NMML Invites You to Public Lectures Series "Science, Society and Nature", Feb-Dec 2013

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

 Public Lectures Series

Science, Society and Nature

 

 

All lectures will be held in the Seminar Room at 3.00 pm.

 

 

S. No.		Day and Date		Speaker		Title
1.		Monday 11 February, 2013		Prof. Kathleen Morrison, University of Chicago, USA.		'Human face of the land: Why the past matters for India's environmental future'
2.		Wednesday 13 March, 2013		Prof. J. Srinivasan, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.		'How should India deal with climate change?'
3.		Monday 22 April, 2013		Prof. Deepak Kumar, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.		'Science, religion and society: Snippets from colonial India'
4.		Wednesday 1 May, 2013		Prof. R. Sukumar, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.		'Elephants, empire and ecology in ancient India: Reflections for modern-day conservation'
5.		Wednesday 22 May, 2013		Prof. Vishvajit Pandya, Dhirubhai Ambai Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Ahmedabad.		'In Terra Nullius: The legacies of science and colonialism in the Andaman Islands'
6.		Friday 24 May, 2013		Dr. Harini Nagendra, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bengaluru.		'The challenge of collective action: Ecological restoration by people in forests and cities'
7.		Wednesday 17  July, 2013		Prof. Madhav  Gadgil, Agharkar Research Institute, Agarkar Road, Pune.		'Democracy and ecology in contemporary India'
8.		Wednesday 24  July, 2013		Dr.  Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced Studies,  Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.		'Rethinking animal-human boundaries: Musings of a primatologist'
9.		Wednesday 31 July, 2013		Dr. Kartik Shanker, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.		'Wagging the dog: The use and abuse of science in marine conservation in Orissa'
10.		Wednesday 7 August, 2013		Prof. Ambuj Sagar, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.		'Knowledge and decision-making in the climate arena: National and international dimensions'
11.		Wednesday 14 August, 2013		Dr. Ullas Karanth, Director for Science-Asia Wildlife Conservation Society and Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru.		'Rescuing nature from growth and equity'
12.		Wednesday 21 August, 2013		Dr. Sagari R. Ramdas, Anthra, Secunderabad.		'Contested landscapes and livelihoods: Interfaces and insights on forests, fields and grasslands'
13.		Wednesday 4  September, 2013		Prof. E. Somanathan, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi.		'Economics and the crisis of ecology'
14.		Wednesday 11 September, 2013		Prof. Shiv Vishwanathan, O.P. Jindal global University, Sonipat, Haryana.		'Impending battles: Science and democracy'
15.		Wednesday 18 September, 2013		Dr. Aditi Mukherji Senior Researcher, International Water Management Institute, New Delhi.		'An Evergreen Revolution in eastern India: Are we on the right track?'
16.		Wednesday 9 October, 2013		Prof C.R. Babu, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi.		'Conservation of nature: A strategy for human endurance'
17.		Wednesday 30  October, 2013		Dr. Aparajita Datta, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore.		'Conservation challenges in Northeast India: Science, policy, tribal rights and development'
18.		Wednesday 6 November, 2013		Dr. Rinki Sarkar, Independent Researcher and Economist, New Delhi.		'Endangered landscapes, unperturbed response: Socio–ecological concerns in the Western Himalayas'
19.		Wednesday 13 November,   2013		Dr. M. Rajeevan, Ministry of Earth Sciences , Prithvi Bhavan , Lodi Road, IMD Campus, New Delhi.		'The changing monsoon and its manifold implications'
20.		Wednesday 20 November, 2013		Prof. Jayanta Bandopadhyaya, Former Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.		'Water future  of South Asia: The option for advancing ecological engineering'
21.		Wednesday 27 November, 2013		Prof. Harsh K. Gupta National Disaster Management Authority, NDMA Bhavan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi.		'Earthquakes: How to cope with them'
22.		Wednesday 4 December, 2013		Dr. Pradip Prabhu, Barefoot Academy of Governance, Thane District, Maharashtra.		'Decolonizing the forest: The new challenges'
23.		Wednesday 18 December, 2013		Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bengaluru.		'DNA studies and evolutionary history: Why species survival is more than a game of numbers'

 

All are welcome.

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.

 

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.

CfPs: CPRsouth8 - Innovation & Entrepreneurship in ICT: Changing Asia / Africa, 5-7 September 2013, Mysore, India

CPRsouth8/ CPRafrica 2013
Innovation & Entrepreneurship in ICT: Changing Asia / Africa
5-7 September 2013, Mysore, India

Organized by LIRNEasia, Research ICT Africa, and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) and the Department for International Development, UK (DFID)
 
Communication Policy Research: south (CPRsouth) intends to build human capacity in the South by reinforcing and developing the knowledge, skills, and commitment of ICT policy and regulation scholars in the region or with substantial interest in the region. The overall objective is to create policy intellectuals capable of informed and effective intervention in ICT policy and regulatory processes in specific country contexts.
 
CPRsouth8/ CPRafrica 2013 provides a forum for policy-engaged scholars to meet face-to-face to exchange ideas, network and improve the quality of their scholarly work. It fosters the next generation of active scholars and in-situ experts capable of contributing to good ICT-related policy and regulation in the region.
 
Location
The conference will be hosted at the Infosys Campus Mysore India. The state-of-the-art Campus has been set up and is managed by the Indian global technology services company, Infosys, for the purpose of training its staff and recruits.  The Infosys Bangalore and Mysore campuses inspired Thomas Friedman to write the international bestseller The world is flat.  
 
Content
The conference will accommodate ~30 paper presenters from Africa and the Asia-Pacific over the course of three days (Asia-Pacific papers will make up around 60 percent of total).   The conference includes sessions on cutting-edge developments on policy and regulation in the South and discussion of the research-policy interface.  The audience will be made up of 70+ scholars on ICT policy and practice. Each of the paper sessions will be chaired by a senior scholar.  Substantive discussant comments will be provided. 
 
Mentoring
Paper presenters will have opportunity to be mentored on their paper, policy brief and the presentation prior to the conference.


CALL FOR PAPER PROPOSALS  

Paper proposals on ICT policy and regulation research carried out in the Asia Pacific or relevant to the Asia-Pacific may be submitted for review and acceptance. The paper proposals must be classifiable with at least three keywords from the list below (if you have trouble doing so, it is an indication that your work may not fit this conference).  The keywords will be used to assign papers to reviewers in a double-blind process which will yield a short list of approximately 30-35.  Completed papers based on the shortlisted paper proposals will be judged by two senior scholars and the authors of the highest ranked papers will be invited to present at the conference.
 
Keywords

Access | Applications | Authorization and Licensing | Broadband| Business models | Citizen | Civil society| Cloud computing | Competition | Conflict | Connectivity | Consumer | Content | Convergence | Cooperation  | Demand | Disaster  | Disability | Domestic | Economy | Efficiency | Emerging markets  | Environment   | Governance | Growth | Inclusion | Indicators | Information | Infrastructure | Innovation | International | Judiciary | Knowledge | Legislation | Markets | Media | Monopoly | Networks | Performance | Policy | Political economy | Poverty | Productivity | Property | Public goods | Oligopoly | Reforms  | Regional | Regulation | Spectrum | Strategy | Transparency | Universal access | Universal services

 
The relevant keywords from the above list must be included in your paper proposal
 
Submission Guidelines
Paper proposals should be submitted electronically at www.cprsouth.org on or before 08 February 2013 and must contain the following:

1. 500-word paper proposal, including a minimum of three and a maximum of five keywords from the list given above.  Include at least three, but preferably more, references to prior work.  The references and keywords are outside the 500-word limit.
2. Curriculum vitae (one page)

The template for the paper proposals submission can be downloaded from www.cprsouth.org

The document must be named CPRsouth8_paperproposal&Bio_YourLastName.doc. It should be in MS office word format. Please note that the paper proposal and bio must be in a single document.
 
Notification of shortlisting of paper proposals will be emailed on or before 16 March 2013, and authors will be given time to submit their completed papers – i.e., full papers have to be submitted for final review by 25 April 2013. Only full papers of acceptable quality that are received by the deadline will be considered for partial travel and accommodation support.  It is expected that the papers will be improved based on substantive comments provided in the run-up to the conference. All paper givers are required to develop a policy brief based on the final research paper.  Mentoring on writing a policy brief will be provided prior to the conference.  Policy briefs will be judged in a policy-brief competition.
 
Paper presenters who make the cut will be notified by 03 June 2013 with contact information for the assigned chair and discussant and instructions on travel arrangements.
 
Review Criteria
Paper proposals will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
1. PRINCIPAL RESEARCH QUESTION: (15%): Captures the essence of the proposal in no more than 50 words
2. POLICY RELEVANCE (15%): The relevance of the proposal to identified decision-makers in the ICT space is explicated
3. COMPONENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS (15%): Breaks down the research question further and is linked to the research plan
4. RESEARCH PLAN (45%): Includes a literature search, method and data sources sections
5. LIST OF REFERENCES/SOURCES (5%):  Identifies the key documents.  APA style is used
6. TITLE (5%): Is clear and communicates no more and no less than the content given in the proposal.
 
Please note: Only the authors whose papers that are delivered by the 25 April 2013 deadline AND who meet the quality standard will be allowed to present at the conference.
 
The papers selected for presentation at the CPRsouth Conference will be uploaded onto the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) database.  Please note that the submission of the final paper implies consent to upload them onto the SSRN database. The slides of the presentations and the policy brief will be uploaded onto www.cprsouth.org
 
Previous conferences
Please see www.cprsouth.org, CPRsouth conference archives for programs and papers presented.
 
Funding
Selected paper givers who are passport holders of, and travelling from, low, lower-middle and upper middle income countries within the Asia Pacific (as classified by the World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#Low_income) will be provided with:

• Lowest-cost economy airfare to India (less USD 200 registration fee).
•  Twin sharing accommodation on bed and breakfast basis, 3 lunches and 1 dinner for the duration of the conference (5-7 September 2013).  Not all meals are covered.

The airfare will be reimbursed less USD 200, the registration fee for the conference.
 
The cost of transportation to and from airports in home countries, visa fees (if any), meals not provided and incidental costs have to borne by the participants.
 
Visas
Visas are required to enter India, with a few exceptions. Letters will be provided for this purpose after participant selections have been made. Participants are strongly advised to initiate visa approval procedures immediately thereafter.
 
Key Dates
Deadline for paper proposals: 08 February 2013
Deadline for complete papers:  25 April 2013
 

 
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: YOUNG SCHOLAR AWARDS
 
Fifteen Young Scholars from the Asia-Pacific region (and the same number from Africa) will be selected to participate in the tutorials taught by recognized scholars and practitioners scheduled to be held before CPRsouth8 (3-4 September 2013).
 
Who will qualify?

• Entry level officers of government/regulatory agencies
• Entry/mid level officers of private companies in the communication industries
• Masters/PhD students in Economics, Public policy, Communications and Journalism
• Entry/mid level officers in NGOs/INGOs.
• Researchers from think tanks
• Journalists interested in regulation and public policy, with an emphasis on communication

 
Previous tutorial presentations can be accessed at http://www.cprsouth.org/
 
Application Guidelines
Applications should be submitted electronically at www.cprsouth.org on or before 02 June 2013 and must contain the following:

1. curriculum vitae (one page)
2. a one-page write-up outlining why you wish to become an Asia-Pacific based expert capable of contributing to ICT related policy and regulatory reform in the region

The document should be named CPRsouth8_YoungScholar_YourLastName. Please note that the write up and bio should be in a single document.
 
Notification of acceptance will be emailed on or before 17 June 2013, with instructions on travel arrangements.
 
Review Criteria
Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

1. Content of application
2. Evidence of interest in, and commitment to, policy-relevant research for the Asia Pacific
3. Quality of writing
4. Gender and country representation

The selection committee may contact your supervisor or mentor before making the final selections.
 
The selected Young scholar award holder must:

• Provide an one-page research proposal
• Participate in all tutorial sessions
• Participate in the entire CPRsouth7 conference

 
Funding
Selected young scholars who are passport holders and travelling from low, lower-middle and upper middle income countries within the Asia Pacific (as classified by the World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#Low_income) will be provided with:

• Lowest-cost economy airfare to India (less USD 150 registration fee).
• Twin sharing accommodation on bed and breakfast basis, 3 lunches and 1 dinner for the duration of the tutorials and conference (3-7 September 2013).

The airfare will be reimbursed less USD 150, the registration fee for the conference.
 
The cost of transportation to and from airports in home countries, visa fees (if any), meals not provided and incidental costs have to borne by the participants.
 
Key Dates
Deadline for applications: 02 June 2013
 
 
About LIRNEasia
LIRNEasia is a regional information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation research and capacity building organization. LIRNEasia seeks to identify the institutional constraints on effective use of ICTs to improve the lives of the people of Asia-Pacific; work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders to catalyze changes conducive to greater participation by users and suppliers; and contribute to building capacity within the region for evidence-based intervention in the public-policy process. It serves as the administrative partner for CPRsouth.
 
Visit www.lirneasia.net for more information.
 
Contact information
Mail: CPRsouth, C/o LIRNEasia, 12 Balcombe Place, Colombo 00080, Sri Lanka
Telephone: +94 11 267 1160
Fax: +94 11 267 5212
Email: info@cprsouth.org
Website: www.cprsouth.org

CfPs: 2013 International Energy Workshop, to be held at International Energy Agency, Paris; June 19–21, 2013

2013 International Energy Workshop

The 32nd edition of the International Energy Workshop (IEW) will be held at the International Energy Agency, Paris, on June 19–21, 2013.

About International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous organisation which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond. Founded in response to the 1973/4 oil crisis, the IEA's initial role was to help countries co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply through the release of emergency oil stocks to the markets. While this continues to be a key aspect of its work, the IEA has evolved and expanded. It is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative and unbiased research, statistics, analysis and recommendations.

Call for Papers - The deadline for paper submission is February 1st, 2013
Researchers and practitioners in developed and developing countries are invited to submit original papers with new and innovative results on scientific or practical experiences on the economics of energy and climate change. As is customary for the IEW, papers should be quantitative and rigorous. A (non-exclusive) list of potential conference topics is:

•    Climate change – mitigation and adaptation
•    Economics of low-carbon technologies
•    Energy access and poverty
•    Energy and economic growth in emerging economies
•    The role of renewable energy in developing and developed countries

Selected papers will be presented and discussed in thematic sessions, circulated during the meeting and also posted on the meeting website.

Submission of papers
Full papers or long abstracts (minimum 1000 words) in .pdf version should be submitted online here before 1 February 2013.

Please note that paper selection has become increasingly competitive in recent years. Submissions that fully describe a complete analysis are often more likely to be accepted than long abstracts. In particular, when submitting a long abstract, please ensure that the study and results are sufficiently described to allow comparison with full paper submissions. Each person can present only one selected paper, although multiple submissions are allowed. Please kindly fill in one online form for each paper.

Program Committee
The selection of submitted papers and long abstracts is directed and made by the IEW Program Committee, which includes, among others, the IEW co-directors and the 2013 co-organisers:
•    Geoffrey Blanford, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
•    Massimo Tavoni, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)
•    Bob van der Zwaan, Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN)
•    Laura Cozzi, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Further information
For any further information please contact: info@internationalenergyworkshop.org.

UNESCO releases "Information policies in Asia: development of indicators"

Information policies in Asia: development of indicators
by Kavita Karan. UNESCO Bangkok, 2011.
The scope of information policy is broad. For the purposes of this report, information policy can be defined as the collection of policies and strategies that are designed to promote the development of a better-managed information society. These policies include, but extend beyond, those that are concerned with processes, management, promotion and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Across the Asia-Pacific region there has been a steady development in the information policies that support the information sector. This sector is expected to grow if policies keep abreast of needs. In most of the countries of the region, the acquisition of technology, creation of infrastructure and improving the quality of human resources are significant engagements, but a lot has yet to be achieved. Lesser-developed countries like Bhutan, Lao PDR, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan, among others, appear to be putting together blueprints for the development of information sectors.
This report focuses on assessing country information policies on seven broad dimensions in the context of achieving the goals of information-based societies. These cover (a) overall national policies; (b) telecommunications infrastructure and networks; (c) the content and delivery of information; (d) the information industries in the public and private sectors; (e) legal and regulatory frameworks; and (f) the skills and competencies of human resources – providers and consumers.
The report is divided into two parts where Part I covers three sections. The first section contains the objectives and methodology of the data; the second focuses on indicators contributing to information policies across seven dimensions; and the third section concludes the report. The report provides an organizing framework that can be adapted to the needs of information policy initiatives in any given national context. The significance and results of such an analysis provide a blueprint for state interventions to promote an information-rich environment, the efficient running of government and other development projects of the country. Part II is on implementing the indicators and some examples of measurement including a questionnaire for household access to information given.
Download Full-text PDF http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0020/002070/207048e.pdf

Also interesting:

• Swan, Alma (2012). Policy guidelines for the development and promotion of open access. UNESCO, Paris, 2012. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002158/215863e.pdf
• UNESCO (2011). ICT for higher education: case studies from Asia and the Pacific. UNESCO Bangkok, 2011. Download Full-text PDF http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002141/214143E.pdf
• UNESCO and COL (2011). Guidelines for open educational resources (OER) in higher education. UNESCO, Paris, 2011. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
• Butcher, Neil; Kanwar, Asha; Uvalic-Trumbic, Stamenka (2011). A Basic guide to open educational resources (OER). UNESCO, Paris, 2011. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002158/215804e.pdf

CESP Young Scholars' Seminar 2013

Centre for Economic Studies and Planning
Jawaharlal Nehru University

CESP Young Scholars' Seminar

Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University is organising a young scholars' seminar to be held on March 1-3, 2013. All current research scholars and young academics are invited to submit papers for the seminar. Submissions can be in any research area involving economic theory or applied work on the Indian or international economy. Each submitted paper will be reviewed and only selected papers will be presented in the seminar.
Last date for submission of abstract: January 20, 2013
Last date for submission of full paper: February 10, 2013
The abstract and the paper should be submitted in PDF and a document (.doc/.odt) format by email to cascesp@gmail.com.
All outstation participants will be provided accommodation, local hospitality and train fare as per university rules.

Article "An Institutional Analysis of Transition to Market: The Case of Shifting Cultivators in Mon, Nagaland" by Abhinandan Saikia and Saradindu Bhaduri, CSSP

An Institutional Analysis of Transition to Market: The Case of Shifting Cultivators in Mon, Nagaland
by Abhinandan Saikia and Saradindu Bhaduri
International Journal of Rural Management, 2012, 8(1&2), pp. 19–34.

Abstract
Shifting cultivation (or locally called Jhum) is widely practiced in Mon district of Nagaland. Health-wise, the district ranks among the best in the state. However, establishment of a rural market has been very inadequate despite various policies introduced by the state government to promote commercialization of agriculture. Policy makers often blame the lack of infrastructure as the main deterring factor. Interestingly, such 'mainstream' arguments miss the roles of social norms and historical trajectory of the communities in accepting the logic of 'market'. Drawing upon the conceptual framework of institutional and evolutionary economics for our analysis, we intend to offer an institutional view to understand the problems of establishing a market in rural areas of Nagaland based on a field survey of six villages in Mon district of Nagaland. We argue that the logic of a market is based on individualistic values and rights, while their existing system of governance–production and education focuses on collective rights and patronage, making transition to market difficult. We propose that a smooth and effective transition to market would depend very much on the way interdependent system of governance–production and education can be altered. Only relying on shortterm incentives may prove to be ineffective to ensure such a transition.

Download Paper

Recent Paper "Unpacking the International Technology Transfer Debate: Fifty Years and Beyond"

Gehl Sampath, Padmashree and Roffe, Pedro (2012). Unpacking the International Technology Transfer Debate: Fifty Years and Beyond; ICTSD Programme on Innovation, Technology and Intellectual Property; Issue Paper No. 36; International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland.

This paper captures the political economy of technology transfer negotiations since the 1960s to address two key questions. The first question is whether the debates cater to country level technological needs in developing countries. To find answers to this, the paper critically reviews the progress made in understanding the role of technology and innovation capacity for economic development over the past decades and whether these find a place in the negotiations and deliberations as we have them today. The second question that the paper seeks to address is more forward looking, with a view to make a constructive contribution towards resolving some of the most longstanding issues in technology transfer. How and through what ways can international discussions on technology transfer be made to reflect the lessons learnt up until now on how countries build technological capabilities and the challenges posed by the changing global environment for knowledge and technology?
The analysis places a particular emphasis on the technology transfer-intellectual property rights (IPRs) nexus which, in many ways, has been at the heart of the international discourse on technology transfer. The authors conclude by identifying the main issues that remain outstanding in this discourse and propose some thoughts for the way forward.

Download Full-text PDF