presidential 1: “no, i wouldn’t have gone over the time limit if you hadn’t interrupted me to point out the limit. VP: “no, i can’t give you more specifics but i can repeat the same thing, slower and with hand gestures. (or try link here.) presidential 2: don’t do this while other people are talking. the slower, non-defensiveContinueContinue reading “presentation tricks & tips from the US presidential & VP debates”
Category Archives: Research
i am not sure that means what you think it means (II): there’s a good chance the question has not been begged because no one begged it
begging the question ≠ raising the question the folks at this site discuss the dangers and prevalence of ‘BTQ abuse.’ they note: Beg the question does not mean “to raise the question.” (e.g. “It begs the question, why is he so dumb?”) This is a common error of usage made by those who mistake the word “question” inContinueContinue reading “i am not sure that means what you think it means (II): there’s a good chance the question has not been begged because no one begged it”
P4P, habits, context, process
Mark Nichter and Prascilla Magrath (hereafter, M&N) have a nice new paper on pay-for-performance (P4P), stating that “understanding the processes by which P4P targets are reached demands a reorientation… towards an understanding of motivation as a component within a complex adaptive social system.” (Complex systems are so hot right now!) the paper is worth reading inContinueContinue reading “P4P, habits, context, process”
fresh fruit, folk flu, confessions, cold season, & conclusions
the main gist here is that it is not fun to have an illness with no name, no clear prognosis, and, insofar as someone thinks it is necessary, no clear, commensurate-to-symptoms treatment plan. the need to restate this grew out of recent discussions around malaria diagnosis and treatment of malaria and the broader range of illnessesContinueContinue reading “fresh fruit, folk flu, confessions, cold season, & conclusions”
how is the body doing?
from a letter home from chennai in 2008, when i was there studying diabetes. drs. s & b, i hope it is OK to include this photograph! To help add context to my research, I have undertaken a series of interviews with doctors and dieticians at the hospital to see how “biomedicine” in India “talks”ContinueContinue reading “how is the body doing?”
i am not sure that means what you think it means (origins of metaphors in development, german folk-stories edition)
thanks to having professors who are curious about the origins and use of phrases, i have recently had the occasion to consider two phrases in common use — and likely mis-use. these would be hilarious mid-understandings as the basis of a sit-com or, as here, folklore. as the basis of policy, not so much. 1.ContinueContinue reading “i am not sure that means what you think it means (origins of metaphors in development, german folk-stories edition)”
i know – but couldn’t we have asked, too?
things i know & understand: this is cool research from @poverty_action it’s fun and important to show and know that ‘we’ (development types) have poor assumptions about what will work time and budgets are always constrained this comment is super-predictable coming from me. but… when i read this: our results showed that although the consultingContinueContinue reading “i know – but couldn’t we have asked, too?”
fun tidbits from grading (medicare and expensive treatments)
every year i am re-astounded by the things we discuss about medicare in norm daniels’s ethics class. among them: 1. it is not permissible for medicare to consider cost, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, or opportunity cost when deciding to cover a new medicine or treatment. only effectiveness (‘reasonable and necessary’) (see D Brock 2010). this is trueContinueContinue reading “fun tidbits from grading (medicare and expensive treatments)”
sunglasses (googles) in bombay
this is from the summer i spent in bombay (2009), when I was living in dharavi and part of a research project on an unregistered slum near reay road station (i’ll call this community RR). as many of you may know, i am pretty attached to my sunglasses. not attached in the sense that iContinueContinue reading “sunglasses (googles) in bombay”
bringing in the state for experiments and development efforts — when? how?
there have been a lot of mentions of governments, experiments, ownership, & development in the past two weeks that sparked a few ideas in my head. the underlying theme is that we need to start considering not just the political economy of the contexts in which we work but how to actually bring political andContinueContinue reading “bringing in the state for experiments and development efforts — when? how?”
Heather E. Lanthorn 