THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (DEST 591); SEMINAR

WINTER 2008

WEDNESDAYS: 14:00-16:50

Instructor:                           Dr. Apentiik

Location & Time:                 SS 006/ Wednesdays14:00-16:50

Office/Phone #                     SS 252/ 403-220-3396

E-Mail:                                 rapentii@ucalgary.ca

Office Hours:                       Tuesday 12:00: 13:30 or by appointment

 

 

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 the context of global and local. 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:

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

 

Requirements  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. 60%

This includes the following elements.

• Project plan
• Implementation
• Oral presentations
• Final report and poster exhibit

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

 

DEST 591...2

Note on Research Ethics: This course (or assignment) will  obtain course-based ethics approval from the faculty research ethics committee as soon as project selections have been finalized.  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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  

 

 

 

2. Requirement  2

• Critical analysis Paper 25 %

You will identify a development issue related to the project of interest to your organization of choice. For example, if you are working with an organization concerned with housing, your paper should focus on this issue to provide additional background for your group project and to allow you to delve in greater depth into the issue from the perspective of development research.  

 

•2.      Requirement  3

• Class participation 15 %

This includes submission of a one page analysis of and commentary on the readings for the week. Please do only those marked with asterisks.

       

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.

 

The Faculty of Communication and Culture  uses the following equivalencies in its grading system:

 

A          92 - 100             C+        65 - 70              

A-         86 - 91               C           62 - 64

B+        81 - 85               C-         59 - 61

B           77 - 80               D+        55 - 58

B-         71 - 76               D          50 - 54

                                                                               F           0 - 49

ASafewalk@ 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 pay booths.

                                                                                                              DEST 591...3

Class Schedule and  Readings

 

Jan. 16           Introduction to the course

                      Project selection and guidelines

Sample Projects        

Ethics guidelines for research projects

Adopting a complexity framework for development policy and practice

 

Jan. 23           TIME FOR CLIENT MEETING

                                                                                                  

Jan. 30           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"

 

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                  

Feb.   6          *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

 

                         

Feb. 13            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"

                     

Feb.   27        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"

                                                                                                  

DEST 591....4

 

Mar. 5            RESEARCH PAPERS DUE (No later than 2 p.m.)

Project time

                                                                                       

Mar. 12          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)

Mar. 19          (Project Time)

 

Mar. 26          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."

 

  Apr. 2             Instructor-team consultations

 

Apr. 9            FINAL PRESENTATIONS -- Groups 1, 2 and 3

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

Apr. 16           FINAL PRESENTATIONS (Groups 4, 5,  and 6)

                      PROJECT POSTERS WILL REMAIN ON DISPLAY

 

Reflections on Group Project

Submission of Course Journals

Apr. 18          FINAL PROJECT REPORT SUBMISSION (may be submitted earlier)

DEST 591....5

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
• Development Policy Review
• IDS Bulletin
• Journal of International Development
• Public Administration and Development
• World Development

 

                                         

           DEST 591....6

 

SPECS FOR RESEARCH PAPER

 

 

Due:  March 5, 2008

Length:  Up to 10 pp.

Format:   Research paper with accompanying bibliography

Identify an issue related to the interests of your community organization client and/or your group project focus. Develop a review and critical analysis of the research literature.