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Appendix: Arctic Social Sciences: An Agenda for Action
Pages 19-88

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From page 19...
... A p p e n d i x Arctic Social Science: An Agenda for Action Committee on Arctic Social Sciences Polar Research Board Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C.
From page 20...
... Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the State of Alaska, and the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. Copies available in limited quantity from POLAR RESEARCH BOARD 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
From page 21...
... Burch, Jr., Smithsonian Institution Constance Hunt, University of Calgary; Canadian Institute of Resources Law Robert F Kraus, University of Kentucky Medical Center John Kruse, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage Edna Ahgeak MacLean, State of Alaska Department of Education; University of Alaska Fairbanks Claus-M.
From page 22...
... Middaugh, State Epidemiologist, State of Alaska Ian G Stirling, Canadian Wildlife Service Kevin E
From page 23...
... ARCTIC SOCIAL SCIENCE: AN AGENDA FOR ACTION COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND RESOURCES Norman Hackerman, Robert A Welch Foundation, Chairman George F
From page 24...
... When preparing the Social and Cultural Research chapter of the National Issues report, the Board realized that a separate, longer-range study was needed for the Arctic social sciences. In addition, when reviewing drafts of the Arctic Research Plan, the Board again recognized the lack of a widereaching study to provide further direction for social science research on Arctic topics.
From page 25...
... By involving a range of social scientists in their study, the committee hopes to have encouraged their participation in the further development of Arctic social science research and policy. This study was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the State of Alaska, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
From page 26...
... Involvement of Arctic Residents, 71 5. Cooperative Studies Units, 72 6.
From page 27...
... But the plan provides little direction in establishing research priorities and formulating a focused program for Arctic social science. To solve this problem, the Polar Research Board formed an ad hoc committee on Arctic social sciences and charged this committee with the task of developing a strategy to meet the national need for social science research on Arctic topics; this report presents such a strategy.
From page 28...
... But the realization of this promise is severely limited by constant pressure to allocate limited resources, both financial and human, to applied research, and the absence of adequate mechanisms to link such applied research to the broader basic research issues. The time has come for Arctic social science research to be better integrated into the mainstream of the relevant scientific disciplines.
From page 29...
... . rlverlne communities · Motivation and psychosocial adjustments of the Northern work force · Obstacles to community survival Basic · Relationship between community survival and cultural survival RAPID SOCIAL CHANGE Applied · Patterns of social interaction · Trends in expectations and aspirations · Relationship between social change and physical and mental health Basic · Consequences of social specialization and increased interdependence · Education for participation in a rapidly changing, multicultural world · Cognitive and emotional limits of peoples' ability to cope with rapid change NPS, USFWS, BLM, USES, NOAA MMS, NOAA, BIA, DOT, DOE NSF, NIMH, ADAMHA MMS, USES, NPS, NOAA, NIH, NIMH, ADAMHA, CDC NIH, NIMH, ADAMHA, CDC, NSF, DOD
From page 30...
... Ultimately, the goal is for the NSF to have an established program for Arctic social science with a program manager and budget to develop the research agenda set forth in this report.
From page 31...
... The need for an expanded program of social science research on Arctic topics is well documented. The Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (U.S.
From page 32...
... 82-83~; it goes on to state that more work in these fields is essential and overdue. The report of the 1988 Stockholm meeting on International Cooperation in Arctic Science lists "man and the Arctic environment" as a major programmatic area that would benefit from the development of joint research projects among the Arctic countries (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1988~.
From page 33...
... By reaching out to social scientists and Arctic residents through news releases sent to the major professional society newsletters and Native organizations, the committee has developed an extensive mailing list for review of its workshop discussion paper. The committee held a workshop to provide further opportunity for participation in conjunction with the Arctic Science Conference, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
From page 34...
... These themes are human/environment relationships, community viability, and rapid social change. After a review of existing documents and agency concerns, the committee identified many topics worthy of national attention.
From page 35...
... First, the opportunity for action exists because there is an organizational structure to coordinate Arctic research through the National Research Council's Polar Research Board and the National Science Foundation's Division of Polar Programs, each of which has found it necessary and desirable to broaden its interdisciplinary purview to include social and behavioral sciences. These organizations for interdisciplinary coordination provide an opportunity to expand our models for interdisciplinary research in exciting and potentially useful ways.
From page 36...
... For example, scientists studying the global warming trend hypothesize that the effects of climate change will be magnified in areas above 55° north latitude; the impact of climate change on humans might surface in the Arctic first. The Arctic is an excellent natural laboratory for some types of social science research because the relevant variables can be isolated more easily than in more complex societies.
From page 37...
... While the Committee on Arctic Social Sciences endorses the need for a coordinated research program in these areas, no attempt was made to duplicate the valuable work of these other committees. In response to the mandates of the Arctic Research and Policy Act, the first U.S.
From page 38...
... rapid social change. The three themes are discussed in some detail in the following subsections, each of which covers background, justification for the research initiative, and representative types of research questions to be incorporated into applied and basic research programs as well as opportunities for international cooperation.
From page 39...
... Nevertheless, human communities in the Arctic are highly sensitive to changes in the natural environment. A decline in the abundance of wild animals can prove drastically disruptive to communities oriented to subsistence lifeways.
From page 40...
... The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 furthered this objective. On the one hand, it recognized the hereditary claims of Alaska Native people and attempted to make restitution, but on the other, it expressly crafted the means for both preservation and compensation within the framework of the larger political economy through such institutions as profit and nonprofit corporations and municipal governments.
From page 41...
... Human behavior and social organization, in the aggregate, have emerged as critical determinants of stability and change in the biological and physical systems that together make up the natural environment. Increased human
From page 42...
... Habitat destruction, arising from activities like nonrenewable resource development or the clearcutting of forests, further reduces the carrying capacity of the natural environment for these and other species. In combination, such stresses arising from human activities can, and often do, lead to the extinction of species.
From page 43...
... As part of land claims settlements in northern Quebec and the Mackenzie Delta, local Native people have become involved in groups and committees concerned with environmental impacts, land use planning, and wildlife management. Similarly, land and resource managers in Alaska have involved subsistence users in planning and management.
From page 44...
... A coordinated program of research on methods of resource allocation would be cost effective for all agencies. Further, in the preparation of specific management plans, agencies collect data in specific areas on subsistence use by Native peoples.
From page 45...
... COMMUNITY VIABILITY A second substantive theme for a new research initiative in the social sciences on Arctic topics centers on community viability. Communities in the Arctic tend to be small, to be located in places unconnected by road systems, and to have little conventional industrial basis for local taxation.
From page 46...
... In addition to Native villages, several types of Western communities have developed in the Arctic. Since the mid-nineteenth century the North American Arctic has been reopened up" by a series of rushes: for whales in the western and eastern Arctic, for gold in Sitka, Juneau, the Fortymile, the Klondike in Canada's Yukon Territory, Nome on the Seward Peninsula, and Fairbanks in the interior; for copper at Kennecott in the Wrangell Mountains; for salmon in Bristol Bay and southeastern Alaska; for coal in the Matanuska Valley and Nenana fields; for military efforts in the 1940s to utilize Alaska's strategic location; for timber resources in the Tongass National Forest in the 1950s; and finally for oil and gas on the Kenai Peninsula in the late 1950s and in 1968 at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope.
From page 47...
... In Alaska, over half the population of the state lives in the Anchorage metropolitan area. For permanent employment and education, people tend to migrate from predominantly Native villages and singleindustry permanent communities to subregional and regional diversified service centers.
From page 48...
... Physical infrastructure in Arctic communities is a matter of engineering research and applications as well as economics and government policies relating to subsidies and regulations. In Native villages, there is the added dimension of cultural acceptability and the consequences of rapid social change discussed in the next section of this report.
From page 49...
... The psychology of the sojourner in a novel environment and its implications for success or failure in the relevant task is of importance not only for the American Arctic but also for federal activities generally in view of the increasingly international character of government and development. Throughout the circumpolar Arctic, the non-Native population, like the Native population, experiences the impact of a constellation of stresses.
From page 50...
... Among non-Natives, by contrast, alcohol is significant not only for its addictive properties but also as a means for the economic exploitation and domination of Native cultures in an Arctic tradition going back to fur traders in the eighteenth century. Today Native villages throughout Alaska are seeking to empower themselves individually and collectively, spiritually and politically to deal effectively with the alcohol problems.
From page 51...
... Most recently, in the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984, Congress declared that Arctic energy resources should be developed to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and to improve the national balance of payments; that the Arctic is critical to national defense; and that Arctic fisheries represent one of the nation's greatest commercial assets. The pursuit of these goals requires a work force in the Arctic, and this work force must be organized into various types of communities.
From page 52...
... government to fulfill its statutory obligations and achieve its objectives relating to energy, defense, and fisheries development in the Arctic, research is needed on community viability. Research needed to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
From page 53...
... What happens when community expectations exceed the capability to support local infrastructure, such as electricity introduced into a village by the state purchasing a generator when people are unable to pay the electric bills to operate and maintain the system? From a cultural perspective, how does a distinct cultural group identify those elements of their culture that are necessary to sustain them as a cohesive community in the midst of rapid social change?
From page 54...
... Several international groups, including the United Nations, are concerned with the survival of indigenous people throughout the world. RAPID SOCIAL CHANGE Rapid social change in the Arctic constitutes the third research initiative the committee recommends for sustained support.
From page 55...
... What is unusual about the Arctic in these terms is that these developments began later in the Arctic than in most other regions. Social change that took centuries in other parts of the world were compressed into just a few generations in the Arctic.
From page 56...
... ; increasing involvement in state and national political processes; Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and the formation of regional corporations; increasing involvement of federal and state governments in village affairs; and electrification of villages and introduction of television and telephones in villages.
From page 57...
... Rapid social change in the Arctic is often instigated and controlled by institutions with primary constituencies located outside the Arctic and regarding the Arctic as a colony. These institutions commonly have organizational structures and methods of decision making that conflict with those of traditional Native institutions.
From page 58...
... Justification for Research A host of variables and relationships among these variables are important as determinants of both the timing and the trajectory of rapid social change in the Arctic. Some of these relationships are relatively well understood as a result of research sponsored by, among others, the Minerals Management Service (MMS)
From page 59...
... Stress phenomena and related pathologies are often associated with processes of rapid social change. But this is by no means uniform or inevitable.
From page 60...
... Because social change in the North has proceeded in an unusually rapid and disruptive fashion, the Arctic provides an opportunity for the analysis of three of the most fundamental and generic concerns associated with rapid social change throughout the world: The more specialized social units become, the more interdependent they become. Greater interdependence increases the need for effective coordination and control of activities within units and between units.
From page 61...
... Opportunities for International Cooperation Since rapid social change is a worldwide phenomenon, the research initiative recommended here lends itself to inclusion in a more comprehensive program of comparative research. Insights derived from studies conducted in a wide range of specific settings could assist social scientists in formulating more powerful generalizations and evaluating the efficacy of alternative responses to rapid social change.
From page 62...
... LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT RESEARCH In the past decade or two, most Arctic social science has taken the form of applied research funded by mission-oriented federal and state of Alaska agencies. Without doubt, the Minerals Management Service (MMS)
From page 63...
... The MMS, for example, has produced more than 130 technical reports in its Alaskan Social and Economic Studies Program. The committee nevertheless has identified serious limitations in Arctic social science research: 1.
From page 64...
... These target groups understandably place a higher value on research with immediate benefits to themselves than on research that contributes to the larger body of knowledge regarding human behavior. Nonetheless, isolation of Arctic social science is already beginning to break down.
From page 65...
... Recommendation 1: Designated Lead Federal Agency The National Science Foundation should accept responsibility as the designated lead federal agency for Arctic social science research and undertake the tasks necessary to create and sustain an effective commu nity of social scientists working on the Arctic. Social scientists can learn from the experience of biologists and physical scientists who have formed an effective scientific community in the Arctic.
From page 66...
... As the lead agency, the NSF should encourage the development of a more effective partnership between natural scientists and social scientists interested in the Arctic. The need for such a partnership is spelled out in some detail in our discussion of human/environment relationships.
From page 67...
... , research dealing with choice and allocation constitutes a particularly promising area for basic social science research. Advances in basic research in this area would clearly be relevant to the concerns of agencies responsible for the allocation of scarce natural resources and environmental
From page 68...
... A variety of mechanisms could be used to include appropriate Alaska state agencies in task force activities. Recommendation 3: Education and Training The lead agency for Arctic social science research, acting either alone or in collaboration with other agencies, should establish a program of training grants to encourage young social scientists to work in or on the Arctic and to assist established social scientists to acquire skills needed for work in this field.
From page 69...
... Whether intentional or not, the current situation sends a signal to behavioral and social scientists that there is not much future in choosing Arctic research as a major field of scholarly interest.
From page 70...
... Other ACUNS-initiated activities that promote training and education include the convening of a conference for students doing research on Arctic topics and the annual presentation of the Polar Studies Undergraduate Medal for Canada for the best undergraduate thesis submitted to a national selection committee. In addition to a program to provide funding for students, federal and state agencies should be encouraged to provide training opportunities.
From page 71...
... While most of them have little access to comparative data on Arctic social systems or ecosystems, many Arctic residents possess a wealth of knowledge on the evolution of Arctic social systems and ecosystems over long periods of time. Under the circumstances, there is a compelling case for outside scientists and local residents to form research alliances as equal partners.
From page 72...
... These discussions should be undertaken with the intention of creating an ongoing mechanism perceived as mutually beneficial to outside scientists and to permanent residents of the Arctic. Recommendation 5: Cooperative Studies Units Each mission-oriented agency with Arctic responsibilities or interests should conduct a study to determine both the feasibility and the desirability of establishing cooperative studies units dedicated to social science research in and on the Arctic.
From page 73...
... Some of the studies produced by the units would be published in refereed journals, making them a part of the enduring scientific literature on the Arctic. Recommendation 6: Research Ethics The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, in consultation with the Arctic Research Commission, should develop a document concern ing research ethics for all scientists working in the Arctic or using Arctic data.
From page 74...
... Such a statement should be developed by the NSF in consultation with the Arctic Research Commission with significant input from the permanent residents of the Arctic, and ultimately approved and promulgated by the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee. Recommendation 7: Data and Information The lead agency for Arctic social science research should sponsor a series of workshops and other steps that bring together producers and users of databases to maximize the usefulness of Arctic data sets for scientific research and to ensure access to these data in a timely and cost effective manner.
From page 75...
... These data sets often leave much to be desired as resources for social scientists working on Arctic topics. Categories and measurement procedures are often better suited to southern, industrial settings than to the mixed, subsistence-oriented economies of the Arctic.
From page 76...
... The data and information needs of social scientists working on Arctic topics cannot be met through the development of specialized Arctic databases that are responsive primarily to the needs of commercial development in the Arctic or that rely heavily on expensive technologies (for example, optical disk storage)
From page 77...
... These types of activities can take place on a useful scale with the assistance of an Arctic social science program manager in NSF to identify opportunities, initiate potential collaborative arrangements, and facilitate and negotiate agreements. While the current emphasis in international cooperation in the Arctic is on US/USSR relationships, the committee believes that there may be an even greater "payoff" from developing collaborative relationships with Canadian social scientists.
From page 78...
... as lead federal agency with a mandate to establish a broadgauged program with a program manager and budget to promote the research agenda set forth in this report; and (2) the establishment of a task force composed of social scientists from all federal agencies with Arctic responsibilities or interests to act as a vehicle for the interagency coordination of Arctic social science research.
From page 79...
... Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa. Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC)
From page 80...
... July 31, 1984. Arctic Research and Policy Act.
From page 81...
... AR CTI C SO CIAL SCIENCE: AN A GENDA FOR A CTI ON Appendix Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 81
From page 82...
... Policy Act of 1984".
From page 83...
... to designate the National Science Foundation as the lead agency responsible for implementing Arctic research policy, and (4) to establish an Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee to develop a national Arctic research policy and a five year plan to Implement that policy.
From page 84...
... develop and recommend an integrated national Arctic research policy; (2) in cooperation with the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee established under section 107, assist in establishing a national Arctic research program plan to implement the Arctic research policy;
From page 85...
... suggest methods for improving efficient sharing and din semination of data and information on the Arctic among interested public and private institutions; (7) offer other recommendations and advice to the Interagency Committee established under section 107 as it may find appr.opmate; and (8)
From page 86...
... Es~bl~shmen ~(bX1) The President shall establish an Interagency Arctic Rev search Policy Committee (hereinafter referred to as the .'Inter agency Committee")
From page 87...
... (a) The Interagency Committee, in consultation with the 1O use 4108 Commission, the Governor of the State of Alaska, the residents of the Arctic, the private sector, and public interest groups, shall prepare a comprehensive Year program plan (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan")
From page 88...
... a description of the actions taken by the Interagency Committee to coordinate the budget review process in order to ensure interagency coordination and cooperation in (A) carrying out Federal Arctic research programs, and (B.)


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