#development studies

#leçonspendantlescrisespolitiques #lessonsintimeofpoliticalcrises #lessonsinlockdown #lessons_in_time_of_pandemic

#DidYouKnow

There has been an Australian diasporic community in Myanmar, well before the southeast Asian "opened up" to the world again, in 2010. Two prominent members of this diaspora deserve a special mention each.

In the noughties, Ross Dunkley an Australian businessman founded the English language newspaper 'Myanmar Times' which later became one of the leading English language newspaper there. He's been in trouble with the law in Myanmar, convicted of using/possessing illicit drugs.

Another is the Australian academic and former aide to Aung San Suu Kyi, Sean Turnell. The junta detained him on trumped-up charges. (Ie, They just loathe him for working very closely with Suu Kyi.)

Meet Maria Pilar Lorenzo, social scientist and policy researcher

1) What do you do?

For the past few years, I have carried out research works that intersect with issues relating to governance and development. Some recent projects I participated in dwell on Philippine National Rightsizing Program (Local Government and Education sectors), local government innovations (Local Government Academy), and Rapid Field Appraisal on Philippine Decentralization, Democratization and Development (Philippine Society for Public Administration and United Nations Development Programme). 

At the moment, I am focusing on my doctoral research project that seeks to flesh out the interplay of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations and Philippine higher education by probing into the higher education policies and practices situated at regional, national, institutional and local levels.

2) Where do you work?

I joined as a PhD candidate at Ghent University’s Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent last November 2020. I am also a Research Associate of the Philippine Society for Public Administration, a Fellow of the Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR) Scholars Network, a Member of the Pacific Forum Young Leaders Program, a Member of the ASEAN Think Tanks Network (by invitation only), an Associate Member of the National Research Council of the Philippines, a Member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and I was recently a Fellow of the Regional Academy on the United Nations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. 

3) Tell us about the photos!

[Left:] This is a screenshot from the virtual awarding ceremony of STAR Scholars Network’s 2020 A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Award. I am truly honored to have received an award in honor of Professor Emeritus Chomsky, one of society’s highly respected thinkers. 

STAR Scholars Network is a non-profit grassroots organization that pioneers open access to knowledge, catalyzes innovative teaching and virtual exchange, advances social justice for underrepresented communities, and supports the academic advancement of emerging scholars in the Global South.

[Right:] This photo was taken at Keukenhof in Netherlands. I jumped for joy when I saw the piano only to find out that it’s just for display. Anyway, I doubt if I could play again my memorized pieces because it’s been a long time that I have not practiced since I moved to Belgium for my graduate studies. 

Although I am super far from being a virtuoso, one of the things that have accompanied me throughout life is music. Music, for me, carries with it various ambivalences. It can be luminous and dark, entertaining and tragic, peaceful and restless. I think it is the powerful effect of music penetrating through the recesses of weary and wounded souls that it can be that salutary emotional shock as Plato once contemplated the encounter with beauty.

4) Tell us about your academic career path so far. 

I joined Ghent University's Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent as a Ph.D. candidate in November 2020, and recently completed Master of Science in International Politics and Advanced Master of Science in Cultures and Development Studies as a VLIR-UOS scholar at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Master of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines. 

The various scholarships I received have also enabled me to satisfy further my intellectual curiosity by participating in a number of academic programs organized by the Indiana University, University of Illinois, University of Lausanne, University of Copenhagen, United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Advanced Studies Köszeg, Charles University, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, University of Graz, Kobe University, and Santa Croce. 

It is also an honor that I always take pride in being considered as a Scholar of the Nation at the University of the Philippines Integrated School/University of the Philippines Diliman Campus from kindergarten until graduate school. The kind of education I received there is not the usual trajectory of teaching a student to be employed well one day. In my personal experience, it is to sharpen all senses so that a student can be attuned to the victories and struggles of every age. 

5) Anything else you’d like to share 

I will probably start with 100 days of productivity, starting tomorrow as I finish setting this up tonight.

I am more than happy to check out your study blogs, reblog this if you want me to, cannot follow back from this blog as it is secondary. happy to follow back from my main account.

“China is entering a phase where deep structural changes will arise throughout society. These multi-fold processes will be intertwined in a globalized world, impacted by the transformation of capitalism in the aftermath of the financial crisis and under the threat of severe environmental damage.Focussing on sustainability, this book explores the future of China in light of the successful reforms undertaken in the last thirty years. It combines Chinese economic history and up-to-date macroeconomic theory in order to show how economic transformations and institutional changes are intertwined in developing capitalism under state sovereignty. The book is divided into three parts:

Part 1 analyses the structural changes ahead, drawing on the knowledge of the causes of the demise of imperial China and of the social disruptions due to political warfare in the 20th century.

Part 2 examines the reasons why the last thirty years of reform were successful and why the present growth regime will undergo a dramatic mutation in future decades.

Part 3 seeks to address the question: what type of political economy can support the purpose of achieving "harmonious society"?China's Development will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese economics, politics, history and development.“