Contening cultures amongst development actors

Lewis et al (2003) establish a cogent argument which suggests that serious analysis of the culture of aid organizations, and of the relationships with other actors, matters, and that it is a neglected area of analysis. Their discussion raises important new questions about the development enterprise from an internal perspective that heretofore has been neglected or ignored. Contrasting the article by Lewis et al. with a book by Harrison and Huntington (2000) reinforces that conviction. Throughout the Harrison and Huntington book-- whose authors provide an excellent overview of the history of the study of culture as something that certainly does ‘matter’ in development--we kept saying to ourselves that ‘All this is fine, but it is focussed (as is much of the ancillary literature on ‘culture’ in development) on looking outward, at others undergoing development, without consideration of the development agency actors themselves. It mostly addresses questions and issues concerning the question: Why some political and national systems succeed and others fail

Optical Studies of Zero-Field Magnetization of CdMnTe Quantum Dots: Influence of Average Size and Composition of Quantum Dots

We show that through the resonant optical excitation of spin-polarized excitons into CdMnTe magnetic quantum dots, we can induce a macroscopic magnetization of the Mn impurities. We observe very broad (4 meV linewidth) emission lines of single dots, which are consistent with the formation of strongly confined exciton magnetic polarons. Therefore we attribute the optically induced magnetization of the magnetic dots results to the formation of spin-polarized exciton magnetic polarons. We find that the photo-induced magnetization of magnetic polarons is weaker for larger dots which emit at lower energies within the QD distribution. We also show that the photo-induced magnetization is stronger for quantum dots with lower Mn concentration, which we ascribe to weaker Mn-Mn interaction between the nearest neighbors within the dots. Due to particular stability of the exciton magnetic polarons in QDs, where the localization of the electrons and holes is comparable to the magnetic exchange interaction, this optically induced spin alignment persists to temperatures as high as 160 K.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figs - submitted for publicatio

Performance Evaluation of Commercial Maize Hybrids Across Diverse Terai Environments During the Winter Season in Nepal

The hybrid maize cultivars of multinational seed companies are gradually being popular among the farmers in Nepal. This paper reports on research finding of 117 maize hybrids of 20 seed companies assessed for grain yield and other traits at three sites in winter season of 2011 and 2012. The objective of the study was to identify superior maize hybrids suitable for winter time planting in eastern, central and inner Terai of Nepal. Across site analysis of variance revealed that highly significant effect of genotype and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) on grain yield of commercial hybrids. Overall, 47 genotypes of 16 seed companies identified as high yielding and stable based on superiority measures. The statistical analysis ranked topmost three genotypes among tested hybrids as P3856 (10515 kg ha-1), Bisco prince (8763 kg ha-1) as well as Shaktiman (8654 kg ha-1) in the first year; and 3022 (8378 kg ha-1), Kirtiman manik (8323 kg ha-1) as well as Top class (7996 kg ha-1) in the second year. It can be concluded that stable and good performing hybrids identified as potential commercial hybrids for general cultivation on similar environments in Nepal

Let us conserve and exchange seeds: celebrating traditional crop diversity of the Nepali lowlands

A seed fair is an activity to create awareness about and appreciate local crop diversity, exchange seed and related knowledge, and celebrate farmers’ efforts to conserve agrobiodiversity. It takes considerable time and effort to organize a seed fair. This brief describes the seed fair organized at the Agyauli Community Seedbank, Nawalparasi in the southern region of Nepal. About 30 members of 10 community seedbanks from the terai (the southern lowland) region of Nepal came together for this. Apart from exchanging seeds of traditional crop varieties, they also shared stories about the socio-cultural, religious, spiritual, nutritional and medicinal values of their varieties. The recent formal registration of the Community Seed Banks Association of Nepal (CSBAN) was also celebrated

From working in the wheat field to managing wheat: women innovators in Nepal

This article presents research conducted in Nepal’s Terai plains in 2014-15 showing that women are innovating in wheat to the extent that wheat farming is experiencing a shift from feminization of agricultural labor towards women taking control over decision making. Processes accounting for this include male out-migration, non-governmental organizations working on promoting women’s equality that has developed women’s confidence, individual support from extension agents, and strong cooperation between women to foster each other’s “innovation journeys.

Is the Free Tibet movement a lost cause?

China\u27s growing economic influence, internecine rivalries, and over-reliance on the West have hurt the decades-old Tibetan independence movement.tseringgurung.atavist.com/freetibetmovemen