This paper explores three important but interrelated issues: The power of example; the fragment as evidence; and finally, the field experience and the possibility of generalisation. These issues are central in the current discourse of social science practice in which serious doubts are being raised...

The paper laments the current confusion in business science with regard to its epistemology. Any scientific discipline needs a firm structural basis, otherwise research is unfocused and flawed. In business science not even the vocabulary is clear: terms like Management and Business...

George J. Stigler's seminal role as one of the founders of the economics of science is summarized and evaluated. His main contribution rests in his asking an array of important questions and arguing persuasively for the application of empirical, and especially statistical, techniques to the...

The paper is an analysis of food aid, rising food prices and its implications.

What are the constraints to efficient birth registration? How do people view the compulsory registering of births? This paper reports on a Readiness Assessment study on Universal Birth Registration in Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh. The study was aimed at assessing and documenting the...

This paper explores some of the challenges ahead in terms of strengthening civil society networks working for ethical globalisation and in turning their shared vision of ethical globalisation into an effective programme of action. It attempts to unpack what is meant by the terms international...

This paper examines changes that have (and have not) occurred – at the village level in Karnataka where most or the state’s residents live, and at higher levels when they impinge upon villages – since 1972. Substantial changes have occurred on many (though certainly not all)...

In the rural areas of developing countries, teacher absence is a widespread problem. This paper tests whether a simple incentive programme based on teacher presence can reduce teacher absence, and whether it has the potential to lead to more teaching activities and better learning. In 60...