The Tools for Land Degradation Neutrality (TOOLS4LDN) project is an interdisciplinary global research collaboration to provide improved methods and tools for assessing land degradation and understanding the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable communities in affected areas through the integration of free and open platforms towards supporting country level implementation and reporting to the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Undernutrition is responsible for nearly half of all global deaths in children under 5 years old. The prevalence of chronic child undernutrition (stunting) at the global level stands at approximately 22%, with the highest prevalence regions being in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
This project explores several quantitative approaches (e.g. spatial statistics, machine learning) to identify significant socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, climatic and environmental risk factors of child stunting from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) datasets.
Parker VanValkenburgh, Ph.D. – Director
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Brown University
Researchers at Brown page – https://vivo.brown.edu/display/pvanvalk
Academia.edu page - https://brown.academia.edu/ParkerVanValkenburgh
Lic. Daniela Zevallos Castañeda – Co-Director, 2015-16 Field Seasons
Independent Scholar
Kelloway, Sarah J., VanValkenburgh, Parker, Iñañez, Javier G., Dussubieux, Laure, Quilter, Jeffrey, Glascock, Michael D. Identifying New World majolica from 16th–18th Century sites on Peru's north coast. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports/Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2018; 17 : 311-324.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.10.008
(Click to check the large size image.)
The PAZC's archaeological survey registered a significant reduction in the number of sites and total settled area in the lower Zaña valley following 1570 CE.
Measurements of economic growth often fall short for developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and are rarely calculated at all for cities throughout the world. In a new working paper, three Brown University economists suggest a way to improve GDP estimates for such areas by using images of nighttime lights as seen from outer space.
The Longitudinal Tract Data Base estimates population characteristics for constant small areas from 1970 through 2010, based on census tract boundaries in 2010. These data can also be viewed in a web-based map or downloaded.
With support from the National Science Foundation (grant #0527667) in the US, Patrick Heller (the principal investigator) and other researchers at Brown University as well as in South Africa have been examining urban transformation in South African cities since the end of apartheid. This research uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to map spatial changes in infrastructure and demographics.
The Rio/São Paulo Project is one component of research on Brazil being conducted by Brown social scientists. It is a study of spatial inequalities in two major Brazilian cities in 2000 and 2010, led by sociologist John Logan in collaboration with colleagues in Brazil and Paris.
