Kevin Jones, PhD, MA, BSocSc
Contact
Associate Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Deans Office
- kjones4@ualberta.ca
- Address
-
General Services Building
9007 - 116 St NWEdmonton ABT6G 2H1
- k.e.jones@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Public Engagement with Science; Risk Governance; Governance Change; Collaborative City-Building; Scholarship of Engagement
About
Dr. Kevin Jones is Associate Professor of Community Engagement and Public Policy.
Dr. Jones is an interdisciplinary social scientist researching adaptations to the social and environmental challenges which increasingly define today’s world. His research explores pathways to transformative change focusing on processes of institutional and governance innovation. A central element of this work involves the role of public expertise and citizenship engagement as prompts for reflexivity and for opening-up risk issues to more robust governance approaches. Dr. Jones is the ALES co-chair of the University's Environmental Studies program: https://www.ualberta.ca/agriculture-life-environment-sciences/programs/undergraduate-programs/degree-programs/environmental-studies/index.html
Research
Below is a brief overview of Dr. Jones's current research interests and activities. Further information can be found on his Research Gate and Google Scholar profile pages.
Scholarly Areas of Research:
- Science and Technology Studies, Public Understanding of Science
- Sociology of Risk and the Environment
- Urban Sustainability and Inclusion
- Public Engagement and Participatory Governance
- Institutional Adaptation and Policy Change
Current Research Focus:
- Urban agriculture, community gardens and the politics of food security.
- A study of craft development as an alternate for community development and sustainable place-making.
- A study of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), environmental change and community participation (W/ Davidson and Stewart).
- A study of new farmers joining the agricultural community in relation to small scale, locally oriented and sustainable farming practices (W/ Beckie and Young Agrarians).
Some sample publications are included below.
Teaching
Graduate Supervision
Dr. Jones is currently supervising graduate students working on topics including: urban sustainability; participatory urbanism; urban agriculture and community gardening; and citizen engagement in environmental governance. Alongside supervisory activities in REES, Dr. Jones accepts graduate students enrolled in the Master of Arts Community Engagement (MACE) program within the School of Public Health.If you are interested in working with Dr. Jones in your own graduate studies please feel free to send inquiries by email.
Courses
MACE 597 - Topics in Community Engagement
An elective course on selected topics in community engagement.
R SOC 375 - Public Participation and Conflict Resolution
The anatomy of environmental and resource management conflict is examined through a lens of critical sociological theory and deliberative democracy. Focusing on contemporary case studies of conflict in energy production, forestry, conservation and protected areas management, social practices and strategies for conflict resolution are explored. Prerequisite: 54 units or consent of instructor.
R SOC 450 - Environmental Sociology
Introduction to a field in sociological inquiry that addresses how individuals and groups influence, and are influenced by, natural resources and environmental conditions. Examination of individual-level influences, such as beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as broader social-level influences at the institutional and organizational level. Focus is on providing an understanding and appreciation for the interaction between human attitudes, behaviors, and organizations with other components of the ecosystem. Prerequisite: 60 units or more. An introductory Sociology course is strongly recommended.
R SOC 551 - Engagement and Public Policy
Public engagement has become increasingly prevalent within contemporary democratic systems of government. This course explores the rationales behind the growth of engagement, and critically examines evolving practice and institutional uptake. An important theme of the course involves and examination of the degree to which citizen engagement contributes to policy and governance adaptation, particularly in response to calls for governance innovations in the face of complex and persistent policy challenges (for instance as related to sustainability or social justice).
R SOC 555 - Advances in Environmental Sociology
In-depth examination of a select set of current theoretical and empirical areas in the sub-discipline of environmental sociology. Examines the relationships among various environmental and social problems and how such problems and undesirable conditions can be and are being addressed. Prerequisite: R SOC 450.
R SOC 650 - Environmental Sociology
Introduction to a field in sociological inquiry that addresses how individuals and groups influence, and are influenced by, natural resources and environmental conditions. Examination of individual-level influences, such as beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as broader social-level influences at the institutional and organizational level. Focus is on providing an understanding and appreciation for the interaction between human attitudes, behaviors, and organizations with other components of the ecosystem. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Not to be taken if credit received for R SOC 450
R SOC 675 - Public Participation and Conflict Resolution
The anatomy of environmental and resource management conflict is examined through a lens of critical sociological theory and deliberative democracy. Focusing on contemporary case studies of conflict in energy production, forestry, conservation and protected areas management, social practices and strategies for conflict resolution are explored. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Not to be taken if credit received for R SOC 375.
Featured Publications
Jones KE, Van Assche K and Parkins J
Local Environment. 2021 June; 26 (7):908-920 10.1080/13549839.2021.1939289
Shields R and Jones KE
Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research. 2020 October; 10.1080/13511610.2020.1822154
Granzow M and Jones KE
Local Environment. 2020 April; 25 (5):381-396 10.1080/13549839.2020.1753666
Jones KE, Granzow M and Shields R
Urban Studies. 2019 March; 56 (4):705-721 10.1177/0042098017719191
Macmahon E, Granzow M and Jones KE
2016 November; 7 (1):92-103 10.17742/IMAGE.NBW.7-1.7
Davidson D, Jones KE and Parkins J
Agriculture and Human Values. 2016 June; 33 (2):359-371 10.1007/s10460-015-9609-8
Jones KE, Lord A, and Shields R
MQUP. 2015 November;
Jones KE and Davidson D
Food Policy. 2014 December; 49 (1):250-258 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.09.003
Irwin A, Jensen T and Jones KE
Social Studies of Science. 2013 February; 43 (1):118-135 10.1177/0306312712462461