Transformation without Paternalism

Human development is meant to be transformational in that it aims to improve people's lives by enhancing their capabilities. But who does it target: people as they are or the people they will become? This paper argues that the human development approach relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic rather than as static collections of preferences, and that this distinguishes human development from conventional approaches to development. Nevertheless, this dynamic understanding of personal identity is presently poorly conceptualized and this has implications for development practice. We identify a danger of paternalism and propose institutionalizing two procedural principles as side constraints on development policies and projects: the principle of free prior informed consent and the principle of democratic development

(WP 2016-01) Transformation without Paternalism

Human development is meant to be transformational in that it aims to improve people’s lives by enhancing their capabilities. But who does it target: people as they are or the people they will become? This paper argues that the human development approach relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic rather than as static collections of preferences, and that this distinguishes human development from conventional approaches to development. Nevertheless this dynamic understanding of personal identity is presently poorly conceptualized and this has implications for development practice. We identify a danger of paternalism and propose institutionalizing two procedural principles as side constraints on development policies and projects: the principle of free prior informed consent, and the principle of democratic development

False Promises: Migrant Workers in the Global Garment Industry (Discussion Paper)

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide.  Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.CCC_False_Promises.pdf: 1932 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Threads: Newsletter of the Clean Clothes Campaign No. 26

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide.  Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.CCC_Threads_27.pdf: 192 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Diversity, Dilemmas and Transformation in Post-Compulsory Education: an Introduction to the Special Issue on Work Based Research

As governments recognize the central place of post-compulsory education in regenerating and modernizing the economic and social fabric of society (BIS 2008), it is appropriate for us as educational researchers to question whether this recognition beckons a different role for research in post-compulsory education. Much of this research is work based, using a broad interpretation of this term, and the majority of articles received by this journal (though the proportion published is a lower one) reflect this balance. Work based research in education poses particular challenges for the researcher and the practitioner, whether the focus is practitioner research, in which case the dilemmas can centre on potential role conflict between practitioner and researcher roles, or whether the work based research is observational – analyzing others’ professional practice, in which case the dilemmas can centre on power relations between researcher and researched, the politics of research, and ethical questions around care for participants and the degree of their involvement or non-involvement in the total research enterprise. This article reviews the prospects for work based research in post-compulsory education and introduces the articles in this special issue

Clean Clothes Newsletter No. 20

Newsletter of Clean Clothes Campaign, detailing European campaigns and issues surrounding fair labor standards

Civil Society Legitimacy and Accountability: Issues and Challenges

University education rarely focuses its attention and imagination on teaching students how to turn a vision into reality; how to design, develop, and lead social change organizations. The author co-created the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory (SE Lab) at Stanford University and then Harvard University as a model educational program designed to achieve this goal. The SE Lab is a Silicon Valley influenced incubator where student teams create and develop innovative pilot projects for US and international social sector initiatives. The lab combines academic theory, frameworks, and traditional research with intensive field work, action research, peer support and learning, and participation of domain experts and social entrepreneurship practitioners. It also provides students an opportunity to collaborate on teams to develop business plans for their initiatives and to compete for awards and recognition in the marketplace of ideas. Students in the SE Lab have created innovative organizations serving many different social causes, including fighting AIDS in Africa, promoting literacy in Mexico, combating the conditions for terrorism using micro-finance in the Palestinian territories, and confronting gender inequality using social venture capital to empower women in Afghanistan

Clean Clothes Newsletter No. 20

Details the Clean Clothes Campaign’s various European efforts and issues surrounding international fair labor standards

How Should Universities be Responding to the Fast-changing Professional and Vocational Worlds?

Universities are currently facing an acute crisis of identity. The focus on traditional and academic courses is being redirected to vocational programmes. Universities are turning to industry to sponsor research, and even courses, in a drive towards educational privatisation. Such a dependence could lead to pedagogic compromise. The successful graduate in vocational subjects will be defined by their ability to transfer essential skills to a fluctuating professional arena. It is only by continuous, and a responsive, alliance with the market that we can build course that are relevant to industry but also preserve their pedagogic integrity