Public Service Management Wales Annual Lecture 2007

ANNUAL LECTURE

Workforce engagement: the key to organisational success
John Taylor - Chief Executive, Acas

12pm Friday 16th November 2007
Temple of Peace, Cardiff

PSMW is pleased to announce the first Annual Lecture on transforming Welsh public services and delivering a world class workforce.

Delivered by the Chief Executive of Acas, John Taylor the lecture will offer an unprecedented opportunity for those engaged in managing and leading within public services to develop their knowledge and expertise.

John joined Acas in 2001 and was previously Chief Executive of the South East Wales Training and Enterprise Council in Cardiff. Prior to this he was head of the Development Board for Rural Wales and has held a number of senior positions which have given him varied experience of dealing with employment issues in different economic and social contexts.

The event is open to all and will begin with a buffet lunch and networking opportunity, followed by John’s lecture.

Booking is essential. Places are FREE and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

To reserve a place contact Niall McBride on 029 2068 1299 or email Niall.McBride@wales.gsi.gov.uk

3rd International Conference in Interpretive Policy Analysis

3rd International Conference in Interpretive Policy Analysis Democracy, Governance, and Methods

Dates: 19-21 June 2008
Location: University of Essex, Colchester, UK
Call for Papers Deadline: 10 December 2007
Website:http://www.essex.ac.uk/centres/TheoStud/Conference_III/interpretation_in_policy_confere.htm

All Inquiries to: ipol@essex.ac.uk

Organizing Committee

David Howarth, University of Essex (UK)

Aletta J. Norval, University of Essex (UK)

Methodology Workshops Organizing Committee

Sarah Hartley, University of Essex (Organizing Chair)

Katharina Paul, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Jason Glynos, University of Essex

Dvora Yanow, Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam)

Advisory Board

Frank Fischer, Rutgers University, New Jersey (US)

Herbert Gottweis, University of Vienna (Austria)
Steven Griggs, University of Birmingham (UK)

Maarten Hajer, Universiteit van Amsterdam (NL)
Navdeep Mathur, India Institute of Management (Ahmedabad)

Henk Wagenaar, Leiden Universiteit (NL)

Dvora Yanow, Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam, NL)

Keynote Speakers

Professor Frank Fischer (Rutgers University, New Jersey US)

Professor Jean Hillier (University of Newcastle, UK)

Professor Ernesto Laclau (University of Essex, UK/Northwestern University, US)

Professor Eva Sørensen (Roskilde University, Denmark)

Professor Keith Topper (Northwestern University, US)

Professor Mark Warren (University of British Columbia, Canada)

Interpretivism today comes in many shapes and sizes. It is a broad church that challenges mainstream positivism and scientism in the name of a methodological pluralism that is sensitive to meaning, historical context, and the importance of human subjectivity. Following two successful conferences in Birmingham, UK (2006) and Amsterdam (2007), the Third International Conference in ‘Interpretive Policy Analysis’ will be held at the University of Essex on 19-21 June 2008. This conference will focus on the relationship between governance, democracy, and critical policy analysis, as well as methodological and practical research issues in the interpretive tradition. These themes will be particularly evident in the plenary sessions, which are focused on new forms of governance and their impact on various modes of policymaking, rethinking the theory and practice of democracy, and debating different methods of interpretation and critical explanation.

The relationship between governance, democracy, and critical policy analysis raises a host of interesting questions. Consider the precise character and configuration of new forms of governance and their impact on policymaking. How can we characterize new forms of governance today? What is decentered governance? What is the relationship between governance and issues of representation, deliberation and novel forms of political engagement? How can we explain and evaluate the rise of network governance? At the same time, new issues pertaining to the environment, bio-politics, security, multiculturalism, and so on, pose important challenges to the articulation and evaluation of policies. How are issues of risk and novelty factored into our understandings of policy change? What is the role of performativity and engagement in policymaking and democratic governance? Do new forms of governance suffer a democratic deficit? In short, a range of new issues and problems have led to a questioning of traditional models of government, administration and policy-making.

It is clear, then, that the issue of democracy and democratization is a pressing issue in the present. Not only are there worries about a growing democratic deficit, but there is much talk about democratizing policymaking and governance today. How do different models of democracy impact on critical policy analysis? What are the similarities and differences between aggregative, discursive, and agonistic conceptions of democracy? How do these accounts of democracy speak to issues of representation, participation, and conflict in modern societies? What is radical democracy? Do critical models of democracy suffer from an institutional and policymaking deficit? What is the relationship between normative/evaluative and descriptive/explanatory research in this field? How does one think about democracy, policymaking and public spaces? In short, the issue of democracy not only raises a crucial set of normative, evaluative and explanatory issues in conducting policy analysis, but it also poses questions about the role of the interpretive researcher and practitioner and their community.

An equally important set of methodological issues is posed by new forms of democratic governance, especially in the interpretive tradition. Interpretivists have elaborated a range of innovative methods and research techniques to challenge mainstream positivism and unthinking quantitative approaches. They have also stressed the role of reflexivity and subjectivity in the process of conducting research and analyzing social processes. Yet, there is still a range of approaches that are compatible with the interpretivist outlook. Some stress the role of self-interpretations or focus exclusively on the beliefs and desires of individual agents; others emphasize the role of mechanisms in explaining policy change; yet others have developed the role of logics, discourse theory and rhetorical analysis to critically explain policy processes and specific outcomes. What is the difference between self-interpretations, mechanisms and logics? What is the relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods? What new qualitative approaches and methodologies are becoming available for interpretive policy analysis?

Conference papers might engage one or more of the following themes:

* The contribution of a particular theoretical or philosophical approach to critical policy analysis (e.g., pragmatism, hermeneutics, post-structuralism)

* Clarification of approaches in use (e.g., varieties of discourse analysis or narrative analyses; the role of rhetoric and metaphor)

* Case studies from particular policy issue arenas (e.g., the new challenges of environmental politics and policymaking; bio-politics; local governance; asylum or immigration policy; food policy; urban and regional planning)

* Methodological issues in doing critical policy analysis (e.g., reflexivity in policy analytic practices; getting, and using, feedback from ‘informants’; issues in using new recording technologies; evaluating software programmes)

* The relationship between policy analytic practices and democratic and/or other theories of governance

* Interpretive perspectives on key topics (e.g., community conflict resolution practices; policy evaluation; leadership; network organizations; other public management questions)

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions will be organized around a number of key themes, including:

‘Governance, Participation, and Performativity’

Professor Jean Hillier (University of Newcastle)

Professor Eva Sørensen (Roskilde University)

Chair: Professor Maarten Hajer (Universiteit van Amsterdam)

‘Democracy and Critical Policy Analysis’

Professor Mark Warren (University of British Columbia)

Professor Frank Fischer (Rutgers University)

Chair: Dr Aletta Norval (University of Essex)

‘Debating Method: Interpretations, Mechanisms and Logics’

Professor Ernesto Laclau (Northwestern University, University of Essex)

Professor Keith Topper (Northwestern University)

Chair: Dr David Howarth (University of Essex)

Proposals for Papers, Panels and Roundtables

The conference organizers welcome proposals for individual papers; full panels (with papers); and roundtables (focused on discussion of a common theme rather than the formal presentation of papers). Paper, panel, and roundtable proposals (short abstracts) should be sent to ipol@essex.ac.uk no later than 10 December 2007. Inquiries may also be sent to that address. For those paper proposals that are accepted, full papers will be due one month prior to the conference date. There will be a pre-conference dinner for all doctoral students who wish to attend the evening before the conference. Please indicate if you would like to participate in this ‘no host’ event.

Further information for paper-givers will be available on the Conference website:

http://www.essex.ac.uk/centres/TheoStud/Conference_III/interpretation_in_policy_confere.htm

Papers from the conference may be considered for a special issue of Critical Public Policy: Analysis and Practice, General Editor - Steven Griggs (s.f.griggs@bham.ac.uk); Reviews Editor - Pauline Jas (p.e.jas@bham.ac.uk); Forums Editor - Navdeep Mathur (navdeep@iimahd.ernet.in).

Methodology Workshops

Some of the sessions will be devoted to methodological workshops. The 90-minute workshop sessions feature specialists in different aspects of interpretive analysis. The format of the workshop sessions builds on the idea of a “master-class” as practiced in musical studies, where two senior researchers (or “specialists”) will meet a small number of early career researchers using a particular methodological strategy or technique. The focus will be on questions raised by researchers, and their research will be treated as case studies to generate and engage a set of methodological questions.

The workshops aim at (1) creating a setting where early career researchers can benefit from focused interaction with experts in their field and (2) generating questions about and exchange experiences with interpretive methods, such as expert interviewing and discourse analysis. The sessions will be facilitated by fellow early career researchers, and the discussants will be established and renowned names in the field of interpretative policy analysis, such as Frank Fischer, Maarten Hajer, Navdeep Mathur, Jacob Torfing, Henk Wagenaar. The sessions are fully incorporated into the regular conference program, and the sessions are open to all conference participants, in order to create a collaborative learning environment for all involved.

In order to take part in a workshop session, early career researchers invited to present their work in one of these will be asked to introduce their research project in a 2-3 page summary, pointing to the particular difficulties or methodological questions that arise from their research and/or field experience that they would like to explore in the workshop. Please note it clearly in your inquiry if you wish to be considered for inclusion in a Methodology Workshop. The deadline for inquiries is 10^th of December 2007. For additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact the chair of the Methodology Workshop Advisory Board (ipol@essex.ac.uk) marking your inquiry clearly for attention: Sarah Hartley.

Conference Site

The University of Essex is located in the ancient market town of Colchester and near the picturesque village of Wivenhoe in northeast Essex. It is about 45 minutes from London by rail, 30 minutes from London’s Stansted Airport by cab or about an hour by bus. The conference programme will offer opportunities to enjoy the traditional villages and countryside in this scenic part of England. More information about accommodation, costs, and venue is available on the website (http://www.essex.ac.uk/centres/TheoStud/Conference_III/interpretation_in_policy_confere.htm).

END

Housing Research Website

On the 1st October we held a day's symposium on housing in the
University of Edinburgh. It brought together academics, tenants and
policy makers, and the aim was to use our collected experience to feed
into current debates, without being afraid to ask critical questions.

Papers and further links are now up on the web, and we hope that they
will prove a useful resource for all those interested in the
development of housing policy in Scotland and beyond.
The web address is:

http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/research/humangeography/housing.html

Dr Sarah Glynn
Lecturer in Human Geography
University of Edinburgh

CPE RN Blog/Website: Soliciting News, Events & Publications

Dear all,

In an effort to facilitate communication and exchange between the network's
members, the board has decided to put more energy/resources into updating
and expanding our blog/website: http://criticalpoliticaleconomy.blogspot.com/

As part of these efforts, we our planning to regularly post news & event
items that our relevant to the Critical Political Economy RN. As well, we
feel it would also be useful to create a list of member publications, thus
allowing members to keep up to date on relevant work promoting critical and
emancipatory scholarship in Europe.

If you have any news/events, or newly-published material (since the start of
the 2007) that you would like us to post on the site, please contact me at
the following address: sanha926@gmail.com

Best regards,

Sandy Brian Hager
Critical Political Economy RN Secretary
Department of Political Science
York University, Toronto
sanha926@gmail.com

Conference: Muslim Geographies

First Announcement of One-Day Conference

Muslim Geographies

April 5, 2008, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool

Speakers include: Tahir Abbas, Ziauddin Sardar

Claire Dwyer, Sarah Glynn, Peter Hopkins, Arun Kundnani

Reina Lewis, Anoop Nayak, Rachel Pain, Jane Pollard…

This event aims to

• Provide a forum for debate about spaces that shape Muslim lives:
• Everyday spaces: campus, home, street, city, workplace, etc
• National and transnational spaces
• Past and present, real and imagined spaces
• Geographies of connection, relationships with non-Muslims
• Establish informed dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims, and between academics and activists

The format includes

• Presentations by researchers, panel discussions, round-table debate
• Lunch and drinks reception
• Public lectures and debate by Tahir Abbas and Ziauddin Sardar

Invitation to participate

• Abstracts for short presentations are invited;
• Informal participation is also encouraged: simply register and attend;
• Deadline for receipt of participation proposals: Fri 7 December, 2007*
• Pre-registration required for Catering and Room Planning; Registration Free before January 31st, £10 thereafter

Convened by Richard Phillips (University of Liverpool), Naima Bouteldja (Transnational Institute) and Jamil Iqbal (Leeds Met University).

*Contact: Andrew Davies a.d.davies@liv.ac.uk and see conference website: www.liv.ac.uk/geography/muslimgeographies

Community health and wellbeing - a new title from The Policy Press

The Policy Press have just published a new book, 'Community health and
wellbeing', edited by Steve Cropper, Alison Porter, Gareth Williams, Sandra
Carlisle, Robert Moore, Martin O'Neill, Chris Roberts and Helen Snooks. I
am sure that this title will be of interest to members of this list.

This book argues that the traditional government approach of exhorting
individuals to live healthier lifestyles is not enough - action to promote
public health needs to take place not just through public agencies, but
also by engaging community assets and resources in their broadest sense.

For more information please see:
https://www.policypress.org.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=1133

Policy Press books can be ordered from our website
(https://www.policypress.org.uk/) or from our distributor:

Marston Book Services
PO Box 269
Abingdon
Oxon
OX14 4YN
Te: +44 (0)1235 465500
Email: direct.orders@marston.co.uk

P&P charges: Delivery within the UK £2.75 for the first copy and 50p
thereafter.

Susan Smith lecture at Queen Mary, University of London

You are all warmly invited to attend the fourth Annual David Smith
lecture at the Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London.

Professor Susan Smith (Durham University) is giving a talk entitled:

Who gets what, where in the tangled world of housing finance

5.30pm in the Small/Clinical Lecture Theatre on the ground floor of the
Francis Bancroft Building on Thursday 15 November.

A reception will follow the talk.

Please let Sid Pinzon know if you are planning to come on
s.pinzon@qmul.ac.uk.

Many thanks

--
Jane Wills
Department of Geography
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road
London
E1 4NS
UK

0207 882 2752

j.wills@qmul.ac.uk
http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/staff/wills.html

The academics featured in this report are based here at the Regeneration Institute, Cardiff University.

Spiritual side of Wales’ capital

Oct 27 2007 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

A MAJOR research project is being undertaken to demonstrate Cardiff’s status as a “spiritual capital”.

Priests, academics and religious activists have joined together to fight back against the image of the city as simply somewhere to shop and get drunk.

The project involves compiling a directory of all the religious organisations in Cardiff, including details of the good works they do.

Conceived by Rev Keith Kimber, Vicar of St John the Baptist church in Cardiff city centre, Spiritual Capital will produce a directory, a report and a conference.

Mr Kimber said, “Recent developments in social thinking internationally suggest a growing openness to consider factors such as the extent of trust, acceptable behaviour and the impact of religion on a city’s economics, politics and community cohesion.

“In Cardiff, the danger is that all the emphasis is on shiny new buildings like the Millennium Stadium and the (under construction) St David’s 2 shopping development.

“Yet every week 30,000 people worship in religious buildings, amounting to one and a half million acts of worship a year.

“That’s more than fit into the Millennium Stadium every year.

“No account of Cardiff’s strong religious element is included in any of the promotional material produced by the council. We have some superb religious buildings, yet they get no mention at all.”

Another member of the group, Mohammed Jabbar, a Muslim civil servant with two young children, said, “Muslim communities tend to look after their members. They are closely knit, and when people have personal problems, the community will help.

“Mosques are very important in our communities. They play a very major role in providing a sense of social cohesion.

“Muslims are peaceloving people, and it is important to make that point. We are not isolationist and treat others who are not Muslims with respect.

“I think this project is very important because it emphasises how important spiritual values are in creating a good society.”

Professor Paul Ballard, an expert in community and ministry, said, “People do not easily visit or invest in dysfunctional cities. The values and personal behavioural norms or standards of our city do come under examination by everyone who comes here.”

Many in Wales have been on benefits for five years

Oct 29 2007 Western Mail

AREAS in Wales make up half of the top 10 of those with the highest proportion of people who have been on benefits for five years or more, it is revealed today.

The figures led to accusations that Labour was failing its heartlands after it was revealed more than 2.4 million people have been claiming benefits for more than five years.

The figure is 600,000 higher than in 1999 and Tories claim the Government has failed to “get to grips” with the problem.

Tory analysis of the figures showed that in 33 local authority areas more than 10% of the working age population had spent at least five years on benefits.

The figures, for 2006, show “Labour is failing the most vulnerable people in its heartlands”, the Tories claimed.

Of the 10 local authorities with the highest percentage of long-term claimants, five are in industrial South Wales, four are in northern England and one is in Scotland.

Shadow work and pensions spokesman Chris Grayling said, “Gordon Brown keeps making grand pronouncements about his success in getting people back into work but when you read the small print, you find that ministers have completely failed to get to grips with people being stranded on benefits.

“They have spent billions of pounds but haven’t really made a difference. Things have really got to change.”

In an interview on Saturday, Tory leader David Cameron promised the party would soon make a major announcement about “welfare reform, getting people off welfare and into work”.

Welsh workers’ long road to work

Oct 29 2007 by Robin Turner, Western Mail

WALES is quickly becoming a nation of commuters, according to research released today.

A report produced by the TUC claims the number of people in Wales travelling more than an hour to work has risen by more in the last 10 years than in any other part of the UK.

In Wales the rise over the past decade has been 43% – the biggest increase in Britain. For the UK the number has risen by an average 22% since 1996.

The TUC research shows that in 1996 in Wales, 100,000 people were taking more than an hour to get to work.

But by 2006 the figure had risen to 168,000.

The figures for Wales show that in 1996, 10.7% of workers had to commute for an hour or more each way. It is now 15.3%.

Around 25m Britons commute to work every day, most using a car (71%), some going by bus (8%), some walking (11%), some cycling (3%), some going by rail (6%) and a few by motorbike (1%).

More than 1.3m people travel for longer than an hour to get to work in London and half a million in the North West, while 145,000 people in Scotland are setting off for work earlier and getting home later than they did 10 years ago.

The TUC study coincides today with a call by the Work Wise campaign group for firms to allow more flexible and home working to reduce the stress of the daily journey for the UK’s 25m commuters.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, “We work some of the longest hours in Europe, and on top of this have to endure the second-longest daily commute in Europe – on average 54 minutes per day.

“This adds up to a very stressful working week for millions of workers across the UK, and employers could ease this strain for their workers by introducing flexible working.

“Workers who enjoy the benefits of flexible working and can travel to and from work outside of peak rush hour times are likely to feel less hassled and anxious about work – something which can only be good news for their employers.

“I hope all employers who receive flexibility requests consider them seriously and do all they can to make flexible working a reality.”

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise, added, “As is seen every summer with schools closing and annual holidays, even a small fall in the number of people travelling alleviates road congestion and public transport overcrowding. Wider adoption of smarter commuting will allow the levels of travel in the summer to happen all year round.”

“If everyone travelled one day per week outside peak hours, commuters during peak hours would drop by 20%, or if everyone worked just one day every other week from home, overall commuting would drop by 10%. We have all seen what the impact could be on the roads and public transport.”

The Energy Saving Trust calculated that if all commuters left the car at home one day a week this would save enough miles in a year to drive to the moon and back 35,000 times. This is the equivalent emissions reduction of taking 1.7m cars off the road and would reduce the UK’s total CO2 emissions by almost 1%.

Jobs in Community, Culture and Global Studies

We have three jobs available in Community, Culture and Global Studies, an interdisciplinary department comprised of faculty with backgrounds in Anthropology, Human Geography, Indigenous Studies and Women’s Studies.

Anthropology (Assistant Professor)
Applicants are sought for a position in the area of Linguistic Anthropology. Applicants should have a PhD in the discipline, a record of excellence in postsecondary teaching and an active research program. Applicants should have areas of interest that complement the current program and should be able to teach a broad range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Competition: ANTH-L07

Anthropology (Assistant Professor)
Applicants are sought for a position in the area of Medical (Cultural) Anthropology. Applicants should have a PhD in the discipline, a record of excellence in postsecondary teaching and an active research program. Applicants should have areas of interest that complement the current program and should be able to teach a broad range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Competition: ANTH-M07

Indigenous Studies (Assistant Professor)
The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Indigenous Studies or a closely related discipline, a record of excellence in teaching and research, and be familiar with the culture, protocols and history of one or more Indigenous communities in British Columbia especially the Okanagan and Interior Salish Plateau cultures. Areas of specialization are open, but the ability to research and teach (at the graduate and undergraduate levels) in one or more of the following would be an asset: BC and Indigenous Title and Rights; Interior BC Indigenous Harvesting Land-use Philosophy; Indigenous Salish Interior Plateau Politics and Governance; Interior Salish Indigenous Arts and Culture; Coastal Salish Matriarchal and Egalitarian philosophy; and Indigenous Women's Rights. Competition: INDG-07

The University of British Columbia Okanagan hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified persons to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. All positions are subject to funding. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Please indicate clearly on your application whether you are legally entitled to work in Canada.

HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should provide a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching philosophy, statement of research program and evidence of teaching ability (e.g. course evaluations). They should also arrange to have three letters of reference sent. All documents, including the letters, must be submitted as e-mail attachments and sent to recruitment.bsas@ubc.ca. Preferred formats are Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat (PDF). Be sure to put the competition title on the subject line of the e-mail.

Further information may be obtained from the UBCO Website for recruitment: http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/recruitment.html

Specific questions about the posts should be directed to the Head of Community, Culture and Global Studies, Dr. Naomi McPherson:

naomi.mcpherson@ubc.ca

--
Lawrence D. Berg, D.Phil.
Canada Research Chair
Community, Culture and Global Studies
University of British Columbia
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC, Canada, V1V 1V7
Voice: +1 250.807.9392, Fax: +1 250.807.8001
Email: Lawrence.Berg@ubc.ca
Skype: lawrenceberg
WEB: http://www.chrdi.org/ldb/index.html

Editor:
ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies
http://www.acme-journal.org

Co-Leader: BC Disabilities Health Research Network
http://www.dhrn.ca

Call for Papers: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting

Dear colleagues,

Due to a recent cancellation of one of our speakers we have an opening for another paper in the
second of two sessions under the theme of Delivering Sustainable Buildings and Communities:
questioning sector-led urban regeneration and development policy implementation. We would welcome
any new abstracts to fill this void in order to maintain the structure of 4 papers + discussant in
each session. It is very close now to the AAG deadline for registering the session and all intended
participants, so we would appreciate if any interested persons could please send us their abstract
and AAG PIN by no later than 4 pm Tuesday 30th October.

Best,

Susan Moore and Susannah Bunce

APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING

Call for Papers: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting
Boston, April 15-19, 2008

Delivering Sustainable Buildings and Communities: questioning private sector-led
urban regeneration and development policy implementation

Recent convergences between the public and private sectors in the implementation
of sustainable urban regeneration and development schemes raises questions
pertaining to the role of private development interests in the formulation and
delivery of planning and growth management related policies. Increasingly, such
policies support a streamlined planning and development process that ameliorates
conditions for private sector developers in the construction and development of
sustainable buildings and communities, and strengthens the role of private
sector planners, architects, and urban designers in local policy networks. The
public sector reliance on the private sector’s finance, skills, and resources
in the delivery of a sustainable built environment is increasingly viewed as
problematic as we witness the proliferation of less than optimal sustainability
performances, rising land values, and expensive housing developments in certain
new and regenerated areas of towns and cities. Generic design,
inequitable access to sustainable spaces, unchecked costs, market premiums, and
un(der)regulated design standard compliance (among other issues) are
complicating the intentions of policy and decision-makers espousing the private
sector delivery of the ‘public good’ of sustainability. This session welcomes
(but is not limited to) papers on the following topics and themes:

- Public-private relations and arrangements in the provision of sustainable
buildings and communities
- Sustainable urban regeneration policies and the real estate industry
- Private sector use of sustainable building rating systems
- Regulation v. voluntarism in the promotion of sustainable planning and
development
- Role of private sector planners, architects, and/or urban designers in
provision of sustainable buildings and communities
- Sustainable urban regeneration policies and social equity
- Internationalisation of private development and the complications this has for
private sector-led policy implementation
- Politics of ‘responsibility’ in the pursuit of sustainable urban development

Please send paper abstracts of no more than 250 words, with name and contact
information to both session organizers by September 30, 2007:


Susan Moore Susannah Bunce
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales York University, Toronto, Canada
MooreS6@cardiff.ac.uk sbunce@yorku.ca

Just published on the JRF website

Just published on the JRF website:

Political devolution, regional governance and tackling deprivation
This study assesses the impact of new and emerging governance structures on the economic and employment needs of deprived places in four English regions, Scotland and Wales.

Attachment to place, social networks, mobility and prospects of young people
How young people's attitudes towards education, training and work opportunities are shaped by their social networks and attachment to place, and looks at how widening horizons might improve prospects.

Health, Wellbeing and Happiness: from Local Action to Global Change

Health, Wellbeing and Happiness: from Local Action to Global Change

29^th June – 1^st July 2008, Social Futures Institute Conference, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough

This conference will bring together leading social scientists and humanities scholars from around the world to present and evaluate contributions to the rapidly growing academic field of health, wellbeing and happiness studies.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

Professor Frank Furedi, University of Kent, UK

Professor Michael Murray, Keele University, UK

Dr Dimitris Ballas, University of Sheffield, UK

Dr Daniel Nettle, University of Newcastle, UK

Dr Iain Wilkinson, University of Kent, UK

Please find attached a flyer detailing further conference details and whom to contact should you wish to submit an abstract.

Please contact c.iles@tees.ac.uk if you have any enquires.

Catherine Iles

Research Fellow

Social Futures Institute

University of Teesside

Middlesbrough

Tees Valley

TS1 3BA

Tel: 01642 384656

Email: mailto:c.iles@tees.ac.uk