This brief introduces the Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities that sets out critical challenges: widespread data gaps, research underfunding, and limited visibility of children with disabilities in research. It sets out not only what needs to be studied, but how--emphasising ethical, participatory approaches and cross-cutting…

Higher education faces attack, erosion, underfunding and loss of capacity in contexts of armed conflict and state fragility. Losses in university capacities through casualties, injuries and internal displacement or forced migration are difficult to compensate for due to the degree of investment required to restore or lay new foundations for…

This paper presents a tool for the indicator-based analysis of national innovation systems (ANIS). ANIS identifies the economic strengths and weaknesses of a country-wide, regional or local system and includes a comprehensive examination and evaluation of the status of existing innovation systems. The use of a particular form of expert interviews…

Research universities are a central part of all academic systems. They are the key points of international contact and involvement. Research is produced, disseminated and in many cases imported. For developing countries, the mechanisms for the involvement of research universities in the global knowledge economy is complex, and includes issues of…

Early identification and intervention for children with disabilities can significantly improve longer term outcomes, but in developing nations like many in the Pacific Rim, such programs and practices can be expensive and must compete against other needs. We argue that early identification and intervention by schools leads not only to life…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and draw attention to the potential benefits of solar power generation for access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) aimed at sustainable development in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: Electricity plays a crucial role in the development and…

This paper describes the development by the Mexican Electric Power Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas or IIE) over a 10-year period of a publications and conferences database (PCDB) of research and development output of the institute. The paper begins by listing the objectives of the database and describing data coverage…

Around the world, the fight for affordable medical treatment is intensifying. Headline-grabbing battles are being waged in India, where the Chennai High Court recently decided a major constitutional case over access to lifesaving cancer medication. In Thailand, Abbott Laboratories, a multinational pharmaceutical giant, has withdrawn registration…

This article argues that advances in nanotechnology in general, and lab-on-chip technology in particular, have the potential to benefit the developing world in its quest to control risks to human health and the environment. Based on the "risk society" thesis of Ulrich Beck, it is argued that the developed world must realign its science and…

Describes an International Development Research Centre project that tested suitable approaches for assessing the benefits derived from information activities in developing countries. Reviews many research questions related to concepts of information and development, impact of information, and the methodological and practical constraints in its…

Discusses reasons for the small contribution to science and technology from Latin America which is essential for promoting the economic and social development of the region. Reviews the origin of Latin American educational and research systems, and the obstacles faced by the scientific communities in the recent past. (LZ)

A brief history of science and technology in Latin America that begins with the Mayan civilization and progresses through the colonial period to the present. Compares increased scientific productivity in the Latin American and Caribbean regions to productivity in the United States and European Union. (LZ)

The contributors to this document compare the main approaches to agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa; the cost-effectiveness in view of precarious national budgets; the weaknesses of the system for generating technology; the difficulties in forging productive partnerships between researchers, extensionists and farmers; the ineffective…

Examines bibliographic control issues regarding socioeconomic development information in Africa by describing activities of the Pan African Development Information System in Ethiopia, the Southern African Research and Documentation Center in Zimbabwe, the South African Bibliographic and Information Network in South Africa, and the National…

Describes the events that led to the establishment of the national policy for informatics in Brazil, which restricts foreign involvement in that nation's computer industry. The governing agencies are described, controversies and debates surrounding the policy are summarized, and the reaction of the American government is discussed. (Author/CLB)