A new paper by Katherine Vincent and Tracy Cull that reviews debates around using indicators to assess climate change vulnerability. The section on \’principles for developing robust indicators\’ is interesting and emphasises the need for a clear conceptual framework, transparent choice and aggregation of indicators, a critical examination of different methodologies and their assumptions, and finally,ContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #2: Vulnerability indicators, pluralism, participatory farmer advisories”
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The virtues of writing simply
\’Those who write clearly have readers,those who write obscurely have commentators.\’Albert CamusAcademic writing can be daunting. I often find that when trying to communicate complex ideas, coherence and clarity tends to get compromised. However, like any other skill, writing can be perfected by practice.I recently finished reading Orwell\’s Why I Write, a collection of essaysContinueContinue reading “The virtues of writing simply”
Modi, secularism, and the future of Indian democracy
Do you, as a voter, feel trapped by the Modi/Rahul Gandhi binary? Are you questioning the future of democracy in India? And what does Modi\’s rise say for the nation\’s secularism?These were some of the questions discussed in a session organised by The South Asian Studies School at Oxford and King\’s India Institute last week (whichContinueContinue reading “Modi, secularism, and the future of Indian democracy”
Book Review: Research for Development, A Practical Guide
Research for Development is a comprehensive guide to commissioning, managing and undertaking research in development work. It is useful for students of development research and teachers looking for a robust and engaging teaching tool. Read my review here.Sage Publications, 440 pp.
Link Pack #1: Debates on Poverty, Development and Resilience
Nothing like a good debate to wake one up! What I\’ve been reading this week:The Arrogance of Good Intentions: NYU Economist William Easterly reviews Nina Munk\’s book \’The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty\’ and questions Sachs\’s seductive message of eradicating poverty through western aid. Going Against Duflo: Raj Patel critiques the AbhijitContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #1: Debates on Poverty, Development and Resilience”
Discipline hopping: what does depression have to do with vulnerability science?
You often hear of the virtues of thinking \’out of the box\’, developing interdisciplinary reading habits, opening our minds to different influences and ideas. In spite of this, interdisciplinarity is a difficult monster to tame, and one commonly falls back on familiar authors, known reading lists, well-worn and oft-searched keywords. Skirting the peripheries of one\’sContinueContinue reading “Discipline hopping: what does depression have to do with vulnerability science?”
Book Review | Boundaries Undermined (The Ruins of Progress on the Bangladesh-India Border)
What do Bangladesh-India geopolitics, an 8 feet tall fence, cross-border coal mining, eunuchs, and neoliberalism have in common? To find the answer to that, read my review at the LSE Review of Books of Delwar Hussain\’s thought-provoking and brilliantly researched book Boundaries Undermined, The Ruins of Progress on the Bangladesh-India Border.Hurst Publishers, 256 pp.
The African Farmer Game
This post was written in collaboration with Ankit Kumar, a PhD researcher at Durham University. You can follow him @ideatingenergy. It is based on our experiences and ideas, generated while playing the African Farmer Game during the STEPS Centre Summer School. Developed by the STEPS Centre and Future Agricultures Consortium, the game will be released soon asContinueContinue reading “The African Farmer Game”
UEA/IDS Mixed Methods Workshop (July, 2013)
The University of East Anglia (UEA) and Institute of Development Studies (IDS) recently organised a two-day workshop on mixed methods research in poverty and vulnerability (1-2 July 2013). The event brought together 40 researchers, practitioners and students working in development-related issues to discuss different ways mixed research methods could be used to capture the dynamicsContinueContinue reading “UEA/IDS Mixed Methods Workshop (July, 2013)”
Decision making for climate change adaptation
In a recent talk at the Walker Institute, climate change adaptation specialist Suraje Dessai stressed the need to move away from the linear model of \’predict and provide\’ which believes that more science = better decisions = successful adaptation, towards an understanding of the limits of what science can provide. Talking in the context of decision making for climateContinueContinue reading “Decision making for climate change adaptation”
Chandni Singh 