tier 1 Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN), in collaboration with Canada’s National Research Council, with the topic of Understanding social license for nature-based coastal adaptation: a longitudinal culturomic approach. The successful candidate will be expected to enroll in Dalhousie’s Interdisciplinary PhD program (IDPhD) by Fall 2021, working with the team listed here, with funding of CAD$44,444 p.a. for up to 4.5 years. The project sits at the intersection of nature-based coastal adaptation, landscape culturomics, marine spatial planning, and social impact assessment/social license.  We are now inviting applications for this fellowship, with first-round application review starting January 30th; later applications will be part of further review, if required, until filled.

Community members see and experience their landscapes in complex ways that shape how they perceive new options for coastal flood risk management. The political will to implement nature-based options will falter if the social dimensions of such options are not given equivalent attention to the technical dimensions. The student will take a longitudinal approach to understand trajectories of local experience and support over the course of a nature-based adaptation project such as coastal wetland restoration, using secondary datasets such as social and conventional media. The objectives will be both to develop and pilot replicable methods for understanding the social dimensions of nature-based systems implementation, and assist NRC in deepening its capacity for integrating social sciences and humanities scholarship in its own research projects. The research undertaken will thus also contribute knowledge applicable to the growing interdisciplinary challenges of building and sustaining climate-change resilient socio-ecological coastal systems.

The successful candidate will:

  • Enroll in Dalhousie’s IDPhD program by September 2021, which has minimum entry requirements of A- (3.7) GPA at the senior undergraduate and graduate degree level, and IELTS requirement of 7.5 (or equivalent).
  • The position will be suitable for a student with previous degrees in social science disciplines or interdisciplinary studies that include social science, and will have had some exposure to interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary research programs. Disciplines include, but are not limited to, social geography, planning, information science, sociology and cultural anthropology, environmental studies, natural resources management, marine studies, among others.
  • Students will be skilled in social science research methods, and ideally have experience in social impact assessment or social license research.
  • Experience with IT including programming and systems work is an asset, but is not required, as the increased sophistication and usability of machine learning tools means leveraging this technology is a teachable skill.
  • Success in writing of peer-reviewed journal articles (in English).

We are eager to diversify our team through this recruitment, so particularly invite applications from people whose identity or circumstances puts them in a position of being underserved in the academic context. Applications should be sent to me at kate.sherren@dal.ca including the following in the order shown in a single PDF, with the subject line ‘OGEN application [SURNAME]’:

  • A letter of interest (maximum two pages) that describes your background, your interest in the project, and your qualifications and capacity to carry it out effectively.
  • Names and contact details for three potential referees.
  • A c. v. (curriculum vitae)
  • Unofficial transcripts from undergraduate and graduate study

The full job ad can be read here.

MES opportunity for fall 2020 or 2021

June 16, 2020 /

** This position has now been filled **

I am still looking for an MES student to work on Mi’kmaw cultural ecosystem services in Bay of Fundy dykelands and salt marshes, starting either fall 2020 or 2021. This will explore how Mi’kmaq use and value the drained agricultural land (dykelands) and the salt marshes they replaced (and to which sections will return if abandoned or realigned). This student will become part of the Atlantic landscape case of NSERC ResNet, a national collaborative project designed to develop the utility of ecosystems service approaches for resolving complex resource decisions. Candidates should be socially curious, ideally trained in social science fields (e.g. first degrees in Geography, Environmental Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Planning, etc.) and interested in qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, ethnography, photo or map elicitation, etc. First Nation students are particularly encouraged to apply for this, but all applications are welcome. Our partner, Mi’kmaw Conservation Group, is offering the opportunity to embed within their organization to improve community integration, regardless of background. Email me if you are interested.

« Older posts

© 2025 Kate Sherren

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑