Development Studies (DEST) 591 S01
Critical Perspectives in Development Practice and Research
 Fall 2007
Wednesday 14:00 - 16:50

Instructor:	Edna Einsiedel
Office Location:	SS 318
Office Phone:	220-3924
E-Mail:	einsiede@ucalgary.ca
Office Hours:	Tue 10 -11

Course Description

This course will be conducted as a seminar-practicum for students in Development Studies. The course is designed around doing development by carrying out a small community development-related project. This involves project conceptualization, planning, implementation, and final report.  Students will work in teams of two or three.

The seminar portion of the course will focus on contemporary development issues in global and local contexts. The case studies will help to link these issues with the challenges of doing development work and will illustrate various stages of development projects. The goal will be to think through some of the policy and practical implications of these issues as they are illustrated within development practice.

Objectives of the Course

1. Develop project management skills

2. Design and implement a community development project with a client organization

3, Apply development research to policy and practice

Textbooks and Readings:

No text required. Readings included in class schedule and Reference list

Assignments and Evaluation

•1.     
Requirement  1

• Select a project for the term. This project involves meeting with a client group or organization, developing a project plan, implementing the project, and writing a final report for the organization. This report will also be orally presented to the class. 50%

This includes the following elements.

• Project plan Due Oct 10
• Implementation
• Oral presentations Oct 31, Nov 28 & Dec 5
• Final report and poster exhibit Dec 12
  

A quarter of this grade will be determined through peer review of the individual student's contribution to the project by the group.                                                  

2. Requirement  2

• Critical analysis Paper 25 % Due Oct 24

You will identify a community development project in the literature, examine documentation on this project, look up related research literature, and develop a critical analysis of this project. NOTE: This project must have been completed in the last 5 years (no earlier than 2001).  An example will be provided in class.

•2.      Requirement  3

• Class participation 25 %

This includes submission of a one page analysis and commentary of the readings for the week.

4. Requirement 4 -  Although this will not be graded, 5 percent of class participation will be a personal journal.  You are encouraged to jot down your reflections on your project work, the challenges you are experiencing, and your learning experiences.

At the discretion of the instructor, assignments submitted late may be penalized with the loss of a grade (eg: A- to B+) for each day late.

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  None

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see the U of C Research Ethics "Information for Applicants," sections 3.0 to 9.0, inclusive: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/research/html/ethics/info_undergrad.html

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Class Schedule and Readings

Sept.  12        Introduction to the course

                        Project selection and guidelines

Sample Projects

Ethics guidelines and responsibilities       

Adopting a complexity framework for development policy and practice

Sept. 19         Practicum:      Project management

• A. Einsiedel, Project Planning and Management: A Guide for

     Development Projects  (handout)

• T. Richey, "Wicked problems: structuring social messes with

     morphological analysis"                                                                                  

Sept. 26         TIME FOR CLIENT MEETING                                                                                                            

Oct.   3           Introducing Telehealth technologies to First Nations Communities: Planning and Doing a Participatory action research project. 

     Muttitt, S., R. Vigneault, L. Loewen, "Integrating telehealth into aboriginal  

     healthcare: the Canadian experience

Oct. 10           PROJECT PLAN DUE

PROJECT PLAN PRESENTATIONS

Doing Project Evaluation

• Earle, S. and F. Carden, "Learning from Complexity: The IDRC's Experience with Outcome Mapping"
• R. Vernooy, S. Qiu, X. Jianchu (2006), "The power of participatory monitoring and evaluation: insights from southwest China"

                       

Oct.   17         Social complexity as context for projects --  a case study of AIDS                        

• Akeroyd, A. (2004), Gendered vulnerabilities: coercion, constraints, and ‘cultural entrapments': a further look at gendered and occupational factors pertinent to the transmission of HIV in Africa". In Kalipeni, E., S. Craddock, J. Oppong, J. Ghoshi (eds.), HIV & AIDS in Africa: beyond epidemiology. London: Blackwell publishing, 2004.
  
• J. Putzel, "The politics of action on AIDS: a case study of Uganda"
                                                                                                             

Oct. 24           RESEARCH PAPERS DUE (No later than 2 p.m.)

Project time                                                                                                

Oct. 31           Complexity and organizational processes: Project management as

     Organizational Learning.

• Roper, L. and J. Pettit (2002), "Development and the learning

organization". Development in Practice, 12:3 & 4, August, 258-271.

• Padaki, V., "The human organization: challenges in NGOs and development programmes"

 

MID-TERM PRESENTATIONS  (Implementation reports)

Nov.     7        (Project Time)

•14   Complexities around expertise; foresight for Project Management:  Indigenous/traditional knowledge and development challenges - some current issues

• Stevenson, M. "Indigenous knowledge in environmental assessment"
  
• C. Hamilton, "Biodiversity, biopiracy, and benefits: what allegations of biopiracy tell us about intellectual property."
  

           21         Instructor-team consultations

28            FINAL PRESENTATIONS -- Groups 1, 2 and 3

NOTE:  PROJECT POSTERS WILL BE PUT ON DISPLAY IN THE 3^RD FLOOR LOUNGE

Dec.    5         FINAL PRESENTATIONS (Groups 4, 5,  and 6)

                        PROJECT POSTERS WILL REMAIN ON DISPLAY

Reflections on Group Project

Submission of Course Journals

•(12)          FINAL PROJECT REPORT SUBMISSION (may be submitted earlier)

REFERENCES:

Akeroyd, A. (2004), Gendered vulnerabilities: coercion, constraints, and ‘cultural entrapments': a further look at gendered and occupational factors pertinent to the transmission of HIV in Africa". In  Kalipeni, E., S. Craddock, J. Oppong, J. Ghoshi (eds.), HIV & AIDS in Africa: beyond epidemiology. London: Blackwell publishing, 2004.

Earle, S.  and F. Carden (2003), "Learning from Complexity: The IDRC's Experience with Outcome Mapping". Laura Roper, Jethro Pettit, and Deborah Eade (eds.) Development and the Learning Organization: A Development in Practice Reader. Oxfam GB.

C. Hamilton, "Biodiversity, biopiracy, and benefits: what allegations of biopiracy tell us about intellectual property." Developing world bioethics, 6:3, 158-173, 2006.

 Muttitt, S., R. Vigneault, L. Loewen, "Integrating telehealth into aboriginal healthcare: the Canadian experience.". Int'l Journ of Circumpolar health, 63:4,  401-414, 2004

Padaki, V., "The human organization: challenges in NGOs and development programmes". Development in practice, 17:1, February, 2007.

J. Putzel (2004), "The politics of action on AIDS: a case study of Uganda". Public administration and development. 24:19-30

Richey, T. (2005), "Structuring social messes with morphological analysis". http://www.swemorph.com/

Roper, L. and J. Pettit (2002), "Development and the learning organization". Development in Practice, 12:3 & 4, August, 258-271

Stevenson, M. "Indigenous knowledge in environmental assessment", Arctic, 49:3, 278-291, 1996.

Vernooy, R.,  S. Qiu, X. Jianchu (2006), "The power of participatory monitoring and evaluation: insights from southwest China". Development in practice, 16:5, August. 400-411.

Core journals in the field of development and project management issues:

• Development
• Development in Practice
• Development and Change
• World Development
• Development Policy Review
• Public Administration and Development
• IDS Bulletin