Anthropology and institutional economics Rating: 3 out of 5 Editor: James M. Acheson Year: 1994 Category: Anthropology, economics, institutional economics Publisher: University Press of America ISBN: 0819195952 This volume is one of the rare collection of papers I found looking at Anthropology and institutional economics. Surprisingly, though the two have a large scope for collaboration, there is very little work happening between these two disciplines, to my knowledge. This volume provides a useful introduction. The book starts with an introduction about Anthropology and Institutional economics by James Acheson. This is followed by an essay on New Institutionalism by Robert Bates. […]
Yearly Archives: 2007
Good introductory video on using right to information to combat corruption by Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal has been at the heart of an inspiring campaign to combat corruption by using the right to information. He spearheaded a campaign in Delhi along with many other groups that popularised the use of right to information. Arvind got the Magasassay for his work. The videos below contain a talk he gave on using RTI, which I think is a good introductory material for people with an interest on how it could be used, and what it means.
Fighting corruption using right to information: Arvind Kejriwal’s talk
It looks like Government of Bihar has launched a Right to information call centre. Personally, I think this is a great idea, though I dont know how it works at this point. If found a video about it in You Tube that has been widely televised. This is a eight minute clip about that appeals to different groups of people to use it, and gives an idea about how it could be done.
Right to information call centre in Bihar: Video clip
Food politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health Rating: 5 out of 5 Author: Marion Nestle Year: 2002 Category: Nutrition, Political Economy, Agriculture Publisher: University of California Press Fascinating book on the politics of food in USA The book was motivated by the contradictions between nutrition policy and practice. The author argues that the basic nutrition advice has remained more or less constant for the last fifty years. She examines the role of food industry in the US in creating an environment conductive to over eating and poor nutritional practice. Overproduction, Competition & pressure to make people eat […]
Food Politics by Marion Nestle: How industries influence eating
Robert Moses was the most prolific builder of public projects in New York City leaving behind a contested legacy I chanced across a debate on the legacy of Robert Moses that was held at Museum of the City of New York. The webcast of the discussion includes a 20 minute presentation by the Dy. Mayor of New York, Daniel Dotoroff and it is followed by a powerful presentation by Majora Carter of Sustainable South Bronx. Daniel gives a brief overview of Robert Moses’ life and work and draws an analogy to the work he is involved with currently. Robert Moses […]
Legacy of Robert Moses: Webcast of Discussion
I had almost become tierd of reading the last few months. Books were becoming repetitive, and arguments were being recycled at an alarming rate. Finally, I landed on a brilliantly written book by Jane Jacobs. I have by now heard a lot about her seminal book, Death and life of great American cities, and I saw some webcasts of her interviews. Finally, I decided that I want to read some good stuff and laid my hands on this book. Jane Jacob’s presentation is lucid and she has a highly engaging style. The content is very original and challenging, and on […]
Finally a good book to read
This is the fourth post I am writing today when I should be writing my paper. The term is about to end and I just don’t feel like reading or writing (don’t ask me what enables me to write all these posts, that’s the irony about me). I have been working on my topic for an year now, and am yet to defend my proposal. If I am topic fatigued now, what will become of me when I get to the writing stage? I know that I have to make writing fun – and it has often been the case. […]
Lantern & the sea: a dream to make dissertation writing ...
For the last three or four months, I have just not felt like reading anything. I have not stopped reading…but that which I read has been random stuff. My comprehensive exams are not far away, and I am in no mood to do any sustained work. Infact, I came to the office with the idea of reading and writing a paper; instead, I am writing this blog post. Part of the problem is that I’ve run out of exciting new books. I dont claim that there are none around – but I have not been able to lay my hands […]
I don’t feel like reading
Ph.D. is a long haul & often a tiresome journey. Knowing oneself well can make the process fun, quick & worthwhile I audited a wonderful course on doing a dissertation with Prof. Nick Smith in the department of education at SU. A small part of the course was about methods, theories, and other academic paraphrenalia that make up the dissertation. Instead, his main concentration was to prepare us mentally to do the dissertation well and enjoy it. If there is one lesson that was central to the lectures, it is “know yourself”. Knowing one’s body rythms, when we feel like […]
Dissertation troubles & the importance of knowing oneself
One of the biggest challenges in writing a proposal is to narrow down our interests to choose a topic In three days, I would have defended my dissertaion proposal, and it feels good to think that I’ll get it out of my way. It looks like the proposal is one of the biggest time killers among Ph.D. students; it is indeed a challenge to move from a variety of ideas to a defendable proposal. Most of us come to a Ph.D. with a broad set of interests and it feels awkward to narrow it down into a topic that almost […]
On narrowing focus for dissertation proposal
A list of biographies I have read, many of which I enjoyed If there is one class of books I enjoy reading most, it’s biographies. Given below is a set of biographies I have read, many of which I enjoyed immensely. There are others that were a drag, such as the autobiography of Mussolini, but were rather instructive. As of now, it is just a list. Over time, I hope to write short blurbs about it – depending on how much I remember them now! Gandhi My experiments with truth Biography of Gandhi by Sushila Nair and Pyralal Volumes pertaining […]
Biographies I have read: A list
Autogenerated list of latest documentaries in Google Videos available online totally free Google video also has many category that are available only in advanced search. Using it, I have autogenerated a list of documentaries available. Please note that this is automatically generated using a search strategy, so some of the videos are not relevant, and many have views that are quite contrary to mine. This list will contain the latest videos that are categorized as “documentary” by the person uploading it. The descriptions are also given by the person uploading it. The list is given below, and for more click […]
List of latest documentaries in Google Videos & You Tube ...
Reading biographies has been a passion for me for a long time. I started as a fiction reader and soon realised that I need my “stories” to be “realistic”. I was reading a popular novel when I was finishing college. At one point the author mentioned that the handsome hero of the novel seduced women and converted them to believing in Castro – and was thus responsible for the success of his revolution. I closed that book with that sentence and gave up novels for a while. That’s when I started reading biographies. Incredible as they may be at times, […]
Why I need biography to understand history
India’s role in countries abroad is something that we do not get to hear much about. It’s role with neighbors is clearly known – but I did not realise that India had played a role in places like Hungary and Congo. A recent article in The Hindu by Jairam Ramesh quotes a president of Hungary saying: “in those months (in 1956), the Indian Embassy in Budapest became the Embassy of the Revolution”. That came as a major surprise to me. I was reading the autobiographical notes of J. K. Galbraith called Ambassador Diaries that he maintained during his stay in […]
India’s role in Hungary, Congo, etc.
Here is your window to some of the best movies in the world, in my perspective. The following ratings are not by a trained movie critic, but by as passionate movie buff. So, if the ratings reflect anything, it reflects my taste. In general, I tend to like movies with good stories, powerful but subtle dialog, good music that’s not conspicuous, acting that’s not overly dramatic and stories that “could have been true”. I thought of putting it together both as record for my own sake and to share a list of movies with those who may share my taste. […]
List of great movies: India and international (brief reviews)
Pride and prejudice IMDB Year: 1940 Writer: Jane Austen Director: Robert Z. Leonard Length: 117 Category: Drama Rating: 3 out of 5 Many movies have been taken on this brilliant book by Jane Austen. The best in my opinion is the version produced by BBC (click here for review). Being a television serial, it has the advantage of time – and so is better able to do justice to the novel. I feel that Leotard managed quite a bit in 117 minutes. The trouble though was not with time, but with Hollywood. Rarely can a Hollywood movie escape the pressures […]
Pride & Prejudice by Leonard: Reasonable
Colour of Paradise IMDB Year: 1999 Writer: Majid Majidi Director: Majid Majidi Category: Drama Rating: 5 out of 5 Another great product of Iran’s movie revolution. A master piece on the struggle between a bright blind boy and a father who is ashamed of his disability Mohammad is a curious young boy who is constantly discovering the nature around him. He is bright and has picked a remarkable ability to read using braille. He is loved by his young sisters and nurtured by his grandmother. The local school is proud of the boys academic abilities. His father though is ashamed […]
Colour of paradise: Majid Majidi’s Masterpiece
Many talks and interviews with well known people are now available online. I’ve put together a series of them that I have specially enjoyed. To see the rest, click here Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop from South Africa is one of the towering figures of the world today. His role in removing Apartheid from South Africa is well acknowledged. He also received a Nobel peace prize for his role in 1984. Bishop Tutu is a very powerful speaker, story teller, and a jovial person. But between his stories and jokes he gets serious and makes touching appeals. His sense of hope […]
Touching talk by Desmond Tutu: Nobel Laureate from South Africa
Is the language of rights useful in discussing poverty? Economists seem to claim these days that the rights approach may undermine the cause I encountered many economists writing tentatively about human rights these days. Perhaps there is an extensive literature about it already. The main premise of arguments seems to be while the ideals of human rights are good, the approach will only impair the reduction of poverty by advocating unsound policies. Amartya Sen responds to these issues in a debate with Jeffry Frankel at Harvard University. Webcast of debate is available. The programme runs for an hour and fifteen […]
“Consequentialist perspective” of economists and Human Rights
Inspiring talk by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman on intuitive thinking Vs. reasoning and its application to choice theory The introductory lecture to the class of 2008 in Princeton was done by Prof. Daniel Kahneman on the wonders and flaws of intuitive thinking. The webcast of the lecture is available in the Pricneton media website. Kahneman distinguishes between two modes of thinking – Reasoning and intuition. While intuition is powerful and accounts for most of our thinking, it is suceptible to illusions. These illusions can result in wrong choices in a variety of situations. He discusses the topic and its relevance […]