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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
SHSS Faculty and Students Travel and Study in Ecuador
Elena Bastidas, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (DCAR) in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) and fourteen graduate students from the department traveled to Ecuador during the summer as part of an Advanced Practicum course. The courses focused on conflict management and resolution in the context of international development.
While in Ecuador, the group visited development projects located in the Coastal, Andean, and Amazon Regions. In these different ecosystems, students had the opportunity to interact with local farmers, community groups, local organizations, and policy-makers. Using a livelihood systems approach, students explored the relationship between individuals, households, communities and ecosystems in order to improve understanding of the diversity in these systems and its implications for social and economic development and conflict issues. The host university in Ecuador was Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), in Guayaquil.
Advanced Practicum is an opportunity for students to work on projects with a faculty member in the area of the faculty member’s specialty. Other areas that Bastidas specializes in include economics, conservation and development, gender and development, development of appropriate technology for small farmers, livelihood systems, and quantitative methods.