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DSA Annual Conference September 2007In association with the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex Connecting Science, Society and DevelopmentTues 18th - Thurs 20th September 2007WORKSHOP INFORMATION DSA Annual Conference, 18th to 20th September 2007 Knowledge, Technological Learning and Innovation for Development in Least Developed Countries This panel will present the findings and recommendations of The Least Developed Countries Report 2007.Charles
Gore, UNCTAD (chair) Biotechnology and Policy Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa Julius
T Mugwagwa, Open University Low Carbon Technology Transfer to Developing Countries This session will discuss the issue of low carbon technology transfer to developing countries. The panel will represent a range of perspectives including academic, governmental and non-governmental actors. It is also hoped that a video link to India will be possible whereby researchers from The Energy Research Institute (TERI) in Delhi will present their views on the technology transfer. Gordon
MacKerron, SPRU, University of Sussex The role of partnerships in delivering the science and technology agenda for Africa’s continued development The report of the Commission for Africa presented a strong case for investment by developed countries in supporting Africa’s system of higher education, to help build capacity for Africa’s social and economic transformation. Africa’s systems of higher education, however, are in a state of crisis brought on by years of neglect. This situation is changing, but African HEIs need support to bridge the gaps in their own capacity to deliver. This panel will consider the role of partnerships in delivering that support, and consider the need to invest in science, technology and innovation in Africa. It will consider the conflict between regional and local priorities, and look at partnerships from the point of view of northern and southern organisations, and will seek to identify some elements of best practice. Myles
Wickstead, Open University, formerly Head of Secretariat to the Commission
for Africa The experience of people's participation in processes of technology development The purpose of the session is to share practical experience of the involvement of people living in poverty in the development of technologies, and in decision-making about the technologies that they use, and to relate this experience to the broader themes of the conference. The session will allow conference delegates to gain a greater understanding of what is happening on the ground in poor communities, and will be themed around technologies for the management and use of water. Questions to be raised include: How do people decide which technologies to adopt or adapt? What are the barriers and facilitators to technology development for poverty reduction? What kind of institutions enable people to have a say in decisions about the technologies that affect their lives? Andrew
Scott (chair) STEPS Symposium panel: ‘Pathways to sustainability: Linking technology, poverty and social justice’ Linking science and technology with the reduction of poverty and social injustice are crucial challenges, in a world which is highly complex, dynamic and replete with uncertainties and conflicting understandings. This session introduces the early thinking of the ESRC Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability (STEPS) Centre around research to address these challenges, drawing perspectives in development studies together with science and technology studies and cross-disciplinary perspectives on knowledge and power. Following a brief overview of the Centre's emerging 'pathways approach', three short presentations will discuss its relevance to current issues and debates in the health, agriculture and water domains. In discussion we will address implications for current policy and aid initiatives that seek to make science and technology work for the poor. Melissa
Leach, IDS and STEPS Centre Director Free-standing paper session: Energy Lauren
Lamberton, Bernard J. Smith, Stephen Royle, and John J. McAlister,
Queen’s University Belfast; and José A. Baptista Neto, Universidade
Federal Fluminense, Brazil: ‘The
Selective Impact of Environmental Pollution on Socially Marginalised Urban
Communities in Transitioning Economies: A Case study from SE Brazil’ Parallel Sessions 2 : Wednesday 19th September 11.15-12.45 Science Jim, but not as we know it: The feasibility of trans-disciplinary research This session is the launch of a new DSA study group 'Research for Development' which is focused on development research methods. The first meeting aims to bring together the wealth and variety of development researchers' experiences in doing cross-disciplinary research in practice. Development Studies seeks to be cross-disciplinary. Many researchers in development seek to go beyond this to integrate disciplinary insights and achieve trans-disciplinarity, but there are significant intellectual and professional barriers. Intellectually, there are different ways of problematisation, different axioms/assumptions on the nature of reality and human beings, different methods and even different languages. What exactly are we trying to do? How can we overcome barriers? What level of success have researchers in development studies had to date? What are people’s experiences and reflections? We ask participants to scribble their thoughts/reflections and experience from one piece of their own research before the meeting. Andy
Sumner, Institute of Development Studies (chair) Doing
Cross-Disciplinary Development Research: What, How, When? Livestock Development Study Group Symposium: ‘Policy Dynamics vs. the Demands of the Poor: Case studies from the livestock sector’ John
Morton, Mohammed Mussa and Anne Tallontire: ‘De-worming and Dysfunction: The Import of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals to
Ethiopia’ Claire Heffernan, Reading University (chair) Technological innovation to deliver social protection Stephen
Devereux, Institute of Development Studies (Chair) NGOs in Development: Analysing Trends and Shaping Research Agendas For The Next Five Years This interactive session will identify current trends in aid and their impacts for development NGOs. The session will be introduced by Brian Pratt (INTRAC) and followed by short inputs from two different members of the group to stimulate discussion. This will be followed by broader debate. Questions that may be addressed include: what are the impacts of NGOs’ increasing involvement in service delivery?; what are the issues relating to research on NGOs in development?; how far is the aid effectiveness agenda shrinking the space for civil society?; what are the impacts of decentralisation of the voluntary sector?; how is the blurring of security issues with aid policy affecting civil society? It is hoped that the outcomes of this interactive session will serve to shape research agendas on NGOs engaged in development over the next five years. Brian
Pratt (Director, INTRAC)
Reconnecting ICTs with Development (Information, Technology and Development study
group) Chris
Westrup, University of Manchester (chair) African women’s experience of violence, HIV/AIDS and imposed external ‘scientific’ solutions This session will explore what happens to 'well established' approaches to critical development issues when those directly affected - in this session especially women suffering from domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and rural women in Africa grappling with gender frameworks - are allowed to participate in the debates and shape the responses to their situation. The case studies are all rooted in research and activism in Africa and challenge many of the current dominant development paradigms where 'rational' or scientific analysis and understanding are still taken to Africa from here and seen as good solutions for women grappling with poverty and complex social inequalities in different cultures. The case material brings vividly to life their realities and how different their solutions can be. Tina
Wallace, Oxford University/Open University (chair) Aidless Development Framework in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Alternative Didier
Matamba, University of Manchester (chair) STEPS Symposium panel: ‘Peri-urban dynamics and sustainability
challenges’ Fiona
Marshall, SPRU, University of Sussex (co-convenor) DSA Junior Research Award Winners Festus
Annor-Frempong, Ghana: ‘The
Application of Action Research Methodology in the Control of Tomato Insect
Pests in Wawase Community of Ashanti Region of Ghana’ Myles Wickstead, Open University, formerly Head of Secretariat to the Commission for Africa (chair) Research in Progress Over the last decade development studies has been criticised for an alleged lack of rigour and policy relevance, which has necessitated a re-think of the way we conceptualise and research development. It is also important to ensure the generation of strong empirical data which can support theory, policy and practice. It is in the light of this that DFID is supporting this special session to examine ongoing research by junior academics with the potential of reshaping and informing future policy and practice of development. In this session we seek to examine emerging policy challenges from the point of view of young researchers with limited resources and status. What problems do they face in achieving those same goals of rigour and policy relevance? R. Thirumavalavan: ‘Telecentres – An Epicentre
for Agricultural Development in India’ Joseph Assan, University of Liverpool (coordinator)
Parallel Sessions 3 : Wednesday 19th September 16.00-17.30 A regional review of EU development assistance The two papers in this session will be reviewing the EU's aid relations with the Pacific and African ACP countries respectively. They will have a common theme in that they will focus upon the mechanisms of aid delivery, in particular the contributions made by the adoption of Country Strategy Papers, illustrated by case studies. Stephen Dearden, Manchester
Metropolitan University (chair) Gender,
Work and Globalisation Globalisation causes significant changes in the lives of
women in paid work. It opens up new opportunities for women to enter paid
work, but much of that work is highly mobile, insecure and lacks access to
labour rights or protection. Women are becoming more integrated into an
increasingly commercial and technical global economy, but face challenges
in combining paid and unpaid activities or realising the benefits of
greater economic activity. Accessing paid work is contributing to
women’s changing socio-economic position and potential empowerment, but
they face difficulties in organising within existing social structures and
regulatory domains. This panel examines diverse examples of women’s
integration into work in a global economy, and explores some of the
complexities of enhancing women’s social and economic rights in a more
liberalised global economic environment. Stephanie Barrientos, Institute of Development Studies (Chair)
Mobile Phones and Development Chris
Westrup (chair) IT and the city: dynamising urban economies,
facilitating e-governance or increasing inequality? This session will consider whether the use of IT in
urban management improves governance or increases inequality. The
questions will be addressed through presentations on key issues related to
the design and institutional embedding of electronic information and the
ways in which power relationships govern access to and use of IT: the use
of a spatial information infrastructure to identify and address
deprivation in three Indian cities, outcomes of the Bhoomi programme to
digitise land records in and around Bangalore, and factors influencing the
use of electronic conferencing to build communities of practice in urban
and rural Uganda. Carole Rakodi, University of Birmingham (chair) ICTs and multi-dimensional poverty Nigel Scott, Gamos, The Role of ICTs in Development
– A Summary of the Evidence Meera Tiwari, University of East London (chair) Free-standing paper session: Science and Expertise Ana
Delicado, University of Lisbon:
‘Mobility and Development: the
Influx of Scientists from Developing Countries to Portugal’ STEPS Symposium panel: ‘Technologies spiralling
out of control? Politics and ethics of risk and regulation of
agro-biotechnology’ Contrary to the understanding of technology as means
of control over environment and society, it is currently being debated as
source of anxiety, uncertainty and risk. Contemporary debates on
regulation of new technologies hinge on the accurate prediction of the
perils. Risk prediction has become a highly contested arena, not only
because the conventional science of risk assessment is proving inadequate,
but also because biotechnology has interacted with the social context in
unpredictable ways. Esha
Shah, IDS Free-standing
paper session: Poverty and Conflict Joseph Assan, University of Liverpool: ‘Effects of Rural Out-migration and Remittance Culture on Livelihood Diversification and Innovation in Ghana’ Kati Schindler, German Institute for Economic Research: ‘The Impact of Conflict on Households:A Conceptual Framework with Reference to Widows’ Donald McLellan, University of Strathclyde: Security Drivers in Developing Nations (1981-2000): ‘A Study Utilising A Panel Data Approach’ Chair (tbc) DSA
Junior Research Award Winners Emmanuel Oheneba
Agyenim- Boateng, Ghana: ‘An
Exploration into management of appraisal systems: The case of Ghanaian
public sector universities’ Research in progress Over
the last decade development studies has been criticised for an alleged
lack of rigour and policy relevance, which has necessitated a re-think of
the way we conceptualise and research development. It is also important to
ensure the generation of strong empirical data which can support theory,
policy and practice. It is in the light of this that DFID is supporting
this special session to examine ongoing research by junior academics with
the potential of reshaping and informing future policy and practice of
development. In this session we seek to examine emerging policy challenges
from the point of view of young researchers with limited resources and
status. What problems do they face in achieving those same goals of rigour
and policy relevance? Joseph Assan, University of Liverpool (coordinator) Parallel Sessions 4 : Thursday 20th September 11.15-12.45 How are ICTs changing policy processes and relations of knowledge/expertise, power and
participation? John
Young, Overseas Development Institute Opening the gates: New institutions in health and development This roundtable session will discuss recent changes in the international health and development landscape. It will consider the rise of philanthropic institutions, in particular the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the simultaneous rise of public-private partnerships such as the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the GAVI Alliance and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) as a means of facilitating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Four speakers who have studied the rise of these new institutions will consider what is new and what is different about these initiatives. These short overviews will set the scene for the main audience led discussion. Joanna Chatway
(chair), Open University Acting on climate change: Theory and practice The impacts of climate change are widely seen as a key threat to economic growth and reducing poverty. Adapting to these changes is increasingly recognised as an urgent priority for development organisations, whether they are grassroots civil society bodies, NGOs or bilateral donors. This session will introduce some of the key issues and debates to frame an interactive discussion on how development organisations respond to climate change. Panellists will describe climate change discourse and practice in the context of sustainable development theory. The challenges facing development organisations include tackling diverse issues such as influencing international negotiations, offsetting carbon footprints, promoting climate resilience and linking climate change to disaster management and relief. The experiences of two organisations will also be highlighted.Saleemul Huq,
Director, Climate Change Programme, International Institute for
Environment and Development (chair) Catch-up and beyond: Innovation in the Asian driver economies Innovative industries are contributing to the rapid growth of the Indian and Chinese economies. This session explores upgrading in Chinese IT firms, the Indian pharmaceutical industry, and Bangalore’s key position in the IT software industry. Based on fieldwork in China, the role of Chinese firms in the IT global value chain and the strong impact of returning migrants upon the industry will be addressed. The Indian pharmaceutical industry will be showcased as an example of successful indigenous development, with the regulations accompanying TRIPS accelerating the development of innovative R&D capabilities. Reasons for Bangalore’s success as a centre for innovation outsourcing and questions about the significance of its innovation system and the role of local interactive learning will also be raised.Raphie
Kaplinsky, Open University (chair) Strategy, complexity and change The approach of INGOs towards managing development is often uncritically based on the practices of the private sector. Most orthodox planning methods used by INGOs assume that the future is predictable, change is linear and that the interventions planned by an INGO are the most important happenings in a local community. In the contested market place for aid it is increasingly possible only to talk about ‘success’ as INGOs compete with others to make more and more grand promises of transformation. This session will explore case studies to show the limitations of systemic ways of understanding social change. The implications of the complexity sciences for the way organisations think about change and their contribution to it will also be raised.Chris
Mowles, Hertfordshire University (chair) Experimental, Ethnographic and Survey Methods for Understanding Sharing within Households Combining economics, anthropology and other social science disciplines, the purpose of this panel is to discuss the use of experimental methods to revisit concepts and determinants of power and ideas about fairness and allocation norms in households of developing countries. Alternative allocation or fairness norms result in very different distributions of health, nutritional and other well-being outcomes among members of the same household. Identifying preferences for fairness, the interplay between such preferences and economic and other forms of power, and their joint impacts on distributional outcomes is particularly important in conditions of scarcity where the consequences of disparity and failures to realize collaborative potential are more severe. Most empirical investigations in developing countries have been based on rather simple representations of economic power. Little is known about the prevalence of alternative allocation and fairness norms and their variations across men and women, social and cultural groups and national boundaries. The panel outlines the scope of economic experiments involving spouses for testing the performance of economic and other household models. Based on experiments in East Uganda, evidence showing that economic experiments can shed important light on female and male allocation behaviour will be presented.Lawrence
Haddad, Institute of Development Studies (chair) Where are men and masculinities in "gender and conflict"? ‘Gender and conflict' is a theme of growing concern
to academics. However, it often translates into 'women and conflict'. That
gender is an asymmetric and violent relation between women and men escapes
the majority of conflict studies. Despite the fact that men and
masculinities has now become an important field of scholarship, conflict
studies still fails to conceptualise men as beings operating on the basis
of masculine identities. Jerker
Edstrom, Institute of Development Studies (chair) Gender, Science and Development There will be a brief presentation to introduce the topic, to be followed by discussions centred around the relationship between gender, science and development, with a focus on developing countries. The session will explore the impact gender inequality has on science and development-related issues.A. Alphonse Alasah, University of Southampton (chair) STEPS
Symposium panel: ‘Examining the ‘pro-poor consensus’ on agricultural
biotechnology’ This session will bring together three DPhil researchers who will suggest that we need a new rubric for assessing the GM crop agenda and its likely impacts on poor farmers and consumers. Sally Brooks, Dom Glover and Rana Ghose, DPhil candidates at the Institute of Development Studies Free-standing paper session: Agriculture *Diana
Hunt, Sussex University; Rosana Ribeiro Federal University of Uberlândia,
Brazil; and Chair (tbc) DSA
Junior Research Award Winners Luciana
Vieira and Tatiana Maia, UNISINOS – BRAZIL: ‘The
Governance of Fair Trade System: evidence from small honey producers in
Southern Brazil’ Chair (tbc) *Shortlisted for the EJDR Best Paper PrizePage last updated: 14th September 2007 |