IntenseDebate - Brendan Rigby

11 years ago @ Busted Coverage - Tumblr Photographer In... · 0 replies · +4 points

Thanks for the shout out to my photography project. I just want to add that I do not encourage people to donate their jerseys, or second-hand clothing, as this is not good charity or good practice. I have been asking around about how the jerseys make their way to Ghana, and it seems that they may not donated, but rather sold through a number of different people along a supply chain. One such chain begins in LA, then comes through Kumasi then to Tamale. A large bag of second-hand sports clothing is purchased for 800 Cedi ($400) in Kumasi and then sold in Tamale. A typical jersey will cost about 10 Cedi ($5). The jerseys may start out as donated items, but end up being sold in places like Tamale.

12 years ago @ whydev.org - A reader's digest of K... · 0 replies · +1 points

Hi Marjo. As stated on our 'about dev' page <a href=\"http:// (http://www.whydev.org/about-dev/),\" rel=\"nofollow\"> <a href="http://(http://www.whydev.org/about-dev/)," target="_blank">(http://www.whydev.org/about-dev/), my views do not necessarily represent those of the organisation I work for. In addition, these are not links I like (indeed, nowhere in this post do I state that these are links I like or agree with). It just happens that most posts I have come across or that have been shared are critical of IC and this campaign in particular. However, I have tried to include both sides as much as possible, and a close reading of some of these posts strike a good balance.

12 years ago @ whydev.org - A reader's digest of K... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks for picking up on that inaccuracy Sean. Appreciated.

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Poor families simply d... · 0 replies · +1 points

An illustrative quote from Rick Santorum in Dec. 2011, who is running for the Republican Presidential nomination:

(when told by reporters that 50,000 people die in the U.S every year because of lack of healthcare)

" I reject that number completely, that people die in America because of lack of health insurance. People die in America because people die in America...people make poor decisions with respect to their health and healthcare. And they don't go to the emergency room or they don't go to the doctor when they need to."

To which Stephen Colbert ironically replies: "Yes! If you are dying of cancer it is your own fault for not going to the doctor. And if you can't go to the doctor because you don't have insurance then its your own fault for not having a job. And if you don't have a job because you are dying of cancer then get yourself to a doctor! What is wrong with you?!"

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Poor families simply d... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thank you for sharing your experience Humera. The story cuts right to the heart of it. I am sure many of us, when presented with such situations, and perhaps without even be aware of it, make quick judgements. It seems almost instinctual, until you ask 'why', like you did. "Everyone try to make a best decision with reference to their context"; that is it. Although, where does this relativism sit within the framework of universal human rights? That seems to be one of the most difficult questions to consider when particular contexts offer little hope or optimism

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Hey, aid worker! Enoug... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks for a very thoughtful and useful post Shana. Is it ok to make my NY resolution not to talk about my NY resolutions?

On a more serious note, I really like your suggestion of making ourselves accountable to others. I find that being accountable to myself is not always sufficient. It is easy to cut the corners that I make. Printing off a journal article to read is not the same as reading it. Yet, I can convince myself that the action of printing is an achievement in itself. The mind can be wonderfully deceptive.

But, it can also be incredibly powerful. I do not like to make my goals known to others (although, I am studying for the Amazing Race), but prefer to internalise and visual them. I find this gives me strength. However, I do not often celebrate achievements, and I find that this can help keep my humility in tact (although, if I won the Amazing Race, humility would go out the door!).

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Why mindfulness is ess... · 0 replies · +1 points

"The more you pursue distractions, the less effective any particular distraction is, and so I'd had to up various dosages, until, before I knew it, I was checking my e-mail every ten minutes, and my plugs of tobacco were getting ever larger, and my two drinks a night had worsened to four, and I'd achieved such deep mastery of computer solitaire that my goal was no longer to win a game but to win two or more games in a row".

- Jonathan Franzen, on boredom, novels and solitude: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/18/110...

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Why mindfulness is ess... · 2 replies · +1 points

I agree with what Weh outlines in this thoughtful post and with the equally thoughtful comments. However, I just want to push Weh and others here on the applicability of this concept. I like the suggestions Weh gives, but then mindfulness can go beyond such simple tasks, and move into what Jennifer touches on - reflection. We can pay lip service to mindfulness by taking breaks, sitting in silence, etc., but I feel that these actions can be very superficial and then it is easy just to slip back into our normal routines. "Ah, well, that was nice. Better get back to it". It takes discipline and practice. It's hard.

Back to reflection, which I see as a very useful and sound expression of mindfulness. And, it can be learnt, taught and embedded. But, most courses we study do not address reflective practice. I just imagine most people reading posts like Weh's and nodding their head, agreeing and perhaps closing one or two tabs on the browser, and then getting back to it.

How can we really be mindful of mindfulness?

12 years ago @ whydev.org - The decline effect: a ... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks for your comment Soph. I guess that is the question I am asking. An RCT may not be able to answer that question - on the effectiveness of the de-worming of children - again and again because we might see a decline effect in replications. So, say a single RCT in Kenya shows that de-worming has a greater effect on retention than other methods included in the trial. But, then 5 years later, you run the same RCT in Kenya and find that the effects of de-worming are not as strong. And, then in 10 years time. And so on. The decline effect is more than a term, it is an observable trend in the effectiveness, impact and validity of replicated experiments and trials in the same context.

12 years ago @ whydev.org - Back to the Future · 1 reply · +1 points

I would disagree Bonnie that the teaching and learning of these skills is separate. The issues are, as you say, linked. I would say they are interlinked and inseparable. There is a gulf between higher education and the aid and development industries that needs to bridged. This is a very over-looked issue and not one really addressed by higher education institutions, some whose programs seem to reflect more the interests of individual academics, rather than the ever-changing complexities and needs of international engagement (I explored this in the linked provided below)

Yes, I saw recently the posts by Chris and Karen. Similarly, I threw around some thoughts earlier, and others contributed with some very thoughtful comments on studying and learning 'development': http://www.whydev.org/so-youre-thinking-of-studyi...

IntenseDebate Comment System

Connect with Brendan Rigby

My blogs/sites

People I'm following

Brendan Rigby