Monday 28 October 2013
Sunday 27 October 2013
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers
http://www.valorebooks.com/textbooks/business-model-generation-a-handbook-for-visionaries-game-changers-and-challengers/9780470876411#default=buy&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Froogle&date=10/24/13
me: Am starting to visualize the funding for colonias like a massive massive pot hanging upside down over the desert.
Sent at 18:36 on Sunday
me: it is hanging quite close, but the sticky mush of funding is not moving. it just hangs there. then there are the normal people - including you and I staring at that mush.
Sent at 18:37 on Sunday
Edna: jajajaja
yes
thats one version for sure
me: and then there are these flies - NGOs and Non-profits of white hipsters who sit a bit on the mush, sip it, take a lil ball and then fly around and then sit with the tiny ball on one small shit.
Most people in the desert won't even see the flies, and they don't know what the mush is. maybe they jump a bit to see, but its too far.
eh
Tuesday 22 October 2013
Catalog of Federal and Domestic Assistance
source: https://www.cfda.gov/
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals.
 461 | Department of Health and Human Services |
|---|---|
| 270 | Department of the Interior |
| 251 | Department of Agriculture |
| 125 | Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| 125 | Department of Justice |
Monday 21 October 2013
grants and funding
Title: Dissertation Fieldwork Grants
Sponsor: Wenner-Gren Foundation
Deadline: 11/1/2013 (additional deadline 5/1/2014)
Amount: $20,000
Description/Eligibility: Dissertation Fieldwork Grants are awarded to aid doctoral or thesis research. The program contributes to the Foundation's overall mission to support basic research in anthropology and to ensure that the discipline continues to be a source of vibrant and significant work that furthers our understanding of humanity's cultural and biological origins, development, and variation. The Foundation supports research that demonstrates a clear link to anthropological theory and debates, and promises to make a solid contribution to advancing these ideas. There is no preference for any methodology, research location, or subfield. The Foundation particularly welcomes proposals that employ a comparative perspective, can generate innovative approaches or ideas, and/or integrate two or more subfields. Students must be enrolled in a doctoral program (or equivalent, if applying from outside the United States) at the time of application. Students of all nationalities are eligible to apply.
How to Apply: Submit directly to sponsor by November 1. See grant announcement for materials to be submitted with proposal.
Title: American Dissertation Fellowships
Sponsor: American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Deadline: 11/15/2013
Amount: $20,000
Description/Eligibility: Dissertation Fellowships are available to women who will complete their dissertation writing between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. Applicants must have completed all course work, passed all preliminary examinations, and received approval for their research proposals or plans by the preceding November. Students holding fellowships for writing a dissertation in the year prior to the AAUW fellowships year are not eligible. Open to applicants in all fields of study.Scholars engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math fields or researching gender issues are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
How to Apply: Submit directly to sponsor. See grant announcement for materials to be submitted with proposal.
Title: Joseph L. Fisher Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
Sponsor: Resources for the Future (RFF)
Deadline: 2/22/2013 (2014 date not yet posted)
Amount: $18,000
Description/Eligibility: In honor of the late Joseph L. Fisher, president of Resources for the Future (RFF) from 1959–1974, RFF will award fellowships for the coming academic year in support of doctoral dissertation research on issues related to the environment, natural resources, or energy. RFF’s primary research disciplines are economics and other social sciences. Proposals originating in these fields will have the greatest likelihood of success. This fellowship is intended to be the principal source of support for graduate students in the final year of their dissertation research. The program is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens, provided the latter have proper work and residency documentation.
How to Apply: Submit directly to sponsor by February 22. See grant announcement for materials to be submitted with proposal.
Sunday 20 October 2013
University of Texas-Pan American: Rural Enterprise Development
http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/ce_home/red_home_2011
provide technical assistance and outreach services to improve the economic condition of rural areas in Texas with an emphasis in the South Texas region through the development of rural cooperatives and farmers markets, the creation of training opportunities for primarily Hispanic and other minority farmers and ranchers, and the active promotion of transparency in all matters.
provide technical assistance and outreach services to improve the economic condition of rural areas in Texas with an emphasis in the South Texas region through the development of rural cooperatives and farmers markets, the creation of training opportunities for primarily Hispanic and other minority farmers and ranchers, and the active promotion of transparency in all matters.
Us political system
source: wikimedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Political_System_of_the_United_States.svg
Prometheus radio
- Non-profit organization
- builds community radio stations
http://www.prometheusradio.org/
- builds community radio stations
http://www.prometheusradio.org/
Ya se pudo! - KPCN radio barn raising
Unrepresented Latino farm workers in Woodburn, Oregon ask want their voices to be heard, want a radio station.
Prometheus radio organizes conference/workshop/'barn raising' building of a radio station.
http://www.upworthy.com/normally-i-d-say-you-shouldn-t-steal-from-the-amish-but-one-of-their-ideas-was-too-good-to-pass-up-3?c=ufb1
Saturday 19 October 2013
Critique of Appropriate Technology Movement
Kelvin W. Willoughby: Technology Choice: A Critique of the Appropriate Technology Movement
http://www.amazon.com/Technology-Choice-Critique-Appropriate-Movement/dp/1853390577?tag=ecosia-20Practical Action
Practical action
http://practicalaction.org/waste-management-answers
Founded by E.F. Schumacher in 1966 after publishing article in Observer.
Previously called: Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG).
The advisory centre was meant to promote and educate about the use of appropriate technology in developing world.
areas of focus:
- energy access
- urban water and waste
- food and agriculture
- disaster risk reduction
http://practicalaction.org/document-library-11
http://practicalaction.org/waste-management-answers
Founded by E.F. Schumacher in 1966 after publishing article in Observer.
Previously called: Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG).
The advisory centre was meant to promote and educate about the use of appropriate technology in developing world.
areas of focus:
- energy access
- urban water and waste
- food and agriculture
- disaster risk reduction
http://practicalaction.org/document-library-11
Ivan Illich
similar opinion to E.F. Schumacher
- conviviality
(intermediate technologies etc. )
http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=7
Founded a language school/free university for intellectuals in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Books:
- conviviality
(intermediate technologies etc. )
http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=7
Founded a language school/free university for intellectuals in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Books:
- Celebration of Awareness (1971)
- Deschooling Society (1971)
- Tools for Conviviality (1973)
- Energy and Equity (1974)
- Medical Nemesis (1976)
- The Right To Useful Unemployment And Its Professional Enemies (1978)
- Toward a History of Needs (1978)
- Shadow Work (1981)
E.F. Schumacher
One man: E.F. Schumacher is behind/inspired so many great initiatives - which I suspect many encounter separately, as I did.
- Schumacher College in Totnes, Devon
- Resurgence Magazine (now Resurgence & Ecologist)
- Green Books publishing company
- Practical Action - NGO
- New Economics Foundation
- New Economics Institute
- Soil Association
- Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT)
- Jeevika Trust
- Schumacher Institute in Bristol
article in the Observer, weekend review (29th August, 1965):
How to help them help themselves
slogan:
"find out what the people are doing and help them to do it better. "
books/ essays:
Buddhist Economics
Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered
http://www.amazon.com/Small-Is-Beautiful-Economics-Mattered/dp/0060916303?tag=ecosia-20
A Guide for the Perplexed
Wikipedia:
The Schumacher Circle is a family of organisations which were founded in E.F. Schumacher's memory or were inspired by his work, and which cooperate to support each other. The circle includes[11] the Schumacher College in Totnes, Devon, Resurgence Magazine (now Resurgence & Ecologist), publishing company Green Books, international non-governmental organisation Practical Action, the New Economics Foundation in the UK, the New Economics Institute (formerly called the E. F. Schumacher Society) founded in New England,[12] the Soil Association, the educational centre Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) North Wales, the Jeevika Trust, and the research organisation Schumacher Institute in Bristol.
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Research topic ATM
Directed study with Edna and Cecilia, 15th October, 2013:
What urban form could maximise benefits from infrastructure as a social enterprise?
three variables:
- finances
- people
- urban form
comments:
- start up would be a great learning curve and a case study in itself
- infrastructure can be many things - perhaps mobility would be achievable with small grant
- step back and define what is a city, what is a democracy - it is the luxury we have in academia, we can assume that anything can be questioned and changed.
- what am I challenging?
- what is the problem exactly?
- would I want to use current funding as a frame for the whole research?
- it would be great to think about the research with a grant application in mind, if it does not work out, it is also OK.
- Can the solution be quite flexible, incremental, in stages? So that can be applied in smaller doses?
- Do we have to move houses? Is that the best solution?
What urban form could maximise benefits from infrastructure as a social enterprise?
three variables:
- finances
- people
- urban form
comments:
- start up would be a great learning curve and a case study in itself
- infrastructure can be many things - perhaps mobility would be achievable with small grant
- step back and define what is a city, what is a democracy - it is the luxury we have in academia, we can assume that anything can be questioned and changed.
- what am I challenging?
- what is the problem exactly?
- would I want to use current funding as a frame for the whole research?
- it would be great to think about the research with a grant application in mind, if it does not work out, it is also OK.
- Can the solution be quite flexible, incremental, in stages? So that can be applied in smaller doses?
- Do we have to move houses? Is that the best solution?
Research question ATM
For Research Symposium poster:
Learning from Colonias in Texas:
Analysis of self-organizing structure and urban manifestation in
unincorporated settlements
Introduction:
Colonias are unincorporated
settlements along the U.S. -
Mexico border. They lack physical
infrastructure and civic facilities.
Upgrading colonias requires selforganization
and collective effort in
fi nding, obtaining and implementing
funding programs. Could the effort
benefi t from an alternative urban
form and infrastructure?
Abstract:
The research sets to analyze existing
colonias and propose alternative
infrastructure and urban form in
response to available fi nancial and
organizational capacity.
Hypotheses:
Self-organizing capacity of colonias’
residents is an asset that can be
employed in building settlements.
Alternative infrastructure (water/
sewage) can be cheaper to install,
run, and generates income.
Objective:
Finding a point at which the lack of
access to credit, unemployment,
availability of land, natural resources
and human capital can converge into
a viable unincorporated settlement.
Approach:
→ Case studies of infrastructure
installation in existing colonias in
Texas.
→ Case studies of self-organization
leading to obtaining funds for the
upgrade of physical infrastructure
in colonias in Texas.
→ Case studies of social-enterprise
cities
→ Action research in pilot colonia
in Texas
→ Interviews in colonias
→ Architectural/ urban/ business
proposal
Current funding programs for Colonias research:
Current funding programs for Colonias research:
International: U.S. & Mexico
- Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC)
- North American Development Bank (NADB)
- Conagua
Federal: U.S.
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- US Department of Agriculture
State: Texas
- Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)
- Texas Department of Agriculture
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Texas Workforce Commission
- Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
Nuestra Casa
Presentation by Cecilia on 8th October 2013.
Nuestra Casa is a program run by CRG (Community Research Group) who offer micro - loans to residents of colonias for home improvements.
The study argues that colonias residents are credit-worthy, they can pay off a small loan from their salaries. Hence small loans do not have to be used only on income generating activities.
Nuestra Casa does not require collateral.
Number of 'lost' loans declined over the years.
Nuestra Casa is a program run by CRG (Community Research Group) who offer micro - loans to residents of colonias for home improvements.
The study argues that colonias residents are credit-worthy, they can pay off a small loan from their salaries. Hence small loans do not have to be used only on income generating activities.
Nuestra Casa does not require collateral.
Number of 'lost' loans declined over the years.
Big Ideas Competition - call
Big ideas competition
Purpose - provide funds for student led social venture, non-profit start-ups
Eligibility - at least 1 tamu/Berkeley/St. Mary student in a team, student led,
faculty/professionals can participate, but not lead.
Interdisciplinary teams, individuals
Average award: $ 5,000
Max award: $ 10,000
Includes mentoring and partnering up with other students
http://bigideas.berkeley.edu/contest/
Lets set up a start up in Las Lomas. It is imperative to collaborate with a locally based organization to be able to provide follow up, offer trust, longevity etc.
+
Colonias Unidas are looking to generate income.
=
IDEAL.
Lets set up a start up in Las Lomas. It is imperative to collaborate with a locally based organization to be able to provide follow up, offer trust, longevity etc.
+
Colonias Unidas are looking to generate income.
=
IDEAL.
Non - profit, NGO _ definitions
Nonprofit
A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders
and without a profit motive.
- cannot operate for profit (cannot distribute corporate income to shareholders)
- funds acquired must stay within the corporate accounts to pay for reasonable salaries,
expenses, and the activities of the corporation.
- Salaries are not considered personal benefits because they are necessary for the operation of the corporation.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Non-profit+organization
NGOs
Are legally constituted corporations created by natural or legal people that operate
independently from any form of government.
- organizations that are not a part of a government and are not conventional for-profit businesses
- In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its nongovernmental
status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Non-government+organisation
David Harvey: The Right to the City
Argument: Ever growing economic surplus is absorbed by ever
growing urbanization + consumption (in capitalism)
Harvey shows on examples from history that for capitalism to work, surplus capital must be absorbed. He argues the biggest absorbent is the built environment - growing urbanization. (grows in scale, spreads from developed to developing > globe, spreads from rich to poor - credit instruments)
On examples from history Harvey shows that a 'destructive' event i.e. Haussmann's new plan for Paris stimulates economy, creates jobs and consumption and ultimately growth. This growth has its limits - geographical, financial, demand, natural etc. when the limit is reached for the particular 'type' of growth, we experience a crisis. Growth stops, prices explode, jobs stop, all slows down. Then a new absorbent must be invented in order to 'stimulate' the economy, create jobs and wealth to be spent on more wealth creation. That is followed by another - bigger - crisis, followed by bigger 'destruction'. (war or) Consider NY & Moses; 2008 credit crunch - the collapse of suburb?
Can we start slowing down, or better, can we not create absorbents with creating new colonias?
Hernando De Soto: The Other Path_self-organization
Hernando De Soto: The Other Path
Ch.2: Informal Housing (p.26-29)
Informal organizations:
1) elected democratic organ to first execute the invasion, then:
Basic aim: to protect and increase the value of the property
acquired
- negotiating with authorities
- preserving law and order
- provide services
- registering properties in the settlement
- administering justice
- public works
- committees to undertake specific tasks (obtaining
water supply, sewage system, electricity, roads, and
sidewalks)
- budget based on income from settlers' dues less
expenditures, public works, complying with bureaucratic
procedures, fund for bribing – all approved by general
assembly
- public works often carried out by residents (cost
reduction)
2) Cooperatives, Associations set up to buy agricultural land
illegally (to avoid expropriation)
Basic aim: to bring interested buyers together in a legal
entities (then buy land or stage invasion)
- identify land
- formalize contracts with owners
- critical mass + sufficient money
- professionals involved – 'speculators' (inf. estate brokers)
- technical assistance – drawing up plans for infrastructure,
Transportation
- drawing up plans of houses
(Meeting with Cecilia and Edna, 15th October 2013)
TAMU Research Symposium - 21st Oct 2013
http://symposium.arch.tamu.edu/2013/schedule/
see:
Yu Xiao - Enhancing Local Economic Disaster Resiliency through Industrial Diversification? Evidence from the 1993 Midwest Flood
Shannon Van Zandt - Inequities in Long-term Housing Recovery after Disasters
Cecilia Giusti - Texas Colonias: Citizen Participation and Community Development Urban Affairs Association 43th. Annual Conference, April 3-6 2013, San Francisco California
Jorge Venegas - The Promise and Unintended Consequences of Technology
Sarah DeYong - Sigfried Giedion, Team X and the Evolution of a Relational Idea
Mardelle Shepley - Design Characteristics of a Healthy and Productive Healthcare Work Environment
Kenneth Joh - Examining Trends in Walking Travel in Southern California, 2001-2009: Insights from National and Regional Travel Surveys For most of the past half-century, automobiles have been the dominant mode of transportation in North America
Ifte Choudhury - Rainwater Harvesting for Domestic Consumption in Bangladesh
Chanam Lee - School-based Environmental Approaches to Promote Walking to School: Modifiable micro-scale environmental factors
Wei Li - Assessing Benefits of Walkability to Single Family Property Values: a Hedonic Study in Austin, Texas
Xuemei Zhu - A Walkable Community’s Impacts on Residents’ Physical and Social Health
see:
Yu Xiao - Enhancing Local Economic Disaster Resiliency through Industrial Diversification? Evidence from the 1993 Midwest Flood
Shannon Van Zandt - Inequities in Long-term Housing Recovery after Disasters
Cecilia Giusti - Texas Colonias: Citizen Participation and Community Development Urban Affairs Association 43th. Annual Conference, April 3-6 2013, San Francisco California
Jorge Venegas - The Promise and Unintended Consequences of Technology
Sarah DeYong - Sigfried Giedion, Team X and the Evolution of a Relational Idea
Mardelle Shepley - Design Characteristics of a Healthy and Productive Healthcare Work Environment
Kenneth Joh - Examining Trends in Walking Travel in Southern California, 2001-2009: Insights from National and Regional Travel Surveys For most of the past half-century, automobiles have been the dominant mode of transportation in North America
Ifte Choudhury - Rainwater Harvesting for Domestic Consumption in Bangladesh
Chanam Lee - School-based Environmental Approaches to Promote Walking to School: Modifiable micro-scale environmental factors
Wei Li - Assessing Benefits of Walkability to Single Family Property Values: a Hedonic Study in Austin, Texas
Xuemei Zhu - A Walkable Community’s Impacts on Residents’ Physical and Social Health
Meeting with Pliny 12th October 2013
- I should go to a colonia, live there, build a house with my own resources and hands
- CMPBS are working on a colonia near Austin, I should come to the center on weekends and work on a proposal, help them - help me
- Sasha - contact, engineer, sewage, in colonias
- CMPBS are working on a colonia near Austin, I should come to the center on weekends and work on a proposal, help them - help me
- Sasha - contact, engineer, sewage, in colonias
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