James Magdanz

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I first came to Alaska in 1978 as a photojournalist, fascinated by a group of Iñuit children I photographed while they visited an Iowa farm. The Iñuit were self-confident, calm, mature, and cooperative. They shed no tears, threw no tantrums, and played with great joy. I wondered, “What kind of place raises kids like this?” So I moved to Arctic Alaska, where I spent 30 years living in and studying Iñuit communities. In 1981, I joined the Division of Subsistence, a social science research group in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. There, a “simple” estimation problem (double counting of cooperative harvests involving multiple households) developed into a continuing interest in social network analysis as a method to understand small-scale economies. We now have detailed socio-economic network data for more than 35 remote communities. In 2012, to improve my network analysis skills, I resigned from the Division of Subsistence to pursue a PhD in “Natural Resources and Sustainability” at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. I am looking forward to learning from my fellow students at the Complex Systems Summer School.