Monday, August 31, 2015

Call for Papers on "Simulating the Processes of Science, Technology, and Innovation"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Borner, Katy <katy@indiana.edu>

Call for Papers for a special issue of Scientometrics on:

"Simulating the Processes of Science, Technology, and Innovation"

Deadline: 30th November 2015

Motivation

In a knowledge-based economy, science and technology are omnipresent and their importance is undisputed. Equally evident is the need to allocate resources (both monetary and labor) in an effective way to foster innovation. In the last decades, science policy has embraced scientometrics to gain insights into the structure and evolution of science and devised diverse metrics and indicators. However, it has not invested significant efforts into modelling the dynamics of science, technology, and/or innovation (STI) (mathematically, statistically, and computationally). While it may not be possible to predict the nature and essence of the next scientific or technological innovation, it is often possible to predict the circumstances leading to it, i.e., where it is most likely to happen and under which conditions. Some examples are: Which career paths are more likely to lead to high impact works? Which funding system has the highest return on investments? Which institutions will be most productive over the next years?

This special issue calls for models which predict/forecast the structure and/or dynamics of STI. The focus is on mathematical, statistical, and computational models, but we do not exclude qualitative models as long as they can be used to develop scenarios of future STI dynamics. New insights about STI can be gained by comparing and relating different kinds of models, including data, statistical, observational, psychological and computational. This special issue aims to present a state of the art in terms such computational models.

Submission Deadlines

Please feel free to contact the editors with paper proposals. Submit full papers by 30th November 2015. Reviews will become available begin of January 2016. Final papers are due February 29, 2016.

Special Issue Editors

  • Bruce Edmonds, Professor of Social Simulation, Centre for Policy Modelling, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
  • Andrea Scharnhorst, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Data Archiving and Networked Services, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Katy Börner, ILS, SOIC, Indiana University, USA and Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Stasa Milojevic, ILS, SOIC, Indiana University, USA

Some Background References

·         Edmonds, B., Gilbert, N., Ahrweiler, P. & Scharnhorst, A. (2011) Special Issue of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation  on 'Simulating the Social Processes of Science' 14,(4) (Introduction to special issue is at: http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/14.html).

·         Moss, S. and Edmonds, B. (2005) Sociology and Simulation: Statistical and Qualitative Cross-Validation, American Journal of Sociology, 110(4) 1095-1131.

·         Ahrweiler, Petra, Nigel Gilbert and Andreas Pyka, eds. 2015. Joining Complexity Science and Social Simulation for Innovation Policy. Cambridge Publishers.

·         Scharnhorst, Andrea, Katy Börner, and Peter van den Besselaar, eds. 2012. Models of Science Dynamics: Encounters Between Complexity Theory and Information Science. Springer Verlag.

·         Watts, Christopher and Nigel Gilbert. 2014. Simulating Innovation. Computer-based Tools for Re-Thinking Innovation. London: Edward Elgar.



--   Katy Borner  Victor H. Yngve Professor of Information Science  Director, CI for Network Science Center, http://cns.iu.edu  Curator, Mapping Science exhibit, http://scimaps.org     ILS, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University  Wells Library 021, 1320 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

ICT for Digital Equity UNESCO Office in Bangkok

The ICT in Education Newsletter, August 2015, is now available. Please feel free to forward it to members of your networks.  To view online, click here.

 

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ICT for Digital Equity

August 2015 | UNESCO Bangkok Office

Dear readers,

The issue of the digital divide in ICT in Education persists in many contexts and often exacerbates already existing socio-economic inequalities. The Incheon Declaration highlights the urgent need for promoting lifelong learning and education that leaves no one behind, focusing on equity and inclusion, as well as quality. Moreover, the Qingdao Declaration states that relevant and responsive digital learning environments should be in place in order to utilize ICT in diverse ways, providing various learning pathways for all. In fact, ICT can be an enabler for lifelong learning for all by providing diverse paths if only ICT is equally available for all. In this regard, this month's newsletter issue focuses on digital equity – pressing issues, challenges and recent efforts to mitigate the digital divide in the Asia-Pacific region.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition!

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.  

 

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Highlights:


http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_60705e_15.gif.gif Digital Equity as an Imperative for the ICT Ecosystem (by UNESCO Bangkok, ICT in Education)
This article underlines the urgency and attention required to address the grand challenge of the digital inequality persisting throughout the world, most often in developing countries, in order to unleash the full potential of ICT and education.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_60705e_15.gif.gif Digital Divides and Equity (by Thérèse Laferrière, Miri Shonfeld, and Paul Resta)
This article, based on the work of the Thematic Working Group 4 for EDUsummIT 2015, provides a quick review of the technological developments and their influence on the sphere of education and digital inequality. Furthermore, it provides the essential conditions for technology-based learning in reference to which this Thematic Group had compiled eleven short case studies on the theme of 'Addressing Gaps and Promoting Educational Equity'.

Programmes and Projects:


http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e67df2_29.gif.gif National Workshop on Supporting Competency-based Teacher Training Reforms to Facilitate ICT-Pedagogy Integration  in the Philippines (21-22 July 2015, Quezon City, Philippines)  
This workshop was organized by UNESCO Bangkok, CHED and SEAMEO INNOTECH, bringing together officials, ICT experts, representatives from the Department of Education and TEIs in order to build on and improve the existing ICT competencies. 

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e67df2_30.gif.gif National Workshop held by UNESCO and NCED on ICT Competency Development in Education (31 July-2 August 2015, Godavari, Nepal)
This national workshop organized by UNESCO and the National Center for Educational Development (NCED) involved policy makers, teachers and experts to engage in discussions and participate in sessions to identify approaches towards developing competency standards and performance indicators for ICT in Education.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e67df2_30.gif.gif Access to ICT in remote communities: The eBilim Mobile Digital Library Project, Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic
This article provides an overview of the project conducted by the University of Central Asia in the pursuit of minimizing the rural-urban digital and knowledge gap. A refurbished minibus equipped with educational resources and a digital database reaches 15 remote communities in the Naryn province of the Kyrgyz Republic.

News and Events:


http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_732726_24.gif.gif EDUsummIT 2015 (14-15 September 2015, Bangkok, Thailand)
This event, organized in association with prominent international and national organizations, gathers researchers, policy-makers and educators in supporting the effective integration of Information Technology in education.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_732726_24.gif.gif The OECD-Singapore Conference on Higher Education Futures (14-15 October 2015, Singapore)
The event will focus on higher education, the rise of higher education in Asia, challenges to traditional modes of education, and how higher education can stay relevant in the face of resource challenges. The Conference will bring together some 500 participants from over 40 countries. In addition to the main event, there are satellite events on 13 and 16 October and post-conference activities on 16 October.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_732726_24.gif.gif 5th Annual International Conference on Education and e-Learning (Bangkok, Thailand, 14-15 September 2015)
This conference aims to explore more flexible and accessible modes of education to bridge the gap of learning across borders by exploring the potential of e-learning.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_732726_24.gif.gif #PurpleMySchool Campaign
Is your school Purple? Go Purple to support safe spaces for LGBTI students across Asia & the Pacific. UNESCO Bangkok, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Being LGBTI in Asia encourage students, teachers, and parents to join the #PurpleMySchool campaign aimed at creating safe spaces for LGBTI youth in educational settings throughout the region. People can show their support for LGBTI learners by wearing, doing, or making something purple. Photos can be uploaded to our Facebook page and website

Resources:


http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e551bc_51.gif.gif Global Libraries: Opening a World of Information and Opportunities
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries programme aims to provide the 1 billion "information-poor" people with free access to computers and the Internet by locating public libraries at the centre of communities. The programme also helps public libraries around the world define local needs and training for librarians.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e551bc_51.gif.gif The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network
This is an after-school learning programme that enables youth in underserved communities to access the latest technology and work with adult mentors to experience professional hardware and software, develop technical fluency, and build skills.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_e551bc_51.gif.gif The Digital Literacy "Best Practices"
This site provides resources about best practices on how to improve and disseminate successful approaches and practices about digital literacy.

New Publications:


http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_a43db9_34.gif.gif Country Case Studies on Promising EFA Practices in the Asia-Pacific Region
In light of the 2015 deadline for the Education for All (EFA) goals, Asia-Pacific countries, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines share their achievements, enabling factors, challenges, promising practices as well as sustainability aspects.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_a43db9_34.gif.gif The Economic Cost of Out-of-School Children in Southeast Asia
This publication targets out-of-school children and looks at the benefits of primary education to help education policy makers understand the significant economic incentives of including these populations in the seven Southeast Asian countries.

http://www.unescobkk.org/uploads/RTEmagicC_706b0173da_a43db9_34.gif.gif ICT Facts & Figures 2015
This ITU factsheet provides information on the remaining ICT gaps, achievements in the past 15 years, the digital divide for 2015, and more.



Next Issue
: The September issue will focus on the theme of Cyber Wellness (promoting children's safe, effective and responsible use of ICT). If our readers are interested in contributing to this edition, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact/Feedback: : ict.bgk@unesco.org

ICT in Education website: http://www.unescokk.org/education/ict

View previous newsletters: http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/enewsletter      

 

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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in the documents included in this newsletter are those of the authors and editors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of UNESCO, nor of any particular Division or Office. All rights to the resources included in this guide remain with their respective copyright owners, as indicated for each resource.

 

 

PREVIEW!

 

 

Sunday, August 30, 2015

CFPs: National Conference on "Migration, Diaspora and Development" at India International Centre, New Delhi on 20th February 2016

Dear all,

This is to inform you that Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), an International consortium of researchers and policy makers drawn from national and international universities, institutes and organizations, based in New Delhi is going to organise a National Conference on the theme "Migration, Diaspora and Development" on 20th February 2016 at India International Centre, New Delhi. The conference will have participation from wide range of scholars including academicians, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations. The conference intends to promote inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary engagement and research with focus on broader social and economic development. The details are available at: www.grfdt.com. Abstract can be sent to: nationalconference@grfdt.com

Important Dates
Last date for receiving abstract: 15 October 2015
Communicating about selection: 5 November 2015
Last date for receiving full paper: 30 January 2016
Date of Conference: 20 February 2016


Best regards,

Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism
http://www.grfdt.com/EventDetails.aspx?Type=Events&TabId=5098


Rajiv Mishra
Research Student
Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-110067
E: rajiv.csss@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Book Release function of "Diaspora, Culture and Identity" written by Dr Poonam Bala, CSSP, on 28 August 2015; at 11.00 A.M. at Committee Room, JNU Central Library

Central Library JNU, welcomes you to the Book Release function of "Diaspora, Culture and Identity" written by Prof Poonam Bala,

To be released by General Dr. V.K. Singh, Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs and Prof.S.K. Sopory, Vice-Chancellor, JNU

At Committee Room (Mezzanine floor), Central Library, JNU

Date: Friday, August 28, 2015; at 11.00 A.M.

Detail Programme

A Talk on Socio-Political Role of Contemporary Art in India and Beyond, tomorrow at SSS-2

Centre for the Study of Social Systems
School of Social Sciences

CSSS Colloquium

Dr. Cathrine Bublatzky
(Chair, Visual and Media Anthropology,
Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, Heidelberg)

Will be giving a talk on
Socio-Political Role of Contemporary Art in India and Beyond

Date & Time: August 27, 2015 (Thursday), 11.30 a.m.
Venue: CSSS Committee Room, SSS-II

Abstract: With reference to contemporary artistic practices such as street art, video art or performance, this paper engages with art in border zones and in times of crisis and its possible impact on civil societies. Looking at different social and cultural contexts in India and beyond, the discussion will focus on the question what the social role of contemporary art can be today. How do artists position themselves in times of crisis? And how do they try to find artistic expression for experiences of trauma, atrocity and violence, or to create platforms for solidarity and dialogue? Whereas the boundary between art activism, political art or participatory art soften blurring, social factors such circulation, institutional environments or the reactions to an artwork foster a particular meaning attributed to an artwork. Providing exemplary insights into multiple dynamics of meaning production, this paper will problematize the role of contemporary art as social practice.

Bio-Data: Dr. Cathrine Bublatzky is a trained photographer and gained her MA in Anthropology and South Asian History in 2008. Since 2009 she is a Research Fellow at the Chair of Visual and Media Anthropology, Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (Heidelberg). Her research focuses on theories and methods in Visual and Media Anthropology, Art Anthropology, Popular Culture, and Urban Studies. Her seminars in Transcultural Studies, Anthropology and South Asian Studies are often research-based with a relation to Digital Humanities. In 2014, she finalized her dissertation on contemporary art in India "Along the 'Indian Highway': An Ethnography of an International Travelling exhibition

All are welcome

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Google Scholar Profile of the Open Access India (with Citation indices, H-index & i10-index) http://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=vsgjnxMAAAAJ

Glad to inform you that Google Scholar Profile (with Citation indices, H-index and i10-index) of the Open Access India (about open access movement in India) is now available Online.

See Also

Panel Discussion on "Valuing Variability: New Perspectives on Climate Resilient Drylands Development" on 21 August at SSS-I, JNU

 Valuing Variability:

New Perspectives on Climate Resilient Drylands Development

21st August 2015, at 3:00 – 5:30 PM

Venue: Committee Room, SSS-I, Jawaharlal Nehru University

(Organized by CSSP-JNU, CSIR-NISTADS, RRA Network and RLN)

 

We invite you to a panel discussion on the implications of variability, for India's drylands.

This is based on a book published by IIED, London, a joint effort by academics, civil society organizations, environmental and social activists working on rainfed/dryland agriculture, livestock and pastoral systems in India, China and Kenya. Drawing upon the knowledge of herders, farmers, traders, policy makers and researchers from across the globe, the book, funded by the Ford Foundation, poses questions about the 'theory of lack' that defines the drylands, the conceptualization and design of development policies and programmes, the framing of scientific research problems, and the pedagogy of variability, ecosystems, and livelihoods.

An eminent panel presents their analysis and views on valuing variability in India's rainfed and dryland crop-livestock-agroforestry systems, which account for more than 2/3rd of the arable land in the country. They discuss how climate resilient, productive and sustainable drylands development is possible; if only we will learn to work with and not to control and standardize the variability and diversity of the drylands.

 

Panel Discussion                                                                    3 to 5.30 PM

Chair Abhijit Sen ( Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU)

Pranav Desai (Professor, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, JNU) Introductory remarks and welcome

Wen Jun (S&T Counselor, Chinese Embassy) Towards collaborative research

Anshu Bhartia (Revitalisation of Rainfed Agriculture (RRA) Network) Rainfed Farming – academic/civil society networks


The Panel:                                                                                       3.15-4.45 PM                         

Navroz Dubash (Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi) on Climate resilience – planning and mainstreaming

Sanjay Bhoosreddy (Joint Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi) on Livestock Development – variability and diversity issues         

P S Vijayshankar (Research Director, Samaj Pragati Sahyog, Dewas) on Rainfed Farming and resilience - research constraints/opportunities

Anushree Singh (PhD student, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, JNU, New Delhi) on community knowledge systems and mobilisation-STS

Sabyasachi Das (Theme Leader, Livestock Node, RRA Network, Bhuj) on Pastoral systems, variability and development programmes.


Q&A:                                                                                                4.45-5.25 PM 

Rajeswari S. Raina (Principal Scientist, CSIR-NISTADS, New Delhi).

Ways forward and vote of thanks:                                                    5.25-5.30 PM

High Tea at 5.30 PM.

 

Madhav Govind (Chairperson, CSSP-JNU), Rajeswari S. Raina (CSIR-NISTADS), Nitya Ghotge (RLN, and ANTHRA, Pune), Anshu Bhartia (RRA Network, New Delhi)


Reference: Valuing variability: New perspectives on climate resilient drylands development

Monday, August 17, 2015

Current Science on "English and Indian Science"

English and Indian Science
by Anantanarayanan Raman
Current Science, 10 August 2015, 109(3), 398.

I am in the process of reviewing a professional article submitted by three Indian scientists to an international biology journal. The science appears reasonable, but the pathetic aspect is the language used. Why none in India alone is not able to recognize is that presenting details in graceful and elegant language is half-of-the-well crossed. I am spending more time in correcting the prose rather than looking into the science of the submitted paper. Many sentences are grammatically flawed and clumsy, badly punctuated and meaninglessly wordy. The most annoying element is that the verbs are inappropriately conjugated, which made me highly irritable.
This is not the only occasion when I experienced this problem. For the students from the Indian subcontinent who have joined my research group, I am spending 4 h/week teaching basic grammar and simple ways of communicating in good English. What jolted me was when I asked them whether each has a copy of a standard dictionary and every one drew a blank. I urged them to purchase either a copy of the Macquarie or the Australian Oxford. The next step was to educate them how to use the dictionary and what help it can provide.
My above reactions are meant to say as loudly as possible that efforts need to be made in India in not losing a great gift – the English language – given by the British to us. We only talk of the ills caused and damages done to us by them before independence. We never want to recognize that we have an edge over the Chinese, who are the strongest competitors for us in every possible sphere of life, simply because we have a better hold on the English language than most Chinese. We need to factor here that the Chinese are making a sincere effort to master the English language by recruiting native speakers of English. A systematic effort is being made by Indian politicians in downplaying the importance of English language and consequently we are losing the capacity to communicate clearly, precisely and effectively. The paradox is that India is the land, which prided with writers and speakers of class such as R. K. Narayan and A. K. Ramanujan in recent years, and V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, C. Rajagopalachari and J. Nehru in the recent past. Evolution of the English language has gone to an extent to recognize a subgenre, the Indian English, which was pioneered by Vidiadhar Naipaul from Trinidad.
How did this fall come about? Why are we losing a highly useful skill, which has been there with us for long? What is going wrong? I have no answers. I am nonplussed.

Dr. Anantanarayanan Raman, Charles Sturt University, Australia. araman[at]csu.edu.au

One-week Course on Globalization, Crisis and Public Policy; 23-29 November at Kolkata, India

One-week Course on Globalization, Crisis and Public Policy
Organized by Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata, India
23-29 November 2015

Calcutta Research Group in collaboration with Rabindra Bharati University will organize a one-week course on the theme "Globalization, Crisis and Public Policy" during November 23-29, 2015 in Kolkata, India.
The proposed course aims to understand the nitty-gritty of neoliberal globalization including the periodic crises in the market economy all over the world vis-à-vis concerned public policies across the globe including India. It intends to take up an exploration into socio-economic crisis along the axes of both theoretical nuances and practical implications. The course will be open to the doctoral students and teachers of various colleges and universities, and researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. We especially welcome participants from the North-Eastern states of the country. Participants from the various vulnerable communities (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and others) which are most affected by the implications of globalization are especially welcome. There will be registration fee for the participants. Outstation participants will have to cover their own travel and accommodation.
Last day of application is 23 August 2015.
Application will have to be accompanied with bio details, a letter of intent, and details of research interest, and one reference letter. Applications and inquiries may be addressed to Dr. Iman Mitra (iman@mcrg.ac.in), Research Associate, Calcutta Research Group.

Further Details: http://mcrg.ac.in/Globalization_Orientation/GO_Concept.pdf

Inviting Applications for Urban Action School (UAS): 3 Weeks Advanced Course for Urban Policy Practitioners, 15 Nov to 5 Dec, Hyderabad

Urban Action School (UAS): 3 Weeks Advanced Course for Urban Policy Practitioners

November 15th to December 5th 2015

Venue: Institute of Public Enterprise, Osmania University, Telangana, Hyderabad, India

Bridging Grassroots action with Policy Making!!

Theme: Urbanization and Informal Sector


UAS is a collaborative initiative of Citizen's Rights Collective, Action Aid, South Institute of Public Policy and Action, and Institute of Public Enterprise. Course is open to all those interested from South Asia with minimum of five years of work experience. It is FREE of cost!! Translation available in two regional languages. This is a call for applications for the advanced course panning several fundamental facets of the 'Urban'. This course is designed essentially as a mid career training for the mid and senior level activists, policy advocates, lawyers, journalists, researchers, and all categories of urban policy practitioners. UAS is intended for the benefit of action researchers and social activists, with the objective of building the knowledge base of the participants and to complement action research and field based activism. This course is meant to be as a space for upgrade knowledge, to reflect upon, share and to equip the participants to acquire new skills to function in a better way in their day to day work. It is meant to make a difference to the person as well as to the organization/movement/company in which she/he works.

Who can apply:

Open to all: Social workers, political activists, people working with community organizations, social movements, trade unions, urban local bodies, media persons, government officials, research students, elected peoples' representatives working and dealing with the 'Urban issues are eligible to apply for this course. Experienced professionals are preferred for this course as it is essentially designed to skill mid career professionals. A minimum of five years of experience will be preferred.
Note: Applications are invited from all over South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Maldives), although the bulk of the participants will be from India.

Course Content: Each year the course curriculum will be redesigned to reflect latest ideas, issues, and concerns. The intention is to make the course a credible and significant contribution to understanding of cities, citizens, and people-oriented sustainable planning with an attempt to deal with and find solutions to growing urban poverty, migration. alienation, exclusion, violence, and lack of regulation and planning, with specific focus on informality, livelihood and labour rights. This year's course will focus on Urbanization and the Informal Sector.

Last Date for Applying: 6th September 2015
Email: urbanschool@ciric.in
For further queries, please write to above mentioned mail id. For details regarding the ideology, vision, course content, faculty et. al. kindly log on the website. 

Further Details and Download Application Form: http://www.ciric.in/opportunities/urban-action-school

Friday, August 14, 2015

IIAS Award of Fellowships 2015

Indian Institute of Advanced Study

Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla – 171005, India

 Advertisement No. 4/2015
http://www.iias.org/content/award-fellowships-2015


We invite applications for the award of Fellowships for advanced research in the following areas:

(a) Social, Political and Economic Philosophy;

(b) Comparative Indian Literature (including Ancient, Medieval, Modern Folk and Tribal);

(c) Comparative Studies in Philosophy and Religion;

(d) Comparative Studies in History (including Historiography and Philosophy of History);

(e) Education, Culture, Arts including performing Arts and Crafts;

(f) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Logic and Mathematics;

(g) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Natural and Life Sciences;

(h) Studies in Environment;

(i) Indian Civilization in the context of Asian Neighbours; and

(j) Problems of Contemporary India in the context of National Integration and Nation-building.

 

1. Scholars belonging to weaker sections of society and those who are differently abled/physical challenged will be given preference.

2. Applications from scholars working in, and on, the North Eastern region of India are encouraged.

3. Fellows will be required to submit a monograph on the completion of their term. The Institute will evaluate and consider this monograph for publication. The Institute will have the first right of publication and will have the copyright of the monograph submitted by the Fellow.

4. The term of Fellowship for independent and retired scholars would initially be for a period of one year, allowing continuation for another year after evaluation of the work done during the first year. In no case will this continue beyond two years. However, for in-service scholars who want to come for two years, the Fellowship would be awarded for a period of two years subject to the condition that continuation of the Fellowship for the second year would only be granted if the external Evaluation Report of the work done by the Fellow during the first year is positive.

7. The prescribed application form can be downloaded from the website: www.iias.ac.in.  The application on the prescribed form may be sent to the Secretary, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla 171005. Applications can also be made online. Only applications in the prescribed application form would be considered by the Institute.

8. Fellows are expected to remain in residence from 1st March to 15th December. Their stay at the Institute during the winter months is optional. They may proceed on study tours during this period.

9. Proposals involving empirical work requiring data collection through extensive fieldwork would not be considered.

10. The pay of in-service Fellows will be protected. In addition, they will get 20 per cent of their basic pay in case they are maintaining a separate house at the place of their work, other than government accommodation. The Fellowship grant for Fellows who are independent scholars is Rs. 56,400/- per month.

11. The Institute provides hard furnished, rent-free accommodation to Fellows in cottages on the Rashtrapati Nivas Estate. In addition, scholars will be provided a fully furnished study, on a sharing basis, with computer and Internet facilities.

12. The Fellows will be provided with free stationary. They will have access to the Institute's vehicles for local travel on payment of nominal charges.

13. Fellows are entitled to free medical treatment at the dispensary of the Institute.

14. It is mandatory for in-service candidates to apply through proper channel.

15. Fellowship applications of scholars who have been Fellows of the Institute within a period of the last five years will not be considered.

16. The short-listed scholars would be invited to make a presentation before the Fellowship Award Committee (FAC). Scholars with proven academic credentials, as decided by Screening Committee, may be exempted from this provision. Those interested can get further details from the Secretary of the Institute who is available on e-mail at secretary@iias.ac.in and may be contacted on 0177-2831379.

Applications must reach the Institute by 31st August 2015.

The application form can be downloaded here. PDF | MS Word

Saturday, August 8, 2015

CfPs: National Seminar on Financing of Agriculture Value Chains: Challenges and Opportunities; 27-28 November

National Seminar on Financing of Agriculture Value Chains: Challenges and Opportunities
27-28 November 2015

CALL FOR PAPERS
The National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), New Delhi jointly organizing the 'National Seminar on Financing of Agriculture Value Chains: Challenges and Opportunities' at BIRD, Lucknow on 27th and 28th November, 2015. Papers are invited from researchers/ practitioners/ economists/ policy makers/other stakeholders in the agriculture sector on the following broad themes:
(a) Re-visiting the provisions under model APMC Act 2003 and identifying the factors hindering the growth of agricultural markets in India
(b) Structure & Regulatory framework for the proposed National Common Agricultural Market
(c) Critical gaps in Storages/Warehouses in India and implementable models to bridge the gaps
(d) Institutional support required to integrate small farmers to a given agri-commodity value chain
(e) Ways to co-integrate issues of finance into the value chain framework to improve efficiency
Interested persons may submit their papers on any of the above themes by 30 September 2015 to the Chief General Manager, Department of Economic Analysis & Research (DEAR), National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development Managing, C-24, G Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra-E, Mumbai- 400051 at nabard.valuechain@gmail.com. The paper should not be more than 6000 words (20 double space typed pages of size 8½ by 11 inches), including tables, diagrams and appendices (with margins on all sides of at least 1½ inches). Abstracts not exceeding 200 words should be submitted along with the papers. Papers submitted should be exclusively written for the seminar and should not have been published or sent for publication elsewhere. The authors are required to submit a declaration in this regard.
Authors of the selected papers will be invited to present their papers in the proposed seminar. II AC rail/air fare by economy class by the shortest route will be paid. The papers selected for presentation in the seminar will be published in an edited book brought out by NABARD & IFPRI. The authors of the papers published in the book will be awarded a cash incentive of Rs.10,000/- as our recognition to and acknowledgement of the work.

Further Details: http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2015_50/32/AppointmentsProgrammesAnnouncements.pdf

Friday, August 7, 2015

New Open Access Articles in Current Science, Institutions and Economies & ALIS

New Open Access Articles:

  • Das, Anup Kumar (2015). UNESCO Launches Open Access Curriculum for Young and Early Career Researchers. Current Science, 109(3), 400-401.
  • Abstract: This article narrates the background of UNESCO Curriculum titled "Open Access for Researchers" which was launched on 16th March 2015. This Open Access Curriculum contains five modules for capacity building, awareness raising and sensitizing young and early career researchers affiliated to research laboratories or higher educational institutions across the world.

  • Das, Anup Kumar (2015). Skills Development for SMEs: Mapping of Key Initiatives in IndiaInstitutions and Economies, 7(2), 120-143.
  • Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to critically examine national skills development initiatives in India as the country embarks on building skilled manpower to meet the demand of SME sectors in the coming decade. This paper identifies two national level programmes namely, National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) and National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) which are implemented by an array of organisations in PPP (public-private partnership) mode. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a major actor for NSDM, has identified 21 high-growth sectors and formulated action plan for skills development in those sectors. NRLM's Aajeevika Skill Development Programme and its sub-schemes ensure skills building of rural youth and help them in coming out of poverty. This paper identifies how skills building of rural youth will lead to job-diversification and lift them out of poverty through placement-linked skills-based jobs. This research paper analyses key national skills development initiatives and how the federal government is making efforts to build skills of marginalised communities as well as helping SME sectors and high growth sectors in bridging projected skills gaps.

  • Das, Anup Kumar (2015)Mapping of University Presses in India: Pattern of Knowledge Production and DisseminationAnnals of Library and Information Studies, 62(2), 57-67.
  • Abstract: This paper presents the current status of university presses in India, and how they are interlinked with their prestigious fellowship programmes and academic research. Indian university presses were identified from DELNET union catalogue of books. Their publishing patterns are studied based on MIS reports available or generated from their respective websites. The paper also analyzes global visibility and availability of produced knowledge through institutional and external web catalogues, e-commerce sites and utilization of book promotion avenues. It is found that, as of now, Indian university presses don't publish e-books. Many of these presses don't even have a dedicated website for disseminating detailed bibliographic information on available titles.

Research Paper "Mapping of University Presses in India: Pattern of Knowledge Production and Dissemination" by Anup Kumar Das, Annals of Library & Information Studies, 2015, 62(2).

Mapping of University Presses in India: Pattern of Knowledge Production and Dissemination
by Anup Kumar Das
Annals of Library and Information Studies, 2015,
62(2):57-67.

Abstract: This paper presents the current status of university presses in India, and how they are interlinked with their prestigious fellowship programmes and academic research. Indian university presses were identified from DELNET union catalogue of books. Their publishing patterns are studied based on MIS reports available or generated from their respective websites. The paper also analyzes global visibility and availability of produced knowledge through institutional and external web catalogues, e-commerce sites and utilization of book promotion avenues. It is found that, as of now, Indian university presses don't publish e-books. Many of these presses don't even have a dedicated website for disseminating detailed bibliographic information on available titles.

Download Full-Text: http://bit.ly/1OVjcXd

Asian Biotechnology & Development Review (ABDR) Special Issue on Women & Biotechnology is now available for downloading

Asian Biotechnology&Development Review (ABDR) Special Issue on Women and Biotechnology
Vol 17 No. 1 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Editorial Introduction- Krishna Ravi Srinivas, Lucy Hoareau, and Magalie Lebreton-Traoré
Challenges and Opportunities in Bioscience for Women in China- Nancy Y. IP
Colonial Legacies, Postcolonial Biologies: Gender and the Promises of Biotechnology -Banu Subramaniam
A Feminist Perspective on Biotechnology and Technoscience - Nasrin Moazami
A Complex Formula: Girls and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Asia- UNESCO
Book Review Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity - Clare C. Jen
Medical Agricultural Biotechnology and Public Health: The Interface between TRIPS and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety - Sylvestre-José-Tidiane Manga
 
 
UNESCO has supported the publication of this special issue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co-ordinates
Krishna Ravi Srinivas PhD
RIS,CORE -IV B, IVTH FLOOR,INDIA HABITAT CENTER
LODHI ROAD NEW DELHI 11 00 03 INDIA
TEL +91 11 24682177 - 80 Fax: 91-11-24682173-74
email : ravisrinivas@ris.org.in, k.ravisrinivas@gmail.com
http://www.ris.org.in
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=290086

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Research Paper "Skills Development for SMEs: Mapping of Key Initiatives in India" by Anup Kumar Das, Institutions and Economies, 2015, 7(2).

Skills Development for SMEs: Mapping of Key Initiatives in India
by Anup Kumar Das
Institutions and Economies, 2015, 7(2):120-143.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to critically examine national skills development initiatives in India as the country embarks on building skilled manpower to meet the demand of SME sectors in the coming decade. This paper identifies two national level programmes namely, National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) and National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) which are implemented by an array of organisations in PPP (public-private partnership) mode. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a major actor for NSDM, has identified 21 high-growth sectors and formulated action plan for skills development in those sectors. NRLM's Aajeevika Skill Development Programme and its sub-schemes ensure skills building of rural youth and help them in coming out of poverty. This paper identifies how skills building of rural youth will lead to job-diversification and lift them out of poverty through placement-linked skills-based jobs. This research paper analyses key national skills development initiatives and how the federal government is making efforts to build skills of marginalised communities as well as helping SME sectors and high growth sectors in bridging projected skills gaps.

Download Full-Text: http://ijie.um.edu.my/filebank/published_article/8261/7(2)5.pdf

Monday, August 3, 2015

IE OpEd "A Department of State: The modern Indian university has always been yoked to the state project of the moment" by Niraja Gopal Jayal

A Department of State: The modern Indian university has always been yoked to the state project of the moment.
by Niraja Gopal Jayal | July 27, 2015, Indian Express

In the end, what we have is a highly uneven and differentiated university system in which there is little reflection and no consensus on what a university is for.

The fundamental disagreement in the clash of the titans, Amartya Sen and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, appears to centre on the question of whether political interference in universities today is more egregious than in the past. Mehta claims that there is nothing unprecedented about this, "even in its scope or scale," and Sen responds with impeccable logic that that does not make it acceptable. It could nevertheless be argued that Nalanda — with its short history tainted by allegations not all of which have been convincingly refuted — is scarcely the most alarming example of all the attempts, past and present, to control academic institutions.
Both Sen and Mehta seem to share the somewhat optimistic assumption that academic institutions in this country once were or could potentially be autonomous entities that are constitutively free of governmental and/ or partisan political control. Neither acknowledges the black hole at the heart of any debate about higher education in India, a fact that has to do with the very nature of the beast itself: that the modern Indian university has, from colonial times to the present day, been viewed as properly yoked to the state project of the moment.
Every major commission on education in India over the last 60 years — from the S. Radhakrishnan Commission to the National Knowledge Commission — has sought to harness universities to state projects of, variously, constitutional values, nation-building, development and the creation of a 21st century knowledge society. It is only the particular state project to which universities were hitched that has changed from time to time, not the fact of such a harness, much less the legitimacy attached to it.
Partisan politics of one sort or another has undoubtedly made this worse, but this is at best an exploitation of the opportunities provided by structural weaknesses in university governance. Fundamentally, universities are not, and have never been, autonomous. Even as we recognise that public funding is incontrovertibly essential for higher education, we neither have institutional mechanisms for securing public accountability while safeguarding university autonomy, nor an archive of past institutional practices of this kind available for retrieval. To confine governmental power to domains of university functioning in which it is appropriate, and to resist its relentless encroachments into domains in which it is not, calls for serious reflection on how to strike this balance.
The Napoleonic model of the university as a department of state, with faculty treated as (lesser) civil servants, has long thrived in India. Centralisation and bureaucratisation have serious implications — curricular and pedagogical — for universities. Indeed, a major concern of the university community today is the clumsy attempt, initiated by the last government and being energetically promoted today, to standardise the curricula of the central universities, ostensibly to give students more choice.
Ironically, this so-called choice entails the sacrifice of diversity and greater control through homogenisation. This is certainly among the most serious challenges facing universities today, along with the stifling of dissent, the packing of leadership positions with individuals whose calling card is loyalty rather than academic credentials, and the pathetic attempts to infiltrate the intellectual life of the academy armed with faith and myth rather than objective standards of scientific achievement.
It could be argued that there is, in any case, little scope for autonomy in academic institutions whose primary function has, since colonial times, been seen as the transmission of knowledge and the certification that such knowledge has been duly transmitted. The Indian university has increasingly and exclusively become a source of credentialisation for a society in which certification matters more than what is learned. Two current obsessions — that of fake degrees and of 100 per cent marks in school-leaving examinations — are poignant symbols of this.
The view that the purpose of the university is to transmit knowledge rather than to produce it led, in the early years after Independence, to the creation of standalone institutions for research, in the social sciences and even more in science and technology. The accomplishments of some of these institutions were surely impressive, but an unintended consequence was the arrangement of research and teaching in a hierarchy that privileged researchers, or the producers of knowledge, over teachers as its transmitters. The introduction of research and publications as a formal requirement for recruitment and advancement in universities is a relatively recent phenomenon that has, in both design and implementation, ill-served the objective.
In the states, where the bulk of Indian universities are located, talk of nepotism, cronyism, and even corruption in appointments — from lectureships to vice-chancellorships — is commonplace. In the "elite" Central universities, many conform to the Napoleonic model fortified by the self-conscious virtue that comes with association with the higher purposes of state, and sometimes also the power and that results from such association. Others live out the fantasy of a Humboldtian community of scholars engaged in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. This wishful imagination may be the source of elitist islands of scholarly excellence, but let us not forget that it inhabits a meta-institutional hyper-reality.
In the end, what we have is a highly uneven and differentiated university system in which there is little reflection and no consensus on what a university is for. Even the arriviste private liberal arts college has come to us from the United States and not from the British Isles where Cardinal Newman articulated the vision centuries ago. But colonialism did not give us universities modelled on Dublin or Oxford. It gave us institutions modelled on the University of London, essentially affiliating institutions formulating syllabi and conducting examinations.
To entertain greater expectations of the mass of Indian universities is to be deluded, because this is and has always been their purpose: to transmit received knowledge, conduct examinations and award degrees, all of these functions performed by state personnel called faculty under the watchful eye of a micro-governing state.

Jayal, professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, is writing a book on the death of the public university in India.


- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-department-of-state/

Listen to 1st KR Narayanan Memorial Lecture on "Child Labour: A Human Rights Violation & An Impediment in Economic Growth" delivered by Kailash Satyarthi

First Dr. K. R. Narayanan Memorial Lecture

on

"Child Labour: A Human Rights Violation and An Impediment in Economic Growth"

delivered by
Sh. Kailash Satyarthi
Recipient of Nobel Peace Prize & Human Rights Activist

on Monday, 3 August, 2015

JNU Convention Centre, New Delhi, India

Listen to the Lecture


IE "New Atomic Regulator: Nuking the Autonomy Red Flag"

New Atomic Regulator: Nuking the Autonomy Red Flag
by Anil Sasi | July 29, 2015 Indian Express

IAEA had, in March, flagged the need for an independent statutory regulator and delinking of AERB from the rest of the country's nuclear establishment.

Marking a renewed effort to bolster India's nuclear regulatory mechanism, the NDA government is in advanced stages of readying a new legislation — the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2015. The Bill, prepared after a fresh round of inter-ministerial consultations and expected to be re-introduced in Parliament after the completion of necessary pre-legislative formalities, is seen as a crucial step towards converting the functional independence of the country's atomic regulator into a 'de jure' independence with statutory backing.
The move to reintroduce the legislation comes at a time when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had, after a 12-day review of Indian nuclear regulatory establishment in March this year, strongly flagged the need for an independent statutory atomic regulator in India and the delinking of the regulator — the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) — from the rest of the country's nuclear establishment. The UPA government had introduced the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill, 2011, in the Lok Sabha on September 7, 2011, but the Bill could not be taken up for consideration due to dissolution of Fifteenth Lok Sabha.
Currently, the AERB, established in 1983 through a gazette notification, is entrusted with the task of regulating the safety aspects of the country's civilian nuclear facilities and overseeing the opening up of a civil nuclear market that has an estimated business potential of $60-100 billion.
The way things stand currently, the AERB lacks autonomy as it has to report to the Atomic Energy Commission. "By enacting NSRA Act, the functional independence of AERB will be converted into de jure independence. With the formation of the 16th Lok Sabha, the new Bill is at an advanced stage of processing for reintroduction after a fresh round of inter-ministerial consultations," an official involved in the exercise said.
The demand for establishing a truly autonomous nuclear regulator has been hanging fire for some time. In 1997, the Raja Ramanna Committee report had recommended that the Atomic Energy Act (1962) should be amended to bolster the effectiveness of the nuclear regulatory mechanism in the country. Subsequently, in the year 2000, even though the Union government had directed the Department of Atomic Energy to suggest the necessary amendments to the 1962 Act, not much happened for nearly a decade. A combination of the Mayapuri radiation accident in Delhi in 2010 and the Fukushima disaster in Japan a year later forced a rethink on the need for a strong regulatory establishment. In 2011, the NSRA Bill was drafted by the DAE and submitted to the Union Cabinet for approval and introduced in the Lok Sabha in September that year.
The lack of functional autonomy of the Indian nuclear regulator has been flagged as a concern, both by global nuclear vendors and the international atomic sector watchdog.
The IAEA was categorical in its assertion that while India had a "strong commitment to safety," the AERB needed more independence and separation from the government.
The IAEA's review report submitted after completing its 12-day review of India's nuclear safety standards in March, which was done at the request of AERB and included interviews and discussions with regulatory staff and site visits. The review, which coincided with the IAEA's Director General Yukiya Amano visiting Mumbai, Delhi and Rajasthan, also flagged the need for the Indian government to allow more on-site inspections at the nuclear power plants under international safeguards.
According to a release from the IAEA in Vienna, six preliminary suggestions were given at the end of the review which were accepted by the Indian agency.
"The AERB should review the implementation of its policy and existing arrangements to ensure it maintains independence in the performance of its regulatory functions," it said. The chairman of the AERB, SS Bajaj, was quoted as saying, "AERB is committed to pursuing the improvements suggested by the mission towards further strengthening the regulatory framework."
The new NSRA Bill signals India's decision to accord a statutory status to the AERB, which was set up in 1983 through an executive order, and make it completely independent of the Department of Atomic Energy. In its current form, the head of the AERB reports to the Atomic Energy Commission, which incidentally is headed by the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.
The legislative frameworks under which global nuclear regulators such as the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), and the Nuclear Directorate within the United Kingdom Health & Safety Executive offer near complete functional and operational autonomy for the regulator.
These include the guarantee of their independent statutory status, their mandate to keep the public fully informed on matters of nuclear safety, sharing of joint responsibility to ensure physical security of installations, the authority to penalise offenders who violate the provisions of the act, and the submission of annual reports of their activities to their respective legislatures.
The DAE's official stance has been that the AERB already enjoys functional autonomy and the legislation is only aimed at converting this to a 'de jure' independence.
"The AERB has well established policies governing regulation of nuclear and radiation safety and has all the necessary functional autonomy for conducting the safety reviews and regulatory control of the nuclear and radiation facilities in India. The AERB's functional autonomy and robust policies in regulating nuclear and radiation safety are also evident from the very good safety performance of the nuclear facilities which is on par with the international benchmarks," an official said.
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/new-atomic-regulator-nuking-the-autonomy-red-flag/