Thomas F W GRIFFITHS

 Professional Profile  Education Short Courses   Work Experience  Languages and Computing


Phonetics Laboratory
41 Wellington Square
Oxford OX1 2JF, UK

Tel: 00 44 1865 270441(day)
Tel: 00 44 1865 558877 (evening)
Fax: 00 44 1865 274630

e-mail: thomas.griffiths@phon.ox.ac.uk

D.O.B: 03/02/64

Nationality: British

Marital status: married

Economic and environmental anthropologist specialised in the anthropology and ecology of tropical Latin America. Diverse field skills appropriate to social development and environmental conservation including social and economic census, land use survey, ethnographic study, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), ecological evaluation and Environmental Assessment (EA). A confident negotiator with the proven communication skills required for resolving conflicts between different interest groups. Able to produce reports to meet strict deadlines, and equally adept at working independently or in a team.

EDUCATION

1993-1998 D.Phil: "Ethnoeconomics and Native Amazonian Livelihood: a study of culture and economy among the Nipode-Uitoto of lowland Colombia" [ research involved 2.5 years field work in Colombia, South America ] University of Oxford, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology

1991-1992 M.Phil: Social Anthropology (High Pass) University of Cambridge, Department of Social Anthropology

1985-1988 BSc (Hons): Rural Environment Studies (IIi and two academic prizes) University of London, Wye College

1980-1984 BTEC Dip: Nautical Science, Plymouth School of Maritime Studies

SHORT COURSES

1999 Managing People and Projects, RedR, Moreton-in-Marsh Fire Service College

1994 Economics of rural households in developing countries, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford

1990 Rapid Rural Appraisal Techniques workshop, Imperial College, University of London

1990 Negotiating and Influencing Skills workshop with video and role playing, UK Civil Service

EMPLOYMENT

12/99-present: Oxford University Phonetics Laboratory (OUPL): writing a bilingual Spanish -English document on Nipode-Uitoto for publication as an OUPL Working Paper (part-time)

10/99-12/99: Forest Peoples Programme: carried out a field study of World Bank development projects affecting indigenous peoples in Ecuador and Bolivia. Produced a report that proposes strategies for improving the effectiveness of indigenous peoples policies employed by multilateral development banks and development agencies.

02/99-06/99: Oxford University Press: planned and recorded an audio database of 24 500 English words and phrases. Edited and corrected the recordings before producing final version on CDROM.

12/98-01/99: Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford: organised an e-mail survey for a proposed international conference on indigenous categories of health and well-being. Compiled a bibliography of 650 references through an internet and literature search, and produced a report and project strategy for the establishment of a specialist centre on ethnoecology and well-being.

10/98-12/98: Oxford University Phonetics Laboratory, University of Oxford: compiled a 3000 word tri-lingual glossary in Nipode-Uitoto, Spanish and English for use in indigenous community schools in Colombia.

04/93-07/93: Foundation for Ethnobiology, Oxford: completed a comprehensive study on indigenous knowledge and concepts of property. The literature survey was presented in a report with a bibliography of 400 references. The job demanded excellent research and writing skills, together with the capacity to synthesise information on indigenous peoples in Africa, India, Asia, Australia, the Americas and the Circum-Polar region.

06/89-04/91: Nature Conservancy Council, South Wales: liaised with 1500 landowners living on a 6 000 ha coastal marsh regarding the legal notification of their land as a protected area (SSSI). Resolved various conflicts with local people opposed to the project and negotiated land management agreements with farmers. Achieved a successful series of consultations with large industry (British Steel), national and local government, community organisations and NGOs in relation to regional environmental conservation.

10/88-06/89: Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Cumbria: analysed land use survey data, and refined more than 100 land use categories for sample 1Km2 map units defining 28 primary Land Classes across the whole of the UK.

1980-1985: UK Merchant Navy: carried out the navigation and seamanship duties of Third Deck Officer on cargo vessels visiting over 40 different countries world-wide, and sailed as First Deck Officer on coastal UK ferries. The profession demanded decisive action at all times and good leadership skills for the management of shipboard personnel.

LANGUAGES AND COMPUTING

Fluent in English and Spanish, with a working knowledge of written French and Portuguese. Basic skills in the Amerindian Uitoto language.

Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Excel 97, Unix, Oracle, html

30/01/2000


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