Tuesday, December 30, 2014

CfPs: International Conference "Is Science able to explain the Scientist? (Science and Scientist 2015)"; April 17-18, at Kathmandu, Nepal

International Conference "Is Science able to explain the Scientist? (Science and Scientist 2015)"

Dates: April 17-18, 2015

Venue: Buddha Hall, Sushil Kedia Vishwa Bharati, Kathmandu, Nepal


Organized by Bhakti Vedanta Institute,USA; Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Institute, Siliguri, India; DAV Sushil Kedia Vishwa Bharati, Kathmandu, Nepal; and Department of Biotechnology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal


Call for Papers

The main goal of this 'Science and Scientist' annual conference series is to provide a platform for the academic, scientific and industrial community to cultivate the proper spirit of inquiry for understanding 'Life and Its Origin' using science based progress in their respective research areas. This conference aims at bringing leading Biologists, Engineers, Scientists and Academicians together to discuss the limitations of reductionist or mechanistic determinism in modern science.

The major realization in 21st century biology is the recognition that all living organisms are sentient (i.e. cognitive) entities and they are to be regarded as much subjective as objective. Nobel biologists Barbara McClintock, George Wald and other prominent scientists had come to this realization from their own experience in experimental research. In this century a major milestone must be the Cambridge declaration about consciousness during First Francis Crick Memorial Conference held at Cambridge University in 2012. Prominent biologists in this conference agreed that all human as well as nonhuman animals are also cognitive entities. Scientists like Robert Lanza, James A. Shapiro, Michael Denton and others have published books and research articles based on scientific evidence emphasizing that life requires cognition at all levels. The other realizations are that DNA has more of a participatory and cooperative role in the holistic milieu of non-random cellular functions rather than any foundational and central role in the actual living process. Mechanistic foundations have not been able to define the 'origin of life' and biological evolution, 21st century biology seeks alternatives. Twenty first century biology is not afraid to talk about cognition and consider that universe must be bio-centric. Modern Science is confirming Vedantic concepts that 'Life comes from Life' or biogenesis; and 'Matter comes from Life'. If biological research can be based on these two observable facts then it will be possible to solve the persisting problems that beset all our concepts of evolution and 'origin of life'.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee for "Science and Scientist 2015" we would be pleased if you would send a suitable scientific paper for the conference "Science and Scientist  2015". Last year "Science and Scientist 2014" conference was attended by leading scientists from premier institutes like the IITs, AIIMs, TIFR, CCMB, Tribhuvan University and so on. We are looking forward to a much more magnified participation in "Science and Scientist 2015".  

Your presence at the conference will be a great inspiration for the prominent scientists to cultivate the honest scientific approach towards the proper concept of Nature. Conference talks will be promoted with advertising in the news releases, interviews, and other advance communication with major media outlets in India and Nepal, including television show hosts. We will publish accepted papers in the conference proceedings.


Further Details: http://scsiscs.org/conference

Monday, December 29, 2014

CfPs: 2nd International Conference & Doctoral Colloquium on Transformative Social Science Research, 3-4 March, at Hyderabad

2nd International Conference and Doctoral Colloquium on Transformative Social Science Research: Disciplines, Collaborations and Think Tanks

Organized by the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) and the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA)

3-4 March, 2015 in Hyderabad

 

Conference Objectives

Promoting an impact oriented Social Science Research has always been in the agenda of higher education policies of nations. This conference aims at bringing together the perspectives, systems and actions plans in this regard by inviting constructive discussions from different countries and various disciplines of Social Science Research. Strengthening Industry academic interface and the role of think tanks in this regard will have a special emphasis in the deliberations.

 

Conference Highlights

  • Participation from various Academies of Social Sciences across the world
  • Industry Academic interface with participation of Government departments, Industries, Banks and NGOs
  • Participation of Think Tanks from India and abroad
  • Doctoral Colloquium for Ph.D. scholars
  • A conference souvenir with the key theme papers / abstracts of all the selected papers including profiles of speakers and participating institutions will be brought out. Outstanding papers will be published as a book from an internationally reputed publishing house.

 

Research Papers Invited

Research papers in various disciplines in social sciences cutting across the themes including economic growth, human development, health and education are invited from faculty and research scholars. For details and guidelines, visit http://ssrconf.ipeindia.org

Last date for submission of extended abstracts: January 15, 2015

 

Conference Chairs

Dr Ram Kumar Mishra, Director, IPE

Dr T Chatterjee, Director, IIPA

 

For Queries Contact

Dr Jayasree Raveendran

Asst. Professor & Coordinator – Research, IPE

Mob: 09848455583, rjayasree@ipeindia.org

 

Friday, December 26, 2014

India Public Libraries Conference (IPLC) 2015: Best Practices on Public Libraries Invited

The India Public Libraries Conference 2015 (IPLC): Invitation of Best Practices

Dates: March 11-12, 2015

Venue: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India

Organizers: Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF); PRATHAM; Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF); NASSCOM Foundation; The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)

www.iplc.in



IPLC 2015: Invitation of Best Practices

Applications are invited from public libraries run by the government, communities, civil society and others in India that are doing good works innovatively in public library management in areas of – content and services, better management of resources, citizen engagement, library staff development, new methods, applications and strategies, use of technology including digital library initiatives, partnership development and in other ways that have served the citizens, communities, local agencies and others better.

  • Public libraries best practices are invited on best applications, methods, framework, strategies, and policy and programme areas including digital library initiatives that have and can impact public library functioning in India towards positive transformation.

 

About IPLC: The India Public Libraries Conference (IPLC) 2015 is a multi-stakeholder engagement that seeks to convene and engage librarians and library stakeholders including policy makers to dialogue and share experiences and lessons in public libraries in India. It seeks to arrive at a broad understanding of challenges and opportunities of how public libraries in India are and can contribute in overall development of communities with value added services, and collaboratively build a shared vision for the future as community oriented knowledge and resource centres of the 21st century. This stems from our recognition of Public Libraries playing a vital role in the lives of individuals and their communities. For generations, the local libraries have acted as a vehicle for access to knowledge, ideas and information and as democratic services open and available to anyone. The public library is not only a trusted and recognised feature of the local area; it is also a remarkable national asset and network.

 

Identifying Best Public Library Practices: An IPLC 2015 Objective

One of the objectives of the India Public Libraries Conference (IPLC) 2015 is to identify, encourage and document best practices in public libraries on the basis of above parameters. Invited and selected best practices will be documented, shared in IPLC 2015 workshops and will be showcased in the IPLC 2015 Exhibition.

 

Further Details:

Secretariat

C/O – Digital Empowerment Foundation

House 44, Second & Third Floor, Kalu Sarai, New Delhi – 110016, India

Tel: +91-11-26532786 / 26532787

Fax: +91-11-26532787

Email: iplc2015@gmail.com

www.iplc.in

Monday, December 22, 2014

UNESCO launches Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Librarians

[Apologies for cross-posting]
UNESCO launches Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Librarians
19.12.2014 - Communication & Information Sector

Within the overall framework of UNESCO Strategy on Open Access to scientific information and research and to take forward UNESCO's leadership role in diffusing knowledge amongst its Member States, UNESCO has developed a set of manuals to facilitate capacity building of library and information professionals and researchers.
The development of the modules has been undertaken very carefully and the development process covered diverse opinion in the subject area, and in consultation with more than 50 experts to include diversity and expertise from the developing south.
The OA curricula developed by UNESCO includes a set of customized modules which can be easily be fitted with the educational needs of different OA stakeholders and can be integrated with any sensitization programmes of OA.
The curricula for Library and Information Science Professionals entitled "Open Access for Library Schools", consists of four course modules. An Introductory Module aims at sensitizing the library community about the history, evolution, forms and impact of OA within the domain of scholarly communication environment and covers issues related to rights management, IPR and advocacy. The remaining three modules cover subject areas of OA Infrastructure, Resource Optimization and Interoperability and Retrieval.  These sections give insights into the features, types, maintenance and standardization of OA resources, information retrieval/storage software and highlight the role of the new dimension of web-enabled resources such as e-journals, e-repositories and ICTSs.
The curricula for researchers entitled "Open Access for Researchers" addresses OA issues within the community of research scholars. The modules cover the subject areas of Scholarly Communications, Concepts of Openness and Open Access, Intellectual Property Rights and Research Evaluation Metrics. The first four modules have been developed to nurture researchers with an elaborate understanding of the genesis, objectives, processes, types and existing limitations of OA scholarly communication, which include insights into the issues related to IPR, the methods and limitations of the process of peer reviewing and the concepts and roles of E-journals, databases, ICTs, OSS and other OERs. The final and fifth Module entitled "Sharing your Work in Open Access" provides a step-wise guideline for researchers about the process and options available for publishing their research work.
These curricula were developed after undertaking two detailed capacity building need assessment studies of librarians and researchers on Open Access. A multi-stakeholder expert meeting was organized in New Delhi, where 23 experts participated  to finalize the curriculum. Two online consultations were also held to substantiate the expert meeting, which helped UNESCO to outline the content for each of the curriculum and provided a framework to develop modules.
The curricula were developed with the help of Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).
The curricula will soon be available for download. Currently,  copies can be requested by writing to UNESCO's OA programme.

Source: www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/news-and-in-focus-articles/all-news/news/unesco_launches_open_access_curricula_for_researchers_and_librarians/

Thursday, December 18, 2014

FW: Invitation to Global Partners' Education Conclave 2015, at IMT Ghaziabad; 1-3 February 2015

Dear all,

 

Greetings from IMT Ghaziabad! Hope this email finds you well.

 

We are extremely pleased to extend a warm invitation to you to attend the Global Partners' Education Conclave at New Delhi, India to be held from February 1st-3rd 2015.

 

The three day conclave focuses on the power of global collaboration in international education. The conclave will help in fostering cooperation and strengthening relationships among the partner institutes. It also serves as a platform for  building new relationships.

 

With a good mix of collaborative opportunities and cultural activities, we hope to provide you with a scintillating experience. We have invited plenary speakers from diverse backgrounds to review exciting developments in global associations in international education. One of the prime highlights of this conclave is the availability of plenty of opportunities for networking among the participants.

 

This conclave will include an award ceremony for the best partner institutes under various categories, industry tours and campus visits. We have also arranged for participants to explore the cultural richness of Incredible India.

 

We are herewith attaching the conclave brochure for your reference.

 

For further details visit: http://www.imt.edu/PartnersWeek2015/

To confirm your attendance please send an email to irc@imt.edu

 

All our strategic partners are attending the Conclave and we would really want someone to represent your prestigious isnitute at this conclave.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Jayanthi Ranjan, Ph.D

Professor - Information System & Technology

Associate Dean - International Relations

Institute of Management Technology

Raj Nagar, Hapur Road,

Ghaziabad - 201001

Uttar Pradesh, India

Ph. No. : +91 120 3002 219 (Direct)

Fax no.: +91 120 2827 895

Mobile: +91 98114 43110

E-mail: jranjan@imt.edu

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

EPW Article "Academic Performance Indicators: Straitjacketing Higher Education" by Dipendra Nath Das and Saumen Chattopadhyay (of SSS, JNU)

Academic Performance Indicators: Straitjacketing Higher Education
by Dipendra Nath Das and Saumen Chattopadhyay, EPW, December 13, 2014

Abstract
: The Academic Performance Indicator, the University Grants Commission's method of assessing teacher performance, curtails academic freedom, reduces all academic engagement to time spent, and has created an academic environment that is driven by competition for points.

Download Full-text
: http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2014_49/50/Academic_Performance_Indicators.pdf

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Call for Papers: 'A Manifesto for Cyborgs Thirty-Years on: Gender, Technology and Feminist-Technoscience in the Twenty-First Century'

[Apologies for cross postings]

Call for Papers:'A Manifesto for Cyborgs thirty-years on: Gender, Technology and Feminist-Technoscience in the twenty-first century'

Abstracts due: 27th of February, 2015

Editor: Thao Phan

In her iconic essay A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the 1980s, Donna Haraway introduced the metaphor of the cyborg as an "ironic political myth" to critique the so far troubling narratives of the West. Published in the Socialist Review in 1985, it brings together a broad spectrum of literacies—from socialist-feminism, to cybernetics and biopolitics—to proffer a cutting criticism of Enlightenment humanism, gender essentialism, and military technoscience. Her provocations created a useful framework to destabilise rigid boundaries and make fluid the borderlines between human and animal, organism and machine, natural and artificial, semiotic and material. Today the Manifesto sits comfortably as part of the canon of feminist-technoscience and postmodern theory. Although as an oppositional figure the cyborg is bounded by a historical specificity, it has certainly found new significance and politics in the contemporary age of ubiquitous media.

To mark the 30th anniversary since its publication, Platform invites authors whose work resonates or responds to themes expounded in this seminal essay. With the benefit of thirty years' hindsight, what new observations or critical assessments can be made in regards to the cyborg as a feminist, tropic figure? Did the cyborg fulfill its promise of an "historical transformation"? Is the figure of the cyborg still as useful today, given contemporary technological developments? Or, conversely, do we need myths like Haraway's now more than ever? We encourage the submission of theoretical or empirical work engaging with applications of, or criticisms of, frameworks used by Haraway, and are particularly interested in critical papers that provide novel insights into the relation between gender and technoscience.

Potential topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Cyborg subjectivities in the 21st century
  • Gendered tropes in technology
  • Novel readings of gender and technoscience
  • Trans/queer studies of technology
  • Feminist science and/or feminist science and technology studies
  • Posthuman subjectivities
  • Postgender politics and subjectivities of 'affinity'
  • Multiple or fractured readings of the cyborg
  • Technologies of sex and gender
  • Technologies of race and identity
  • Critical studies of the body/embodiment
  • Feminist histories/historiographies of media, technology or computation
  • The informatics of domination
  • Biotechnologies and Artificial Intelligence
  • Feminism and accelerationist politics
  • Feminism and new materialisms

In addition to this special section, we also welcome submissions that more broadly deal with issues relating to the areas of media, technology, and communication in theoretical or critical terms.

Please send all enquiries and submissions to platformjmc@gmail.com. Abstracts must be accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae and biographical note, and should not exceed 350 words.

We recommend that prospective authors submit abstracts well before the abstract deadline of 27th of February, 2015, in order to allow for feedback and suggestions from the editors. All submissions should be from early career researchers (defined as being within a few years of completing their PhD) or current graduate students undertaking their Masters, PhD, or international equivalent.

All eligible submissions will be sent for double-blind peer-review. Early submission is highly encouraged as the review process will commence on submission.

Note: Please read the submission guidelines before submitting work. Submissions received not in house style will not be accepted and authors will be asked resubmit their work with the correct formatting before it is sent for review.

- See more at: http://journals.culture-communication.unimelb.edu.au/platform/call_papers.html


--
With Best Regards
Anup

Assistant
Editor, Journal of Scientometric Research,
http://www.jscires.org/
Instructions to the Authors: http://www.jscires.org/contributors.asp

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Submission of Comment on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF)

To
The University Grants Commission
New Delhi

Dear Sir,

Please refer to your call for Comments from Academia and public at large on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF). Enclosed find below my submission on the issue:

While the top western universities located in developed countries have been reinventing their library, information and communications professionals for engaging them in enhancing academic productivity and also for improving global visibility of their affiliated researchers' works, the Indian higher education system has not encouraged any specialization in handling changing paradigms of research communications. UGC also needs to re-look at research communication strategies in Indian universities in order to have better global visibility and possibility of having high impact global collaborations, engaging creative forces of qualified and innovative documentation and research professionals existing in the system. UGC and MHRD should stop demotivating and demoralizing academic professionals working with research departments in central universities including the Documentation Officers, Research Officers and Information Scientists. Rather, UGC should re-designate them as 'Assistant Professor (Information and Media Literacy)' under the UGC's National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF). Similar designation is already emerged in western universities in recent time. Their innovative potentials should be recognized and must be utilized for building equitable and participatory knowledge societies in the country.



Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely

Anup


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Anup Kumar Das
Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi - 110067, India
Web: www.anupkumardas.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UGC Invites Comments from Academia and public at large on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF).

UGC Seeks Comments from Academia and public at large on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF).
A uniform description of higher education systems at the national level in the various higher educational institutions is of great importance for transparency, comparability and mutual understanding at home and abroad for students, institutions and employers. A National Qualifications Framework is the unequivocal description at the national level of the education system, which is internationally understood, which describes all qualifications and other demonstrable learning achievements (based on certificates) in higher education and relates these to each other in a coherent way, and which defines the relationship between higher education qualifications.
NHEQF would expect the higher educational system to mark a departure from certifying the educational qualification on the basis of duration, entry qualification and other extant markers to a system of quantifying and certifying the pre-defined competencies and learning outcomes germane to the level and discipline concerned which may be term ed as "generic descriptors" of qualification. Qualification framework, in other words, is document that specifies a set of attributes to be expected from a student before granting him certification / degree. NHEQF has become indispensable in the context of globalization. While many countries of the world have their own qualification frameworks in place, which includes even small and developing nations, India has yet to evolve it. It has, therefore, become imperative for India to frame NHEQW and align it with international benchmarks.
To accomplish this task, on the recommendations of CABE, the UGC has constituted a Committee to formulate the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework under the chairmanship of Prof Goverdhan Mehta. The mandate of the Committee is to evolve the descriptors, competencies and testing protocols for various qualifications for easy transition and mobility of students within India and abroad. While doing this, the issues related to the mechanism through which the competencies can be translated into credits and/or hours, the seamless amalgamation of the formal and non-formal modes of earning credits and fixing the minimum credits for certification will be discussed and incorporated in the committee's report.
In this regard, UGC invites feedback and contributions from various stakeholders and civil society at large for the formulation of NHEQF of India to ensure that higher education becomes modular, flexible, competency based and allows seamless transfer for students. Feedback, which should not exceed 150 words, may be sent via snail mail or email at cppiisection@gmail.com by 31-12-2014.
Source: http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/0030099_nheqf.pdf

Just Published "India: Science and Technology 2014" by CSIR–NISTADS, volume 3,

Just Published
"India: Science and Technology" by CSIR–NISTADS, volume 3, PB, ISBN: 9789384463045, Rs.4000, US$145, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi,

Book Review: http://www.amazon.in/review/R1DO039WSU25V5/
In book titled "India - Science and Technology" (volume 3) edited by National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS), various scholars and policy analysts discuss different dimensions of the Indian science, technology and innovation (STI). This book is systematically organized into four themes: (a) S&T Human Resources, (b) S&T and Industry, (c) S&T Outputs and (d) Rural India: S&T for Skills and Employment. Some of the remarkable chapters included in this volume are namely: Open Educational Resources: Policy Perspectives and National Initiatives; National Scientific Data Frameworks and Knowledge Portals; Open Access to Scientific Knowledge: Policy Perspectives and National Initiatives, written by Dr. Anup Kumar Das. This is the biennial report, while its earlier versions were published in 2008 (volume 1) and 2012 (volume 2) co-published by CSIR-NISTADS. This book is helpful for scholars in science and public policies, S&T policymakers, policy analysts, educationists, and institution builders.

Further Details: http://www.cambridgeindia.org/showbookdetails1.asp?ISBN=9789384463045
[Apologies for Cross Postings]

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

CfPs: Census Data Dissemination Workshop, 23 January, at CSRD, JNU

Census Data Dissemination Workshop
23 January 2015
Venue: Centre for the Study of Regional Development School of Social Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Call for Papers
The Centre for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORGI), are jointly organizing a "Census Data Dissemination Workshop" on January 23, 2015 at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The purpose of the workshop is to encourage young research scholars and students to present papers using data released from the 2011 and 2001 censuses of India on the following themes:
1. Population Dynamics
2. Adolescents and Youth
3. Literacy Status
4. Work Status

The themes noted above are broad in nature and the papers can cover analysis of census data from the 2001 and 2011 censuses. The analysis may also cover data for rural-urban, SC/ST, other sub-groups and gender aspects. Each research paper should consist of at least 2500 words, excluding tables, graphs and maps. The research papers received will be evaluated by a panel of experts and the first authors of five shortlisted papers in each theme will be invited for presentation in the workshop. There will be three prizes for the best papers of the workshop.
First Prize : Rs. 50, 000
Second Prize : Rs. 40, 000
Third Prize : Rs. 30, 000

Terms and Conditions
1. The research papers should relate to the subject covered in any of the themes mentioned above.
2. Research scholars and students scoring the top five positions in each theme will be required to present their findings at the respective Technical Session.
3. The decision of the panel of experts will be final.
4. The prizes will be distributed at the end of all the Technical Sessions of the Census Data Dissemination Workshop.
5. The research papers submitted for award of prize and for presentation at the Census Data Dissemination Workshop will be the property of the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, which will have the right to publish all the research papers in the form of a monograph for sale and also load these on the Census of India website without any financial consideration for the authors.

All the selected paper presenters will be given a memento by the ORGI. Travel Allowance and local hospitality will be provided for out-station presenters (the first author in case of joint papers).

The papers should be sent by e-mail to the address given below on or before December 31, 2014. A certificate from the educational/research institution on the status of the author should be attached. The decision on the selected papers will be communicated by January 10, 2015. The census data are downloadable from the website of Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/).

Contact: Dr. Dipendra Nath Das/Dr. Nandita Saikia, Census Workshop Coordinators, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences-III, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067. Phones: 011-26704463, 26704486, 26704576; e-mail: jnucensus.seminar@gmail.com.

http://www.jnu.ac.in/Events/Census%20Data%20Dissemination%20Workshop.pdf