The Problem With Evidence-Based Policies by Ricardo Hausmann - Project Syndicate

The Problem With Evidence-Based Policies by Ricardo Hausmann - Project Syndicate: "In economics, RCTs have been all the rage, especially in the field of international development, despite critiques by the Nobel laureate Angus Deaton, Lant Pritchett, and Dani Rodrik, who have attacked the inflated claims of RCT’s proponents. One serious shortcoming is external validity. Lessons travel poorly: If an RCT finds out that giving micronutrients to children in Guatemala improves their learning, should you give micronutrients to Norwegian children?



My main problem with RCTs is that they make us think about interventions, policies, and organizations in the wrong way. As opposed to the two or three designs that get tested slowly by RCTs (like putting tablets or flipcharts in schools), most social interventions have millions of design possibilities and outcomes depend on complex combinations between them. This leads to what the complexity scientist Stuart Kauffman calls a “rugged fitness landscape.”



Getting the right combination of parameters is critical. This requires that organizations implement evolutionary strategies that are based on trying things out and learning quickly about performance through rapid feedback loops, as suggested by Matt Andrews, Lant Pritchett and Michael Woolcock at Harvard’s Center for International Development."



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Indonesia Grapples With Renewed Anti-LGBT Campaign

Indonesia Grapples With Renewed Anti-LGBT Campaign: "Being gay or lesbian has never been outlawed in Indonesia, except in the province of Aceh, where sharia, or Islamic law, has been implemented.

But recent controversies about gays and lesbians in Indonesia have been surfacing in the public and on social media. It was started by outrage over a counseling brochure distributed by a gay support group. 

Support Group and Resource Center of Sexualities Studies (SGRC), established at the University of Indonesia in 2014, says it aims to promote, educate and develop programs related to sexuality, reproduction and sexual orientation. SGRC has been criticized and accused by public officials as being pro gay rights. "



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Rouhani allies win all 30 Tehran parliament seats: final result - Yahoo News

Rouhani allies win all 30 Tehran parliament seats: final result - Yahoo News: "DUBAI (Reuters) - Allies of President Hassan Rouhani have won all 30 seats for the capital Tehran in Iran's parliamentary elections, final results announced on Monday showed."



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Asia's tuk-tuks providing a wheel boost to Africa - Yahoo News

Asia's tuk-tuks providing a wheel boost to Africa - Yahoo News: "Monrovia (AFP) - Omnipresent on the chaotic streets of Mumbai, Jakarta and Bangkok, Asia's three-wheeled "tuk-tuk" has now come to Africa -- and with a two-fold bonus: providing much-needed jobs and slashing accidents.

Cheap to run and safer than the traditional motorcycle taxi, the auto-rickshaw is an increasingly common sight trundling along the traffic-choked streets of the continent's sprawling capitals."



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At least 12 killed in eastern Congo by suspected Ugandan rebels | Top News | Reuters

At least 12 killed in eastern Congo by suspected Ugandan rebels | Top News | Reuters: "KINSHASA (Reuters) - Suspected Ugandan rebels used machetes to kill at least 12 civilians on Monday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities and a local human rights group said, the latest in a series of targeted attacks over the last 18 months.

Rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist group originally from Uganda that has operated in the border region since the 1990s, carried out the killings in the village of Mamabio, 50 km (30 miles) north of the commercial centre of Beni, said territorial administrator Amisi Kalonda.

"The bodies were found lying in different places. (The rebels) also ransacked the health centre," said Kalonda, who said 13 people were killed."



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Google's Self-Driving Car Caused Its First Accident - BuzzFeed News

Google's Self-Driving Car Caused Its First Accident - BuzzFeed News: "According to the account the crash was minor — the car was traveling at 2 mph when it sideswiped the public bus. However, with Google pushing to have its self-driving cars consumer-ready in the next few years, this is the first accident that finds fault with the autonomous vehicle. While Google’s cars have been in accidents before, this is the first one where another driver was not at fault.
In the report, Google blamed sand bags in the road as the underlying cause for the accident. They were placed around a storm drain, and when the car detected them, it moved one lane over, hitting the bus in the process."



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Calais 'Jungle' camp: clashes as authorities demolish homes | World news | The Guardian

Calais 'Jungle' camp: clashes as authorities demolish homes | World news | The Guardian: "The homes of up to 200 people of the approximately 3,500 people living in the camp had been demolished by the middle of the day, according to a British refugee aid group, as smoke went up from blazes engulfing makeshift shelters.



 Some homes appeared to have been set alight by the heat of teargas canisters fired at crowds by riot police, said a spokeswoman for the British volunteer group Help Refugees, while some residents seem to have set others on fire in protest.



 Video footage from a volunteer inside the camp showed residents running away from clouds of teargas. Reuters said police fired teargas at about 150 people and activists who threw stones, and at least three shelters were on fire.



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