Curriculum Vitae Sarah Merritt Polk PERSONAL DETAILS Place/Date of Birth: For Lauderdale, Florida. February 7, 1962. Nationality: USA, permanent resident of Sweden Current position: Work address: University lecturer, researcher, research program director in Human Ecology, Göteborg University. School of Global Studies (formerly Institution of Interdisciplinary Studies) Section of Human Ecology, Göteborg University Box 700, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden Telephone: + 46 31 7734942 Fax: + 46 31 7734933 e-mail: merritt.polk@globalstudies.gu.se Bachelor of Arts, Biology University of California, Santa Cruz 1984 Doctor of Philosophy, Human Ecology, Göteborg University 1998 EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE - Administrative Head of the Section of Human Ecology, School of Global Studies, GU, 2005 / 2007. - Satellite Program Director for the MISTRA funded research program INFORM, GU, 2005- ongoing. - University researcher, 1998 - on-going - Deputy Administrative Head, School of Global Studies, Göteborg University, 2002-2005. - University lecturer and researcher, Department of Regional and Environmental Studies, Göteborg University, 2001 on-going. - University adjunct, Institution for Interdisciplinary Studies, Göteborg University, June 1998 2001. - Director of Undergraduate Studies in Human Ecology, Institution for Interdisciplinary Studies, Göteborg University, June 1998 2002. - Consultant, the Swedish Nation Road Administration, March1999- December 1999. 1
- Doctoral Assistantship, Göteborg University, April 1997 - June 1998. - Research Assistantship, Swedish National Research Board, September 1996 - March 1997. RESEARCH GRANTS VINNOVA. Fall 2006. Research grant for Gender mainstreaming and sustainability - the gap between politics and practice in the transport sector, 2006-2009. MISTRA. 2005. Research grant awarded for the satellite program SUMOCO, Sustainable Constructions of Sustainable Transport, 2006-2008. MISTRA. 2005. Planning grant awarded for the call for program for Sustainable Mobility. The Swedish National Road Administration (Vägverket). Fall 2003-2004. A gender analysis of road infrastructure in Sweden. VINNOVA. Spring. 2002. Accessibility, attitudes and their influence on car use and willingness to reduce car use in Sweden. Jubileums Research Fund. Spring 2001. Grant received to attend the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan. HSFR. Spring 2000. Grant received to attend the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan. The Swedish National Road Administration. Fall 1999. Sustainability and Sexual Equality within the Transportation Sector in Sweden. Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies. August 1999- December 1999. Gender Equality and Sustainable Development in Transportation Policy in Sweden: The Lack of Debate. Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies. January 1999- June 1999. Sustainability and Democracy grant received in collaboration with Professor Martin Bennulf. The Swedish Research Board. September 1996 April 1997. Mobility and the Environment in Everyday Life grant received in collaboration with Professor Martin Bennulf. Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies. Spring 1995. A Questionnaire Survey: Automobility in Gothenburg. Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies. Fall 1995. Swedish National Travel Survey Data from 1994/1995". TEACHING AND ADVISING I have taught the following introductory and advanced courses in Human Ecology and Human Technology at the Institution for Interdisciplinary Studies, now the School of Global Studies, Göteborg University. The Human Use of Nature, Spring 1992, 1993, 1994 Natural Conditions for Human Activity, Fall, 1991, 1995 Designers and Users of Artifacts, Human Technology, Fall 1994 Introduction to Human Ecology, Fall 1998 Power and the environment, Fall 1998, Fall 2000 First semester course in Human Ecology, Parts I and II, Fall 1998 First semester course in Human Ecology, Part II, Fall 2000 2
Method, Fieldwork and Term Paper writing, Spring 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Advanced course 1 in Human Ecology, Fall 2004, 2005 Advanced course 2 in Human Ecology, Spring 2005, I have extensive experience with advising students on all levels of the undergraduate and graduate education in Human Ecology. This includes advising of advanced and research preparatory level courses, masters and doctoral theses. Guest lecturer at Lund s Technical University SIDA course on Traffic safety and Urban Planning, Spring 2004, 2005, 2006. QUANTITATIVE SKILLS Summer 2002. Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan. Courses attended: Simultaneous equations, and Latent variable structural equation modeling. Summer 2001. Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan. Courses attended: Structural Equation Modeling (LISREL), and Scaling and Dimensional Analysis. Summer 2000. Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan. Courses attended: Regression analysis, Matrix algebra, and lectures in the use of Statistical Graphics for (letter of recommendation available upon request) PUBLICATIONS Refereed Articles Polk, M. and Knutsson, P. 2007. Transdisciplinary research for promoting social change towards sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, Special edition of Sustainability in Higher Education Research (forthcoming). Polk, M. 2005. The integration of gender equality in transport policy and practice in Sweden. Research on Women s Issues in Transportation: Volume 2: Technical Papers. Transportation Research Board, Conference Proceedings 35, 180-188. Polk, M. 2004. The influence of gender on daily car use and willingness to reduce car use in Sweden. Journal of Transport Geography, 12, 185-195. Polk, M. 2004. Gender equality and transport policy in Sweden. World Transport Policy and Practice, 9, 4, 28-33. Polk, M. 2004. Gender mainstreaming in transport policy in Sweden. Kvinnor, Kön och 3
Forskning, 21,04, 43-54. Polk, M. 2003. Are women potentially more accommodating to a sustainable transportation system in Sweden? Transportation Research Part D, Vol. 8 Issue 2, pages 75-95. Polk, M. 1995. Feminism and Human ecology: Some possibilities for an integration. In Human ecology: Progress through integrative perspectives. eds. Scott Wright et al, Bar Harbor, Maine: The Society for Human Ecology, 21-30. Governmental and policy publications Polk, M. 2005. Women s and men s valuations of road system infrastructure in Sweden, Part 2. Swedish Road Adminstration report. Polk, M. 2003. A gender analysis of road system infrastructure, Part I: Interviews with road users (En jämställdhetsanalys over utformning av vägsystemet I Sverige: Del I Redovisning av intervjuer med användare). Report to the Swedish Road administration. Polk, M. 2001. Gender equality and sustainable development in Sweden: The lack of debate. VINNOVA Debatt transportpolitik VD 2001:1. Polk, M. 2000. Carsharing in Sweden: A case study of the implementation of an internet booking system in Majornas Car Cooperative. Göteborg: the Swedish Road Administration. Polk, M. 1999. A Summary of attitudes towards transportation and environmental issues in Sweden in the mid to late 90 s. Stockholm: The Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies, Preliminary Project Report. Working Papers/In-House Publications Egneus, Hans, Karl Bruckmeier, and Merritt Polk. 2000. The Nature of Interdisciplinarity. Report to the University president upon request from the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies. Polk, M. 1998. Gendered mobility. A study of women s and men s relations to automobility in Sweden. Ph.D. Dissertation. Göteborg: Humanekologiska skrifter. Institutionen för tvärvetenskapliga studier av människans villkor, Göteborgs universitet (Human Ecology Publication Series, The Institution of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Human Condition, Section of Human Ecology). Bennulf, Martin, Niklas Fransson, Merritt Polk, and Anders Biel. 1998. Are women more adaptable than men to an ecologically sustainable transportation system in Sweden? (Har kvinnor i Sverige lättare än män att anpassa sig till ett ekologiskt hållbart transportsystem?) and Introduction and Conclusions In Automobility and the environment: Attitudes and attitude formation (Bilismen och miljö: Attityder och attitydbildning). KFB Rapport Series 1998:4. Stockholm: KFB. 4
Polk, M. 1997. Automobility in Göteborg - a questionnaire survey 1996. Design of the questionnaire survey, sample description, data collection, and frequency. Human Ecology Report Series, 1997:1. Göteborg: Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Human Ecology Section. Polk, M. 1994. Women and the automobile: Have we come a long way baby? In Facta och Futura: kritiska studier av framtidsbilder, 2:21-28. Polk, M. 1991. The use of nature in literature: A brief overview of three novels, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and Mama Day. In New Voices in Human Ecology, ed. Britta Jungen. Humanekologiska Skrifter 11. Göteborg: Avdelningen för humanekologi. Conference Presentations -2005. A gender analysis of road infrastructure in Sweden: Part II questionnaire survey results (En jämställdhetsanalys over utformning av vägsystemet I Sverige: Del II Redovisning av Enkätundersökningen). Presentation at Transportforum, Linköping, January 11-13. - 2004. The integration of gender equality in transport policy and practice in Sweden. Paper presentation at the Women s Transportation Issues, Chicago, November 2004. - 2004. A gener analysis of road systen infrastructure in Sweden: Part I interviews with users (En jämställdhetsanalys over utformning av vägsystemet I Sverige: Del I Redovisning av intervjuer med användare). Presentation at Transportforum, Linköping, January 13-15, 2004. -2004. Gender mainstreaming in transport policy in Sweden. Presentation at Transportforum, Linköping, January 13-15, 2004. -1996. Swedish men and women s mobility patterns: issues of social equity and ecological sustainability. Conference proceedings for the national conference on Women s Travel Issues: Proceedings from the Second National Conference, October 1996. US Department of Transportation, The National Highway Administration. Commissioned Chapters -2006. Chapter 19: The 2006 Swedish legislation: Gender mainstreaming in transport policy in Gendered Mobilities, ed by Tanu Priya Uteng and Tim Kresswell. Ashgate Publishing. -1997. Kvinnan och bilen i Sverige. (Women and the automobile in Sweden) In Den attraktiva bilen och den problematiska bilismen. (The attractive car and that problematic automobility) ed. Lennart Sturesson. Stockholm: KFB. CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION AND PRESENTATIONS 5
SHE conference (The Society of Human ecology) Bar Harbor, 2006 Transportation Research Arena (TRA) Göteborg, Sweden, 2006 SHE conference (The Society of Human ecology) Salt Lake City, 2005 Women s Transportation Issues Conference Chicago, 2004 Transportforum Linköping, Sweden 2004, 2005 Future of Urban Transport Göteborg, Sweden 2003 International Studies Association (ISA) Portland, USA 2003 International Studies Association (ISA) - New Orleans, USA 2002 Mobilizing forces Social and Cultural Aspects of Automobility - Göteborg, Sweden 2000 International Sustainable Development Research Conference - Leeds, England 2000 Methods for the Integration of Environmental Challenges in Transport Policy Sweden 2000 Conference on Gender Perspectives in Research and Education Göteborg, Sweden 1999 Interdisciplinary Conference on SPEED - Copenhagen, Denmark 1999 Human Ecology in Sweden, Workshop Lund, Sweden 1998 Traffic Days at Aalborg University - Aalborg, Denmark 1997 Gender, Science and Technology Workshop - Trondheim, Norway 1997 The 7th annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Women - Adelaide, Australia 1996 The Second International Women s Travel Issues Conference - Maryland, USA 1996 Annual Conference of the Society for Human Ecology (SHE) - Michigan, USA 1994 The Social Construction of Technology as theory and application - Linköping, Sweden 1993 KFB and VTI Research Days, The Swedish Board for Transportation and Communication Studies Annual Conferences - Linköping, Sweden 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998 Annual Conference for the Society for Human Ecology (SHE) Göteborg, Sweden 1991 GOVERNMENTAL EXPERIENCE/PRESENTATIONS Presentation to the Swedish parliament, seminar on gender equality and sustainable transportation, January 2005. Expert on gender equality, for the Swedish Road Administration TRANSEK project on women s and men s future travel needs. October 2004, January 2005. Presentation on gender equality and transportation for the Swedish Parliament s Traffic Committee on their research day, March 2004. Expert on gender equality in transportation policy and planning in Sweden for the governmental Directive on gender equality and transportation. Spring and Fall 2000. Consultant for the Swedish National Road Administration, Social Behavior Section: Employed to analyze a car cooperative in Göteborg. This includes formulating and analyzing questionnaire surveys, and analyzing car journals to test travel patterns and the effects of the implementation of an Internet booking system in car cooperatives in Sweden Meeting with the Swedish Parliament, Stockholm 1996 6
Expert on sexual equality in transportation policy and planning in Sweden for the Committee of Communications, (a governmental body appointed to work on transportation policy in Sweden), 1996-1997. 7