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November 2008 At the DSA Conference,
Sarah White convened a session Wellbeing and
Development Policy and Practice in the 21st Century.
See Abstracts
October 2008 "Wellbeing
and Develoment in Peru: Local and Universal Views Confronted" edited
by James Copestake, published by
Palgrave Macmillan
24-25 April
2008 Sarah White is
presenting the Keynote Paper "But
what is Wellbeing?’ A framework for analysis in social
and development policy and practice" at the
Conference
on Regeneration and Wellbeing: Research into Practice at the University
of Bradford. Ian
Gough is also a keynote speaker.
2 April 2008 A presentation
was made by James Copestake to
the All
Party Parliamentary Group on Microfinance in the
House of Commons, on the topic “Microfinance:
social endeavour or commercial enterprise?”
21st
February 2008 WeD
seminar, Wellbeing:
Challenges to International Development,
at the Palace of Westminster,
disseminated the key findings from their five-year research
programme. Four briefing
papers were presented which argue that international
development needs a practical concept of wellbeing if it
is to reach and then go beyond the Millennium Development
Goals to confront the major and interlinked challenges
of poverty, conflict and sustainability. More...and Press
release
12
January 2008 Joe
Devine (WeD) discussed the current political situation
in Bangladesh one year on from the declaration of the state
of emergency. This discussion took place on BBC Radio Scotland
programme Newsweek Scotland. See Press Release
27
November 2007 Article on ESRC
Society Today website Wellbeing
- not the prerogative of the rich
14-15
November 2007 Allister McGregor spoke at
the IIASA
Conference '07 on
Global
Development:
Science and Policies for the Future which took place at the Hofburg
Imperial Palace, Vienna, Austria. He spoke on "Wellbeing
and its Challenges to International Development". See
press release
October
2007 New MSc
in Wellbeing and Human Development starts at the University of Bath
24 September
2007 ESRC website features article
based on interview with Allister McGregor, 'Striking
a Note for Peace?'
3 September
2007 Allister McGregor
ESRC Director's Fellowship is confirmed
(2007-2008) Details..
31 August
2007 James Copestake presented
a seminar to the Consultative Group
to Assist the Poorest (CGAP) in
Washington DC. The subject was How
Relevant is wellbeing to microfinance?
23-25 August
2007 Jorge Yamamoto
(WeD Peru) was a keynote speaker
at the first Latin American Congress of Psychology Students,
at San Marcos University, Lima, Peru. 23th-25th August.
His presentation
was An emic and post-hoc approach in cross-cultural
psychology. A multilevel model of wellbeing and development.
10-11 August
2007 Jorge Yamamoto
(WeD Peru) conducted a seminar: Wellbeing,
quality and productivity, organised by the Private University
of Iquitos, Iquitos, Peru.
24-27 July
2007 Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) was a keynote speaker at the XIII National
Congress of Psychology and IIII nternational Congress of Psychology organised
by the Peruvian Psychological
Association,
Cusco, Perú. His presentation
was Wellbeing in rural,
peri-urban and urban-marginal communities in Peru. An alternative
model of
wellbeing and development.
20 July 2007 Defra held a Lunchtime
Seminar: Wellbeing & Sustainable
Development. Julie Newton and Professor Ian Gough
(WeD) presented Wellbeing:
a new focus for policy? This seminar explored
the value of a wellbeing approach to sustainable development
policy
both in the UK and in a developing country’s context.
Questions include: Is wellbeing only relevant to wealthier
nations? What can we learn from the poorest countries about
how policy can support wellbeing in the UK
18-19
July 2007 The Happiness
and Public Policy Conference organised
bythe Public Policy Development Office, in Bangkok, Thailand,
is to be attended by several
members of WeD including Allister McGregor who is presenting
in the final session 'Pathways to Happiness'
2-4
July 2007 Several members of
WeD attended the conference Poverty
and Capital organised
by the Global Poverty Research Group and Brooks World
Poverty Institute Conference at the University
of Manchester. Their was a WeD panel session
'Capital and Wellbeing'. The following papers were presented:
Reproducing an Unequal Security: Peru as a
Wellbeing Regime, Geof Wood and James Copestake.
Subjective Wellbeing and Development
in Peru: an Empirical Approach, Jorge Yamamoto and James Copestake.
Exploring
the meaning of consumption through expenditure and motives
in a Peruvian corridor Monica Guillen Royo.
The
Role of Markets in the Construction of Wellbeing: the Need
for a Polanyian Perspective Susan Johnson.
28-30 June 2007 -
Wellbeing in International Development
Conference at the University
of
Bath. See
details including abstracts
and papers, press
release,
conference
photographs (more)
30 May - 1
June 2007 Launch of the Oxford
Policy and Human Development Initiative attended
by Allister McGregor (took part in invited workshop), Séverine
Deneulin (co-organiser) and
Laura
Camfield (presenter/ discussant for session on Subjective
Meaning)
29 May 2007 Article
in eGov monitor What
has wellbeing got to do with poverty in the developing
world? by
Allister McGregor
22 May 2007 WeD members attend
the Sustainable Development Commission's conference Wellbeing:
A Common Approach
24-25 April
2007 Allister McGregor had
meetings with SIDA (Swedish
International Development Coordination Agency) to
discuss the implications of WeD research on Swedish policy.
See Newsletter
11-13 April
2007 Several members
of WeD attended the PSA Political Studies
Association Conference which included a WeD panel
(For papers by Joe Devine, James Copestake, Ian Gough, Becky
Schaaf, Julie
Newton
-
see the PSA Website)
3-7 April 2007
Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) has
been invited to present his paper "Anti-development:
an ethical, epistemological and methodological approach
in
an upside down world" at the Biennial
International Congress of Psychology taking place
at Santiago de Cuba. Jorge will also be a member of the round
table and organiser of a pre-congress
course on "Subjective wellbeing:
a model of research and intervention".
March 2007 The
new publication from the ESRC
'Britain Today' was available from bookstalls featuring
an article on Wellbeing in Developing
Countries by Allister McGregor (WeD Director)
March 2007 A paper entitled Needs
and resources in the investigation of well-being in developing
countries: illustrative evidence from Bangladesh and Peru was
published in the Journal of Economic
Methododology (14:1,
107–131). The authors were J.
Allister McGregor, Andrew McKay and Jackeline
Velazco
8 -16 March
2007 ESRC Festival
of Social Science - WeD events
12 March 2007-
WeD researcher visits Tony Blair at No10 Downing Street.
Julie Newton (WeD
Bath) attended a reception for young scientists. See press
release
February 2007
- Sarah White and Joe Devine (WeD Bath) secure £200,000
DFID funding for 'Wellbeing and Religion' research. see
press release.
8 January
2007 - WeD researcher
presented a number of papers concerning the policy implications
of WeD findings to the Mokoro consultants
in Oxford. Click here for titles and
papers.
23 November
2006 - Ian Gough (Wed
Bath) attended a small expert meeting on The
Measurement of Wellbeing, organised by the Young
Foundation. The goal
was to identify measures of local wellbeing to be implemented
in three local studies in England. Ian used the WeD framework
at Bath to advocate specific local measures of wellbeing.
22 November
2006 The British Association for South Asian Studies
(BASAS) held its 3rd
Annual Workshop at the University
of Bath.
23-25 October
2006 The CPRC conference The Concepts and Methods for Analysing
Poverty Dynamics and Chronic Poverty was attended
by Peter
Davis (WeD Bath) who presented his paper Poverty in
time: exploring poverty dynamics from life history interviews
in Bangladesh
29-30 September
2006 The Conference
held by WIDER, entitled Advancing
Health Equity was attended by Laura
Camfield (WeD Bath) who presented her paper Universal
Coverage but Unequal Outcomes? An Exploration of Factors
Affecting the Use of Health Services,
and the Impact of Sustained Ill Health in Northeast and South
Thailand
(see Conference website)
30 August -
3 September 2006 Pip Bevan (WeD
Bath) attended the American
Political Science Association 102nd Annual Meeting
and Exhibition
'Power
Reconsidered' in Philadelphia and presented a paper
'Poverty and Social Policy in Developing
Contexts: Ethiopia's In/Security Regime' as part of a Panel
entitled 'Rethinking Policy Reform: The Politics of Poverty
and Social Policy in Developing Countries'
September 2006
The paper Research
on Well-Being: Some Advice from Jeremy Bentham by David
Collard (WeD Bath) was
published in the journal Philosophy
of the Social Sciences. Vol. 36, 3, 330-354
17-20
July 2006, Laura Camfield (WeD Bath)
attended the International
Society for Quality of Life Studies conference:
'Prospects for Quality of Life in the New Millennium'.
This was the 7th conference held by ISQOLS, but the first
to be
held in Africa, which encouraged a wider range of participants
and stronger focus on poverty and inequality.
Laura chaired the track 'Developing and
transition country issues' and also presented a paper entitled ‘Universal
coverage but unequal access? Factors affecting the use of
health services in Northeast & South Thailand’.
Sessions of particular interest to WeD included measuring
poverty, inequality, and social exclusion; the effect of
pro-poor policies; income and SWB, and health, wellbeing,
and the social environment.
12 July 2006 WeD
Bath researchers took part in the ESRC
Parliamentary Summer Reception at Westminster. This
was attended by a number or MPs, NGOs, governmental organisations
and the media.
10 July 2006 Julie
Newton (WeD Bath) participated in a meeting of the Westminster
Wellbeing
Working Group more information to follow
July 2006 WeD
Peru team's national workshop at the Huaychulo Lodge (9-11
July below) reported
in 'El Correo' and the subject of radio interviews on
local Peruvian stations.
9-11 July
2006 The WeD Peru team
held a national workshop at the Huaychulo Lodge in the Mantaro
Valley.
Invitees included representatives of leading research institutions
in Peru. Drafts of seven chapters from the WeD country
book ("Wellbeing and Development in Peru" due
to be published at the end of 2007) were presented by the
WeD team. The event was successful in challenging and interpreting
findings, as
well as refining core arguments for the book. 5-8 July 2006 The
First International Psychology Congress was
held from in Arequipa, Peru, at
Saint Mary's Catholic University. 850 peope, mainly from
south Andean departments of Peru attended. Jorge Yamamoto
(WeD Peru) was an invited speaker, presenting the WEDQOL
methodology and life satisfaction three-factor confirmatory
solution.
Comments
mostly related to the originality and the ad-hoc design of
the instrument as a response to the felt need in Andean communities
for research that reflects local values and priorities. Much
expectation for publications was generated among participants.
29 -30 June
2006 Mònica Guillén Royo (WeD Bath)
presented a paper entitled 'Are poor consumers getting
what they need? an exploration of expenditures on health
and autonomy in a Peruvian slum' at the Global
Sudies Post-Graduate and Young Researchers Conference in
Manchester.
10-11 June
2006 Several members of the WeD Ethiopia
team attended the Ethiopian
Economics Association International Conference in
Addis Ababa. They presented a number of papers at a
special Wellbeing in Developing Countries Panel. Click
here to
view abstracts.
6-7 June 2006
Members of the WeD Ethiopia team met with members
of the Donor Group on Gender Equality
(DGGE) to discuss
the implications of WeD research in Ethiopia. Amongst those
attending were members of DFID, CIDA, SIDA,
GTZ, OIM, UNICEF, DCI, AEDC and UNFPA
31
May 2006 The roundtable conference Emerging
research on trade, development and poverty linkages: Implications
for the
Doha Round organised by CUTS
International was attended by Jackeline
Velazco and
Susan Upton (WeD Bath). This
is part of the Linkages
between Trade, Development and Poverty Reduction (TDP)
project.
31
March - 2 April 2006 Members of WeD attended the Society
for Latin American Studies, SLAS Conference at
Nottingham University. James Copestake
(WeD Bath) and Teófilo Altamirano (WeD Peru) were
convenors for the panel Individual,
local and global perceptions of wellbeing in Peru and
beyond. (See panel
report) The
following papers were presented:
JL Alvarez (WeD Bath),
J Copestake (WeD Bath):Researching
wellbeing and development in Peru: a corridor analysis
J Yamamoto (WeD
Peru):Local and global components
of life satisfaction along the Peruvian corridor: an integrative
approach
JL Alvarez, J Copestake:
Collective action and participation in
food transfer programmes along a Peruvian corridor
T Altamirano, J Copestake: Spatial
movement and wellbeing along a Peruvian corridor
T Altamirano: Transnationalism and
local development: highland Peruvian shepherds in the USA
K Wright-Revolledo (WeD Bath): Identity
and wellbeing across spatial boundaries: the experience of
Peruvian migrants in London and Madrid See conference
website
31 March 2006
Ian Gough and Andy McKay (WeD Bath) attended the ODI
Roundtable on Equity and Development. Several papers
where presented which discussed some of relationships between
equity, poverty, quality of life and development. See ODI
website at www.odi.org.uk
March 2006 The
paper by David Collard (Wed Bath)
Research on Well-Being: Some Advice from Jeremy Bentham has
accepted for publication in Philosophy
of the Social Sciences 2006
March 2006 Professor Geof Wood and Ian Gough (WeD Bath)
publication ‘A Comparative Welfare
Regime Approach To Global Social Policy’ has
accepted by World Development for
publication in the fall 2006. In summary:
Beginning from the framework of welfare state regimes in rich
capitalist countries, this article radically redefines it
and applies the new model to regions and countries which experience
problematic states as well as imperfect markets. A broader,
comparative typology of regimes (welfare state, informal security,
insecurity) is proposed, which captures the essential relationships
between social and cultural conditions, institutional performance,
welfare outcomes and path dependence. Using this model, different
regions of the world (East Asia, South Asia, Latin America
and sub-Saharan Africa) are compared. For many poorer, partially
capitalized societies, people’s security relies informally
upon various clientelist relationships. Formalizing rights
to security via strategies for de-clientelization becomes
a stepping stone to protecting people against the insecurity
of markets.
February
2006 The MA thesis by Bethlehem Tekola (WeD Ethiopia)
Commercial sex workers indigenous to Addis
Ababa published in the Forum for Social Studies. See
article
February 2006
Book published by Dr Severine Deneulin
(Department of Economics and International Development, Bath)
on the capability approach and wellbeing,
'The Capability Approach and the Praxis of Development',
published with Palgrave/MacMillan
The full reference can be found at <http://www.palgrave.com/products/Catalogue.aspx?is=1403999333>
12-15 December
2005 Ian Gough, Geof Wood and Julie Newton (WeD Bath)
and Derese Getachew (WeD Ethiopia) attended the World
Bank International Conference New
Frontiers of Social Policy: Development in a Globalizing World,
organized in collaboration with DfID, Sida, as well as the
Governments of Norway and Finland. This took place in Arusha,
Tanzania. World class academics, policy analysts, practitioners
and policy makers from developing and developed countries
came together to share and discuss cutting edge research and
social policy praxis. The outcomes are summarised in the Arusha
Statement (see link from http://www.worldbank.org/socialpolicy
)
Abstract
and full
paper available for From Welfare to
Wellbeing Regimes: Engaging New Agendas - Geof Wood
and Julie Newton
Picture
9 December 2005
ESRC/DSA Policy Forum Africa after
2005: From promises to policy. This forum presented
cutting edge research from three of the ESRC’s leading
centres on international development. Feleke Tadele (WeD Ethiopia)
presented the paper by Dr Pip Bevan (WeD Bath) & Dr Alula
Pankhurst (WeD Ethiopia), The importance
of understanding the 'local' The publication from this
event is available
as a pdf. See also press
release.
9 December 2005
Teresa King (WeD Bath) attended the ESRC Research Seminar
Beyond Homo Economicus: Money, Materialism
and Wellbeing This included presentations by Stephen
Lea, Tim Kasser, Lord Layard and Andrew Clark on their work
and thoughts relating to money, materialism and happiness.
Please contact Teresa (t.king2@bath.ac.uk)
if you would like further details.
9 December 2005
Jackeline Velazco (WeD Bath) presented the WeD RANQ
analysis proposal in a paper "Exploring
the relationship between needs satisfaction and access to
resources at the household level: Evidence from Bangladesh,
Ethiopia, Peru and Thailand" at the workshop Methodology
of Development Economics, Centre for Economic Methodology
(SCEME), University of Stirling
8 December 2005
Alula Pankhurst (WeD Ethiopia) presented Migration
and Wellbeing at the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs/World Bank/ILO technical workshop on Labour
Markets and Employment in Ethiopia and the Emerging Policy
Agenda
8 December 2005
Allister McGregor (WeD Director) presented the work
of the Research Group to the Humanities for the European Research
Area (Hera) meeting 'What role does Arts and Humanities have
to play in relation to development?'
1 December 2005
WeD's research in Ethiopia on HIV/AIDS (Alula Pankhurst
and Pip Bevan) features in an article in ESRC Society Today
'The
Real Cost of Aids'.
14-19 November
2005 The Catholic University of Peru and the University
Research Centre in Economics, Sociology, Politics and Anthropology
(CISEPA) presented an exhibition of current research promoted
by the University. The Peru WeD
research group exhibited the research team structure, working
papers, photographs, CDs, pictures of research sites as well
as details of the WeD Research Group as a whole. The exhibit
took place in the University campus and was open to the public.
7-10 November
2005 Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) presented
A comparison between urban and rural
satisfaction with life results from Peru WeD,
at the Congress of Latin American and Caribbean Psychology
held in Cuba. A proposal for a Latin American perspective
on wellbeing was presented.
1 November 2005
Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) presented an emic
satisfaction with life model and its implications for intervention
programs as part of the PUCP institutional presentation
at the 50 Anniversary Conference of Psychology Faculty at
San Marcos University, Peru.
1 November 2005
Teofilo Altamirano (WeD Peru) attend and introduced the work
of WeD, at the launching of a large project titled: Educating
the Global City, at the School of Education, University
of New York.
31 October 2005
Teofilo Altamirano (WeD Peru) presented a paper: Central
Peruvian Highland Shepherders in the American West: Impacts
on local Development Monmouth University, US. Teo refered
extensively to the WeD project.
October 2005
Allister McGregor (WeD Director) invited to become a member
of the Consortium Advisory Group for the Research Programme
Consortium (RPC) Implementing Education
Quality in Low Income Countries (EdQual). This initiative
is funded
by DFID and based at the University of Bristol
September 29
to October 1 2005 Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) was an
invited speaker at the 4th International
Summit of Positive Psychology 2005 to be held in Washington
DC. It is one of the most important conferences in quality
of life - happiness studies in psychology. The conference
was about "Happiness, Adaptation,
and Evolution: Lessons from Remote Andean and Amazonian Villages"
Jorge presented the Peru WeD quality of life methodology,
preliminary results and theoretical discussion. In addition,
implications for interventions was discused. The reaction
of the specialized audience was very positive. The original
alternative methodological approach, the theoretical discussion
and the implications for practitioners were the points of
more impact. The was interest in future collaboration from
Iceland, Australia, Korea, China from the United States. This
is an exciting prelude for the 4 countries WeD quality of
life analysis to be presented at the beginning of 2006.
29-30 September
2005 Dr. Awae Masae (WeD Thailand) attended the South
Thailand Political Science and Public Administration 2005
Annual Conference and presented a paper entitled Collective
Action: A Means to Reconciliation at the Community Level
at JB Hotel, Hat Yai, organized by Faculty of Management Science,
Prince of Songkla University (the paper includes some finding
form WeD project as a case study in its analysis).
11th-14th September
2005 The 5th International Conference on the Capability
Approach: “Knowledge and Public Action”, UNESCO,
Paris. Danny Ruta (WeD Visiting Fellow) presented a paper
written with Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) and Cam Donaldson entitled
Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance:
Towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation.
11th-14th September
2005 Becky Schaaf (Postgrad WeD Bath) attended the
Complexity, Science and Society Conference, at the Centre for Complexity Research based at the
University of Liverpool. It brought together participants
from academia, private and public sectors from a range of
disciplines including art, philosophy, sociology, maths and
physics. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the
application and relevance of complexity theory to an enhanced
understanding of the social and natural sciences.
7-8 August 2005 Festival of Science, Dublin. Monica
Guillen Royo, Postgraduate, WeD Bath presents a poster
Can happiness be bought?
If not, why do we keep buying?
2 August 2005,
the Peru WeD Team held a Symposium within the IV
National Congress on Anthropological Research on the
current Peru WeD Research. The Symposium was called: Desarrollo
Humano, Bienestar y Pobreza (Human Development, Poverty and
Wellbeing). Three papers were presented, one by
Professor Jorge Yamamoto, one by Professor Teofilo Altamirano
and the third by Gonzalo Valderrama, a young anthropologist
from Cuzco. The papers addressed the three above stated major
issues.The presentation was attended by about 150 persons
and was very well received.
1 July 2005
Dr Savittree Limchaiarunruang and Ass. Prof. Malee Sabaiying
(WeD Thailand) attended the 1st annual conference on Population
and Society organized by Institute
of Population and Social Research, Mahidol University,
Bangkok
July 2005
Jorge Yamamoto (Wed Peru) presented WeD QoL findings at a
series of conferences at EAFIT University, Medellin, Columbia.
Jorge is working with practitioners in the Amazonian communities
(SNV Dutch NGO and IIAP government agency) using WeD QoL for
natural resources management policy.
June 2005
Several members of WeD attended the Ethiopian
Economists Association Conference, Adis Ababa. See
WeD Panel and Papers
27-29 June 2005
Social Policy Association Conference,
Bath - WeD
Presentations
20-24 June 2005
for ESRC Social Science Week WeD
organised events including a discussion, Eradicating
poverty: making aid more effective chaired by Jonathan
Dimbleby. More details and press release.
Audio files available to listen live.
21 June 2005
Citations in Economic Growth Center
Yale Univeristy, Centre Discussion Paper No. 916
Human
Development: Beyond the HDI for Ian Gough and Laura
Camfield (WeD Bath)
20-24 June 2005
Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) presented at the Rethinking
development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing conference,
Novia Scotia (see http://www.gpiatlantic.org/)
on the findings of the first exploratory phase of the QoL
research (see WeD
Newsletter, April 2005) and the potential of the WeD-QoL
in evaluation and planning. This was the second conference
on the
concept of Gross National Happiness (originally from Bhutan)
as a new international indicator and more grounded paradigm
for development.
16-18 June 2005
Paper presented at the Capabilities and
Happiness Conference, Milan Exploring
the relationship between happiness, objective and subjective
well-being: Evidence from rural Thailand by Mònica
Guillén Royo and Jackeline Velazco (WeD Bath)
15-17 June 2005
Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) attended The
Pathways to Resilience: International Conference, Novia
Scotia. This was the culmination of the first two years of
the International Resilience project, a multidisciplinary,
multi method study that has brought together researchers and
practitioners working with ‘resilient youth’ in
14 sites across five continents (see http://www.resilienceproject.org/).
Allister McGregor and Laura Camfield contributed a chapter
to the IRP Handbook on Pathways to Resilience
across Cultures and Contexts, which was launched at
the conference (see May 2005). Laura
made an informal presentation and facilitated a discussion
on wellbeing in developing countries, and also chaired a session
on Economic Challenges to Resilience.
15-16 June 2005
University of Bath Emerging Research Themes
in the Economic Analysis of Inequality Workshop This
focused in particular on recent innovative ideas, comprising
both theoretical and empirical work. Key themes include the
multidimensional nature of inequality, the measurement of
inequality, dynamic perspectives on inequality and the distinctive
insights on inequality offered by WeD. James Copestake (WeD
Bath) presented a paper “Inequality and the ESRC Study
Group on Wellbeing in Developing Countries”
3 June 2005
Joint DSA/BOND Event: “Research/Practice
Interface in 2005: Actions for the Year and Beyond”,
SOAS was attended by Geof Wood and Julie Newton (WeD Bath)
as well as
165 researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The
keynote speaker was Professor Gordon Conway who provided participants
with the benefit of his many years experience at the Research
/ Practice interface. Some of the reports of the workshops
are available at http://www.devstud.org.uk
19-20 May 2005
INTRAC NGO Research Forum, Oxford. Allister McGregor
(Director WeD) presents Understanding the
Social and Cultural Construction of Wellbeing in Specific
Developing Societies
17-20 May 2005.
Dr. Awae Masae (WeD Thailand) attended a regional workshop
on “fish fights against fish rights: managing conflict
and exit from fisheries and security implication for south
and southeast Asia” and presented a paper entitled Aspects
of Fisheries Conflicts and Suggested Mitigating Measures between
Anchovy and Small-scale Fiheries in Songkhla Province,organized
by ICLARM-the Worldfish Centre,
International Rice Research Center, Los Banos, Philippines.
May 2005
Handbook
for Working with Children and Youth: Pathways to Resilience
Across Cultures and Contexts, edited by Michael Ungar,
published with chapter: Resilience and
wellbeing in developing countries by Laura Camfield
(WeD Bath) and Allister McGregor (WeD Director).
May 2005 Jorge Yamamoto
(WeD Peru) presented a comparison of WeD QoL findings with
his previous research on the elderly in a teleconference
broadcasted in Peru, Ecuador, Honduras and Mexico hosted
by the Development Global Network (World
Bank, PUCP).
14-16
April 2005 IDS Alumni Reunion:Security
or Insecurity: Changing States and Debates in Development.
Geof Wood (WeD Bath) led a plenary session on ‘Using
security to indicate wellbeing’
April 2005
Workshop on Governance
Issues in Bangladesh, organised by the Department of
Development Studies, University of Dhaka, was attended by
Iqbal Khan (WeD Bangladesh).
March 2005
article entitled 'A fresh look at creating
better lives' in ESRC The
Edge
14-19 March
2005 WeD Workshop in Khon Kaen. Representatives of
WeD researchers from Bath and the four partner countries met
in Thailand. Discussion involved fieldwork progress so far,
the sharing of ideas and experiences and to agree further
work that needs to be done in each country in order to conclude
a coherent, multi-country programme of research. The keynote
speaker was Prof. Charles F. Keyes
on Rural ‘Development’ as Viewed
in Northeastern Thailand over Four Decades.
11 March 2005
Commission for Africa Report
Pip Bevan (WeD Bath) attended the Launch of the Report for
the Commission for Africa Report (Our Common Interest). This
high profile event was held at the British Museum, London.
See www.commissionforafrica.org
March 2005 Workshop on Crime
statistics and governance, organised by Power and Participation
Research Centre (PPRC), held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Iqbal Khan, (WeD Bangladesh) participated and shared WeD research.
February 2005
Ian Gough (WeD Deputy Director) and Geof Wood (WeD Bath) were
invited to present their work on welfare regimes in developing
countries (recently published by CUP) to the Social
Development Division of the World Bank. The Bank were
keen to incoporate their theory of welfare regimes into their
future thinking about the role of social policy in social
development, and in its potential as a standard research format
to investigate different country's institutional performance.
There was espcial interest
in the detailed findings of the WeD research programme and
its lessons for how to marry international policies, like
the Millennium Development Goals, to local realities on the
ground.
February 2005
Jorge Yamamoto (WeD Peru) has been invited to speak at the
International Summit of Positive Psychology
2005 to be held in Washington DC, from September 29
to October 1, 2005 This is one of the most important events
in this field. The invitation, by Ed Diener, was made after
learning about the Peru QoL (Quality of Life) methodology.
It could be considered an indicator of the interest in the
originality of the Peru WeD QoL work. It was also a significant
opportunity to show to the academic world WeD findings and
perspectives for research and its applications for sustainable
development.
24 January 05 Words
into Action in 2005 seminar hosted
by DFID and UNDP was attended by Ian Gough and Geof Wood (WeD
Bath). Development finance, debt and trade issues were examined
and the focus set on the challenges and opportunities for
action that the Millennium Review Summit, and other events
this year, will need to address. Gordon Brown delivered a
powerful address emphasising 'one moral world' and the responsibilities
of the rich countries. He highlighted the importance of education
and health policies and promised further
increases in aid from OECD countries. Hilary Benn welcomed
the new involvement of finance ministers from the developed
and the developing world. There was also a general emphasis
upon children, embodied in 'education'. Not just a quick solution
for the present but by long term investment.
17-21
January 2005 Joe Devine (WeD Bath) attended an international
conference organised by Cornell/SEWA/EDP/WIEGO on
'Membership Based Organizations of the Poor:Theory, Experience
and Policy' in Ahmedabad, India. He presented a paper
at the conference entitled 'Change and the everyday politics
of community based organisations'. The papers from the conference
will be published hopefully in 2005.
17 January 05 James Copestake
(WeD Bath) presented the paper "Researching
the links between economic development and wellbeing: A view
of the Andes" at a seminar for the School of Agriculture,
Policy and Development, University of Reading
12-14 January
2005 Joe Devine (WeD Bath) participated in a workshop
that led to the development of a research proposal entitled
"Taking faiths seriously: understanding
the relationships between values and beliefs, societies, states
and development". The Research Group is led by
the University of Birmingham (UK) and Joe's participation
attempted to link this research with WeD.
10 January 05
Geof Wood and Julie Newton (WeD Bath) took part in
the ODI series of lunchtime meetings on “Human rights
and Poverty Reduction: Realities, controversies and strategies”
“Human rights and the Millennium
Development Goals: contradictory frameworks?”
Key speakers were Robert Archer (International Council on
Human Rights Policy) and Simon Maxwell (ODI). See web site
http://www.odi.org.uk/speeches/rights2005/index.html
December 04
Article in the publication Global Social Policy
Forum entitled Global Social Policy
by Ian Gough and Allister McGregor
Global
Social Policy, December 2004, vol. 4, iss. 3, pp. 275-276(2)
If you are unable to view this document please contact Jane
French (j.french@bath.ac.uk)
for a .pdf or print copy.
24 November
2004 Allister McGregor (WeD director) attended a conference
'Towards 2005 - does the Media Matter in
the Fight against Global Poverty?, at the Lewis Media
Centre, London. The conference was jointly organised by BBC
World Service Trust and the UK Department
for International Development (DFID). Keynote speakers
were Chancellor Gordon Brown and Hilary Benn, Secretary of
State for International Development BBC
press release
10-14 November
2004, Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) attended the International
Society for Quality of Life Studies: Advancing quality of
life in a turbulent world Philadelphia, USA
Laura presented the paper ‘Living well or living badly:
Do national and local experts agree?’ and chaired a
round table on QoL in South Africa & participated in the
planning meetings for ISQOLS 2006 (Grahamstown, S. Africa)
and the ISQOLS Encyclopaedia project ISQOLS is the main organisation
for Quality of life research within the social science and,
like WeD, brings together perspectives from a number of disciplines.
Its members will be a key audience for WeD work and the conference
offers opportunities to share ideas and data and recruit new
collaborators. Sessions of particular interest to WeD included
QoL in Africa (participating), Asia and Latin America, Spirituality
and QoL, QoL and development, and Cross-cultural QoL measurement.
6 November 2004
Development Studies Association Annual Conference.
Bridging Research and Policy. This
was attended four members of WeD. Several sessions were of
direct relevance to WeD, particularly the plenaries
on linking research to policy, and parallel sessions on social
protection and livelihoods. Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) attended
the workshops on the ‘big’ policy questions of
poverty reduction, the future of participatory methods, and
the nature of development studies were of particular interest;
as was the pithy summary by Matthew Taylor of the 5 golden
rules of engaging with policy makers (Win the argument about
the nature of poverty before you debate the solutions; Political
context is vitally important; Have the right combination of
persistence & opportunism; Translating good research into
policy is only a 1/3 of the way to getting it implemented;
and Always be strategic).
For more information see the DSA web site http://www.devstud.org.uk/conference.htm
5 November 2004
Laura Camfield (WeD Bath) attended Political
Interactions, Research, Advocacy and Representation
at Goldsmiths College, London. The conference addressed the
limits of political engagement through research, the rights
and responsibilities of ethnographers, and the relationship
between activism and ethnography in contexts as diverse as
the UK sex industry and monastic life in Athos. It emphasised
the importance of critical thinking, reflective engagement,
active listening, ethical awareness (including awareness of
power dynamics and one’s ‘positionality’),
and the need to move towards ‘open ethnography’
without relinquishing ultimate responsibility
16-19 October
2004 WeD Postgraduate Faith Martin attended the 11th
Annual Conference of the International Society for Quality
of Life Research "Harmonizing International Health-Related
Quality of Life (HRQOL) Research" in Hong Kong. This
conference concentrated on the challenges of measuring quality
of life across different cultures and was therefore highly
relevant to WeD. The different conceptualisations of quality
of life that underlie different measures were discussed, as
were the difficulties of using scales across culture and language
groups. More info. For conference
details see the web site at http://www.isoqol.org/2004conf.htm
5 October 2004
Ian Gough attended a workshop held in H.M. Treasury on Redefining
Prosperity: Delivering Well-Being. It brought together
academics, think-tankers and policy advisors and was concerned
with the policy implications of including ‘promoting
well-being’ as a policy goal for the British government.
Workshop
report
October 04
Sarah White and Jethro Pettit's article on 'Participatory
methods and the measurement of well-being' in the IIED
publication 'Participatory learning and action' October 2004
www.iied.org/sarl/pla_notes/index.html
September 2004 - The Annual Report for WeD October 2002 –
December 2003 - ESRC feedback from this report described
it as 'Exemplary' and 'presented interesting highlights which
can be quoted as good examples of the return being achieved
for the public funding of social science'
2-5 September
2004 - Well-being: anthropological perspectives symposium,
University of Manchester. This was attended by several
members of WeD and a paper presented on 'Cultures and the
construction of well-being.' by Allister McGregor. It gave
an opportunity to understand how anthropologists are currently
thinking about well-being and also to discuss with them some
aspects of WeD work.
5th July 2004
- Commission for Africa Pip Bevan (WeD Bath) attended
a meeting at LSE, London, to advise Tony Blair's Commission
for Africa. It was attended by a number of prominent academics
from a variety of disciplines (see
program and attendance list) as well as Sir Bob Geldof.
Sir Bob is not only a member of the Commission but is also
liasing with the other Commissions for Africa which are active
in each of the G8 countries. See www.commisssionforafrica.org
July 2004 -
Insecurity and Welfare Regimes in Asia, Africa and Latin America:
Social Policy in Development Contexts by Ian Gough
(WeD Bath), Geof Wood (WeD Bath), Armando Barrientos, Philippa
Bevan (WeD Bath), Peter Davis (WeD Bath), Graham Room. This
book published in February 2004 is already receiving high
praise from leading scholars.
"This is the book that social policy scholars have been
awaiting a very long time. Thanks to Ian Gough, Geof Wood
and their collaborators, we now have a rigorous, comprehensive,
and extraordinarily nuanced and subtle analysis of social
protection systems in the Third World. The scholarly challenge
is truly formidable, and they have met it with courage and
aplomb. Insecurity and Welfare Regimes in Asia, Africa and
Latin America is one of those rare books that no welfare state
scholar or practicioner can ignore." Gosta Esping-Andersen
(See
Cambridge Press)
2-4th July 2004
WeD/WIDER International workshop on 'Researching Well-being
in Developing Countries' at the Hanse
Institute for Advanced Study in Delmenhorst near Bremen,
Germany. More details
June 2004
The 2nd International Conference on the
Ethiopian Economy was held in Addis Ababa. WeD presented
three papers. P. Bevan 'Conceptions and Responses to Child
Malnutrition, Illness and Death in 20 Ethiopian Rural Villages';
A. Pankhurst on 'Conceptions and Responses to the HIV-AIDS
Crisis in 20 Villages from the Wellbeing and Illbeing Dynamics
in Ethiopia (WIDE) Project'; D. Getachew on ''Peasant reflection
on the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI)'.
March/April
2004 Peru Support Group - Update. Article on 'Ways
of thinking about Poverty in Peru'.
View .pdf
3 March 2004 -
Release of WeD
Briefing No1: Coping With Hunger and Poverty in Ethiopia
(.pdf version). For hard copy please
contact wed@bath.ac.uk
3 March 2004 - Parliamentary
Launch of WeD. Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive
of the Economic and Social Research Council, introduced the
research group. There was an address by Dr Ian Gibson MP,
Chair of the Science & Technology Select Committee, currently
reviewing ‘The use of Science in UK International Development
Policy’. The Launch was attended by selected Members
of Parliament and peers with identified interests in poverty,
inequality and quality of life. Senior officers of DFID, The
Treasury, NGO representatives and the media were amongst those
who attended. Reports and photographs
20th February 2004 - The
Faculty of Humanites and Social Sciences (University of Bath)
presented an Occasional Research Seminar entitled
Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) Research Group
Does More Development Mean Better Quality of Life?
The aim of the seminar was to discuss the in-progress
work of the research group and to explore possible links and
research synergies across the Faculty.
December 2003 - The
WeD team in Ethiopia launched their own website www.wed-ethiopia.org
December 2003 -
Social Impact Indicators in Microfinance.
In December, James Copestake (WeD Bath) presented a paper
at a conference (see below) on "enterprise development
impact assessment" at the University of Manchester. Shortly
after he spent a week in Washington D.C. meeting with staff
from a range of donors and microfinance organisations (including
the World Bank, IADB, USAID, Plan, Grameen Foundation, FINCA
International, DAI and SEEP).
Copestake, J G (2003) "Simple standards or burgeoning
benchmarks? Institutionalising social performance monitoring,
assessment and auditing of microfinance" IDS Bulletin,
Vol.34,
No.4:54-65.
13-15 November 2003
Ian Gough attended the first meeting of ESPANet, the Network
for European Social Policy Analysis, in Copenhagen. A highlight
was the closing address by Gosta Esping-Andersen on 'The Welfare
State as Social Investment'. More details.
2-5 October 2003
Second International Positive Psychology Summit (Washington
DC USA) attended by more than 200 international researchers.
Suzy Skevington (WeD Bath) was invited to present a paper
on behalf of the WeD Group entitled 'Subjective well-being
and quality of life in poverty: exploring a model for international
research in developing countries'. The meeting was hosted
by the Gallup Organisation.
1 October 2003
Laura Camfield (Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Psychology)
and Ashebir Dessalegn (Doctoral Student, Psychology) facilitated
a workshop in Addis Ababa on the important aspects of 'quality
of life' in Ethiopia. This was part of the process of producing
a development-related measure of subjective quality of life.
The workshop generated a ranking of the top five aspects for
Ethiopia which were (in order of importance)
- Food security
- Shelter/safety/security/peace
- Health care
- Positive social interaction
- Land ownership.
20-24 September 2003 EURESCO
Conference on Institutions and Inequality, Helsinki
One of a series of high-level scientific conferences supported
by the European Commission and the European Science Foundation.
Ian Gough (WeD Bath) presented the final plenary lecture on
'Welfare regimes in development contexts: a global and regional
analysis'.
20 - 26 September 2003
WeD Workshop in BangladeshWeD Group members from
Bath attended discussions on the grounding and piloting phase
of research. This is the last of four preliminary meetings
to take place in each of the collaborating countries.
10-12 September 2003 DSA
Conference Two sessions at this years Conference
were dedicated to the presentation of papers
by WeD Group members from Bath.
9 - 20 July 2003 Peru Workshop
WeD Group members attended from Bath, also visiting
sites for further study by the research group.
16 - 18 June 2003 Thailand
Workshop. This was attended by members of the WeD
Group from Bath, who also visited some of the locations under
study.
30-31 May 2003 WIDER International
Conference on 'Inequality, Poverty and Well-Being' Helsinki,
Finland This was attended by Ian Gough, who was able
to introduce the WeD Research Group programme.
March 2003 The
Edge (ESRC) Research Article 'Routes out of Poverty
- Understanding why the world's poor stay poor'
View .pdf
February/March 2003
WeD International
Workshop, Ethiopia
January 2003 Collaborators
Workshop held at Bath.
January 2003 Advisory
Group Meeting
1 October 2002
The WeD Research Group started its activities at the University
of Bath. This followed a successful bid for funding
to the ESRC
made by the CDS
(Centre for Development Studies) at Bath. |
ESRC
Festival of Social Science: 
