Aidnography

Hello all, The new semester is round the corner and one of the many ways to welcome our new students is to encourage them to get immersed in and (slightly) overwhelmed by the debates featured in the link review! From the global remittance transfer cartel to the astonishing finding that 'research is no panacea for development', from the question of whether war reporting is worth the dangers to challenges of post-war capitalism in Nepal this is a jam-packed review! A social entrepreneur evangelist pinches her filter bubble and we learn all about bad aid. And what about hashtaggism and that water-pouring meme? This week's must-read is Evgeny Morozov's essay on the data-driven delusion of disruption and more sobering thoughts on digital ethics, crowd-funding and states disguising as 'democracies'. Finally, some anthropological reflections on the crisis in Liberia and a glimpse into the world's best Communication for Development program ;)! Enjoy! New from aidno...

First, there was good, old volunteering in Africa or Latin America, then we (were) discovered (by) the CV-enhancing experience industry around voluntourism in developing countries and now we are faced with the fast-growing genre of critical self-reflection by returning volunteers who discovered how self-serving #InstagrammingAfrica really is. ‘Why is it always former volunteers who now write about their so-called discoveries after yet another bad experience in a so-called orphanage?’, a friend asked on facebook a few weeks ago. The urge to build: From schools, to CVs and reputations First, our parents’ generation went to Nicaragua to build schools, then we baby-boomer children went on to volunteer in Nepal, Cambodia or Ghana and a few years later an orphanage-cum-English-teaching industry has been firmly established, leaving little to no room for a meaningful, political engagement with poverty, injustice and underdevelopment. But like most other parts of our carefully managed lives...

Dear all, Back from a proper holiday it is time to go through the link assemblage and share a mix of 'brand new' and 'still relevant' content with you: More on Canada's crackdown on civil society; why 'value for money' in aid is an austerity excuse; research on the ineffectiveness of celebrities in development branding; a critical view on social enterprises; will there be more jobs in aid? How to get a digital aid job-and how to build an exit strategy to leave aid altogether-plus new publications. Our digital lives looks at data and politics, the 'children of silicon valley' as well as data and Disney...finally, Academia & Anthropology looks at research on academic influence on Twitter, ethnography and policing & ethical questions of the 'data overflow'. Enjoy! New from aidnography It’s about the thesis-PhD and PWFP (People With Formal Power) First, when contemplating non-thesis activities and engagements be aware of the People Wit...

I find it difficult to categorize J.’s latest and first non-fictional work Letters Left Unsent . I think it is a collection of essays that weave together J’s autobiographical journey through the humanitarian industry with contemporary reflections on aid work, aid workers and being a global professional in a line of work where popular perceptions and field realities often drift apart quite a bit. As a core, probably even founding member of the aid blogosphere J.’s writings as Tales from the Hood and now on Aid Speak form an essential core of the book which includes many of his well-known comments on getting into and surviving the aid industry. But Letters Left Unsent is certainly more than a compilation of blog posts and diary-style vignettes. As with his previous fictional takes on humanitarian aid and dating work he manages to tell a story-the story of humanitarian aid in the 21st century: Aid work and workers are compassionate professionals, operate in complex environm...

Hope you enjoy the warmth and holiday in Sweden just now! But there will be fall this year . What should you do then? Continue with your normal treadmill? Or do something new and exciting - like teaching in Nepal? After almost 7 years on facebook and petabytes of data and sophisticated algorithms later they put together the keywords 'Nepal', 'Sweden' and 'something with learning' to advertise this fantastic offer by a voluntourism agency registered in Bangkok/Thailand... Starting from about USD 760 Dollar per week you can teach in a school in a monastery in Nepal-pictures with girls in blue school uniforms and/or the cool sunglasses shot are probably included... Nepal is a wonderful country and worth every trip! But please, travel as a regular tourist, spend as much money locally with tour operators etc. as possible and just enjoy a peaceful monastery on one of your treks. But thanks, facebook and Indigo Travel , for encourag...

Thesiswhisperer Inger Mewburn is undoubtedly one of the finest writers on PhD- and academia-related issues. So me not really agreeing with one of her latest posts It's not just about the thesis is based on the respectful and collegial spirit with which PhD education issues should be discussed.  In fact, this is the second time I feel inspired to respond to a post and add my two cents to an important debate ( The four stages of ‘hottie research envy’ – a response to the Thesiswhisperer ). What is really examined? Maybe not just the thesis http://t.co/y0KdIYlvOK #phdchat — Dr Inger Mewburn (@thesiswhisperer) July 23, 2014 The thesiswhisperer is quite clear about getting involved in as many extra-PhD-thesis activities as possible to build up your CV and profile-the more committee memberships, teaching opportunities and marketable skills, the better. So don’t lose out on a mixer and do take that NVivo course just in case! In my response I want to focus on three points: First...

Hello all, Between my academic vacation (i.e. a non-holiday dedicated to reading and writing and enjoying it very much!) and preparing high quality new blog content my weekly link review is a bit off balance...this is actually not a bad thing as it gives me more time to select slightly less time-urgent content or include replies to more news-ish items...anyway...a great review starts with 'Devsplaining', IDS going open access, sex & the aid worker, World Bank self-praise, Canada's destructive development climate, the state of humanitarian research, a long read on Kari Polanyi's long live and open access reading tips! The highlights in Our Digital Lives is an essay on why social transformation needs friction and the challenges of data journalism; finally, a look at netnography, Snowden & the 'burning paradise' of the academic sector. Enjoy! New from aidnography I’m getting tired of ‘corporatization’ claims regarding the development industry As always, MS...