Wednesday, May 31, 2017

National Workshop on Strengthening Open Access (OA) Initiatives in India | 23rd June | NBRC, Manesar, Gurgaon, India

DeLCON National Workshop on Strengthening Open Access (OA) Initiatives in India 
Date: Friday, 23rd June 2017
Venue: NBRC Auditorium, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India

Open Access (OA) refers to online research outputs that are free of all restrictions on access (e.g. access tolls) and free of many restrictions on use (e.g. certain copyright and license restrictions). Open access can be applied to all forms of published research output, including peer-reviewed and non peer-reviewed academic journal articles, conference papers, theses, book chapters and monographs. Open Access publications refer to the kind of literature that are freely accessible to everyone and are not bound by price and permission barriers, unlike the scientific literature published via the subscription mode. Although the concept of Open Access publication is not entirely new and has been around for several years, people have begun to realize its importance only recently. The sudden change in perceptions is largely due to the increased and easy internet usage as well as support from government, educational and research institutions, and other funding agencies. Hundreds of leading academic and research sites in over 30 countries marked the week in unique ways, and expressed their support for the advancement of knowledge through free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research. Ever since, Open Access Week has been observed internationally to help raise awareness of the potential benefits of Open Access (OA) for research, and to celebrate milestones in making OA a norm in the conduct of science and scholarship. 
The one-day workshop will focus on the need to create an enabling environment for OA in India, to promote and upscale existing OA initiatives, and to encourage the development of new OA programmes. This can be done by 'closing the circle' or linking multiple stakeholder groups, namely academicians, faculties, scientists, researchers, librarians, archivists, technologists, and policymakers, taking into account their concerns and views and providing a platform for them to advocate for a common cause. The workshop will provide a unique opportunity to academicians, librarians & stakeholders communities to pool their insights, identify and discuss key OA-related issues in the country, and create a roadmap for strengthening OA in India. 

Procedure for Registration: The workshop is open to Working Professionals such as Academicians, Faculties, Scientists Library Professionals, Information Scientists. There is no registration fee. Registration is limited to only 50 participants on "first-cum-first served basis". Registration can be sent by post to given address or by email attachment at delconconsortium@gmail.com in the given prescribed format which is available at DeLCON Website at https://delcon.gov.in For participation, registration is mandatory on confirmation of the participation. An email confirmation will be sent to Registered participants. Only registered participants will be allowed to take part in the Workshop. All the Registered participants will be provided a participation certificate, Workshop Kit, Lunch and tea. No TA/DA will be paid to the Participants for attending this workshop. No accommodation will be arranged for participants by the organizers. However, we will help in arranging Guest House / Hotel accommodation in nearby places. The last date for registration to the Workshop is June 10th 2017. 

Postal Address & Contacts: Dr. D.D. LAL, DeLCON Coordinator & Organizing Secretary, DBT's Electronic Library Consortium (DeLCON), National Brain Research Centre, NBRC, NH-08, Nainwal Mode, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana. Pincode : 122050, India, Tel : 0124-2845229; 2845329; Fax : 0124-2338909, Email : delconconsortium@gmail.com 

1. The Importance of OA in India: 
Open Access has emerged during the last decade or so as a movement and a business model whose goal is to provide free access and re-use of scientific knowledge in the form of research articles, monographs, data and related materials. Faster and wider sharing of knowledge fuels the advancement of science and, accordingly, the return of health, economic, and social benefits back to the public. By removing the barriers of price and permissions, OA publishing promotes the global flow of knowledge; improves access to 'developed-country research'; creates much-needed visibility for 'developing-country research'; and allows researchers and practitioners to access current knowledge. The idea of open access to scholarly literature is not new to India. India has a large S&T research community and Indian researchers conduct research in a wide variety of areas. India also trains a very large number of scientists and engineers. One might believe that all is well with science and technology in India. But the truth is very different. In terms of the number of papers published in refereed journals, the number of citations per paper, and the number of international awards and recognitions won, India's record is not all that encouraging. India has a vast pool of academic talent and a track record of excellence in disciplines related to science and technology, but this is at odds with the limited endowments that academic libraries receive to support scientific research. Most Indian libraries cannot afford to subscribe to key journals required by researchers and scientists. This is a serious impediment to the acquisition of knowledge, and researchers' own scholarly output is adversely impacted as a result. Another outcome of prohibitive subscription costs is the low visibility of Indian research. Academics in the region exert themselves to publish their work in well-known journals which very few of their peers can access afterwards. This leads to the poor citation of works by Indian researchers, the poor circulation of their research findings, and ultimately very limited awareness about scientific developments in the country. Thus, Indian scientists face two problems, namely, access and visibility. Both these handicaps can be overcome to a considerable extent if open access is adopted widely both within and outside the country.

2. OA Initiatives in India: 
The lack of awareness might still be an issue for Indian researchers, but there have been various nitiatives by Indian institutes, journals and publishers to make research content open. Since 2003, India has been contributing to The Directory of Open Access Journals (which contains free, full-text highquality scientific journals).The Indian Medlars Centre (IMC), has taken the pioneering step of putting Indian biomedical journals accessible on to a single platform. IMC's first bibliographic database IndMed, established in 1998, provides abstract level information from more than 70 journals. The Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy are premier institutes that run vibrant publishing programmes and offer open access to their journals and papers. Bioline International is a notfor-profit collaborative effort of the University of Toronto Libraries, Canada, the Reference Center on Environmental Information, Brazil, and Bioline, UK. Bioline provides access to 14 Indian journals on their primary site as well as archives these journals at the Bioline EPrints Archive. ePrints@IISC is a repository that collects, preserves and disseminates in digital format the works of the research community of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Open J-Gate – a free database of OA journals – currently offers access to more than 4000 OA English language journals from across the world. The work of Medknow Publications, an innovative publisher of OA journals, and that of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela are also leading Indian contributions to the OA movement. It is important that these initiatives should not operate in isolation, but should form part of a concerted effort and campaign at a national level to promote OA in India. 
In 2012–13, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched a major OA initiative. ICAR has formulated an OA policy stipulating that its member institutes across the country must allow open access to their research and technical publications, books, catalogues, workshop proceedings, case studies, lecture notes and other digital objects. While these institutes will maintain their own OA repositories, ICAR is setting up a central harvester to allow 'one-stop access' to all the scientific and agricultural knowledge generated within the Council. 
Master repositories such as ICAR's, composed of a network of repositories, greatly enhance accessibility, help realize the potential of OA, and strengthen the very purpose of the OA movement in India. But while developing policies and networks at the institutional level is necessary, it is critical to entrench the idea of OA at the level of national policy. A national mandate and policy framework for OA would ensure that OA initiatives cease to operate in isolated clusters, and become part of a coherent, progressive national movement to promote the flow of knowledge.

3. DBT/DST Open Access Policy
The Department of Biotechnology ("DBT") and the Department of Science and Technology ("DST") are constituent departments within the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. An important function of the DBT and DST is to support basic, translational and applied scientific research through the creation of suitable infrastructure, by providing funding to individual scientists, institutions and start-ups, and through any other means deemed necessary. Since all funds disbursed by the DBT and DST are public funds, it is important that the information and knowledge generated through the use of these funds are made publicly available as soon as possible, subject to Indian law and IP policies of respective funding agencies and institutions where the research is performed. The DBT and DST recognize the right of researchers to publish their work in journals of their choice, because researchers are the best judges of where to publish their work. The DBT and DST expect that the recipients of funding will publish their research in high quality, peer-reviewed journals. The DBT and DST affirms the principle that the intrinsic merit of the work, and not the title of the journal in which an author's work is published, should be considered in making future funding decisions. The DBT and DST do not recommend the use of journal impact factors either as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research articles, to assess an individual scientist's contributions, or in hiring, promotion, or funding decisions. The DBT and DST believe that maximizing the distribution of these publications by providing free online access by depositing them in an institutional repository is the most effective way of ensuring that the research it funds can be accessed, read and built upon. The digital context of the production and dissemination of knowledge makes it especially easy to make all knowledge publicly available. Further, free, open and digital access of scientific research will ensure percolation of cutting edge research at a rapid pace into higher education curricula, thereby raising the standard of technical and scientific education in the country. This in turn, will foster a richer research culture. 

4. OA in India vis-à-vis Global Trends: 
Open Access is of particular importance to the Global South because it provides an unprecedented opportunity for equitable access to essential research information from around the world. So while removing the price barrier is important, the key to Open Access is that it allows researchers and the institutions they work for to regain control of their intellectual labour and capital by disseminating the research they produce in ways that they see fit, and not simply according to the business logic of for-profit publishing houses. This will hopefully result in a more balanced production and dissemination of knowledge from around the world. With free software such as the Open Journal System, and with peer-review being performed without cost as a long-standing tradition, the cost of producing journals is far lower than commercial publishers would have us believe. The Directory of Open Access Journals now list over 8,500 titles from around the world; most do not charge an author fee. These Open Access outlets provide important opportunities for knowledge dissemination while reducing costs substantially for the libraries. Most universities in North America and Europe have set up repositories individually or as consortia, and an increasing number of higher education institutions in the Global South have also set them up to feature their faculty's research output. In addition, many universities have also set up publishing platforms such as the Open Journal Systems and other kinds of open source platforms to allow faculty to engage in Open Access publishing and other kinds of innovative digital scholarship. However, many repositories remain poorly filled because researchers are often not aware of Open Access, or they have misconceptions about it and copyright, or about quality issues associated with it, not realizing that Open Access is compatible with traditional peer review and copyright. Hence more awareness-building efforts are needed to educate researchers about the benefits of Open Access, and the limitations and unsustainability of the traditional system. In addition, a policy should be put in place to encourage researchers to deposit their research articles and materials into the repositories. Many institutions now enact either a voluntary or a mandatory policy requiring their faculty to deposit a copy of their work into the repository. It is also crucial for administrators to be better informed about the detrimental nature of adhering to the narrow use of the journal impact factor as a means of research evaluation. In 2013, the Obama administration declared that all publicly funded research would be made freely available within 12 months of publication. Research councils in the UK have recently begun to make public-funded research open to all. The European Commission is expected to do the same from January 2014. The applicability of these approaches to the Indian context, and their potential benefits, must be seriously considered by stakeholders in the country. In India, Open Access is now a key topic of discussions and engagement at many higher education institutions (including universities and deemed universities) as well as high-level research organisations, such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Department of Atomic Energy, the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research. The tireless advocacy work of Subbiah Arunachalam [Chennai-based information consultant] has been instrumental in sensitising these key institutions in the Open Access debates. However, a strong national or institutional policy on Open Access is yet to be implemented. At the same time, some key institutions such as the Indian Academy of Sciences have been playing a leadership role in providing Open Access to the journals they publish, and the Indian Institute of Science has one of the longest running institutional repositories with the most content in the country. There are now over 350 Open Access journals being published by various organizations across India, but they cover mostly areas in science and medicine. Social sciences and the humanities are poorly represented. Of the close to 600 higher education institutions across India, fewer than 100 have an existing institutional repository, though many are in the planning stage. 

5. Scope of the proposed National Workshop: 
The DeLCON Consortium & NBRC are organizing a one day DeLCON National Workshop-2017 on Friday, 23rd June 2017 at NBRC Manesar during Open Access Programme. The tentative title of the Workshop is 'Strengthening Open Access Initiatives in India', and it will be held at NBRC, Manesar. The title connotes the need for concerted efforts to create a more enabling environment for OA in the country, to promote and upscale existing OA initiatives, and to encourage the development and launch of new OA programmes which will lead to establishment of a national OA policy. This can be also done by the DBT Institutions through linking multiple stakeholder groups and taking into account their concerns and views – namely researchers, librarians, archivists, publishers, technologists, and policymakers – and providing a platform for them to advocate for a common cause. The Workshop will provide a unique opportunity to stakeholders to pool their insights, identify and discuss key OA-related issues in the country as well as their own Institution, and create a roadmap for strengthening OA in India.

6. Structure of the Workshop: Beginning with a keynote address by a leading expert on open access to scientific research, the national workshop will be structured into two Technical Session. 

7. Objectives of the Workshop: The objectives of the DeLCON National Workshop are to:
  • Build awareness among the stakeholder groups and library & academic communities about the importance of OA to scientific research
  • Enable the exchange of knowledge, experiences and best practices of various organizations in the OA space
  • Contribute towards the creation of a promotional group that will promote OA at National levels of Organizations
  • Evaluate current trends and pitfalls towards the OA landscape in India
  • Progress policy recommendations for the creation of a national mandate to promote OA
  • Encourage collaborations, co-ordinations and partnerships among interested groups
8. Expected Outcomes: As a result of the National Workshop, it is expected that : 
  • OA stakeholder groups such as participating Academician members, Scientists, Faculties, Information Scientists, Nodal officers, working Library communities will appreciate the significance of OA, and will have understood the key trends, issues and challenges pertaining to the development of OA in India;
  • The innovative character and successful operation of leading OA initiatives in India will have been highlighted;
  • The collective efforts and actions behind the OA movement will be understood, and will inspire the next generation of academicians and librarians to become advocates of OA
  • Participating stakeholders will engage in a dialogue about possible partnerships and collaborative ventures
  • A set of recommendations will be developed for the creation of (a) a national OA mandate and policy framework, and (b) a general template for institutional OA policies, repositories and archives. 
9. Target Group: The national workshop will be attended by Working Professionals / Academicians, Library Communities, faculties, scientists, DeLCON Members, Library Professionals, Information Scientists.

DeLCON Consortium
About DeLCON: The 'DBT's Electronic Library Consortium (DeLCON)' is major project of the 'Department of Biotechnology (DBT)' to bring qualitative change in their research Institutions. It was launched in January, 2009 with the 10 DBT member Institutions (including DBT H.Q. & ICGEB) with a large number of high impact online journals. It is a national initiative for providing access to scholarly electronic resources including full-text and bibliographic databases in all the life science subject disciplines to DBT Institutional community. It facilitates access to high quality e-resources to DBT research Institutions in the country to improve teaching, learning and research. The access to all major e-resources was given to 10 DBT Institutions in the beginning of the year 2009. It has now been extended to new 17 more DBT Institutions in 2nd phase of extension in this year 2010 and further 07 members added in the 3rd phase of extension in the Year 2011. The 'DeLCON Consortium' provides current as well as archival access to more than 1171 core and peer-reviewed journals in different disciplines from 21 foreign publishers. The faculties, scientists, research scholars, students and project assistants of Institutions covered under DeLCON are the primary beneficiaries. 
  • About NBRC: National Brain Research Centre is the only institute in India dedicated to neuroscience research and education. Scientists and students of NBRC come from diverse academic backgrounds, including biological, computational, mathematical, physical, engineering and medical sciences, and use multidisciplinary approaches to understand the brain. Located in the foothills of the Aravali range in Manesar, Haryana, NBRC is an autonomous institute funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and is also a Deemed University established in the year 1999.
  • About ICGEB: The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology provides a scientific and educational environment of the highest standard and conducts innovative research in life sciences for the benefit of developing countries. It strengthens the research capability of its Members through training and funding programmes and advisory services and represents a comprehensive approach to promoting biotechnology internationally. The ICGEB extension laboratory, covering an area of over 3,720 square metres, has been created to decongest the workspace in the existing building. All of the Groups working on malaria, tuberculosis and bioinformatics have shifted to the new wing. The new Group, Synthetic Biology and Biofuel, is also placed here. ICGEB New Delhi component is located within the ICGEB Campus in South Delhi, which comprises an area of 10,000 square meters. It is situated alongside the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Sanjay Van in a bush forest area and was established in the year 1994. 
  • About NII: The National Institute of Immunology (NII) is an autonomous institution supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The Institute is committed to advanced research addressing the basic mechanisms involved in body's defence, host-pathogen interactions and related areas with a view to contribute to the creation of an internationally competitive intellectual knowledge base as a sustainable source of innovative futuristic modalities of potential use in health care. The mandate "to undertake, aid, promote, guide and coordinate research of high caliber in basic and applied immunology". Keenly conscious of it's role in helping create a scientific base for innovations relevant to development in India, the following research programs coalesced into four thrust areas: Immunity and Infection, Gene Regulation, Molecular Design, and Reproduction and Development. The Institute imparts long term research training leading to a PhD degree of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and was established in the year 1981.
  • About NIPGR: NIPGR (formerly known as NCPGR) was established in 1998 with mandate to undertake, promote and co-ordinate research, train workers and to serve as information resource in identified aspects of plant genome to build a frontline plant genomics institution. The research programme aims to contribute to the understanding of the structure, expression and function of genes along with arrangement of genes on plant genomes and manipulation of plant genes/ genomes to breed improved varieties of food and industrial crops for high yields and of better quality products. NIPGR was established to contribute in the achievement of such hopes as a part of national effort for meeting the challenges in the midst of fast pace of international genomic research and grasping of opportunities on long-term basis. 
Registration: There is no registration fees for attending the workshop. However, only 50 seats are available. Registration shall be done on first-cum-first served basis. Registration will be closed after confirmation to 50 participants. 

Presentations: Workshop will have only invited lectures & conducted presentations by the Eminent Speakers & Experts.

For any query please contact: Dr. D.D. LAL, (Organizing Secretary): Email : delconconsortium@gmail.com; Tel.: +91-124-2845329. 

Monday, May 29, 2017

ALIS Article | Bibliometrics and Scientometrics in India: An overview of studies during 1995-2014| Includes lists of Top Journals, Authors & Institutions

Bibliometrics and Scientometrics in India: An overview of studies during 1995-2014, Part I: Indian publication output and its citation impact
by K. C. Garg & H. K. Tripathi, ALIS, 64(1), 28-36. [March 2017]

Abstract: An analysis of 801 papers published in the area of bibliometrics and scientometrics during 1995-2014 indicates a steep increase in the number of papers published by Indian researchers as compared to the number of papers published during 1970-1994. This indicates a growing interest of Indian scholars in scientometrics and bibliometrics. The paper provides several reasons for this steep increase. The main focus of research is on bibliometric assessment of India and other countries followed by cross national assessment and bibliometric analysis of individual journals. CSIR-NISTADS is the top producing institute contributing about one-third (31.4%) of the total output followed by the output of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and CSIR-NISCAIR. The distribution of citation data indicates that about one-fifth (21.7%) papers remained uncited. The paper identifies journals in which these uncited papers were published. Only 15% papers were cited more than 20 times. Most of the prolific authors as well as highly cited authors were from the institutions belonging to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Among all authors B.M. Gupta (CSIR-NISTADS) produced the highest number of papers, but the impact as seen in terms of citation per paper and relative citation impact, S. Arunachalam (MSSRF) topped the list.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

CfPs: International Symposium on Open Data and Innovation: Vision and Practice| 12-15 July | NSL, Beijing, China

The International Symposium on Open Data and Innovation: Vision and Practice
July 12 (Wednesday) to 15 (Saturday), 2017
Venue: National Science Library, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China


Call for Submissions

We sincerely invite all participants including speakers to contribute new and original submissions addressing theoretical and practical topics related to the general theme. Authors are welcome to submit full papers, datasets, or proposals for short presentations of recent results, work in progress, and new ideas.

All submissions shall be reviewed by at least two external independent reviewers. The final decision on a submission is made by the Co-Chairs of the Symposium, who will also select abstracts for poster presentations. A formal letter of final decision will be sent by email from the Symposium Secretariat once a submission is accepted. All accepted submission will be published in the ODI 2017 Proceedings.

Data articles
  • Metadata descriptor for datasets without size limits or disciplines
  • Metadata descriptor for knowledge organization system (KOS)
  • Metadata descriptor for any other knowledge units or research materials which could be opened and shared under a license

Scholarly articles
  • Specific topics of interests may include but not limited to:
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Social computing
  • Scholarly communication
  • Scholarly impact measurement
  • Information retrieval and behavior
  • Information organization
  • Bibliometrics, informetrics, scientometrics, webometrics and knowledgometrics
  • Social media and social network analysis
  • Evidence-based policy analysis
  • Intelligent knowledge production
  • Knowledge-driven workflow management and decision-making
  • Knowledge-driven collaboration and its management
  • Domain knowledge infrastructure with knowledge fusion and analytic data, text and knowledge miningetc
  • Other topics related to data-driven discovery
Submission Instructions

1) Length of submissions
Full Papers: length 8 to 16 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman 11 pt. font
Short Papers: length 4 to 7 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman 11 pt. font
Abstract: 1 to 2 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman 11 pt. font
Poster: Size 120 cm * 80 cm

2) Language & Format
Language of this Symposium is English. All submissions must be written in proper and standard English.The format of submissions should be in line with that of given templates. Authors are highly recommended to refer to the attached samples for preparing their submissions.

3) How to Submit
To submit, please just send the submission to jdis@mail.las.ac.cn with stating that "this submission is submitted to ODI 2017".

Important Dates

  • Submission
submission deadline: June 15, 2017
Notification of acceptance: July 1, 2017

  • Registration
Registration starts: May 1, 2017
Registration closed: July 1, 2017

Further Details: http://www.egeoscience.com.cn/ODI/en_index.jsp

Friday, May 26, 2017

Call for Participation: Open Source Web GIS Tools for Rural Development | 6-10 June | NIRD&PR, Hyderabad

Open Source Web GIS Tools for Rural Development

June 06-10, 2017

Organized by CGARD, National Institute of Rural Development, (Ministry of Rural Development, GoI), Hyderabad

Course Team: Er. H K Solanki | Dr. P Kesava Rao


Need: The World Wide Web is fast becoming a standard platform for Geographic Information System (GIS). The instant access and global reach are the key advantages of Web-GIS over traditional desktop GIS. As geo-spatial technologies become more prevalent than ever, more and more non-profit organizations and government agencies are adopting web-GIS solutions to provide spatial services to the public. The ability to engage, empower and interact with the public has generated an appealing set of web-based GIS publishing tools. With application of only commercial Web GIS tools it is difficult to percolate the GIS upto lower levels. Moreover, in Rural Development sector and Web GIS tools will be useful in publishing the maps on internet and also for making Web-based GIS applications. Such Web-GIS applications can be used for GIS data collection, editing and updation at various levels, enabling the effective monitoring of the field projects along with data dissemination in public domain.


Objective: The main objective of this course will be to examine open source web-based GIS technologies, and to help rural development professionals and faculties/research scholars develop the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, design, develop and publish a web-based GIS solution using Open Source tools. Programme Content: The programme would broadly cover the basic concepts of GIS and GIS data types in general and Web GIS in particular. Basics with hands-on on Open Source tools for web publication of maps. Software like QGIS will be discussed for their Web Mapping capabilities in addition to other open source web mapping tools.


Programme Content: The programme would broadly cover the basic concepts of GIS and GIS data types in general and Web GIS in particular. Basics with hands-on on Open Source tools for web publication of maps. Software like QGIS will be discussed for their Web Mapping capabilities in addition to other open source web mapping tools. Although no prior programming experience is required, the course is specifically designed to bring out the hidden coding capabilities of non-coders working in the field of GIS and it can be a starting point for such people. The participants with having background in computer and GIS will be preferred.


Deliverables: After the course

- Participants will learn the difference between the desktop and web-GIS.

- Participants will learn what web publishing of maps is and will be able to publish the maps on internet.

- Participants will learn about QGIS tools and plugins helpful in web publishing of maps

- Participants will also learn configure Web-GIS tools like GeoServer and prepare spatial database for publishing maps on internet.

 

Training Methods: Training methods would be lecture, Hands on sessions & Exercises.


Participants Level: Officials from RD & PR, Watershed, MGNREGS, DRDAs, sectoral and Engineering Departments, NGOs, Faculties from Universities and Training Institutions.


Boarding/Lodging: Free accommodation and boarding will be provided to the participants at NIRD&PR guest house during the training Period.


Logistics: The participants are requested to report of their own to NIRDPR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. However their return dropping will be arranged by NIRDPR.


Please Apply To:

Er. H K Solanki, Sr. Asst. Professor & Course Director, Centre for Geo-informatics Applications in Rural Development (CGARD), National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad -500 030

Phone : 040-24008600 | Mobile : 09214446732/9414291732 | E-Mail : harish.nird@gmail.com, nirdcgard@gmail.com

Last Date for Confirmation: 4th June, 2017 


JSCIRES Articles | Exploring 'Global Innovation Networks' in Bio-clusters: A Case of Genome Valley in Hyderabad, India | by Pandey & Desai

Exploring 'Global Innovation Networks' in Bio-clusters: A Case of Genome Valley in Hyderabad, India
by Nimita Pandey and Pranav N Desai
Journal of Scientometric Research, 6(1), 23-35.

Abstract: The Indian Biopharmaceutical landscape interests scholars from innovation studies, economic geography and policy learning to understand various regional dimensions that fuel knowledge production in relation to emerging technologies. Globalization has a strong influence on such high technology clusters, wherein 'local' play a significant role. With this prelude, the study attempts to understand the nature and typology of Global Innovation Networks (GINs), by assessing the degree of globalness, innovativeness and networked ness of firms, located in India's first organized Biosciences R&D cluster, Genome Valley, Hyderabad (India). On reflecting over the typologies of GINs and their degrees of globalness, innovativeness and networked ness in Biopharmaceutical firms, the paper contends that firms have an export-oriented objective and are competing with their global competitors; innovation seems to be mostly incremental in nature; the sector is battling due to absence of linkages with funding agencies and basic research institutions. However, the entire cluster with pre-existing capabilities, vantage points and resources, coupled with GINs, is evolving as a potent site for innovation. Also, this paper opens up the scope for future research, by aligning socio-economic aspects of networks and linkages, in terms of the health outcomes or social relevance derived out of the networks and linkages across the globe.
Keywords: Global Innovation Networks, Clusters, India, Biopharmaceutical, R&D, Regional Development


JSCIRES Book Reviews

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Two Weeks Capacity Building Programme for Social Science Faculty Members | 5-18 July | Ujjain, MP

Two Weeks Capacity Building Programme for Social Science Faculty Members
July 5 to 18, 2017
Organized by M.P. Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain, MP (An ICSSR Institute)

Call for Participation
M.P. Institute of Social Science Research invites applications from faculty members of social science disciplines in Universities, Colleges and Institutions for participating in Two Weeks Capacity Building Programme for Social Science Faculty Members from July 5 to 18, 2017 sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi. The objectives of this programme are to help participants acquire knowledge and understanding appertaining to the research methodology in social sciences. Institute will take care of lodging, boarding and travel of selected participants. Applications addressed to Dr. Ashish Bhatt, M.P. Institute of Social Science Research, 6 Bharatpuri Administrative Zone, Ujjain (M.P.) should reach on or before June 5, 2017. E-mail: mailboxmpissr@gmail.comFor application form and other details visit www.mpissr.org.

CfPs: 59th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE) | 16-18 December | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

59th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE)
16-18 December 2017
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

About 59 ISLE Conference
The 59th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE) will be held during 16-18 December 2017 in the premises of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The Conference is being organised by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), Thiruvananthapuram Kerala in collaboration with the Department of Economics, Kerala University and the Center for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

Conference Themes: The themes for the 59th ISLE Annual Conference are:
  • Informality, Labour Market and Employment
  • Macro-Economic Policies and Employment
  • Technological Change and Employment
Dates to Remember
  • Dates of the Conference: 16-18 December 2017
  • Last Date for Submission of Papers: 15 September 2017
  • Communication from ISLE about Acceptance of Papers: 30 September 2017
  • Last Date for Registration: 15 November 2017

Call for Papers for Ecology, Economy and Society - the INSEE Journal

Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE)
Ecology, Economy and Society — the INSEE Journal

Call for Research Papers
INSEE seeks original Research Papers for its new bi-annual peer-reviewed open-access Journal to be edited by Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Kamal Bawa and Kanchan Chopra. Those who wish to contribute to the inaugural issue of the Journal (expected in November, 2017) may send their contributions by June 30, 2017 to insee.ees@gmail.com. Contributions received afterwards will be considered for subsequent issues. EES offers authors a forum to address socio-environmental issues from, across and within the natural and social sciences. EES would promote methodological pluralism and inter-disciplinary research. For more details, please visit: www.ecoinsee.org/journal

CfPs: Conference on "Dynamics of Economic Growth and Development in Asia with Special Reference to India" | 25–27 October | Lucknow, UP, India

International Conference on "Dynamics of Economic Growth and Development in Asia with Special Reference to India"
25–27 October 2017 
Organised by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University, Lucknow, UP state, India.

Call for Papers
Papers are invited in the following areas. Sub-themes of the conference:
  • Development Trajectories and Sectoral Growth of Asian Economies 
  • Employment, Migration, Poverty and livelihood Challenges 
  • Issues of Public Policy and Governance 
  • Opportunities and Challenges in Regional and International Trade & Investment of Asian Countries 
  • Financial and Banking Sector Reforms: Experiences and Challenges 
  • Issues of Sustainable Development 
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development: Issues & Experiences
The conference will serve as platform for discussion and debate among scholars, academicians, Policy makers and implementers. Abstracts in 500 words may be submitted to lakkinenic@gmail. com before 31st May 2017 and full papers in less than 8000 words may be submitted before 31st July 2017. Registration is mandatory for paper presenters. Local hospitality and TA will be provided for selected paper contributors as per University rules. Selected papers will also be included in the conference volume to be published by international standard popular publishers. Scholars of Asian countries are encouraged to write papers. Visit university website for further information. www.bbau.ac.in. Source

CfPs: Technological Change and Employment Dynamics at the firm and industry level | Pisa, Italy | 14-15 September

14th European Network on the Economics of the Firm (ENEF) meeting
 
Technological Change and Employment Dynamics at the firm and industry level

Venue: Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy

14th and 15th September 2017

Following successful previous ENEF meetings organised in Sheffield, Rotterdam, Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Cambridge, Paris, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Bologna, Madrid, Manchester, Toulouse, and Turin, we are pleased to announce that the 14th ENEF meeting will be held in Pisa at the Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. The theme of this year's meeting reflects core themes of ENEF and the long standing tradition of research on evolutionary economics, industrial dynamics and economics of innovation of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. The interplay between technological change, firm behaviour and industry dynamics has long been investigated in both theoretical and empirical literature. Recently, increasing interest in the factors that may create or destroy jobs has stimulated important debates about the ways in which different forms of innovation and technological change can affect employment dynamics at the firm and industry level. In this line of investigation, a number of issues and concepts are crucial to understand the complex relationship between technology and employment, including the role of trade, industry characteristics, firm capabilities, institutional frameworks and policy interventions. In keeping with previous ENEF workshops, we welcome submissions from all areas of the economics of the firm, as well as relevant contributions from management, organisation science and political economy. The workshop will focus on empirical, theoretical and policy analysis of topics that include but are not limited to:
  • Determinants and effects of innovation at the firm and industry level;
  • Productivity and reallocation processes;
  • Employment and wage dynamics;
  • Organisational characteristics and employment restructuring;
  • The role of exporting and importing activities;
  • Technological trajectories and structural change;
  • Knowledge, diversification, and firm performance.
Schedule:
  • Extended abstracts (2-3 pages) to be submitted by 31-5-2017 to enef2017@sciencesconf.org. Submitted papers are expected to be work in progress and should not have yet been submitted for publication. Selection committee: Michael Dietrich and local organisers.
  • Notification of acceptance by 30-06-2017.
  • Final papers to be delivered by 31-08-2017.
Confirmed keynote speakers: Giovanni Dosi (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa) | Luc Soete (UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University, Maastricht) | Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan)
The registration fee is 100 euros. ENEF coordinator: Michael Dietrich, University of Sheffield. Local organisers: Nanditha Mathew (Sant' Anna School of Advanced Studies and CNR), Andrea Mina (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies), Daniele Moschella (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies). For more information about the 14th ENEF meeting, the submission process and practical details please contact m.dietrich@sheffield.ac.uk or nandithamathew@gmail.com. Further Details.

Positions of Scientists and Technical Assistants at CSIR-NISTADS | Research Internship Positions at CSLG, JNU

CSIR-NISTADS Recruitment  for position of Scientists and Technical Assistants
  • Advt. No. 01-R/2017
  • Opening Date for Online Application: 28.04.2017
  • Last Date of Online Submission of Application: 29.05.2017
  • Last Date of receiving of Hard Copy of Application submitted online: 05.06.2017

................................................................................................................................


JNU's Centre for the Study of Law and Governance (CSLG) invites application for research internship. The duties include:
  • Assisting the team with research on legislation, case law, academic reference material online and in libraries in Delhi.
  • Assisting with contact and information management;
  • Assisting with drafting letters and briefings;
  • Providing general logistical/organizational support to the team as required.
EligibilityBA (or MA) in sociology, politics, history, development or BALLB (Fourth and Final year students) (or LLM) with a specialization/research interest in public law, law and technology, environmental law or law and development. Kindly see the attached description for application procedure.

Monday, May 8, 2017

New Book | Carbon Utilization: Applications for the Energy Industry | ed by Malti Goel & M Sudhakar, Springer

Carbon Utilization: Applications for the Energy Industry
Edited by Malti Goel & M Sudhakar. Springer, Green Energy and Technology Series, 2017, ISBN 9789811033520.

Summary: With the growing threat of climate change resulting from increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases, CO2-sequestration technology is seen as an assurance for continuation of fossil fuels use in coal based economies. The book on Carbon Utilization: Applications for the Energy Industry, Malti Goel and M. Sudhakar (Eds.), 2017 published by Springer (ISBN  978-981-10-3351-1) is a fervent directive for research in terrestrial, bio-sequestration and CO2 utilization options in the context of climate change. The book has a wide coverage of topics in the nineteen chapters.  Policy dilemma for energy security in India, technology options for reducing carbon footprints, capacity development in carbon capture & removal processes and role of renewable energy technology are covered. The CO2 chemical and biological conversion routes, innovative chlathrate hydrate formations to cage CO2 and CO2 injection in earth reservoirs for enhanced recovery of fuels are other research topics explained by the leading scientists and technocrats with an Indian perspective. New applications for the aluminum, steel, cement and fertilizers industries towards a low carbon growth strategy are incorporated. Bridging the gap between research & industry in CO2 utilization is a fundamental challenge, which scientific community must face. In this context the book is a valuable knowledge bank to inspire scientists, researchers from academia & industry and policy makers alike. It may well be a teaching material in Environmental Science for postgraduate courses. 

Table of Contents
Part I CO2 Emission, Sequestration and Utilization: A Policy Dilemma for Energy Security
CO2 Capture and Utilization for the Energy Industry: Outlook for Capability Development to Address Climate Change in India | Malti Goel
Adoption and Introduction of Supercritical Technology in the Power Sector and Consequential Effects in Operation, Efficiency and Carbon Dioxide Emission in the Present Context | V.S. Verma [Sample Chapter]
Low Carbon Technologies (LCT) and Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS)—Key to Green Power Mission for Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability | V.K. Sethi
Part II Terrestrial Sequestration Options for CO2 
Soil as Source and Sink for Atmospheric CO2 | Tapas Bhattacharyya, S.P. Wani, D.K. Pal and K.L. Sahrawat
Soil Carbon Stock and CO2 Flux in Different Ecosystems of North-East India | P.S. Yadava and Amrabati Thokchom
Baseline Data of Stored Carbon in Spinifex littoreus from Kadmath Island, Lakshadweep | Abhijit Mitra, J. Sundaresan, K. Syed Ali, Nabonita Pal, Upasana Datta, Ankita Mitra, Prosenjit Pramanick and Sufia Zaman
Assessment of Altitudinal Mediated Changes of CO2 Sequestration by Trees at Pachamalai Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu, India | K. Suganthi, K. Rajiv Das, M. Selvaraj, S. Kurinji, Malti Goel and M. Govindaraju
Prospects in Mitigating Global Warming by Biomimetic Carbon Sequestration Using Recombinant Microbial Carbonic Anhydrases | T. Satyanarayana and Himadri Bose
Part III Low Carbon Growth Strategy from CO2 Utilization 
Climate Change Mitigation via Utilization of Carbon Dioxide | K. Palanivelu
Carbon Sequestration Through Solar Bioreactors: Industrial Strategies | K. Sudhakar and Ruma Arora Soni
Clathrate Hydrates: A Powerful Tool to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas | Pinnelli S.R. Prasad and Ch. V.V. Eswari
Carbon Sequestration and Utilization—India's Energy Woes | Gautam Sen
Coalbed Methane: Present Status and Scope of Enhanced Recovery Through CO2 Sequestration in India | Vinod Atmaram Mendhe, Alka D. Kamble, Mollika Bannerjee, Subhashree Mishra and Tanmay Sutay
A Low-Carbon Growth Strategy for India: Synergies from Oxy-Combustion, Carbon Capture, and ECBM | Thomas Weber
Part IV Current Research and Green Technology Perspective for Industry 
Carbon Dioxide Management—Aluminium Industry Perspective | Anupam Agnihotri, Suchita Rai and Nitin Warhadpande
Bioenergy Combined with Carbon Capture Potential by Microalgae at Flue Gas-Based Carbon Sequestration Plant of NALCO as Accelerated Carbon Sink | Ranjan R. Pradhan, Rati R. Pradhan, Siddhanta Das, Brajesh Dubey and Animesh Dutta
Current and Future Trends Toward Reduction of CO2 Emission from Steel Industries | Santanu Sarkar and Supriya Sarkar
Carbon Emissions and Their Mitigation in the Cement Sector | Shashank Bishnoi
Aqueous NH3 in CO2 Capture from Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant Flue Gas: N-Fertilizer Production Potential and GHG Emission Mitigation | Amitava Bandyopadhyay

Call for Papers for Ecology, Economy and Society - the INSEE Journal

Call for Papers for Ecology, Economy and Society - the INSEE Journal

It marks a milestone in the two odd decade journey of INSEE.

Deadline: Papers received up to June 30, 2017 alone will be considered for the Inaugural issue, expected to be released on or before November, 2017. 

Friday, May 5, 2017

RP Article "University research and knowledge transfer: A dynamic view of ambidexterity in british universities" by Abhijit Sengupta & Amit S. Ray

University research and knowledge transfer: A dynamic view of ambidexterity in british universities
Abhijit Sengupta & Amit S. Ray
Research Policy, 2017, 46(5), 881–897. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2017.03.008
Highlights: Paper examines the intertemporal linkages between research and knowledge transfer in ambidextrous universities. Past research has a positive marginal impact on commercialisation and academic engagement at university level. Some academic engagement channels positively mediate between past and future research. Organisational size and reputation negatively moderates the link between past research and knowledge transfer. For most universities, the contract research route provides the maximum benefit for enhancing ambidexterity.
Abstract: This paper examines the dynamic interlinkages between the two pillars of ambidexterity in universities, research and knowledge transfer. We propose a theoretical model linking these two pillars at the organisational level. The model is tested using the longitudinal HE-BCI survey data juxtaposed against two consecutive rounds of research evaluation in the UK higher education sector. Results indicate that a university's past performance along the research pillar strengthens the knowledge transfer pillar over time, through both commercialisation and academic engagement channels. This positive impact is negatively moderated by the university's size and reputation, in the sense that in larger or more reputed universities, the marginal impact of research on knowledge transfer declines significantly. Additionally, we find that knowledge transfer reinforces the research pillar through positive mediation between past and future research, but only through academic engagement channels. The results also indicate that contract research routes provide the maximum benefit for most universities in enhancing their ambidexterity framework, both in the short and the long run. For the relatively more reputed universities, it is the collaboration route which provides the maximum benefit. Interestingly, no such reinforcement could be detected in the case of the research commercialisation channels.
Keywords: Knowledge transfer; Academic engagement; Commercialisation; HE-BCI data; University-industry links; Ambidexterity.



Annual Professor Tapas Majumdar Memorial Lecture | India Habitat Centre, New Delhi | 6th May 2017

Annual Professor Tapas Majumdar Memorial Lecture 
at Gulmohor Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi 
on 6th May 2017 at 6:30 pm

Monday, May 1, 2017

Just Released | International Cooperation for Registration of Medicines: Opportunities for India

International Cooperation for Registration of Medicines: Opportunities for India
by Vasudha Wattal, Pallavi Joshi, Aashna Arora, and Ali Mehdi. ICRIER Health Policy Initiatives, and Academic Foundation, New Delhi, ISBN: 9789332704251. 

Summary: To tackle the rising burden of disease, disability and premature deaths, the demand for newer and better treatment is more than ever. Drug registration is a critical step for the introduction of medicines in a country. There has been a great deal of international interaction and cooperation in the area of public health, particularly since the conception of the Millennium Development Goals. However, international cooperation vis-à-vis mechanisms to achieve shared goals of public health are still very limited. Regulation of drugs, more specifically drug registration, is one such neglected area. This report, the first-of-its-kind, based on extensive desk and field research in 4 Indian states - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Telangana - and 7 countries - USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, Singapore and Indonesia - incorporates views of more than 150 stakeholders to identify lessons as well as opportunities for the Government of India in its effort to address challenges of drug regulation in particular, and public health more generally, in the country.


Table of Content

1. Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Analysis of Drug Registration Procedures and International Cooperation Initiatives

4. Cross-Country Implications for Stakeholders

5. A Game Theoritic Approach to Understanding International Cooperation

6. Policy Recommendations

7. Conclusion