Suggestions invited on Draft Indian National Policy on Official Statistics | Latest by 31st May 2018

Suggestions invited on Draft Indian National Policy on Official Statistics

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Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 29-01-2014 and by the Union Cabinet on 04-05-2016. To give furtherance to these UN Fundamental Principles a National Policy on Official Statistics (NPOS) has been drafted in the Indian context of decentralised statistical system. 

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation invites comments/ views/ suggestions, latest by 31st May 2018, on the Draft National Policy on Official Statistics available at the Ministry's official website.

Comments/ views/ suggestions may be sent by the last date by post/ email to Smt. Ayasree M G, Director, Central Statistics Office, M/o Statistics & PI, Room No. 425 F, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi – 110 001, by E-mail to: capcsomospi@gov.in.

Further Details

National Policy on Official Statistics (Draft) 

Call for Applications: Scheme for Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research for the Year 2017-18

Scheme for Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research for the Year 2017-18

Ministry of Culture | Government of India

The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, invites nominations/applications for the award of 45 Fellowships and 75 Scholarships in the Scheme component of Tagore National  Fellowship for Cultural Research (TNFCR) under the Scheme of Scholarship and Fellowship for Promotion of Art and Culture. The Scheme is open to both Indian and foreign nationals.

The scheme has two categories of Awards—'Tagore National Fellows' and 'Tagore Research Scholars'. Under the first category selected candidates will be paid an honorarium of Rs. 80,000/- per month. Up to 15 awards are given in a year in this category. The selected candidates of the second category will be paid an honorarium of up to Rs. 50,000/- per month. Under this category up to 25 awards are given in a year. [For the batch year 2017-18, vacancies in the previous two batches - 2015-16 and 2016-17 have been included in order to clear the backlog].

Candidates may submit their application to any one of the Nodal Institutions of his/her choice depending upon the area of research proposed to be undertaken. The List of nodal institutions along with the other relevant details of the Scheme and application form are available on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

The applications should reach the Nodal Institutions on or before 22nd June 2018 (5:30 PM). Applications should not be sent to the Ministry of Culture or Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. 

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New Book "Data Science Landscape: Towards Research Standards and Protocols" | ed by Usha M Munshi & Neeta Verma

Data Science Landscape: Towards Research Standards and Protocols

edited by Usha Mujoo Munshi & Neeta Verma,  Springer, 2018, ISBN: 9789811075148.

About the Book: 

The edited volume deals with different contours of data science with special reference to data management for the research innovation landscape. The data is becoming pervasive in all spheres of human, economic and development activity. In this context, it is important to take stock of what is being done in the data management area and begin to prioritize, consider and formulate adoption of a formal data management system including citation protocols for use by research communities in different disciplines and also address various technical research issues. The volume, thus, focuses on some of these issues drawing typical examples from various domains. The idea of this work germinated from the two day workshop on "Big and Open Data - Evolving Data Science Standards and Citation Attribution Practices," an international workshop, led by the ICSU-CODATA and attended by over 300 domain experts. The Workshop focused on two priority areas (i) Big and Open Data: Prioritizing, Addressing and Establishing Standards and Good Practices and (ii) Big and Open Data: Data Attribution and Citation Practices. This important international event was part of a worldwide initiative led by ICSU, and the CODATA-Data Citation Task Group. In all, there are 21 chapters (with 21st Chapter addressing four different core aspects) written by eminent researchers in the field which deal with key issues of S&T, institutional, financial, sustainability, legal, IPR, data protocols, community norms and others, that need attention related to data management practices and protocols, coordinate area activities, and promote common practices and standards of the research community globally. In addition to the aspects touched above, the national / international perspectives of data and its various contours have also been portrayed through case studies in this volume.

Further Details

​Book Launching Event at IGNCA, New Delhi | 25th May

Discover the new STIP Compass Database for Science Policy & Innovation Policy | following the FAIR Principles

Discover the new STIP Compass Database for Science Policy & Innovation Policy, bringing together quantitative & qualitative data on national trends in Science, Technology & Innovation (STI)

STIP Compass: A simple yet powerful tool to support policy analysis and discovery for better decision-making

The STIP Compass is an initiative of the European Commission and the OECD to collect together in one place quantitative and qualitative data on national trends in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy. The portal supports the continuous monitoring and analysis of countries' STI policies and aims to become a central platform for policy research and advice supporting government officials, analysts and scholars. Data is freely accessible following the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable). The STIP Compass incorporates more than 500 interactive dashboards and provides a sophisticated search tool with smart filtering that facilitates policy discovery. These interfaces allow users to seamlessly query the database to identify country policies on a wide range of STI policy issues.

​Access Online

New Book "Environmental Sustainability from the Himalayas to the Oceans: Struggles and Innovations in China and India"

Environmental Sustainability from the Himalayas to the Oceans: Struggles and Innovations in China and India 

edited by Shikui Dong, Jayanta Bandyopadhyay and Sanjay Chaturvedi; Springer, 2017, pp 270, hardcover, ISBN: 9783319440354.

About the Book: ​The book is written in the backdrop of the environmental impacts of and future requirements from the natural environment for rapid economic growth that has characterized recent economic history of China and India, especially over the past few decades. The environmental impacts of such rapid economic changes have been, more frequently than otherwise, degrading in character. Environmental impacts of economic activities create degraded natural ecosystems by over utilization of nature's provisioning ecosystem services (from Himalaya to the Ocean), as well, by the use of the natural environment as sink for dumping of unmarketable products or unused inputs of economic activities. Such processes affect wide range of ecosystem processes on which the natural environment including human population depend on. Critical perspectives cast by various chapters in this book draw attention to the various ways in which space and power interact to produce diverse geographies of sustainability in a globalizing world. They also address the questions such as who decides what kind of a spatial arrangement of political power is needed for sustaining the environment. Who stands to gain (or lose) what, when, where, and why from certain geographical areas being demarcated as ecologically unique, fragile and vulnerable environments? Whose needs and values are being catered to by a given ecosystem service? What is the scope for critical inquiry into the ways in which the environment is imagined, represented and resisted in both geopolitical struggles and everyday life? The book provides insights to both academics from diverse disciplines and policy makers, civil society actors interested in mutual exchange of knowledge between China and India. 

Further Details

Review of the Book

Interpreting Environmentalism and Sustainability in China and India. 

by Nilanjan Ghosh, Economic and Political Weekly, 2018, 53(19), 28-31. Read Full-text Book Review.

New Book "Dignity in the Legal and Political Philosophy of Ronald Dworkin"

Dignity in the Legal and Political Philosophy of Ronald Dworkin

edited by Salman Khurshid, Lokendra Malik, and Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2018, 511 pages, hardback, ISBN: 9780199484171.

About the Book: Well-known for his contribution to the juristic world, Professor Ronald Dworkin was an outstanding legal philosopher of his generation. This volume celebrates the thoughts of Ronald Dworkin on dignity. The contributors have critically engaged with different perspectives of Dworkin's thoughts on dignity. The aim is to shed light on juridical and moral contemporary conundrums such as the role of dignity in constitutional contexts in India, and the understanding of dignity as either a foundation of human rights or as a supra value that illuminates other values and rights.

The volume is divided into four parts. The first part 'Integrity, Values, Interpretation, and Objectivity' focuses on Dworkin's interpretive methodology and examines the way his value holism relies on his interpretative methodology. The second part 'Dignity, Responsibility, and Free Will' concentrates on elucidating the complex relationship between dignity, human will, and responsibility in Dworkin's moral, legal, and political philosophy. In the third part 'Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy, and Rights', the authors use Dworkin's philosophical moral framework and the interpretative methodology to shed light on his own views on freedom of speech and the language of rights, including human rights. The fourth part 'Dignity, Constitutions, and Legal Systems' critically discusses Dworkin's interpretative methodology to understand dignity in the context of constitutions, state, and law beyond the state. With contributions from eminent scholars across the world, the present volume will help in disseminating Dworkin's rich jurisprudential thoughts.

Table of Contents

Foreword | John Finnis

Introduction | Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco

Part I Integrity, Values, Interpretation, and Objectivity 

Ronald Dworkin: Life and Works | Lokendra Malik

Integrity and Truth in Law's Empire | Jonathan Crowe

Dworkin's Perfectionism | James E. Fleming and Linda C. McClain

Interpretation in Normative Domains | Alexander Brown

Justice, Integrity, and the Common Law | Trevor R.S. Allan

Taking (Human) Dignity and Rights Seriously: The Integrated Legal, Moral, and Political Philosophy of Ronald Dworkin | Imer Flores

Are There Any Interpretative Concepts? | Pritam Baruah 

Part II Dignity, Responsibility, and Free Will 

Interpreting Human Dignity | Allen W. Wood

Dworkin's Dignity Under the Lens of the Magician of Könisberg | Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco

Does Dignity Help in Thinking about Paternalism | Barbara Baum Levenbook

Dignity, Rights, and Virtues in the Department of Values | Isabel Trujillo 

Part III Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy, and Human Rights 

Dignity and Free Speech | David Richards

Ronald Dworkin and Free Speech | James Allan

Exit Hercules: Ronald Dworkin and the Crisis of the Age of Rights | Lorenzo Zucca 

Part IV Dignity, Constitutions, and Legal Systems 

Revamping Associative Obligations | George Pavlakos

Dworkinian Dignity: Rights and Responsibilities of a Life Well Lived | Erin Daly

Ronald Dworkin's Judge: Philosopher Master of Rights | Salman Khurshid

A Dworkinian Reading of the Indian Constitution | Suhrith Parthasarathy

A Dworkinian Right to Privacy in New Zealand | Mark Bennett and Petra Butler 

Afterword | Justice A.K. Sikri

​More Information about the Book

New Book "Women Scientists in India: Lives, Struggles, Achievements" | by Anjana Chattopadhyay, NBT

Women Scientists in India: Lives, Struggles, Achievements

by Anjana Chattopadhyay, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 2018, 492 pages, ISBN 9788123781440.

About the Book

The book is a landmark study focusing on rare facts related to the pioneering women scientists of India. It provides an overview of their relentless struggles and achievements that changed the course of science in India. The book has also covered the thrilling stories of foreign women missionaries who worked relentlessly for the wellbeing of people in India. The author has made an attempt to unfold the stories of great women scientists who remain hidden in scattered historical pages of unknown documents including newspapers, journals, dissertations and travelogues.

About the Author

Dr. Anjana Chattopadhyay (b. 1950), former Director General of Delhi Public Library System, was educated in University of Delhi and Annamalai University. She did her PhD from University of Bundelkhand. She served as the Deputy Librarian of the Jawaharlal Nehru University as well as Director, National Medical Library. During her tenure at various organisations, she had initiated several innovative programmes to make knowledge resources reachable to all. She started Electronic Resources in Medicine (ERMED), a network to provide free full-texts of articles from global journals to medical communities, including those, who are stationed at remote corners of the country. Dr. Anjana Chattopadhyay has written several articles and contributed many chapters in books. Besides, she has authored a series of books including Encyclopaedia of Indian Scientists (1995) and Dictionary of Indian Scientists (2002).

Further Details

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New Book "Shadow Libraries: Access to Knowledge in Global Higher Education"

Shadow Libraries: Access to Knowledge in Global Higher Education

Edited by Joe Karaganis; The MIT Press, International Development Research Centre, & the American Assembly at Columbia University, 2018, 313 pages, ISBN: 9780262535014.

About the Book: Examining the new ecosystems of access that are emerging in middle- and low-income countries as opportunities for higher education expand but funding for materials shrinks.

Even as middle- and low-income countries expand their higher education systems, their governments are retreating from responsibility for funding and managing this expansion. The public provision of educational materials in these contexts is rare; instead, libraries, faculty, and students are on their own to get what they need. Shadow Libraries explores the new ecosystem of access, charting the flow of educational and research materials from authors to publishers to libraries to students, and from comparatively rich universities to poorer ones. In countries from Russia to Brazil, the weakness of formal models of access was countered by the growth of informal ones. By the early 2000s, the principal form of access to materials was informal copying and sharing. Since then, such unauthorized archives as Libgen, Gigapedia, and Sci-Hub have become global "shadow libraries," with massive aggregations of downloadable scholarly materials.

The chapters consider experiments with access in a range of middle- and low-income countries, describing, among other things, the Russian samizdat tradition and the connection of illicit copying to resistance to oppression; BiblioFyL, an online archive built by students at the University of Buenos Aires; education policy and the daily practices of students in post-Apartheid South Africa; the politics of access in India; and copy culture in Brazil.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction: Access from Above, Access from Below | Joe Karaganis

2 The Genesis of Library Genesis: The Birth of a Global Scholarly Shadow Library | Balázs Bodó

3 Library Genesis in Numbers: Mapping the Underground Flow of Knowledge | Balázs Bodó

4 Argentina: A Student-Made Ecosystem in an Era of State Retreat | Evelin Heidel

5 Access to Learning Resources in Post-apartheid South Africa | Eve Gray and Laura Czerniewicz

6 Poland: Where the State Ends, the Hamster Begins | Mirosław Filiciak and Alek Tarkowski

7 India: The Knowledge Thief | Lawrence Liang

8 Brazil: The Copy Shop and the Cloud | Pedro Mizukami and Jhessica Reia

9 Coda: Uruguay | Jorge Gemetto and Mariana Fossatti

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ADBR article "Safeguarding health and well-being of people: How Clinical Trials in Africa set for Sustainable Development Goals?" | by SK Patra & M Muchie

Safeguarding Health and Well-being of People: How Clinical Trials in Africa set for Sustainable Development Goals?

by Swapan Kumar Patra, & Mammo Muchie, Asian Biotechnology Development Review, 2017, 19(3), 3-23.

Abstract: To make availabile cheap medicines for number of diseases is one of the pressing challenges in Africa. Clinical trials are the foundation for making new medicines and continuation of the existing medicine. With the diverse patient population, African continent is a fertile ground for conducting clinical trials by many pharmaceutical firms, universities or research institutes. Governments of many African countries have adopted suitable pharmaceutical policies to make these countries comparatively researcher friendly and thus attracting firms or institutes to conduct the clinical trials. Governments of these countries are considering in making them centre of excellence in pharmaceutical and healthcare research. As a result, over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of registered clinical trials all -over Africa. This study is an attempt to map the clinical trial activities in African continent using data from the clinical trial database (ClinicalTrials.gov) website of the United State Government. It has been observed that although there has been a growth of clinical trials all -over African continent in the recent years, it is comparatively lower to other parts of the globe. The total number of the trials have shown that they are only conducted and that too to a limited extent in a few countries of the continent having stronger science and technology (S&T) base. The study concludes with some policy recommendations, including uniform research guidelines, and ethical regulations for further improvement of clinical trial research in Africa.

Keywords: Healthcare, Africa, Clinical Trial, Internationalization, Globalization, Globalization of R&D

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New Book "Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation: Trade-offs and Governance"

Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation: Trade-offs and Governance

Edited By Kate Schreckenberg, Georgina Mace, Mahesh Poudyal. Routledge, 2018, 352 pages, ISBN 9780429016295. 

About the Book: Understanding how to sustain the services that ecosystems provide in support of human wellbeing is an active and growing research area. This book provides a state-of-the-art review of current thinking on the links between ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. In part it showcases the key findings of the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme, which has funded over 120 research projects in more than 50 countries since 2010. ESPA's goal is to ensure that ecosystems are being sustainably managed in a way that contributes to poverty alleviation as well as to inclusive and sustainable growth. As governments across the world map how they will achieve the 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, most of which have poverty alleviation, wellbeing and sustainable environmental management at their heart, ESPA's findings have never been more timely and relevant.

The book synthesises the headline messages and compelling evidence to address the questions at the heart of ecosystems and wellbeing research. The authors, all leading specialists, address the evolving framings and contexts for the work, review the impacts of ongoing drivers of change, present new ways to achieve sustainable wellbeing, equity, diversity, and resilience, and evaluate the potential contributions from conservation projects, payment schemes, and novel governance approaches across scales from local to national and international.

The cross-cutting, thematic chapters challenge conventional wisdom in some areas, and validate new methods and approaches for sustainable development in others. The book will provide a rich and important reference source for advanced students, researchers and policy-makers in ecology, environmental studies, ecological economics and sustainable development.

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CSIR-NISCAIR introduces PhD & M.Sc. in Science & Technology Communication

CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR), New Delhi

Offers

PhD Science & Technology Communication &

M.Sc. Science & Technology Communication

Last date for online application: 24.05.2018

Detailed Instructions/ Guidelines

Application Form

Further Details

Article "Research and Innovation in South African Universities: from the Triple Helix's Perspective" | by SK Patra & Mammo Muchie

Research and Innovation in South African Universities: from the Triple Helix's Perspective

Swapan Kumar Patra & Mammo Muchie, Scientometrics, 2018, Doi: 10.1007/s11192-018-2764-0

Abstract: This study explores the research and innovation in South African universities within the triple-helix framework. Patents and publications data have been used as output indicators to map the R&D activities of South African universities. The study observed that universities are the most prolific publishers and constitute about 91% of total South African publications. However, universities altogether produce only about 14% of total South African patents. Only a few universities are responsible for both patenting and publication portfolio of South Africa. The collaboration patterns from joint patents show that only about 19% patents are collaborative patents. South African public research institutes are more active in joint patents with universities followed by the foreign universities but local firms are less active in collaborative patents. The similar trends are observed in co-authored articles also. The study recommends that collaboration between universities and local firms need to be strengthened to develop technological capabilities in South Africa. South African universities need to collaborate more with the industries, particularly the local industries or institutes to achieve the 'entrepreneurial university' in terms of patents and technology transfer. 

Keywords: South African universities, Triple helix, Industry–academia, linkages Social network analysis, Patents, Scientometrics

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