Open Call for proposals for ESF Research Conferences to be held in 2011

The European Science Foundation (ESF) invites scientists to submit proposals for high-level research conferences to take place in 2011 within the framework of its Research Conferences Scheme in the following scientific domains:

• Molecular Biology+
• Brain, Technology and Cognition
• Mathematics
• Physics/Biophysics and Environmental Sciences
• Social Sciences and Humanities

Submission deadline: 15 September 2009, midnight CET

In the area of Social Sciences and Humanities, the topics should be at the forefront of scientific research and may be interdisciplinary when appropriate. The ESF will fund up to 4 3-day-long Social Sciences and Humanities conferences to be held in 2011 in Linköping, Sweden.

The ESF Research Conferences Scheme provides the opportunity for leading scientists and younger researchers to meet for discussions on the most recent developments in their fields of research. It acts as a catalyst for creating new synergistic contacts throughout Europe and the rest of the world. ESF Research Conferences are open to scientists world-wide, whether from academia or industry.

Format:

• 90-150 participants (including up to 25 speakers and convenors)
• A duration of 4 full conference days (3 full conference days for conferences in social sciences and humanities)

Core activities:

• lectures by invited speakers
• short talks by young scientists
• poster sessions and extensive discussion periods
• Forward Look Plenary Discussion about future developments in the field
• no parallel sessions
• Joint meals and social activities to encourage further contact and networking

For more information see: http://www.esf.org/activities/esf-conferences/call-for-proposals/framework-call-for-proposals.html and http://www.esf.org/activities/esf-conferences.html

Conference to assess state of crime

An assessment of the current knowledge of crime, crime prevention and deviance in Europe will be debated at CRIMPREV’s final conference at The Open University from 17-19 June 2009. The international project was launched at the end of 2006 with EU funding to investigate perceptions of crime; criminalisation; deviant behaviour; interactions between different forms of organised crime; public policies of prevention; and to establish good practice guidelines across Europe.

The International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR) at The Open University played a significant role in CRIMPREV since its inception. Clive Emsley, Director ICCCR and Professor of History, said: “It is an honour for us to be hosting this conference. The ICCCR is particularly strong in providing historical perspectives in the area of juvenile justice and policing".

The conference will be debating the conclusions of six work packages in preparation for the final report. A short keynote by Professor Emsley will pinpoint some of the problems of understanding crime in contemporary society, notably with governments that cherry-pick research to suit ill-considered policies.

Professor Emsley believes this conference is timely to address sub-standard government spending on crime prevention. “The economic downturn poses a significant threat to the funding of crime research. Whilst the government want quick results, criminologists can’t offer guarantees that their work will begin to solve the crime problem. A conference like this will however bring us a step closer to understanding the problems and offering potential solutions.”

The conference will be webcast live. For more info see: http://www.open.ac.uk/icccr/events.shtml

Please contact Sarah Batt (a.s.c.batt@open.ac.uk) for further information concerning this conference.

Notes:
1. CRIMPREV is an international project funded by the EU through the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) - issues connected with the resolution of conflicts and restoration of peace and justice.

The CRIMPREV consortium is made up of 31 universities and research institutes spread across Europe from 10 European countries. The consortium will continue as a federation of institutions under the umbrella of the Groupe Européen de Recherche sur les Normativités (GERN) based in Paris. This federated body now constitutes an important Europe-wide crime control lobby with a presence at the EU table.

2. The International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR) is an Open University centre of research excellence. It was established in December 2003. It is a unique multi disciplinary and cross faculty initiative drawing on expertise from Social Sciences (social policy & criminology, psychology and sociology), Arts (history), and Health and Social Care (youth justice).

It incorporates the European Centre for the Study of Policing based in Arts and the Rethinking Criminology and Forensic Psychology Research Groups based in Social Sciences.

The ICCCR unites contemporary practice-based research and critical policy analysis in crime, policing and criminal justice with an awareness of historical, psychological and social contexts.

ICCCR has developed three substantive (but inter-related) areas of expertise:

• policing
• justice, rights and regulation
• prisons/penology

Coherence between these subject areas is maintained through a shared interest in comparative methodologies (historical and/or cross-cultural) and in a concern for processes of governance and regulation. Its research is aimed at academic, policy and practitioner audiences, and is disseminated via regular conferences, seminars and publications.

Conference: Echoes of the Past: Women, History and Memory in Fiction and Film

Newcastle University, June 26-28 2009

Keynote Speakers:

• Kate Mosse (best-selling author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre)
• Deborah Cartmell (De Montfort University)
• Veronica Gregg (City University of New York)
• Diana Wallace (University of Glamorgan)

Plus 'Vanessa and Virginia Writing Workshop' with Professor Susan Sellers

A very limited number of places on the workshop are still available for those attending the conference. Early registration is recommended to avoid disappointment. Registration and payment deadline for non-speakers: 29th May 2009

This conference is supported through a generous contribution from the Catherine Cookson Foundation.

Details of the cfp, conference programme and how to register can be found on the conference website at: http://conferences.ncl.ac.uk/echoes

Small grants for Philosophical and Religious Studies

The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies are inviting proposals for their latest round of project funding.

Applications are welcomed for the funding of projects designed to:

• encourage a culture in which innovative developments in learning, teaching and assessment are valued and acknowledged at a national level;
• promote good practice in the development and evaluation of innovative methods of learning, teaching and assessment;
• disseminate within the wider community innovative methods or materials originally developed for use within a single institution.

in subject disciplines the Subject Centre covers:

• Philosophy
• Religious Studies
• Theology
• History of Science, Technology and Medicine
• Philosophy of Science

The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies is setting aside £15,000 for projects in this tranche; the maximum funding for any single proposal will be £3,000.

Additional funding may be available for major collaborative initiatives - contact the Subject Centre for details. Support is also available for those who would like to submit a proposal.

To find out more:

• Visit the website: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/view.html/PrsFundingOps/9
• Contact the Subject Centre: email enquiries@prs.heacademy.ac.uk, tel. 0113 343 4184

Application deadline: 12 noon, Friday 26 June 2009

Edited from email from Dr. Clare Saunders, Senior Academic Co-ordinator (Philosophy), Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, School of Humanities, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK URL: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk

Open University to research religious conflict

The Open University has received nearly £407,000 jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for research into religious conflict. The three-year project, Protestant-Catholic Conflict: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Realities, will be led by John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History and run from 01 October 2009 to 30 September 2012.

The research will explore how differences between Protestant and Catholic beliefs have been translated into ideas and beliefs about security and insecurity; when and why such ideas led to conflict; and the extent of how Protestant or Catholic religion became labels of political significance. It will also investigate how similar historic conflicts ignited and spread and the circumstances conducive to breaking the cycle. The research programme will include work on attitudes in contemporary Northern Ireland in collaboration with the independent Belfast-based Institute for Conflict Research. It will culminate in a major international conference in Belfast in the summer of 2012.

Professor Wolffe explains: "Had a research programme on ‘global uncertainties' been launched three hundred years ago, an explicit concern with the domestic and international security implications of conflict between Catholics and Protestants would undoubtedly have been very prominent. Even a hundred years ago there was still influential support for the view that the most significant source of confrontation within and between European states was religion.

“While such a perception was eclipsed in the subsequent actual course of twentieth century history, in the context of its revival at the turn of the twenty-first century the longer term historical perspective merits closer examination. Moreover, local and regional tensions between Catholics and Protestants continue to be a matter of contemporary concern, especially in Ireland and the United States.

“The project will explore the long term resolution of regional tensions between Catholics and Protestants to aid understanding and address other contemporary religious conflict. Most notably there will be comparison with the perceived 'clash of civilizations' between Christianity and Islam."

The research will have wide interdisciplinary applications across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Successful development and synthesis of historical work in Protestant-Catholic conflict will provide a valuable resource for those engaging on research on related contemporary issues.

This grant is co-funded between ESRC at 64% and AHRC at 36%. ESRC is administering the grant on behalf of ESRC and AHRC. This ESRC/AHRC fellowship grant forms part of the "RCUK Global Uncertainties: Security for all in a Changing World" Programme.

For press release see: http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=16135

AHRC International Strategy 2009-2012

The AHRC's International Strategy acknowledges that "to be regarded as a world leader in advancing arts and humanities research we must be active internationally."

The AHRC is committed to the implementation of an international research policy addressing the international aspects of the Council's work and responsibilities.

The AHRC International Strategy 2009-2012 is available to download from the AHRC website at http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/About/Policy/Pages/InternationalActivity.aspx

Free Ethic Lectures

How should ethics be built into our strategies for business, for government and for life?

The downturn has an upside. The current economic turmoil is the perfect opportunity for business, governments, and individuals to rethink their ethical orientations from the bottom up. The Open University would like to invite you to one of the following free lunchtime lectures on 'Integrity in Public Life' to explore some of the most pressing ethical dilemmas.

The lectures are free and open to all, and will be hosted at St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London from 12.50 - 2pm (see: http://www.greatstbarts.com/Pages/Other/News/lectures.html ) . Places are limited, to book your place please email Marie-Claire Le Roux (m.leroux@open.ac.uk)


20th May - Lord Butler: Integrity and Politics

Lord Butler will draw on his experience as a previous head of the Civil Service, and lead author of the Butler Report, to discuss the ethical pitfalls facing politicians and civil servants, and how to avoid them.


27th May - Professor John Cottingham: Integrity and Fragmentation

Professor Cottingham, the distinguished philosopher from the University of Reading, will argue that we are harmed by living in a compartmentalised culture. Our institutions are manned by specialists who have mastered a particular field, but are not expected to form a view of the whole. Yet the classical ideal of the unity of the virtues suggests that people cannot live well unless their activities are integrated into a meaningful structure, informed not just by narrow technical expertise but by an overall vision of the good for humankind. We need this idea today.


17th June - Baroness O'Neil: Trustworthiness, Accountability and Character

Baroness O'Neill, cross-bench peer and President of the British Academy, focuses on the place of trust in public life, and explores what we should take as evidence of trustworthiness. Character, codes of conduct and formal systems of accountability can all be helpful for judging trustworthiness, but what can we do when they don't provide enough evidence?


This lecture series has been organised by the Open University's Ethics Centre (http://www.open.ac.uk/ethics-centre/). The Open University would like to thank F&C (http://www.fandc.com/new/UK/) for their support of these lectures.

The Research School's latest research related news.

The Research School have updated the Research Information Alert. The main stories are:

Connecting up Strategy: Are Senior Strategy Directors (SSDs) a missing link?

Postdoctoral Fellowship Community Service-Learning 2009-2010

Times Higher Education Awards

To follow these stories and for other research related news visit the Research Schools Research Alert website at:

http://intranet.open.ac.uk/strategy-unit/research-alerts/info.shtml