WilliamsMemo1REVISED

Williams 1/27/09 REVISED Memo 1 Project Hopping

__**Overall topic: INNOVATIVE PROCESSES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT**__ Doctors Without Borders (MSF); Engineering World Health (EWH, Duke Univeresity) Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW, Cornell University); Engineers Without Borders (EWB); Design that Matters (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Appropriate Technology Collaborators (Ann Arbor, MI) || # How do NGOs construct their identities as social entrepreneurs? RPI's Ethnography and Cultural Analysis and SUNY's Survey Design and Analysis || I assume that these organizations are very young in membership, and thus are more at ease and capable with information technology; I assume they use ICT extensively in communication. Since I have training as a Mechanical engineer, I will possibly 'read' my own thoughts and desires in what I observe in the actions and discussions of other engineers. || College Program Coordinator for Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) or Engineers Without Borders (EWB); Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University (Social Entrepreneurship, Social Networking); Assistant Professor of Policy at Virginia Tech Department of STS (Sustainability, World Development, Social Entrepreneurship, Appropriate Technology) ) || # NSF Science, Technology & Society Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (dissertation research award for int'l development research) || Unite for Sight; Himalayan Cataract Project; World Health Organization (WHO) Vision 2020 || # How do NGOs create an international 'text' for our understanding of a contentious issue? RPI's Ethnography and Cultural Analysis and SUNY's Survey Design and Analysis || I would like to find cases where NGOs, and government bodies have incorporated indigenous knowledges and made use of local ways of disseminating information. I have previously performed an Independent Study in Solid Mechanics of the Lens Capsule (CU-Boulder) with Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Richard Regueiro in Spring 2007; I am biased in thinking that basic research on the lens capsule (tissue mechanics, bio-chemical signals, etc) is necessary for further advancement of the field -- this may or may not be true as no one understands why cataracts develop it could be any number of reasons some of which might be addressed through community health programs (i.e. smoking, vitamin A deficiency, lead intake). Regardless, it firmly places me within the 'text' I am trying to see. || Assistant Professor of Sociology (Local Knowledges, Public Engagement, Community Science) || # NSF STS Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (dissertation research award for int'l development research) || Godisa Technologies Trust (Botswana); Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens Laboratory (Nepal) Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (Kathmandu, Nepal); Rural Integrated Development Services (Kathmandu, Nepal) || # How do NGOs construct their identity as self-sustained and entrepreneurial? RPI's Ethnography and Cultural Analysis and SUNY's Survey Design and Analysis Assistant Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Miami (alternative design and manufacturing, appropriate technology ) Assistant Professor of Sociology (Local Knowledges, Public Engagement, Community Science) || # NSF STS Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (dissertation research award for int'l development research) || (1)John A. Moran Eye Center (University of Utah, USA) paired with Tilganga Eye Centre (Kathmandu, Nepal); (2)Nick Simons Institute (NSI) Patan, Nepal; (3)Engineering World Health (EWH) Duke University || # How are current practices and technologies presently described as "appropriate technology" re-defined when translated between industrialized and developing countries? RPI's Ethnography and Cultural Analysis and SUNY's Survey Design and Analysis || From my work on my case study paper, I believe that this knowledge transfer is not just one-way 1st World/3rd World, but instead is circular, where the second half of the circle (3rd World/1st World) is not acknowledged. Again, since I already have this 'theory' it might be hard to 'see' what the empirical data is trying to say || Assistant Professor of Sociology (SSK, knowledge translation and transcription, appropriate technology); || # NSF STS Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (dissertation research award for int'l development research) || Government of Nepal; Unite for Sight; Himalayan Cataract Project; World Health Organization (WHO) Vision 2020 Government of Botswana; Godisa Technologies Trust || # How do national governments frame their pursuit of alternative/sustainable/appropriate technologies within national and, or, international rhetoric of globalization? RPI's Ethnography and Cultural Analysis and SUNY's Survey Design and Analysis || I'm not particularly interested in humanitarian projects that do not provide immediate and visibly recognized impacts in a community; this means that I may have difficulty identifying the "undone" work of these NGOs || Assistant Professor of Policy (Globalization, World Development, Sustainability) || # NSF STS Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (dissertation research award for int'l development research) ||
 * **Topical Area?** || **Data Sets?** || **Social Theoretical Questions?** || **Why Now?** || **How Prepared?** || **Bias?** || **Fields of Work?** || **Funders?** ||
 * Sustainable Development through Professional Career NGOs || Participant Observation and Interviews of people in the following (or similar) organizations:
 * (A) Health**
 * (B) Energy & Sanitation & Education**
 * (C) Built Environment/Architecture**
 * 1) How are transnational advocacy networks used to determine intervention sites for appropriate technology? || Sustainability has been institutionalized/ co-opted according to Sean Ferguson (I need to ask what he has read about this.) I am interested in how these organizations are either (a) a part of this co-option or (b) responding to this co-option. These organizations are relatively new. They fulfill some sort of need in engineers that is not addressed through coursework and, or, professional careers || # Eglash's course "Self-Organization" (network theory/systems analysis)
 * 2) Some reading on social entrepreneurship and flexible economic networks
 * 3) Kinchy's course "Social Movements" (transnational advocacy networks)
 * 4) On listserv for EWH
 * 5) Re-read Willoughby, and read Eglash, and other authors on "appropriate technology" and Hess "alternative pathways"
 * 6) Re-read Escobar and read STS-y literature on "world development"
 * 7) read STS-y literature on Technology Transfer/ knowledge translation
 * 8) Future Reading: Star "boundary objects"; Gaston "boundary organizations"; Geiryn "boundary theory"; Bordieu "boundary fields";
 * 9) Possible methods courses:
 * 1) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogerty International Research Collaboration – Behavioral, Social Sciences (FIRCA-BSS) Small Research Grant (R03)
 * 2) NIH: Social & Cultural Dimensions Of Health Research Grant (R01)
 * 3) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowships
 * 4) World Bank
 * **Topical Area?** || **Data Sets?** || **Social Theoretical Questions?** || **Why Now?** || **How Prepared?** || **Bias?** || **Fields of Work?** || **Funders?** ||
 * Culture and Values Transfer through International Humanitarianism || Discourse Analysis, Participant Observation and Interviews of people in the following (or similar) organizations::
 * (A) Preventable Blindness**
 * 1) How is this text disseminated/translated so that it becomes the dominant frame through which 'we' understand the issue?
 * 2) How does this 'text' compete with more local understandings of the issue? || I've looked at one or two papers from the '70s and they describe the problem of eye disease using the same or similar language; the magnitude of this disease, in terms of percentages has not responded to the efforts of the WHO and other organizations but has remained a large problem; perhaps there is something about the approach of the WHO, or, the language of the WHO that helps this to continue despite the enormous amounts of time, and money spent dealing with these diseases || # Campbell's course "Discourse Analysis"
 * 3) Breyman's course "Policy Studies"
 * 4) Initiated contact with Unite for Sight chapter at SUNY-Albany
 * 5) Future reading postcolonial texts: Appiah and other authors
 * 6) Future reading history of medical humanitarianism
 * 7) ???? Help???
 * 8) Possible methods courses:
 * 1) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogerty International Center (FIC) Research Grant
 * 2) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowships
 * 3) World Bank
 * **Topical Area?** || **Data Sets?** || **Social Theoretical Questions?** || **Why Now?** || **How Prepared?** || **Bias?** || **Fields of Work?** || **Funders?** ||
 * Self-sustaining entrepreneurial NGOs and Technology Production || Econometrics, Participant Observation and Interviews of people in the following (or similar) organizations:
 * (A) Medical technology manufacturing**
 * (B)Alternative Energy manufacturing**
 * 1) What is the role of public engagement in the success of entrepreneurial NGOs?
 * 2) Are flexibility and, resiliency components of success for non governmental organizations acting as social entrepreneurs? || # It takes 10-15 years for a business to become "an overnight success". Godisa started date unknown. First mentioned in 1995.
 * 3) Hollows Lab started date unknown. First mentioned in the mid 90's. Now manufactures inexpensive intraocular lenses for countries in African and South Asia. || # Initiated contact with holistic 'family of four' anthropologist, K. Haddix McCay, at U. Montana who works through the ISIS Foundation with Rural Integrated Development Services (Kathmandu, Nepal)
 * 4) Superficial literature review of 3rd world innovative medical technologies (ST Global grad. Conference paper)
 * 5) Required: lit. review on 3rd world innovative alternative energy technologies
 * 6) Possible ECON courses at RPI: Macro Economics; Adv Econometrics; Seminar in Ecological Economics, Values, and Policy; Economics of Regulation; International Economics and Globalization
 * 7) Possible methods courses:
 * 1) Possible ECON/Policy course at SUNY: Soc Capital & Pub Policy || My bias is an idea I have that empowering local peoples makes medical humanitarian interventions more effective and innovative! Since I already have this 'theory' it might be hard to 'see' what the empirical data is trying to say || Assistant Professor in the department of Science, Technology and Society, and the department of Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia (Social Entrepreneurship, Organizational Theory, Risk & Uncertainty);
 * 1) NSF Science of Science and Innovation Policy Standard Grant
 * 2) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogerty International Center (FIC) Research Grant
 * 3) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowships
 * 4) World Bank
 * **Topical Area?** || **Data Sets?** || **Social Theoretical Questions?** || **Why Now?** || **How Prepared?** || **Bias?** || **Fields of Work?** || **Funders?** ||
 * Knowledge and technology transfer of innovation || Participant Observation and Interviews of people in the following (or similar) organizations:
 * (A) Surgical technologies and practices**
 * 1) How is this knowledge and technology transfer intertwined with a culture and values transfer? || It takes 10-15 years to become "an overnight success". Dr. Ruit started working on SICS (a surgery type for cataracts) in the late 80's. Starting in the late 90's and early 00's there have been a lot of publications in European and USA medical journals from his research/surgical group. Also the Tilganga Eye Centre has performed 181 Outreach Microsurgical Eye Clinics from 1994-2006 in several South Asian countries || # Currently taking Eglash's "Knowledge Worlds" course
 * 2) Case study on Nepal/Nigeria cataract surgeries (2008)
 * 3) Superficial literature review of discussions of technology transfer (ST Global grad. Conference paper)
 * 4) Re-read: Latour "knowledge transcription" and "ANT"
 * 5) Required reading: Bloor "SSK", ??? "Knowledge translation"
 * 6) Possible methods courses:
 * 1) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogerty International Center (FIC) Research Grant
 * 2) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowships
 * 3) World Bank
 * **Topical Area?** || **Data Sets?** || **Social Theoretical Questions?** || **Why Now?** || **How Prepared?** || **Bias?** || **Fields of Work?** || **Funders?** ||
 * NGOs and Governing Bodies || Discourse Analysis, Participant Observation and Interviews of people in the following (or similar) organizations:
 * (A) Eye Disease in South Asia and Africa**
 * (B)Hearing Loss in Botswana**
 * 1) How do NGOs pursuing sustainable development agendas navigate within the context defined by political institutions (i.e. government, industry, everybody!)? || I feel as though if I do not make explicit the ways that NGOs maneuver and position themselves within various government and industry institutions, then all of this other research will be useless. I want people to not only see how much work NGOs are doing (acknowledgement/ naming) but how they are doing it so it can serve as a sort of guide/ or tutorial (operationalize/ norming). || # Campbell's "Discourse Analysis" course
 * 2) ??help??
 * 3) Possible methods courses:
 * 1) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogerty International Center (FIC) Research Grant
 * 2) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowships
 * 3) World Bank