Tuesday, March 31, 2015

NBR Report "Innovate in India: Global Perspectives on the Continuing Evolution of India's IP Policy"




The National Bureau of Asian Research THE NATIONAL BUREAU of ASIAN RESEARCH  

NBR Special Report

Innovate in India

Global Perspectives on the Continuing Evolution of India's IP Policy


ROY KAMPHAUSEN

The National Bureau of Asian Research

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi works to return India to high rates of economic growth, he has notably prioritized the "Make in India" campaign to build up India's domestic manufacturing sector, engaging both indigenous and international firms in the process. Yet at a policy level, the success of this campaign will partly depend on how quickly India can strengthen its intellectual property (IP) regime.

In this NBR Special Report, Roy Kamphausen (NBR) argues that stronger IP protection will reduce business uncertainty and increase investor confidence, benefiting both Indian stakeholders and the international community. While over the past year, the Modi administration has taken important first steps to address the country's IP policy challenges, more needs to be done. The report examines India's IP and innovation environment and presents policy options for India, the United States, and the international community.

Read the full report

 

About the Author

Roy Kamphausen is a Senior Advisor at the National Bureau of Asian Research.

Related Initiative: India's IP and Innovation Policies

This program aims to examine efforts to strengthen innovation environments in India and highlight recommendations for public policy in the United States, India, and globally. Over the course of 2014-15, NBR is commissioning research with leading scholars across the globe; convening ongoing dialogues with representatives from industry, policy, and research; and holding a series of high-level workshops and events across the Asia-Pacific and in Europe.

For more information on the initiative, please visit our website.

About NBR

The National Bureau of Asian Research is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution dedicated to informing and strengthening policy. NBR conducts advanced independent research on strategic, political, economic, globalization, health, and energy issues affecting U.S. relations with Asia. Drawing upon an extensive network of the world's leading specialists and leveraging the latest technology, NBR bridges the academic, business, and policy arenas.


Media inquiries: Rachel Wagley, Assistant Director of Outreach, at (202) 347-9767 or media@nbr.org

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A Talk related to Indian Birds, April 21;

A Talk related to Indian Birds

Trevor Price on Speciation

Event Overview

April 21, 2015
5:30-7:30pm
Chicago Center in Delhi, C.P.

RSVP here.

Abstract How do two species form from one? Labeled the mystery of mysteries by Charles Darwin, we have made considerable advances in our understanding over the past 20 years, as a result of ecological, behavioral, and, most recently, genomic studies. I will describe how ecology, behavior and genetics interact to create new bird species, drawing on Indian examples.  I will ask how the tremendous diversity of birds has built up in the Himalayas and also consider an example where speciation is actively going on at the present day.

Trevor Price is a Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution, working with the Committee on Evolutionary Biology and the Committee on Genetics, Genomics & Systems Biology.   The current focus of his research is on the determinants of bird species diversity along the Himalayas, notably the question of why there are twice as many species in the eastern Himalayas as the west.  He continues to do field work in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India.

In 2014, Trevor Price gave a joint lecture with Dr. Dhananjai Mohan of the Indian Forest Service on Climate Change, Conservation, and the Birds of the Himalayan Region.

http://www.uchicago.in/events/show/speciation

Saturday, March 28, 2015

SANDEE Call for Research Concept Notes on "Managing Environmental Changes"

Call for Research Concept Notes "Managing Environmental Changes"
Deadline: May 31, 2015

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) is currently inviting concept notes for policy research on Managing Environmental Changes. Concept notes on the following thematic areas will be considered, and, may lead to an invitation to submit full proposals.
  • Policies and Instruments for Greener Growth: Governments put forward a variety of policies and regulations to manage environmental problems. In order to understand whether these strategies enhance sustainable development, this thematic area evaluates: a) the role of regulatory and market mechanisms in policy compliance; b) the impacts of environmental programs and policies; and c) the development of cities as sustainable engines of growth.
  • Ecosystems Management: Ecosystems provide provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services that are being lost at an accelerating rate. Ecosystems research examines: a) contributions of services to livelihoods, particularly of vulnerable groups; b) scale and institutional issues in managing trade-offs associated with resource use; c) policies for conserving services such as biodiversity that are not substitutable.
  • Economics of Climate Change: With climate change, South Asia is expected to get warmer and experience more extreme events. SANDEE's climate portfolio focuses on: a) the effi cacy of alternate adaptation strategies and their local co-benefits; b) programs, institutions and policies that support low carbon growth and long-term adjustment to climate change; and c) access and distributional issues related to renewable energy resources.
Priority Considerations
  • Selected research concept notes may be provided proposal development support to enable teams to understand cross country issues, if any, and travel to study areas for developing full proposals. SANDEE will also try to facilitate cross-county team development.
  • Innovative proposals outside the three themes listed above may be considered if these have strong policy implications. All proposals have to include a strong economics component.
  • Grants are likely to be in the range of USD 20,000-50,000 over a 12-18 month period. Research ideas will be evaluated on their intellectual rigor and policy signifi cance.
  • Please review guidelines and upload concept notes (approximate length 1500 words) on www.sandeeonline.org by May 31, 2015 to be considered for the next grants window. For any additional queries, please contact us at research@sandeeonline.org

Friday, March 27, 2015

CfPs: Special Issue Critical Perspectives on Innovation, Technology and Learning for Development; Journal of Learning for Development

CALL FOR PAPERS

SPECIAL ISSUE: Critical Perspectives on Innovation, Technology and Learning for Development

Submission Deadlline: 26 April 2015

Guest Editor: Prof Paul Prinsloo, University of South Africa

Journal of Learning for Development

RATIONALE FOR SPECIAL ISSUE

Learning and its contribution to development, whether in open and distance learning, or other educational delivery modes (formal, informal or post-formal) can be explored through many possible lenses, which do not only point to a variety of research designs and methodologies, but also to different philosophical and ideological approaches.

While there are many journals dedicated to learning, curriculum development, assessment, and so forth, and others dedicated to issues regarding development; the JL4D   specifically engages with the nexus between learning and development.

This special issue will provide a platform to engage with firstly, the notion of innovation in learning in the context of, and in relation to socioeconomic and human development; and secondly, critically engage with broader claims and practices in the context of learning for development. Learning for development is therefore in many respects an assemblage of different associations that produce agency as well as "ideas, identities, rules, routines, policies, instruments and reforms" (Fenwick & Edwards, 2010, p. 3). We also have to recognise the impact and different nuances of asymmetrical power relations and configurations on learning for development as assemblage and how it is informed by, for example,  gender, race, language, culture, and geopolitical location (e.g. developing vs. developed and the Global North vs. the Global South). (See for example, Avgerou, 2010; Baijnath, 2013; Collins & Rhoads, 2010; Czerniewicz & Wiens, 2013; Gulati, 2008; Heeks, 2010; Islam, 2011; James, 2010; Keengwe & Malapile, 2014; Lumumba-Kasongo, 2011; Oyelere, 2010; and Tikly & Barrett, 2011).

Education is often lauded as the "powerhouse for development", and as an "incubator for social and economic change" (Naidoo, 2008, p. 248). The collaboration between education and development is therefore portrayed as addressing the origins of, and decreasing the impact of social and economic disparities. While there is no question that education plays a crucial role in socioeconomic and human development, the relationship between learning and development is more complex than generally assumed. The fact that actors, actions and practices in the nexus of education and development are mostly embedded in asymmetrical, socio-material relations necessitates a critical exploration (Apple, 2010; Bauman, 2012; Benavot, 1989; Comim, 2007; Epstein, Boden, Deem, Rizvi & Wright, 2008; Giroux, 2003, 2014; Hountondji, 2000; Hoppers, 2000, 2001; Mensah, 2007).

Teaching and learning are indisputably social, political and ideological acts and the relationship between learning and development is shaped by various factors and discourses such as globalisation, development and the interconnected flows of populations, information, data, capital, knowledge, and differential power (Apple, 2010; Castells, 2009). The relationship between learning and development therefore finds itself located in the nexus of various asymmetric relations of power and mostly contradictory dynamics. Learning and/for development are caught up in the "double logic of inclusion and exclusion in the global networks that structure production, consumption, communication and power" (Castells, 2009, p. 25). Against the complex backdrop of a variety of societal fault lines informed, perpetuated and sustained by dominant market ideologies and educational initiatives by global organisations such as the World Bank; there are increasing concerns about the inability of current market ideologies to address social injustice and disparity and collateral damage of "development" (Apple, 2010; Bauman, 1998, 2004; 2011; Chomsky & Barsamian, 2013; Davis, 2006; Giroux 2014).

The purpose of this special issue is not only to bear witness to how much of the current discourses on learning and development may be connected to various relations of exploitation and domination, but also to de-naturalise many of the assumptions about learning and/for development. This issue therefor hopes to point not only to the complexities and contradictions, but also to spaces for possible counter-hegemonic action and hope (Apple, 2010).

Central to many of the discourses on learning and/for development are claims of how technology and technological developments will, or at least have the potential to, somehow, erase hundreds of years' structural injustice and inequality (Daniel, 2009; Morozov, 2013; Selwyn, 2014). Digital technologies are lauded to herald "a tectonic shift that will bring the benefits of learning and knowledge to millions" (Daniel, 2009, p. 62). There are also claims that through technology and the benevolence of educators and institutions in the global north "education for all" will become a reality for those previously excluded from education (Lillie, 2012). In stark contrast to these claims, is the need to understand technology and more specifically educational technology "in terms of its complicated and often unjust connections to the larger society" (Selwyn & Facer, 2013, p. 4). "While undoubtedly of great potential benefit, it is clear that educational technology is a value-laden site of profound struggle that some people benefit more from than others – most notably in terms of power and profit" (Selwyn, 2014, p. 2). (Also see Morozov, 2013). Technology in the context of learning and development is best understood "as a knot of social, political, economic and cultural agendas that is riddled with complications, contradictions and conflicts" (Selwyn, 2014, p. 6).

Gray (2004) posits the notion that there is no basis for the wide-spread belief that progress in knowledge and science will necessarily result in a more just and compassionate society. He warns that knowledge and science cannot (and will not) "end the conflicts in history. It is an instrument that humans use to achieve their goals, whether winning wars or curing the sick, alleviating poverty or committing genocide" (Gray, 2004, p. 70).

This issue of the Journal of Learning for Development proposes that we consider the relationship between learning and development as both problematic and agentic (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998). Amid the hype, disappointment and hope regarding learning and/for development, we invite contributions that map, explore, contest, critique but also frame alternative praxis in the following foci:

  • Learning for development as assemblage
  • Issues of gender, race, culture in the context of learning for development
  • The growth and impact of the growing privatisation of education on the need for education
  • Social justice
  • Curriculum, and learning theories and pedagogical praxis
  • The role and discourses of technology and development
  • Alternative forms of education, assessment and accreditation
  • The reconfiguration of the boundaries between formal, informal and post-formal learning
  • Graduate literacies and competencies
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Globalisation and the role of global multinational organisations
  • The internationalisation of higher education
  • Scholarship/research of teaching and learning for development
  • Teacher and student identities, roles, responsibilities and trajectories


SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

26 April 2015

Closing date for submissions

10 May 2015

Outcome of the review process communicated to authors

25 May 2015

Resubmission by selected authors plus final selection

29 June2015

Accepted contributions to copy editor

26 July2015

Last date for queries to authors

3 September 2015

Finalisation

1 November 2015

Publication

 

Submission Process (Important):

To submit papers for the special issue, please register at the journal site and submit your paper choosing the option Special Issue (SPI) as the Journal Section. Please write the specific section of the Journal to which your submission is more suitable in the box for Comments to the Editor. All submissions to the Special Issue will be Peer Reviewed as per the policy of the Journal.

Contact details of Special Issue Editor:

For enquiries related to the special issue write to:

Prof Paul Prinsloo (Guest Editor)

University of South Africa; pprinsloo59@gmail.com

Further Details: http://www.jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/announcement/view/3

CSSP Talk on "Blockbuster Diagnostics? Reflections on the Political Economy of Diagnostic Innovation" by Dr. Stuart Hogarth; on Tuesday, 7th April

Centre for Studies in Science Policy

School of Social Sciences, JNU

Special Lecture Series

 

Talk on

"Blockbuster Diagnostics? Reflections on the Political Economy of Diagnostic Innovation"

By

Dr. Stuart Hogarth

Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine at King's College London

 

Abstract: A decade after the Human Genome Project, major public and private investments continue to fuel expectations that 'omics'-based diagnostic tools will unleash a biomedical revolution, redefining disease taxonomies, transforming clinical practice and revitalising the diagnostics industry. However, there is considerable uncertainty about how public policy should steer this new wave of diagnostic innovation. Much of that uncertainty revolves around three questions: what sort of clinical evidence do we need before a new diagnostic test enters medical practice; who should generate that evidence, and how can we ensure it is rigorously evaluated? In this talk I suggest that three inter-related trends characterise contemporary diagnostic innovation: the corporatisation of R&D; the emulation of pharmaceutical industry business models and marketing strategies, and regulatory expansion. Using cervical cancer screening as a case study, I will describe how development of the Pap smear in the first half of the twentieth century was led by the public sector (NGOs, academic scientists, government agencies) and contrast this with the development of a rival molecular technology in the late twentieth century: DNA diagnostics for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The HPV testing market has been dominated by a single company, in part because of a legal monopoly on HPV DNA patents, and in part because early-mover advantage has meant that the major clinical studies of HPV testing were conducted using their proprietary technology.

About Speaker: Dr Stuart Hogarth is a member of the Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine at King's College London. He is trained in the history of medicine, but now works at the interface between medical sociology, bioethics and science and technology studies. He is interested in understanding how post-genomic science enters clinical practice as personalised medicine and my research maps and analyses the emergent socio-technical regime which supports that translational process. In 2012 he was awarded a Wellcome Trust fellowship to conduct a three-year comparative study looking at how DNA patents have affected the development and adoption of HPV tests for cervical cancer screening in the USA, UK and India. Building on this project he is now leading the development of a new research group within the department focused on the molecularisation of oncology. His work combines empirical research in a political sociology framework with normative analysis of public policy and commercial strategy. He maintains a blog GeneValues.wordpress.com.

Venue:  Room No. 227, CSSP, SSS-1

Time:   4.00 P.M.

Date:    Tuesday, 7th April 2015

All are welcome to attend the lecture.

 

Saradindu Bhaduri, Anup Kumar Das

Coordinator, CSSP Lecture Series

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Summer School in Public Policy and Governance; June 21st to July 11th; New Delhi

Summer School in Public Policy and Governance
When: June 21st, 2015 to July 11th, 2015.
New Delhi

Vision India Foundation (VIF) in partnership with the Indian School of Business (Bharti Institute of Public Policy) invites aspiring young leaders to a summer school in public policy and governance. This first-of-its-kind program will serve as a boot camp for policy enthusiasts. It is a unique opportunity to join the modern nation building movement.

Program Highlights:
21 day immersive residential program in Delhi/NCR from 21st June, 2015 to 11th July, 2015.
Learn: The Program focuses on Comprehensive Learning and Career Opportunities in Public Policy & Public Leadership.
Engage: 50+ engagement opportunities to collaborate and work on live projects with Members of Parliament, Bureaucrats, Think-Tanks, Subject Experts, Panchayats and other High-Impact Leaders. 
Experience: Field Visits to Villages, Slums, Urban Centers, Parliament and Community interactions to develop a panoramic understanding.
Ideate: A Youth Parliament based on Functional Representation to focus on Collaborative Policy Drafting and Dispute Resolution. 
Connect: Live, Laugh, Learn and Connect with a diverse community of people passionate about making a difference.

Project Opportunities
: The BootCamp gives a chance to work with some of the most impactful policy makers of the country. Government of Andhra Pradesh is one of our engagement partners. BootCamp participants will work with the AP Govt. and other high-impact policy makers.

Where: Delhi NCR. The BootCamp is a residential program. Participants will be provided in-house accommodation for the entire duration.The venue is conveniently located in the capital region. It is just 90 minutes from the Delhi International Airport and 75 minutes from the New Delhi Railway Station.
Curriculum: Our curriculum is a blend of theoretical knowledge, workshops, field visits, group exercises and more. The program is intense. Apply only if you are willing to work hard.
Speakers: Speakers and panelists consist of high-impact policy makers. The names include cabinet ministers, academics, grassroots workers, civil society leaders, and community leaders among others.
Apply: http://visionindiafoundation.com/bootcamp/apply/
Download Poliy BootCamp Brochure: http://visionindiafoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/Policy-Bootcamp-Brochure.pdf

Further Details: http://visionindiafoundation.com/bootcamp/

Monday, March 23, 2015

CfP: Conference on Science, Research and Popular Culture, Klagenfurt, Austria, September 17-18, 2015

Call for Papers 

International Conference on Science, Research and Popular Culture, Klagenfurt, Austria, September 17-18, 2015

Research on public engagement with science has strongly focused on science content in journalistic news media and so far only a few studies seriously examined other products of media and popular culture. Science is also often part of wider popular and entertainment culture and these other popular images of science and research are also likely to have an influence on public imaginations of science, research and scientific work. However, some scholars have stressed that entertainment media also influence public perceptions of science, research and technology, such as genetic risks and beliefs and prejudices about biotechnology, and should therefore be studied accordingly.

What members of the public know about science and research is the outcome of formal science learning, as in schools, and informal learning of science, such as the encounters with scientific contents and issues in the media and in popular culture. Alongside science education and once formal science education is completed, informal accounts of developments in science and technology, such as through the media and popular culture, are very important sources of knowledge for most people. Science education and science journalism will still be important sources of information for many people. However, the historian A. Bowdoin Van Riper addresses a central problem: "Popular culture probably does more than formal science education to shape most people's understanding of science and scientists. It is more pervasive, more eye-catching, and (with rare exceptions) more memorable" (EMBO Reports 4(12): 1104-1107).

We are interested in bringing together various perspectives on science, research and popular culture (e.g. scientists and researchers, artists, media professionals). For instance, we'd like to learn more about how science and research are presented in different formats, for example fictional movies and TV series, in digital games, comic books and cartoons, in music and music videos, on social media sites (such as facebook or YouTube), in artistic and theatrical performances, science slams, science parodies and satire, etc. 

Other interesting questions are how various audiences perceive science and research in various popular cultural formats. Are scientists and researchers relating to issues, themes, topics and channels of popular cultural as well, and if so how? What role do humour and aesthetics play in the public representation of science and research? Can particular depictions of science and research in popular culture influence the career choices and academic subject choices of young people, and if so how? How do scientific and research institutions use popular cultural formats to make themselves heard, and how do people and organizations opposed to scientific consensus views use the same channels and formats?

What are science and technology studies perspectives on popular culture and science and research? How can perspectives from cultural and media studies and (science) communication research illuminate the interrelations between science, research and popular culture? And what is happening in the world of science and research itself? Are scientists and researchers relating to issues, themes, topics and channels of popular cultural as well, and if so how?

We are looking for empirical, conceptual, and theoretical contributions and experience reports that illuminate the manifold interactions between science, research and popular culture.
If you are interested in participating, please send an email including contact details and an abstract (up to 500 words) before June 15 to Joachim.Allgaier@aau.at
For further information or general enquiries contact either Joachim.Allgaier@aau.at. or Hauke.Riesch@brunel.ac.uk.
It is planned to edit a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal or an edited book, based on the contributions of the conference.

The conference will take place at Alpen-Adria-Universität in Klagenfurt, Austria, September 17-18, 2015. The language of the conference is English.

Keynote Speakers are:
Darryl Cunningham (Author of Science Tales)
David Kirby (Manchester)
Chun-Ju Huang (Taiwan)
Rainer Winter (Klagenfurt)
Bernard Seidel (Vienna)

The conference is organised by Joachim Allgaier, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, and Hauke Riesch, Brunel University London, and supported by the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST): http://easst.net/


---
Dr. Joachim Allgaier
Institute of Science, Technology and Society Studies
Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt
Sterneckstraße 15
9020 Klagenfurt, Austria


Call for Entries:: Essay Competition on Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh [with Attractive Prizes]

India-Vietnam Friendship Society and Indo-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in collaboration with The Embassy of Vietnam in India


Call for Entries

Essay Competition on Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh [with Attractive Prizes]


On the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh's 125th Birthday Anniversary (19/5/1890 - 19/5/2015)

Participants: All Indian Nationals (aged above 15)


Topics:

  1. Vietnam: Land, Culture and People
  2. Vietnam - India Traditional Friendship: Past and Present
  3. President Ho Chi Minh


Rules:

  • Length of Essays: Minimum 2000 and Maximum 3000 words
  • Language: English
  • Only one essay for each competitor
  • Due Date: 15th April 2015
  • Essay should include full name, date of birth, address, email and telephone of the competitor
  • Essay with signature must be scanned and sent to email address: VietnamHoChiMinhcontest2015@gmail.com

Prizes (to be given on 19th May 2015):

  • Fully sponsored visits to Vietnam for winner, runner-up, second runner-up, and third runner-up.
  • 10 merit prizes for good essays.

 

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Journal of Scientometric Research, 3(3) Issue is now online

Coverpage
Table of Contents - Journal of Scientometric Research (J Sci Res)
2014 | September-December | Volume 3 | Issue 3
http://www.jscires.org/currentissue.asp

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Evaluation of the scientific production of countries by a resource-scaled two-dimensional approach [pg. 95]
Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini Jenab, Ammar Nejati
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]

Research on the competency model of chancellors in charge of scientific research in Chinese research-oriented universities [pg. 104]
Wei Hu, Kun Ding, Li Gu, Zhao Qu
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]

Mapping the invisible colleges of innovation management field during the period from 1956 through 2012 [pg. 111]
Onexy Quintana-Martínez, Antonio Rafael Ramos-Rodríguez
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]

Limbic encephalitis: A scientometric analysis of global publications during 2004-13 [pg. 125]
Ritu Gupta, BM Gupta, M Mueen
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]

The information technology knowledge infrastructure and research in South Asia [pg. 134]
Khushboo Singhal, Sumit Kumar Banshal, Ashraf Uddin, Vivek Kumar Singh
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]

Sign language research in web of science [pg. 143]
Engin Arik
[ABSTRACT]   [HTML FULL TEXT]   [PDF]   [Mobile HTML Full text ]   [EPub]


{Apologies for Cross Postings}

Best Regards


Dr. Sujit Bhattacharya

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Scientometric Research
[An Official Publication of Wolters Kluwer Health - Medknow, and SciBiolMed.Org]
Email: editor@jscires.org
Website:
www.jscires.org
Twitter: @JSCIRES http://twitter.com/JSCIRES
Online manuscript submission: http://www.journalonweb.com/jscires/

CSSP Talk on “Open Access in the Past, Present and Future of Scholarly Publishing” by Prof Michael Eisen; 25th March, SSS-1, JNU

Centre for Studies in Science Policy

School of Social Sciences, JNU

Special Lecture Series

Talk on


By

Professor Michael Eisen

Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development at University of California, Berkeley, USA & Co-Founder, Public Library of Science (PLoS)



About Speaker: Dr. Michael Eisen is a biologist at UC Berkeley and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He works primarily on flies, and his research encompasses evolution, development, genetics, genomics, chemical ecology and behaviour. He is a strong proponent of open science, and a co-founder of the Public Library of Science. Throughout his career, Dr. Eisen has worked to ensure that universal access to the products and benefits of scientific research. In 2000 he joined his former postdoctoral advisor Patrick Brown, and Nobel Prize winning cancer researcher Harold Varmus in launching the Public Library of Science (PLoS), a San Francisco based non-profit advocacy organization and publisher dedicated to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. PLoS aims to eliminate the subscription based model that dominates the $10b/year scientific and medical publishing industry (and which denies access to the results of publicly funded research to students, teachers, physicians and countless others who would benefit from access to latest scientific and medical discoveries) and to replace it with an "open access" model that makes all published papers immediately and universally freely available. To establish the viability of this model, PLoS has launched a series of open access journals, beginning with PLoS Biology in 2003. Its journals have become highly successful (PLoS One, launched in 2008, is now the largest scientific journal in the world, and published close to 10,000 articles in 2011) and PLoS has become a major force in reforming scientific publishing. He can be reached at @mbeisen on Twitter.
Venue:  CSSP, SSS-1 Building, JNU


Date:    Wednesday, 25th March 2015

Listen to Audio Record of this talk online: http://bit.ly/1OQk5SS



Saradindu Bhaduri, Anup Kumar Das

Coordinator, CSSP Lecture Series

Postdoc position in ATREE- Political Ecology of Market-based Instruments in Conservation

From: Nitin Rai <nitinrai@atree.org>

Post-doctoral position in ATREE- Political Ecology of Market-based Instruments in Conservation.

 

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is looking for a post-doctoral researcher to work as part of a team studying the outcomes of biodiversity conservation policy and practice in India. The research project uses a political ecology approach to a) explore how benefits from conservation accrue to select actors and b) investigate claims that market-based instruments and current conservation practice lead to win-win outcomes.

 

The researcher will be responsible for primary data collection in two conservation landscapes in India and in the writing and dissemination of research findings. The research includes socio-economic surveys, ethnographic field research, policy and discourse analysis, and dissemination workshops.

 

The applicant should have

  • A PhD in Environment and Society, Political Ecology, Anthropology, Sociology, Geography or related fields. Exceptional candidates with Masters or M.Phil degrees are encouraged to apply.
  • Good skills in ethnographic and survey methods and textual analysis.
  • Competence in English writing and communication.
  • Ability to speak Kannada and/or Hindi.

 

The appointment will be for one year, to be renewed for 2 additional years based on satisfactory progress. The position will be based in Bangalore. Salary will be commensurate with education and experience of the candidate and based on ATREE's salary structure.

 

To apply, please email the following to nitinrai@atree.org. Please mention 'ATREE APPLICATION' in the subject line of the email.

1. Curriculum vitae.

2. Copies of relevant publications (research paper; selected chapter(s) from your dissertation),

3. Names and contact information of 3 referees, and

4. Covering letter detailing your research interests and stating your reasons for applying to the position.

 

Review of applications will begin on 30 March 2015 and applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

 

ATREE encourages diversity and gender equity at the work place. Persons from underprivileged groups are especially encouraged to apply. Please visit www.atree.org for more information on ATREE. Please direct your questions regarding this call to Nitin Rai at nitinrai@atree.org.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

CfP: MSM Summer Course Inclusive innovation, gender and entrepreneurship: Opportunities for Economic Empowerment?

MSM Summer Course Inclusive innovation, gender and entrepreneurship: Opportunities for Economic Empowerment?
Course date:  20 – 31 July 2015
Venue: Maastricht School of Management (MSM), the Netherlands
Duration: 2 weeks
Fee: € 850

Introduction

How do inclusive innovations accelerate or provide openings for gender inclusive economic development? Innovation for inclusive development (also referred to as inclusive innovation or frugal innovation) is thought of as being beneficial for business and to enhance social and economic wellbeing of the poor, potentially transforming developing economies in Africa and Asia.
In this course we will focus on the gender dimensions in inclusive development and seek answers to how innovations affirm, challenge or transform the gender dynamics in entrepreneurship and poverty. How do the implementation of new products, institutions and services impact on the gendered constraints that female entrepreneurs face in the economy? What do examples of new production processes, supply chains and business models tell us about its potential to economically empower women? How are female entrepreneurs involved as actors in processes of inclusive innovation, how do they benefit and how are they at risk or excluded? What ethical dilemmas and critical debates are raised in gender inclusive innovation?

Description
During the course you will:
  • Explore the gender dimensions in the different stages of the (inclusive) innovation cycle.
  • Explore institutional theory as a framework to understand inclusive innovation.
  • Study real examples of inclusive innovations implemented in Africa or Asia from a gender perspective.
  • Gain insights in empowerment theories and how to evaluate outcomes of inclusive innovation from a gender perspective.
In this course you will familiarize yourself with the most recent theoretical frameworks available to study inclusive innovation. You will explore its gender dimensions and engage in critical debate to better understand its ethical considerations. You will get acquainted with some of the innovative inclusive business initiatives that are currently being implemented across Africa and Asia. And, you will gain skills in how to apply a gender perspective when evaluating its outcomes. The course offers you the unique opportunity to explore inclusive innovation from cutting edge theory while applying it to real-life cases. Guest speakers from practitioner organizations involved in inclusive business initiatives and the Centre of Frugal Innovation in Africa www.cfia.nl may be involved.

Download Brochure & Apply Online


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

UNESCO's Open Access (OA) Curriculum is now online

UNESCO's Open Access (OA) Curriculum is now online

"Building inclusive Knowledge Societies through information and communication" is one of the key objectives for UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy. By adopting this objective, UNESCO Member States have recognized that knowledge plays a key role in economic growth, social development, cultural enrichment and democratic empowerment. This decision of the Members States has influenced UNESCO's Open Access program, through which the organization received a unique mandate to work on OA policy issues; bridge knowledge pools on OA across the world and build capacities to better understand Open Access.

Within the overall framework of the organization's strategy on OA, the recent launch of OA curricula for Researchers and Library Schools by UNESCO highlights its efforts for enhancing capacities to deal with Open Access issues. The carefully designed and developed sets of OA curricula for researchers and library and information professionals are based on two needs assessment surveys, and several rounds of face-to-face and online consultations with relevant stakeholders.
These curricula will soon be converted into self-directed e-learning tools, which will enable users to self-assess their knowledge on Open Access and take a learning pace that is initiated and directed by the learners themselves. UNESCO also aims to strengthen this initiative by translating the OA curricula into several languages that will increase their reach and impact.
The complete set of five OA modules for researchers and four OA modules for library schools is now available online and can be downloaded by clicking the following links:
Curriculum for Library Schools
Curriculum for Researchers
UNESCO promotes Open Access (OA), with particular emphasis on scientific information (journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various kinds) emanating from publicly funded research. Working with partners, UNESCO works to improve awareness about the benefits of OA among policy makers, researchers and knowledge managers. Through its global network of Field Offices, Institutes and Centers, UNESCO facilitates the development and adoption of OA-enabling policies. In addition, UNESCO engages in global OA debates and cooperates with local, regional and global initiatives in support of OA.

CfPs Workshop "Don't worry! We have it under control": Transnational expertise in environmental and health policy, 28-29 August, Brussels, Belgium

Call for Papers
"Don't worry! We have it under control"
Transnational expertise in environmental and health policy
Workshops on Environment and Security Series

August 28-29, 2015

Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

Theme of the workshop
Globalization has driven an increasing number of problems facing societies into the transnational domain. In this workshop, we hone in on the issue areas of the environment and human health. With impacts that often disregard national boundaries, the responsibility for addressing these issues falls to intergovernmental, regional, or transnational bodies. Our interest lies in unpacking how transnational expertise is brought to bear on these issues, and with what effects? By transnational expertise, we understand bodies of experts affiliated by issue area, background, or competencies that organize across national boundaries and engage on transnational or global issues.
The workshop will centre on the following key research question to investigate how transnational expertise looks and operates in complex, global environmental and health issues: How is transnational expertise mobilized in answering threats to ecosystems or human health?
This question opens up a number of considerations. For instance, what is the relationship between scientific knowledge and expertise? To what extent is transnational expertise on these issues characterized by consensus or contestation? How does power operate between experts and policymakers, and among experts themselves? Do experts thrive under conditions of complexity, or do they try to decrease it?

Workshop format
The workshop is part of the WES Series (Workshops on Environment and Security, see http://wes-series.ulb.ac.be/). The number of participants will be limited to 24, half of whom will be invited to submit full papers. Papers will be distributed before the event, and dedicated discussants will kick off in-depth group discussions of each paper. Authors will speak only at the closure of the one-hour group discussion of their paper. This format offers an opportunity for extensive discussions that provide authors with detailed feedback on their on-going research, and it allows participants to get acquainted in an informal setting.

Submissions of proposals
We invite contributions that speak to the themes and questions raised by this workshop. To submit a proposal, send a one-page summary and biographical notice by email to wes.brussels@gmail.com. Please also include your name, current address, and university or professional affiliations.
The deadline for proposals is: March 30, 2015
Accepted authors will be expected to submit full papers of maximum 8,000 words by: August 1, 2015

Funding opportunities
There is no registration fee. Travel costs, meals and accommodation during the workshop will be covered for all participants.

Publication opportunities
The organizers intend to explore the opportunities for submitting a selection of papers as a special issue in a leading journal in the field.

Workshop organizers
Sameea Ahmed-Hassim (LUISS Guido Carli/Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Jacob Hasselbalch (University of Warwick/Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Jean-Frédéric Morin (Université Laval)
Christian Olsson (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Leonard Seabrooke (Copenhagen Business School)
Krystel Wanneau (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Sponsor
WES (Workshop on Environment & Security,
http://wes-series.ulb.ac.be/) & Others

Monday, March 16, 2015

CfPs: International Conference on Responsible Innovation: A European Agenda? 24-25 August, The Hague

Call for Papers

Responsible Innovation: A European Agenda?
24 – 25 August 2015 – The Hague


We invite you to submit abstracts for the Fourth International Conference on Responsible Innovation organized by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). NWO has launched an interdisciplinary research program that brings together researchers from ethics, applied science and the social and behavioral sciences in research projects that consider the ethical and social aspects of new technology from the design phase onwards.


Research in the field of Responsible Innovation is typically geared towards solutions to the grand and societal challenges as they figure in the Millennium Goals and the EU Horizon2020 program. Contributions are expected to clarify how the research and innovation processes are organized in such a way that the outcomes can be deemed 'responsible' and as oriented towards such solutions. Contributions should offer guidance in thinking about the moral justification of technical, economic or institutional aspects of innovations.


We encourage submissions from an interdisciplinary spectrum, including but not limited to philosophy, engineering, applied science, social science, economics and those involved in public or private sector policymaking. You may submit abstracts for a paper or a poster session using the conference website. To offer a paper or poster for one of the sessions, please submit an extended abstract (circa 1,000 words) (your abstract should indicate whether you intend to present a paper or a poster).


A selection of papers will be published in the fourth volume of the Conference Series (Springer).


This years conference also hosts a "responsible innovation exhibition". Research teams have the possibility to present societally responsible innovations to an audience of entrepreneurs and policy makers. Further information on participation will follow coming Spring.


DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION:

5pm on Friday, 11 May (Amsterdam time).


Abstracts will be blind-reviewed and applicants will be notified about acceptance of their contribution on Tuesday, 2 June 2015.


TIMELINE

  • 11 May 2015 — abstract submission deadline
  • 2 June 2015 — notification of acceptance
  • 24 and 25 Aug 2015 — conference Responsible Innovation 

 

SUITABLE TOPICS INCLUDE (but are not limited to)

  • Medical technology and biomedical research
  • e-Health
  • Virtual and Augmented Reality
  • Surveillance
  • Renewables
  • Neurotechnology
  • Military technology and cyberwarfare
  • Human enhancement
  • Big Data
  • Smart transport
  • Sustainable food and water
  • Smart grids and biofuels
  • Biodiversity and animal production
  • Law, ethics, and development
  • The Internet of Things
  • Energy Transition
  • High tech systems and materials
  • Transition to a green industrial chemistry
  • Biorenewables and the Circular Economy
  • Entrepreneurship

SCHOLARSHIP

We especially invite submissions from contributors from developing countries, who may be eligible for a scholarship in order to cover (part of their) travel expenses. In that case, please send a separate e-mail to Lotte Asveld (info@responsible-innovation.nl) with the subject line "Submission Scholarship MVI Conference 2015". The e-mail should contain an indication of the expected travel and accommodation costs and state the contributor's country of origin. Contributors from developing countries will be notified about the outcome on 2 June 2015.


Further Details: http://www.responsible-innovation.nl/