Loka Ashwood, a rural sociologist who joined the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Auburn in June as assistant professor, was lead author on an article that has been named the most outstanding to run in the scholarly journal Rural Sociology in 2014.
The journal’s editorial board will present Ashwood the 2015 Rural Sociology Best Paper Award during the Rural Sociological Society’s annual meeting this week in Wisconsin. Her paper, “Linked and Situated: Grounded Knowledge,” was selected from among 19 total articles that ran in the journal’s four 2014 issues.
Rural Sociology editor Stephen Sapp said Ashwood’s article was chosen because it represents an outstanding achievement in integrating theory and method for the purpose of furthering the discipline and the well-being of individuals and communities served by rural social scientists.
“The paper was particularly effective in using observational and participatory data to highlight the importance of encouraging community members to actively link with one another to successfully complete local development projects,” Sapp said.
Ashwood was a Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when the paper was published. She completed her doctorate in May.
