Who is conducting the research?
The principal researcher of this study is Mr Julian Sartorius, PhD student, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Dundee
J.Sartorius@dundee.ac.uk
+44 (0) 7597 974406
Who is funding the research?
The research is co-funded by the University of Dundee and supported by a Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES) PhD studentship. SAGES pools expertise in geoscience and environmental science from across Scotland’s research institutions with the aim to facilitate multi- disciplinary approaches to earth and environmental research.
What is the purpose of the research?
Scotland’s island communities have particular vulnerabilities to the impacts of global climate change, due to their biophysical, geographical and socioeconomic settings, yet it is also known that such communities may be distinctive in other ways, including in terms of their social capital, connectedness and sociocultural resilience. These distinct characteristics can contribute to facilitating and enhancing climate adaptation, or alternatively they may raise the risks of maladaptation, if instead they are ignored. Against this backdrop, this study was established to develop and execute an integrated assessment of vulnerability and adaptation in remote communities in the Scottish Isles with the aim to facilitate understanding of climatic risks and opportunities, as well as to help build adaptive capacity and strengthen resilience to climate change. An important element of this will be the development of a ‘bottom-up’ perspective through participatory research and knowledge co-production with members of the selected island communities and regional stakeholders.
How can I take part?
If you decide to take part in this study, you will invited to explore issues and concerns relating to climate change issues in the Scottish islands as part of the ongoing wider Scottish public dialogue but more specifically via an online workshop for this project. The online workshop will last between 1-2 hours. You may also be invited by the project team to take part voluntarily in some follow up interviews and feedback exploring your views on Scotland’s islands and climate change adaptation. The process will be recorded using a standard audio recording device for the online group workshop activity and discussion, and/or similar for any individual interviews.
Do I have to take part? Can I withdraw from the project? Will I be anonymous?
Taking part is voluntary. You may decide to withdraw from the study at any time. If you decide to withdraw from the study please contact the principal researcher, Julian Sartorius as soon as possible. Please note that after data collection is complete, it may not be possible to withdraw your contribution fully from the study although your contribution can and will be anonymised. If you have agreed to being recorded as part of any recorded and documented (e.g. photographed) project group activity or recorded online workshops and meetings aspects of this (e.g. some transcription of your contribution and exchanges with others) may be made available for public share and project dissemination. Every effort will be made to contextualise the nature of the wider public access to meeting content and workshop discussions and the nature of how contributions will be ‘shared’ will be explained by the researcher prior to the workshops and online events.
Are there any risks in taking part?
There are no known risks for you to participate in the study.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no direct benefits for you to participate in this study but your input will provide an invaluable contribution to the understanding of climate change in Scottish island communities.
What will happen to the information I provide?
All previously anonymised data collected will be stored on servers of the University of Dundee (Microsoft OneDrive) for the duration of the project. Upon completion of this project all such data will be archived, and may be accessed and re-used in the future by other researchers upon request through the university’s repository ‘Discovery’. Should you decide to withdraw from the study all data collected will be erased. However, given that such erasure might render impossible or seriously impair the research objectives, any such request would be considered on an individual case by case basis. Further, data that has been requested to be erased, but is retained for the principal researcher’s research will be retained for the duration of completing the thesis, but would not then be put into the longer-term repository. Results of this study will be published as part of a PhD thesis at the University of Dundee which will be deposited into the British Library as well as the university’s repository ‘Discovery‘. Results of this study may also be used in subsequent academic journal publications. Any of these results will be presented anonymously (e.g. as anonymised groups of individuals or anonymous quotes from which individuals cannot be identified). You may request access to a copy of the published results though the University’s repository or by request to the principal researcher at any time. You may contact the principal researcher using the above-mentioned contact information to have inaccurate data rectified or completed if it is incomplete at any time. Further, you will be supplied with extracts of data you wish rectified or checked for completeness, including copies of interviews transcripts.
Data Protection
The personal data that will be collected and processed in this study include your answers during the workshop and/or interview process and your place of work only. The University asserts that it lawful for it to process your personal data in this project as the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. The University of Dundee is the data controller for the personal and/or special categories of personal data processed in this project.
Responding to Coastal Climate Change 