conference

Global networks of actors in plant genetic resources and research

/ Cami Ryan, PhD / Leave a comment

 

Hi… we are spreading our knowledge around the world!  Colleague Dr. Peter Phillips is presenting our work with Bill Boland at the 8th Triple Helix Conference in Madrid, Spain this week.  You know, the ‘goods’ on the global pulse system and the interconnectiveness of institutions and actors in plant genetic resources and research.  Talk attached.

Buena suerte, mi amigo! Wish I was there!

http://www.triplehelix8.org/

 

 

Triple_helix_2010

Paper 155 Boland Ryan Phillips Talk.pdf
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“Hamster-dam”

/ Cami Ryan, PhD / 1 Comment

Hi!

Well, I am leaving on a jet plane… heading to Amsterdam (three times a charm) for the Centre for Society & Genomics Conference “TEN YEARS AFTER – Mapping the societal landscape of genomics” at the Royal Tropical Institute on May 27-28th. It is yet another opportunity to present “…the flax, ma’am, just the flax!” Plus, I plan to connect with old colleagues and meet some new ones. On Friday, I head to Brussels for a meeting with representatives from COCERAL, the voice for the European cereals, rice, feedstuffs, oilseeds, olive oil, oils and fats and agrosupply trade as well as someone from European Commission. We are collaborating with this group to conduct the economic and social impact analysis of advantitious precense of Triffid flax on the industry (Canada and the EU). Ah yes, we do plan to solve the world’s problems one seed at a time!

So that’s work… but for fun, I hope to once again get to the Rijks Museum (check out some Rembrandts – booyeah!) and head to the Jordaan area of town (as recommended by colleague, Lars). Perhaps a boat tour of Amsterdam would be in order… haven’t done that before. I will keep the ‘Kaleidoscopers’ posted as to how things transpire!

;o)

‘Camster’ AKA ‘Hamster’ AKA ‘Rodentia Magnificus’ AKA ‘Ro-Mag’

Amsterdam

new paper by Phillips & Ryan on network governance

/ Cami Ryan, PhD / Leave a comment

Governance of International Networks:
A Social Network Analysis of International Institutions related to Plant Genetic Resources
Authors: P.W.B. Phillips and C.D. Ryan (yep, that’s me!)

Presented at the Political Studies Association Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
March 2010
http://www.psa.ac.uk/2010/UploadedPaperPDFs/695_777.pdf

Abstract
Governing in the modern times has become more complicated and complex, with an array of new governing structures encompassing the globe. Discrete institutions are increasingly intertwined and embedded in governing networks at sub-national, state and international levels. This paper investigates this new reality and uses it to examine the international governing system for plant genetics and genomic resources. Over the last century, issues have surfaced with technological progress and innovations that add complexity in the governing challenge, such as research management, intellectual property ownership, risk regulation and international trade in knowledge-intensive products. This paper explicitly examines one of the foundational issues of global knowledge management in the area of biotechnology—policies, practices and structures to support access and benefit-sharing (ABS) related to traditional knowledge (TK) and capacity-building in indigenous communities and developing countries. This paper uses social network analysis to investigate the complicated and complex interactions among a network of 108 international institutions and programs involved in ABS and TK. Using multiple layers of social network analysis, the structures and underlying meanings of the relationships in the governing network are studied and investigated for their structure, effectiveness and resiliency.

Admit it, you are SO excited to read this!
;oP

Keep it real, folks!

Phillips and Ryan 2010.pdf
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Governance of International Networks

/ Cami Ryan, PhD / Leave a comment

Paper prepared for the Political Studies Association Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland from March 29 – April 1, 2010.

“Governance of International Networks: A Social Network Analysis of International Institutions related to Plant Genetic Resources.”
Peter W.B. Phillips and Camille D. Ryan
University of Saskatchewan

“On the face of it, the system exhibits small-world effects. [After] knocking out BI and CGIAR from the 2-mode, activity-based analysis, [we] discovered while the overall system looks to implode with the loss of the two core central actors, enough redundancy and interconnections exist to essentially rewire the functional sub-networks, such that while they are diminished, they largely remain functioning with their core members…” (p. 12)

http://www.psa.ac.uk/2010/UploadedPaperPDFs/695_777.pdf