Had my first rap session with ms. Shao... (think i spelled that right). She wasn't very helpful for the first 25 min. since it seemed that she hadn't really done much research on my topic. Basically for the first half of the meeting she was trying to remember phrases she'd typed in to find material in the catalog. Fortunately I didn't have to sit through a long spill about how to use a database, which would have probably wasted another 20 min. Anyways by the time she figured out the keywords she found useful she did show me some great material i'm going to start with for some basic research. She also helped me come up with some variations for keyword searches which will help me if i get stumped with certain phrases.... i'm now ready to get the ball rolling and start on this project.
I've also made calls to the entreprenuership center and the career center to get this website project off the ground. Haven't heard back from the entreprenuership center but i have an appt with the career center.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
WEB SITE
I've been kicking around some ideas for a website that i want to accompany my research paper as a possible alternative that can be based on the people's priorities and needs of their own community, in hopes of giving them the power and the decision making authority.
CONCEPT: Communities will post requests and detailed plan of what they need or projects they want to accomplish. Those who visit they site can choose to donate to the community project, need, or service. The money would be distributed by the site directly to the community project coordinator. The coordinator would be a member of the community but also an 'employee'/'volunteer' of the site organization. The coordinator would have other members of the communities (also familiar and affiliated with the site) who will distribute the materials for projects or needs. The community will then rely on community volunteers to work on projects or distribute requested materials. This ensures community building and a help-your-self atmosphere giving them something they themselves have total control over and can be proud of. This approach I hope gets out of the top down mentality and the feeling of having no say in their own communities. It also provides an opportunity for the community to make well informed decisions about their own community (rather than experts who aren't familiar with the community, its customs, culture, traditions, relationships, etc), with the consultation of experts if they so desire, but always keeping the power of authority and decision making with the community members. Using this community building approach will also in theory work towards breaking down community tensions over race, culture, or socio-economic issues. This also helps move away from those organizations who bring people or experts in to build projects and distribute materials, just to leave a few weeks later never to be heard from again or experts who don't teach local communities the ins and outs of the new technology.
The main objective is to avoid top-down, interest based decision making such as with organizations like the IMF or WB. This even applies to large scale NGO's that have lost their grassroots foundation.
EXAMPLE: An example of a possible post is a community need for Malaria nets in a small village in the Congo, in hopes of curbing malaria infections. Another more complex example is the need for a clinic in rural area of Haiti with a further need of a doctor and nurse that can train locals to run the clinic. Also this same community may ask for supplies or used medical equipment to be donated, as well as medicines (TB and Aids are prevalent in Haiti).
Both are hypothetical.
So what would happen is people who visited the site would choose which request from a community that they wanted to donate to (the full amount of request or just part of it). The money would be funneled from the Site organization to the community coordinator or director and the project would be started as soon as funding went through. Updates on community progress and reports would be posted during the process and at the end of the project.
IN ADDITION:
Another idea I was throwing around that might be a good addition to the site is the possibility of micro-credit/loans or even donations to entrepreneurs in the third world. This could possibly help facilitate development in rural and even urban communities.
CONCEPT: Communities will post requests and detailed plan of what they need or projects they want to accomplish. Those who visit they site can choose to donate to the community project, need, or service. The money would be distributed by the site directly to the community project coordinator. The coordinator would be a member of the community but also an 'employee'/'volunteer' of the site organization. The coordinator would have other members of the communities (also familiar and affiliated with the site) who will distribute the materials for projects or needs. The community will then rely on community volunteers to work on projects or distribute requested materials. This ensures community building and a help-your-self atmosphere giving them something they themselves have total control over and can be proud of. This approach I hope gets out of the top down mentality and the feeling of having no say in their own communities. It also provides an opportunity for the community to make well informed decisions about their own community (rather than experts who aren't familiar with the community, its customs, culture, traditions, relationships, etc), with the consultation of experts if they so desire, but always keeping the power of authority and decision making with the community members. Using this community building approach will also in theory work towards breaking down community tensions over race, culture, or socio-economic issues. This also helps move away from those organizations who bring people or experts in to build projects and distribute materials, just to leave a few weeks later never to be heard from again or experts who don't teach local communities the ins and outs of the new technology.
The main objective is to avoid top-down, interest based decision making such as with organizations like the IMF or WB. This even applies to large scale NGO's that have lost their grassroots foundation.
EXAMPLE: An example of a possible post is a community need for Malaria nets in a small village in the Congo, in hopes of curbing malaria infections. Another more complex example is the need for a clinic in rural area of Haiti with a further need of a doctor and nurse that can train locals to run the clinic. Also this same community may ask for supplies or used medical equipment to be donated, as well as medicines (TB and Aids are prevalent in Haiti).
Both are hypothetical.
So what would happen is people who visited the site would choose which request from a community that they wanted to donate to (the full amount of request or just part of it). The money would be funneled from the Site organization to the community coordinator or director and the project would be started as soon as funding went through. Updates on community progress and reports would be posted during the process and at the end of the project.
IN ADDITION:
Another idea I was throwing around that might be a good addition to the site is the possibility of micro-credit/loans or even donations to entrepreneurs in the third world. This could possibly help facilitate development in rural and even urban communities.
Lately
Called to set up meeting with Julia Roland at the entrepreneurship center and hopefully get started on developing idea for my site.
Tomorrow, RAP session at the Library.
Tomorrow, RAP session at the Library.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Work Plan
Stating the Problem: foreign aid (WB, IMF, USAID, etc) and large NGO's top-down/trickle down decision making affects and consequences on people or areas they 'help'
looking at:
voice of the people
role of foreign gov't interests
role of host gov't (corruption/ineffective bureaucracy)
top down/trickle down concepts (use of outside "experts" vs grassroots effort)
success/failure and the history of aid donation
economic effects/strings attached or conditionality
alternatives-bottom up approaches, priority of the people, community based
statistics: money spent vs current situation (success, collapse, stagnation)
case studies or livelihood data: "Life and Death"
Relevant disciplines to my Interdisciplinary research:
- history: look at past aid donations and affects they have had on economy, social aspects, politics, culture
-political science- role role do politics play, domestic and foreign, how does it affect politics?
-Economics- how does aid effect development, trickle down/top down decision making look at alternatives to mainstream economics and critiques ofneoliberal approaches
-sociology- how social relationships are affected, culture, traditions, collective movements, etc
Beginning of Literary Research:
-The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
-Friction by Anna Tsing (maybe)
-Theories and Practices of Development by Katie Willis
-Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
-The Sweat of their Brow by McCreery
-Anti-Capitalism by Tormey (maybe)
-African Renaissance in the New Millennium by Udogu
with more work to come
looking at:
voice of the people
role of foreign gov't interests
role of host gov't (corruption/ineffective bureaucracy)
top down/trickle down concepts (use of outside "experts" vs grassroots effort)
success/failure and the history of aid donation
economic effects/strings attached or conditionality
alternatives-bottom up approaches, priority of the people, community based
statistics: money spent vs current situation (success, collapse, stagnation)
case studies or livelihood data: "Life and Death"
Relevant disciplines to my Interdisciplinary research:
- history: look at past aid donations and affects they have had on economy, social aspects, politics, culture
-political science- role role do politics play, domestic and foreign, how does it affect politics?
-Economics- how does aid effect development, trickle down/top down decision making look at alternatives to mainstream economics and critiques ofneoliberal approaches
-sociology- how social relationships are affected, culture, traditions, collective movements, etc
Beginning of Literary Research:
-The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
-Friction by Anna Tsing (maybe)
-Theories and Practices of Development by Katie Willis
-Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
-The Sweat of their Brow by McCreery
-Anti-Capitalism by Tormey (maybe)
-African Renaissance in the New Millennium by Udogu
with more work to come
My Topic/Project
My Topic/project:
The first part of my project is researching the history of foreign aid and NGO's affects on developing nations, most importantly the people living in poverty, indigenous groups, and rural communities. An important aspect of this is how national interests play a role in decision making. Aspects to be focused on: changes in culture, social relationships, economies, development, politics, etc. Alternatives will also be addressed.
The second part of the project is trying to start my own website in which the people who need the help can ask for what they deem most important. They will receive the money directly, no bureaucratic stings and obstacle's to overcome. They will also conduct the projects themselves, to help in community building. This is geared toward more rural communities, it's difficult to determine as of now how effective it would be on a larger, more urban scale.
The first part of my project is researching the history of foreign aid and NGO's affects on developing nations, most importantly the people living in poverty, indigenous groups, and rural communities. An important aspect of this is how national interests play a role in decision making. Aspects to be focused on: changes in culture, social relationships, economies, development, politics, etc. Alternatives will also be addressed.
The second part of the project is trying to start my own website in which the people who need the help can ask for what they deem most important. They will receive the money directly, no bureaucratic stings and obstacle's to overcome. They will also conduct the projects themselves, to help in community building. This is geared toward more rural communities, it's difficult to determine as of now how effective it would be on a larger, more urban scale.
Give a Little, Help a Lot
Welcome to my blog for Senior Seminar!!
Hope you enjoy learning about things I'm researching and learning myself. Any helpful tips are welcome, as well as useful critiques.
Hope you enjoy learning about things I'm researching and learning myself. Any helpful tips are welcome, as well as useful critiques.
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