CfP: International Summer School "PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS" September 28th - October 2nd 2015

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Subject: [EASST-Eurograd] CfP: International Summer School "PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS" September 28th - October 2nd 2015

International Summer School

"Pluripotent Stem Cells. Scientific practice of stem cell research: ethical, legal and social aspects and discourses"

September, 28th till October, 2nd 2015

at Studienhaus Gut Schönwag near Munich, Germany

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 10^th May 2015

The Institute Technology • Theology • Natural Sciences (TTN) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich organizes an international scientific summer school, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, on the subject:

"Pluripotent Stem Cells. Scientific practice of stem cell research: ethical, legal and social aspects and discourses"

The Summer School will take place from September, 28th till October, 2nd 2015 at Studienhaus Gut Schönwag near Munich (the arrival is already possible on September 27th).

Subject

Human stem cell research is one of the so-called "hope-, hype- and fear-technologies". Shinya Yamanaka's development of a technique to reprogram somatic cells to 'induced pluripotent' stem cells in 2006 relighted new and intense ethical and legal discussions to the established embryonic
stem cell debate. Especially the recourse to developmental biological totipotency as criterion for the evaluation of the ethical, legal and ontological status of stem cells is being challenged by new techniques to create possibly totipotent entities.

The aim of this summer school is to provide a context for international and multi-disciplinary dialogue in order to reconstruct the current debates and their background on stem cell research in Germany and Great Britain and to discuss foundations for a more consistent ethical evaluation and legal framing of the life sciences.

Comparing the cultural differences of the debates, the ethical evaluations, and the juridical frameworks in the two countries is productive as they are considered as counterparts: While in Great Britain a utilitarian, case-based tradition of ethical and political decision-making is supposed to have led to one of the most liberal regulations of embryonic stem cell research, the perseverative discussion of the status and the dignity of the embryo in Germany might have led to its strict but inconsistent regulation of research involving embryos. These attributions are to be scrutinized and a deeper understanding of the state of research and debate as well as their societal and cultural preconditions is to be developed by the investigation of the contrast.

Programme and Subject Areas

The program includes talks of the participants and the speakers, moderated discussions, insights in the practice of stem cell research through the visit of a laboratory and the presentation of a research project as well as cultural evening events.

Main subject areas

• State of the molecular biological debate
• Epistemological and ethical status of stem cells
• Philosophical and sociological reflections on life sciences research
• Ethical, legal and social aspects of the stem cell debate in Great Britain and Germany
• Recommendations for a European and International stem cell regulation

Speakers

Prof. Dr. Peter Dabrock
Systematic Theology (Ethics), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg; Member of the German Ethics Council
Prof. Dr. Christine Hauskeller
Philosophy and Sociology, University of Exeter; Member of the Central Ethics Committee on stem cell research of the Robert-Koch-Institut
Prof. Dr. Jens Kersten
Public Law and Administrative Law, LMU Munich; Chairman of the scientific advisory committee of the Institute TTN
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Winkler
Molecular Neurology, University Clinic of Erlangen; Spokesperson of the Bavarian research association "Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells"

Call for Abstracts

We invite up to 12 young researchers from all areas of the field to present and discuss their work within an interdisciplinary group of young scientists and a team of high profile experts from the different disciplines in the field.

Applications should contain an abstract of about 500 words describing your paper, a CV and a list of publications.

Application deadline: May 10th, 2015

Contact: anja.pichl@elkb.de

Coordination: Prof. Dr. Arne Manzeschke and Anja Pichl M.A.

Travel and accomodation expenses will be reimbursed. After the conference, participants are expected to submit their revised paper as a book chapter for which a honorarium of 300 Euro will be paid. We also offer a free child care during the summer school, please contact us in advance in case of interest.

For further information: www.ttn-institute.de/pluripotentstemcells

 

 

 

Anja Pichl

Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin

Institut Technik-Theologie-Naturwissenschaften (TTN)

an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Katharina-von-Bora-Straße 11

80333 München

 

Tel.: +49 (0)89 5595 607

Email: anja.pichl@elkb.de

 

CfPs: National Conference on Foresight and Technology Futures; 19-20 March; at University of Kerala, Trivandrum

National Conference on Foresight and Technology Futures 2015

19-20 March 2015

Venue: Senate Chamber, University of Kerala - Palayam Campus, Trivandrum, Kerala

Organized by Department of Futures Studies, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

 

Foresight exercise should be firmly embedded within the 'System of innovation' (or 'Innovation System') approach. Innovation does not follow a linear path but tends to follow complex feedback loops between research, processes of development, design, engineering and production. The foresight analysis gives a platform to study the roles of various actors and the form of influences/interactions they have on each other. The team for guiding the foresight exercise should have persons with diverse backgrounds and stakeholders and identify realistic approach.

The conference on Foresight and Technology Futures would like to explore ideas in this direction in the national, state (Kerala) and regional scenario of India. It provides an opportunity for the students, researchers from both academia and industry to attend informative and thought provoking sessions from eminent researchers and pioneers in the Foresight and Technology Futures.

 

Key Speakers

• Prof. Y.S. Rajan,   "Alternative World 2030: India's Options"
• Dr. Nirmalya Bagchi, ASCI, Hyderabad, "Technology foresight, its use in strategy and implication on competitiveness"
• Dr. Saradindu Bhaduri, JNU, "Understanding the ecosystem of informal sector 'grassroot' innovations in India"
• Dr. L.S. Ganesh, Professor, IIT Madras
• Dr. Parveen Arora, Sc-G and Head, CHORD Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi

 

Call for Papers

Scientists/Engineers, Industrial Personnel, Research Scholars and Students with experience, interest and flair in interdisciplinary research are invited to send their original research papers for presentation in 'National Conference on Foresight and Technological Futures- 2015' Paper submission should be done through easychair.org. Visit conference website http://www.ncftf2015.com/   for the details and instructions. The conference covers a range of topics which addresses the following themes.

 

Major Topics/ Technical Sessions

• Foresight
• Technology Futures
• Technology Management
• Science and Technology Policies
• Social Network analysis and Scientometrics

 

About Department

Department of Futures Studies, University of Kerala is one of the premier departments specializing in interdisciplinary studies. Research activities leading to Ph. D are pursued in the areas of Technology Futures/Management, Knowledge Based Systems and its Management, Mathematical/Computer modeling and Simulation, Discrete Mathematics. Apart from Ph.D programme, M. Tech. (Technology Management), M. Phil. (Futures studies) Programmes are being offered.  Also embedded with the Department, is C-Graf, a consultancy centre that provides futuristic solutions to industry and government agencies in diverse areas. The Department is celebrating the silver jubilee of its formation in the year 2014-15 and decided to organize a national conference as part of the celebrations.

 

Important Dates

Last Date of Paper submission: 28^th February 2015

Intimation of Acceptance: 8^th March 2015

Camera Ready Paper submission: 15^th March 2015

Early Registration starts from: 1^st March 2015

Registration ends on: 16^th March 2015

For enquiries, e-mail to ncftf2015@gmail.com or contact

Dr. Manoj Changat at +91-9446967394

 

Thanking You, Best regards,

Manoj Changat
Department of Futures Studies
University of Kerala
Trivandum- 695 581
Ph. 0471-2742309(R)

Australia Awards Scholarships in South Asia – Awards for Study in Water Resource Management

Australia Awards Scholarships in South Asia in Water Resource Management

Background
Water stress is projected to increase significantly across South and West Asia due to increasing demand and climate change. More than 750 million poor people rely on the region's three major rivers – the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra – for their livelihoods and food security. Climate variability is expected to exacerbate the existing pressure on water resources resulting from growing populations and economic development. Australia stands ready to share its experience in managing water for scarcity and is committed to help strengthen government agencies and technical institutions in the region through capacity building and sharing Australian experiences and technology in Water Resource Management.

Australia Awards Scholarships – Awards for Study in Water Resource Management
The Australia Awards in South and West Asia is offering scholarships for Master's level study in Water Resource Management in Australia commencing in January 2016.
The Australia Award Scholarships will be available for:

• Master's by coursework or research in Water Resource Management.
• Applicants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan will be eligible to apply for the 2016 intake.
• Open to government and non-government nominees.

The Awards are particularly targeted at eligible applicants working on river-basin scale water resource management issues in South and/or West Asia.

How to Apply
Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements detailed in the Scholarships Policy Handbook, available at: http://aid.dfat.gov.au/Publications/Pages/scholar-handbook.aspx. In particular, all applicants must submit an employer nomination letter from their organisation/agency together with their application.
In addition, applicants must also meet the country-specific requirements. For details see the Country Profiles for Intake 2016 available at the following sites:

• Bangladesh www.australiaawardsbangladesh.org
• Bhutan www.australiaawardsbhutan.org
• India www.australiaawardsindia.org
• Nepal www.australiaawardsnepal.org
• Pakistan www.australiaawardspakistan.org

Study Programs
An applicant's proposed study program must be at Master's level with a maximum duration of two years and related to Water Resource Management. The program may be offered by coursework, by research or by a combination of coursework and research. Masters by research or a combination of coursework and research are generally only to those applicants who have demonstrated the need for high-level research skills in order to undertake research or teaching or to supervise researchers upon their return home.
Applicants will be assessed on how their proposed course of study:

• relates to the development needs of the region and/or their home country in the area of Water Resource Management; and
• their potential to contribute to development outcomes in the region and/or their country in the area of Water Resource Management.

As specified above, the Awards are particularly targeted at eligible applicants working on river-basin scale water resource management issues in South and/or West Asia. Applicants may select an Australian Master's Program specifically related to Water Resource Management or any other Master's courses provided they can clearly demonstrate the course's alignment to Water Resource Management challenges in the region and/or their home country.
Such courses may be in fields such as Diplomacy, Environment, Environmental Management and Development, Environmental Law, Environmental Science, Engineering, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Applied Science, Climate Change, Natural Resources Management, Rural Development, and Agricultural Science.
Note that Scholarships are available only for courses that are listed on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) [http://cricos.deewr.gov.au], which is the official Australian Government website that lists all Australian education providers that offer courses to people studying in Australia on student visas.

Further information

• Further information about the Australia Awards can be found at: http://aid.dfat.gov.au/australia-awards/Pages/default.aspx
• Information about visas and Australia Awards Scholarship entitlements and conditions can be found in the Scholarships Policy Handbook, available at: http://aid.dfat.gov.au/Publications/Pages/scholar-handbook.aspx

The Australia Award Scholarships are available for Masters by coursework or research in water resource management and will commence in January 2016.  Applications opened on 1 February and close at 5pm (local time) on 30 April 2015. Further information on the Australia Award Scholarships, including eligibility requirements and the application process is available in the attached brochure and at this link - http://australiaawardssouthwestasia.org/index.php/how-to-apply/india The scholarships for study in water resource management could potentially provide a valuable education opportunity.  I kindly encourage you to circulate this information within your institution, and please feel to share more broadly. If you have any further queries, please kindly contact Mr Vishwanathan Tiruchirappalli, Senior Program Manager at the Australian High Commission, New Delhi, at vishwanathan.tiruchirappalli[at]dfat.gov.au.

NMML Invites You to Public Lectures Series "India in Transition" 2015

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

Public Lectures Series

India in Transition

 

Venue: Seminar Room, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi

Time: 3.00 pm

 

Dr. Shilpa Phadke, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Narrating Danger: Contemporary discourses of gendered safety in India

Friday, 13th February, 2015

 

Prof. Ravinder Kaur, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi.

Becoming and Staying Middle Class in Contemporary India: The role of sex selection and other family strategies

Wednesday, 11th March, 2015

 

Dr. Aseem Shrivastava, Writer and Ecological Economist, New Delhi.

Mukt-Dhara: The ecological vision of Rabindranath Tagore

Monday, 6th April, 2015

 

Dr. Assa Doron, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Waste, Development and the Indian Subject

Thursday, 16th April, 2015

 

Prof. Sumit K. Majumdar, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, USA.

Capital and Capitalism: India's journey

Wednesday, 27th May, 2015

               

Prof. Devesh Kapur, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

The Suffocating Embrace? The State in independent India

Wednesday, 8th July, 2015

               

Dr. S.V. Srinivas, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

When the Revolution is Televised: Media consumption as politics

Wednesday, 2nd September, 2015

 

Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Institute of Economic Growth,

University of Delhi, Delhi.

Skills Development, Mother Tongue Influence: "Problematic Castes" and the making of new labour in north India

Wednesday, 30th September, 2015

               

Prof. Carol Upadhya, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Provincialising the Global: Transnational circulations and regional developments in India

Wednesday, 4th November, 2015

All are welcome.

 

Schedule: NMML Public Lectures Series "India in Transition" 2015

Those wishing to have their names added to the e-mail list may please e-mail us at: nmmldirector@gmail.com. Address: Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi – 110011, India. Please note that the nearest Metro Stations are Race Course and Central Secretariat and the key DTC bus numbers 620, 604, 680 and 720. Autos are also easily available at these stations.   Note: There is an elevator for the First Floor for those who may need to use it. Further Details: NehruMemorial.Nic.In

CfA: Summer School on Degrowth and Environmental Justice; 6-15 July; at Barcelona & Cerbere, France

Summer School on Degrowth and Environmental Justice
6-15 July 2015
Venue: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the social centers Can Masdeu (Barcelona) and Can Decreix (Cerbere), France.

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the second edition of the summer school on degrowth offered by ICTA and Research & Degrowth, this year with environmental justice as a special focus. The summer school will take place between the 6th and 15th of July at the premises of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the social centers Can Masdeu (Barcelona) and Can Decreix (Cerbere), France.
As a way of refreshing your understanding of the term, degrowth represents a cluster of definitions. The most overarching one is the escape from growth as self-perceived obligation, and an eternally correct and single path out of the crisis, misery and environmental degradation. Degrowth evokes also the recognition of collective limits, while challenging borders and closure. It challenges the artificial distinction between life and work, while critically reviewing technology and market-based solutions to social needs. It calls for an economy of care, gift and conviviality, rather than an economics of scarcity and trade. In that sense degrowth challenges not only the outcomes but the very spirit of capitalism.
Environmental justice is a key source of inspiration for degrowth both as a movement and field of studies. In this edition of the summer school we will try to reestablish the links between claims from communities in resistance against environmental injustice around the planet and the internal and external, environmental and social sources of degrowth.
Escaping the vocabulary of growth also means avoiding its toxic penetration in the Global South. Rather, it means paying attention to voices in the South that advocate finding original, innovative, culturally specific and individually-constructed paths to buen vivir, paths that lead to qualitative improvements in the field of health, education, social services and environmental conditions.
The alliance between movements in the North and in the South requires identifying, mapping and exploring both common sources and practical links that help to break barriers and borders. In the course we will undertake a critical revision of the proposals being put forward in the name of degrowth deepening their logic and extent in the light of environmental justice. Like last year, the summer school will bring together leading scholars in the field of degrowth and environmental justice, among which Joan Martinez-Alier, Giorgos Kallis, Beatriz Rodriguez-Labajos, François Schneider together with well-experienced facilitators to offer modules that allow for interactivity and collaborative work.

Course structure and description: towards participatory implementation
The course will consist of two interconnected parts. The first will take place at ICTA, one of the most reputable environmental research institutes in Europe, where we will build on the foundations of environmental conflicts and degrowth, taking a wider set of perspectives and teaching methods. The second one will take place at Can Decreix (Cerbere), a center dedicated to experiencing degrowth. There, attention will be paid to proposals, practices, coherence and the existence borders through the prism of degrowth and environmental conflicts.
Selected lectures will be complemented by work in small groups, on-site visits, discussions, get together and team building exercises. The implementation of the course will be done in a way that participants with particular skills and expertise share their relevant knowledge to the rest of the group.
The course will be academically certified with ECTS credits. A detailed program will be published by the end of February.

The Summer of Degrowth
This summer school does not come on its own. It is part of a consorted effort around Europe. Two summer schools are taking place in Italy and in Italian, one in Trieste (June 16-18) focusing on degrowth and solidarity economy and another in Torino (first week of September) on urban metabolism and labour. Please contact Mauro Bonaiuti (mauro.bonaiuti {at} unito. it) for more information.
After the impressive 5th international conference on degrowth in Leipzig last year, a summer school is also taking place in Germany (close to Cologne, approximately August 9-15, 2015). It will be held in English and in German and focus on the links between climate justice and degrowth. It will take place in cooperation with the Rhineland climate camp and link with a mass action of civil disobedience against lignite coal mining. The Rhineland summer school will not have a purely academic focus. It will link lectures and several-day-courses in a GAP-style (in the mornings) with practice (such as maintaining the camp, training for and participating in protests against lignite mining). Please contact info {at} degrowth. de or consult www.degrowth.de for more information.
At the Barcelona school we will establish links and share inputs for these other events, so that there is a thread of knowledge which is gradually woven in a colourful degrowth tapestry.
The summer school on Degrowth and Environmental Justice is designated for PhD and master students, as well as for senior researchers. Deadline for applications is April, 30th, 2015. Please send a CV and maximum one-page cover letter explaining your motivation and background to Fulvia Ferri (fulviafe {at} gmail.com). Results on selection of participants will be announced by the 15th of May.
More information on the school will soon be placed at www.degrowth.org. For quests regarding content, please email Filka Sekulova (filka {at} degrowth. net), Beatriz Rodríguez Labajos (beatriz.rodriguez {at} uab. cat) or Claudio Cattaneo (claudio.cattaneo {at} liuc. it).
We aim at having a total of 30-35 participants from a diversity of geographical regions and academic disciplines. Once selected you are expected to present your research and work on an assignment in small groups during the course. More information on presentations, reading material and assignments will come in the first week of June.

Costs
The participation fee consists of 100 Euro and does not include accommodation and food.

Further details: http://www.degrowth.org/summer-school-on-degrowth-and-environmental-justice

Ramachandra Guha on the Narcissism of our Scholars and Scientists

The Staggering Vanity of India's Powerful

Ramachandra Guha

(Ramachandra Guha is a historian, biographer, author of, among other books, Gandhi before India, A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian history of a British sport and India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy.)

After Narendra Modi's recent meeting with Barack Obama, there was some criticism of his wearing a suit whose stripes spelt out his own name. The criticism was not unmerited; it was a tawdry, tacky, thing to do. Yet Modi's expensive display of self-love was entirely characteristic of how powerful and successful Indian males tend to behave in public.

Consider this. India's most famous and highly decorated scientist is C.N.R. Rao, a Fellow of the world's most prestigious scientific academies, and a recipient of his country's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna. Some years ago, an admirer decided to lobby the Bangalore Municipality to name the circle outside the Indian Institute of Science (of which Rao had been director) after the great man. Now circles and roads are normally not named after living people. But here was C.N.R. Rao in the flesh, actually present when a circle named after him was being inaugurated.

Next only to Rao in the hierarchy of Indian science is R.A. Mashelkar. Mashelkar is a former director general of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and much else. He has not, so far as I know, had a circle or building named after himself. Yet his conduct in public is scarcely less boastful, as witness his editorial in a recent issue of the journal, Current Science. Entitled '"Indovation" for affordable excellence', it is mostly about the author himself. In a mere couple of pages we are told of a paper by Mashelkar in the Harvard Business Review which "provoked worldwide discussion" and was the subject of a "special session" at the World Economic Forum; that a TED lecture he gave "has received more than half a million views and has been subtitled in 23 languages"; that Mashelkar is the president of something called the Global Research Alliance; that the European Union invited him to give a talk to "an audience of around 2000"; that when he was director general of the CSIR he set up "a public-private partnership called New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative".

Mashelkar's article runs so contrary to the spirit of science that I wonder how it was accepted for publication. How did the editor of Current Science allow the essay to pass without major cuts and changes? Either the editor is plain incompetent, or, what is more likely, too intimidated by Mashelkar's reputation and influence to have asked him to revise his essay.

Founded by C.V. Raman, Current Science is modelled on the American journal, Science, and the British journal, Nature. Like them, it publishes original scientific papers as well as shorter commentaries, book reviews, and obituaries. But one would never find in Nature or Science editorials remotely as self-promoting as this. As he was crafting his essay, did Mashelkar not realize that this was not a self-written Wikipedia entry or a funding application but in fact a scholarly editorial in what is presumed to be the flagship journal of a nation's scientific community? Reading Mashelkar's editorial in Current Science, I was reminded of a story involving the great British-born biologist, J.B.S. Haldane. In the 1950s, Haldane embraced Indian citizenship, and set up a laboratory at the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta. One of his students bored him with stories about his impending marriage, his family lineage, and his own academic record. At last Haldane held up a hand, and remarked: "You only talk about yourself. But science begins with an interest in the world outside yourself." To be sure, not all Indian scientists are as boastful as Rao or Mashelkar. One of my own intellectual heroes is the late Obaid Siddiqi, who founded theNational Centre for Biological Sciences, arguably India's most high quality scientific laboratory. Siddiqi, who combined intellectual brilliance with personal rectitude, recruited a team of gifted young scientists and then left them the institute to run. He nurtured an atmosphere of egalitarianism in the NCBS, where juniors could fearlessly challenge seniors and where honorifics such as 'Sir', 'Professor'. were rigorously eschewed. Sadly, not many Indian scientists are cut of the same cloth as Obaid Siddiqi. In their youth, C.N.R. Rao and R.A. Mashelkar undoubtedly did first-rate scientific work. But, rather than allow younger people to take over scientific leadership as they themselves grew older, they consolidated their own position and power. Worse still, they encouraged flattery and chamchagiri, as manifested most spectacularly in Rao allowing a circle to be named after him.

Where our scientists go, our social scientists can scarcely be far behind. Consider the conduct in this regard of the two most influential economists of Indian extraction, Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen. Educated Indians know their names, and know also that they have been involved in a long-running debate about economic policy. Bhagwati is a proponent of the free market, and of opening out the economy to foreign investment and foreign competition. Sen thinks that distribution is as important as growth, and places greater emphasis on the role of the State in nurturing human capital. At the level of political influence, Sen was highly regarded by Sonia Gandhi and her National Advisory Council, whereas Bhagwati is much admired by Narendra Modi.

These intellectual and ideological differences have led to the construction of Bhagwati and Sen as rivals and adversaries. But there is one thing that unites Bhagwati and Sen- both are still living, and yet both, like the scientist C.N.R. Rao, have had things named after themselves. Bhagwati has taught for many years at Columbia University, which now has a Jagdish Bhagwati Chair in Political Economy, occupied by Bhagwati's co-author and protege, Arvind Panagriya. Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Social Science Research has endowed annual Amartya Sen Prizes for Excellence, these handed out at a ceremony presided over by Amartya Sen himself.

B.R. Ambedkar famously said that hero-worship is antithetical to the democratic spirit. This is true in politics, and perhaps even more so in the sphere of science. Respect for senior scholars for what they have achieved is fine; but when respect shades into deference and even reverence, it is not conducive to independent and original thinking. No wonder that Indian universities and research institutions lag so far behind in global rankings.

While drafting this column, I was discussing its argument with a friend, who asked whether, like C.N.R. Rao, the cricketer Anil Kumble was present at the naming of a circle after him in Bangalore. I answered that I did not know, but in any case one did not hold sportsmen to the ethical or aesthetic standards that scholars or scientists were supposed to adhere to. One of Jagdish Bhagwati's own close friends and former colleagues is Robert Solow. When Solow (arguably the world's greatest living economist) was teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, did someone else at the MIT hold the Robert Solow Chair in Political Economy? Like Amartya Sen, Martin Rees was once Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. But does that distinguished British astronomer annually hand out Martin Rees Prizes for Scientific Excellence? These were -are -the pertinent questions, and I suspect that in each case the answer is "No".

In allowing (or encouraging) things to be named after themselves, C.N.R. Rao, Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati have not done anything that is illegal. What they have done is not even immoral. But it is unquestionably in poor taste.

Which brings me back to Narendra Modi and the suit he wore with his own name on it. In societies whose spirit and form are egalitarian, or where the aesthetic ethos is one of refined understatement, what he did would be completely out of place. But in a country where hero worship is so ubiquitous, where the vanity of the powerful and the famous is so staggeringly large, it was an entirely normal thing to do. When India's top scholars and scientists are so flagrantly narcissistic, one must not be too harsh on a self-made, semi-educated, political leader for being so.

(Source: The Telegraph/ http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/the-staggering-vanity-of-indias-powerful-737618 )

Download EJOLT Reports and Case Studies on Environmental Justice around the World

Download EJOLT Reports and Case Studies on Environmental Justice around the World

EJOLT Report 1: Industrial Waste Conflicts around the World: Case Studies from India and Bulgaria: Shipbreaking and Incineration. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 2: The CDM Cannot Deliver the Money to Africa: Why the Carbon Trading Gamble Won't Save the Planet from Climate Change, and How African Civil Society is Resisting. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 3: An Overview of Industrial Tree Plantations in the Global South: Conflicts, Trends and Resistance Struggles. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 4: Legal Avenues for EJOs to Claim Environmental Liability. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 5: Issues in the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 6: Towards a Post-Oil Civilization: Yasunization and Other Initiatives to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Soil. 2013. Download

EJOLT Report 7: Mining Conflicts Around the World: Common Grounds from an Environmental Justice Perspective. 2012. Download

EJOLT Report 8: Guide to Multicriteria Evaluation for Environmental Justice Organisations. 2013. Download

EJOLT Report 9: Digging Deep Corporate Liability: Environmental Justice Strategies in the World of Oil. 2013. Download

EJOLT Report 10: The Many Faces of Land Grabbing: Cases From Africa and Latin America. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 11: International Law and Ecological Debt. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 12: Expanded Nuclear Power Capacity in Europe, Impact of Uranium Mining and Alternatives. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 13: Socio-Environmental Valuation and Liabilities. What Strategies for Environmental Justice Organisations? 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 15: Uranium Mining, Unveiling the Impacts of the Nuclear Industry. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 16: Economic Tools for Evaluating Liabilities in Environmental Justice Struggles. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 17: A Legal Guide for Communities Seeking Environmental Justice. 2014. Download

EJOLT Report 18: Ecological Debt: History, Meaning and Relevance for Environmental Justice. 2014. Download

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 6(6), 2014 is now available online

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 6(6), 2014

Special Issue: Innovations in informal economy: cases from Africa and India This new issue contains the following articles: Guest editorial Guest editor's note Saradindu Bhaduri, Pages: 497-497 Original Articles Innovation and agricultural exports: the case of sub-Saharan Africa Monika Korzun, Bamidele Adekunle & Glen C. Filson, Pages: 499-510 Effects of climate change on a peri-urban farming community in Lagos, Nigeria Taibat Lawanson, Olabode Orelaja & Michael Simire, Pages: 511-517 Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria Akeem Ayofe Akinwale, Pages: 519-528 The confounding influence of urban informality on innovation and production specialisation in production clusters: evidence from Nairobi John C. Harris, Pages: 529-539 Understanding the diffusion modes of grassroots innovations in India: A study of Honey Bee Network supported innovators Dinesh Abrol & Ankush Gupta, Pages: 541-552 Agro-based technological innovation: a critical analysis of the determinants of innovation in the informal sector in Harare, Zimbabwe Tarisai Manyati, Pages: 553-561 Book Review Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge and Change Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh, Pages: 563-564

IMTFI Call for Proposals for Research 2015-2016

The Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion at the University of California, Irvine is seeking proposals for original scholarly research on the use of money as a means of saving, storing, and transferring value for those who live on less than $1USD/day.

For this call, IMTFI is most keenly interested in the following broad topics:

• Role of gender, age, rank or status, economic class, occupation, age, physical capacity, or geography in existing monetary practices
• Effects and unintended consequences of technological innovation
• Women and girls in the mobile money/digital payment story
• Perceived need (or desire) to have and use digital financial services in comparison to competing interests (e.g. education, safety, food, health)
• Managing, negotiating, and converting "currency" in daily life
• Impact of technological innovations on habits, customs, and ideas around money, wealth, and value (this includes electronic grant and salary disbursements, G2P payments, ATMs, new card products, cryptocurrencies, NFC devices, and branchless banking)
• Public, private, non-profits, and social entrepreneurs in the mobile money space
• Unmet financial needs for small merchants
• Effect of emerging domestic and international value transfer and remittance technologies on livelihoods, scales of social comparison, investment, spending, and migratory practices
• Data management, data privacy and security for new digital payment users

Topics may include proposals specific to mobile money platforms, policies, and user uptake:

• Effect of increasing competition
• Impact of smartphones on mobile money or people's adoption of digital payment services
• Changes for "informal" and/or potentially fraudulent practices as mobile and electronic payments interface with cash payments or other accounting practices
• Trust and mobile money adoption
• Interest payments and mobile money accounts, prizes, and games
• Necessary policy and industry interventions for expansion of mobile money 

Submission Deadline: APRIL 1, 2015

Decisions will be announced by JULY 1, 2015

Eligibility: This call for proposals is open to all researchers who work in the developing world. *Previous recipients are welcome to apply but new applicants will receive priority.

Note: For this call, proposals to design or implement a service or product are ineligible. We will consider research proposals only.

Submission Guidelines: A more detailed call for proposals with guidelines can be found here. Please use provided budget template to accompany proposal. Proposals must be submitted online through the Submittable platform. Emailed proposals will not be accepted. If you cannot submit electronically, you may FAX or mail your proposal to the information found on our Contact Page.

Further Details: http://www.imtfi.uci.edu/imtfi_Y7cfp_2015.php

Call for Papers and Posters: 18th International Symposium on Theses and Dissertations (ETD2015); 4-6 Nov; at JNU New Delhi, India

ETD2015: 18th International Symposium on Theses and Dissertations
Theme "Evolving Genre of ETDs for Knowledge Discovery"
Dates: 4-6 November 2015
Venue: JNU Convention Centre, New Delhi, India
Organized by: Central Library, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India in collaboration with Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD.ORG), USA and INFLIBNET Centre, India

ETD 2015 is an international symposium and gathering of current and future researchers and practitioners in the area of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. The event will be held on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Campus, New Delhi, India during 4th - 6th November 2015. The theme for the ETD 2015 is "Evolving Genre of ETDs for Knowledge Discovery". It will provide delegates the unique opportunity to network, share experiences and discuss current good practices from around the world, enabling researchers and practitioners to chart a future course of action.

Call for Papers and Posters
ETD 2015 welcomes contributors to submit proposals for papers and posters.

Author Guidelines
All contributions must be written in English Language only. Contributors are requested to adhere to the respective Author Guidelines prescribed for Papers and for Poster Presentation.

Best Paper Award
As a part of the academic activities, the best paper award will be presented at the closing session. Please note that:
    The selection of the best paper will be done by the Evaluation Committee.
    The paper with the highest total will be awarded "Best Paper".

Best Poster Award
As a part of the academic activities, the best poster award will be presented at the Closing plenary session. Please note that:
    The selection of the best poster will be conducted by the Evaluation Committee
    The poster with the highest total will be awarded "Best Poster".

Call for Papers
Timelines and Deadlines:
March 31, 2015     Ensure to submit an abstract in not more than 500 words.
April 15, 2015     Expect status notification of your submission.
July, 31, 2015     Ensure to submit your full paper for publication on the conference website and (possibly) in the conference proceeding.

Author Guidelines for Abstract:
All contributors need to submit an informative abstract of not more than 500 words, and it should include:
    The title of the paper
    An indication of the context and purpose of the work
    A description of the methodology
    A summary of results, including products or other outcomes
    Implications and significance of the work.

Call for Posters
Timelines and Deadlines:
July 31, 2015         Ensure to submit a proposal for poster presentation.
August 15, 2015     Expect status notification of your submission.
August 31, 2015     Ensure to submit your Camera Ready Poster.

Author Guidelines for Poster:
All contributors need to submit an informative proposal to be considered for poster presentation, and it should include:
    The title of the poster
    An indication of the context and purpose of the work
    A description of the methodology
    A summary of results, including products or other outcomes
    Implications and significance of the work.

Travel Scholarships: A limited number of conference grants are available to help with travel and other expenses. Applications are invited by August 20, 2015. To apply, please visit following webpage: http://etd2015india.in/Travel_Scholarships

Further Details: http://etd2015india.in

Young Connectors of the Future Programme @ The Swedish Institute

Young Connectors of the Future Programme @ The Swedish Institute

The Swedish Institute's Young Connectors of the Future Programme (YCF) is an intercultural leadership programme that aims to lay a foundation for dialogue and knowledge sharing among young leaders from South Asia.
Call for applications for YCF 2015 will be open from 3 February until 3 March 2015.
YCF is designed to provide the participants with new skills, broadened networks and innovative tools to strengthen their work to drive social change in their respective contexts. The programme invites leaders aged between 22 and 32 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan who represent different sectors of society and are visionaries in positions to make a difference. The participants are actively working for democracy and human rights within the spheres of society, culture, politics, entrepreneurship and media.
The programme is a unique opportunity for young leaders in the region to gather and share ideas and perspectives on common challenges. During and after YCF participants will be part of an active network that aims to boost creativity and to support their personal and professional development, while also laying the platform for a more connected future.

Further Details: https://eng.si.se/areas-of-operation/leadership-programmes-and-cultural-exchange/young-connectors-of-the-future-programme/
YCF application procedure: https://eng.si.se/areas-of-operation/leadership-programmes-and-cultural-exchange/young-connectors-of-the-future-programme/practical-information-for-participants-of-young-connectors-of-the-future/

ATREE Summer School on Water and Society, June 15-27th 2015, Bengaluru

ATREE Summer School on Water and Society

June 15-27th 2015, ATREE, Bengaluru

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, is conducting a Summer School on Water and Society. The course offers a unique opportunity for post-Masters students working on water problems from any discipline, to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of water problems. The course will help students understand the multiple concerns driving water policy and the fundamentals of hydrology, water quality and social science analysis. Students will learn how to formulate socially relevant research questions, design research projects and work in interdisciplinary teams.
Audience: MTech/MSc/M Phil/ MA graduates interested in pursuing research and early PhD students from India.
Fee: There will be no fee for this course, as it is supported by IDRC Canada. ATREE will cover 2nd class AC train fare and boarding and lodging for twenty students from anywhere in India.
Application details: Available at http://www.atree.org/waterandsocietySS_2015
Email: waterandsocietySS_2015@atree.org
Last date for receiving applications: 15th March 2015.
Decisions will be communicated by 31st March 2015.

Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla invites applications for Award of Fellowships for advanced research.

Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla invites applications for Award of Fellowships for advanced research.
 

Advertisement No. 2/2015

AWARD OF FELLOWSHIPS
The IIAS invites applications for the award of Fellowships for advanced research in the following areas:
(a) Social, Political and Economic Philosophy;
(b) Comparative Indian Literature (including Ancient, Medieval, Modern Folk and Tribal);
(c) Comparative Studies in Philosophy and Religion;
(d) Comparative Studies in History (including Historiography and Philosophy of History);
(e) Education, Culture, Arts including performing Arts and Crafts;
(f) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Logic and Mathematics;
(g) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Natural and Life Sciences;
(h) Studies in Environment;
(i) Indian Civilization in the context of Asian Neighbours; and
(j) Problems of Contemporary India in the context of National Integration and Nation-building.
Besides the above, the Institute will also award two Fellowships to scholars to work on issues related to the, "Theory and Practice of Heritage Conservation and Restoration of Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla".

For details please visit our website: www.iias.org.ac.in. The prescribed application form can be downloaded from this website of the Institute. Applications on the prescribed form may be sent to the Secretary, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla–171005. Applications can also be made online. Only applications in the prescribed application form would be considered by the Institute. The Screening Committee meeting will take place likely in the month of April, 2015 and Fellowship Award Meeting will take place likely in May, 2015.

CSSP, JNU is now one of the signatories to "The Lyon Declaration: On Access to Information and Development"

The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development

The Lyon Declaration of August 2014 was written in English. The wording of the English version shall prevail.
The United Nations is negotiating a new development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. The agenda will guide all countries on approaches to improving people's lives, and outline a new set of goals to be reached during the period 2016-2030.
We, the undersigned, believe that increasing access to information and knowledge across society, assisted by the availability of information and communications technologies (ICTs), supports sustainable development and improves people's lives.
We therefore call upon the Member States of the United Nations to make an international commitment to use the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that everyone has access to, and is able to understand, use and share the information that is necessary to promote sustainable development and democratic societies.

Principles

Sustainable development seeks to ensure the long-term socio-economic prosperity and well-being of people everywhere. The ability of governments, parliamentarians, local authorities, local communities, civil society, the private sector and individuals to make informed decisions is essential to achieving it.
In this context, a right to information would be transformational. Access to information supports development by empowering people, especially marginalised people and those living in poverty, to:

• Exercise their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
• Be economically active, productive and innovative.
• Learn and apply new skills.
• Enrich cultural identity and expression.
• Take part in decision-making and participate in an active and engaged civil society.
• Create community-based solutions to development challenges.
• Ensure accountability, transparency, good governance, participation and empowerment.
• Measure progress on public and private commitments on sustainable development.

Declaration

In accordance with the findings of the High Level Panel on the Post–2015 Development Agenda, the post-2015 consultations of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Open Working Group Focus Area Report, all of which identified the crucial role of access to information in supporting development, we, the undersigned, recognise that:

1. Poverty is multidimensional, and progress in eradicating poverty is linked to sustainable development across a variety of areas.
2. Sustainable development must take place in a human-rights based framework, where:
1. Inequality is reduced by the empowerment, education and inclusion of marginalized groups, including women, indigenous peoples, minorities, migrants, refugees, persons with disabilities, older persons, children and youth.
2. Gender equality, along with full social, economic and political engagement, can be significantly enhanced by empowering women and girls through equitable access to education.
3. Dignity and autonomy can be strengthened by ensuring access to employment and decent jobs for all.
4. Equitable access to information, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, and privacy are promoted, protected and respected as being central to an individual's independence.
5. Public participation of all is ensured to allow them to take ownership of change needed to improve their lives.

3. Increased access to information and knowledge, underpinned by universal literacy, is an essential pillar of sustainable development. Greater availability of quality information and data and the involvement of communities in its creation will provide a fuller, more transparent allocation of resources.
4. Information intermediaries such as libraries, archives, civil society organisations (CSOs), community leaders and the media have the skills and resources to help governments, institutions and individuals communicate, organize, structure and understand data that is critical to development. They can do this by:
1. Providing information on basic rights and entitlements, public services, environment, health, education, work opportunities, and public expenditure that supports local communities and people to guide their own development.
2. Identifying and focusing attention on relevant and pressing needs and problems within a population.
3. Connecting stakeholders across regional, cultural and other barriers to facilitate communication and the exchange of development solutions that could be scaled for greater impact.
4. Preserving and ensuring ongoing access to cultural heritage, government records and information by the public, through the stewardship of national libraries and archives and other public heritage institutions.
5. Providing public forums and space for wider civil society participation and engagement in decision-making.
6. Offering training and skills to help people access and understand the information and services most helpful to them.

5. Improved ICT infrastructure can be used to expand communications, speed up the delivery of services and provide access to crucial information particularly in remote communities. Libraries and other information intermediaries can use ICTs to bridge the gap between national policy and local implementation to ensure that the benefits of development reach all communities.
6. We, the undersigned, therefore call on Member States of the United Nations to acknowledge that access to information, and the skills to use it effectively, are required for sustainable development, and ensure that this is recognised in the post-2015 development agenda by:
1. Acknowledging the public's right to access information and data, while respecting the right to individual privacy.
2. Recognising the important role of local authorities, information intermediaries and infrastructure such as ICTs and an open Internet as a means of implementation.
3. Adopting policy, standards and legislation to ensure the continued funding, integrity, preservation and provision of information by governments, and access by people.
4. Developing targets and indicators that enable measurement of the impact of access to information and data and reporting on progress during each year of the goals in a Development and Access to Information (DA2I) report.

Find Out Signatories from India and BRICS Countries: http://www.lyondeclaration.org

INSA Public Lecture "Chance and Necessity: Nurturing the Young Talents" on 2nd February

Public Lecture in INSA

Chance and Necessity : Nurturing the Young Talents by Professor Dipankar Chatterji, Date: 2nd February, 2015 Venue: INSA, ITO, New Delhi Time: 3:30pm RSVP scipol2012@gmail.com

CSLG Lecture "Dance like a book: Copyright and the Conundrums of Culture" by Lawrence Liang, on 27 Jan

CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE
Jawaharlal Nehru University

SEMINAR SERIES

Lawrence Liang
Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore

on

Dance like a book: Copyright and the Conundrums of Culture

Abstract: Copyright is not merely a theory of intangible property it is also a theory of culture and creativity. There is however an ontological puzzle underlying copyright's claims to culture. Copyright emerged within the history of a specific technology, paper and its ideas of originality, authorship and expression are rooted within a literary tradition, so what happens when copyright encounters art, music, cinema and dance? These cultural forms constitute the Bermuda triangle of copyright law where many of its foundational principles (originality, fixation, idea-expression divide) are either simply absent or inapplicable. If copyright is not particularly suited to address diverse cultural forms, then how may we imagine a legal system for the ownership and /or sharing of knowledge which emerges not from copyright but from the immanent logic of cultural forms?

Tuesday, 27 January 2015
3.00 PM
Conference Room, CSLG, JNU

About the speaker: Lawrence Liang is a researcher and writer at the Alternative Law Forum. One of the co-founders of ALF, Liang's areas of interests have been in law and culture, politics of copyright and law and literature. His doctoral research at the School of Arts and Aesthetics (JNU) on the cinematic courts of justice addresses law, philosophy and justice in Hindi cinema. He graduated from the National Law School, Bangalore and did his Masters at the University of Warwick. A keen follower of the open source movement in software, Liang has been working on ways of translating the open source ideas into the cultural domain.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR TEA AFTER THE SEMINAR

ALL ARE WELCOME

NMML Invites You to Public Lectures Series "Science, Society and Nature" 2015

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

Public Lecture Series

Science, Society and Nature

Venue: Seminar Room, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi

Time: 3.00 pm

Dr. Kiran Asher,

Centre for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia.

'The Romance of Resistance and the Politics of Rescue in Post-Development Alternatives'

Friday, 6^th February, 2015

Dr. Nayanika Mathur,

Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.

'Enter 'Climate Change':  Of beastly encounters, cervine disappearances,  and state categorisation in the Uttarakhand Himalaya'

Thursday, 4th March, 2015

Dr. T.R. Shankar Raman,

Natural Conservation Foundation, Mysore.

'Recasting the Nature Conservation Landscape: A Field Perspective from India's Tropical Rainforests'

Friday,20^th March, 2015

Prof. Brij Gopal

Centre for Inland Waters in in South Asia, Jaipur.

'Turn the Rivers Dry to Make Deserts Bloom: Rapidly changing society-nature relationships'

Friday,27^th March, 2015

Prof. C.N.R. Rao,

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru.

'Doing Science in India'

Friday, 3rd July, 2015

Mr. A.V. Balasubramanian,

Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai.

'Conservation and Utilisation of Agrobiodiversity and Millets: The missing links in our quest for food and nutritional security'.

Friday, 17th July, 2015

Prof. Raghavendra Gadagkar,

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

'War and Peace:  Conflict and cooperation in an insect society'

Friday, 31st July, 2015

Dr. Jayashree Ratnam,

National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.

'Towards a Functional Understanding of the Savanna Ecosystems of Asia'

Friday, 7th August, 2015

Dr. Robin Vijayan,

National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.

'Sky Islands of Western Ghats:  Response of montane birds to multiple scales of patchiness'

Friday, 21st August, 2015

Prof. Purnendu S. Kavoori,

Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.

'Is the Future 'Feudal'? Imagining the social structure of sustainability'

Friday, 4th September, 2015

Prof. Madhumati Dutta,

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur.

'Consumer Behaviour  and Carbon Emissions:  Lessons in policy'

Friday, 6th November, 2015

All are welcome.

Schedule: NMML Public Lecture Series "Science, Society and Nature" 2015.

Those wishing to have their names added to the e-mail list may please e-mail us at: nmmldirector@gmail.com. Address: Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi – 110011, India. Please note that the nearest Metro Stations are Race Course and Central Secretariat and the key DTC bus numbers 620, 604, 680 and 720. Autos are also easily available at these stations.   Note: There is an elevator for the First Floor for those who may need to use it. Further Details: NehruMemorial.Nic.In