Academic Themes

Notes on my research, book reviews and discussions on social sciences
This section contains articles on some of my main areas of academic interest including economics, development studies, collective action, social policy, governance and the right to food. A few articles look software and utilities that would be of interest to researchers. If you are interested in any of these in particular, please click on the subtopic on the menu to your right.

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse: The Chilling Effects Clearinghouse collects and analyzes legal complaints about online activity, helping Internet users to know their rights and understand the law. Chilling Effects welcomes submission of letters from individuals and from Internet service providers and hosts. These submissions enable us to study the prevalence of legal threats and allow Internet users to see the source of content removals.

Anti-Corruption Research Network – ACRN: ACRN is “a podium to present innovative findings and approaches in corruption / anti-corruption research, a sounding board to bounce off ideas and questions, a marketplace to announce jobs, events, courses and funding. The periodic spotlight section also looks at specific corruption issues and highlights key research insights and contributions on the selected topic”.

DISE–District Information System for Education: The DISE dataset created by the worldbank is a major source of standardized information on schools in India.

Health Information of India: Health statistics for India.

Oxford internet institute webcasts: Webcasts of events at Oxford internet institute

CorpWatch: investigates and exposes corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud and corruption around the world. We work to foster global justice, independent media activism and democratic control over corporations.

Corporate Watch UK: small independent not-for-profit research and publishing group which undertakes research on the social and environmental impact of large corporations, particularly multinationals

The Project On Government Oversight: The Project On Government Oversight is committed to exposing waste, fraud and corruption in the following areas: defense, energy & environment, contract oversight and open government.

The Freedom Forum: “A nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, the First Amendment and newsroom diversity”.

They Rule: A social network graph that aims to visualize the relationships between corporate leaders and politicians i.e. the ruling class. It takes as its focus the boards of some of the most powerful U.S. companies, which share many of the same directors.

Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact: This report by the World Bank takes an in-depth look at how ICT – particularly broadband and mobile – are impacting economic growth in developing countries.

International Budget Project: a group to nurture the growth of civil society capacity to analyze and influence government budget processes, institutions and outcomes

CHRI: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative: A site with lot of useful materials on right to information

Freedom of Information Act Documents: List of documents, cases on RTI in USA

RTI laws in 5 countries – comparitive analysis: Examiles RTI laws in United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and

Your Right To Know: A citizen’s guide to freedom of information act: Website of Heather Brooke, a journalist based in London.

Secondary education management information system at NEUPA: MIS on secondary education managed by NEUPA

Globalization, information and developing countries: A selective guide to information resources: List of watchdogs of multilateral organisations, corporations, etc.

Legislating RTI – A guide by UNDP: A detailed guide on preparation, legislation and implementation of RTI

Sunlight Foundation: The foundation is, “a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all. We do so by creating tools, open data, policy recommendations, journalism and grant opportunities to dramatically expand access to vital government information to create accountability of our public officials”. The website is a great source of information on open data policy, political financing and a range of other topics in the intersection of technology and transparency.