Academicians Honoured in New Year's Honours List

The Academy congratulates those Academicians who have received honours from the Queen in the New Year 2012 list.

Professor Glynis Breakwell AcSS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, is created DBE for services to Higher Education.

Professor Judith Petts AcSS, Dean of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Southampton, is created CBE for services to scientific research.

Professor Diane Berry AcSS, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Reading, becomes OBE, also for services to scientific research.

Professor Celia Brackenridge AcSS, formerly Director of the Centre for Youth Sport and Athlete Welfare at Brunel University, receives the OBE for services to equality and child protection in sport. Her work on this was highlighted in the most recent issue of Making the Case for the Social Sciences which covered the topic of sport and leisure.

Professor Diana Woodhouse AcSS, pro-Vice Chancellor (research) at Oxford Brookes University, becomes OBE for services to legal scholarship and Higher Education.

Professor Robert Walker AcSS, professor of Social Policy at the University of Oxford, receives the MBE for services to social policy research.

********************

The Case for High Speed Rail

A regional, social and economic perspective

The Academy, together with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and the Regional Studies Association, has arranged a parliamentary seminar on the topic of high speed rail to be held in February, with an invited audience of specialists.

The event will be hosted by Louise Ellman MP, who is Chair of the Transport Select Committee. Speakers are:

• Professor Iain Docherty FRGS, Professor of public policy and governance at Glasgow University and NED of Transport Scotland as well as a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport's Expert Academic panel.
• Michael Ward, Research fellow at the Smith Institute and Executive Chair of the Board of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, and co-author of 'High Speed Rail: is everyone on board?'
• Professor Roger Vickerman AcSS, Professor of European Economics at the Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent.
• Professor Henry Overman AcSS, Professor of Economic Geography and Director of hte Spatial Economics Research Centre, at the LSE.

Download a flyer (pdf) here.

Advance booking is required as space is limited. To book your place please register online by clicking here.

********************

Myths And Realities

Sustainable Lifestyles - Great in theory, impossible in practice

Download the Programme and Speaker details here.

7th February 2012 18.30- 20.00 followed by pay bar.

British Library, London.

Pressure on the world's resources means we are increasingly encouraged to consume less power, water, even food. But few of us make more than minimal efforts to change our own behaviour. Join leading academics to discuss how evidence can help the development of policies to help us move towards more sustainable lifestyles.

Speakers:

• Chair: Drs Astrid Wissenburg, Director of Partnerships and Communications, ESRC
• Ian Christie, Research Fellow and Co-ordinator, Sustainable Lifestyles Research Group, Centre for Environmental strategy, University of Surrey.
• Professor Dale Southerton, Director Sustainable Practices Research Group, University of Manchester

Tickets: £7.50 / £5 (concessions)

To reserve your place, visit: www.bl.uk

To download a flyer (pdf) click here.

This series of events is sponsored jointly by the Academy, British Library and ESRC.Podcasts of previous events are available from the British Library website at:

http://www.bl.uk/whatson/podcasts/socsci/index.html

*******************

Youth in Crisis and Community Interventions: Past, Present and Future Priorities

 Deadline: Friday 20th January 2012 or postmarked 20/1/12

21-22 February 2012 Ayr Campus, University of the West of Scotland

Download a flyer here.

This event is hosted by UWS: Youth, Social Justice and Inclusive Education network, co-ordinated by Professor Ross Deuchar, in conjunction with the Academy

This two-day conference seeks to explore the current challenges facing young people across the UK in terms of social disadvantage, urban deprivation, territoriality, violence and the social and political mistrust of youth. It seeks to examine the current conceptions and misconceptions about youth gang culture and their relationship to issues of public disorder and violence, as well as exploring the community intervention strategies that have been put in place in Scotland to enhance young people’s commitment to social and educational participation. Through a combined programme of plenaries, research seminars and critical roundtable discussion, the conference aims to create an informed dialogue between practitioners, policy makers and researchers as a potential catalyst for future decision-making about how best to support and engage our young people.

Conference Introduction and Opening Address: Mr Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People

Keynote Speakers:

• Professor Simon Hallsworth, London Metropolitan University - Gangs, Gang Culture and Public Disorder: The Case of the English Disturbances
• Professor Tracey Shildrick, Teesside University - Young People and Social Exclusion: Evidence from Twelve Years of Research in Teesside
• Dr Terry Barber, University of Dundee - "Critical Engagement.....Critical Youth Work....Critical Impact". Developing a community-based response to the needs of young people.
• Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit - The Shared Agenda

Confirmed Seminar Speakers include:

• Professor Robert MacDonald AcSS, Teeside University
• Professor Peter Squires AcSS, University of Brighton
• Professor Howard Sercombe, University of Strathclyde
• Dr Stuart Waiton, University of Abertay

Please refer to our conference website for further details: www.uws.ac.uk/youthincrisis

A registration form can be found here (Word) or here (pdf), which can be returned to us electronically or by post to:

Youth in Crisis Conference

School of Education

UWS

University Avenue

Ayr

KA8 0SX

youthincrisis@uws.ac.uk

***********************

Evidence to House of Lords Inquiry

into Chief Scientific Advisers

The government has published the written and oral evidence gathered so far in its Inquiry into the Role of Chief Scientific Advisors. The Academy's input heads the list of written evidence and was referred to during the oral sessions.

The re-appointment of a Chief Social Scientist is a core aim of the Campaign.

Click here to read the written submissions.

Click here to read the transcripts of the oral sessions

***************************

Academy Sets up Project to Develop Common Ethical Guidelines for Social Science Research

In March 2010 the Academy, in conjunction with the Association of Research Ethics Committees (AREC), organised an exploratory symposium on Ethics principles for social science research.  The 25 participants were drawn mainly from learned societies, 12 of whom were represented at the meeting, with the addition of other interested parties.  After some lively debate there was general support for the idea of having a common set of principles covering the conduct of research (but not research governance). 

The Academy was felt to be the most appropriate body to take this work forward and it subsequently agreed to do so.  A small working group of Academicians has been set up consisting of Professor Robert Dingwall AcSS, Professor Ron Iphofen AcSS, Professor John Oates AcSS, under the leadership of Dr Janet Lewis AcSS (left).

The Academy has decided to pursue the possibility of organising a number of seminars through the ESRC’s Research Seminars Competition. The seminar format will be a good one for the kind of dialogue envisaged. The aim of the series is to try to advance the development of a generic foundation of research ethics across a broad range of social science disciplines and organisations. It will allow an opportunity to explore in greater depth the basis of a generic foundation to social science research ethics and what barriers would need to be overcome to achieve widespread adoption of a generic set of ethics principles.

The announcement of the 2011-12 competition for the seminars was delayed from the spring and was finally made in September. The working group are currently developing and finalising the proposal which has to be submitted by November 10th. The outcome of the competition will be known in March/April 2012.

The intention is to invite all the learned society members of the Academy to send a senior representative to the seminar series but this is dependent on the application being successful. Applicants are asked by the ESRC to list those individuals, groups and organisations that are likely to be interested in or benefit from the proposed research. The application would be greatly strengthened if societies are able to state that they are interested in, and supportive of, this work and that a representative(s) from those society would attend. Please contact Janet via Madeleine Barrows on m.barrows@acss.org.uk to indicate your interest in supporting this new Academy initiative.

*********************

Academy secures NCRM Networks for Methodological Innovation funding to investigate impact.

 

Dancing with new partners: developing novel research methods to establish and monitor impacts of user engagement in times of austerity

 

The Academy of Social Sciences has secured ESRC funding (£21,608.10) for one of just three awards made under the NCRM’s 2010 Call for Networks for Methodological Innovation.

 

A number of Academicians including Principal Applicant, Professor Irene Hardill AcSS will, along with Ceridwen Roberts AcSS, Barbara Doig AcSS, Professor Richard Thorpe AcSS, and Professor Helen Lawton Smith AcSS work with a wider constituency of international collaborators to drive forwards a network dedicated to supporting the growth of capacity in practice-facing disciplines to undertake engaged research which is of benefit to research users.

 

We aim to link three active practice-related networks in order to exchange and disseminate knowledge on theoretical approaches and methods and to advance practice: the Academy of Social Sciences, will be joined by the New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) and the Engaging Scottish Local Authorities programme.

 

The Network was launched on October 25th 2011 at the British Academy.

************************