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Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was published
anonymously in 1844. Starting with the genesis of the solar system,
it progresses systematically through such topics as the formation
of the earth, the origins of marine life, the emergence of
reptiles, birds and other life forms, and the evolution of human
life. Drawing widely upon contemporary ideas from astronomy,
biology, geology, linguistics, and anthropology, it seeks to
establish the 'hypothesis of an organic creation by natural law'.
Preceding Darwin's Origin of Species by fifteen years, Vestiges
ignited a storm of controversy by pitting natural law and its role
in what would soon come to be known as 'evolution' against the
generally accepted Victorian belief that the universe was created
by God. In 1884, it was revealed that the author was the British
publisher Robert Chambers. This fifth edition of the work also
contains its 1845 sequel, Explanations.
Robert Chambers, one of the critical optimists of international
development, returns with a new book that reviews, together for the
first time, some of the revolutionary changes in the methodologies
and methods of development inquiry that have occurred in the past
forty years, and reflects on their transformative potential for the
future.This book breaks new ground by describing and analyzing the
evolution of a sequence of approaches. It starts with the
provocation of the "dinosaurs" of large-scale multi-subject
questionnaire surveys, and the biased visits and perceptions of
rural development tourism-the brief rural visits of urban-based
professionals. This is followed by the explosive proliferation of
methodologies and methods of recent years, especially rapid rural
appraisal (RRA) including observation and semi-structured
interviews, and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) with its
group-visual analysis. Dramatic developments in the still largely
unrecognized fields of participatory numbers and statistics, and of
participatory mapping including participatory GIS, are described
and analyzed, demonstrating their great potential as sources of
data and insights. Chambers shows how these can empower local
people and at the same time provide rigorous and valid substitutes
for some more traditional methods of inquiry. Also presented is a
repertoire for offsetting the biases of the urban trap, which has
become so serious for officials and aid agency staff. Importantly,
he points out that we are now in a different space,
methodologically, from a few years ago. He makes the case that
participatory methodologies, evolved through creative and eclectic
pluralism, can be transformative, and a waveof the future as
drivers of personal, professional and institutional change.
Seasonality is a severe constraint to sustainable rural livelihoods
and a driver of poverty and hunger, particularly in the tropics.
Many poor people in developing countries are ill equipped to cope
with seasonal variations which can lead to drought or flood and
consequences for agriculture, employment, food supply and the
spread of disease. The subject has assumed increasing importance as
climate change and other forms of development disrupt established
seasonal patterns and variations. This book is the first systematic
study of seasonality for over twenty years, and it aims to revive
academic interest and policy awareness of this crucial but
neglected issue. Thematic chapters explore recent shifts with
profound implications for seasonality, including climate change,
HIV/AIDS, and social protection. Case study chapters explore
seasonal dimensions of livelihoods in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya,
Malawi), Asia (Bangladesh, China, India), and Latin America (Peru).
Others assess policy responses to adverse seasonality, for example
through irrigation, migration and seasonally-sensitive education.
The book also includes innovative tools for monitoring seasonality,
which should enable more appropriate responses.
This sourcebook is for all who work with others on participatory
learning and change. Written in a spirit of critical reflection and
serious fun, it provides 21 sets of ideas and options for
facilitators, trainers, teachers and presenters, and anyone who
organises and manages workshops, courses, classes and other events
for sharing and learning ideas. It covers topics such as getting
started, seating arrangements, forming groups, managing large
numbers, helping each other learn, analysis and feedback, dealing
with dominators, evaluation and ending, coping with horrors, and
common mistakes.
Rural poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders. Dr
Chambers contends that researchers, scientists, administrators and
fieldworkers rarely appreciate the richness and validity of rural
people's knowledge or the hidden nature of rural poverty. This is a
challenging book for all concerned with rural development, as
practitioners, academics, students or researchers.
Seasonality is a severe constraint to sustainable rural livelihoods
and a driver of poverty and hunger, particularly in the tropics.
Many poor people in developing countries are ill equipped to cope
with seasonal variations which can lead to drought or flood and
consequences for agriculture, employment, food supply and the
spread of disease. The subject has assumed increasing importance as
climate change and other forms of development disrupt established
seasonal patterns and variations. This book is the first systematic
study of seasonality for over twenty years, and it aims to revive
academic interest and policy awareness of this crucial but
neglected issue. Thematic chapters explore recent shifts with
profound implications for seasonality, including climate change,
HIV/AIDS, and social protection. Case study chapters explore
seasonal dimensions of livelihoods in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya,
Malawi), Asia (Bangladesh, China, India), and Latin America (Peru).
Others assess policy responses to adverse seasonality, for example
through irrigation, migration and seasonally-sensitive education.
The book also includes innovative tools for monitoring seasonality,
which should enable more appropriate responses.
Scaling Impact introduces a new and practical approach to scaling
the positive impacts of research and innovation. Inspired by
leading scientific and entrepreneurial innovators from across
Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East,
this book presents a synthesis of unrivalled diversity and grounded
ingenuity. The result is a different perspective on how to achieve
impact that matters, and an important challenge to the predominant
more-is-better paradigm of scaling. For organisations and
individuals working to change the world for the better, scaling
impact is a common goal and a well-founded aim. The world is
changing rapidly, and seemingly intractable problems like
environmental degradation or accelerating inequality press us to do
better for each other and our environment as a global community.
Challenges like these appear to demand a significant scale of
action, and here the authors argue that a more creative and
critical approach to scaling is both possible and essential. To
encourage uptake and co-development, the authors present actionable
principles that can help organisations and innovators design,
manage, and evaluate scaling strategies. Scaling Impact is
essential reading for development and innovation practitioners and
professionals, but also for researchers, students, evaluators, and
policymakers with a desire to spark meaningful change.
Rural poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders. Dr Chambers contends that researchers, scientists, administrators and fieldworkers rarely appreciate the richness and validity of rural people's knowledge or the hidden nature of rural poverty. This is a challenging book for all concerned with rural development, as practitioners, academics, students or researchers.
Robert Chambers, one of the critical optimists of international
development, returns with a new book that reviews, together for the
first time, some of the revolutionary changes in the methodologies
and methods of development inquiry that have occurred in the past
forty years, and reflects on their transformative potential for the
future.This book breaks new ground by describing and analyzing the
evolution of a sequence of approaches. It starts with the
provocation of the "dinosaurs" of large-scale multi-subject
questionnaire surveys, and the biased visits and perceptions of
rural development tourism-the brief rural visits of urban-based
professionals. This is followed by the explosive proliferation of
methodologies and methods of recent years, especially rapid rural
appraisal (RRA) including observation and semi-structured
interviews, and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) with its
group-visual analysis. Dramatic developments in the still largely
unrecognized fields of participatory numbers and statistics, and of
participatory mapping including participatory GIS, are described
and analyzed, demonstrating their great potential as sources of
data and insights. Chambers shows how these can empower local
people and at the same time provide rigorous and valid substitutes
for some more traditional methods of inquiry. Also presented is a
repertoire for offsetting the biases of the urban trap, which has
become so serious for officials and aid agency staff. Importantly,
he points out that we are now in a different space,
methodologically, from a few years ago. He makes the case that
participatory methodologies, evolved through creative and eclectic
pluralism, can be transformative, and a waveof the future as
drivers of personal, professional and institutional change.
Scaling Impact introduces a new and practical approach to scaling
the positive impacts of research and innovation. Inspired by
leading scientific and entrepreneurial innovators from across
Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East,
this book presents a synthesis of unrivalled diversity and grounded
ingenuity. The result is a different perspective on how to achieve
impact that matters, and an important challenge to the predominant
more-is-better paradigm of scaling. For organisations and
individuals working to change the world for the better, scaling
impact is a common goal and a well-founded aim. The world is
changing rapidly, and seemingly intractable problems like
environmental degradation or accelerating inequality press us to do
better for each other and our environment as a global community.
Challenges like these appear to demand a significant scale of
action, and here the authors argue that a more creative and
critical approach to scaling is both possible and essential. To
encourage uptake and co-development, the authors present actionable
principles that can help organisations and innovators design,
manage, and evaluate scaling strategies. Scaling Impact is
essential reading for development and innovation practitioners and
professionals, but also for researchers, students, evaluators, and
policymakers with a desire to spark meaningful change.
Originally published anonymously in 1844, "Vestiges" proved to be
as controversial as its author expected. Integrating research in
the burgeoning sciences of anthropology, geology, astronomy,
biology, economics, and chemistry, it was the first attempt to
connect the natural sciences to a history of creation. The author,
whose identity was not revealed until 1884, was Robert Chambers, a
leading Scottish writer and publisher. "Vestiges" reached a huge
popular audience and was widely read by the social and intellectual
elite. It sparked debate about natural law, setting the stage for
the controversy over Darwin's "Origin." In response to the
surrounding debate and criticism, Chambers published "Explanations:
A Sequel," in which he offered a reasoned defense of his ideas
about natural law, castigating what he saw as the narrowness of
specialist science.
With a new introduction by James Secord, a bibliography of reviews,
and a new index, this volume adds to "Vestiges" and "Explanations"
Chambers's earliest works on cosmology, an essay on Darwin, and an
autobiographical essay, raising important issues about the changing
meanings of popular science and religion and the rise of secular
ideologies in Western culture.
* From one of the 'gurus' of development and author of the best
selling Participatory Workshops* Chock-full of provocative and
actionable ideas drawn from four decades of development work and
written in Robert Chambers' infectious and highly readable style
Our world seems entangled in systems increasingly dominated by
power, greed, ignorance, self-deception, and denial, with
spiralling inequity and injustice. Against a backdrop of climate
change, failing ecosystems, poverty, crushing debt, and corporate
exploitation, the future of our world looks dire and the solutions
almost too monumental to consider. Yet all is not lost. Robert
Chambers, one of the 'glass is half full' optimists of
international development, suggests that the problems can be solved
and everyone has the power at a personal level to take action,
develop solutions, and remake our world as it can and should be.
Chambers peels apart and analyzes aspects of development that have
been neglected or misunderstood. In each chapter, he presents an
earlier writing which he then reviews and reflects upon in a
contemporary light before harvesting a wealth of powerful
conclusions and practical implications for the future. The book
draws on experiences from Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, covering
topics and concepts as wide and varied as irreversibility,
continuity, and commitment; administrative capacity as a scarce
resource; procedures and principles; participation in the past,
present, and future; scaling up; behavior and attitudes;
responsible wellbeing; and concepts for development in the 21st
century.
This book challenges readers to examine the pervasive significance
of power in forming and framing knowledge. "Into the Unknown"
reflects on the journey of learning and encourages readers to learn
from observation, curiosity, critical feedback, play and fun. This
book includes tips on how to lead into workshops and on how to
convene workshops that can co-generate knowledge and have an
influence.Development is about change, and lives immersed in
researching international development should be prepared for
exploration, for discovering the unexpected, and for questioning
the direction that development is taking. Robert Chambers reflects
on experiences in his own life, which led him to examine personal
biases and predispositions. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and
Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) are two movements that have
benefited from sharing practice, innovations and experience through
participatory workshops. Finally, the author asks whether the new
dual realities virtual and physical are getting out of balance and
encourages readers to explore through experiential learning in the
physical and social world."
The many billions of dollars invested in canal irrigation in recent
decades have had disappointing results. Rarely have projected
benefits in well-being or production been achieved. In consequence,
in the mid-1980s, further vast sums are being spent throughout the
Third World on programmes for rehabilitation, canal lining, on farm
development, and farmers' organisation. In this book, Robert
Chambers shows that much of this policy and practice is based on
misleading research and misdiagnosis. When applied to the
complexity and uniqueness of canal irrigation systems, the normal
professionalism of civil and agricultural engineers, agronomists,
economists, and sociologists, leaves gaps which are keys to better
performance. In successive chapters, five such gaps are analysed
and presented: main system management, including the scheduling and
delivery of water, and communications; canal irrigation at night;
management of canal systems jointly by farmers and officials;
professional conditions and incentives for irrigation managers; and
methods for diagnostic analysis to identify cost-effective actions
for improvement. Managing Canal Irrigation has been written for
policy-makers, irrigation managers, consultants, researchers,
trainers and teachers. It challenges all concerned with improving
the performance and anti-poverty impact of canal irrigation,
whether in government departments, aid agencies, consultancy firms,
training and research institutes or universities, to re-examine
their beliefs, biases and actions. By going beyond the limits of
normal professionalism, the book presents a new syllabus for
training, a new agenda for research and development, and points to
new policies and to practical action to be taken in the field.
This book challenges readers to examine the pervasive significance
of power in forming and framing knowledge. "Into the Unknown"
reflects on the journey of learning and encourages readers to learn
from observation, curiosity, critical feedback, play and fun. This
book includes tips on how to lead into workshops and on how to
convene workshops that can co-generate knowledge and have an
influence.Development is about change, and lives immersed in
researching international development should be prepared for
exploration, for discovering the unexpected, and for questioning
the direction that development is taking. Robert Chambers reflects
on experiences in his own life, which led him to examine personal
biases and predispositions. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and
Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) are two movements that have
benefited from sharing practice, innovations and experience through
participatory workshops. Finally, the author asks whether the new
dual realities virtual and physical are getting out of balance and
encourages readers to explore through experiential learning in the
physical and social world."
Do we use obscure words to impress our colleagues - or fashionable
ones to win research proposals? How do poor people define their
poverty? How can we use aid budgets most effectively? Are many of
our actions against poverty simple, direct...and wrong?
Provocations for Development is an entertaining and unsettling
collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and
practices in development. It is made up of short and accessible
writings by Robert Chambers reflecting on the evolution of concepts
like participation and of organizations like the World Bank.
Besides provocations, there is mischief, verse and serious fun. The
book is organized into four sections: Word Play, irreverently
examines vocabularies of development and how words are instruments
of power; Poverty and Participation challenges concepts of poverty,
presents empowering breakthroughs in the current explosion of
participatory methodologies; Aid, is critical of past and present
procedures and practices in aid and points to feasible changes for
doing better; For our Future touches on values, ethics, gender and
participation, immersions, hypocrisy, and paradigms, and sees hope
in children. The final provocation invites readers to find answers
to the question 'what would it take to eliminate poverty in the
world?'
Do we use obscure words to impress our colleagues or fashionable
ones to win research proposals? How do poor people define their
poverty? How can we use aid budgets most effectively? Are many of
our actions against poverty simple, direct and wrong? "Provocations
for Development" is an entertaining and unsettling collection of
writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in
development. It is made up of short and accessible writings by
Robert Chambers, many from the past ten years and some from
earlier, reflecting on the evolution of concepts like participation
and of organizations like the World Bank. Besides provocations,
there is mischief, verse and serious fun. The book is organized
into four sections. The first, "Word Play," irreverently examines
vocabularies of development and how words are instruments of power.
The second, "Poverty and Participation," challenges concepts of
poverty, presents empowering breakthroughs in the current explosion
of participatory methodologies, and concludes with what can be done
at the personal level. The third, "Aid," is critical of past and
present procedures and practices in aid and points to feasible
changes for doing better. The provocations in the last section "For
Our Future" touch on values, ethics, gender and participation,
immersions, hypocrisy, and paradigms, and sees hope in children.
The final provocation invites readers to find answers to the
question what would it take to eliminate poverty in the world?
"Provocations for Development" will be enjoyed by development
professionals, including academics, students, NGO workers and the
staff of international agencies, as well as the wider public."
"To the Hands of the Poor" confronts the paradox of mass poverty
coexisting with vast resource potentials in much of rural India.
The authors present evidence that the potentials from groundwater
and trees are larger than earlier estimated. To identify how the
poor can gain more from their exploitation, they start with the
livelihoods and priorities of the poor themselves. Empirical
research and the principles of practical political economy are
combined to identify new and hopeful policies. The agenda of the
book places stress on changing regulations and abolishing
restrictions as a means of benifiting the poor quickly and on a
large scale. Reduced hassle, secure rights, and effective
communication of those rights are argued to be keys to freeing the
poor from rent-seeking hassle and exploitation, and enabling them
to claim and gain more from lift irrigation and trees.
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