Tuesday 29 June 2010

Call for papers: Childhoods conference

Call for Papers

Childhoods Conference: Mapping the Landscapes of Childhood

Venue: University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Date: Thursday, May 5 - Saturday, May 7, 2011

This multidisciplinary conference will engage scholars and practitioners from a wide variety of academic disciplines (including the sciences, arts, humanities, social sciences, policy studies, and education) in a consideration of the state of child studies, which has changed significantly in recent decades. Disciplines long dedicated to the study of the child, and childhood, have been recently revitalized and are engaged with the central problematic of what the child and childhood represent, including how these categories relate to others such as infant and youth. Figured in the plural, childhoods pose a significant crossroads for theoretical and empirical work on the nature of being human and development broadly construed. Various disciplines consider childhood as an experience, as a biological fact, as a social category, as an artistic and literary construct, as a category for historical and demographic analysis, as a category of personhood, and as a locus for human rights and policy interventions. Participating scholars will examine childhoods of the past, present, and future from around the world, and will present research results, policy approaches, and theoretical paradigms that are emergent in this re-engagement with the child and childhood. Bringing together divergent networks of expertise, this conference offers the opportunity for new research collaborations and the scholarly dissemination of innovative research.

Conference Format: three days of multidisciplinary panels with scholarly presentations on conference themes; poster sessions; several keynote events; practitioner sessions; and a film night.

Conference Themes and Questions:

Definitions of Childhood: invented or discovered: Who gets to define childhood? What counts as a good childhood? A "normal" childhood? How have been childhoods defined in various media (art, literature, social science, science)? By what measures? And at what historical junctures?

Indigenous theories of childhood: What alternate models of childhood and development exist? How can they be found? Interpreted? Shared? What is the role of the child and childhood in other societies? What rights, and responsibilities do they have?

Gender and childhood: How do the categories of gender and child overlap, extend, elaborate or contradict one another? How do sex, gender and sexuality shape the experience of childhood? What are the policy effects of concerns about boys at risk or girls at play?

Globalization: How do global models of childhood interact with local conceptions? Do global educational standards contradict or support local sovereignty? What are the effects of migration, diaspora, refugee status on childhood? How does globalization affect the commoditization of childhood?

Technology: What is a digital childhood? What are the effects for private space? For common space? For play?

Adolescence: What's the point of adolescence? As a category of human development? A demographic category? As a literary public? As a human experience?

Empowerment: What are the social and policy implications for a child-centred approach to human rights? How can we understand child agency in terms of violence and the law? What can empowerment mean for the very young child?

Health, Disability and Risk: How can we understand the experiential effects of health and disability on child life? When is diagnosis of ills or limitations helpful and when is it a hindrance? How is risk figured in childhood? What does a resilient childhood look like?

Keynote Speakers:
* Dr. Patrizia Albanese (Co-director of the Centre for Children, Youth and Families, Ryerson University)
* Dr. Mona Gleason (Department of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia)
* Dr. Allison James (Professor of Sociology and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences, University of Sheffield)
* Dr. Perry Nodelman (Professor Emeritus, Department of English, University of Winnipeg)
* Dr. Mavis Reimer (Canada Research Chair in the Culture of Childhood and Director of the Centre for Research in Young People's Texts and Cultures, University of Winnipeg)
* Dr. Richard Tremblay (Director, Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal)

Submission Guidelines: For presentations, and for posters, please send a proposal/abstract of between 300 and 500 words and a one page CV by October 1, 2010 via e-mail to: childhoodsCFP@uleth.ca. Proposals must include your name, affiliation, position, e-mail address, and phone number. Proposals for multidisciplinary panels are also welcome. Please note that presentations should be a maximum of 20 minutes in length. We would especially like to encourage graduate students to contribute posters on their current research and will offer a prize for best student poster.

For more information, please see the conference website www.uleth.ca/conferences/childhood or contact childhoods-net-l@uleth.ca (please note the use of the letter l and not the numeral).

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Prison sentence for white collar crime


Property tycoon Paarlberg is being sent to prison for money laundering

Interesting for us, criminologists: a multi-millionaire is being sent to prison for committing white collar crime.


"Dutch Property tycoon Jan-Dirk Paarlberg has been sentenced to 4.5 years in jail for laundering money which gangland boss Willem Holleeder is said to have earned through blackmailing.
Paarlberg said he was shocked by the conviction. 'I never expected this,' he told reporters.
The money came from Willem Endstra, another property speculator who was murdered in 2004 but made several statements before his death saying he was being blackmailed."




Wednesday 2 June 2010

Conference: young people, risk and resilience

Young people, risk and resilience: the challenges of alcohol, drugs and violence
7-8 March 2011
RACV Club, Melbourne
http://www.aic.gov.au/events/aic%20upcoming%20events/2011/vscn.aspx

Major themes for the conference include:
* Understanding the nature and extent of young people's involvement in alcohol and other drug use, and the motivations for their use
* Understanding the nature and extent of young people's involvement in violence
* Identifying effective programs and initiatives to reduce young people's risk and increase their resilience
* Case studies from practitioners and young people on outcomes achieved

The call for abstracts from those working with young people in the fields of alcohol and drug services, education, criminal justice, health and welfare, and police and emergency sectors, is now open. Abstracts must be received by 6 August 2010.

Further information at http://www.aic.gov.au/events/aic%20upcoming%20events/2011/vscn.aspx
or contact the Conference Coordinator at aic.events@aic.gov.au

Job listing: Asst professor, social psychology

LIMITED TERM ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
POSITION IN DEVELOPMENTAL OR SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

The Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University seeks applicants for an Assistant Professor position in Developmental or Social psychology. The position is for two years, with the possibility of renewal for a further two years subject to funding availability. The successful applicant will have a Ph.D. in Psychology and will teach undergraduate courses within one or more of the following areas of expertise: developmental psychology, social psychology, and research methodology. Interest in and ability to work collaboratively with faculty in ongoing research projects is an asset. The starting date will be either January 2011 or July 2011.

The Department's web page can be accessed at http://www.sfu.ca/psychology.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Simon Fraser University is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from all qualified women and men, including visible minorities, aboriginal people and persons with disabilities. This position is subject to budgetary approval. Please submit a cover letter, which includes a curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, and copies of representative publications, to:
Dr. J. Don Read, Chair
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada
jdonread@sfu.ca

Applications will be received until September 1, 2010 or until the position is filled.
Under the authority of the University Act personal information that is required by the University for academic appointment competitions will be collected. For further details see: http://www.sfu.ca/vpacademic/Faculty_Openings/Collection_Notice.html.

Job listing: Children and Youth Studies

The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) is a leading academic centre for development studies, and a University Institute of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). It is one of the oldest institutes in this field, having been established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Netherlands Ministry of Education as a postgraduate institute for education, research and capacity building. The institute offers a 15.5-month MA in Development studies with various specializations, post-graduate Diploma courses and a PhD in Development Studies. Studies come from over 50-60 countries, and teaching and research programs are conducted in English.
The Staff Group Rural Development, Environment and Population Studies has a vacancy for an academic position in the field of:
Children and Youth Studies
The Staff Group is engaged in teaching, research, advisory work and institutional capacity building on rural and human development, with a focus on child and youth studies, poverty, agricultural and rural development, socio-economic security and population studies. Teaching and research by academic staff is marked by a commitment to the central role of equitable, broad-based and sustainable development. This is combined with an explicit engagement with a political economy framework of analysis of power relations and processes of global change that reinforce rather than reduce poverty and socio-economic insecurity. The group is also actively engaged in methodology teaching at both MA and PhD levels.
Tasks and responsibilities involve the following:
Contribution to research-driven teaching the relevant teaching programs of the Staff Group and more generally within ISS/EUR
Production of high quality research output at international standards
Supervision of MA and PhD students
Preparation (individually or jointly with other staff) of externally funded research grant proposals and project proposals for external advisory work/capacity building activities, in particular together with academic and civil society organizations in the Global South.
Contribution to academic management both within the Staff Group and the ISS.
Profile:
We are looking for a candidate who will bring innovative and cutting edge research and teaching capacity to the Staff Group in the area of childhood and youth studies in developing and/or transition countries, in a changing global context. The MA specialization of Children and Youth Studies (CYS) is rapidly growing in numbers of students, together with the successful Diploma program on Children, Youth and Development, while there various large research projects ongoing and a growing number of PhD students. This makes the CYS into one of the most thriving, dynamic and fastest growing fields at ISS. Apart from teaching contributions to the above mentioned programs, the candidate could also possibly contribute to the Population, Poverty and Social Development (PPSD) and Poverty Studies (POV) specializations of the MA program.
Children and youth studies is a specialization within the broader field of international development studies for which ISS has an outstanding reputation. Teaching and research on the changing conditions and experiences of young people are firmly located in the broader (international, national and regional) social, economic and political contexts that are familiar ground of international development studies. The field is also inherently interdisciplinary and combines perspective from political economy, sociology, social history, anthropology and political philosophy. The teaching and research areas in which the successful candidate is expected to contribute can include one or more of the following areas: the changing social construction of childhood and youth; child rights based approaches; children and conflict; children and poverty; youth cultures in a context of globalization; youth migration and employment; schooling and society.
Requirements:
A completed PhD in one of the social sciences (in exceptional cases a near-completed PhD)
Evidence of publication capacity, including both a strong publication track record and clear research and publication plans
Teaching experience, preferably at post-graduate level
Proven evidence of the ability to attract external finance for research and other projects
Ability to work in an inter-disciplinary team
Experience with Field-based research methods/gender-based analysis is welcomed.
While open to all regional specializations, one of the following regional specializations; Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia, will be considered as a welcome addition.
Appointment:
ISS/EUR will offer an initial three year appointment, with the possibility of extension (and tenure), depending on the financial and staffing situation. While an appointment is envisaged at (Senior) Lecturer level, appointment at Associate Professor level can be considered, but only in the case of a more senior and exceptional candidate.
Employment conditions:
In accordance with those applied at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and indicated in the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO NU) of the Dutch universities. Salary being dependent on the candidate’s experience ranges from ˆ 3195 to ˆ 4970 gross per month (CAO NU scale 11/12) under full-time contract. In addition, ISS pays an 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year payment which is for 2010: 8.3 %.
Applications:
Applications, accompanied by a detailed Curriculum Vitae and the names of three Referees, should reach ISS before 30 May 2010, addressed to the Personnel Office (Ms. Leonie de Wilde), International Institute of Social Studies, P.O. Box 29776, 2502LT, The Hague, The Netherlands, preferably send in electronic form directed to personnel@iss.nl.
Women and candidates who originate from developing countries are encouraged to apply. Short-listed candidates will be requested to supply samples of published output and at that stage their referees will be contacted.
Interviews with shortlisted candidates will take place from 23-25 June 2010.
Additional information concerning this vacancy may be obtained from Dr. L. Herrera (Herrera@iss.nl, tel: +31704260664) or Professor M. Spoor (spoor@iss.nl, tel.: +31704260559).

New list serve on childhood studies

The Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University-Camden are excited
to announce a new listserve catering to the multi-disciplinary field of
Childhood Studies. Those of us who study issues around children and
childhood are in far flung departments and professions, separated by
disciplinary boundaries. This listserve will be a vital point of connection
for scholars and practitioners in the multi-disciplinary field and serve a
much needed function as a central clearinghouse of information for our
disparate field. We welcome Calls for Papers, Announcements of conferences,
events, new books, articles and other resources, requests for information,
and information on new programs and departments. This list will also provide
an opportunity to find people with similar interests across our broad field
and open up discussion within it.

To join, please go to:
https://email.rutgers.edu/mailman/listinfo/exploring_childhood_studies