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Links & Contents One Liked 296

Hi all,

Another book review + link review double-feature this week!

Development news: Melania inwards Africa; Indonesia's tsunami, localization & empathy; some other #AidToo floor from Liberia; how Bring Back Our Girls created a dissimilar movement; assist billboards inwards Burundi; decolonizing global health; Gaza every bit laboratory for Israel's military-industrial complex; philanthropy at the crossroads; how to endure conferences.

Publications: Uncovering 'community'; Oxfam's learning from influencing policy; from civil resistance to edifice democracy; voices from Silicon Savannah.

Academia: Circular logic of humanitarian expertise; digital learning revisited. 

Enjoy!

New from aidnography
Curated stories (book review)
Curated Stories is a remarkable entry indicate for critical discussions that in all probability all of us should withdraw hold who ‘do’ communication and/for development. Critical engagement with the storytelling discourse goes far beyond an authentic organizational weblog or the limitations of hashtag activism. Fernandes provokes us to remember beyond the instrumental, often time-consuming, practices of ‘innovative’ approaches to evolution too communication that easily acquire ‘stuck’ in i lawsuit they arrive at formal social, political or economical spaces. The volume also asks challenging questions close ‘our’ go from too inwards the global North too how storytelling tin displace beyond the comfort zone of mediatized evolution work.
This is a concise too accessible academic volume that should live on your reading list, discussed inwards the portion too shared with students too partners some the globe!

Development news
Melania Trump's Africa visit
When Melania went to Africa wearing a pith helmet
The pith helmet was portion of a pseudoscientific discourse that enforced class, every bit good every bit racial domination, since alone the rich could follow such medical advice.
The pith helmet is sometimes used to announce a "frontier" spirit of adventure too intrepid exploration. This is wrong. In fact, their historical social purpose was to emblematise white fragility too anxieties, every bit good every bit blurring the distinction betwixt white civilians too the colonial constabulary too military, who also wore pith helmets.
Colonialism extracted labour too resources from "natives" past times ordering colonial societies through extreme too everyday forms of violence. But it was e'er necessary to insist that despite enjoying the protection of colonial states armed to the teeth inwards monastic enjoin to immiserate too exploit dependent area peoples, it was whites - too white women, inwards particular - who were the most vulnerable grouping inwards the colony.
In this sense, the pith helmet represents non alone colonialism, but whiteness, too. We mightiness remember of whiteness every bit an identity that e'er noisily insists on its ain vulnerability (despite social too economical realities to the contrary) every bit the principal justification for the oppression of racialised others.
When Melania Trump went to Africa
It’s non that people aren’t working—it’s that also many of them are working inwards the incorrect fields. Or, to a greater extent than to the point, it’s that also many people are working inwards fields too non inwards factories or tech startups or wherever else people are supposed to go inwards a “diversified, modern economy.” Such a transition is necessary, purveyors of the African greenish revolution say, non alone because go inwards factories too offices are better, but because agriculture is so inherently backwards. The variety of farming that the bulk of Africa’s rural people soundless practice, growing nutrient for a small-scale grouping of people to live processed past times hand, is what people do when they’re non sufficiently integrated with the global economy. If people must farm, they could at to the lowest degree grow raw materials for local industries, or exports for hard currency, with a minimal utilisation of labor too a maximal utilisation of technology. Alas, fifty-fifty that is a chore for a mere sliver of the population, preferably something below x per centum of everyone inwards a given country.
Melania Trump’s colonial fashion arguing should surprise absolutely no one
All of these totems of western pop culture—Banana Republic’s “safari craze,” Ralph Lauren’s well-appointed tents, Peter Beard’s fashion shoots, Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa—are problematic because they exoticize too generalize the people too places surrounding their white subjects.
Melania’s pith helmet too its accompanying vesture seem to celebrate this legacy, whether knowingly or not. They lucifer perfectly with the commencement lady’s tradition of dressing for her role, every bit the New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino in i lawsuit seat it, “as if she were a newspaper doll, every outfit a costume.”
Costumes are oftentimes offensive, too this i of a white westerner inwards Africa is no exception. But is it surprising? Not fifty-fifty a lilliputian bit.
Elliot Ross for Al-Jazeera, Alex Park for Africa Is a Country too Jenni Avins for Quartz with 3 real dissimilar angles to the pith helmet story.

Indonesia orders unusual assist workers helping with seismic sea wave sweat to leave
Clancy said international NGOs had to walk a careful line of piece of occupation of non acting paternalistically too taking over assist operations. “There’s pushback against the international community who come upwards flooding inwards days or weeks later, taking over the response. It’s close taking dorsum that powerfulness too maxim local organisations withdraw hold important capacity.”
The Indonesian government, the Indonesian Red Cross too other Indonesian NGOs all withdraw hold “significant capacity” for providing humanitarian assistance, said Clancy. “Natural disasters aren’t a novel phenomenon for Indonesia, unfortunately … They are good experienced inwards responding to natural disasters.”
Kate Lyons for the Guardian. This slice sparked some interesting debates whether this was 'normal' humanitarian procedures or indicative of bigger changes some the 'localization' of assist or a backlash against expat involvement.

Indonesia’s Tsunami too the Problem of Human Empathy
If people could sympathise with volume suffering, philanthropy could go broader too to a greater extent than effective. But past times no way would it ready all problems. The most generous charity after a disaster similar Indonesia’s soundless must live delivered inwards monastic enjoin to assist and, every bit inwards Palu, lack of goodness infrastructure tin forestall that. Empathy generated past times volume expiry can’t lower the toll. Charitable donations tend to live reactive, non proactive—it’s easier to attention close the ongoing suffering of many than the potential suffering of futurity people that could soundless live prevented. In cases similar these, assist too philanthropy should live driven past times something else—for instance, objectively reasoned principles close which policies tin brand the biggest difference. But the fact remains that many of us volition give alone too most often to the causes that displace us.
Jamil Zaki for the Atlantic with to a greater extent than psychological too philosophical reflections on the limits of 'effective' altruism too empathy.

She Wanted to Help Liberia's Most Vulnerable Girls. Then Her School Became a Predator's Hunting Ground
The charity would enhance over $8 million, including almost $600,000 from the US government. Meyler would go into a rarefied globe of globe-trotting problem-solvers. She would rub shoulders with Warren Buffett, Bill Gates too Oprah Winfrey, too fifty-fifty acquire invited to the Obama White House. MTM’s footprint inwards Republic of Liberia would multiply to xix schools teaching 4,000 students.
Yet some of the girls acquaint that September 24-hour interval had a secret. Far from beingness saved from sexual exploitation, they were beingness raped past times the human being standing beside Meyler on the stage.
His assaults went on for years too continued inwards the novel school. He was protected past times his seat — he was presented every bit “co-founder” of MTM; he too Meyler had had an intimate relationship, too she kept him inwards seat fifty-fifty after having ground to suspect his predilections. But he was also shielded from exposure inwards the community past times everything that she had brought: a school, scholarships and, inwards a higher seat all, hope.
After his crimes became known, filling hundreds of pages of constabulary too legal records, the charity worked to obscure the details too to seat responsibleness almost anywhere but with Meyler or MTM: Liberia’s civilisation was blamed. As a growing number of onetime staff, victims too their families told us their stories, More Than Me fought to comprise the damage. Senior charity officials, with Liberian authorities support, cross-examined key witnesses, bespeak if they wanted to choose dorsum what they had said. Many of those they reached soundless rely on the charity for support. They told the charity they no longer wanted their stories published.
Finlay Young for Time with a disturbing #AidToo floor from Liberia.

When Gender Parity Knocks at the United Nations Door, Does Merit Fly Out of the Window?
But his recent proposals to amend United Nations staff rules too regulations to farther advance gender parity at the United Nations, withdraw hold triggered a strong protestation from the Geneva-based federation of United Nations staffers worldwide.
Ian Richards, President, Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions too Associations (CCISUA), representing over 60,000 staffers inwards the United Nations scheme worldwide, told IPS that staff unions disagree with the proposal to modify the downsizing rules to brand achievement of gender parity at the United Nations a constituent inwards determining who is fired when posts are cut.
“The electrical flow rules province an monastic enjoin of retentiveness based on contract type with due consideration for length of service, performance too integrity — measure exercise for most organisations elsewhere every bit well”.
This is implemented, he pointed out, through a points scheme that has been signed off past times the secretary-general too unions, too is relatively good accepted past times staff.
But “management is immediately proposing to sweep this aside so that gender becomes the determining constituent regardless of performance, competence, integrity, length of service too so forth,” Richards added.
Thalif Deen for IPS with an interesting floor close looming conflicts some gender parity too bureaucracy within the United Nations system...

How Bring Back Our Girls went from hashtag to social movement, spell rejecting funding from donors
The BBOG operates a surprising funding policy: they withdraw hold so far refused funding back upwards from both unusual too local donors. The leadership argued that in i lawsuit at that topographic point was money, at that topographic point would live a struggle for it alongside them, too their focus would live shifted from pressurising authorities to sharing money. They also feared that in i lawsuit people (especially politicians) gave them money, they could live seen every bit beingness partisan. (There were allegations at the get that they were beingness used past times the opposition to harass the government.)
Relying heavily on donations from members too in-kind support, the Movement does non fifty-fifty withdraw hold a banking concern account. They do, however, solicit international tidings makers (such every bit Ms Michelle Obama) to openly seat with their cause.
A lot is beingness said close the shrinking civic infinite inwards conflict-affected too authoritarian settings. However, a closer attending to the strategies of civic actors may break 2 things: one, that the civic infinite is non actually shrinking but changing, too two, the creative ways inwards which civic actors are responding to these changes – the inventiveness that explains their resilience.
Ayo Ojebode for fp2p on how Bring Back Our Girls operates inwards a precarious civic infinite too gear upwards a social displace that defies traditional donor too civil gild expectations.

Mind the Billboards: International Aid Conquering the Public Space inwards Burundi
By examining the complex contemporary issues of colonialism too authoritarianism, a scrutiny of the world infinite littered past times assist billboards too regime symbols illustrate that these 2 dimensions are non exclusive. Western assist has indeed conquered the streets with paternalistic billboards without tackling efficiently structural inequalities too political oppression that is also maintained too perpetuated past times the electrical flow regime.
Astrid Jamar for Africa @ LSE shares some inquiry findings on assist billboard too the complexities of assist discourses inwards Burundi.

Unpacking Power too Knowledge inwards Global Health: some reflections from the Emerging Voices 2018 cohort
Reflecting on the coloniality of powerfulness too cognition allows for a critical questioning of existing structures inwards global health.
Importantly, the side past times side measuring should non live a fundamentalist rejection of all things modern or European or Western. Equally, nosotros must live wary of faux binaries (between the global due north too global south) that are reductionist or over-simplifications of the real complex ways inwards which powerfulness affects these relationships. Rather, a to a greater extent than nuanced approach is needed, i that recognises that these inequalities are bad for all of us, too cannot live separated from the broader political economic scheme of global wellness systems. Importantly, at that topographic point is a purpose for actors from both the global due south too the global due north to actively participate inwards the decolonial projection to disrupt powerfulness too cognition asymmetries.
Some may say these asymmetrical patterns of powerfulness are inevitable spell the bulk of the funding soundless comes from the global north. Could powerfulness relationships inwards inquiry partnerships betwixt the global due south too due north live to a greater extent than equal? Could inquiry consortia live structured differently? Are to a greater extent than horizontal, equal partnerships with truthful co-production of inquiry possible irrespective of where the inquiry funding comes from? We would combat that the reply is yes.
Leanne Brady, Kenneth Munge, Charles Ssemugabo too Ariadna Nebot Giralt for International Health Policies on decolonization challenges inwards global health.

Gaza “laboratory” boosts profits of Israel’s state of war industry
We asked Keren why it is that Israel’s engineering scientific discipline manufacture performs at an astonishing grade of productivity, peculiarly inwards the armed forces sector.
“Because nosotros are checking our systems live,” he said. “We are inwards a state of war province of affairs all the time. If it’s non happening correct now, it volition plough over off inwards a month.”
“It’s non [just] close edifice the technology” too having to hold off years to seek out the systems, Keren told us. The surreptitious of the Israeli tech sector’s success, he explained, lay inwards “operating the engineering scientific discipline faster than whatsoever other province inwards alive situations.”
Keren isn’t the commencement to brand this connection. Gaza is widely perceived every bit a human Petri dish – to improve killing capacity too cultivate pacification methods – alongside the movers too shakers inwards the Israeli high-tech too armed forces sectors.
Gabriel Schivone for Electronic Intifada with a reminder that Israel's military-industrial complex benefits from conflict too is deeply ingrained inwards whatsoever (non) resolution of this intractable conflict.

Powerless: How Top Foundations Failed to Defend Their Values—And Now Risk Losing Everything
All these strategies tin too do work. But their success often hinges on larger factors. For example, the Ford Foundation’s asset-building efforts—the centerpiece of its economical equity funding nether Susan Berresford’s leadership too beyond—achieved some existent results. But the fiscal crisis of 2008 wiped out nearly all the wealth gains made past times communities of colouring over preceding years. One of the reasons that crisis occurred is because at that topographic point was barely whatsoever opposition to efforts to deregulate the fiscal sector during the 1990s. Even now, amid a growing force to undo the Dodd-Frank law too rising warnings close futurity fiscal crises, few foundations focus on policing Wall Street—an obvious high the world of political economy.
Many foundations seemed trapped inwards a dated mindset close how modify happens too how to withdraw hold impact. They haven’t wrapped their heads some key realities of our age, similar the autumn of world trust inwards institutions too elites, too rising polarization too populism. In this environment, expertise simply doesn’t seem to affair all that much.
What’s moving modify correct immediately are social movements, ideology too tribal loyalties. Old-fashioned oligarchical powerfulness too raw political musculus matters, too—perhaps to a greater extent than than at whatsoever fourth dimension since the Gilded Age.
David Callahan for Inside Philanthropy with a detailed analysis of what the electrical flow divided political climate inwards the US way for philanthropy too how hard it is to maintain influence with traditional approaches to cognition too evidence.

I demand a survival guide for conferences. Anyone got one?
Assuming that I am non the alone i who experiences conferences every bit an ordeal, what would live some useful advice for how to attend too acquire the most out of them? Here are some questions I demand answered
Duncan Green for fp2p is sharing challenging questions on how to endure conferences-attending fewer too traveling less is e'er i of my default response...

Publications
Uncovering ‘Community’: Challenging an Elusive Concept inwards Development too Disaster Related Work
Our approach is to commencement consider how ‘community’ has go pop inwards inquiry too with humanitarian agencies too other organisations based on what tin live considered a ‘moral licence’ that supposedly guarantees that the actions beingness taken are truly people-centred too ethically justified. We so explore several theoretical approaches to ‘community’, highlight the vast range of dissimilar (and contested) views on what ‘community’ entails, too explicate how ‘community’ is framing practical attempts to mitigate vulnerability too inequity. We demonstrate how these attempts are unremarkably futile, too sometimes harmful, due to the blurriness of ‘community’ concepts too their inherent failure to address the root causes of vulnerability. From 2 antagonistic positions, nosotros in conclusion advocate to a greater extent than meaningful ways to admit vulnerable people’s views too needs appropriately.
Alexandra Titz, Terry Cannon & Fred Krüger with a novel opened upwards access newspaper inwards Societies.

Using evidence to influence policy: Oxfam’s experience
In this article, nosotros combine insights from policy studies with specific instance studies of Oxfam campaigns to depict 4 ways to promote the uptake of inquiry evidence inwards policy: (1) larn how policymaking works, (2) pattern evidence to maximise its influence on specific audiences, (3) pattern too utilisation additional influencing strategies such every bit insider persuasion or outsider pressure, too arrange the presentation of evidence too influencing strategies to the changing context, too (4) screen trial too error.
Ruth Mayne, Duncan Green, Irene Guijt, Martin Walsh, Richard English linguistic communication & Paul Cairney with an novel opened upwards access article inwards Palgrave Communications.

When Civil Resistance Succeeds Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings
Why do some nonviolent revolutions Pb to successful democratization spell others neglect to consolidate democratic change? And what tin activists do to force toward a victory over dictatorship that results inwards long-term political freedom?
Several studies demo that nonviolent revolutions are mostly a to a greater extent than positive forcefulness for democratization than vehement revolutions too top-down political transitions. However, many nonviolent revolutions, such every bit the Arab Spring revolution inwards Egypt, do non seem to fi t this pattern. This study takes on this puzzle too reveals that the reply lies inwards large portion inwards the actions of civil gild prior to too during transition. Democracy is most probable when activists tin maintain their social bases mobilized for positive political modify spell directing that mobilization toward edifice novel political institutions.
Jonathan Pinckey for the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict.

Voices of the Silicon Savannah: Key challenges facing Kenya's social-tech ecosystem - views from within
A key finding is that the narrative of ‘success’ often focuses on the ‘successful Mzungu founder’3, who receives more investment, has meliorate networks too resources too tin afford to choose greater risks. This ignores the many local Republic of Kenya successes, too the fact that many perceived ‘failures’ comprise valuable lessons, information too signals close marketplace demands too client needs.
Similarly, the funding landscape, dominated past times overseas funders, donors too somebody investors, skews how assist implementers too entrepreneurs frame their projects, too distorts their incentives. Too much emphasis on numbers-based reporting to donors, too high-risk, easily scalable products for investment creates a gap inwards funding for local entrepreneurs, experimentation, edifice local capacity too exploring local markets too needs — i.e. finding out ‘what actually works’. It also reduces the potential for creative too equal collaborations betwixt NGOs too local entrepreneurs, a human relationship that is to a greater extent than commonly that of client too supplier.
There is a clear opening inwards this landscape for local investors too intermediaries such every bit tech hubs, who understand the local context. While modify is tardily taking seat too social-tech projects with choice models are evolving around the country, the ecosystem requires novel forms of leadership too collaboration betwixt dissimilar groups.
The study also reflects on major cross-cutting themes emerging from the interviews that resonated with my ain and others’ research, such every bit the skills gap spanning the social tech ecosystem — including modern projection management techniques, iterative production evolution too engagement with terminate users.
Matt Haikin with his latest inquiry paper.

Academia
The circular logic of humanitarian expertise
Humanitarian expertise tin thus live conceived every bit a sort of performance. It is less something a professional person has acquired through sense (even though this is undeniably the instance too) than something (s)he has come upwards to excel at through repetitive performances. In other words, it is through the mastery of conscientiously choreographed practices of document production too bureaucratic rituals of ascendance (embodied inwards meetings, conferences too workshops) that i qualifies every bit an ‘expert’.
This emphasis on ‘processes’ too ‘forms’ every bit effective carriers of ‘evidence’ denotes a commitment for activity for lack of a concrete vision of the future. The tasks forces, working groups too conferences that humanitarian expertise relies on to attain legitimacy tend to maintain ‘the reality on the ground’ that is supposed to inform policy ‘within the brackets’, to utilisation the championship of Riles’ 1998 American Anthropologist article (Riles 1998). Indeed, the ‘humanity’ embodied past times the ‘people’ that such activities are ultimately meant to serve remains hidden from view, behind the documents too the processes that Pb to their collective production. Expert knowledge, every bit a frail production of negotiations, implicitly requires “the co-production of ignorance” (Mathews 2008).
Julie Billaud for Public Anthropologist shares her anthropological reflections on how humanitarian discourses are shaped too why historic organizational ethnography is soundless relevant to rediscover power-knowledge connections.

Q&A: 2 Digital Learning Devotees Evaluate Their Progress
Critical pedagogy asks that educators assist students railroad train non alone an epistemological human relationship to reality, but also an awareness of their agency upon that landscape: the agency to modify or live changed, to cite or to live named, to claim powerfulness or give upwards it. The learning administration scheme doesn’t easily opened upwards itself to these concerns, but to a greater extent than importantly, the LMS makes no infinite for LGBTQ -- too specifically trans too queer -- identity formation. There demand to live novel practices developed for communication too back upwards of trans too queer students across distance.
Mark Lieberman talks to Jesse Stommel & Sean Michael for Inside HigherEd close digital learning too pedagogy too novel challenges for creating inclusive, critical online education.

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