Marco Antonio Pereira Querol, M.Sc., Ph.D. Student

 Contact information

Email: marco.pereira-querol(at)helsinki.fi
Tel.: +358-9 191 44580 (office)

Tel.: +358 50 92 33333 (mobile)

Postal address:
Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research
P.O. Box 26
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

Current Activities

My research deals with learning in socio-environmental networks. The working title of my dissertation is “Challenges for collective learning in environmental management: an activity theoretical study of on-farm biogas production. As a case study, I have chosen a project of biogas production for obtaining? carbon credits from Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The historical analysis of my case suggests that environmental technologies, such as biogas production (i.e.: bio-digester, combustion system, biogas use technologies), are typically very complex. This kind of technologies (or solutions) is usually situated between stabilized activities. Therefore, the kind of network needed for sustainable environmental solutions is a new type of phenomenon, something that is above the well defined network of the activities involved. Such new kind of network requires volunteer collaboration between actors with different perspectives and interests. The increase in complexity in environmental management networks follows the general tendency of productive activities of becoming more tied with different rules. Previously, for example, companies which were responsible only for the direct local pollution caused by their activities (e.g.: the pollution cause by the industrial plants), are nowadays, co-responsible for the pollution produced by their whole chain production not only at local but also at global level. Consequently, environmental management activities are becoming more complex and challenging. Such changes in the character of environmental management activities creates a demand for a new kind of learning, which is neither individual nor organizational learning, but it is rather learning in a distributed network of activities. As an outcome of my research I expect to identify the learning needed to develop environmental management networks.

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Short Biography

With regard to my professional development, I graduated as Agricultural Engineer from the “Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture” (ESALQ – USP), Brazil in 2002. Thereafter, I followed master studies in “Management of Agro-ecological Knowledge and Social Change, at the Wageningen University (2002-2004), the Netherlands. The master thesis was about an evaluation of a Land Reform Program, using an actor oriented approach. Since 2007, I have been working with my PhD dissertation at the Center for activity Theory and DWR?, University of Helsinki. My supervisors are Professor Jaakko Virkkunen and Dr. Laura Seppänen.

Publications

Pereira-Querol M.A., Seppänen L. 2009. Learning as changes in activity systems: the emergence of on-farm biogas production for carbon credits. Outlook on Agriculture (in press).

Pereira-Querol M.A. 2008. Dealing collectively with learning challenges in on-farm biogas production: a study about learning towards environmental sustainability. Working Paper 37. Helsinki University Print. ISBN 978-952-10-4842-5.

Pereira-Querol M.A. 2006. Theories on Communication of Innovations: factors that may affect ICT communication performance. In Matilainen A. (Ed) ICT Tools for Providing Information, Advises and Services for Rural SMEs? Seminar Proceedings,

Abstracts

Pereira Querol M.A. Tailoring a method to analyse the emergence and development of a new joint activity mediational forms. Annual ISCAR Congress (International Society for Cultural and Activity Research). San Diego, CA, United States. September 8-13, 2008 (poster presentation).

Pereira Querol M.A. and Seppänen L. Learning as changes in activity systems: the emergence of on-farm biogas production for carbon credits. 8th European IFSA Symposium: Empowerment of rural actors: a renewal of farmer systems perspectives. Clermont-Ferrand, France. July 6-10, 2008 (oral presentation).

Pereira Querol M.A. The object of farmers and technicians work toward biogas production. Activity2008 Symposium. Helsinki, Finland. May 12-14, 2008 (oral presentation).

Pereira Querol M.A. Transforming objects of agricultural activity: biogas production for mitigating global climate change. The Third Finnish Conference on Cultural and Activity Research (FISCAR’07). Helsinki, Finland. September 27-28, 2007 (oral presentation).

Unpublished Research Works

Pereira Querol M.A. The Demands and Strategies in Land Reform Program”. Thesis for the Master Degree. Wageningen, the Netherlands, 2004.

Pereira Querol M.A. Methodologies of design and evaluation of Programs and Projects (in Portuguese). Thesis for becoming Agricultural Engineer. Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2002.