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Contact Details
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Qualifications
B.Sc. (Flinders), Grad. Dip. Business (Curtin), PhD ( 2006, Charles Sturt University CSU)
Positions Held
Research Fellow and Lecturer, School of Geography, Population and
Environmental Management
Adjunct Staff
Current Teaching
GEOG 3013 - Geographical Information Systems
ENVS 8001 - Managing Environments (Masters program)
Current Research
Program Manager of ARC Linkage project: The Health, Housing and Labour Market Impacts of an Automotive Plant closure.
Awards
APA Industry Scholarship.
Courses
Cert IV Workplace Training & Assessment, TAFE NSW.
NIES Enterprise Workshop, Churchlands CAE, Perth, WA.
Monsanto Aust. Ltd. Sales; Retail Management; Managerial Analytics.
In particular:
Social science research: Social impact assessment of the drought. State-sponsored
community participation - Landcare Networks in NSW and Victoria. The success
of local organizations in rural development. Defining the elements of social
capital and its influence on organizational outcomes, especially change through
a learning culture at a local or micro level. Building social institutions and
roles for NRM especially Landcare, Catchment Management Authorities and State
agencies. Participation in qualitative and quantitative investigation of riverine
land use practices and response by landholders to alternative government incentives.
Project management: Multi-disciplinary consultancies into dryland salinity, mining rehabilitation, technology transfer and latterly research and consultancies investigating the role and effectiveness of Landcare in delivering regional catchment strategies.
Editor: Report of the Expert Panel review of the health of the Murrumbidgee River.
Commercialisation of R&D: University IP transfer - business assessment, planning and implementation of project for a new remote sensing algorithm.
TAFE teaching: rural business management and environmental management, including FarmBis courses in GIS, GPS, remote sensing interpretation in Vic, NSW, & Qld.
Background
I have skills in qualitative and quantitative social science research methods,
project and consultancy management, industry funding applications, commercialization
of university research, and plant breeding and selection R&D.
I have background knowledge of soils, plants and weeds; the seed industry –
native and agricultural; agribusiness – pesticides sales and distribution,
export trade relationships, farmer cooperatives, and conservation farming and
grazing practices; dryland salinity, revegetation and NRM issues; and remote
sensing, GIS and GPS as adapted for agronomic decision making.
Papers/Publications
Refereed
Curtis, A., Britton, A. and Sobels, J.D. (1999), Landcare networks in Australia:
state-sponsored participation through local organisations. Journal of Environmental
Planning and Management, 42 (1) pp. 5-21.
Krall, J. Groose, R. and Sobels, J.D, (1996) “Assessment for winter survival
of selected Austrian winter pea and annual medic cultivar/lines on the Western
High Plains (USA). pp. 237-240. In J. Janick (ed.) Progress in New Crops. ASHS
Press: Alexandra, VA.
Sobels, JD. and Curtis, AL (2001) ‘Landcare networks: Establishing viable
local organisations in rural Australia.’ Natural Resources Management.
4 (2) pp. 22-28.
Sobels, J.D., Curtis, A.L. and Lockie, S. (2001) The role of Landcare group
networks in rural Australia: exploring the contribution
of social capital. Journal of Rural Studies. 17 (3) pp. 265-276.
Reports
Sobels, J.D., Curtis, A.L. and Cooke, P. (2005) Survey of SA Landcare Groups:
Report 1 - Relationships of Landcare Groups with Peak Bodies and Government,
(in press). Institute Land Water and Society: Albury.
Allan, C., Curtis, A.L., Howard, J., McDonald, S., Robertson, S and Sobels,
J.D. (2005) NE CMA River Tender Report 2005 (in press). Institute Land Water
& Society, Albury.
Sobels, J.D. and Curtis, A.L. (2001) Second generation Landcare support in West
Gippsland. Report to the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. Johnstone
Centre Report # 156. Charles Sturt University: Albury.
Hillman, T.J., Koehn, J.D., Mitchell, D.M., Sobels, J.D., Thompson, D. and Woodside,
D. (2000) The Murrumbidgee: assessing the health of a 'working river'. Report
of the Expert Panel to the Agribusiness Taskforce, DLWC and EPA.
Conference Proceedings
Curtis, A., Britton, A. and Sobels, J.D. (1999), Landcare networks in rural
development. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium of Society
and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Krall, J., Groose, R. and Sobels, J.D, (1995), “Assessment for winter
survival of selected Austrian winter pea and annual medic cultivar/lines on
the Western High Plains (USA). In 3rd National Symposium New Crops: New Opportunities-
New Technologies.
Abstracts, pp. 76-77.
Sobels, J.D. (1990), “Commercial saline agronomy using direct seeding.”
In Proceedings of the 5th Australian Soil Conservation Conference, Perth WA.
Sobels, J.D. (1990), “Case studies in economic revegetation in agriculture,
rangelands and mining.” In Proceedings of Greening Australia’s ‘Sowing
the Seeds’ Conference, Adelaide, SA.
Sobels, J.D. and Curtis, A.L. (2000) ‘Landcare networks: Enhancing the
impact of local organisations in rural Australia’ In
Proceedings, International Landcare 2000 Conference, pp. 221-226. Melbourne.
Non-Refereed
Curtis, A.L., Britton, A. and Sobels, J.D. (1998) Landcare networks in Australia.
In J. Blackadder (ed.) Landcare Annual Report, 1998.
Sobels, J.D. (1990), “Case studies in saltland rehabilitation with direct
seeding.” Saline Agronomy Workshop, Institute of Irrigation & Salinity
Research, Tatura, Victoria.
Updated 16 April 2008
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