Article "‘Majuli in Peril’: Challenging the received wisdom on flood control in Brahmaputra River Basin" by Debojyoti Das

'Majuli in Peril': Challenging the received wisdom on flood control in Brahmaputra River Basin, Assam (1940–2000)
by Debojyoti Das
Water History, 2014, 6(2):167-185
DOI 10.1007/s12685-014-0098-2
Abstract: This paper seeks to provide a framework to understand the politics of flood control and representation of deluge 'narrative' by looking at Majuli—one of the largest freshwater river islands in the world, located in the upper Brahmaputra valley in Assam. Policy makers and state planner present simplistic explanation of flood and its resultant impact on the island habitable space, as a 'techno-managerial' crisis needing policy redemption through 'experts' intervention. I present the phenomenon of flooding as a 'techno-political' problem and examine the politics of knowledge production. The paper thus challenges the received wisdom on ecological change promoted by institutions who have been working to save the island from two perceived threats—floods and bank erosion. Through a synoptic survey on state measures to control flood in the Brahamapura River Basin since the 1950s, I will show how the 'statist ecological discourse' based on equilibrium and linear models underlined by a 'command and control' discourse have dominated policy making on flood mitigation- devaluing other perspectives of ecological change. These new revisionist directions in ecology and science policy discourse bring important insights to understand the phenomena of floods from the multiple pathways of an ecological change paradigm and the ways they are mitigated and perceived.
Download Full-text: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12685-014-0098-2

CfPs 2nd Annual Convention on "Ethics in Research on Human Subjects: Evolving norms and guidelines for the Indian context" 2-4 Sept, at JNU

2nd Annual Convention on Ethics in Research on Human Subjects: Evolving norms and guidelines for the Indian context

 

on 2nd- 3rd -4th September 2014, at the Convention Centre, JNU.

 

The Convention will focus on the national and international guidelines (such as those of Nuffield Council on Bioethics 1991, Helsinki Declaration of 2000 clarifications in 2002, 2004, CIOMS 2002, and UNESCO document 2005, and specifically for India the ICMR guidelines, etc) and ground realities in India where we do not want to dampen the enthusiasm for research particularly in interdisciplinary sciences where mostly human participation is essential. At the same time, we also do not want to dilute the ethical norms and regulations prescribed globally. Most of the guidelines are also silent on behavioural, emotional, psychological research and psycho- social research involving human participants. In the first national convention organised by JNU in 2013, some of these issues were addressed by people from a large number of disciplines and also a variety of institutions participating. In the concluding session it was unanimously resolved to carry the discussion forward by making this an annual event. The proposed second national convention will take it forward with greater participation in numbers and greater enthusiasm and motivation within JNU and outside.

 

The proposed 2014 convention in JNU will take up these issues in paper presentations and posters, plenary talks and a couple of workshops, and conclude with a panel discussion.

Papers as verbal presentations or posters, workshops (proposed by groups) are invited on any of the following areas of concern:

 

• Protecting the participants in Human Research
• Respect for Individuality and Identity, Autonomy 
• Voluntariness and ICF- what is an ethical ideal?
• Subjectivity in our perception of an ethical ideal 
• Assessment of Risk and Benefit
• Policy Process and Policy framework,
• Is there law for universal application? 
• Capacity to exercise voluntariness
• Vulnerability issues in India studies
• National and International norms and rules for working with
• Children
• Tribals and people from EWS/ backward areas
• Illiterate/ semi educated people
• Medically unfit populations especially those with psychological / mental / cognitive disorders or those in a vegetative state
• Confidentiality issues
• Compensation, Incentives, Reimbursement, Insurance issues
• Legal issues arising out of research 
• Institutional Responsibility, Institution specific SOP's 
• Awareness / training issues and preparing the future researcher for ethical research 
  
• India specific norms, and case studies 
• Students Research Norms/ SOP's
• Faculty Research Projects 
• Setting the standards, accreditation standards 
• Norms for multidisciplinary, multi institutional, collaborative research
• Training IERB members

 

The issues and challenges are enormous. Through this Second National Convention on Ethics in Research on Human Subjects we need to continue the debate and discussion initiated last year, in July 2013 to identify India specific challenges and how to meet them through Universities, medical colleges and other institutions of higher learning.

Submission of Abstracts and full papers

Since we have very little time left please submit your abstract/full papers definitely by the 30^th June. The title of your presentation, a brief abstract in about 250 words, your affiliation may be sent to <ierbjnu@gmail.com> or <narang.vaishna@gmail.com>.

Full papers are to be submitted definitely by the 30th June so that we are able to complete the review process and print the proceedings before the convention begins on the 2nd of September 2014.

 

Registration

Registration fee, Rs 1500.00 to be paid on arrival, will include part payment towards various expenses, such as cost of printing of abstracts, handouts, tea and snacks and other contingent expenses only partially. Those of you coming from outside Delhi will be provided accommodation in the JNU guest house on the first cum first served basis, where you will have to pay for your boarding and lodging. 
------------------------------------------------------------
Convener
Prof VaishnaNarang

Member Secretary, IERB-JNU

Room no. 102,103, Old CRS Complex

Jawaharlal Nehru University 

New Delhi- 110067

Tel. +91-11-2674664, +91-11-26704697, +91-9810608936 

 http://www.jnu.ac.in/IERB/Events.html

University Grants Commission (India) releases publication "Sixty Years of the University Grants Commission: Establishment, Growth, and Evolution".

University Grants Commission (India) releases publication "Sixty Years of the University Grants Commission: Establishment, Growth, and Evolution".

Sharma, K A (2014). "Sixty Years of the University Grants Commission: Establishment, Growth, and Evolution". New Delhi: University Grants Commission.

Table of Contents
CHAPTER I Establishing the University Grants Commission
CHAPTER II The Formative Years (1953-1963)
CHAPTER III The First Wave of Expansion (1963-1973)
CHAPTER IV The Initiatives for Consolidation (1973-1983)
CHAPTER V The New Policy Initiatives (1983-1993)
CHAPTER VI Golden Jubilee and Post-Policy Interventions (1993-2003)
CHAPTER VII The Second Wave of Expansion (2003-13)
CHAPTER VIII The New Initiatives and Discourses

Download Full-text PDF

Also interesting:
UGC (2011). "Inclusive and Qualitative expansion of Higher Education, 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-2017". Compiled and edited by V Prakash, S P Thyagarajan, F Qamar, R Srivastava and A K Sharma. New Delhi: University Grants Commission. Download Full-text PDF.

NMML 2013 'Science, Society and Nature' Lecture series: Audio Recordings Now Available

NMML 2013 'Science, Society and Nature' Lecture series: Audio Recordings Now Available

1. Kathleen D. Morrison, University of Chicago, USA, 'Human face of the land: Why the past matters for India's environmental future', 11 February, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/636-10.html
2. J. Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 'How should India deal with climate change?', 13 March, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/642-17.html
3. Deepak Kumar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 'Reason, Science and Religion: Gleanings from the colonial past', 22 April, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/658-26-prof-deepak-kumar-22-april-2013.html
4. Raman Sukumar, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 'Elephant, Empire and Ecology in Ancient India', 1 May, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/662-27-prof-raman-sukumar-01-may-2013.html
5. Visvajit Pandya, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Ahmedabad, 'In Terra Nullius: The legacies of science and colonialism in the Andaman Islands', 22 May, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/669-31-prof-vishvajit-pandya-22-may-2013.html
6. Harini Nagendra, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru, 'The Challenge of Collective Action: Ecological restoration by people in forests and cities', 24 May, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/670-32-dr-harini-nagendra-24-may-2013.html
7. Madhav Gadgil, Goa University, Goa, 'Science, Democracy and Ecology in Contemporary India', 17 July, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/674-33-prof-madhav-gadgil-17-july-2013.html
8. Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, 'Rethinking Animal-Human Boundaries: Musings of a primatologist', 24 July, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/672-34.html
9. Kuntala Lahiri Dutt, Australian National University, Australia, 'Dancing with the River: Hybrid landscapes and livelihoods of chars in Bengal', 25 July, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/673-36-dr-kuntala-lahiri-dutt-25-july-2013.html
10. Kartik Shanker, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 'Wagging the Dog: The use and abuse of science in marine conservation in Orissa', 31 July, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/675-36-dr-kartik-shankar-31-july-2013.html
11. Ambuj Sagar, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 'Climate and Energy: How science and technology can help us develop sustainably', 7 August, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/676-37-prof-ambuj-sagar-07-august-2013.html
12. K. Ullas Karanth, Science-Asia Wildlife Conservation Society, Bengaluru, 'Rescuing Nature from Growth and Equity', 14 August, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/677-38-dr-k-ullas-karanth-14-august-2013.html
13. Sagari R. Ramdas, ANTHRA, Hyderabad, 'Livelihoods and Landscapes in Contention: Interfaces, interactions and insights on forests, farm and pasture', 21 August, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/680-39-dr-sagari-r-ramdas-21-august-2013.html
14. E. Somanathan, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, 'Economics and the Crisis of Ecology', 4 September, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/684-42-prof-e-somanathan-4-september-2013.html
15. Shiv Visvanathan, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, 'Impending Battles: Science and democracy', 11 September, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/686-45-prof-shiv-visvanathan-11-sep-2013.html
16. Aditi Mukherji, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, New Delhi, 'An Evergreen Revolution in Eastern India: Are we on the right track?', 18 September, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/689-48-dr-aditi-mukherji-18-sep-2013.html
17. C. R. Babu, Emeritus Professor, University of Delh, Delhi, 'Conservation of Nature: A strategy for human endurance', 9 October, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/693-52-prof-c-r-babu-09-oct-2013.html
18. Aparajita Datta, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, 'Conservation Challenges in Northeast India: Science, policy, tribal rights and development', 30 October, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/702-61-dr-aparajita-dutta-30.html
19. M. Rajeevan, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, 'The Changing Monsoon and its Manifold Implications', 13 November, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/707-66-dr-m-rajeevan-13-nov-2013.html
20. Rinki Sarkar, Independent Researcher and Economist, New Delhi, 'Endangered Landscapes, Unperturbed Response: Socio-ecological concerns in the western Himalayas', 28 November, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/711-70-dr-rinki-sarkar-28.html
21. Harsh K. Gupta, National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi, 'Earthquakes: How to cope with them', 5 December, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/713-72-dr-harsh-k-gupta-05.html
22. Uma Ramakrishnan, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, 'DNA Studies and Evolutionary History: Why species survival is more than a game of numbers', 18 December, 2013. http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/55-lectures-audios/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/717-76-dr-uma-ramakrishnan-18.html

Call for Applications: Leverhulme Trust, U.K funding 15 PhD projects covering a broad theme 'Climate and Culture' at Sundraban

Call for Applications: Leverhulme Trust, U.K funding 15 PhD projects covering a broad theme 'Climate and Culture' at Sundraban 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear Colleagues,

As you are aware that the Sundraban delta has taken the centrestage in global environmental debates on Climate Change and tropical cyclones, given its status as  UNESCO World Heritage Site and tiger reserve. 

The Leverhulme Trust, U.K has pledged to fund 15 PhD projects covering a broad theme 'Climate and Culture' and expects inter-disciplinary participation of researchers who could test the frontiers of knowledge across disciplines while critically engaging with the existing theories and discourses on climate change. Please circulate the draft note attached to prospective M.A./MSc. and M.Phil researchers who are interested to work in the region. Applicants will design a research proposal around the theme 'Climate and Culture' in the Sundarban- Bay of Bengal Delta. 

All prospective applicants can contact me at das.birkbeck[at]gmail.com with their proposals and C.V. The PhD programme is generously funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The competition is global. Working knowledge of Bengali dialects will be a added advantage.

With regards

Dr Debojyoti Das

Department of History, Classics and Archaeology

Room 314, 27 Russell Square

Birkbeck, University of London

www.bbk.ac.uk

 Climate -Culture draft[1]-2.doc

​

Journal Paper "Status and Prospect of Research and Development in Agriculture in India", by Kunal Sinha, Formerly with CSSP

Vikas Kumar & Kunal Sinha. (2014) "Status and Prospect of Research and Development in Agriculture in India", Journal of Science Policy and Governance, 5(1).
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate and summarize issues that are critical for agricultural Research and Development (R&D) and economic growth in the Republic of India. Specifically, the paper explores the role played by R&D in the modernization process and the interactions between agriculture and other economic sectors, the determinants of the Green Revolution and the foundations of agricultural growth, issues of income diversification by farmers, approaches to rural development, which have been at the root of the crisis in agricultural commodity volatility in recent years. Due to the scarcity of public funds for research in India, there is paradigm shift in agricultural R&D. The countries with a strong research system where various actors and networks are involved like India have initiated a number of reforms with an objective to diversify the sources of funding and increase research efficiency. Competitive funding, commercialization of technologies, strengthened intellectual property rights, facilitating regulations and flexible extension approach are some of the major reforms undertaken. This paper examines the outcomes of these reforms and draws lessons for other developing countries.

Download Full-Text PDF

CfPs: IEG-IFPRI International Conference on Innovation in Indian Agriculture: Ways Forward; 4-5 December, at IEG, New Delhi, India

IEG-IFPRI International Conference on Innovation in Indian Agriculture: Ways Forward
4-5 December 2014
Venue: Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), New Delhi, India

Call for papers
The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), New Delhi and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC will convene a two-day international conference in New Delhi on December 4-5, 2014 to explore innovative ways of accelerating development in India's agricultural sector through productivity growth, higher returns to farming, acceleration of poverty reduction, and the improvement of social and economic welfare in rural India.
The objectives of the conference are to

(1) highlight research on the impacts of past reforms in Indian agriculture, structural changes in production, consumption and demand, resource degradation and climate change;
(2) analyse policy options for Indian agriculture going forward; and
(3) draw on the theoretical and empirical evidence on agricultural development from other countries and regions.

The conference will be built around plenary and parallel sessions that allow participants to present original research, share innovative ideas, and deliberate openly on pressing issues. Sessions are tentatively organized around the following theme areas:

1. Policy processes and the political economy of agricultural development
2. Private investment in markets for seeds, nutrients, water, and other inputs
3. Connecting farmers, firms and consumers through commodity markets, value chains, and value-added products
4. Gender dimensions of a changing agricultural sector
5. Technological change, innovation, and incentives in the scientific research community
6. The nexus between environmental sustainability and agricultural intensification

The conference aims to bring together academicians from India and abroad, policymakers, donor agencies, private firms and industry organizations, and civil society. We invite scholars and related individuals to contribute papers with rigorous analysis on these issues. Papers may be theoretical, applied, or practical in nature, and will be reviewed by a Scientific Committee comprised of both Indian and foreign scholars. A limited number of travel grants will be made available for authors of accepted papers.

Important Dates
An extended abstract of 500-1000 words that states the objectives, data, methodology, preliminary findings and policy recommendations of the paper must be submitted by July 15, 2014 to innovagri@iegindia.org. In these submission emails, authors are requested to provide detailed contact information, a series of keywords that best characterizes the paper, and the session number in which the author feels the paper would most appropriately be placed. The decision regarding accepted paper proposals will be communicated by August 15, 2014. Authors of accepted papers are expected to submit full papers before October 31, 2014. The last date for participant registration will be November 15, 2014.

Further information can be obtained by writing to innovagri@iegindia.org
Further Details: http://www.iegindia.org/events%5Ccallforpapers_innovagri.htm

CfPs: Conference on Making impact evaluation matter: Better evidence for effective policies and programmes, ADB Manila, 1-5 September

Conference on Making impact evaluation matter: Better evidence for effective policies and programmes
Asian Development Bank, Manila, 1-5 September 2014

Call for Papers
Introduction and background: Impact evaluation has become established on the international development agenda. However, challenges remain. There are certain areas of development work, for which, construction of quantitative counter factuals is not the best approach to establishing impact. For key sectors, such as infrastructure, establishing rigorous counterfactuals proves to be difficult. In addition, approaches to bridging the research to policy gap continue to be discussed, as do means of conducting and presenting evidence syntheses. Finally, as a greater number of impact evaluations are produced, it is challenging to incorporate their findings into institutions' results and monitoring and evaluation frameworks. An increasing number of governments in the region are recognising the importance of evidence from impact evaluations. The Independent Evaluation Office of the Indian government has started its operations. The Government of the Philippines has allocated budget resources to the impact evaluation of government programmes. Against this background, the Asian Development Bank and 3ie have agreed to partner to organise a large international conference on impact evaluation. This is the first large-scale, global impact evaluation conference in the region. The conference aims to attract 400-450 participants from around the world, with an equal mix of policymakers, programme managers and researchers.

Pre-conference workshops and conference: The event comprises pre-conference workshops for 2.5 days from 1-3 September 2014, and 2.5 days of conference from 3-5 September. There will be six streams of pre-conference workshops. The conference will have up to eight streams of parallel sessions, allowing for around 150 presentations. This call invites proposals for both the pre-conference workshops and presentations for parallel sessions.

Conference themes: Presentations are invited on all aspects of impact evaluation, including findings, methods and translation of evidence into policy. Researchers are welcome to submit proposals on the design (particularly innovative designs for difficult to evaluate interventions), implementation, findings and use of impact evaluations and systematic reviews. Policymakers and development programme managers are welcome to submit proposals on the use of impact evaluation and systematic review findings. Parallel sessions at the conference will be organised around the following themes/sectors: (a) infrastructure (transport, energy, information and communication technology, urban development, and water), (b) climate change/ environment/ natural resources, (c) social development (health, education, gender equity, poverty and any other aspect of social development), (d) rural development (agriculture, food security and any other aspect of rural development), (e) financial inclusion, (f) institutionalisation of impact evaluation, and incorporating impact evaluation or systematic reviews into institutional appraisal and results frameworks, (g) impact evaluation of institutional and policy reform (including public management and governance), (h) impact evaluation methods, and (g) promotion of the use of evidence.

Workshop proposals: Proposed workshops may cover any aspect of the production and use of impact evaluation. The duration of a workshop can be anywhere between 2 hours and 2 days. Workshop proposals should provide: (1) workshop title, (2) duration, (3) name of presenters, (4) brief bio of presenters, (5) outline of the workshop (not exceeding 350 words), and (6) indication of the level of the workshop (introductory, intermediate or advanced).

Conference proposals: Proposed conference papers may relate to any aspect of the production and use of impact evaluation. Conference proposals should provide: (1) title of presentation, (2) theme (infrastructure, climate change, incorporating impact evaluation into results/monitoring and evaluation frameworks, impact evaluation of institutional and policy reform, impact evaluation and systematic review methods, policy influence, other), (3) name of presenters, and (4) outline of the presentation (not exceeding 250 words). Proposals for panel sessions of 3-4 presentations are encouraged. The submission should include the above details for each paper in the panel. Presenters are reminded that most presentations are expected to be largely accessible to a relatively non-technical audience. More technical presentations will also be accepted, and should be clearly indicated as such in the proposal.

Submissions: Submissions should be made in word format via email to conference2014@3ieimpact.org by 3 July 2014, with the email subject line 'Workshop submission' or 'Conference submission'. Multiple submissions are welcome. However, only one submission should be made per email. The file name should be the surname of the corresponding author/presenter and the word 'workshop' or 'paper', e.g. 'White workshop'. Late submissions will not be considered.

Review process: Each proposal will be reviewed by two reviewers, and the final decision will be made by a panel of four reviewers. Decisions will be announced by 14 July 2014. Successful applicants will have to register at www.impactevaluation2014.org

Funding and bursaries: A conference fee of US$450 is payable for attending both the workshops and the conference, and US$250 for attending the conference alone. Nationals of low- and middle-income countries working or studying in a low- and middle-income country are exempt from the fee (not those working in international agencies). The fee is also waived for those accepted to present workshops. Bursaries are available for participants from low- and middle- income countries. A bursary will cover return economy airfare and hotel accommodation. All other expenses (ground transport, visa, meals outside the event) must be paid by the participant or their employer. Preference will be given to bursary applicants who have a paper or workshop accepted for the conference.

Bursary applications must be made through the conference website: www.impactevaluation2014.org. The deadline for bursary applications is 15 July 2014.
Queries may be sent to conference2014@3ieimpact.org.
Further Details: http://impactevaluation2014.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Call-for-Papers1.pdf

Media article "Plagiarism row hits Indian docs"

Plagiarism row hits Indian docs
By Neetu Chandra Sharma in New Delhi
Source: Mail Today, Delhi Edition, 11/6/2014

INDIAN DOCTORS excel the world over in research but few readers of their papers published in journals would perhaps make out that the work of some of them is plagiarised, fabricated or falsified.
A pan- India audit survey by the state-run Lady Hardinge Medical College and Maulana Azad Medical College, published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, has revealed that 53 per cent of doctors who submitted papers to publications indulged in plagiarism. Fifty six per cent resorted to alteration of data while the most commonly observed misconduct was offering ' gift authorship' or giving false credit for research, which was done by 65 per cent of the doctors reviewed.
The audit survey was conducted as authorities felt there was a paucity of data from India on misconduct in the publishing of research work by doctors. At least 300 questionnaires were sent to nine institutions across the country and anonymity was promised to doctors responding to the questions. However, about 100 doctors returned the questionnaires blank.
Interestingly, despite being aware of medical ethics, the survey showed 91 per cent of the respondents didn't follow them.
The problem of offering 'gift authorship', which is the inclusion of an individual among the authors of a paper though he or she doesn't fulfill the requirements for authorship, was also found to be common.
"The most commonly observed misconduct was offering gift authorship, reported by 65 per cent doctors, followed by alteration of data reported by 56 per cent. Plagiarism was observed by 53 per cent, while 33.5 per cent doctors had observed a colleague's name being omitted from a paper to which s/ he had significantly contributed," said the study by Dr Dhulika Dhingra, Assistant Professor of Lady Hardinge Medical College, and Devendra Mishra, Associate Professor of Maulana Azad Medical College.
"Publishing research studies has become an important aspect of career advancement and promotion for the medical fraternity. With this desire to further professional aspirations, misconduct has crept into medical research in different forms," the study said.
The survey covered six medical colleges, of which four were government- run and two were private. One was a non- teaching government hospital and two were corporate hospitals located in northern, central and southern India. The institutions were selected on the basis of availability of a local researcher to coordinate the evaluation, and included four in Delhi, three in southern India and two in central India.
According to experts on medical ethics, research misconduct does not include honest errors or differences of opinion and implies willful acts. Apart from this, misconduct may be manifested in not conforming to the authors' guidelines of a particular journal.
Research misconduct has been defined as fabrication, falsification (manipulating research results), or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. Other forms of misconduct include ' ghost authorship', which is non- inclusion of individuals as authors who played an effective part in the work and were qualified for authorship, and ' duplication' or publication of the same paper in different journals with little or no change in it. It may also involve ' salami' publishing, where authors slice up their research, carving multiple papers from a single study with the aim of having multiple publications credited to them.

Reported Research:
Dhingra, D., & Mishra, D. (2014). Publication misconduct among medical professionals in India. Indian journal of medical ethics, 11(2), 104-107. http://ijme.in/index.php/ijme/article/view/1936/4206

CfPs - The Quotidian Anthropocene: Reconfiguring Environments in Urbanizing Asia Print, 16-17 October, at ARI, National University of Singapore

CfPs - The Quotidian Anthropocene: Reconfiguring Environments in Urbanizing Asia

16-17 October 2014

Organized by Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

             

Call for Papers (Deadline: 30 June 2014)

Asia's urban transition has radically transformed the region's societies and its ecologies. The evidence is everywhere: factories and concrete tarmac have replaced Bangkok's wetlands; Japan's coastal communities are surrounded by ever-growing seawalls; and in China, smog has become a major political concern. If we are indeed living in a period marked by the deep effects of humans on our environment, what many have called the Anthropocene, then such phenomena would seem to exemplify the stakes associated with these changes at their broadest levels. Yet, closer inspection reveals that such macro-level environmental changes are in fact enmeshed in micro-level social shifts, political contestations, and cultural transformations.

For individuals and communities living in Asia's burgeoning mega-cities, growing provincial centers, and changing hinterlands, social and environmental rupture has become constant and routine, its logic embedded in everyday practices and emerging policies. In many parts of the region, disaster is no longer relegated to acute, isolated, untoward events; it is now the "new normal." Even when not coping directly with an ongoing disaster's impacts, many Asian communities are engaged in either pre-disaster preparation or post-disaster recovery. Moreover, state and non-state actors strategically invoke the memory, or threat, of changing environments in order to justify their own agendas, projects, and policies. Patterns of migration and resettlement, urban infrastructure development, capital investment, and social policy are co-produced along with these shifting environments, modifying social relations, exacerbating inequalities, and generating fierce political struggles. At stake in these conflicts are normative, pragmatic and theoretical questions about citizenship, about the shape and relations of the built and natural environments, about the respective roles of local and expert knowledge, and about the constitution of just and resilient communities, in an age of unprecedented transformation. The lived experience of such contestations, the disruption that provokes them, and the practices that produce that disruption, shows how the epochal Anthropocene is found in the normal, the routine, and the quotidian.

The Quotidian Anthropocene: Reconfiguring Environments in Urbanizing Asia will explore the quotidian processes associated with Asia's changing environments by bringing together scholars from the Social Sciences and Humanities at a multi-disciplinary workshop. Papers may address (but are not limited to) the following questions:

How do quotidian practices in Asian communities produce or respond to the massive ecological transformations? What sorts of contestations emerge out of our changing environment? What might these struggles tell us about new political practices and emerging sites of environmental governance?

What ruptures or sites of socio-political conflict expose the new hybridities and engagements between humans and the planet?

What are the consequences of living in an age of environmental change marked by chronic and periodic disasters? What are the politics of space, place, and memory in a world of frequent disruption? How does the threat or experience of disaster come to inflect contests over the right to the city?

What kinds of projects—social, technological, infrastructural, economic, political—arise from and/or emerge in response to the changing planet? What forms of knowledge, contestation, and practice are invoked or produced by such projects? 

Conference presenters may explore these issues through studies of contemporary and historical cases from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives. In exploring such topics, The Quotidian Anthropocene: Reconfiguring Environments in Urbanizing Asia will offer a window into the production and re-ordering of local, regional, and global ecologies. It will consider how, even as seismic ecological rearrangements occur, human actors — including experts, authorities, and citizens — produce, feel, respond, and adapt to such changes. This workshop will interrogate these issues from situated vantage points across Asia's urban-rural matrix as a means of considering how the Anthropocene is tied to everyday life and how past and present struggles are shaping our environmental futures. The workshop will provide insight into how such political endeavors reimagine the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, as well as the roles played by local and expert knowledge, in re-making the new Asian city and preparing it for life in this precarious era.

 

Submission of Proposals

ARI invites those interested in participating in the conference to submit original paper proposals. ARI expects to publish selected papers from those accepted for presentation in a monograph/special journal issue.

Paper proposals should include a title, an abstract of 250 words, a short biography of 150 words, and should be submitted on the attached form and sent to Mr Jonathan Lee at jonathan.lee@nus.edu.sg by 30 June 2014. For a copy of the submission form, click here. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 July 2014 and are required to send in a completed draft paper (5,000-8,000 words) by 16 September 2014.

Based on the quality of proposals and the availability of funds, partial or full funding will be granted to successful applicants. Participants are therefore encouraged to seek funding for travel from their home institutions. Full funding will cover air travel to Singapore by the most economical means, plus board and lodging for the duration of the conference.

 

Download Paper Proposal Submission Form

 

Further Details