By Fiona Marshall and Ritu Priya, STEPS Urbanisation theme
Urban areas are intense meeting points of people and cultures, but they're also places where more or less visible interactions happen: between the infrastructures and systems of water, energy, food and other resources. These connections pose a big challenge for how researchers understand cities – but they throw up opportunities too.
Urban researchers and planners increasingly look at the 'nexuses' between different things in the urban space. For example, producing food and making sure people can buy it relies on water, energy and transport systems working well; if you reduce the quality of or access to one of these things, the others will suffer. These are also underpinned by social and economic systems, arrangements of land, urban planning, engineering, and architecture; and shaped by politics, power and social movements. Because of this variety, urban researchers increasingly need to work with other disciplines and make new alliances.
A recent workshop on the 'nexuses of the urban', convened by the Nexus Network, explored how these transdisciplinary alliances could understand and work for urban sustainability. Many of the themes are very much in tune with a conference on sustainable urbanization we held in Delhi in January of this year.
Despite the interest in the 'nexus' from policy makers, some kinds of connections are more obvious and recognized than others. In our research, focusing on South Asian cities, we have found that the 'water-food-energy nexus' is itself linked to at least four other dimensions – waste, land use, vulnerability and livelihoods, with health spanning all. Many important urban decisions affect not just one, but many parts of the nexus: for example, choosing to reduce landfill by building a waste-to-energy plant can undermine the livelihoods of wastepickers, as well as adding to local air pollution. But the environmental and health consequences are often not anticipated or recognized.
Contemporary cities in south Asia are being promoted as engines of economic growth. Huge investments in infrastructure are often based on imported technologies and systems that have been deemed successful in entirely different contexts. The suitability and quality of the infrastructure, and social and geographical access to it, have enormous implications for social and environmental justice and for long term environmental integrity.
As cities strive to compete as 'world class', an increasing number of policies and plans come under a banner of 'greening of cities', developing 'sustainable resource management' plans or making 'resilient' urban infrastructures. But these initiatives are often skewed to benefit certain groups over others, or exclude some people altogether. There can also be unintended environmental consequences.
Part of an online brochure for the City Forest in Ghaziabad.
Examples of such projects are:
Our research has looked how initiatives such as these might be recast to contribute to enhanced environmental integrity and social justice.
To examine alternatives, we need to ask how and why urban policies are adopted and carried out. Over the past few years, our research has looked at why particular mainstream technological interventions, which are presented as improvements to basic service provision or the environmental management of cities (eg waste management, water supply and food systems) were chosen, how they are unfolding and what their implications are in terms of environmental integrity and social justice.
Often the picture for poor communities can be bleak: from unreliable and poor quality water, to losses of land and housing, as commercial interests are prioritized over social equity.
In many cases, there are pro-poor alternatives. Pursuing them means looking at the complex relationships between poverty, equality and environmental management and environmental sustainability. It also means asking why alternative visions for managing urban service provision and environmental improvement are often sidelined. In India, through a series of STEPS and related initiatives we have worked with diverse stakeholders (including poor peri-urban farming communities, waste pickers, local and national NGOs, and government institutes).
There is no single reason why urban policies disadvantage poor communities and create environmental problems. At multiple levels of the policy process, there are drivers, dynamics, politics and power relations which influence the setting of agendas and the winners and losers that emerge as dominant development pathways unfold.
So to raise the profile of possible alternative pathways for urban water and waste management, and most recently urban agriculture, we have worked with local partners in Delhi who are highly experienced in policy advocacy. Our involvement is only part of long-running debates and efforts to get a better deal for Delhi's poorer citizens, whose huge contributions to the city's economy and life are often underestimated.
The women of Gitanjali co-operative, an organisation working for rights of waste pickers in India. (Photo: Pritpal Randhawa)
Our aim now is to move from 'appreciating' alternative pathways to actively building pathways to sustainability. This means exploring how sustainability transformations could take place in cities and the mechanisms through which they can they be realised. We are focusing our attention on how environmental research, undertaken with poor communities, is able to influence sustainability transformations. We will also explore how to achieve a wider systemic change through engagement with urban social movements.
Currently, urban environmental plans and policies in India are being heavily influenced or captured by elite agendas. They often ignore the links between environmental change, and the health and livelihoods of citizens across the urban-rural continuum. Many mainstream urban environmental management interventions have 'hidden' impacts on ecosystems and health, undermining the potential for profound sustainability transformations.
A series of interventions in Delhi over the years have temporarily shifted pollution hazards to the margins of the city and to the poor, but with multiple unforeseen impacts.
These kinds of environmental injustice could be partly addressed by deeper, sustained knowledge exchange between researchers and communities of the poor. These interactions provide the insights, reflection, real time evaluation and the basis for community empowerment and political leverage that are crucial to urban sustainability transformations as a whole. We believe that there is real potential for wider systemic change if such coalitions can work with wider social movements in India.
We are looking at the sorts of alliances which will bridge the gap between the current focus of elite environmental movements and hidden nexus challenges being faced by communities of the urban and peri-urban poor. We are concerned with how to facilitate learning across different forms of knowledge, and create a political space to address the adverse consequences of urban policies for environment and health.
Beyond Delhi and its surroundings, we are seeking a deeper understanding of the politics involved in opening up and closing down alternative pathways for transformations worldwide. For the STEPS urbanization theme, we particularly want to know how urban actors can form coalitions for pursuing these pathways (across the blurred boundaries between systems). We will examine the types of knowledge co-production (between formal and informal, researchers and grassroots organizations, elite actors and social movements), how they emerge, are sustained, and what knowledge politics are they subject to.
We have a firm foundation for this work in South Asia and some excellent entry points into topical policy debates.Work by the hubs in the STEPS global consortium also provides some fantastic opportunities for comparative perspectives. We are extending our networks through multiple routes – eg the establishment of a 'friends of sustainability network' in south Asia (largely involving civil society groups and academics working together, with a focus on sustainable urbanization); and exciting links with a group working at Arizona State University and Mexico city on similar challenges of coalition building to realise pathways to sustainability for urban water.
Browse our Hot Topic on urbanization to learn more about STEPS projects and resources on this theme.
Main image: Illustration from the Water Cookbook by Bhagwati Prasad (STEPS Centre/Sarai)
So how can you know if a conference is predatory? Here are a few questions worth asking:
1) Is a single group organizing conferences in completely different fields? Similarly, is the scope of a conference too wide or are a variety of conferences held together in the same hotel on the same weekend? For example, an "International Conference on Arts and the Humanities" would be little use to most serious academics but great for maximizing revenues.
2) Are submissions accepted too soon? Getting accepted to legitimately peer-reviewed conferences takes time. If a proposal gets accepted in a matter of days, or before the call for papers has closed, it's worth investigating further before paying the registration fee.
3) Is the conference marketed like a holiday in the sun? Predatory conferences are often held in tourist destinations, advertised through spam and websites resembling travel brochures, and offer tours.
4) Does the conference fee seem high? Do presenters have to pay more than attendees? Forcing presenters to pay extra to make a speech should be a red flag.
5) Who and where are the organizers? Predatory conferences might not list names of all the people involved, or falsely claim the involvement of legitimate scholars. They may also list phone numbers and addresses that are either nonexistent, private homes or virtual offices. The name of the organization might imply they are based in a Western country when in fact they operate out of a developing country. Or their website fails to mention any address at all.
6) Do conference websites try too hard to give themselves a veneer of legitimacy? Look for websites plastered with a plethora of partner organizations and their logos, especially Google Scholar. Long lists of directors, international members, liaisons, advisory board members and so on should also be examined particularly carefully.
7) Has the organization or conference already been identified as suspicious? Online searches may reveal complaints or suspicions.
8) Are fees sent to a separate private company or an individual rather than the organizer itself? Unfortunately many predatory conference organizers use PayPal, which makes it harder to see where the money is really going.
Further Details: 'Predatory conferences' stalk Japan's groves of academia | by James Mccrostie | 11th May 2016
"Creative India; Innovative India: रचनात्मक à¤ारत; अà¤िनव à¤ारत"
The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy that will lay the future roadmap for intellectual property in India. The Policy recognises the abundance of creative and innovative energies that flow in India, and the need to tap into and channelise these energies towards a better and brighter future for all.
The National IPR Policy is a vision document that aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies. It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review. It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario. This policy shall weave in the strengths of the Government, research and development organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities including MSMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders in the creation of an innovation-conducive environment, which stimulates creativity and innovation across sectors, as also facilitates a stable, transparent and service-oriented IPR administration in the country.
The Policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPS-compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. It reiterates India's commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS agreement.
While IPRs are becoming increasingly important in the global arena, there is a need to increase awareness on IPRs in India, be it regarding the IPRs owned by oneself or respect for others' IPRs. The importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool also needs to be recognised. For this, domestic IP filings, as also commercialization of patents granted, need to increase. Innovation and sub-optimal spending on R&D too are issues to be addressed.
The broad contours of the National IPR Policy are as follows:
Vision Statement: An India where creativity and innovation are stimulated by Intellectual Property for the benefit of all; an India where intellectual property promotes advancement in science and technology, arts and culture, traditional knowledge and biodiversity resources; an India where knowledge is the main driver of development, and knowledge owned is transformed into knowledge shared.
Mission Statement:
Stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced intellectual property rights system in India to:
Objectives:
The Policy lays down the following seven objectives:
These objectives are sought to be achieved through detailed action points. The action by different Ministries/ Departments shall be monitored by DIPP which shall be the nodal department to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India.
The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy will endeavor for a "Creative India; Innovative India: रचनात्मक à¤ारत; अà¤िनव à¤ारत".
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=145338
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Cabinet decision: Intellectual Property Rights policy cleared; sops for R&D, startups
By: ENS Economic Bureau | New Delhi | Published: May 14, 2016 | India's IPR policies are WTO-compliant, FM said in reply to concerns by developed nations on Section 3(D). The policy suggests making the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal point coordinate for IPRs in India.
The government on Friday unveiled the national intellectual property rights (IPR) policy to create a larger institutional framework to strengthen the IPR regime, with the slogan "Creative India, Innovative India". While the policy focuses on issues like expediting approval processes involving patents or trademarks and consolidating institutional mechanisms to create a robust IPR ecosystem, it refrains from suggesting any change to contentious provisions in the Patents Act, 1970, including Section 3(d) and compulsory licensing, despite concerns expressed by the US and pharma companies.
Nevertheless, the policy provides for constructive engagement "in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements in consultation with stakeholders" and likely accession to some multilateral treaties that are in India's interest. It also suggests tax incentives to boost R&D and the creation of a loan guarantee scheme to encourage start-ups and cover the risk of genuine failures in commercialisation based on IPRs as mortgageable assets.
The policy suggests making the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal point coordinate for IPRs in India, even though the onus of actual implementation of the plans of action will be on the ministries/departments concerned in their sphere of work. So, for instance, the administration of the Copyright Act, 1957 (now under the department of higher education) and the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000 (under the department of electronics and information technology) will be brought under the DIPP.
This, it is believed, will lead "to synergetic linkage between various IP offices under one umbrella". Interestingly, it seeks to protect traditional systems like Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy — be it in oral or in codified form — from misappropriation, and also curb film piracy by suitably amending the Indian Cinematography Act, 1952.
Announcing the approval to the policy by the Cabinet, finance minister Arun Jaitley stressed that India's IPR policies are WTO-compliant. He added that one must encourage invention of life-saving drugs and at the same time "we must also be conscious of the need to make it available at a reasonable cost so that drug cost does not become prohibitive as has become in some parts of the world"
Responding to concerns expressed by developed countries like the US on Section 3(D) and compulsory licensing, Jaitley said: "We do believe that the balancing act which India has struck is responsible for lifesaving drugs available at a reasonable cost in India… So, our model seems to be both legal, equitable and WTO-compliant."
Section 3(d) prevents evergreening of drug patents. Apart from novelty and inventive step, the section provides for improvement in therapeutic efficacy a necessary condition for grant of patents when it comes to incremental inventions. Compulsory licensing allows domestic players to produce cheaper versions of patented drugs. The US and the EU have been pushing India to make appropriate changes to these provisions to boost innovation, R&D and foreign investment. Recently, releasing its annual 301 report, the US retained India on its priority watch list, citing "lack of sufficient measurable improvements" to the IP framework despite robust engagement and positive steps on intellectual property protection and enforcement by the Indian government in the last two years.
The finance minister said by 2017, trademarks can be registered within a month. Currently, in some cases, this process takes even a few years. FE
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/cabinet-decision-intellectual-property-rights-policy-cleared-sops-for-rd-startups-2799565/
| INDIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH (Ministry of Human Resource Development) | |
| CALL OF APPLICATIONS FOR DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR THE YEAR 2016-17. ICSSR invites Applications for Doctoral Fellowship Grant provided to PhD scholars to pursue and complete their doctoral thesis in social science disciplines for the year 2016-17. The scholars who are registered for PhD can seek ICSSR financial assistance for doing their doctoral research under the following categories: | |
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| INDIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH (Ministry of Human Resource Development) | |
| ICSSR invites applications for Research Programmes for the year 2016-17 from Indian social scientists. The abstract of the study should be in the field of social science disciplines. Details about eligibility, terms and conditions, etc. can be accessed and downloaded as under: | |
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CALL FOR PAPERS for the REDUCING URBAN POVERTY – 2016. Graduate Student Paper Competition, Policy Workshop, and Publication Grand Prize Winner will attend Habitat III in Quito.
Abstracts due: May 15, 2016.
Background: To encourage a new generation of urban policy makers and promote early career research, Cities Alliance, IHC Global, USAID, the Wilson Center, and the World Bank are co-sponsoring the 7th annual paper competition for graduate students, seeking abstracts on urban poverty in the developing world. Winning papers will be published and selected authors will be invited to present their work in a policy workshop at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. The grand prize winner will receive a travel stipend to attend the United Nations Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. Papers must be linked to one of the following sub-topics:
Process and Timeline
♦ Eligibility
This call for papers is directed at PhD students and advanced Masters Students. To be eligible, applicants must be currently enrolled in a degree program as of May 15, 2016. Papers can be co-authored, if each author is a graduate student. In this case, only one author will attend Habitat III and present at the Washington policy workshop.
♦ Abstract Submissions
For more details please visit the site http://solutionexchange-un.net.in/ftp/drm/resource/Res_12051601_Student_Paper_Competition.pdf
For more information, please contact UrbanPaperComp@WilsonCenter.org
Nanotechnology is an area of science and technology that holds highly promising prospects for military applications, considering its wide applicability in defensive as well as offensive operations. Given the research and development (R&D) efforts being made in this field by a large number of countries, new products with much superior properties in terms of performance and durability are likely to be realized very soon. The most important aspect of nanotechnology-enabled products is the miniaturization of devices and the diverse functionalities that can be integrated within a singular system. Accordingly, the most profound applications in the future will be realized for the war fighter. Whether it is a battle suit integrated with sensors for nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons protection, bullet injuries and monitoring of vital body parameters, nanotechnology will find its application in camouflage and concealment, weapons, communication, and situational awareness in the battlefield. This monograph traces the R&D initiatives being undertaken in this field, followed by specific applications which are relevant for the Indian defence forces. It also attempts to foresee how nanotechnology-enabled applications are likely to impact the future battlefield.
Sanjiv Tomar, an alumnus of Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, is currently serving in the Indian Army. He was commissioned into the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers in 1989. He has had varied operational and service experience of over 26 years in operational and maintenance management of a wide range of military equipment. Col. Tomar has commanded three Specialized Workshops in various sectors. He has held a Grade I General Staff appointment in Electronics and Mechanical Engineers School, Vadodara and has also served as Joint Director (Planning) at Directorate General of Quality Assurance (Electronics), New Delhi. He is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA.
| From Friday 06 May 2016 - 09:30am To Monday 06 June 2016 - 05:30pm | Location: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, New Delhi | Contact: christine@csh-delhi.com |
"The Other Thought French-Indian Encounters on Creativity and Innovation" presents the international workshop :
Art and cinema industries in India : Norms, workers and territories
6th May, 2016 at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, New Delhi
The participation of cultural industries to sustainable development has been increasingly acknowledged in the past decades and the necessity to bring forward its potentials in India is urgent. The question of Indian cultural industries, policy and economy remains hardly addressed despite a contribution estimated to 30% of employment and 14% of the country GDP. The abysmal lack of official statistics on the cultural industries pointed out ten years ago by the Taskforce for Creative and Cultural Industry (2006) as not been filled. Workers and territories are emerging from behind veils of unrecognition while international laws are becoming more accurate. More broadly, there is a lack of understanding of the social, political and economic role that cultural industries can play in the development the country and in South Asia.
In the line of recent studies on norms and standardization process in cultural industries (Bouquillion et al. 2013), this workshop explores the articulation between norms and cultural industries in the Indian globalization context. The two sectors at the heart of the analysis will be cinema and visual arts. Among the issues that will be discussed : to what extent have these standards transformed the activities related to visual arts and cinema ? who are the actors producing these norms, working for their implementation or adaptation ? How to take into account the importance of informal system in the production and distribution of cultural goods ? What are the conflicts and forms of resistance encountered with the local socio-economic realities? The aim of this workshop is to shed light on the evolution and impact of norms in cultural policies, on art workers and local territories, the integration the informal systems, and tensions with socio-economic realities.
The workshop will be structured by 4 sessions :
This workshop will bring together specialists in policy making, economics, cultural industries, art market and professionals from the art and film industries. The objectives are to boost awareness, research and proactive policy development for cultural industries in India as encouraged in the Jodpur Initiatives. In a long term perspective, the intent is to strengthen Indo-French scientific cooperation on cultural industry research and enhance a transdisciplinary, international and interprofessionnal research group on cultural industries, policy and economy in India.
(Christine Ithurbide and Soraya Hamache, April 2016)
Find the programme here
To register, please contact christine@csh-delhi.com
