"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently - Nietzsche"

Joao Mil-Homens
joão mil-homens

PhD candidate in 
environmental design & planning
virginia tech
604 Alleghany St, Blacksburg, VA 24060
email: joao@vt.edu

research associate
cria - universidade do algarve
cria, campus de gambelas
8000-117 faro, portugal
phone: +351 91 728 4534
email: joaomh@ualg.pt
labeling schemes or labeling scams? an auditors' perspective on the value of ISO 14001
- report available december 2008 -

biography
education
research
experience
publications
awards
resume


Biography:
Joao Loureiro Mil-Homens was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 31, 1975. In 1998 he completed his B.S. in Environmental Engineering, from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon (FCT-UNL). He was an exchange student at the Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology (Spring 1997) and a visiting student at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Summer 1997). As part of his final project, he worked as an environmental auditor at Shell. Still in 1998, he published his first article in the Journal of Infrastructure Systems, ASCE, entitled Water Quality Management in Virtual Environments.

After the completion of his college degree he worked as a junior researcher in GASA (Environmental Systems Analysis Group) in FCT-UNL. Besides receiving grants for research development from PRODEP (Education Development Program funded by the European Union) and the Luso-American Development Foundation, he also had the opportunity to work for the Portuguese Navy's Hydrographic Institute, the National Center for Geographic Information, and Observa.

In the Summer of 2000 he joined the Masters of Urban and Regional Planning of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech with fellowships from the Foundation for Science and Technology and the Luso-American Development Foundation. His Masters' Thesis (Voluntary Environmental Initiatives: Sponsorship and Stakeholder Involvement) was presented at the 44th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, at the 11th International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network, and later published in the Policy Studies Journal. He is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Design and Planning doctoral program at Virginia Tech with a fellowship from the Foundation for Science and Technology. His dissertation focuses on the role of environmental management certification schemes in the existing regulatory structure. At Virginia Tech he has held several research and teaching assistant positions and has been responsible for the graduate course Advanced Research Methods.

He is currently at Algarve´s University (UAlg), Faculty of Ocean and Environmental Sciences, where he is responsible for two graduate courses: Environmental Impact Assessment, and Environmental Management and Auditing. He is advising 5 Environmental Engineering Master´s Students on projects related with the promotion of environmental management programs. He is also collaborating with Algarve's Regional Center for Innovation (CRIA), where he manages Plataforma Golfe, a multidisciplinary project that aims to strengthen the relationship between UAlg and the golf industry through a set of R&D, outreach, and training programs.

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Education:
Doctoral Candidate in Environmental Design and Planning (Present).
    School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
    Foundation for Science and Technology dissertation fellowship (2002-06).
    Research Advisors: Dr. John Randolph and Dr. Joe Rees.
    Expected graduation: Fall 2008.

Masters in Urban and Regional Planning - Environmental Planning concentration (August 2002).
    Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
    Thesis: Voluntary Environmental Initiatives: Sponsorship and Stakeholder Involvement.
    Foundation for Science and Technology Masters program fellowship (2001-02).
    Luso-American Development Foundation Masters program fellowship (2000-01).
    Research Advisors: Dr. JoAnn Carmin.
    GPA: 3.85/4.0

B.S. in Environmental Engineering (July 1998).
    College of Science and Technology - New University of Lisbon (FCT-UNL), Portugal.
    GPA: 16/20

Exchange student at the Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology (Spring 1997).
    Fellowship from European Union student exchange program ERASMUS.

Visiting student at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning of the MIT (August 1997).
    Fellowship from Luso-American Development Foundation academic exchange program.

Curriculum Enrichment
    Future Professoriate Graduate Certificate, Graduate School, Virginia Tech.
    Workshop: Effective College Teaching for New Faculty and Graduate Students, Virginia Tech.
    Human Research Participant Protections Certificate, Institutional Review Board, Virginia Tech.
    National Issues Forum Moderator.

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Research Interests and Skills:
Research focuses on environmental regulation, with a particular emphasis on self-regulation, environmental management systems, certification schemes, accountability, and US and European environmental policy.

I am prepared to teach a broad array of classes associated with Regulatory Studies, Environmental Planning and Policy, Collaborative Governance and Research Methods. For example: Regulatory Strategies, Corporate Environmental Management, Environmental Policy; Environmental Impact Assessment, Public Policy Analysis, Land Use and Environment, Planning Theory, Stakeholder Involvement, Collaborative Governance, Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods.


Download: Teaching Philosphy; Sample syllabus (Environmental Policy and Planning; Advanced Research Methods); Students evaluations

Advanced quantitative and qualitative research; Database management and web editing; Design and implementation of Internet surveys and statistical data analysis.
Certified Training in Human Subjects Research.

Software: Allaire Homesite, ArcView GIS, Dream Weaver, End Notes, MS Front Page, MS Office, NVIVO, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoShop, ProCite, SPSS, STATA.
Programming: HTML, SQL, ASP.

Native Portuguese, fluent in English and Spanish, intermediate French.

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Experience:
Teaching, Faculty of Ocean and Environmental Sciences, UAlg (2007 - Present).
· Course Instructor: Environmental Impact Assessment.
· Course Instructor: Environmental Management and Auditing.

Teaching, Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Management (2008).
· Guest Lecturer: Environmental Management Systems (Prof. Luis Portugal).

Teaching, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech (2002-05).
· Course Instructor: Advanced Research Methods.
· Guest Lecturer: Quantitative Methods in Planning (Dr. Casey Dawkins).
· Lab Instructor: Quantitative Methods in Planning (Dr. Linda Prokopy and Dr. Casey Dawkins).

Teaching Assistant, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech (2001-03).
· Quantitative Methods in Planning class (Dr. Linda Prokopy and Dr. Casey Dawkins).
· Community Involvement class (Dr. JoAnn Carmin).


Research Associate, CRIA, UAlg (2007).
· Responsible for multidisciplinary project Plataforma Golfe.

Research Assistant, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech (2001-03).
· Data management and statistical analysis on Conservation Easement Survey project (PI: Dr. Jesse Richardson).
· Development of Internet survey and data management on Neighborhood Watch Survey project (PI: Dr. Diane Zahm).
· Statistical analysis on Landscape Change in the Brazilian Amazon project (PI: Dr. John Browder).
· Implementation of internet survey, data management and statistical analysis for Voluntary Environmental Programs Survey (PIs: Dr. JoAnn Carmin and Dr. Nicolle Darnall).

Research Assistant, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Tech (2001-02).
· Development of web-based database management system for the Stroubles Creek Corridor Assessment Survey and homepage for the Stroubles Creek Watershed Initiative (PI: Dr. Tamim Younos)

Researcher in GASA (Environmental Systems Analysis Group) in FCT-UNL (1999-00). Collaboration in the following projects:
· Observa: Environment and Society - Consultant for a sociology group.
· Hydrographic Institute - development of a hydrographic data web site for the Portuguese Navy.
· ESMI - member of the National Center for Geographic Information team. Marketing, design and interface development of the EU funded project, European Spatial Metadata Infrastructure.
· CEA - Center for Environmental Education - development of an environmental education website with emphasis on establishing interactive platforms and distribution of educational materials for students and professors.

Environmental auditing to Shell's fuel storage plant in Lisbon (1998).

US Pavilion Collaborator at the World Exhibition EXPO98 - Lisbon (Summer 1998).

Junior researcher in GASA (Environmental Systems Analysis Group) in FCT-UNL (1995-97). Collaboration in the following projects:
· Virtual Tejo - Study of the Tejo estuary based on virtual reality technology (PI: Dr. António Câmara).
· TEC: The Environmental Channel - a broad, multilingual, environmental education web site.

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Publications:
Articles:

Browder, J.; Pedlowski, M.; Walker, R.; Wynne, R.; Summers, P.; Abad, A.; Becerra-Cordoba, N.; Mil-Homens, J. (in Press). Revisiting Theories of Frontier Expansion in the Brazilian Amazon: A Survey of the Colonist Farming Population in Rondônia’s Post-frontier, 1992–2002. World Development.

Carmin, J.; Darnall, N.; Mil-Homens, J. 2003. Stakeholder Involvement in the Design of U.S. Voluntary Environmental Initiatives: Does Sponsorship Matter? Policy Studies Journal, 31 (4).

Câmara, A.S.; Neves, J.N.; Muchaxo, J.; Sousa, I.; Costa, M.; Nobre, E.; Mil-Homens, J.; Rodrigues, A.C. 1998. Water Quality Management in Virtual Environments. Journal of Infrastructure Systems, ASCE.

Working on:

Mil-Homens, J. The regulatory genealogy of Environmental Management Systems’ certification. Regulation & Governance.

Mil-Homens, J. A Decade of ISO14001: Is There a Jubilee to Celebrate? Tales from the Auditing Community. Environmental Quality Management.

Mil-Homens, J. Who Guards the Guardians of Environmental Certification? The Accountability Structure of ISO 14001 Conformity Assessment. Managerial Auditing Journal.

Mil-Homens, J. Environmental management Post ISO-14001. Emerging environmental management certification programs and the new hybrid auditor. Regulation & Governance.

Conference papers:

Mil-Homens, J. 2006. ISO14001 Plus: How Can Performance Evaluation Influence the Forces of Esteem? Paper presented at the Law and Society Meetings, 6-9 July, Baltimore, MD.

Mil-Homens, J. 2004. Can Governments Enforce Corporate Environmental Responsibility? The Role of EMAS and Performance Track in the New Regulatory State. Paper presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, October 21-24, Portland, OR.

Mil-Homens, J.; Carmin, J.; Darnall, N. 2003. Diversity and Intensity of Stakeholder Involvement in the Design of Voluntary Environmental Initiatives: A US Perspective. Paper presented at the 11th International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network, San Francisco, CA.

Mil-Homens, J.; Carmin, J.; Darnall, N. 2002. Sponsorship and Stakeholder Involvement in the Design of U.S. Voluntary Environmental Initiatives. Paper presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Baltimore, MD.

Mil-Homens, J. 1998. TEC: The Environmental Channel. Presented at the GASA Summer Seminar, May 20, Monte da Caparica, Portugal.

Câmara, A.S.; Neves, J.N.; Muchaxo, J.; Fernandes, J.P.; Sousa, I.; Nobre, E.; Costa, M.; Mil-Homens, J. Rodrigues, A.C. 1998. Virtual Tejo - A Virtual Reality Based Water Quality Management System. Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Hydroinformatics, August 24-26, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Câmara, A.S.; Neves, J.N.; Muchaxo, J.; Fernandes, J.P.; Sousa, I.; Nobre, E.; Costa, M.; Mil-Homens, J. Rodrigues, A.C. 1997. Virtual Tejo: Virtual Environments and Water Quality Management. Presented at the GASA Summer Seminar, June, Monte da Caparica, Portugal.

Other publications and reports:

Darnall, N.; Carmin, J.; Krieser, N; Mil-Homens, J. 2003. Voluntary Environmental Programs Survey: Understanding the Structure, Administration, and Environmental Requirements of US VEPs. Report prepared for administrators of voluntary environmental programs.

Dept. of Urban Affairs and Planning, Check Your Success: A Guide to Developing Indicators for Community Based Environmental Projects, Graduate Environmental Studio Project, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 2001.

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Awards:
Foundation for Science and Technology Ph.D. fellowship (2002-06).

Virginia Tech Graduate Student Assembly Travel Fund recipient for research presentations at the 44th and 45th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, 11th International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network and 2006 Law and Society Meetings (2002-06).

Foundation for Science and Technology Masters program fellowship (2001-02).

Luso-American Development Foundation Masters program fellowship (2000-01).

Grant from PRODEP (Educational Development Program funded by the European Union) for development of a Environmental Education Center (1999-00).

Grant from Luso-American Development Foundation academic exchange program (1997).

Grant from European Union student exchange program ERASMUS (1997).

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Resume:
Download: English (May 06); Portugues (Aug 08)

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Updated: August 31, 2008