NGOs and the Institutional Development of Membership Organisations: The Case of the Quilon Fishermen Welfare Society

Recent shifts in NGO and donor priorities make it important to understand how NGOs promote membership organisations. As a means of exploring this issue, this paper uses the example of the largely successful NGO attempts to help South Indian fishermen organise in response to technical change. Key factors are found to have contributed to the process of institutional development that has taken place. A strong indigenous NGO presence has provided continuity, enabling international NGOs to confine themselves to the financial and technical functions that they are best able to discharge. A clear core of mutually supporting activities has been identified around which people have been able to organise. At the same time, institutional development is revealed to be a long-term undertaking, which depends at least partly on chance, and in which difficult trade-offs may have to be made between equity and sustainability

Indigenous technical knowledge: analysis, implications and issues

SUMMARY This review of the discussions of a workshop analyses indigenous technical knowledge (ITK), examines its potential for rural development, and outlines implications and issues. ITK is compared with institutionally organised science and technology. It can be seen in terms of stock and process: a rich but underutilised stock of knowledge; and the potential of processes through which knowledge can be generated, assimilated, and transmitted. Implications include the use of new methods for eliciting ITK, changes in the values and reward systems of professionals and officials concerned with rural development, and the need for further research and analysis. RESUME Connaissances techniques indigènes et développement rural: analyse, implications et matières à discussion Ce compte?rendu des débats d'un atelier analyse les connaissances techniques indigènes, examine leur potentiel pour le développement rural et met en évidence les implications et matières à discussion. On peut les envisager en termes de stock et de processus: un stock de connaissances riche mais sous?utilisé; et le potentiel des processus permettant d'engendrer, d'assimiler et de transmettre les connaissances. Parmi les implications, citons l'utilisation de nouvelles méthodes pour découvrir des connaissances techniques indigènes, la modification des systèmes de valeur et de rémunération des experts et des responsables travaillant au développement rural, et la nécessité d'études et d'analyses plus poussées. RESUMEN El conocimiento técnico indígena: análisis, consecuencias y conclusiones En esta reseña de las deliberaciones de un grupo de trabajo se analiza el conocimiento técnico indígena, se examinan sus posibilidades para el desarrollo rural, y se esbozan las consecuencias y las conclusiones. El conocimiento técnico indígena se compara con la ciencia y la tecnología organizada de una manera institucional. Se puede confirmar esto en relación con las reservas y procedimientos: unas reservas abundantes pero escasamente utilizadas de conocimientos, y las posibilidades de procedimientos a través de los cuales se pueden producir, asimilar y transmitir conocimientos. Las consecuencias incluyen la utilización de nuevos métodos para descubrir el conocimiento técnico indígena, los cambios en los valores y los sistemas de recompensa de los profesionales y los funcionarios que se ocupan del desarrollo rural y la necesidad de proseguir la investigación y el análisis

Domestic Fuel Shortages in Bangladesh: Causes, Consequences and Possible Solutions

SUMMARY This article reports the findings of a field investigation conducted in four villages in Bangladesh during 1985. It explores the extent of fuel shortages; asks who is effected; identifies underlying causes; and draws some preliminary conclusions about the forms of remedial action which may be appropriate. RESUMEN Este artículo comenta los resultados de una investigación de campo llevada a cabo en cuatro aldeas de Bangladesh en 1985. Explora la extensión de la escasez de energía, los afectados por ella, identifica las causas subyacentes y esboza algunas conclusiones preliminares acerca de las probables formas adecuadas de acción curativa. RESUME Cet article fait un compte rendu des résultats d'une enquête sur le terrain effectuée dans quatre villages du Bengladèche en 1985. Il explore l'ampleur prise par la pénurie de fuel; s'informe sur les catégories de personnes touchées par la pénurie; identifie les causes profondes; et tire quelques conclusions préliminaires sur les formes d'action appropriées qui pourraient être prises pour y remedier

NGOs and the institutional development of membership organisations: A Kenyan case

A World Neighbors Programme in Kenya suggests more general conclusions about how NGOs can help to promote strong, inclusive membership organisations. A capacity to recognise the potential and limitations of existing institutions is found to be critical. It is important to address perceived needs, start with something simple to build confidence, and diversify in order to meet the requirements of different constituencies. A clear strategy is necessary to reconcile these sometimes conflicting demands. Success demands a heavy initial geographical concentration of resources, a substantial training input to provide staff with specialist facilitation skills, and an NGO structure which can access a wide range of external resources.

Systems of Accountability, Webs of Deceit? Monitoring and Evaluation in South African NGOs

International requirements that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) adopt systems of monitoring, evaluation and reporting for their funded development work are generating surprising effects. Although such systems were introduced to enhance the accountability of NGO staff and to better guide implementation, her research in South Africa suggests that they often foster fear and deceit, resulting in systemic distortions of information and limited improvements of projects and their implementation. Development (2006) 49, 52–61. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100261

GABAA receptor availability is not altered in adults with autism spectrum disorder or in mouse models

Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved. Preliminary studies have suggested that -aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors, and potentially the GABAA 5 subtype, are deficient in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, prior studies have been confounded by the effects of medications, and these studies did not compare findings across different species. We measured both total GABAA and GABAA 5 receptor availability in two positron emission tomography imaging studies. We used the tracer [11C]flumazenil in 15 adults with ASD and in 15 control individuals without ASD and the tracer [11C]Ro15-4513 in 12 adults with ASD and in 16 control individuals without ASD. All participants were free of medications. We also performed autoradiography, using the same tracers, in three mouse models of ASD: the Cntnap2 knockout mouse, the Shank3 knockout mouse, and mice carrying a 16p11.2 deletion. We found no differences in GABAA receptor or GABAA 5 subunit availability in any brain region of adults with ASD compared to those without ASD. There were no differences in GABAA receptor or GABAA 5 subunit availability in any of the three mouse models. However, adults with ASD did display altered performance on a GABA-sensitive perceptual task. Our data suggest that GABAA receptor availability may be normal in adults with ASD, although GABA signaling may be functionally impaired