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May 2009

Computers in secondary schools: Whither India?

Submitted by Michael Trucano on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 22:39
On EduTech - ICT & Education

CC-licensed photo courtesy of World Bank via Flickr, SDM-IN-097The German scholar Max Müller famously remarked that "If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India."

No doubt there are many other countries also deserving of similar sorts of accolades, but the challenges that India currently faces related to providing universal access to a relevant and quality education for everyone -- and the solutions it deploys to meet such challenges -- are of increasing interest and relevance to people around the world.  This is especially true as it relates to the use of ICTs to meet a variety of educational and developmental objectives.

Finding ways to improve migration data

Submitted by Ani Silwal on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 13:55
On People Move

A constant struggle facing researchers and policymakers tackling migration issues is a lack of good data. The Center for Global Development recently released “Five Steps Toward Better Migration Data,” an excellent report on concrete steps governments and non-governmental organizations can take in the short run to fill this gap. 

This report is particularly important in the context of a new round of census taking in 2010. The five recommendations are to: 

  1. Ask basic census questions and make the data publicly available; 
  2. Compile and release existing administrative data;
  3. Centralize labor force surveys; 
  4. Provide access to microdata, not just tabulations; and 
  5. Include migration modules on more existing household surveys.

Given the abundance of recommendations in the development industry, a laudable effort is the accompanying report card (PDF) which tracks countries’ progress with respect to the recommendations.

The Reading List: May 29

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 13:45
On Inside the Web

Every Friday, I'm going to try and post a selection of the links from our delicious.com account so you can get a quick snapshot of what we're reading this week. Here goes:
 

  • New Media Across Government
    Macon Phillips, New Media Director at The White House, showcases new media efforts at The White House and across the federal government in a Youtube video.
  • Online magazine tries to be a lab for media future
    A quick look at a company that is looking at storytelling from the web perspective first, instead of thinking of print and textual representations and then adapting them for the web.
  • Google Bets Big on HTML 5: News from Google I/O
    Full adoption of HTML 5 may still be a few years away, but Google is already taking advantage of the elements that are already in practice and betting on the future of HTML 5 as it builds its next generation of products.
  • The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online
    The increasingly common habit of sharing what you're thinking (Twitter), what you're reading (StumbleUpon), your finances (Wesabe), your everything (the Web) is becoming a foundation of our culture. Doing it while collaboratively building encyclopedias, news agencies, video archives, and software in groups that span continents, with people you don't know and whose class is irrelevant—that makes political socialism seem like the logical next step. (via)
  • The Ten Ways Twitter Will Permanently Change American Business
    Douglas A. McIntyre argues that the opt-in nature of Twitter messaging will help shape the relationship between business and customer in the years to come.
  • Why 60 Percent of Twitterers Quit
    Adam Sternbergh is convinced that Twitter is nothing but a spam tool. I think Adam's missing the point: if you're getting spammed, you're ,em>choosing to follow the wrong people.
  • The A to Z of New Media
    Mark Drapeau adapts his handout from a Washington, D.C. event called “New & Social Media: Leading the Way.”
  • Google Wave Drips with Ambition
    Google just unveiled Wave, which has the possibility to completely change how we communicate on the web from this day forward.
  • WFP Deliver blog- Twitter and other social media pilots
    The World Food Program Deliver project talks about their new internal twitter-like tool. (via)

 

Have any links you want to share with us? Add them to your delicious.com account and tag them for:extweb.

Mongolia's forests burning: are they good or are they bad?

Submitted by Tony Whitten on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 13:01
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise

Last weekend a small group of us decided to drive the 8 hours or so to the Khonin Nuga (pronounced Honing Nuk) research station, northwest of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We had a standing invitation to visit the site for years from Professor Michael Mühlenberg of Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany, and Professor R. Samiya of National University, Ulaanbaatar – who together run the station. The route took us through the town of Zuun Kharaa, the vodka-producing capital of Mongolia, and off towards the dark-green forested mountains of the western Khentii.  We saw Mongolia’s largest bird, the Black Vulture, and also the respected and graceful Demoiselle Cranes picking up grasshoppers among the wind-blown solid waste around the town. We were going to spend the night in the research station, discuss with Prof. Mühlenberg the possibility of using the site as a training center within the forest landscapes project we are preparing, and find time to explore the taiga forest and steppe by horse. And then we were going to do the bumpy ride home again.

Instead, we found ourselves facing a major forest fire. (Continue reading after the jump)

Amid soccer celebrations, first MBA on carbon finance hints at a solid future for green businesses

Submitted by Florian Kitt on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 13:30
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise

Display at Carbon Expo in Barcelona.

It was my best intention to write my blog posts in a somewhat chronological way, but events, as they often do, just surpassed me. FC Barcelona’s convincing and clear 2-0 win against Manchester United in the Champions League final yesterday completely overshadowed Carbon Expo this morning. Some participants clearly showed signs of having joined the many street parties that lasted until the early morning and the game dominated discussions on the morning of the expo’s second day. Join me in a quick O le le, Oh la la, Barca!!

But back to business. Yesterday the Carbon Expo truly started only in the afternoon and after the plenary sessions. Carbon Expo truly is a marketplace where participants are looking for financing, projects, and jobs. Discussions become very specific, and companies and intermediaries show great interest in the World Bank’s expertise and knowledge on developing countries. Networking is a must and that includes going from stand to stand to grab information and presents, talk to possible business partners or join one of the multiple “have a drink, a bite, and talk to us” receptions.

Event Announcement: The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Migration and Remittances, June 1, 2009

Submitted by Neil Ruiz on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:58
On People Move

The Migration and Remittances Team of the Development Economics Prospects Group (DECPG) of the World Bank is organizing a brown bag lunch seminar on "The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Migration and Remittances" on Monday, June 1, 2009 from 12:00pm-1:30pm, at the Main Complex of the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Room MC5-100.  Two eminent scholars, Bimal Ghosh (Colombian School of Public Administration)  and Manuel Orozco (Inter-American Dialogue) will present their views on how the economic crisis is effecting migration and  remittances world-wide.  The event will be chaired by Dilip Ratha, Lead Economist, DECPG. 

This event is open to the public.  If you would like to attend the brown bag lunch seminar, please RSVP by emailing Claudia Carter at: ccarter@worldbank.org. 

 

Open data: is it really worth it?

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 18:33
On Inside the Web

The launch of Data.gov last week brought back a slew of discussions on open data and the importance of opening up access to data for it to be used in new ways on the web.

One of the conversations that I haven't heard often, however, is about the true value of open data. I was talking to a friend of mine and we asked the question:

If people aren't using the data that's being opened up, is it worth putting the time, money, and resources into opening it up in the first place?

The easy is answer is yes, it is worth it, and I'd agree with that answer in most cases for the sake of organizational transparency and future value for the data. But another question remains: for organizations that don't necessarily have the in-house skills to work on formatting and releasing structured data, what's the incentive in exhausting resources they don't always have in releasing data that may never be used?

While we all consider the Apps for Democracy project a pretty big success, it's worth noting that only a small percentage of the data sets that were released were actually used in creating all the application submissions. What about all the data that hasn't been used? Should it continue to be updated and maintained?

Data storage - old and new by Ian-S on Flickr

They may not seem like the most pressing questions right now, but as we're trying to encourage developers to use the World Bank API in new and innovative ways right now, they are questions that need to be asked.

Again, I'd argue that opening up all types of data, despite use or underuse, is important at its most basic for the sake of organizational transparency. What data creators need to do, however, is work closely with the data users to find out what kind of data they need and want, and what kind of support they need to use the data in exciting ways.

Of course, that's just what I think. Do you see value in releasing structured data? How can we encourage better use of the data that has already been released?

Loooking forward to your input.

(Photo by Ian-S', from Flickr.)

Should South Africa tax carbon emissions?

Submitted by Shanta Devarajan on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 18:23
On Development in a Changing Climate

Since it is the poorest continent, produces less than 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and was not responsible for the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere, there is a strong case that Africa should not have to constrain its growth by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the future.  The one exception may be South Africa, which produces 65 percent of Africa’s (and 1.5 percent of the world’s) emissions and, as a middle-income country, may have the capacity to curb emissions in the future.  In a recent paper, Delfin Go, Sherman Robinson, Karen Thierfelder and I explore the costs to the South African economy of a tax on carbon emissions. 

Transparency, Participation, Collaboration

Submitted by Antonio Lambino on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:44
On People, Spaces, Deliberation

On my way home from work last Friday, I chanced upon a fascinating interview on C-SPAN radio on government transparency, access to public information, and citizen participation at the U.S. Federal level.  New York Law School Professor Beth Noveck, currently serving as White House deputy chief technology officer, was talking about the open government initiative.  One of its key components is a site (whitehouse.gov/open) dedicated to Web 2.0-based transparency, participation, and collaboration efforts of the U.S. Federal Government.  The site links to online resources where citizens can access public information (transparency) and provide input into the policymaking process (participation).  The goal is not just consulting citizens on public matters, said Noveck, but a structured process through which they can help generate actual policy options.  Other links bring users to sites that seek specialist input on military science, education, small businesses, and technology applications in international development (collaboration). 

Strong Interest in DM2009 on Climate Adaptation

Submitted by Rasmus Heltberg on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:23
On Development Marketplace

The deadline for DM 2009 proposals has now closed and the DM Team has been hard at work screening and gearing up for the assessment.

As expected, the Call for Proposals generated a wealth of interest from most parts of the world. Despite a more stringent application process this year, we received a total of 1,755 proposals, similar to last year where the rules were more flexible.

The strong interest demonstrates that grassroots organizations are interested and available to launch community-based climate adaptation related to rural livelihoods diversification, indigenous peoples, and disaster risk reduction. If anyone doubted the demand for bottom-up adaptation, they have been proven wrong.

Did the financial crisis kill the governance reform agenda?

Submitted by Alfredo on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 09:36
On Governance Matters

A few days ago, Dani Rodrik opened an interesting discussion with his post "How the financial crisis has killed the governance reform agenda."  Basically what he says is that "we need to downplay the role of improved governance as a causal mechanism for economic growth." 

His main argument is that the financial crisis in the US did not only undercovered issues of capture and corruption in this country -as Simon Johnson and Dani Kaufmann have argued- but also showed that it is possible to be corrupt and rich at the same time.  Based on this evidence and on his previous belief that the causal relation between governance and growth was never proofed to be strog, he concluded that even though governance reform is a good thing to do, it should not be confused for a growth strategy.

CarbonExpo: On climate change and carbon finance, cities initiate change

Submitted by Florian Kitt on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 09:15
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise

Pongtip Puvacharoen works at the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific stand on the first day of Carbon Expo in Barcelona.

As promised, here's my first update from Barcelona and the CarbonExpo. Today is the first official day of the Expo, and my colleague from Bangkok, Pongtip Puvacharoen, and I basically just finished helping the World Bank's East Asian clients – China, Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand – set up the East Asia and Pacific Pavilion.

This year's CarbonExpo focuses on the efforts of cities to increase their sustainability by introducing clean transport, improve air quality, increase the production of renewable energy, and improve energy efficiency. I do love living in cities, in particular "megacities" of over 8 million inhabitants. But I am also a big fan of trees, green spots in between the concrete, and a fresh breeze – some things I sometimes miss in the U.S. and in East Asian metropolises.

This is why I really thought it important that Jakarta (Indonesia), Tianjin (China), and Bangkok (Thailand), participated in the Symposium on Cities, Climate Change, and Finance, co-organized by the World Bank, the Spanish government, and the City of Barcelona. After all cleaner, greener, and more livable cities are good for all of a city's inhabitants, rich and poor, and help improve living standards and the health of its people.

What bang for the buck in food aid? New database helps you track nutritional impact

Submitted by Claudia Gabarain on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 22:45
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise

The Food Aid Information System from the World Food Programme tracks data on food aid flows since 1988. Now it also links the quantity information on these deliveries to its nutritional impact, measured by indicators like Individual Requirements Met on Average. The data can then be sliced and sorted by commodity, donor, aid type (emergency, program...), recipient, and year.

So for example, how many individuals may be satisfied by the total food aid deliveries to East Asian and Pacific countries in 2007? See the chart to the right, and click on it to access the figures and download the data in Excel format.

Promoting rural youth engagement through radio and cell phones in Burundi

Submitted by Susana on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 11:57
On Governance Matters

For several weeks, local radio waves transmitted an unusual program in Burundi. This time, by combining radio and cell phones, the marginalized youth from rural Burundi received a chance to express their views on a series of issues that affect their daily lives. A rap song, composed with key findings of the study “Voices of the Youth” and the "Governance Survey," served as background of this pioneer and different approach, transmitted by Radio Publique Africaine.

Cell phones and radio were a way of outreaching places where information hardly makes its way, as well as to engage leaders in rural communities in debates about information obtained through studies that are hardly disseminated among the locals.

Benthamite Lessons from a Scandal

Submitted by Sina Odugbemi on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:23
On People, Spaces, Deliberation

It is important not to let a scandal go to waste. If you follow world politics, then you must know about the recent events in Great Britain. According to the Financial Times, 'For the past two weeks, Britain has been in a state of stupefied anger at the ingenious ways in which elected politicians have used their expenses system to milk the taxpayer'. As a result, says the same report, 'public fury over scandalous expenses claims has pushed lawmakers, in fear of losing their jobs and their reputations, towards constitutional reform'. (Financial Times, May 23/May 24 2009.)

Now, I am a student of the constitutional thought of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the British utilitarian philosopher and jurist. Thus, as I have followed the scandal  Bentham's words have been ringing in my ears. For, one of the great battles of Bentham's long life was the reform of parliament. But Bentham was a universalist. He was confident that his ideas for constructing a form of government that would provide 'securities against misrule' were universally applicable. Bentham believed that government should be as open and as transparent as possible. This is his Panopticon principle, all round transparency with very few exceptions. Note that a request under the Freedom of Information Act got the scandal under discussion going.

Pourquoi il faut augmenter l'aide en faveur de l'Afrique

Submitted by Shanta on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 15:15
On Africa Can end poverty

Dans les pays riches, lorsque le taux de croissance économique diminue de 3 ou 4 points, les individus perdent leur emploi et, probablement, leur maison, mais ils les retrouvent lorsque la reprise économique intervient. Dans les pays pauvres d’Afrique, les enfants sont retirés de l’école — et sont privés de la possibilité de devenir plus tard des adultes productifs. Dans certains cas, les enfants meurent avant d’avoir eu la chance d’aller à l’école. Si l’effondrement actuel de la croissance s’apparente à ceux qu’a connus l’Afrique par le passé,

READ MORE »

Why aid to Africa must increase

Submitted by Shanta on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 15:14
On Africa Can end poverty

In rich countries, when economic growth declines by three or four percentage points, people lose their jobs and possibly their houses, but they regain them when the economy rebounds. In poor African countries, children get pulled out of school—and miss out on becoming productive adults. In some cases, children die before they have a chance to go to school. If the current growth collapse is typical of the ones Africa has experienced in the past, an additional 700,000 African children may die before their first birthday.

In short, the effects of the global recession on Africa will be permanent. So the idea that aid may be threatened because of the recession in rich countries seems to have the logic backwards. Precisely because the effects in rich countries are temporary, resources should go to places where they may be permanent. Of course, there are political pressures to spend domestically. But do politicians in rich countries really think that a few more votes are worth more than the lives of the infants who will die as a result of the recession? 

Quote of the Week

Submitted by Sina Odugbemi on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 10:46
On People, Spaces, Deliberation

That all authority in the last analysis rests on opinion is never more forcefully demonstrated than when, suddenly and unexpectedly, a universal refusal to obey initiates what then turns into a revolution. To be sure, this moment – perhaps the most dramatic moment in history – opens the doors wide to demagogues of all sorts and colours, but what else does even revolutionary demagogy testify if not to the necessity of all regimes, old and new, ‘to rest on opinion’? Unlike human reason, human power is not only ‘timid and cautious when left alone’, it is simply non-existent unless it can rely on others; the most powerful king and the least scrupulous of all tyrants are helpless if no one obeys them, that is, supports them through obedience; for, in politics, obedience and support are the same.

- Hannah Arendt (1963) On Revolution (p. 228)

From Wenchuan to L'Aquila, key after the quake is the work of volunteers

Submitted by Mara Warwick on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 22:17
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise
A fireman showing the Bank's Global Disaster Management team around Onna.

Two countries, two cultures, a world apart, but I have learnt this week that the human face of the Wenchuan and L’Aquila earthquake tragedies is not dissimilar.  I am in the beautiful historic town of L’Aquila, devastated by the earthquake which struck the Ambruzzo region of central Italy at 3:30am on April 6, 2009. 

Sharing global best practice is one of our most important jobs as Bank staff.  This past week a group of eleven staff from all over the Bank, including four from country offices (Haiti, Aceh, Islamabad and Beijing), who all share the task of helping Bank clients prepare for and respond to disasters came to Italy to learn about the L’Aquila earthquake response.  We are here as guests of the Civil Protection Agency of Italy – a most gracious host – to learn from their experiences in managing the L’Aquila earthquake.  The mission has been organized by the Bank’s recently formed Global Expert Team for Disaster Management, of which I am a member. 

The Reading List: May 22

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 15:26
On Inside the Web

Apologies for the lack of posts this week: I've been at the O'Reilly Where 2.0 Conference learning more about the geo-spatial web. Lots of neat things coming out of the conference, and I'll be posting more about them in the days to come, promise. In the meantime...

Every Friday — well, Saturday this week — I'm going to try and post a selection of the links from our delicious.com account so you can get a quick snapshot of what we're reading this week. Here goes:
 

  • Scribd and Google Infest the Modern Sewer
    Simon J R Holmes argues that book reading tools from Scribd and Google are eroding copyright.
  • How to break the corporate brick wall against social media
    Simple and concise advice on tactics on how to introduce social media. (via)
  • How Executives Should be Using Social Media
    Some great resources for executives trying to make sense of all the talk about social media, or for those that want to be able to talk to their executives about the importance of collaboration on the web. (via)
  • Second-wave adopters are coming. Are you prepared?
    The general theme is that in the near future we will see more companies starting Enterprise 2.0 projects to increase productivity, reduce cost, improve client relations. While we have seen some early success stories, companies will need to think hard about ways to attract second-wave adopters. (via)
  • Having vs using Enterprise 2.0 software
    Businesses (or vendors) who say “We have a wiki; we have a blog; we’re an Enterprise 2.0 company” remind me businesses in 1995 who said “We have a web page; we’re an internet company”. (via)
  • The brave new world of slacktivism
    “Slacktivism” is an apt term to describe the feel-good online activism that has zero political or social impact. It gives those who participate in “slacktivist” campaigns an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group. (via)
  • Online social networking isn't for everyone
    "When we build these systems, we need to build them for everyone. Not just the coolest and most technophilic. We have to build for who our audience really is, not who we wish they would be."
  • My two-line social media policy
    In theory, this is wonderful. But when it comes to HR and protecting people's jobs, you need policy that's more robust that simply two lines.
  • apophenia: answers to questions from Twitter on teen practices
    danah boyd, a premier researcher on the use of social media by young people, shares answers to some of the questions she has been asked on Twitter.
  • The Wisdom of Community
    Derek Powazek talks about what an online (and offline?) community needs to have in order for it to be wise and productive.
  • What kind of open are you looking for?
    We talk a lot about organizations being "open" but do we ever question what we mean by open? Seth Godin breaks it down pretty nicely.

 

Have any links you want to share with us? Add them to your delicious.com account and tag them for:extweb.

Fridays Academy: Corruption, Growth and Poverty

Submitted by Ignacio on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 08:16
On Growth & Crisis

(From Raj Nallari and Indira Iyer's lecture notes)

The literature on corruption is large and growing. In this and upcoming Fridays Academy comments we will attempt to capture the essence of the arguments and provide some empirical evidence on the impact of corruption on growth and poverty reduction. Corruption, which includes bribery, rent-seeking, extortion, embezzlement, is perceived as a major problem facing many countries.  Corruption has therefore been variously defined to mean ‘the misuse of public office for private gain.’   This does not mean that there is no corruption in the private sector because this is quite common in (private) financial firms.  But, corruption is more severe in the public sector than in the private sector.  One of the first known articles on corruption and its punishment is in Kautilya’s Arthasastra (dating back to 14 BC).  Corruption is found to be closely inter-related with a country’s social norms, formal and informal rules and culture as well as legal environment in a country.  No matter what, corruption connotes illegal or improper (moral) behavior and is treated as a ‘socially and culturally deviant behavior.’  From political science point of view, high level of corruption coincides with political instability and tends to reduce citizen’s trust and faith in institutions.

Measurement of Corruption

"ICT is both an icon and an engine of innovation"

Submitted by Michael Trucano on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 00:01
On EduTech - ICT & Education

image courtesy of infoDevAt the end of last week's blog post I mentioned the new Educational Technology Debate web site sponsored by infoDev and UNESCO.  Every month, this site will offer up a topic for consideration, and two discussants will stake out positions on (roughly) opposite sides to kick off what is meant to be a lively on-line 'back-and-forth' in the subsequent weeks.  The first question for debate asks,

Carbon Expo: A marketplace to finance environmental change

Submitted by Florian Kitt on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:04
On East Asia & Pacific on the rise

Carbon finance sounds boring and technical and not much fun. However, it actually does a lot of good and can help fund critical environmental preservation projects as well as introduce clean and renewable technologies in both developed and developing countries. I am not a carbon specialist but at present involved in organizing the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Region's participation in next week's Carbon Expo, a global trade fair for CO₂ market participants. Doesn't really sound like a lot fun? Indeed, it's a lot of work.

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