CfPs: ICA2020 Pre-Conference on "Digital Cultures of South Asia: Inequalities, Infrastructures, Informatization"

ICA2020 Pre-Conference on "Digital Cultures of South Asia: Inequalities, Infrastructures, Informatization"

Date: Thursday, May 21, 2020

Location: Gold Coast, Australia

Organizers: Radhika Parameswaran (rparames[@]indiana.edu, Indiana University), Sangeet Kumar (kumars[@]denison.edu, Denison University), Kalyani Chadha (kchadha[@]umd.edu, University of Maryland), Adrian Athique (a.athique[@]uq.edu.au, University of Queensland) and Pradip Thomas (pradip.thomas[@]uq.edu.au, University of Queensland). 

Conference Coordinator: Roshni Susana Verghese, roshnisusana[@]gmail.com 

Pre-Conference Description
Characterized by a mobile phone led connectivity boom and the cheapest data prices in the world (McCarthy 2019), South Asia has emerged as a region with the greatest potential for the future growth of Internet users. Indeed, as such, the area is not only central to any attempts at imagining the future of digital media globally, but it also constitutes a fertile territorial and cultural space for scholarly inquiry into the various dimensions of expanding digital life in the region. Consequently, this pre-conference focuses on exploring digital developments and their political, economic, social and cultural implications in the context of postcolonial South Asia and its global diaspora. The pre-conference draws inspiration from scholars who have sought to dewesternize digital media studies through their granular and interdisciplinary accounts of varied aspects of digital life in non-western countries. It is also grounded in the notion that the historical, political and social specificities of postcolonial South Asia necessitate the production of knowledge on digital culture— both conceptual and empirical— that explores the heterogeneities and complexities of the diverse nations that constitute the region. We envisage this pre-conference to be a forum for illuminating the varied dialectical forces that are at play in South Asia in shaping digital culture in ways that are similar to but also quite different from other parts of the world.
In pursuit of these objectives, we invite submissions that cover a broad range of topics set in South Asia, including, but not limited to scholarly areas such as:

• Issues of digital access, connectivity and inequality (social asymmetries of caste, gender, sexuality, religion, language, and class)
• Online mobilization by activist communities to protest inequities and advocate for social change
• Nature and implications for sovereignty of governance and infrastructure regimes emerging across the region, particularly as they relate to data collection and commodification, security and privacy
• The political economy of digital media and the impact of digital technologies on the mainstream media landscape in entertainment and news media
• Rise of new genres of informational and artistic representation— including parody, satire, and humor—in online spaces such as YouTube
• Role of digital and social media in the transformation of contemporary politics, including campaigns and elections
• Transformations in the business and content of journalism, the rise of fake news, misinformation as well as hate and extreme speech
• Vernacular community formation in local, national and transnational/diasporic South Asian digital spaces
• New transnational digital circuits of cultural production and consumption—fueled by affinities of caste, gender, class and sexuality—within and beyond South Asia

The pre-conference aims to bring together ICA participants as well as scholars from around the world who are interested in digital culture in the Global South, with a particular focus on South Asia. Presentations and conversations at the pre-conference will be geared to achieve the following broad goals: build theory sensitive to the nuances of the region, strengthen analytical frameworks, foster interdisciplinarity, encourage critical thinking, and address empirical gaps in research. Keynote speakers to be determined and announced in Spring 2020.

Submission and participation details

• Extended abstract due: Monday, January 20th, 2020
• Final decisions on acceptance: Friday, February 14th, 2020

At this time we invite authors to submit extended abstracts (700 to 1,000 words) that describe the main thesis and arguments, research goals, theoretical influences/frameworks, and to the extent possible, the methodological background and findings of their papers. The pre-conference organizers welcome diverse theoretical and methodological approaches and varied modes of analyses.
Please make sure you include a title for your abstract. We request you to anonymize your document by removing all identifying information from it. Very poorly written abstracts as well as those that do not relate to South Asia will be automatically rejected. Abstract submissions will be reviewed and final decisions communicated by February 14th, 2020.  Please submit your extended abstracts to conference coordinator Dr. Roshni Susana Verghese at roshnisusana[@]gmail.com. Based on the volume and the quality of submissions, we intend to explore a potential thematic publication of pre-conference materials as a special issue in a journal or as an edited volume.
Registration fees: With financial support from institutional sponsors and ICA Divisions, the registration fees for the pre-conference will be under $20. The registration fees will cover refreshments for two breaks and lunch. This is a flat fee for anyone who wishes to present at or simply attend the pre-conference (without a presentation), including all ICA student and faculty members. There are no prerequisites for submitting abstracts, registering for and participating in the pre-conference. All attendees will need to create an ICA profile to register.
Finally, we expect all presenters will attend the pre-conference event for the full day. If you are traveling from overseas, we advise you to arrive on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, and make appropriate accommodation arrangements for that night.

Further Details

NITI Aayog launches India Innovation Index 2019

NITI Aayog launches India Innovation Index 2019

Source: PIB, 17-October-2019 | Pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=193852

Karnataka tops the Innovation Index followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Delhi

NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh form the remaining top ten major states respectively. The top ten major states are majorly concentrated in southern and western India. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north- eastern & hill states, and union territories/city states/small states respectively. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output.
The index was released in the presence of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science; Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH.
Dr. Rajiv Kumar expressed hope that "the India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance." Shri Amitabh Kant added that "India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world." Renu Swarup said, "cluster-based innovation should be leveraged upon as the focal point of competitiveness." Shri Ashutosh Sharma said, "The index is a great beginning to improve the environment of innovation in the country as it focuses on both the input and output components of the idea." Shri Vaidya Kotecha said, "The index is a good effort to benchmark the performance of the state with each other and promote competitive federalism."
The study examines the innovation ecosystem of Indian states and union territories. The aim is to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions. The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east, and hill states, and union territories/city states/small states.

Background:
Recognizing the role of innovation as a key driver of growth and prosperity for India, NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner has released the India Innovation Index 2019. The study is an outcome of extensive research and analysis, which looks holistically at the innovation landscape of India by examining the innovation capabilities and performance of Indian states and union territories. The aim is to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions.
The index attempts to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of the innovation environment of 29 states and seven union territories in India and intends to perform the following three functions- 1) ranking of states and UTs based on their index scores, 2) recognizing opportunities and challenges, and 3) assisting in tailoring governmental policies to foster innovation.
The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions - Enablers and Performance. The Enablers are the factors that underpin innovative capacities, grouped in five pillars: (1) Human Capital, (2) Investment, (3) Knowledge Workers, (4) Business Environment, and (5) Safety and Legal Environment. The Performance dimension captures benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge Output and (7) Knowledge Diffusion.
The index presents the latest findings and highlights the regional catalysts and caveats for promoting innovation readiness. The Report offers a comprehensive snapshot of the innovation ecosystem of 29 states and seven union territories. It also includes a section on state profiles covering 33 indicators looking at the different facets of innovation in India.
The index shows that the innovation ecosystem of the country is strong in south and western parts of India. In fact, three of the top five major states are from southern India. Delhi and Haryana seem to be an exception to this rule and seem to be doing well on the Index. Thus, there seems to be a west-south and north-east divide across the country.
The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east and hill states, and union territories / city states / small states. Karnataka is the leader in the overall rankings in the category of major states. Karnataka's number one position in the overall ranking is partly attributed to its top rank in the Performance dimension. It is also among the top performers in Infrastructure, Knowledge Workers, Knowledge Output and Business Environment.
Among the category of major states, Maharashtra performs the best in the dimension of Enablers. This implies that it has the best enabling environment for innovation, even though the state comes in at the third position in the overall innovation index.
The broad level learnings and some policy imperatives at the national level include increasing the spending on research and development, improving the capability of top rung educational institutions in the country to produce greater innovation outputs. There is also a need for greater coordination and collaboration between the industry and educational institutions for enhancing innovation capability. A collaborative platform consisting of all the stakeholders of innovation - innovators, researchers, and investors from the industry should be developed. This will help in strengthening the industry-academia linkages and will ease the process of technology transfer by providing a platform for innovators to showcase their inventions.
At the state level, broad level key learning includes forming policies at the state level that seek to improve the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Cluster development programs are also an area in need of greater coordination and can benefit from a more open collaborative approach. Also, the industrial policies at the state level should focus more on innovation. At present only a few policies exist for innovation even in the most innovative states and union territories.

Download Full-Text Report (Open Access)

Call for Papers: (Un)doing the Commons Conference | 27-28 February at SNU

Call for Papers: (Un)doing the Commons Conference

27-28 February 2020

Organized by Department of Sociology, Shiv Nadar University, India

Concept Note:
This conference will advocate a move to explore the commons as a process that involves constantly emerging spatio-temporal dynamics generative of modes of identification, place making, and belonging. We foreground this form of an engagement by questioning or (un)doing certain themes underlying the dominant conceptualizations of the commons in social theory.
As with "community," the "commons" as a conceptual category, rather than lived experiences, evolved in a specific manner in India with the colonial encounter. In the mid to late nineteenth century, Henry Sumner Maine characterized village communities in India as organized on communal landholding patterns and representative self-government. For Maine, these institutions were the earliest phase of an evolutionary process whose end-point was parliamentary democracy in England. We unyoke conceptions of the commons from their scholarly location in evolutionary ideologies, German romanticism, Victorian society and politics, the compulsions of colonial rule, and anthropocentricism. In doing so, we view social life around, in and through the commons as produced from the historical circulation of peoples, species, ecological and cultural objects; as politically fraught, hybrid networks; as institutional formations that multiple actors are constantly re-shaping, re-conceptualizing, and re-articulating.
The ideas underlying the Robinson Crusoe myth (the atomized, industrious, investing individual, capable of dominating nature, and subjugating those seen as lacking civilization in the name of friendship) have been used by liberal theorists to justify slavery, colonialism and enclosing the commons. We ask that if Robinson Crusoe exemplifies one particular understanding of homo economicus, then what subject position, conceptions of the social, and human non-human interaction animate homo communis. Indeed debates around "The Tragedy of the Commons" and "Governing the Commons" center on the problematic of whether people recognize that the interests of the individual are congruent with those of the community and that this recognition has the potential to displace individual utility-maximizing behaviour. Yet, we seek to push this line of thought by challenging the agentive role of the human in making community and how utility is understood. Is our only way of relating to the world embodied in varied understandings of its possibilities of commodification that then constitute the commons. Or are other iterations possible that grant an account of the more-than-human world.
Following the diverse ways in which scholars have conceptualized the commons (knowledge commons, digital commons, urban commons, to name a few) we propose an (un)doing of the commons; an undoing from the traditional lineage of intellectual discourse on the commons; an undoing from readings that ground the human as central in any conceptualization of the commons; an undoing from understandings that are lodged in the public-private divide and advocate a move to unravel varied understandings of how engaged research can foretell new means of doing the commons, as a processual rendering.

Themes:
Sovereignty and Resource: If Anthropocene thinkers position the planet in a state of crisis which can only be overcome by human enterprise, the biosphere is being re-cast to ratify the triumph of human beings over the natural world. This is compounded by the fact that climate science is still at the helm of understanding what kind of a future will result from the processes encoded in the Anthropocene. In conversation with science and technology studies, we expand the notion of commons as governed by unregulated logics of sovereignty to question not only the very idea of sovereignty but how such notions are unfolding into an unknown and scientifically fraught future.
Custom: How do customs emerge from communally held values? The tenuousness of shared values is evident from the ways in which authority figures must do the constant work of reiterating these values during dispute-resolution, rituals, and festivals. In everyday life, different actors draw on an archive of stories to assure people that their concerns, emotions, and affects are in alignment with others. What conditions hinder such processes, leading to transformations of the customary, and how does this lead to individuation and alienation?
Storytelling and Narratability: The philosopher Adriana Cavarero, following Hannah Arendt, states that individualist thought "flattens out the uniqueness of the individual" replacing it with doctrines that favor equivalence between individuals (Kottman 2000 ix). For Caverero each of us is "narratable by the other," (ix) in other words we are dependent on shared stories of others for the narration of our unique life-story. The question, then, is no longer about whether individual interests align with others, but rather how shared stories have the potential of simultaneously becoming the edifice on which the commons are built and from which the uniqueness of the individual emerges.
Ownership dynamics: Going beyond the juxtaposition of the private-versus-communal property debates, we draw on the growing understanding of the plurality of ownership dynamics and how commons and the private are significantly co-constitutive and interdependent. With the increasing privatization of publics, different actors struggle to define the commons in terms of global imaginings of local community-based sovereignty, for example with the category "indigenous ways of life." Such categories are sometimes in tension with the creative ways in which people align themselves to others.

Details:
This two-day conference aims to bring together researchers invested in multi-disciplinary research on themes of the commons, customs and transforming ecologies. We especially encourage early career scholars who engage in social and cultural anthropology to apply. The Department of Sociology, Shiv Nadar University will cover all local logistical and hospitality costs of selected participants.

• Abstract submission deadline: 30th November (word limit: 500 words)
• Final conference paper deadline: 15th February

Submissions must be emailed to undoingthecommons@gmail.com and should have the conference title in the subject head and the name, designation, affiliation, title of paper and abstract in the body of the email. Please also mention under which of the four proposed themes given above your paper fits best.
For any clarifications, please email undoingthecommons@gmail.com

Further Details

Half-day Conference on Research Transparency and Open Data | 7th November, NCAER, New Delhi

Half-day Conference on Research Transparency and Open Data
Date: November 7, 2019, 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Venue: NCAER, New Delhi
Organized by International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) & National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

Register Online

Workshop on From Data to Insights: A Narrative using Data Storytelling and Visualization | 14th December, New Delhi

Workshop on From Data to Insights: A Narrative using Data Storytelling and Visualization
When: 14th December, 2019 (Saturday)
Where: CMS, Saket, New Delhi, India

Background: Data visualization is a language and it's becoming standard for analysts to know how to convey information to decision makers in a way that is actionable and easy to understand. This skill, combined with the ability for analysts to share the steps they took to discover the insights in data, is often defined as "data storytelling." Data storytelling is a critical element of the analytics process. And a changing workplace culture, where analytics reigns supreme, is refining the definition of data storytelling. As organizations create cultures of analytics, analysts' data storytelling methods are more about nurturing a conversation around the data and less about arguing for a singular conclusion. These analytical cultures are also fostering data literacy efforts aimed at teaching people to truly understand the data and to be participants in the analytical conversation— from the moment of discovery to the resulting business decision.

Make data your core competency: The promise of digital transformation is the ability to harness the power of technology to grow your business, reach new markets, and attract new customers. It means that you also need to understand all of the data, or digital exhaust, created by new customer experiences.

Data Science: This field of expertise is the interdisciplinary field of sciences, which extracts knowledge and insight from data, making it readily available. This exciting field has made significant changes to our daily lives in the past couple of decades. The technologies we take for granted are all driven by this field of expertise, but there is one thing that data scientists are not naturally skilled in:
Visualizations: The emergence of technology solutions such as dashboards became a natural solution in aiding us to comprehend our vast amounts of data collected. Transforming data into graphs, pie, and line charts meant we could see our data like never before, however, alone data visualizations have limitations. They provided at-a-glance snapshots of data, lacking the context needed to explain why something has happened.
Data storytelling is a methodology for communicating information, tailored to a specific audience, with a compelling narrative. It is the last ten feet of your data analysis and arguably the most important aspect. The most vital part of a data story is the narrative. Narrative uses language in a format that suits our particular needs, augmenting our full comprehension of new information. A narrative is a key vehicle to convey insights, with visualizations and data being important proof points.

What will be covered: The goal of this 1-day workshop is to enable you to bring data to life and use it to communicate a story to an audience, with a focus on simplicity and ease of interpretation. This is accomplished through a mix of data visualization and storytelling theory, best practices, and practical application.

Workshop content is organized into 5 key lessons:

• Understand the context; Choose the right display; Identify and eliminate clutter; Draw attention where you want it; and Tell a story.

Lessons are made concrete through numerous real world examples and individual and small group exercises. The workshops are highly interactive; registration is limited to ensure instructor/student interaction.

Am I eligible to attend: Are you responsible for representing data in your day-to-day job? Is it important for you to be able to tell stories through graphs and presentations? If you ever find yourself needing to communicate something  to someone  using data, this workshop is for you. Whether you're an analyst crunching numbers, a manager needing to communicate in a data-driven way, or a leader responsible for presentations to your board or other stakeholders, this workshop will give you the tools to tell more effective stories with data.
Send Registration Form to Mr Anand A Jha, Workshop Director, Centre for Media Studies (CMS), New Delhi, India, Email: anand[@]cmsindia.org, Mob +91-9582254615.

Registration Form and Brochure

Announcement of the laureates of UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences

UNESCO Press release No.2019-95

Announcement of the laureates of UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences

Paris, 22 October—UNESCO has named Dr Cato Laurencin (USA), Professor Kevin McGuigan (Ireland) and Professor Youyou Tu (China) as the three winners of the 2019 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences.

This is the fifth edition of the Prize, which rewards outstanding scientific research projects in the life sciences that have led to an improvement in the quality of human life.

The prize recognizes the fundamental contribution of Dr Cato T. Laurencin to regenerative engineering applied to the development of biomaterials for clinical use; stem cell science, nanotechnology and drug delivery systems. More than one million patients worldwide have benefited from his innovative work.

Prof. Dr Laurencin, a teacher, biomedical engineer and orthopaedic surgeon, is the Director of the Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering and the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at the University of Connecticut. His outstanding contribution to the advancement of science has been recognized worldwide.

Prof. Kevin McGuigan of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland-(RCSI) is rewarded for his cutting-edge research on the development and implementation of solar water disinfection technology (SODIS) to combat waterborne diseases among people without access to safe drinking water in Africa and Asia.

His approach to this research is unique and pioneering, not only in the laboratory, but especially in the field, among the communities most exposed to waterborne diseases in developing countries. His research group demonstrated the impact using SODIS on childhood diarrhoea in 1996 and then on dysentery. SODIS has since demonstrated its effectiveness against all major waterborne pathogens.

Prof. Youyou Tu of the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, laureate of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine, is recognized for her research into parasitic diseases. She discovered an entirely new anti-malarial treatment, artemisinin, which made possible the treatment of thousands of patients in China in the 1980s.

Since the turn of the century, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been recommending artemisinin-based combination therapies as the first-line treatment for malaria. These combination treatments have saved 6.2 million lives reducing malaria mortality in Africa by 66%, and by 71% among children under 5 years of age.

An international jury of five eminent scientists advised UNESCO on the choice of winners. Its members are: Prof. Vincent Titanji (Cameroon), Prof. Indrani Karunasagar (India), Prof. Wagida Anwar (Egypt), Dr Constantinos Phanis (Cyprus) and Prof. Pathmanathan Umaharan (Trinidad and Tobago).

The winners will share a financial award totaling $350,000 and each will receive a statuette by the Equatorial Guinean artist Leandro Mbomio Nsue, and a diploma. The award ceremony will take place at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the African Union Heads of State Summit in February 2020.

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More on the Prize: https://en.unesco.org/stem/lifesciences-prize

UNESCO Media Contact: Bernard Giansetto, b.giansetto@unesco.org, +33(0)145681764

UNESCO, 7, place de Fontenoy, PARIS, NA FRANCE France

New Book "Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems"

Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems
by Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, Juggernaut Books, 2019. ISBN: 9789353450700.

About the Book: Is opening up to international trade good for everybody? Do immigrants from poorer countries take away jobs from low-income native workers? Why is inequality exploding everywhere? Does redistribution actually undermine incentives? Should we worry about the rise of artificial intelligence or celebrate it? How do we manage the trade-off between growth and climate change? Is economic growth over in the West? Should we care? Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic problems is the great challenge of our time. Much greater than space travel, perhaps even than curing cancer – what is at stake is the whole idea of the good life and, perhaps, of liberal democracy itself. We have the resources to solve these problems; what we lack are ideas that will help us jump the wall of disagreement and distrust that divides us. Only if we can engage seriously in this quest, and if the best minds in the world work with governments and civil society to redesign our social programs for effectiveness and political viability, will history remember our era with gratitude. In this revolutionary book, renowned MIT economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo take on this challenge, building on cutting-edge research in economics, explained with lucidity and grace. Original, provocative, and urgent,Good Economics for Hard Times makes a persuasive case for intelligent interventions toward a society built on compassion and respect. It is an extraordinary book, one that will help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world.

Book Excerpt

Ninth (and final) STEPS Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability | Brighton, U.K., May 2020

Ninth (and final) STEPS Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability 

Brighton, United Kingdom | May 2020 

An immersive course on theories and practical approaches to sustainability, through creative, interactive and participatory learning. Topics include knowledge politics; policy processes; democracy in science, technology and innovation; politics of the environment; and inter- and transdisciplinary methods. Open to doctoral and post-doctoral students.

How to apply
Please use our online form to apply: steps-centre.org/summerschool
You will need to enter personal information, including:
1. A brief personal statement explaining why you are applying to the STEPS Summer School (maximum 500 words) and details of your qualifications, professional experience and any publications, including a CV.
2. A reference, as an attached document (2 x A4 sides), from your academic supervisor/tutor or your current employer.
The application process is selective, and places are limited. The deadline for sending applications is 23.59 GMT on Sunday 26 January 2020. Please note that applications received after that deadline will not be considered. We hope to be able to let you know if your application has been successful by 28 February 2020.

About the Summer School
The Summer School is held on the University of Sussex campus in the South Downs National Park near the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Brighton. This year's course will be the ninth and last ever Summer School to be run by the STEPS Centre. It takes place during the 2020 Brighton Festival — an energetic and eclectic celebration of culture & arts from 2–24 May — with plenty of opportunities for students to engage. 

Themes and topics
The STEPS Centre has developed a unique 'pathways approach' to research and policy engagement, which recognises the co-evolving trajectories of change in society, technology and the environment. The pathways approach is used to appreciate how politics and power shape the social framing of knowledge and decision-making for sustainability. Drawing on innovation and development theory, science and technology studies, political economy, ecological economics, decision analysis and political ecology, the Summer School will explore and apply the range of associated crossdisciplinary concepts, analytical frameworks, empirical methods and policy strategies. Themes include:

• Relationships between science, knowledge, framing, discourses and power
• Understanding risk, uncertainty, ambiguity and ignorance
• Policy processes and the politics of sustainability
• Methods and methodologies: interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary practices
• The STEPS pathways approach and its application in diverse settings
• Politics and global discourses about climate change, planetary boundaries and the Anthropocene
• Political ecology and resistance
• The politics of nature and natural resources
• How to 'open up' and 'broaden out' appraisal and decision-making
• Innovation and socio-technical change
• Emancipatory, democratic transformations to sustainability

Participants will be encouraged to engage and develop their personal research topics and ideas in interaction with other students and with STEPS Centre members.  

Scholarships
A small number of bursaries are available to applicants whose country of origin is not in the OECD (see bit.ly/OECDlist) - including those who are currently working/studying in OECD-member countries. Scholarships may cover part or all of the following:

• STEPS Summer School fee
• Return flights or rail travel to the STEPS Summer School
• A contribution towards visa costs
• Accommodation
• Subsistence allowance (a limited amount to cover food and local travel)

Fee reductions are also available for those studying on the Sussex University campus, and those who are enrolled in a studentship or post-doctoral fellowship in the ESRC's SeNSS (South East Network for Social Sciences).
There are spaces on the application form to give details of your
eligibility for a scholarship or a fee reduction.

Further Details | Application Form

2nd FISD Lecture on Japanese STI Initiatives for SDGs | 24 October at RIS, New Delhi

Webinar on Understanding the Science Policy Ecosystem in India | 23 October, 3-4 p.m.

Webinar on Understanding the Science Policy Ecosystem in India

Description: What is Science Policy? How Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies are made in India? Is there an institutional mechanism for STI policymaking? Who are the actors involved in the STI policy process? How does evidence flow into this process? This webinar is the first of the 'Science Policy 101' series, which attempts to answer, think-through and discuss these questions.

Time: October 23, 2019 3:00-4:00 PM in India

Online Registration

Lecture and Interactive Session with PSA (GoI) on India's March towards Open Access to Knowledge | at IISc, Bengaluru, 25 October

On the the occasion of International Open Access Week 2019, We are pleased to invite you to an engaging lecture and interactive session with

Prof. VijayRaghavan FRS

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

On

India's March towards Open Access to Knowledge: Challenges, Initiatives, and Policy Interventions

 

Date & Time: 25 October 2019, Friday, 4.00 to 5.30 pm (High Tea: 5.30 pm)

Venue: Biological Sciences Auditorium, IISc, Bengaluru, India

 

The session will be chaired by

Prof. Ajay K Sood FRS

President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Honorary Professor at Indian Institute of Science

 

Kindly, RSVP here: https://bit.ly/2J753Mt

 

Open Access seeks to return scholarly publishing to its original purpose: to spread knowledge and allow that knowledge to be built upon. Price barriers should not prevent students, researchers (or anyone) from getting access to research they need. Open Access, and the open availability and searchability of scholarly research that it entails, will have a significant positive impact on everything from education to the practice of medicine to the ability of entrepreneurs to innovate.

International Open Access Week (October 21-27, 2019) is a global, community-driven week of action to open access to research and knowledge in general. The event is celebrated by individuals, institutions and organizations across the world and its organization is led by a global advisory committee. This is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress to build more equitable foundations for opening knowledge.

 

This event is jointly organized by the Centre for Society and Policy, The DST-Centre for Policy Research and JRD Tata Memorial Library at IISc.

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Call for Applications: Research Methodology Course for Research Scholars in Social Sciences | 9-18 December, at CISLS, JNU

Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CIS&LS)
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-110067

 

Ten Days Research Methodology Course for Research Scholars in Social Sciences

(9-18   December,  2019)

 

Call for Applications

Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CISLS), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University invites applications from the enrolled Research Scholars belonging to SC/ST/OBC/PHs/Minorities in Social Science disciplines from the UGC recognised university/deemed university/colleges/institutes of national importance and ICSSR research institutes to participate in "Ten Days Research Methodology Course for Research Scholars in Social Sciences" from 9 to 18 December, 2019. The aim of the course is to improve the methodological and writing skills of the Research scholars and develop their potential as future academicians in the field of Social Sciences. Candidates desirous may apply on the prescribed registration form by email to researchmethodscisls2019@gmail.com by November 15, 2019.

 

Brochure

 

Registration form

CfPs: ISCC-2019 on "Doing Science, Managing Science, Communicating Science: Ethics and Values" | 20-21 December, New Delhi, India

19th Indian Science Communication Congress (ISCC-2019)

"Doing Science, Managing Science, Communicating Science: Ethics and Values"

December 20-21, 2019 | New Delhi, India

Jointly Organized by Indian Science Writers' Association (ISWA) and Indian Science Communication Society (ISCOS)

Main Theme: The focal theme of the conference is: Doing Science, Managing Science, Communicating Science: Ethics and Values

Sub Themes: The deliberations may cover a wide range of sub themes:

• Policy of R&D organisations
• IPR issues
• The business of science publishing
• Predatory journals
• International practices
• Emerging areas and way forward

Important Dates

• Last Date for Submission of Abstract: November 10, 2019
• Intimation of Acceptance of Abstract: November 20, 2019
• Last Date for Registration: November 30, 2019

Submission of Abstracts: Abstracts not exceeding 250 words are invited for inclusion as podium (oral) or poster presentations in any of the theme area of the conference. Please state the title, author(s), author affiliation and choice of mode (poster/podium). Indicate the name and also the date of birth of the presenting author. Confidential peer-review shall determine acceptance or rejection. To submit Abstract kindly register online first and submit your abstract through your delegate login panel only latest by November 10, 2019. Acceptance shall be communicated by November 20, 2019. Please send the abstract(s) online only through the delegate login panel.

Download ISCC-2019 Announcement | Online Abstract Submission

CSSP Lecture "Mitigating India's Urban Challenges through Design, Technology and Innovation" by Dr. Mihir Bholey, NID | 23rd October

Centre for Studies in Science Policy 

Jawaharlal Nehru University

CSSP Wednesday Lecture Series

 

Invites you to a Lecture on

 

Mitigating India's Urban Challenges through Design, Technology and Innovation

 

By

Dr. Mihir Bholey

(National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar)

 

Venue: Room No. 227, 2nd Floor, CSSP, SSS-1 Building, JNU

 

Date: Wednesday, 23^rd October 2019 | Time: 11:00 am

 

Abstract: India's urban challenges are not just confined to the demographic changes and expansion of urban boundaries. They also lay in bridging the development deficit, changing the urban growth trajectory and make the cities future ready. Socio-economic and environmental sustainability are at the core of urban transformation. To achieve that it requires concurrent change in policies, design, technology and innovation at a time. Traditionally India has always been referred to as a 'country of villages' and one whose soul rests in villages. Hence, the need of urban transformation didn't receive the kind of attention it deserved at various levels while rural migration continued and cities' resources and infrastructure were stretched to their limit. Some eminent urban scholars have called this syndrome 'reluctant urbanization' and pointed out that the political economy of development in India has remained dominantly concerned with the development of rural areas assuming that urban areas can take care of themselves. Many believe this 'reluctant urbanization' to be the reason behind India's urban crisis.

Today, India's rising urbanization is defying several myths. Indian cities are not just growing demographically and numerically but have become the growth engine of the economy too. Urban growth and the growth in GDP are going hand in hand in this so called 'country of villages'. While close to 69 percent of Indian population and 72 percent of workforce still live in villages, it is the 31 percent of the urban population which is generating 63 percent of country's GDP. Not only that, it's also estimated that by 2050 when India will attain 50 percent urbanization, 80 percent of its GDP will be generated by the cities. Data reveals that there're 597,608 inhabited villages in India as against 9,391 cities and urban agglomeration. Out of this, there're nearly 496 cities which have population in excess of 100,000 while 82,151 villages have a population size of less than 200. That makes Indian cities far more densely populated and therefore demanding in terms of infrastructure needs. Though there is no need to create urban-rural binary or any unintended divide, but the necessity of urban transformation cannot be overlooked. It's in this backdrop that now the government of India has launched the mission to build 100 smart cities. It's an effort to initiate process of urban transformation and rejuvenation under the Smart City Mission. Retrofitting, Redevelopment, Green Field development and Pan-city development are the current strategic components of India's smart city mission. However, eventually, they will have to be aligned to the global vision of smart cities which is to build an eco-system of Smart Economy, Smart Mobility, Smart Environment, Smart People, Smart Living and Smart Governance. The contemporary smart city solutions are largely driven by ICT and other technologies in which digitalization, big data creation, data analytics among other play a major role. Several blueprints have been prepared by technology giants viz. Siemens, Cisco, Ericsson, Hitachi, Microsoft for creating digitally networked cities and technology solutions for urban transformation. However, considering technology as a means not an end to achieve urban transformation a more human and inclusive approach will be required. Sustainable urbanism will require elements of empathy, human-centricity, social innovation, sustainable solutions among other for which design and innovation will have to work in tandem with technology and ICT. The proposed talk/seminar would discuss India's urban challenges in general and the role of leveraging design, technology and innovation to bring urban transformation in particular.

 

About the Speaker: Dr. Mihir Bholey is a senior Faculty of Interdisciplinary Design Studies and the Discipline Lead of PG Science and Liberal Arts at National Institute of Design, PG Campus, Gandhinagar. He has over 25 years of corporate and academic experience. He holds his Master's degree in English Literature from Patna University and PhD in Social Science (Political Sociology) from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. Dr. Bholey is an author and columnist whose research papers and articles are regularly published in various research journals and in popular media. He has also three books to his credit namely: Caste Conflict and Social Justice: The Discourse and Design, Young Designers, and Design Samvad. He is widely travelled and has taught, delivered seminar/lectures at several national and international institutions of acclaim. His area of interest and research is Public Policy and Design under which he studies aspects of urbanization, healthcare, education and other policy issues. Dr. Bholey is presently working on his book on public policy and design.

 

 

 

All are welcome to attend the Lecture. 

 

Coordinator, CSSP Lecture Series

 

DPL Conference on “How Indian Libraries can get benefited by OCLC” | New Delhi, 24 October

Dear Sir/Madam,

I feel delighted to inform you that the Delhi Public Library in collaboration with OCLC is going to organize a Conference on "How Indian Libraries can get benefited by OCLC" on 24th October, 2019 at 10.30 am at DPL HQ located at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Delhi-110006. 

You are cordially invited to participate in the same.

Total 55 seats are available. Registration will be on first come first serve basis. Hurry up..and register now!

Online Registration

 

Regards,

Dr. Babita Gaur

SLIO

Delhi Public Library

RIS Policy Brief: "Robotisation of Textile Sector in China: Impact and Imperatives"

Robotisation of Textile Sector in China: Impact and Imperatives

 Policy Brief No. 88

 September, 2019

 Prepared by: Dr Amit Kumar

Applications Invited: IFLA Workshop on Open Access to Legal Knowledge | 2–3 December, New Delhi

IFLA Workshop on Open Access to Legal Knowledge

Workshop organized by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Law Libraries Section. Sponsored by IFLA.

WHEN: Monday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 3rd  2019

WHERE: Delhi, India (Exact location will be provided to the selected applicants)

The workshop provides an opportunity to develop professional skills, share knowledge and  practices, discuss practical issues, and increase regional capacity and leadership among law librarians. More specifically, the workshop aims to:

1. Increase opportunities to access legal information at a regional level through collaboration, open access, databases, repositories, digital publications etc.
2. Encourage the development of national and regional legal information and collection development policies.
3. Promote educational and professional opportunities for legal information professionals.
4. Develop legal research skills.
5. Encourage public access to legal information

These goals will be achieved through five thematic presentations:

Open Access

Provide an overview of open access to legal sources worldwide and the practical skills required to benefit from them. Present and discuss the potential and limitations of open access of legal sources in legal research.

Legal Research Skills

Provide practical tools to improve legal research skills such as the gathering of facts, identification of legal issues, and consultation of print and electronic sources.

Collection Development

Provide practical information on collection development, both print and electronic, such as policy, selection, evaluation, and promotion. Discuss challenges (policy and budget), digitization initiatives, institutional approaches, and benefits of sharing and collaboration. 

Public Access to Legal Information

Demonstrate the importance of public access to legal information and its challenges. Introduce the concept of legal capability, and provide an awareness of major public legal education and information initiatives and their impact.

Professional Development and Networking

Provide information on professional development opportunities for law librarians through hosting exchanges, conferences, collaboration with foreign institutions, and law library associations.

There is no registration fee, but participants must cover their own costs for transport, food and accommodation.

Selected applicants are expected to attend all sessions on both days of the workshop and make a 5-minute presentation on a topic relating to law or law librarianship during the workshop. More information will be provided to selected applicants.

The number of participants will be limited to 50 and priority will be given to individuals working in law libraries or with law-related information and materials. The organizing committee reserves the right to select applicants with regard to representing different regions or types of libraries and by their potential contribution to the goals of the workshop. Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee participation at the workshop. All applicants will be notified by November 8th if they were selected or not to participate at the workshop and those that will be selected will be asked to confirm attendance.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, November 4th,  2019

Online Application Form

Call for Applications: BIARI-CPR workshop on "Seeing the State: Unpacking the Challenge of State Capacity and Development" | 8-14 January, Delhi

Call for Applications: BIARI-CPR Workshop on Seeing the State: Unpacking the Challenge of State Capacity and Development

The Brown University International Advanced Research Institutes (BIARI) at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Providence, United States, and the State Capacity Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi, invites applications for a week-long workshop in Delhi from January 8-14th, 2020.

BIARI 2020 is an interdisciplinary residential workshop for early-career participants and rising scholars. It features lectures, seminars, and workshops with distinguished international faculty from Brown University, CPR, and partner institutions in Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States of America. For details of previous workshops, please visit here. 

The State Capacity Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is a new interdisciplinary research and practice programme focused on addressing the challenges of the 21st-century Indian state — its roles, federal structure, institutional design, organisational forms and culture, administrative reforms, the everyday life of local bureaucracies and frontline functionaries, knowledge resources, regulatory and fiscal capacity, and the complex and changing relations between society, politics, and state capacity. 

BIARI 2020

BIARI 2020 will focus on contemporary challenges of state capacity in India and the broader methodological approaches to study the state, particularly at the frontline. Thematic focus areas will include: 

• Bureaucracy and administrative reforms 
• Federal structures with particular focus on local governments 
• Core welfare functions and emerging challenges facing the Indian state such as urbanisation, climate change/energy, and building regulatory institutions
• Cultures, practices, and norms of the Indian state 

Comparative exploration of state capacity in India is a key objective of BIARI 2020. The Watson Institute Global Partners will participate in the programme and on-going debates on state capacity in India will be explored within other country contexts. The program also aims to encourage a wider set of researchers to study the state collaboratively, and through this contribute to the currently thin body of empirical knowledge on how the Indian state works. 

BIARI 2020 covers the full cost of tuition, meals, and accommodation for the duration of the programme. Travel expenses will be covered where needed. 

Application Eligibility

• Early career researchers who have completed their doctoral degrees in the last three years and are pursuing postdoctoral and teaching opportunities (including BIARI alumni). Preference will be given to those working with Indian institutions. 
• Advanced doctoral students undertaking research on state capacity related areas. All disciplines are welcome. Preference will be given to students at Indian Universities. 
• Researchers and practitioners with strong work experience and demonstrated research interest in state capacities and public system programmess in allied fields such as law, journalism, public policy, and development research and consulting. A minimum of a postgraduate degree and seven years of work experience on issues related to state capacities in India is required. 

Application Requirements

• Application form in the given template. 
• A one-page covering letter and a recent CV with a focus on academic and professional qualifications and experience relevant to state capacity in India. 
• A problem statement which systematically engages with a critical challenge related to state capacities in India (1000 words). This could be based on the applicant's professional or academic work or a sustained area of interest. The applicant should explore the problem both conceptually and empirically. 
• Names and complete contact details of two referees. For doctoral candidates, one referee should be the doctoral supervisor. 

Application Closing Date

Completed applications should be shared by November 8th, 2019 with Dr Priyadarshini Singh, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, at statecapacity[@]cprindia.org.  Shortlisted applicants will hear from us by November 30th, 2019.

Application Form Template