Whose Knowledge Counts? Development Studies Institutions and Power Relations in a Globalised World

Development studies is an uneasy discipline. It has a relatively short history that is linked particularly to decolonisation and the rise of overseas aid. It is associated almost exclusively with certain geographical locations and a political economy of resource transfer, rather than with a particular body of knowledge or theory. It is thus founded on the very dichotomies it seeks to overcome – of North and South and the massive imbalances in access to resources that produce ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in the knowledge economy. This article draws on discussions at the IDS40 Roundtables and conference to outline the key elements of a vision for the future role of development studies institutions which would begin to address these inequities and challenges

Munda religion and social structure.

The thesis is concerned with the Mundas, a 600,000 strong tribe living on the Chotanagpur plateau in South Bihar, India. An attempt is made to explore and correlate linkages between certain religious and social changes found to be taking place among this group of people. A substantial body of ethnographic literature about the Mundas exists in the writings of colonial servants and foreign missionaries. This provides a point of departure and a baseline for assessing some of the many subsequent changes undergone by this group of cultivators who are traditionally organized into a segmentary lineage society and who are outside the Hindu caste system both ritually and economically. The changes in social organization discussed here include the protective tenancy legislation enacted by the British in 1908 to prevent further alienation of tribal land to outsiders, the growing shortage of virgin land and its effect on lineage organization and village life, the growth of marketing and monetary structures, missions and education, and the increased cultural 'nationalism' of tribal people in Chotanagpur. These changes are linked with changes in religious organization, and particularly the decline in significance of the village priest (pahan) and the observances traditionally associated with village life and which are tied in with the cycles of wet and dry rice cultivation. The importance of village medicine men and diviners is analysed and placed in the context of the search for explanations of new problems and of old problems for which existing explanations lack credibility. Religion is seen as a charter of meaning as well as a reflector of social and economic changes and constraints. It is a product of history, and particular attention is paid, in this analysis, to the role of historical memory and traditions in shaping present ideologies

Creating a public space and dialogue on sexuality and rights: a case study from Bangladesh

This article describes and analyses a research based engagement by a university school of public health in Bangladesh aimed at raising public debate on sexuality and rights and making issues such as discrimination more visible to policy makers and other key stakeholders in a challenging context. The impetus for this work came from participation in an international research programme with a particular interest in bridging international and local understandings of sexual and reproductive rights. The research team worked to create a platform to broaden discussions on sexuality and rights by building on a number of research activities on rural and urban men’s and women’s sexual health concerns, and on changing concepts of sexuality and understandings of sexual rights among specific population groups in Dhaka city, including sexual minorities. Linked to this on-going process of improving the evidence base, there has been a series of learning and capacity building activities over the last four years consisting of training workshops, meetings, conferences and dialogues. These brought together different configurations of stakeholders – members of sexual minorities, academics, service providers, advocacy organisations, media and policy makers. This process contributed to developing more effective advocacy strategies through challenging representations of sexuality and rights in the public domain. Gradually, these efforts brought visibility to hidden or stigmatised sexuality and rights issues through interim outcomes that have created important steps towards changing attitudes and policies. These included creating safe spaces for sexual minorities to meet and strategise, development of learning materials for university students and engagement with legal rights groups on sexual rights. Through this process, it was found to be possible to create a public space and dialogue on sexuality and rights in a conservative and challenging environment like Bangladesh by bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to successfully challenge representations of sexuality in the public arena. A further challenge for BRAC University has been to assess its role as a teaching and research organisation, and find a balance between the two roles of research and activism in doing work on sexuality issues in a very sensitive political context

Health in a Dynamic World

The world has faced a number of major health challenges over the past few decades. These include the resurgence of a number of infectious diseases, the HIV epidemic, periodic pollution disasters, the rising burden of chronic illness and the SARS outbreak. There is a growing realisation that the world’s population is interconnected and an associated concern about the possibility of global pandemics. Health has been rising up the political agenda in rich and poor countries. Governments and charitable foundations are increasingly willing to support initiatives for addressing health-related needs. The political concern about global health is creating major opportunities for improving the lives of poor people. It is also creating risks that poorly designed interventions will fail to achieve their objective or even have damaging consequences. This paper argues that we are approaching a major turning point in the organisation of national and global health systems. Its aim is to stimulate debate about how to support systems that take into account the complex interactions between ecology, technology and social organisation within which health problems arise and are addressed. Its primary concern is how best to ensure that the health systems that emerge from this period of change address the needs of the poor.ESR

Creating a public space and dialogue on sexuality and rights: a case study from Bangladesh

This article describes and analyses a research based engagement by a university school of public health in Bangladesh aimed at raising public debate on sexuality and rights and making issues such as discrimination more visible to policy makers and other key stakeholders in a challenging context. The impetus for this work came from participation in an international research programme with a particular interest in bridging international and local understandings of sexual and reproductive rights. The research team worked to create a platform to broaden discussions on sexuality and rights by building on a number of research activities on rural and urban men’s and women’s sexual health concerns, and on changing concepts of sexuality and understandings of sexual rights among specific population groups in Dhaka city, including sexual minorities. Linked to this on-going process of improving the evidence base, there has been a series of learning and capacity building activities over the last four years consisting of training workshops, meetings, conferences and dialogues. These brought together different configurations of stakeholders – members of sexual minorities, academics, service providers, advocacy organisations, media and policy makers. This process contributed to developing more effective advocacy strategies through challenging representations of sexuality and rights in the public domain. Gradually, these efforts brought visibility to hidden or stigmatised sexuality and rights issues through interim outcomes that have created important steps towards changing attitudes and policies. These included creating safe spaces for sexual minorities to meet and strategise, development of learning materials for university students and engagement with legal rights groups on sexual rights. Through this process, it was found to be possible to create a public space and dialogue on sexuality and rights in a conservative and challenging environment like Bangladesh by bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to successfully challenge representations of sexuality in the public arena. A further challenge for BRAC University has been to assess its role as a teaching and research organisation, and find a balance between the two roles of research and activism in doing work on sexuality issues in a very sensitive political context

Strengthening the research to policy and practice interface: exploring strategies used by research organisations working on sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS

This commentary introduces the HARPS supplement on getting research into policy and practice in sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The papers in this supplement have been produced by the Sexual Health and HIV Evidence into Practice (SHHEP) collaboration of international research, practitioner and advocacy organizations based in research programmes funded by the UK Department for International Development

'We Have the Internet in Our Hands’: Bangladeshi College Students’ Use of ICTs For Health Information

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) which enable people to access, use and promote health information through digital technology, promise important health systems innovations which can challenge gatekeepers’ control of information, through processes of disintermediation. College students, in pursuit of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information, are particularly affected by gatekeeping as strong social and cultural norms restrict their access to information and services. This paper examines mobile phone usage for obtaining health information in Mirzapur, Bangladesh. It contrasts college students’ usage with that of the general population, asks whether students are using digital technologies for health information in innovative ways, and examines how gender affects this