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PhD Students

Personal Tutor:

I am personal tutor for six students from each year of the undergraduate programme.  I mainly provide academic and welfare support during the three years of the students undergraduate degree programme. 

First Year Undergraduates:

I mainly provide support tutorials for first year undergraduate students, emphasising acquisition of study skills and supporting curriculum of the human geography modules.

Second Year Undergraduates:

GG2071: Perspectives on Development (one term)
Overall the term has a multi-dimensional approach covering economic, political, cultural and social dimensions of the role of the state, development of NGOs, and explores the nature of the relationship between Northern and Southern NGOs and Aid Agencies. It provides a broader understanding of development issues in the particular context of Aid and general growth of southern grassroot NGOs, bringing out the dilemmas and controversies in the field of Non-Governmental Organisations.

Theterm focuses on two of the key changes in internationalsociety from the second half of the 20th century onwards. An international society composed solely of sovereign states has been effectively replaced by one in which the state is one actor among many. It is now widely accepted that international organisations are an integral part of international relations. The end of European empires and the birth of newly sovereign states in Africa and Asia transformed the agenda on international relations. Economic development previously thought to be solely the concern of the nation-state became an international issue. The advanced industrial countries, for a number of reasons, have created policies of development assistance with the aim of raising living standards in the developing world. On the other hand the developing countries have insisted that their development is a global as well as national priority. International development policy arises not from a value-free consensus between the rich and poor nations but from a conflictual political process in which different ideologies and strategies of development are debated.

After decades of development initiatives, poverty and underdevelopment are even greater problems than they were before. Recognition of the failure of efforts towards development has now become accepted wisdom. In the search for alternatives, NGOs have been islands of hope in an otherwise bleak sea. But their new-found popularity has brought threats as well as opportunities and there are signs that the growth and changes that NGOs have experienced are leading to other issues.

Increasingly, NGOs have come to play an important part in the formulation and implementation of development policy. Development is not and cannot be solely the concern of governments. A range of NGOs and various types of agencies have taken an interest in development issues and have become active participants in the process of development. Those based in the advanced industrial countries attempt to influence governmental policy through direct access to policymakers and also through the medium of public opinion.

The course assesses the role of NGOs under the broader view of "governance" incorporating both the market and civil society. It critically analyses the possibilities and limitations in an integrated global system of Aid and Development. The major issues addressed are as follows:

• The role of Foreign Aid in a Changing World
• The Conditionality of Aid
• Governance and Civil Society
• Effectiveness of Aid in Reducing Poverty
• The Politics of Humanitarian Aid
• The emerging role of NGOs
• The relationship between NGOs and government agencies and donors
• Accountability, Performance and Effectiveness of NGOs
• Participatory Development
• Gender
• Population and Demographic Transition
• Ageing

Supervising Undergraduate Dissertation:

Masters Programme – Practising Sustainable Development

I teach on three modules of the Masters programme:

• Globalisation and Governance
• Grassroots development
• Tools for Development and Environment

Supervising Masters Dissertation: