Hummingbird604.com » academic life

Managing yourself: Do something every day that moves you forward

Raul — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:19:42 +0000

Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
- Marilyn vos Savant

One of the things I have learned about life is that it often throws you a curve ball and that you just sometimes need to roll with it. A couple of days ago, I couldn’t feel stronger. I felt on top of the world. And yesterday, despite all the work I had to do, I felt that I wasn’t myself. I felt exhausted, tired and sleep-deprived.

And then I remembered something I learned years ago. Something that my parents taught me that has kept me going: do something every day that moves you forward. This lesson is particularly valuable for someone who works in academia, like me. Most academic coaches will tell you (particularly if you are a young, up-and-coming, rising star, or if you have to juggle several projects in a portfolio-style kind of academic/consulting life) that you need to write EVERY DAY. Even if for 15 minutes, write every day.

I’ve kept my parents advice to heart and even though yesterday I felt crappy, I did the things that I had to do to move me forward. I wrote, reviewed research materials, read, had meetings with students and my teaching assistant. And then I took some time off to recharge. All of these things, whether I read 20 articles or I read one, have been things that move me forward. It’s not the number of articles I have read, it’s the fact that EVERY DAY I read.

It’s the fact that, every day, I do something (even if it’s small) to move me forward. That’s what needs to be done to get the work done.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
- Booker T. Washington

On being driven…

Raul — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:45:00 +0000

I am at an incredible point in my personal life and academic career. I am enjoying my research, I have a fantastic research team (incredibly smart, motivated, confident, independent and self-starter students, and bright colleagues and collaborators), I have a wonderful teaching assistant and my research trajectory is flourishing. I have never felt more confident. Or at least, I can’t remember feeling this way. But the great thing is – it’s all associated with my professional life. I really couldn’t care less about my personal blog right now. Of course I write, of course I get pitched and write occasionally on projects I’m interested. But because of the workload I have in my academic life, right now blogging on here takes a fourth or fifth priority. And I’m giving myself again permission to do that. I’m blogging less because I’m writing academic stuff more.

And it feels glorious… I have never felt more driven.

Improving the conditions of your academic travel

Raul — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:45:08 +0000

One of the things I do when I travel is prepare lectures, or simply read scholarly journal articles or books associated with my academic life. Long-distance travel (usually when I go to Victoria by ferry or when I fly anywhere, either for a scholarly trip or for a media trip that has usually an associated academic component) is probably the only uninterrupted period of time.

1. Choose your seat strategically. Because I’m not a fan of long trips themselves, and because I travel by air so frequently, I have found that choosing the right seat can definitely help you accomplish more work. It’s one of a few tricks that work for me and help me accomplish some of my academic work while on the air. Because I’m 5’11 and I have long legs, I need A LOT of leg room. We all know that planes aren’t giving more leg room, so what I do is I choose the seat that is near to the emergency exit row. One of the seats is always moved forward a little bit (as shown here) and I make sure to (whenever I can) choose it and book online.

2. Bring with you a light blanket, and a light sweater. I am always cold, and we all know that air conditioning in planes tends to be really cold, sometimes. So what I do is I buy one of the small, light blankets that the airline itself provides (I bought a few years ago, so I just bring one with me every trip) and pack it along with a light sweater (I usually bring a V neck sweater that Minna, Jay and John from The Network Hub gave me for Christmas last year – warm and light at the same time). Both items fit in my laptop bag and they don’t increase the weight by much. And I can usually snuggle and read journal articles while staying warm.

3. Make sure to bring the light laptop (or a tablet). This is a lesson I learned recently. I used to have a heavy, 17″ ACER laptop that weighed a lot (and because of the battery dying, it was pretty much impossible to use it while I was travelling). Now, Air Canada has recently implemented power outlets in the seats (which I find completely awesome), and that enables me to travel with a dead-battery-power-outlet-only laptop.

At the time when I bought the previous ACER I did not realize that it would be a pain to travel with it (because it had a large screen, I thought to myself “yay! more space to write academic articles!”. Uh. Not a smart idea. The next laptop I bought (another ACER, indeed) is very light and I can prepare lecture slides, presentation/talk slides or write academic manuscripts in it even within the cramped area of a plane. I also use my HP TouchPad, quite often, to make notes and/or read PDF journal articles.

Whatever I bring (laptop or tablet) I make sure that I seat where I just told you (this reminds me of an article by my friend Alexandra Samuel who mentioned that she worried that the guy in front of her would break her laptop by pushing the seat to the back (what I do is I sit where there’s nobody else who will push their seat backwards). Protecting my laptop IS a priority.

4. Bring healthy snacks and beverages with you. I have noticed that, regardless of which airline I travel (and most airlines will NOT offer any meals at all, unless you purchase them), I almost never like what they offer. So before I get on the plane, right before, I buy a bottle of water (I know, I feel the guilt already!) or a soft drink or juice, and a sandwich. I also buy snack bars. This enables me to stay hydrated and well-fed while travelling instead of feeling like I want to pass out.

5. Bring an ergonomic travel pillow. You may be like my Mom, who can’t sleep on planes. But I can, and I am blessed by that. So, I take advantage of this opportunity by always bringing with me a neck-fitted, ergonomic travel pillow. If you sleep on the plane, that talk you have to give as soon as you arrive to the meeting (and trust me, it has happened to me) will go much more smoothly.

Enabling academic work through cloud computing

Raul — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:41:52 +0000

Graph credit: Bobbi Newman (Librarian by Day) on Flickr.

Amazingly, someone who never used to be a big believer of cloud computing (you would see me bringing my USB sticks everywhere, or in old, ancient times, 3.5″ floppy disks) is now a full-on convert. For the past 2-3 years I have executed projects in the social media space that have required me to make use of collaborative tools. To this day, I’m still not a fan of wikis (except I do use them in my teaching at UBC).

But the two tools I find myself using for my academic work more and more are Google Docs and Dropbox. Dropbox has saved the day a few times not only for my teaching (I save my lecture slides, graphics and other data on Dropbox), but also my academic research (I collaborate with my students by saving academic journal articles in PDF format and sharing them with my colleagues and students). I also co-write journal article manuscripts by either co-editing online at the same time on Google Documents or saving draft after draft in Dropbox.

I find that more and more, I make use of cloud computing, and while I expected I would use it in my consulting work, it’s the positive impact it’s having on my academic life that has me completely surprised.

Open Access Week 2011

Raul — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:59:30 +0000

I was torn between blogging about this here or on my research blog, but I figured it would get much more exposure here. As an academic who blogs (and who often gets mistaken as ‘just a blogger’), enabling broad, wide access to my scholarship has been a tenet of my teaching and research strategies. I actively use social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook) as tools to widely disseminate my research findings and strengthen my teaching. I publish an academic-focused research blog, I write blog posts for my courses at UBC.

I also design my courses in such a way that accessing readings is both free and easy as often as possible (e.g. I actively seek open-access journals/books). Furthermore, I actively participate on the editorial board of an Open Access journal (Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy) and I do peer-reviews for open-access journals. I strongly believe that while copyright was designed to protect the misappropriation of intellectual property and (in the case of the arts) ensure that artists are paid fairly for their art, it’s been misused to make people believe that open access is bad.

The Point Grill (UBC Point Grey campus)

Raul — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:00:38 +0000

While I was a graduate student at UBC, and even as a faculty member, the usual “high-end” bistro for me (or anyone on campus) to take colleagues, visitors and family members for lunch or dinner used to be Sage Bistro, at the University Centre. While not entirely super “high-end”, The Point Grill is a good, higher-end alternative to quick grub on campus.

Welcome to The Point Grill, UBC’s newest innovative upscale casual dining restaurant with exceptional cuisine, beautiful and stylish decor, and cheerful service in a relaxed lounge style environment. We are located in the heart of Marine Drive residence, open Monday through Sunday, and feature a Sunday brunch service. The restaurant is equipped with High Definition TV’s and full bar service featuring draft beer, bottled beer with both local and imported beer, coolers, wine and mixed drinks and cocktails. For your added convenience, we also offer a quick service to-go counter for those in a hurry.

Recently, my best friend took me for lunch to The Point Grill in celebration of my birthday. His partner joined us on a rare lunch for the three of us (they have a little 2 year old girl so I’m sure the times for them to have adult gatherings are few and far between – and his partner has always been like a sister to me, so it was a very nice gathering of people I’m very close to). And of course, he is (like me) an academic (and a professor).

I ordered a Chicken with Kale and Spicy Rice entree ($15) which was very good. The service was great and more than anything, it felt nice to have an opportunity to eat at a locale on campus that is more on the higher end of the scale. The menu is quite varied and the food is very tasty.

I will definitely be back, sooner probably than I think, because it looks like it’s pretty much the only good option after dinner on a Sunday!

Disclosure: HZ paid for our lunches on his own dime. Despite the fact that I teach at UBC, this review is completely unbiased as I have no financial or otherwise stake on UBC Food Services operations.

3 reasons for teaching

Raul — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:30:03 +0000

These are by no means MY own reasons, but I find it funny how the stereotype is that we (educators/teachers/professors) have holidays during the summer. In fact, we don’t. For me, the summer season is when I get to do most of the fieldwork for my research projects. For others, it may be a holiday, but for me it isn’t. Still, I love this and that’s why I had to blog it.

The Dorchester Hotel [Best Western] (Nanaimo, BC)

Raul — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:00:33 +0000

I always have a soft spot for boutique hotels. For the most part, they don’t pretend to be the high-end, upscale resorts, yet they are always equipped nicely for a comfortable stay. I have nothing but words of praise for The Dorchester Hotel (member of the Best Western chain of hotels).

I arrived there tired from almost 2 weeks of writing and travelling and I found a really clean room, very, very spacious (actually I think substantially more spacious than the Grand Pacific Hotel I stayed in for JT’s birthday in November 2010).

I was particularly impressed with the distribution and separation of rooms (the living room could very well hold a small meeting if you were on a business trip) and the very spacious separate bedroom in within the suite. While the Dorchester Hotel doesn’t have in-suite kitchen, they do have a small fridge, kettle for tea and a coffee maker.

And lots of space to work, as well as a separate desk area with lots of power plugs. The internet is free and rather strong, so it’s very good to spend a full day writing, as I did.

Overall, it was a fantastic hotel to stay in, and I have nothing but words of praise for the staff. While I didn’t get to check the restaurant on site, I’ve been told it’s pretty good. And the great thing about the Dorchester Hotel is that it is very close to the Nanaimo Old Quarter and downtown core and harbour areas. I will definitely recommend it.

Disclosure: My stay at the Best Western Dorchester Hotel in Nanaimo was sponsored very generously by the hotel as part of my recent Vancouver Island writing retreat (which included stops in Victoria, Courtenay/Comox, Nanaimo and Parksville/Qualicum Beach). I covered every other single expense I incurred during this travel, including (but not limited to) breakfast, lunch, dinner and transportation (except when explicitly indicated). I wasn’t paid to write this review, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this blog entry is just to describe my experience at the hotel. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.

My Vancouver Island writing retreat at the end of 2010

Raul — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:23:09 +0000

If you followed my Twitter stream, I semi-announced I was disconnecting for a few days in order to complete a major project. You’ll see, publications are the currency of academic life. You are not assessed by how many blog posts you publish or how many unique hits your popular blog gets on an every day basis. You are valued by how many high-quality, academic-style pieces you have and what impact you’ve had in the body of knowledge you are supposed to be contributing to.

In my case, one of the areas of research where I have had a major interest has been the governance of water, and in particular, of wastewater. I’ve been puzzled by why we are so focused on water scarcity in the social sciences literature yet we seem to be so keen to forget contaminated effluents. I have already completed 2 years of field research and didn’t want to let it go to waste. I hadn’t published my research on wastewater policy in the English language market, so I decided to take my data and write a book on water governance in Mexico. More specifically, wastewater governance in Mexico.

So thanks to the amazing PR skills and resourcefulness of my friend Luba Plotnikoff, I was invited as a guest in several Vancouver Island properties, including the following: Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa (Victoria), Coast Bastion Inn (Nanaimo), Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa (Courtney), and The Beach Club Resort (Parksville). And also thanks to the collaboration of Chelsea Barr (Destination Nanaimo) I also got to stay not only at the Coast Bastion but also at the Dorchester Best Western Hotel (Nanaimo) on my way back. These were all amazing properties in locations that allowed me to complete a major project (I successfully completed the first rough draft of my book), while still travelling all the same.

I did feel so much at peace and at ease as I spent countless hours writing the first draft of my water governance book. You’ll be reading my posts throughout the next couple of weeks interspersed with the rest of my blog writing. I would strongly recommend all the destinations I visited to spend time away and complete a major project.

Disclosure: My stay at various properties that will be mentioned in my post series was sponsored very generously by the hotel as part of my recent Vancouver Island book writing retreat (which included stops in Victoria, Courtenay/Comox, Nanaimo and Parksville/Qualicum Beach). I covered every single expense I incurred during this travel, including (but not limited to) breakfast, lunch, dinner and transportation (except only when explicitly indicated). I wasn’t paid to write this series of blog posts, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this and subsequent blog entries about my writing retreat is just to describe my experience at various hotel properties and my breakfast/lunch/dinner experiences. As with any review or complimentary post I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.

Dr. Pacheco’s 2010 Year in Review: Academia, Teaching and Research

Raul — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:08:09 +0000

Why didn’t I say “Raul’s 2010 Year in Review”. Because I’m a snob, that’s why. No, I’m just kidding. Because in 2010 I made a purposeful decision to keep both identities separate, Raul the Hummingbird604 and Dr. Pacheco, the academic/educator. At any rate, 2010 was an amazing year for me in the academic, teaching and research world. Not only did I get involved in research projects with CIELAP, and complete some of my own but also I taught 2 completely new courses, revamped one of my previously taught courses (and implemented social platforms in my teaching).

My Mom and I got to work on the book we are co-authoring while she was here, I’m on a writing retreat to finish another book on water governance in Mexico (although by the looks of it, I’m only going to finish a first draft). I am working on 12 journal articles/conference papers/book chapters with colleagues and on my own (4 single-authored). I went to the Canadian National Water Strategy meetings. And overall, I feel better than I have felt ever. My home department at UBC has been fantastic to me, as has CIELAP. My 2011 is gearing to be highly productive in the academic realm, and surprise of all surprises, Twitter brought me great new academic friends.

Thanks to having met Dr. Janni Aragon through Twitter, I gave a research seminar on my wastewater policy research at University of Victoria. And thanks to Twitter again, I met Dr. Peter Newbury who is a Carl Wiemann colleague in the department of Physics and Astronomy. Plus I got to spend some time with Dr. Jo Van Every who is a consultant and coach to academics. All very interested in the scholarship of teaching. Other good friends that I met through Twitter include Christopher Parsons, who is doing his PhD in Political Science at UVic, Mary Churchill who is the Executive Director of University of Venus (HigherEd). The list gets longer.

And my students talk to me on Twitter! What else could I ask for? Oh yes, my books published in 2011, and all the conference travelling that I have planned will be fantastic.

2010: The year pollution control retook the center stage from climate change

Raul — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 03:05:55 +0000

photo credit: ARLIS Reference

I was unsure whether I should post this on my research blog or on my personal one, but as I am thinking and reflecting on what 2010 brought to me, I must point out to a recent story that indicates Canadians rank the BP oil spill as the top news item of 2010. But I couldn’t help but feel somewhat vindicated (even though it saddens me enormously and I’m still outraged at the fact that the spill occurred). For the past 10 years of my life, I have spent countless hours trying to understand the behavior of individuals, firms and governments in hopes to help them design mechanisms to reduce and control pollution. Also, for the past 10 years, I have eschewed studying the politics of climate change policy. I read about it and keep my finger on the pulse of the literature, but I firmly believe that we have other pressing problems that are more immediate than climate change.

My intention of learning ways of minimizing the negative environmental impact of pollutants in water is what first brought me to an undergraduate in chemical engineering and then to a doctorate in environmental studies. While I now research more the politics and policy making of environmental pollution that the actual engineering, I’m reasonably knowledgeable in both fields. So, I do champion, research and analyze policies around water management, pollution prevention and waste minimization. Yes, I do, and proudly so.

I have been witness to a surge in interest around the topic of climate change in the past decade, and I have remained focused in the environmental problems that have interested me from the beginning. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, I’ve kept looking at ways to improve water governance and bring wastewater to the forefront of the academic social science discourse. And while I may be an outsider, I’m glad that climate change politics is not my major research focus.

The BP oil spill, while completely despicable from a corporate social responsibility perspective and horrifying in terms of the ecological impacts it had, served to remind people that we, humans, are WAY more incompetent at protecting our environment than we give ourselves credit for. That we need to shift our energy consumption paradigms as much as we need to learn better ways to save water. That we are WAY further from the reality of a cleaner environment than we think. And that pollution is still a very grave, imperious and important environmental problem that we must never forget, even if climate change is now much more of a popular topic.

Because we only have ONE planet.

My goals for 2011: More time for reading

Raul — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:22:47 +0000

photo credit: opensourceway

2010 was a year that saw me battle the popular perception that all I did was blogging and social media, when the truth is, I’m an academic. I am happy to say that I feel I have won the battle. For the most part, whenever I attend any event ‘in the circuit‘, like it happened at the opening of Q4 al Centro, people ask me about my academic activities.

Most often, particularly, my teaching at UBC, although some people do ask about what I do for research). While I really feel that I’ve been lucky to balance and juggle everything I do (mostly by waking up at the ungodly hour of 4:45 am), I completely realize that, as an academic, I can’t master a field if I don’t read the literature.

So my goal for 2011 is to make more time for reading. Right now I am cranking out publications like there’s no tomorrow (and grading final research papers that my students submitted recently), editing the syllabi of the two courses I’ll be teaching next term, and preparing to go on a writing retreat, but I have already established that in 2011, come hell or high water, I’ll be scheduling time to just do that, read. I do schedule one full day of research a week, where I don’t do any social media (or at least I try to), but this coming 2011 it will be just time to read.

I’m very lucky to speed-read and have a photographic memory, but I think I’ve depended too much and I’ve gotten people used to my speed. And that’s not healthy. Because as time goes by and I get older, I most likely won’t be able to keep up the work pace I have right now. So it’s better if I just schedule time to read, to master the literature, to find and identify the gaps I need to explore in my field. And of course, I hope people don’t think I’m planning to shut down this blog!

So that’s my first goal for 2011: More time for reading.

On advancing my field of research (in environment and public policy)

Raul — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:04:45 +0000

This post is probably most suited for my research blog, but I feel it has a personal element to it, so that’s why I decided to write it on here. I am cleaning my apartment and (quite obviously) there’s a lot of older research stuff that I am sorting and packing away (stuff that I read when I was doing my PhD, old books, some of my research interview tapes).

I came across the January-February 2000 issue of a journal called “Business Strategy and the Environment” (which I think has morphed now into Corporate Environmental Strategy). In my early career, I focused a lot on regulatory versus non-regulatory policy instruments (in plain English, on how and under what conditions do people comply with environmental regulations and standards, and whether having a voluntary agreement to reduce pollution actually works).

It hit me abruptly, after I read it, that we are still asking the same question in 2010. It’s been a decade and we still haven’t seen much conclusive work in the regulatory realities of environmental law enforcement. I mused on Twitter that I felt I hadn’t advanced my field that much. But truth be told, at least I try. I work hard, long hours to try and understand human-environment interactions and the best way to design environmental policy.

I may have not advanced my field much, but it’s so vast and broad, at least I feel I have contributed, even if a tiny bit.

It’s the end of the university term…

Raul — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:19:27 +0000

And I need a good cry. So I listened to Mae’s This Time is the Last Time

SERIOUSLY.

No, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with my life right now, so it’s not out of being sad. I just have been so insanely busy it’s been absolute hell to try to juggle everything (my social media life with a full-time academic, teaching, research and consulting load). I finally had a 4-5 hour nap today to compensate for only having slept 3 hours in the last 48, and as I read Twitter, I felt I needed to get emotional stuff out of my system.

So, naturally, I blogged.

I completely understand my students when they tell me they are stressed with finals, term papers, their own jobs, etc. Trust me, I *do* understand them. And today has also been emotional for all sorts of reasons. They’re about to hand in their last paper of this course for me. I may not see them again (as some of them are moving to different countries, and graduating).

I’ve heard all sorts of positive feedback with regards to my teaching, from “I absolutely loved this course” to “I wish I could continue taking courses with you for the rest of my life” to “you inspire me”. It’s been hard to say goodbye to them.

I teach because I love it, not because I need to.

And knowing that one day, those amazing individuals will come back to me to say “Dr. Pacheco, can you write me a letter of reference” and being able to help them succeed in their careers is something that continues to inspire me to teach.

And the next semester starts on January 4th, 2011. Two courses next term, on top of my research and teaching.

I can’t wait

Waiting for Superman (movie review)

Raul — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:32:49 +0000

I am an educator (and I have taught from high-school level to graduate level, Masters and PhD), and so I have a direct stake in the fate of the education system. So when I got an invite to see the Vancouver premiere of Waiting for Superman (and I gave away a couple of pairs of tickets for it), I was very excited to go check the movie.

While I teach at a university, I feel rather ill-equipped to make an informed commentary on the state of Canadian and American pre-university educational systems. I don’t have experience teaching high school nor grades below. That said, three of my nieces and two of my nephews live in the US and I think I will do some informal research and talk with them about their perception of both the movie and the US educational system.

My own view of the movie was that it was heartbreaking, if everything said on the movie was true. Of course, as my good friend Meghan said, there are points where it looks totally inflammatory and overstated. One of the things that it made me think about was – this will be a topic that my students will have to analyze in my Public Policy course next term. There is no better way to assess the state of the educational system than look at data.

And as I mentioned, I’m a specialist in environment and public policy who teaches at the university level, I’m not a specialist in educational policy, so I have no direct experience. My nieces (and by extension, my brother and his wife) are, however, directly immersed in the US/California educational system (college, high school and grade school), so I will ask them how they feel about the movie.

All in all, as a movie that will tug at your heart and make you think about the future of your children’s education, I liked Waiting for Superman. It’s showing at Fifth Avenue Cinemas right now.

Productivity: Jump-starting your writing and research days

Raul — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:22:07 +0000

photo credit: Alexandre Dulaunoy

Growing up with academics in the family always made me ponder what the best procedures were so that I could be as productive as my parents or my brothers. We were raised on a multidisciplinary, multi-activity household, where we did arts, science, volunteer work and sports. But for some reason I often struggled with sitting down for hours to write.

It was easy for me to run regressions, create mathematical models or design programs, but during my graduate coursework (especially the PhD), I had a hard time spending long hours writing and in particular, getting started on papers. So I asked two professors at UBC what their technique was to jump-start their day. The question I asked was – what do you do first thing in the morning that allows you to concentrate on academic work rather than on administrative trivia.

One of them indicated that the first thing she did was read an academic paper (book chapter, journal article, etc.) to get her thinking juices started. The other one suggested that she sat down to write. Just wrote for an hour or two, or even three. She got her coffee and sat down to write, and around 11 am she would check email, etc.

Now that I’m spending 60% of my time on campus, my routine is a combination of both of these. I arrive to my UBC office, coffee in hand, and I read at least one journal article. I then write my thoughts on the article (like an annotated bibliography) and, if said article is included in the paper I am writing, I bring those thoughts into the paper. I don’t let anyone interrupt my workflow until after lunch (my office hours are 2:30pm to 3:30pm).

If I am preparing lecture slides, I still read an article or two, and then move on to writing the slide deck. I usually prepare my lecture one day in advance, and on the day-of, I simply go through my slide deck and rehearse once more.

If your primary activity is writing (and/or research, or any activity that requires long, intense periods of concentration), what is your morning routine? How do you jump start your days?

Waiting for Superman (win tickets to the premiere Oct 13th)

Raul — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:07:38 +0000

Given that I am an educator and that I teach at a Canadian university, I thought it would be rather relevant to showcase the movie “Waiting for Superman”, by Davis Guggenheim. From the website’s synopsis, I found out that the movie follows the stories of five kids embedded in the US education system.

I have in total 4 tickets (2 pairs) to give away for the Vancouver premiere of Waiting for Superman on October 13th at 7pm at 5th Avenue Cinemas. I will be drawing winners tomorrow (Tuesday October 12th at 5:00pm). I will follow the same procedure as always, but since the premiere is on Wednesday, I will redraw again within a few hours if I don’t hear from the winner.

Good luck, and I look forward to meet the winner(s) of my contest on Wednesday!

Blog Action Day 2010 on October 15th: Focus on water

Raul — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:05:35 +0000

photo credit: eutrophication&hypoxia

Unless you really don’t know me or my blog, you’ll probably know that one of the biggest areas of research in my academic life is water (specifically, wastewater governance, cultural perceptions of drinking water, conflict in transboundary water bodies and adaptation of water policy to climatic change). So when I found out that Blog Action Day this year was focused on water, I told myself I could NOT not participate. This is too important an issue not to. I have written about water both on my research blog and on my personal blog. I’ve discussed concepts like the water footprint, water stress, the culture of flushing and the commodification of water.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

I research wastewater governance (a topic most academic folks eschew), mostly because I realize that every day 2 million tonnes of human waste end up in water courses. I realize that my caffeine intake procedure needs to be changed, because coffee consumes up to 140 litres of water per cup (virtual water).

On October 15th, consider (a) donating to charity:water or any other water charity of your choice and (b) writing about water on your personal or professional blog. Fridays are usually my research day, but with October 15th being Blog Action Day, I will be blogging about my water research on my professional blog, and possibly publish one or two posts here.

Hope you will join in the action. Because environment is MUCH more than just climate change.

I love academic life

Raul — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 20:47:28 +0000

There, I said it.

Spending a Saturday morning at my UBC office reading academic journal articles, books and book chapters. Soaking again in the waters of full-fledged research. Conceptualizing new ideas and testing my thoughts. Writing conference papers and editing journal articles.

This is my idea of paradise, ladies and gentlemen.

I was born to an academic couple, and raised within an academic family. As my parents say, academia is the family business. And while none of my family members actually see academia as a business (we all know that we never will get rich being professors), we all (those of us who stayed in academia, my two brothers and my Mom and myself) absolutely adore what we do.

A few weeks ago, my good friend Arieanna Schweber asked me how my academic work was going. Arieanna has been a good friend of mine for a while, and she does know of my academic life and how I try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to balance it all with my social media life. When she mentioned this, I realized that I had done very little to promote my academic work.

That’s why I stopped to reflect on the future of my blog (thanks Arieanna for the gentle nudge, and Chris Parsons, Yule Heibel and Jo Van Every for good reflections on the topic as well).

While I have had a rather unorthodox academic life, and I may not be seen by some traditional, very orthodox academics as “the young, promising, up-and-coming” scholar, I have been able to stay on top of my field, and I continue to do rigorous research in areas that many scholars don’t even touch. Call me self-absorbed, but it’s true. I still contribute to my academic field. And I love doing it.

I now devote at the very least one full day (Friday) to research, and Mondays and Wednesdays are my academic days too (I teach those days). By spending 60% of my time on campus, I force myself to think only about my research (and teaching). I am devoting more than 60% of this long weekend to preparing a paper and submitting a few abstracts.

THAT, my friends, is what I call bliss…

World Teachers Day is October 5th, 2010

Raul — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:57:43 +0000

photo credit: hmerinomx

There are few things that fill my heart with more joy than teaching. Very, very few. I am the seventh in a family of seven (Mom, Dad and five brothers) who has spent time educating people. Two of my brothers, my Mom and I all are university-level educators. I truly believe I was born to teach. So did my parents. And they had so much faith in their little boy that they encouraged me to volunteer as a literacy instructor for adults (I was 13 at the time).

I volunteered for 3 years with the National Institute for Adult Education in Mexico (Instituto Nacional de Educación para los Adultos) and teaching grew on me. I spent a few hours every week walking around the poorest neighbourhoods in our city, knocking on every door and asking if anyone would be interested in learning Grades 1 through 6, mostly reading, writing and arithmetic. I felt proud of my graduated students (all of whom were at least my parents’ age). And I think that those long hours teaching adults how to do basic math and read really imprinted in me the belief and want to become an educator.

I didn’t really do a PhD to have the qualifications to teach at a university (though I’m very proud of being a foreign national, graduated from a Canadian university, who teaches in a Canadian university too). I do recognize, though, how much having had great professors and mentors (from my Chemical Processes instructor to my doctoral dissertation advisor) influenced my career choices.

Even though in Mexico we celebrate Teacher’s Day on May 15th, I want you to join me on October 5th and congratulate the educators in your life on World Teacher’s Day. Because, let me tell you, we don’t teach for the money. We teach because we love it. And because, in transmitting our knowledge in hopes to shape the future generations, we also hope to make a good contribution to society.

Happy Teacher’s Day! And hat-tip to my friend Kulpreet Singh who alerted me to WTD’10.

The future of my personal blog

Raul — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:30:44 +0000

photo credit: finchlake2000

I am in Toronto right now, in the middle of a Workshop Towards A Canadian National Water Strategy, surrounded by a number of incredibly smart scholars, activists and industry association representatives who have many, many years of experience studying and understanding water policy. I am in awe of the depth of knowledge and caliber of colleagues I am sitting with, and I am honored to be sharing the floor with so many passionate and great specialists in water. It’s also a very strong wake-up call for me, as an academic whose career is, despite my relative success, still in development. I am well-established in some topics I’ve done work on, but in others I am still learning.

I am still creating my research niche. It’s challenging, I believe, for anyone who strives to undertake rigorous research in any topic. I have, in the past five to ten years, been stretching myself extremely thin to try and maintain my finger on the pulse of the academic literature in four different fields: urban/industrial restructuring in clusters of geographically agglomerated firms, transnational environmental movements and their strategies to advance their goals, wastewater policy and cross-jurisdictional issues, and information-based policy instruments for pollution control.

The truth is, I sleep very little and work extremely long hours. I spend a lot of time reading a very broad range of journal articles, books and book chapters, working towards understanding the issues I am interested in. On top of that, I do my own research, I teach and I do consulting. AND I write a very popular personal blog.

I write this blog because I love showcasing Vancouver. I love communicating. I love telling stories, and mine in particular. But the truth is, as time has gone by, I have grown to realize two things: One, that most people don’t actually *know* what I do professionally, and forget that for me, this blog and social media in general, is my side gig. I do provide some consulting, teaching and training on how to use social media in non-profit, education and policy/politics. But again, social media is a tool that I use to advance my professional career.

But being a rigorous academic scholar is demanding more and more of my time, and I will have to devote less time to Hummingbird604.com, as time goes by and I take on more projects that advance my academic career. I need to devote more time to my academic work (I already devote Monday and Wednesday to my teaching, and Fridays I have now started devoting to purely research and not even do any social media).

It’s been a fantastic time and I’ve accomplished great things with social media. I have had amazing opportunities. But I think, in the relatively near future, my focus on Hummingbird604.com will wane (and hopefully, not stop). That doesn’t mean that I am no longer interested in writing about local causes (particularly charities), local businesses or even do media trips. Of course I plan to continue doing so. There’s even a few events that are coming up that I will be writing about (as you will see).

But the frequency to which I will be updating this blog, and the number of “yes, of course I’d love to blog about your restaurant/theatre/dance/non-profit event” responses the people who pitch me will be less and few-and-far-between. Today’s workshop made me realize once again – I *am* an academic (and a good one at that). This is what I do, and my personal blog takes right now too much time for me to continue doing as much as I do in social media.

It’s been a great ride.

Living my life as an open book: The Living Library Project at UBC’s @ikblc

Raul — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:36:39 +0000

A few months ago, I was invited by Glenn Drexhage (Communications Officer at the Irving K. Barber Library at UBC) to be part of the first-ever “Living Library” event on campus. I am both an alumnus from UBC and a faculty member, so I thought it would be good for me to give back to the community and share my experiences, as a “living book”.

photo credit: adactio

The event ran for 3 hours, which I thought at the beginning would be A LOT of time, and in truth, I wish the event had gone for longer. 3 hours is very little time if you have a long line of people who want to “read” you. By the time the event was over, I still had someone having a conversation with me. It was really a delightful event (and, true to my social media split personality, I live-tweeted my experience).

There were several elements that stood out and made me reflect on the event itself. First, the mere fact of being a “Living Book”. I already live my life as an open book. I am a very public person, in both of my personalities. As an academic, and an educator, I am public because I teach and I publish my research findings. As a social media quasi-internet celebrity, I am public in the way I live my online (and offline) life. My Flickr account and my Twitter stream both are public, and everybody can read my tweets and see my photos. My Facebook account, on the other hand, is extremely private, and I have refused many invitations to be Facebook friends, even from people I really, really like (sorry, it’s not you, it’s me). So, it was interesting to be an “open book” in person, speaking with people much in the way I do at social media events, or when I give talks.

I was also absolutely delighted with the interactive nature of the Living Library project. Contrary to what happens with books (where the interaction is unidirectional, you read the book, it’s not like you can talk to the book), in the Living Library project I was able to learn just as much from my “readers” (those who “signed me out”). My fellow Living Books mentioned similar (and delightful) experiences. This reflexivity made me ponder the nature of interactive media and the whole process of learning. While reading academic books allows me to learn, interacting with other individuals is a much richer form of learning.

None of the “readers” asked me the same thing, which was also a real treat. I got a chance to explain why I choose to have very separate lives (as a social media power user and as an academic), how I developed my academic career, what drew me to social media and how has blogging influenced my writing, and whether it has furthered my career. Overall, it was a delightful experience, and one that I would repeat as well.

Several comments from the “readers” made my day, but one stood out from them all: the last “reader” I had said to me “WOW, I hope they can repeat this event. I would come to the library *JUST* for this!“.

THAT is the definition of a successful event. Customer satisfaction at its best.

Back to school, back to reality

Raul — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:00:51 +0000

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year at UBC, and that also marks my return to undergraduate teaching again (from the summer hiatus). Being on campus is important to me, for many reasons. It gives me a chance to talk with students and colleagues in an academic setting. It reminds me that, in addition to my consulting and my social media life, I have my academic career to take care of.

Because, for all the awesome things that I do professionally (consulting, research), I absolutely adore teaching. And I did a PhD because I love academic life, with its highs and lows. I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s.

On giving oneself permission to NOT be perfect

Raul — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:21:39 +0000

photo credit: gtall1

I grew up in a family of five brothers where all of us were hyper-competitive, all of us were really focused on our integrated goals (arts, science, sports and volunteering). I, as my brothers, am a bit of a perfectionist. I like my work to be perfect. I like to under-promise and over-deliver. But I also have been learning (slowly) to accept that I am only a human.

Last night, JT and I went to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. It’s a beautiful park with an amazing view and it holds really special memories for both of us. We wanted to make sure to hit it at least once this year. As we were hiking towards the view point, I mentioned that I felt that I no longer had my finger on the pulse of the bodies of literature that I had studied before.

I have done rigorous research on industrial clusters and competitiveness. I’ve created game-theoretical models of strategic alliances between biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical enterprises. I’ve done mathematical modeling of firm demographics and applied these models to understanding industrial restructuring. I’ve studied how environmental non-governmental organizations create transnational networks. But you know what I realized yesterday? I no longer know these fields to the extent I used to.

And the fact is, when I got out of graduate school, I basically signed on to a lifetime of projects that would encompass a broad variety of topics. And I can’t be an expert in all of those. So, using a bit of what I learned in Susanne Conrad’s workshop, I am now giving myself permission to NOT be an expert in transnational networks of environmental non-governmental organizations. I give myself permission to NOT know EVERY single new article published in the field.

And giving myself this permission to not be the stellar researcher who knows EVERYTHING is actually key, because it allows me to focus on the two or three fields that I think I’ll be working on for the rest of my academic career. Instead of continuously struggle to maintain my finger on the pulse of every field I’ve ever done research on, I’ll have students or collaborators who will explore those topics. I can guide them at the beginning with what I’ve already done and they can build upon my previous work.

I am slowly, but surely, learning to give myself permission to NOT be “on” all the time. To not have all the answers at all points. And it feels amazingly liberating.

My Fall 2010 schedule (for PR pros and journalists alike)

Raul — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:20:45 +0000

As I have mentioned before, I am back to teaching undergraduates at UBC this fall (1 course in September-December 2010, 2 courses in January-April 2011), which means that the social media personality will have to take a backseat to the academic and educator. That said, I try to make sure that PR people know where I stand and what my time availability is for the (limited number of) engagements I could possibly attend.

So, just so that everyone knows, I will be pretty much unavailable any time before 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays (pitches thus would be most welcome on Thursdays and Fridays). By the same token, for those journalists/media outlets who would like to have me provide an opinion as a specialist in the field of environment, sustainability and public policy, I would be available for meetings/commentary on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

I think doing this (e.g. making my schedule available) should make it easy for people who want to book time with me.

Headed to a writing retreat

Raul — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:30:21 +0000

Credit: Duane Storey

Thanks to my good friend Lisa Thomas-Tench, Mom and I are headed up North (to Whistler) for a few days for a writing retreat. You’ll see, both Mom and I are academics. She is a specialist in intergovernmental relations in Mexico, and I am a scholar of comparative environmental policy in North America (Canada, US, Mexico). We have been collaborating in a book manuscript that compiles our joint (past) publications.

Right now we are getting to the point where we are trying to make the whole manuscript complete and integrated. So, it’s important for us to just be away from all distractions and focus on writing. There are a few blog entries that are pre-scheduled (thank you WordPress for the “Schedule Post” feature) but for the most part, I will be very much offline for the next few days.

I know, a gutsy and risky move just before Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010, but I’m not scared as Isabella and I are already prepared and I’ll be available over the phone if there are any interview opportunities, or if I need to deal with anything associated with MHC.

My family and loved ones are my priority

Raul — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:01:14 +0000

Given my research expertise in comparative environmental policy (with a focus on North America), a lot of academic folks have asked me why I didn’t choose to take the usual, post-PhD tenure-stream academic route. Today, a former colleague of mine (who hasn’t finished her PhD yet) asked me the same question, and it’s been coming up lately in conversations, for one reason or another.

Let me share a story with you, that I don’t think I have even shared with my Mom yet (but I will, as soon as I post this entry). One time, my eldest brother (who is one of the world’s most renowned heat transfer modeling experts) asked me what my priority was, professionally. Without a hesitation, I answered “my Mom”. My brother was shocked. How could I prioritize my Mom’s wellbeing over my own professional future?

And the truth is – my Mom would NEVER let me prioritize her well being over my academic career. My Mom is an academic herself (and a pretty renowned one – she is a political scientist who does research on intergovernmental relations in Mexico, and the different models of governance for federal governments, municipalities and states). Two of my brothers are also faculty members at foreign universities. But the choices I have made have all been consistent with prioritizing my personal life and my own well being and that of my loved ones, before any job. Sure, I want to be successful, and sure, my family and friends want me to be successful. But quality of life is too important for me, and seriously, right now I have the kind of academic career I want.

I teach at the university level, I do rigorous academic research, I consult and on top of that, I keep a balanced personal life, with exercise, time for myself and time for my loved ones. And if I had to give up something to focus more on my family and on my personal life, it would be, in order – social media, more academic work, more consulting work. And the last two things I’d give up are consulting and teaching.

Social media is NOT my priority. Having a tenure-track academic position is NOT my priority. Gaining accolades and being tremendously successful in my professional life is NOT my priority. Being loved, being healthy and having my loved ones close IS my priority. And that doesn’t mean that I don’t work super hard to be a successful educator, researcher, consultant and social media practitioner. What it means is that, when everything is said and done, all I will have to account for me is my own happiness, my own health and the well being and love of my loved ones.

THAT is my priority.

The state of North America’s biodiversity (@TheBigWild)

Raul — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:03:45 +0000

I pondered whether this should be a longer post on my research blog or a quick-and-dirty one on my personal one, but what really struck me is how powerful graphical comparisons can be. I often use comparative data in my teaching, not only in my research. Also, when Darren Barefoot (Capulet) emailed me about this graph, it really struck a chord with me, because while most people seem to be unaware of the fact that I am a specialist in North American environmental policy, Darren’s email was perfectly targeted. He knew that I am a scholar of environmental policy, and he knew that I’m a comparativist by training. Yes, while much of my fieldwork has been done in Canada and Mexico (for somewhat obvious reasons), I specialize in comparative environmental policy in Canada, US and Mexico. I sit on a number of advisory tri-national committees. I *love* analyzing data that compares all three countries. And the graph provided by The Big Wild is actually quite powerful. You can check it out here.

Thanks to Darren for pointing this infographic to me, it’s amazing how powerful it is. Please pay particular attention to the ecological footprint of Mexico (the smallest) vis-a-vis the US and Canada, and in particular, the fact that a country with the city that has more than 5 times the population of Canada has a 6 times smaller ecological footprint. Amazing, eh? First-world-country problems…

On furthering my academic writing

Raul — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:00:39 +0000

My blog started off primarily as an outlet for a different kind of writing. It has given me an amazing number and variety of opportunities I don’t think I would have had as a pure academic. Even with my own research, I think blogging has helped me as it gave me the possibility to meet a number of amazing folks in various spheres, and more recently, those who work in the education and technology space.

But there’s a gazillion other papers I need to be writing. And let me tell you, the writing I do here is not equivalent to the writing I do there. It’s all writing, and yes, it’s like a muscle you exercise, but it does not give me the space to write about other stuff. It’s a different, more academic, more technical style of writing.

I want to use this summer to advance my academic research and writing, and that means that I will be blogging less. I know, I always say this and end up cranking out 3-7 posts a day. But it’s true. I need to make sure to have enough time to write academic papers, journal articles, and take my 3 books to publication successfully. And the only way I can do that is by focusing.

I will, of course, honor my writing commitments. I will, of course, cover some restaurants, theatre, dance, etc. I will do some blogging, undoubtedly. But I need to give myself this opportunity to just relax and not be worried about cranking out content. Because my academic success is important to ME. And I would think, by extension, it’s important to YOU.

Game theory, cooperation and networked behavior online and offline

Raul — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:00:31 +0000

photo credit: 826 PARANORMAL

At FreelanceCamp Vancouver 2010, I gave a workshop on how “Freelance Is Not Free“, a refined version of my 2009 BarCamp workshop. During the workshop, one of the participants asked me what I was mostly interested in, specifically, when it came to my research. Not exactly sure how the question came up, but I mentioned that I have been, primarily, interested in cooperation for the last 15 years of my life, possibly even 20.

That has been quite visible in my academic and consulting work. I have been interested in the concept of cooperation for decades. Why do people cooperate and collaborate? – this led to an increased interest in Game Theory (a branch of microeconomics that I studied when I did my MBA coursework, under two of the best professors of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, Dr. Thomas W. Ross and Dr. Helen Michelson).

I have explored questions of cooperation in my MBA thesis (where I developed a game-theoretical model of strategic alliances amongst biotech and pharmaceutical industries) and my PhD thesis (where I explored the industrial/urban transformation of geographically-concentrated industries – one of the chapters deals with game-theoretical models).

Even after I completed my PhD I have continued to explore issues of collaboration and cooperation (specifically with my involvement in the coworking community, and through one of my research avenues on the economic geography of industrial decline).

When I was giving my seminar, I mentioned that I approach freelancing from a perspective of collaboration (something that, at first glance, could be seen as contradicting the Prisoner’s Dilemma theoretical underpinnings). In a traditional Prisoner’s Dilemma, from the viewpoint of the law enforcement agency, they want the prisoners to NOT collaborate and thus blow the whistle on each other (lowest payoff in what is called a 2×2 game).

However, you’ll see, I think that freelancers who collaborate are like the prisoners, and from their viewpoint, they collaborate. If neither of them blow the whistle on the other, both of them get the maximum payoff for THEM. But if they don’t collaborate and share information, perhaps even about a potentially bad client for both of them, then they both lose (minimum payoff, maximum loss).

I teach microeconomics, and I’ve taught Game Theory before, so I was really excited to bring the issue up. I do continue to collaborate with people, even when my trust has been previously betrayed at some point by others. The truth is, I think only in cooperation can industries flourish. Competition is important, but so is collaboration. That’s why Brandenburger and Nalebuff coined the term, cooperative competition – coopetition. I believe Vancouver’s industrial and freelancebase could learn a bit from using game theory, both online and offline.

The @UBCREC Shopping Week is on! May 15th-21st

Raul — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:18:31 +0000

photo credit: suewells10

I have been a fan of the UBC REC program for over a decade, having participated in many of their internal tournaments (volleyball, primarily) first as a graduate student, later as a faculty member, and now I’m more excited than ever to be a part of the summer instructional offerings. Over the summer, UBC REC offers a variety of instructional programs that include jazz, Tai-Chi, yoga.

Starting this past May 15th (and yes, sorry, I recognize I’m late posting this!) UBC REC is offering a full week (Shopping Week), until May 21st where you can drop in and sample any of the classes FOR FREE. You should totally check them out. I am particularly interested in the modern jazz class, because I’m a former competitive dancer and I still love it.

I am particularly fond of the UBC REC mission statement, because I think it encompasses many of my own values – wellbeing, community and sports.

To engage the university community and promote well-being through a dynamic and innovative UBC sport and recreation experience that is second to none.

UBC REC is now on Twitter, you can follow them at @UBCREC. All the instructional classes are held on the UBC campus. I’d thoroughly recommend signing up!

The industrial-to-urban transformation of Granville Island

Raul — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:45:55 +0000

Whenever friends of mine or other touristy folks ask me where to go to get a real taste of Vancouver, for some reason I always think of Granville Island. To me, Granville Island is the epitome of Vancouver. Beautiful outdoor patios, great restaurant, wonderful little artsy shops, and terrific views of False Creek, the Burrard Inlet and Yaletown/Downtown Vancouver.

However, there’s an additional reason why I love Granville Island. One of the reasons is that this “island” is really not an island. It’s a beautiful peninsula, and more importantly, it’s a peninsula that has seen a radical industrial-to-urban transformation. As I wrote before, my doctoral dissertation used an interdisciplinary framework that borrows heavily from economic geography and urban planning. Thus, I’m always keen to look at empirical examples of how cities and regions have transformed from heavily-industrialized centers to posh, sophisticated urban developments.

In particular, I have an absolute fascination for the fact that Granville Island has a concrete factory (which I have to say, looks like it’s actually operating!) Every time I go to see a show on Granville Island at The Arts Club or for a drink at the Backstage Lounge, I end up walking by the cute little exhibit of how cement is made (pictured to the right). Not only am I a specialist in urban/industrial restructuring, I am also a chemical engineer, so anything that has to do with chemical processes gets me all excited. Moreover, I find the little exhibit a great educational tool that sparks interest in the younger crowds.

I dug around the archives of the Granville Island website (on their Heritage page) and found out that the concrete factory is still in operation (Ocean Construction Ltd). I always find (as you noticed in my previous post) the co-existence of industrial and urban spaces rather fascinating. I probably will start a series of posts on the transformation of Vancouver, as I already have done some research on Mount Pleasant (an area of Vancouver that also suffered a substantial industrial-to-urban transformation)

The end of the term

Raul — Tue, 11 May 2010 00:03:46 +0000

photo credit: dbaron

As you can imagine, this term (January-May 2010) was stressful for me. On top of my consulting, my research, and my involvement with the social media community, I was teaching two courses at the undergraduate level (at The University of British Columbia), and two courses at the college-level. I’m not very used to having teaching loads up to 2-4 (2 courses in the fall, 4 in the spring).

I have submitted grades and thus officially, the Spring academic term is over for me. I’ll still be doing teaching over the summer, but it won’t be nearly as stressful as this term used to be (or at least, I hope so). The one thing I have to say is, despite how stressful the term was, I absolutely love teaching, and I wouldn’t trade my life as an educator for anything. May 15th is Dia del Maestro (Day of the Teacher/Professor/Educator) in Mexico, so I plan to have a celebration for myself.

Thinking about the economic geography of the lower West End

Raul — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:30:38 +0000

For those of you not keeping score at home, even though my degree is in Environmental Studies, and I teach in the department of Political Science, my doctoral dissertation actually built an interdisciplinary analytical framework that borrows from several disciplines, in the natural science and engineering, social sciences and humanities and even a bit from the business administration. A major theme in my thesis is economic geography.

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with aspects of cooperation amongst individuals and firms (firms understood as individual units within industries). As a result, the notion of agglomeration of businesses in or around a specific geographical area (co-location) has been top of my academic mind for the past decade or so. I wrote my Masters’ thesis on a game-theoretical model to analyze strategic alliances between large pharmaceutical firms and small biotechnology firms. And my PhD thesis is filled with economic (industrial and urban) geography references.

When I walk around Vancouver, and specifically, the West End, I am always amazed by the little corner stores I see. I wrote, for example, about the little store on Carolina and 12th a few weeks back. This past week, I walked around the lower part of the West End (a few blocks east of Denman Street) and a few blocks south of Robson Street. I was, as usual, completely enchanted with the fact that within a residential neighbourhood, we have so many cute little businesses, including a grocery/market and a hairdressing salon.

One of my primary research questions for the past few years has been what drives the transformation of industrial landscapes within urban centres, and what drives the shift in land use from industrial to urban. My inquiry into the geography of industrial decline (a topic that was in vogue in the mid-1970s in Great Britain, with the work of Keeble, and more recently in Canada with Dr. Ian MacLachlan at University of Lethbridge in the mid-1990s, and in the mid-2000s with my own doctoral research) has left many people puzzled. Why would I choose to understand industrial plant closures?

The conversations I have had with those who scratch their heads when I tell them I enjoy understanding processes of industrial restructuring have helped me clarify why I undertook that study for my doctoral dissertation: because there is no better way to create successful strategies to succeed (in an entrepreneurial sense) than to understand what made businesses shut down. And gaining that understanding through an economic geographical theoretical and empirical lens gives us a better understanding of what benefits can industrial agglomeration yield us. Spatial proximity of other businesses can be of value.

In walking around the lower West End, I’ve been witness to the success of small businesses that are geographically located in a fully-residential area. These businesses haven’t shutdown and continue to survive and even thrive. What makes these little shops so successful? Is it perhaps the new urbanism paradigm that seeks to increase density and livability?

Whatever it is, I know for a fact that it’s a topic that my friend Lisa and I will be exploring in a research paper that we will probably write over the summer.

Authenticity, social media and Malcolm Gladwell

Raul — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:09:39 +0000

In the past couple of weeks, I haven’t had the time to articulate all the reasons why I disagree with Malcolm Gladwell’s views posed on the keynote he delivered at F5Expo (thanks Nels Agerbo and Lindsay Smith for inviting me to attend). Many of you who were there know the context. Gladwell was closing his provocative keynote, and I asked Lindsay to let me ask a question. Very kindly, Lindsay mentioned that I was a big Twitter/blogger/social media dude with thousands of followers.

But when I took the microphone, I told Gladwell that instead of seeing me as a social media guy, I was speaking as an academic who has studied transnational networks of environmental activists for over a decade. I told Gladwell that my research contradicted what he had just told the audience (about how revolutions aren’t created through online tools – he really misinterpreted Granovetter’s findings). And it’s true. In my research, I have found that transnational networks of activists are strengthened by the use of online tools. So, the ‘weak ties’ become with time, ‘strong ties’. Gladwell said that my research showcased people who were using online tools the right way and that we should learn from those cases.

I found it kind of ironic that one of the points that Gladwell made (that anonymity hinders trust) is actually very true, and highlighted by a curious gaffe that occurred during this event and the follow up. I met Gladwell and had a chance to have a very brief conversation where he told me he wasn’t even on Twitter, and that whoever was behind the @Gladwell account wasn’t him. Funny enough, during F5Expo, another fake Malcolm Gladwell account was created. See screenshots below.

So, ironically, Gladwell was simultaneously right and wrong. Right in that online tools foster anonymity and anonymity precludes trust. Wrong in that social media and online tools can’t create revolutions. You have the case of Iran, you have the case of RETC activists (ask me in person about my research on these transnational networks). More importantly, I can easily say that my own life has been revolutionized thanks to social media.

I know that Nels and Lindsay are doing a follow-up event on Wednesday (and I can’t make it, unfortunately, as I teach right at that time), but I do hope that the issues I present here are raised. And if they know who is behind the fake Gladwell accounts, I’d LOVE to knwo.

Earth Day is today April 22nd

Raul — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:41:32 +0000

photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

I have had an interest in environmental issues for more than 20 years. Even before I thought about starting my undergraduate degree, I knew I had an interest in protecting the environment. The better part of the last decade of my life I have spent it researching, analyzing data, interviewing government officials, activists and scholars who work in the sustainability field. I did a Doctor of Philosophy in Resource Management and Environmental Studies because I knew that I wanted to focus on pollution control policy.

While the past four years I have done a lot of personal blogging, I do have a research blog, and I am delighted that I now have extensive experience that allows me to bridge my interests: sustainability, education, social media/technology and the environment.

Unfortunately, Earth Day falls within the two weeks when I have had the most work ever, and I am really swamped for time, so I don’t have the time to recount all the pitches I received regarding events for Earth Day. BUT I will be approving comments remotely, so if you have an event for Earth Day that you’d like to tell my readers, by all means drop a comment.

For Earth Day (which coincides with my 4 years blogiversary) I am having a social gathering at my office at The Network Hub tonight, I have a short social media appearance to make before that gathering, and I am in the middle of marking papers and preparing final exams, and dealing with students. I spend every day thinking about ways in which I can improve not only my proximate environment but also that of my fellow human beings. And I’m proud of the research, consulting and teaching I do in the environment and public policy fields.

Happy Earth Day, everyone. Remember, we only have one planet. Let’s take care of it.

Misconceptions on tactical vs strategic thinking

Raul — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:29:22 +0000

When I was starting my MBA (Masters of Business Administration) coursework, I fell in love with economics. As a recent chemical engineering graduate, I was all about the mathematical modeling. After all, I had calculated countless distillation towers, solved hundreds of problems related to chemical plant design. I was (and still am) a fan of formal modeling.

While taking my MBA courses, game theory and microeconomics in general drew me quite strongly and thus I chose a concentration in Strategic Management. For me to fall in love with business strategy and corporate strategy, it helped that I had two of the best professors at then Faculty of Commerce, now Sauder School of Business: Dr. Thomas W. Ross (I was his research assistant for years) and Dr. Helen Michelson (who was my professor for both Business Strategy and Corporate Strategy).

photo credit: alexbrn

Since I’ve gotten more involved with the social media community, I’ve seen the term “strategist” thrown around rather casually. This worries me a bit, since just about everyone seems to think that they’re doing strategy. I figured I’d come back to my MBA roots for a quick overview of the misconceptions of tactical vs. strategic thinking.

First of all, strategy has two particular dimensions. The first one is temporal - to think strategically you need to be thinking ahead. If you are creating strategy, you have to be able to delineate the causal pathways of your strategic decisions at different points in time. Tactical decisions relate to the ‘here, now, within this week/month’. Strategic thinking is primarily far-reaching, long-range. If you create strategy, you need to be able to model the system in such a way that, whatever tactical plans you implement, you will be able to maintain some degree of predictability.

Along the same line, you should be able to choose amongst a variety of strategic objectives and adapt to changes in the (external) business environment. If you want to achieve a certain degree of growth, you need to have at least 2-3 different pathways to reach the same goal, in case something goes wrong. That’s why strategic thinking requires long-range planning.

The second dimension is organizational. If you work at the tactical level, you will be implementing strategic objectives with specific, ground-level plans, within specific units of the organization. If you work at the strategic level, you should be able to design development trajectories for the entire organization.

The misconceptions I find with regards to strategic thinking vs tactical implementation not only have to do with the organizational scale at which activity takes place, but also with the temporal dimension AND the predictive nature of strategy. If you want to be a strategist, you need to be a good chess player – think 2, 3, 5, 10 moves ahead.

National Grammar Day – March 4th

Raul — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:52:50 +0000

photo credit: Simon Shek

I will fully admit that I pride in my proper use of grammar. I have written a whopping total of 2,242 blog entries on this blog (not counting all my academic and non-academic, freelance writing as well as my research blogging). I do the majority of my writing in a language that isn’t the one I learned first. However, my degree of fluency is considered (in the lingo of those who know) as near-native. I think, joke and write in English.

Since I started teaching at the university level here in Canada, I have always included the following sentence in my syllabus – “I am a strickler for grammar“. It’s true. I hate bad grammar. It makes my eyes bleed (well, not literally, but figuratively). I pride in maintaining high grammatical standards and will swiftly deduct marks from any student paper due to poor grammar.

Today, I learned that March 4th is National Grammar Day, so I just wanted to celebrate it. I know that sometimes, on this blog, I write in American English and I say “favor” instead of “favour”. Please, my dear Canadian and British readership – forgive me, for I have sinned.

EDIT – I did type “strickler” instead of “stickler”, on purpose – answering Jen’s question! I was wondering who would notice!

Exploring the use of social media by politicians and government

Raul — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:04:33 +0000

Every time I get asked what I teach, people seem to be surprised that I teach in the department of political science. Well, my comprehensive exams and my minor are in cross-national comparative public policy (focus on environmental policy). I have taught public policy analysis at the domestic (national) level, and this semester I’m teaching comparative public policy. I am also an enthusiastic user of social media tools, and I love to combine both my interests.

Last year, I was asked to be the editor of an online, pluralistic, non-partisan website that aggregated information from all sorts of online sources to inform citizens about the choices they could make for Premier of British Columbia. On this blog, I interviewed Carole James (NDP), Jane Sterk (Green Party) and Gordon Campbell (Liberals). As someone who teaches public policy, and uses social media tools (and sometimes teaches ABOUT social media), I am always looking for good case studies and examples of “good” use of social media by politicians and government officials and agencies.

I asked the question on Twitter, and I’ll be compiling the responses. However, if you do have some ideas as to good examples and case studies, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you all!

Writing as discipline and practice

Raul — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:51:10 +0000

photo credit: racheocity

I am always very touched whenever I read people saying on their “Follow Friday” shoutouts that they love my writing. I do, indeed, blush. You’ll see, a few years ago (well, at the time when I began my PhD and I was taking graduate, PhD-level courses), a professor of mine told me that he really didn’t think I was a good writer. He said that my writing was awkward, that it was hard to understand my points and ideas.

Clearly (to him), I was unable to convey my thoughts and lacked the ability to put them in writing in cogent, concise, clear sentences. I was devastated. At the time, I hadn’t even learned Japanese, but I was already fluent in 5 other languages. How could I possibly be such a bad writer in the language of the nation that had adopted me as a son, Canada? I was floored.

For the record and as a side note, I have written two single-author book manuscripts (one in English, one in Spanish), co-authored one book (in Spanish) and have edited an academic volume (in English). I have published dozens of journal articles, book chapters and conference papers. I write two blogs, one personal (this one) and a research one (that you can read here). And I completed a PhD dissertation. In English. In a language that isn’t mine. I also have a bunch of journal articles in preparation, conference papers forthcoming, etc.

I sometimes lack modesty, but I won’t say whether or not I am a good writer. That’s for my readers to say. But there’s one thing I am – I am a consistent writer. I write as a discipline and I write for practice. It’s like a muscle. I write EVERY SINGLE DAY. Because I have to. Because I NEED to. Because putting my thoughts on paper (or, sometimes, online) helps me formulate and structure my thinking.

I think that my academic writing is pretty strong, and I would like to believe my non-academic writing is compelling. Why else would thousands of readers come every day to consume the bits and pieces of content I publish on a regular basis? To those of you who have told me, either in person, or on Twitter, or by email, that you like my writing – THANK YOU. Your continued encouragement keeps me doing this – writing.

If there’s a tip I would like to share with aspiring writers, academics, students (my own students, even!), bloggers and content providers, it would be write in a disciplined way. Write every day. Write even when you don’t feel like it. Put your thoughts and ideas out there.

It pays off. Trust me, it does.