ESA MONTHLY BULLETIN – AUGUST 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS:



Conferences/Calls for Papers

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Conference: WCSA – COMPLEXITY SYSTEMIC SCIENCES AND THE GLOBAL ENERGY AGENDA – TH TH UNIVERSITÀ DI PALERMO, ITALY, SEPTEMBER 26 -27 , 2011. 26th Conference of the Nordic Sociological Association, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, 1518 August 2012. th 4 Regular All-Russian Sociological Congress “Sociology and society: global challenges and th regional development” (the 4 ARSC) – Ufa, October 2012. International Seminar – CEDEFOP: “Learning later in life – uncovering the potential of investing in an ageing workforce” – Brussels, 21-22 September 2011. Call for Papers: 2012 Annual Meeting, San Diego, March 22-25 at the Sheraton Hotel, Harbor Island. Call for Papers: Research Committee on Sociology of Population, RC41, Session D: “Who’s Afraid of Population Decline? Challenges, Responses and Consequences” - Second ISA Forum of Sociology, Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 1-4, 2012. Call for Papers: Fashion Tales 2012 - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, 7-9 June.



Opportunities

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Call for Applications - Resident Academic Post in Sociology in Education, Department of Education Studies. Deadline: by noon of Friday, 2nd September 2011.

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CONFERENCES/CALLS FOR PAPERS

WCSA - WORLD COMPLEXITY SCIENCE ACADEMY II CONFERENCE TH

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SEPTEMBER 26 -27 , 2011 AULA MAGNA – VINCENZO LI DONNI UNIVERSITA DI PALERMO FACOLTA DI ECONOMIA VIALE DELLE SCIENZE ED. 13 PALERMO, ITALY COMPLEXITY SYSTEMIC SCIENCES AND THE GLOBAL ENERGY AGENDA WCSA SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR Prof.ANDREA PITASI, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy CONFERENCE PROGRAM CHAIR (CPC) Prof.GANDOLFO DOMINICI, University of Palermo, Italy WCSA ASSISTANTS TO THE CPC Federica Palumbo, University of Palermo, Italy Roberta Tedeschi, University Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples, Italy CONFERENCE SCIENTIFIC BOARD GANDOLFO DOMINICI–University of Palermo ANDREA PITASI - University D'Annunzio - Pescara SERGIO BARILE - University "La Sapienza" - Rome ROSARIO FARACI – University of Catania UGO PAGALLO - University of Turin ANNAMARIA RUFINO - SUN - Naples PIETRO TERNA - University of Turin GIOVANNI BATTISTA DAGNINO- University of Catania GIANFRANCO RIZZO - University of Palermo FRANCESCO VESPASIANO – University of Sannio

WCSA HONORARY BOARD OF ADVISORS GIUSEPPE ACOCELLA, CNEL Vice President, Rector S. Pius V University, Rome, Italy GABRIEL ALTMANN, University of Bochum, Germany M ARCELO AMARAL, Triple Helix International Instituite, Madrid, Spain SEBASTIANO BAGNARA, Sassari-Alghero University, Italy GIOVANBATTISTA CAVAZZUTI, Modena and Reggio Emilia University, Italy LUCIO D'ALESSANDRO, Rector, Univ. Suor Orsola Benincasa,, Italy ALBERTO FEBBRAJO, University of Macerata, Italy SHERRY FERGUSON, University of Ottawa, Canada GIANCARLO GUARINO, Federico II University, Naples, Italy ENRIQUE G. HERRSCHER, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina ERVIN LAZLO, Club of Budapest, Hungary ALBERT LASZLO BARABASI, Director of CCNR, Northeastern University, USA LOET LEYDESDORFF, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands DARIO RODRIGUEZ M ANSILLA, Catholic University of Santiago, Chile FELIX ORTEGA, University of Salamanca, Spain ALEXANDER RIEGLER, Free University of Brussels, Belgium

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The aim of the conference is to focus on the epistemological theoretical, methodological, technical and practical contributions of the systemic approach throughout each disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective rooted in the systemic approach (sociology, management, engineering, biology, economics, mathematics, etc.) to shape a scientific and policy agenda to face the energy challenges of our times on a global scale. The conference schedule will include also panels with studies and research about any field of complexity science. All panelists must be members of WCSA. www.wcsaglobal.org Conference e-mail: [email protected]

WCSA - WORLD COMPLEXITY SCIENCE ACADEMY MISSION

The World Complexity Science Academy (WCSA) is a social and cultural no-profit organization committed to the diffusion of scientific knowledge inspired to the systemic approach. The WCSA has also the purpose of promoting the meeting and the co-operation among the scholars. Consistently with this purpose, WCSA organizes periodical national and international Conferences and supervises specific and scientific publications. The WCSA is a meeting place for scholars from very different disciplines inspired by the systemic approach. The WCSA aims at creating a constellation of research projects and publications to empower a wide horizon and knowledge intensive strategy to let science successfully cope with the key challenges of our times concerning economical development, ecology, radical innovation and biotechnology. The diffusion of the Systemic Approach is meant both as a peculiar interdisciplinary paradigm and as an applied toolkit. This approach strategically faces the main global challenges of our times described above. WCSA believes the systemic approach is pivotal for intensive and high added value knowledge sharing on a global scale as we all entrepreneurs, professionals, scholars and policymakers can cooperate, as world citizens to facilitate the free circulation of intellectual and strategic capitals. Within these assumptions, WCSA is committed and supports: 1) the basic and applied interdisciplinary research within the system approach believing that this may represent the most effective meeting place to let different knowledge and disciplines converge towards a strategic common pattern inspired to the neo-renaissance, “third culture” shared with the Edge Foundation (www.edge.org) and with the International Budapest club founded and chaired by Ervin Laszlo. 2) The advancement of global (semantic, methodological, technical etc.) platforms for the development of a cosmopolitan cognition that would unify more points of view and would merge basic and applied research in order to cope with problem solving needs in a context of challenges. The needs for problem solving ideas couldn’t be fostered with a traditional local and territorial patterns and identities. 3) The divulgation of the systemic-scientific knowledge and the scientific information toward educated, but not specialized, targets (“high divulgation”) assuming the aim to enrich the personal backgrounds of committed scientists (biotechnologists, engineers, physics, sociologists, economists, etc.) about global challenges of our times through appropriate models and systemic- communicational tools and through high concepts for the diffusion and divulgation of the knowledge. 4) The promotion of the dialogue and the synergies among public institutions, business entrepreneurships and social no-profit organizations to let them provide a more user friendly policymaking for the scientific world community reducing the influence of vernacular interests and tactically adopting the motto “think global, act local”. If you are interested in the WCSA policy, we invite you to suggest your own projects, research projects and publications in progress of which you would be glad to receive patronage for free by the WCSA PROJECTS brand. The patronage of WCSA may be granted both to members and non

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members provided that they are inventors and/or developers of high quality projects connected to the aims and policy of WCSA. Wishing that the WCSA constellation be of your interest and that it will be possible to create favourable synergies and collaborations I offer you my warmest regards. Prof. Andrea Pitasi WCSA Scientific Director

HOW TO JOIN WCSA WCSA welcomes professors and scholars from all the Countries of the World and with scientific and/or humanistic field of studies/research/interest etc. 1) Contact us at [email protected]. Please specify your reason for joining WCSA and attach your Curriculum Vitae. Your CV and/or your e-mail should include all your contact information (e-mail, telephone, address). 2) The scientific board will assess your request and return a reply e-mail to you in 2-3 days with further information about the payment of the membership fee (through PayPal or bank transfer). It will be possible to Join WCSA as a member directly at the membership desk outside the conference room.

We welcome you to the 26th Conference of the Nordic Sociological Association 15-18 August 2012, University of Iceland, Reykjavik Conference website: http://www.yourhost.is/nordicsociology2012/home.html Many countries have experienced major social changes following the international financial crisis and its political repercussions. Trust is one of the key concepts that has been at the top of public agendas and at the centre of academic debates. Therefore, the conference will emphasize the concept of trust in various contexts, making it the point of departure for a wide-ranging discussion of its post-crisis rebuild and reconceptualization. The conference aims to expand our grasp and our knowledge of societal trust and the on-going social changes from many different angles and various academic approaches. We welcome you to take part in these discussions. Welcome to Reykjavik in August 2012 Jón Rúnar Sveinsson Chairman of the NSA 26th Sociology Conference Organizing Committee [email protected] Stefán Hrafn Jónsson Chairman of the Icelandic Sociological Association [email protected] The 26th Conference of the Nordic Sociological Association is organized by the Icelandic Sociological Association in close cooperation with the Department of Sociology at the University of Iceland.

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The 4 Regular All-Russian Sociological Congress “Sociology and society: global challenges th and regional development” (the 4 ARSC) will take place in Ufa in October 2012. The Russian Society of Sociologists (RSS) is traditionally an initiator and one of the organizers of this event. The Organizing Committee will include leading Russian sociologists and representatives of th professional associations who expressed their desire to participate in organizing and holding the 4 ARSC, the RSS Executive Committee members and the RSS regional branches presidents, while the Program Committee will include the RSS Research Committees presidents, presenters of declared th thematic sessions and round tables. Taking into account the place of the 4 ARSC holding, the representatives of the Republic Bashkortostan will be included into the board at the suggestion of the receiving party. The following calendar events are planned: 1. Preparation of the list of main Congress events, project of placement of Russian and foreign participants, cultural program plan, budget of expenditure etc. for confirmation at the RSS Presidium. th Final date: 25 of October 2011 th Organized by the 4 ARSC Organizing Committee and the RSS Secretariat 2. Preparation of the list of issues under discussion and suggestions for content and personal composition of the Congress plenary sessions, agendas of sections, sessions and round tables, final document. Please send your proposals for the organization of thematic meetings and round tables indicating coordinators, scientific secretaries and time necessary for their holding. th Final date: 15 of December 2011 th Organized by the 4 ARSC Program Committee and the RSS Executive Committee 3. Holding the discussions, conferences and round tables at the subject area proposed by the Program Committee, discussion of the Congress subject matter with the press. th Final date: 15 of March 2011 Organized by the RSS Regional Branches and the RSS Executive Committee 4. On-line registration of Congress participants in March – May 2012 at the RSS web-site. th Final date: 10 of June 2012 Organized by the RSS Secretariat th

5. Holding the joint meeting of the Organizing Committee and the Program Committee of the 4 AllRussian Sociological Congress with discussion of program project and scientific-organizational issues. th Final date: 25 of October 2011 Organized by the RSS Secretariat th

6. Discussion with foreign scientists of the possibility of their participation in the 4 ARSC and preparation of the foreign guests lists. Final date: January - March 2012 th Organized by the 4 ARSC Organizing Committee We also offer you to read the letter to President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician Yu.S. Osipov (look here). th

You can learn further details of the preparation and holding the 4 ARSC at this page : http://www.ssarss.ru/index.php?page_id=344

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International Seminar – CEDEFOP Subject: Learning later in life – uncovering the potential of investing in an ageing workforce

Cedefop and the European Commission are jointly organising a two-day international seminar on learning later in life and the impact of investing in an ageing workforce. The event will take place on 21-22 September 2011 (9.30am-5.30pm and 9.00am-12.30pm) in Brussels. The aim of the workshop is to bring together an international forum of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in order to gather the latest insights on learning later in life and on the impact of investing in an ageing workforce. Active ageing policies are emerging in many EU Member States. The workshop aims to stimulate dialogue between research, practice and policy to support evidence-based policies for active ageing. The theme is highly relevant academically and politically. It will contribute to the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012 by providing a solid basis for further work. Registration for the seminar is free of charge and now open. Please note that places are limited. For more information and the registration form, please visit: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/events/18530.aspx

THE 2012 ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE HELD IN SAN DIEGO, March 22-25 at the Sheraton Hotel, Harbor Island http://www.pacificsoc.org/2006/08/2012-annual-meeting.html

1) CALL FOR PAPERS. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PAPERS IS OCTOBER 15, 2011 Submit a paper for the 2012 meeting. All submissions must be made online. Deadline is October 15, 2011. Select the best topic session for your paper and follow the online form and links. 2) THE SESSION PROPOSAL PROCESS FOR 2012 IS NOW CLOSED. The session proposal process for the 2012 meeting in San Diego is now closed. You can request an exception by contacting the Program Chair, Mary Virnoche. 3) THEME: INTERSECTIONALITIES AND INEQUALITIES: KNOWLEDGE AND POWER FOR THE ST 21 CENTURY Three decades ago, Black feminist activists argued for an analysis of the situation of Black women that took seriously the ways in which their lives were affected by racial, gendered, and classed dynamics. Black feminist scholars did just that in developing the concept of intersectionality and elaborating an intersectional approach to knowledge production in the social sciences and humanities. This approach has transformed scholarship in many fields. In sociology, scholars have sought to examine the simultaneous and multiplicative interaction of axes of inequality around class, race, gender, sexuality, age, religion, disability, citizenship. Scholars have reckoned not only with an intersectional approach to identity construction and enactment but also its application to understanding the social processes of interaction in organizations, social movements, and other institutional spheres, and the ways in which inequalities are produced, changed, and resisted. No longer is it simply Black feminist

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scholars doing this work, but many scholars in various areas within sociology have taken the challenge of working with this framework. It is now time to examine the intersectional approach to assess its strengths and its weaknesses in theoretical argument, empirical research, policy development and implementation, and in the work we do as teachers. The 2012 meeting will focus on how intersectional approaches have been marshaled in various subfields of sociology and attempt to measure their success; how quantitative and qualitative methodologies have been enhanced and challenged by an intersectional perspective; how and why some axes of power been more fully explored than others; to what extent analyses of specific policy domains, such as immigration, corporate profit-taking, crime, educational access, HIV/AIDS, civil rights, have usefully employed its insights; what works and what does not in teaching intersectionality. Submissions on all sociological topics are welcome. However, organizers are particularly interested in those related to the theme of the 2012 meetings. We welcome all suggestions and submissions. Beth Schneider 2012 PSA President-Elect

Second ISA Forum of Sociology, August 1-4, 2012, Buenos Aires, Argentina Research Committee on Sociology of Population, RC41, Session D: Who’s Afraid of Population Decline? Challenges, Responses and Consequences

Chairs: Walter BARTL, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, [email protected] Reinhold SACKMANN, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, [email protected] Demographic change has been on the research agenda of population scholars for several decades now. Whereas population growth was the main topic of inquiry after the Second World War and still is considered to be relevant for many countries of the so called ‘south’ population ageing and population decline have (re)entered the research agenda only after many countries of the ‘north’ have faced the second demographic transition. Among these two ‘newcomer’-topics population ageing has become well established as an overwhelming number of publications show. Much less attention has been paid to questions of population decline despite its empirical frequency. On a national level the Western world is going to face population decline in the short or medium term given current levels of fertility (with the exception of the United States, New Zealand, and Iceland) if immigration is not to compensate ‘natural’ population losses. Many developing countries are likely to follow that demographic pattern within a few decades. Countries with a ‘natural’ population decline in 2008 included Italy, Germany, 12 countries in Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation, and Japan. On a regional level the picture becomes even more diverse and raw distinctions such as ‘north’ and ‘south’ do not capture demographic developments any more. The same is true for the urban level. Nevertheless the cases are ubiquitous: about a quarter of the cities worldwide with more than 100.000 inhabitants are confronted with population decline and in three quarters of the post socialist cities in Europe with more than 200.000 inhabitants shrinking populations have been observed. Existing research has focussed much more on explaining why population numbers decline and much less on possible consequences resulting from these phenomena. The aim of this session is to put

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population decline, and resultingchallenges, responses, and possible consequences more in focus of the international research agenda. Papers for this session should therefore address one or more of the following questions: • Which patterns of (national, regional, urban) population decline can be observed? • Which specific challenges result from declining population numbers? (E.g.: to territorial cohesion.) • How exactly pose declining populations challenges that are different from challenges resulting from growing populations? • Which aspect of population decline is most problematic? (E.g.: the expectation of decline, tempo, scope and volatility of the process itself or its result: smaller populations.) • Which social fields are vulnerable to shrinking populations? (E.g.: infrastructures of the welfare state such as child care, education and health units; public administration, business organisations, the family.) • Which responses to declining populations can be observed? • How can responses to declining population numbers be classified and explained? • Which consequences result from population decline and specific response patterns (on a national, regional, urban, organizational, individual level)? • Is it desirable and possible to develop a middle range theory of possible consequences of population decline? Especially welcome are paper proposals based on comparative empirical research and theoretical contributions that systematically reflect the relationship of demographic changes and social institutions and infrastructures. Abstract submission Only abstracts submitted on-line can be incorporated in the sessions. Please use the ISA abstract submission website: http://www.isa-sociology.org/buenos-aires-2012/abstract-submission.htm Deadlines • On-line abstract submission will be open from August 25 to December 15, 2011. • Authors will be notified if their paper has been accepted or not in the programme (for presentation or as distributed paper) by January 31, 2012. • All Forum participants (presenters, chairs, discussants, etc.) need to pay the early registration fee by April 10, 2012, in order to be included in the programme. If not registered, their names will not appear in the Programme or Abstracts Book. On-line registration will open August 25, 2011.

Fashion Tales 2012 7-9 June – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan Since its beginnings in the middle of the XIX century, fashion has been narrated through multiple media, both visual as well as verbal, and for different purposes such as marketing and advertising, art, costume history, social research and cultural dissemination. At the same time, fashion has worked as an important piece of material culture in the modern industrial urban societies: artifacts that embody workmanship, tastes, lifestyles etc. Fashion, namely, has always been both material and intangible, a system of material production and a system of signs. It has always involved differently skilled people whose purposes have often been divergent and barely overlapping. And the same has happened also with fashion events, tales and writings, i. e. the narrative representations of fashion. Media professionals, communication and marketing consultants, academic scholars and curators develop discourses, use similar languages, try to sometimes work together, comparing and sharing jargons and methodologies, in order to create their products: art exhibitions, catwalks, photo books, movies,

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magazines, ads, blogs, scientific essays and interviews etc. These tales are a part of fashion imaginary, as well as of collections. The field of Fashion Studies has become wider and structured at least during the past fifteen years. However, we still need to consolidate an interdisciplinary and international reflection on themes, methodologies and goals of all different forms of narration that constitute today the of fashion discourses and imagery (academic, cultural, medial and industrial) that is the way through which the materiality of fashion is represented. Even if fashion discourses (verbal as well as visual) are often built mixing different narratives, it is tentatively possible to identify three types of discourses that correspond (from an analytical point of view) to three different types of reflexivity. 1. The first type of discourse is produced by people who "make" fashion, working in the design and productive pipeline. They tell stories about fabrics and material components, time and budget ties, translating drawings into patterns, selling collections through traders and buyers etc. Their discourses are focused on managerial and organizational processes as well as on technicalities that constitute the structure of the fashion system 2. The second type concerns stories about fashion and its celebrities in media and events like fashion shows. They are told by people working as intermediaries between the first category of people, those who make fashion, and the general audience attracted by fashion but external to its productive and creative environment. Through those stories, fashion becomes a lifeworld, where things, meanings, people are codified in a language shared by a large and differentiated audience. 3. The third type of story is told by scholars who study fashion as cultural, social, economic and artistic phenomenon and try to understand the role of fashion in the contemporary world. For them, fashion is both a material and an intangible object about which they build discourses that have theoretical implications. In a way, one could put in a hierarchy these three categories from the lowest to the highest level of reflexivity and abstraction. However we believe that whatever type of discourse people use in their jobs, it contains also tales and reflexivity pertaining to other types. Modacult is an academic research centre that has tried since its inception to propitiate dialogue and to compare the languages and expertise of the different fashion professionals, both by organizing interdisciplinary conferences and promoting ethnographic research. Today we invite scholars, curators, media and consultancy professionals, as well as fashion designers and business people, to share meanings, images and methodologies used in the production of fashion tales. The conference will aim to: 1. Elucidate how the materiality of fashion is translated into its different representations both at the discursive and visual level. 2. Compare and connect methodologies used in the wide field of Fashion Studies and in professional fashion discourses. 3. Reflect on the difficulties coming out of a multidisciplinary field of research and consultancy. 4. Create a public and critical forum where independent discourses on fashion, free from business pressure, could develop thanks to the contribution of all professionals working in the fashion world. Papers are expected for example in the following sub fields: 1. Visual methodologies for fashion studies: how to use images and video in fashion research and communication. 2. Fashion languages and linguistic codes: how to develop a new language for writing and talking fashion. 3. Fashion houses: how to study and narrate the living culture of the fashion houses, which is an important part of the cultural capital so secretly treasured and guarded by companies. 4. From market research to culture listening: how to go beyond the rough polls and develop an ethnographic understanding of consumers' practices. 5. Fashion blogging and social network: How to promote new fashion communication patterns (top down, bottom up, peer to peer) through web 2.0 and 3.0. How to contribute through them to the construction of new fashion discourses. 6. Living fashion vs museum pieces: How to exhibit fashion in museums and in private and public collections without wasting its essential dynamism.

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7. Ethical and critical fashion: sustainability has become the password of the up-to-date discourse about fashion. How to reconcile advertising and information, engagement and glamour in the relationship between the companies and the consumers. The official language of the conference will be English. The conference will be organized with plenary sessions every day and many parallel sessions. The Scientific Committee encourage and welcome session proposals. All those wishing to present a paper at the conference must submit electronically, using the web-based submission form, an abstract of maximum 350 words and a 120 words profile of each author (included affiliation and 2 main publications) in English within 30th November 2011. Files should include the following information and in this order: a) author(s) b) affiliation c) email address d) title of abstract e) body of abstract Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline). For more info check the website of Fashion Tales 2012 at www.unicatt.it/fashiontales2012

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OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Applications Resident Academic Post in Sociology in Education Department of Education Studies

Applications are invited for a full-time Resident Academic Post in Sociology in Education in the Department of Education Studies within the Faculty of Education of the University of Malta. The appointment will be on an indefinite basis, subject to a one-year probationary period, up to statutory retirement age. The appointee will be required to contribute to the teaching, research and other activities of the Department of Education Studies within the Faculty of Education, and as may be required by the University. Candidates must in possession of a Ph.D. or equivalent research based doctorate in the area of Sociology of Education. Due importance will be given to those candidates who have a strong research publication record. The Resident Academic Stream is composed of four grades, being Professor, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer and Lecturer. Entry into the grade of Lecturer or above shall only be open to persons in possession of a Ph.D. or an equivalent research based doctorate within strict guidelines established by the University. The annual salary for 2011 attached to the respective grades in the Resident Academic Stream is as follows: • • • •

Professor €36,308 plus an Academic Supplement of €15,634 and a Professorial Allowance of €2,100 Associate Professor €33,194 plus an Academic Supplement of €13,142 And a Professorial Allowance of €1,282 Senior Lecturer €30,051 plus an Academic Supplement of €9,575 Lecturer €24,569 with an annual increment of €641 to €26,492 and an Academic Supplement of €8,641

The University of Malta will provide academic staff with financial resources through the Academic Resources Fund to support continuous professional development and to provide the tools and resources required by an academic to adequately fulfill the teaching and academic research commitments within the University. The University of Malta may also appoint promising and exceptional candidates into the grade of Assistant Lecturer, provided that they are committed to obtain the necessary qualifications to enter the Resident Academic Stream. Such candidates will either have achieved exceptional results at undergraduate level, be already in possession of a Masters qualification, or would have been accepted for or already in the process of achieving their PhD. • •

Assistant Lecturer with Masters €22,925 with an annual increment of €596 to €24,713 and an Academic Supplement of €3,883 Assistant Lecturer €21,344 with an annual increment of €531 to €22,937 and an Academic Supplement of €3,455

Candidates should submit their letter of application, six copies of their curriculum vitae, one set of copies of their certificates and names and addresses (or e-mails) of three referees. Applications may be sent by e-mail to [email protected]:

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Or: Director for Human Resources Management and Development Room 214, Administration Building University of Malta Msida, MSD 2080 Applications should be received by noon of Friday, 2nd September 2011. Late applications will not be considered. Further information may be obtained from the Office for Human Resources Management and Development, Administration Building, Room 214, or from the website: http://www.um.edu.mt/hrmd/vacancies Further Information General Working Obligations: The conditions of work for a Resident Academic of the University of Malta, are set out in the ‘Collective Agreement for Academic Staff of the University of Malta’ and the ‘Manual of Conduct and Procedures’. The commitment of a full-time Resident Academic is based on a 40-hour week, with flexible times depending on established time-tables and distributed reasonably between teaching, academic research and other academic work (including academic administration and professional activity). The official lecturing times of the University of Malta are Monday to Friday, between 08:00 and 20:00 hours and the successful candidate will be required to lecture at any time within the official teaching times during term-time. The appointment will be subject to a probationary period of one year and to the provisions of the Statutes, Regulations and Bye-Laws of the University of Malta which are now or which may hereafter be in force. The Department of Sociology of Education The Department of Education Studies is mainly responsible for teaching in the areas of educational theory, particularly Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology of Education. The department also offers courses in a variety of related and inter-disciplinary fields, including: history of education, research methods, policy-making, comparative education, curriculum studies and adult education. Currently, it houses five programmes, namely: 1. The Programme for Critical and Creative Thinking in Education 2. The Programme for Education in Corrective Facilities 3. The Comparative Education Programme 4. The Programme for Culturally Responsive Education 5. Adult Education Programme A hallmark of the Department is its attempt to develop and sustain a dynamic relationship between educational theory and practice, particularly by bringing analysis and empirical research to bear on educational issues that are topical in Malta and elsewhere. The department has a very high national and international research profile, with publications by its members guiding local and international educational decision-making and appearing in top refereed journals. A number of staff members also serve as advisers to the editorial boards of several journals, and have been involved as consultants with both local and foreign governmental and non-governmental organisations on a variety of projects. Among the tasks which the appointee may be required to perform, there are: a. To teach units of Sociology of Education and related areas, including sociological research methods (especially involving quantitative research methods) and preferably such areas as Economics of Education and Sociology of Organisations;

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b. To teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels; c. To conduct research in sociology of education and related areas and to publish the product of the research in refereed journals or books; e. To contribute to work in other areas of the department notably School Experience, PGCE (sociology component) and Teaching Practice; d. To supervise student research in sociology of education and related areas; f. To serve on Faculty and other University committees. List of skills required: • • • • •

Knowledge of the sociological field with specific reference to education; Knowledge of both the quantitative and qualitative methodologies in education; Experience of teaching in schools and/or other learning settings, including university learning settings; Promise in conducting research that can be published internationally; Knowledge of recent international development in education, especially with regard to Europe and the Mediterranean.

The Selection Process: The Selection process requires: a. The scrutiny of qualifications and experience claimed and supported by testimonials and/or certificates (copies to be included with the application). b. Short-listing of candidates. c. An invitation to short-listed candidates to a Selection Board interview.

Office of the University, Msida, 5th August 2011 069_sociology_of_education_2011

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