Doing gender[1] Recently, I chanced upon old photographs of my fieldwork for my dissertation. They were innocuously marked in a folder called ‘Fieldwork’, and turned up when I searched for my field notes. As I was looking through these pictures, I realised that I feel privileged to do the work that I do. I am a feminist sociologist by training,… Read more »
In recent years, national and international assessments have received a lot of attention, largely due to concerns over the quality of education systems and their outcomes. Tests such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have been publicised in the hope of pushing countries to competitively reform their education systems. However, these tests critically lack… Read more »
Being in love with tea is the most committed relationship I have ever been in. I have been accused of romanticizing tea by the whole world and I am not shy to admit that I am indeed, guilty as charged. Each cup of tea brings a sense of tranquillity that awakens all my senses together. I admiringly gaze at the… Read more »
At our recently concluded annual seminar, Prof. Rajagopalan, of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B), mentioned that the idea of “participative approaches” has gained currency within development work and literature. Stating this, he pointed to how participatory approaches are seen as the panacea for all ills that plague development-related work. A significant point he drew all our attention… Read more »
In an impact evaluation study, researchers attempt to estimate the average treatment effects due to exposure to a programme or treatment, by comparing outcomes for treatment and control (non-treated) groups which are randomly assigned (Randomized Controlled Trials – RCT). Average Treatment Effect (ATE) is the difference between the average outcomes between the individuals/units assigned to the treatment and control. The… Read more »
…Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise… Maya Angelou. I heard about your death the afternoon before I was to leave for Bihar. I couldn’t believe it. I kept reading the message on my cell phone over and over again, thinking it has to be a mistake. I… Read more »
Reflexivity is customary in social anthropology and resultant epistemology. George Herbert Mead defines reflexivity as “turning back of the experience of individual upon (her – or himself)”. Reflexivity is always retrospective and hence this blog post is about what I was looking for in the field, what I found and how I perceived it then and how I am looking… Read more »
The recent referendum in the UK reminds me of this classic Noël Coward song, cheerfully sung also by Danny Kaye ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ [1]. Mad dogs and Englishmen [2] Go out in the midday sun… It’s such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see That though the English are effete They’re quite impervious to heat On June 23rd,… Read more »
One of the new aspects of my job at CBPS, which I have enjoyed, has been field work. The GrOW project, in particular, has provided me many opportunities to do field work. Previously, I had either worked on secondary or primary data, which I had played no role in collecting. This experience led me to write this article; I thought… Read more »
Life imitates art far more than art imitates life – Oscar Wilde In the normal course, it is art that imitates life. The art forms –literature, painting and cinema – for most part depended upon and depicted reality. It was art holding up the mirror to life in the description of pastoral England in the novels of Hardy and Eliot;and… Read more »
