Participation in the Knowledge Society: the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement compared with participatory development

The possibilities and limits of participation at the ‘bottom’ (represented, for example, by PRA and PLA) have been well articulated in development literature. However, the emergence of the Knowledge Society has opened up spaces for what we could call participation at the ‘top’ (free software, wiki, open access), the implications of which Development Studies is only beginning to grapple with. Building upon recent debates on the issue, we take the cases of the free software movement and participatory development, arguing that they share common ground in several ways. We aim to offer a few pointers on conceptualising development in the Knowledge Society.     

Food security and human rights in Indonesia

Food is crucial to an adequate standard of living. The acknowledgement of the right to food in government policies is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, particularly in relation to food insecurity. It allows the right-holder to seek redress and hold government accountable for non-fulfilment. With reference to Indonesia, the article highlights deficits in meeting obligations to the right to food as stipulated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The state links food policy to the issue of national stability, with a resulting focus on the national rather than household or individual levels, and the inhibition at the grassroots of the right to food.     

Corruption,human-rights violation,and the interface with violence in the Niger Delta

This article examines the interdependence between corruption, violations of human rights, and conflict in the Niger Delta. It is argued that corruption-induced violations have triggered conflicts that have become cyclical. The article sets out a theoretical context against which to examine the interface between corruption, human-rights violation, and conflict in the Delta, and calls for the integration of the fight against corruption into the peace-building process in the Niger Delta.     

Development in motion: what to think about migration?

Recent interest in migrant remittances as a development resource calls attention to a deeper issue: the relationship between migration and development. Remittances may be a significant source of economic inflows to poor countries and regions, but their actual development impact (positive or negative) is tied to the migration processes that generate them. Attention to migration in turn creates an opportunity to think about the broader context of development policy and practice, and to re-think the boundaries that we put around our work.     

Post-Soviet universities as development in practice: local experience and global lessons

The university holds a privileged place as the site of knowledge production in social development. Simultaneously, traditions of pedagogy drawing from the liberal arts have evolved within Northern/Western post-secondary educational systems which claim to create citizens through developing the skills of freedom; this claim was central to interventions in post-Soviet university reform projects. The author's university development and reform experiences in the former Soviet Union show that a depoliticised liberal arts pedagogy in fact reinforced authoritarian practices, and the promise of a liberal arts pedagogy as an emancipatory project remains an ongoing global task of critical knowledge practices.

Universités post-soviétiques en tant que développement dans la pratique : expériences locales et leçons mondiales

L' université occupe une place privilégiée comme site de production de connaissances dans le développement social. Dans le même temps, des traditions pédagogiques s'inspirant des arts libéraux ont évolué dans le cadre des systèmes d'éducation post-secondaires du Nord et de l'Occident qui affirment créer des citoyens en développant les compétences de la liberté ; cette affirmation a été centrale dans les interventions dans les projets de réforme universitaire post-soviétiques. Les expériences de l'auteur du développement et de la réforme des universités dans l'ancienne Union soviétique montrent qu'une pédagogie dépolitisée des arts libéraux a en fait renforcé les pratiques autoritaires, et la promesse d'une pédagogie d'arts libéraux comme projet émancipatoire reste une tâche mondiale en cours constituée de pratiques critiques d'acquisition de connaissances.

Universidades na era pós-soviética enquanto desenvolvimento na prática: experiência local e lições globais

A universidade ocupa um lugar privilegiado como lugar de produção de conhecimento na área de desenvolvimento social. Simultaneamente, tradições de pedagogia extraídas das artes liberais têm evoluído dentro dos sistemas educacionais pós-ensino médio no hemisfério norte / ocidental, que afirmam criar cidadãos através do desenvolvimento de qualificações para liberdade; esta afirmação foi central para as intervenções nos projetos de reforma da universidade na era pós-soviética. As experiências da autora sobre desenvolvimento e reforma da universidade na antiga União Soviética mostram que uma pedagogia de artes liberais despolitizada, na verdade, reforçaram práticas autoritárias, e a promessa de uma pedagogia de artes liberais enquanto projeto emancipatório permanece uma tarefa global contínua de práticas importantes de conhecimento.

Las universidades postsoviéticas para el desarrollo en la práctica: experiencias locales y mundiales

La universidad desempeña un importante papel en la producción de conocimientos para el desarrollo social. Simultáneamente, se afirma que la pedagogía utilizada en las humanidades de los sistemas escolares universitarios del Norte o de Occidente fomenta la ciudadanía porque desarrolla herramientas dirigidas a la libertad; los proyectos de reforma de la universidad postsoviética se basaron en esta idea. Las experiencias de la autora en el desarrollo y la reforma universitaria de la antigua Unión Soviética muestran que la pedagogía despolitizada en las humanidades más bien fortaleció prácticas autoritarias; la esperanza de contar con una pedagogía emancipadora en las humanidades continúa construyéndose a nivel mundial mediante el ejercicio de prácticas de conocimiento crítico.     

Enhancing the effectiveness of international development: a systems approach

Every day 25,000 people die of hunger and hunger-related causes. While it is recognised that the international development system is not as effective as it should be, years of endeavours to achieve greater harmonisation of international aid and to create an effective architecture pass by without adequate results. The article introduces a framework for enhancing the effectiveness of the international development system, based on fundamental concepts of Systems Thinking. It discusses the complex systemic challenges to development and suggests that more effective control is a key precondition for greater effectiveness in development as a whole.     

World Conservation Congress 2008: Climate Change,Islands, and In-situ Conservation

The author participated in the IUCN World Conservation Congress (5–14 October 2008), both the Forum events and pre-selected Learning Sessions, including forest carbon inventory, and multilateral negotiations. The sessions highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary approaches and of treating indigenous knowledge as seriously as rigorous hard science. The gravity of climate change was fully recognised. Success stories gave important encouragement and knowledge-capital for conservation, while case studies showed that protected areas should be made as diverse and harmonious as the human landscape that they are affecting.     

Rights-based approaches to development: what is the value-added?

Advocates and activists for human rights are currently facing a paradox: the coexistence of profound challenges in familiar territory (civil liberties) alongside expansion into new areas. Rights-based approaches (RBAs) are a part of this latter expansionary stream. This article argues that four kinds of potential value-added can be claimed. First, value-added can be sought through direct, indirect, and strategic uses of the law. Second, value can also be added by re-centring the state and (re)asking the question about its appropriate role in development (delivery, oversight), and strategising engagement with the state. Third, in relation to accountability, RBAs add value by calling the state to account; building capacities of rights holders and duty bearers; and encouraging a new kind of ownership of human rights among NGOs. Fourth, the article explores claims that RBAs re-politicise development, redefining it as rights-based rather than based on benevolence; reclaiming or re-politicising the key (process) terms of development; addressing the root, structural causes of poverty and conflict, rather than the symptoms; and speaking truth to power. Not all of these contributions are unique to RBAs, however, and on all counts it remains to be seen if RBAs will deliver on their promise.     

The role of government and NGOs in slum development: the case of Dhaka City

This article addresses the situation of slums in Dhaka City in relation to government and NGO mechanisms and priorities for slum development and upgrading. It concludes with specific suggestions for better slum management in the Bangladesh capital.     

The dynamics of contemporary local-government policies and economic development in West Papua

There have been enormous political, economic, and social changes in West Papua. Every governor of West Papua has designed programmes to boost economic development and reduce poverty. The influx of migrant workers under the ‘transmigration programme’ into West Papua has limited the job opportunities for indigenous people in the labour market. This article concludes that the local government's strategies failed to deliver suitable development programmes to the local people, which resulted in increased poverty, the continuing poor development of the education system, and the deterioration of the population's health condition, with a rise in the number of Papuans infected with HIV and AIDS.     

Identifying barriers to GIS-based land management in Guatemala

The development of a cadastral system for the Republic of Guatemala was one of the priorities of the 1997 Peace Accord which ended 30 years of civil war. In response to uncertainty about land ownership and land titles, the development of a national cadastre, the equitable distribution of land, and transparent records of land tenancy are viewed as key to maintaining peace in Guatemala. This article addresses the most significant barriers to developing a National Land Information System to support cadastral reform. Interviews with government agencies indicate that, although technical improvements can be readily implemented, social problems and governance factors seriously hinder the completion of the cadastral process. These findings are discussed in the light of international aid and development policy.     

Right to information (RTI) legislation: the role of infomediaries in enhancing citizens’ access to information

Merely creating a legal space by enacting right to information (RTI) legislation is often not enough to ensure citizens’, especially women's, access to information. Based on a pilot intervention on RTI implementation in Bangladesh, this article explores whether the introduction of information intermediaries, or “infomediaries”, enhances rural citizens’ access to information through using the RTI Act. It was found that due to the assisted access provided by infomediaries, the number of RTI Act users increased significantly in the intervention areas compared to the national average, with five times more women than men being able to use the Act.     

Donor leverage: towards more equitable access to essential medicines?

In early 2007, the Indonesian government decided to withhold its samples of the avian influenza (‘bird flu’) virus from WHO's collaborating centres, pending a new global mechanism for virus sharing which would provide better terms for developing countries. The 60^th World Health Assembly held in May 2007 subsequently resolved to establish an international stockpile of avian influenza vaccines, and to formulate mechanisms for equitable access to these vaccines. The article asks whether there are there analogous opportunities for study volunteers or donors of biological materials to exercise corresponding leverage to advance health equity.     

Capacity development for good governance in developing societies: lessons from the field

Good governance is essential for sustaining economic transformation in developing countries. However, many developing countries currently lack the capacity, as opposed to the will, to achieve and then sustain a climate of good governance. This article addresses, from a practitioner's field perspective, the fundamental objectives, principles, and key areas that need to be addressed for developing capacity for good governance. These frameworks are now beginning to be recognised, as both governments and donor institutions attempt to take advantage of the current demand and opportunities for addressing governance deficits. In pursuing capacity development for good governance, developing countries must ensure that such initiatives are comprehensively designed to be simultaneously related to change and transformation at the individual, institutional, and societal levels and to be owned and controlled locally.     

The learning organisation as a model for rural development

This article presents evidence from Uganda's National Agricultural Advisory Service to argue that the concept of ‘the learning organisation’ is a valuable complement to participatory development which may facilitate a shift towards more democratic development institutions in which target beneficiaries have a stronger voice in planning and managing development. The concept of ‘the learning organisation’ as developed within the literature of management studies cannot, however, be readily translated into anything as specific as a clear set of practical guidelines. Rather it acts as a seed that grows to take on characteristics specific to the rural development context.