FergusonCommentMemo3-4-Logan

Memo 4: biosketch 2020
1. Why MSU, and more specifically why the joint positions in sociology and the honor's college? 2. Why has STS prepared you for these research topics?

3. There are tensions with appropriate technology, global institutions, and world development that don't seem to come out in the sketch but are suggested in the keywords, e.g. expertise.

Memo 3 or Memo1Redux
__Sustainable NGO based development__ 1. Whom decides what is appropriate?

2. Interviews with recipients of the appropriate technoscience?

3. Interviews with students participating in these programs?

4. Let's see...sustainability... -How does the discourse/intent of advocacy groups change when it becomes incorporated at your sites of study? -What is sustainable, when is it sustainable, think about Escobar's "Encountering Development"... -Many groups are promoting biobased goods and fuel as sustainably inclined and yet little is talked about in terms of sustainable agriculture practices, overhauling privately owned waste collection and recycling facilities (often massive and/or corrupt institutions), evaluation of massive composting facilities, etc.

5. Are you interested in the technoscience outputs of these organizations, the pedagogy surrounding these institutions, the percieved and actual benefit to recipients?

__Humanitarianism and political technology__ 1. You'll have to look at the framing literature from social movements as this body of literature relates to the formation of texts.

2. Are you going to compare values in the organizations and the sites that they work at? This becomes especially important considering you biases link the community to the organization

3. Have you talked with Ron about whether he has encountered any other interesting sites for research?

4. Are you going to touch on the different between appropriating technology and the black boxing of scientific knowledge to local communities?

__Identity in NGOs__ 1. What exactly about NGOs do you find interesting?

2. Are you planning a critical look at the methods of econometrics or are you planning on using econometrics to determine success? Regardless, how exactly is this field going to hinder/enable deeper understanding of your questions?

3. Does the empowerment potential extend beyond NGOs? If so then you are also dealing with the reevaluation of existing markets and business practices which is tougher but has a bunch of literature to draw from

4. Empowering is kinda vague, empowering alternative knowledge, empowering self-sufficiency, empowering engagement potential?

5. Flexibility/resiliency in the product, in the organization, in the interaction with people?

__Knowledge and tech Transfer__

1. Are you using the eye sites for a particular reason? Are there comparative potentials of choosing something like sustainable/appropriate ag tech, water purification, other surgical techniques?

2. This sounds the most interesting too me, but that could be because I've looked into the appropriate/alternative tech fields.

3. You're going to get into some messy stuff with the circularity work. In the circle how are the transfer's unequal, Vandana Shiva is pissed about this? Should groups instead be developing technoscientific education in local communities to let them create their own stuff?

(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?** ||
 * 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