The following essay has three parts. The first is a story about fluctuations in the balance of the relationship between impersonal and personal principles of social organization. This draws heavily on Max Weber’s interpretation of western history. The second part reviews the concept of an...

When research takes place within the context of clinical care, how can we distinguish which activities constitute care, and which research? The editors of PLoS Medicine believe that open access to research findings is the most direct way of fulfilling the obligation towards participants to...

This document contains information and tools concerning testimonies of denial of health care – the stories of persons who have been denied essential health care from health facilities, and who have suffered serious consequences because of this. This includes guidelines about how to...

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...

Afghanistan is an example of a ‘‘fragile state,’’ characterised by a government that lacks the capacity to provide core services and basic security to its population. Improving health care within fragile states needs to focus on quick and tangible improvement of...

Drawing on secondary data, insights and ideas from an all-India consultation meet at NIAS, four regional / zonal consultations, data from a project in Chamarajanagar district (Karnataka), and select reviews of educational programmes, this report presents a broad perspective of Adivasi education...

This paper investigates if better access to secondary education increases enrolment in primary schools among children in the 6–10 age group. A household-level longitudinal survey is also done covering 43 villages in a poor state in India. [IEG Working Paper No. 312]....