SPA Postgrad Weblog

Review of 2008 SPA PG Conference, Edinburgh

2008-08-08T12:17:11.890625+01:00

Review of the 3rd Social Policy Association Postgraduate Conference.

Held at the Chrystal Macmillan Building, University of Edinburgh, Thursday 26th June 2008.

The 3rd Postgraduate Conference saw postgraduate students from around the UK and internationally, gather in Edinburgh. Following on from the success of the main Social Policy Association Conference, this forum gave the opportunity for postgraduate students to present and discuss their work in a supportive and constructive environment. The range and quality of postgraduate work being presented ensured that the day was stimulating and informative.

The day covered a wide range of topics:

Poverty and Financial Exclusion – Christopher Deeming 'Determining semi-normative poverty lines using household expenditure data' and Nicole Lederle 'The benefits of improved financial inclusion: what service users think?'
Care – Ahmed Albar 'Is policy transfer feasible? Looked after and care leavers' perspectives towards leaving care' and LynnMarie Sardinha 'Tackling domestic violence in India through education in schools.'
Issues in Qualitative Research – Zabidah Putit 'Researching refuge provision in Malaysia: domestic violence and challenges in qualitative data interpretation' and Rachael Dobson 'Reflections on informal methodologies: 'insiderness' and qualitative social research.'
Social and economic transitions – Katherine Botterill 'Transnational migrant networks and the social mobility of migrant workers from the post-socialist world' and Christine Bertram 'Discretion and trust in the delivery of employment advice in not-for-profit, public or for-profit organisations.'
Gender – Helen Graham 'Behind the times? Family policy and family change over two generations?' and Nisrine Mansour 'Feminist interfaces or gendered policy spaces: women's groups and religious law reforms in post-conflict Lebanon.'
Devolved Social Policy – Peter John Matthews 'Mind the gap: did evolution produce a Scottish regenerational policy?' and Kannawee Suebsuk 'Fiscal capacity of local governments in Thailand: what we missed in the past.'
Mixed Themes – Michael Rasell 'Separation, society and the state: living with disabilities in Russia, Mi Ah Schoyen 'Pensions all'Italiana: a prime example of perverse redistribution' and Yun-Ju Chen (Eva) 'A synchronisation between cultural and social policy: the social value of museums in Taiwan.'

The quality of presentations and written papers ensured that their was plenty of enthusiastic discussion throughout the event.

The event was a huge success and the positive feedback demonstrates how important the conference is for postgraduates in providing them with an opportunity to meet other researchers working on similar topics, learn about completely new areas and to make new contacts. As the new postgraduate representatives, Rachael and I are looking forward to continuing to develop the success of the postgraduate conferences, workshops and activities. My thanks go to several people in particular: to Richard Parry and Alison Scott at the University of Edinburgh for organising the facilities for the day; the SPA Executive Committee for funding the day and travel costs and in particular to Adam Whitworth for being an enthusiastic postgraduate representative, rejuvenating the postgraduate position within the Social Policy Association, organising events and being a chair at this conference. Thanks are also due to all of the postgraduates who took part and who made the day so enjoyable and interesting.

Meredith Beaumont.

Call - SPA PG workshop

2008-01-30T11:05:07.796875+00:00

Call for Papers: Social Policy Association Postgraduate Workshop Series

Social policies for children: childcare, child poverty and child development

Dept of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford 9.00-5.30, April 18th 2008

Please forward to postgraduates in your department. Apologies for cross-posting.

The Social Policy Association (SPA) is pleased to announce the first event of 2008 in its Postgraduate Workshop series to complement its successful annual Postgraduate Conference. This follows the successful launch of the SPA’s Postgraduate Workshop series last year. The workshop will bring together postgraduate students sharing a focus on social policies for children, a policy area which has risen to the top of the policy agenda in recent years as governments across the world seek to promote successful child outcomes - both for children as ‘beings’ and ‘becomings’ – and to affect parental (and particularly maternal) employment. The workshop is a one-day event for a small number of postgraduates working in this area to come together for presentations and detailed discussion around this common theme. We are delighted to have two recognised experts in the area - Fran Bennett and Teresa Smith from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at Oxford University - to chair the day.

Aim of the workshop to explore social policies for children

The aim of this postgraduate workshop is to bring together postgraduate researchers, academics and professionals researching issues around children - child development, child poverty, childcare and beyond - in order to present, discuss and explore perspectives, priorities, research questions and findings. The importance of social policy research in relation to children, child well-being and child outcomes has gained a central place both in academic and policy arenas. Central debates concern child well-being, enhancing child development, the importance and design of family policies for parental employment as well as work-family reconciliation, the need to ensure a productive labour supply for the future, and beyond, and this event aims to bring together postgraduate students working on these issues to share both their research findings and research experiences. The workshop will be an excellent opportunity to learn about and discuss new research from postgraduate researchers about these issues, as well as to meet and network with fellow postgraduate researchers with a similar focus to share experiences as well as findings. The issues are multi-disciplinary by nature and abstracts are welcomed from postgraduate students within any discipline, which may include, but is not limited to, social policy, economics, education studies, politics and sociology.

We are delighted to have Fran Bennett and Teresa Smith to contribute as the event’s Academic Chairs for a day which will consist of presentations by postgraduate researchers and those working in these policy areas, followed by ample time for discussion. It is anticipated that the event will bring together 6-8 presenters, and non-presenting participants and poster presentations are encouraged.

Call for papers

The event is planned for 9.00-5.30 on Friday 18th April 2008 at the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk by Friday 7th March and should include your name, postgraduate year of study and university department. Participants are expected to present on the day and are strongly encouraged to submit a written paper in advance of up to 5000 words in order to stimulate discussion of their presentation. As with all SPA Postgraduate Workshops and Conferences, all written papers received will be eligible to be nominated for consideration for the SPA’s Best Postgraduate Publication Award which will be published in the Social Policy Review. There is no charge to attend the event and the SPA will provide up to a maximum of £40 per participant for travel and accommodation expenses.

If you would like to become a member of the SPA or would like more information about any of the SPA’s activities for postgraduates please visit www.social-policy.com or contact the SPA’s Postgraduate Representative at adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk.

Many thanks,

Dr Adam Whitworth, Dept of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford, Postgraduate Representative of the Social Policy Association.

Call, SPA PG conference

2008-01-30T11:01:00.015625+00:00

Call for Papers

3rd Postgraduate Conference of the Social Policy Association (SPA)

New Frontiers? Social Policy in the 21st Century: An International Conference

Thursday 26th June 2008, 9.00-5.30pm, University of Edinburgh

The Social Policy Association (SPA) are pleased to invite papers from postgraduate students for their 3rd Postgraduate Conference. The SPA Postgraduate Conference will take place on Thursday 26th June 2008 at the University of Edinburgh and will provide an opportunity for postgraduate researchers to present and discuss their work with peers, and to receive comments and feedback in a friendly and informal arena. The day will be structured around themed sessions with short presentations in each followed by questions and discussion, and presenters are encouraged to provide full written papers in advance in or stimulate discussion. Postgraduates are of course welcome at the main SPA Conference taking place earlier in the same week.

Themes of the 2008 Postgraduate Conference

Papers are welcome across the range of social policy topics, particularly in relation to the themes of this year’s event: ‘Challenging Boundaries’. Amongst others, papers may address issues relating to: the future of social policy; international and comparative social policy; policy learning and policy transfer; change and consistency in welfare state transitions; education; health; crime; research methodologies; gender and family policy; ethnicity, class and disability perspectives; user perspectives; poverty and social exclusion; demographic change; labour markets; and housing. Session themes will be decided based on the topics of submitted abstracts.

Abstracts and Papers

Postgraduates interested in participating should submit abstracts (max 500 words) by Friday 11th April 2008, including name, postgraduate year of study, and university department to adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk . Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit written papers in advance of the event (max 5000 words) to support discussion of their presentation. As with all SPA Postgraduate Workshops and Conferences, all written papers received will be eligible to be nominated for consideration for the SPA’s Best Postgraduate Publication Award which will be published in the prestigious Social Policy Review.

Cost

Members of the SPA: £7, including lunch and coffee. Non-members of the SPA: £25, including the year’s membership to the SPA (usually £18 for postgraduates), lunch and coffee. For a list of benefits to SPA membership or to join the SPA see http://www.social-policy.com/membership.aspx. The SPA will provide up to a maximum of £40 per participant for travel and accommodation expenses.

Call for Papers - Social policy in developing and transitional economies

2007-11-23T09:34:51+00:00

Call for Papers

Social Policy Association Postgraduate Workshop Series

Social policy in developing and transitional economies: possibilities and challenges

University of Oxford: Wed 12th December 2007 (exact date tbc)

Please forward to postgraduates in your department. Apologies for cross-posting.

The Social Policy Association (SPA) is pleased to announce the second event of 2007 in its new Postgraduate Workshop series to complement its successful annual Postgraduate Conference. The workshop will bring together postgraduate students sharing a focus on the experiences, possibilities and challenges facing the design and implementation of social policies in developing and transitional economies around the world. The workshop is a one-day event with time for presentations and detailed discussion around this common theme, and will be chaired by an academic lecturer working on these issues.

Aim of the workshop to explore social policies in developing and transitional economies

The aim of this postgraduate workshop is to bring together postgraduate students, academics and professionals researching issues around social policies in developing and transitional economies in order to present and discuss work, and to explore perspectives and priorities. The importance of social policy research in developing and transitional economies has arguably never been greater and this event aims to bring together postgraduate students working on these issues to share both their research findings and research experiences. The workshop will be an opportunity to learn about new research from postgraduate students about the experiences of countries with developing and transitional economies, as well as to meet and network with fellow postgraduate researchers with a similar focus to share experiences as well as findings. The day will consist of presentations by postgraduate researchers, followed by ample time for discussion after each presentation. It is anticipated that the event will bring together 6-10 presenters and non-presenting participants, and poster presentations are also welcome.

Social policy in developing and transitional economies encompasses a diverse range of contexts, histories, and experiences, with countries within this focus spanning the globe and each presenting alternative policy ideologies, policy aims and challenges. The workshop is open to postgraduates focussing on countries with developing and transitional economies from across the globe – from East Asia to Africa, Eastern Europe to Latin America. Equally, the workshop is open to those with a focus within these contexts to all areas of social policy, for instance poverty, health, policy design, policy implementation, pensions, labour market activation (and beyond). Presentations with a methodological focus are also encouraged. The issues are multi-disciplinary by nature and abstracts are welcomed from postgraduate students researching these issues within any discipline, which may include, but is not limited to, social policy, economics, development studies, politics or sociology.

Call for papers

The event is planned for Wednesday 12th December 2007 at the University of Oxford (date to be confirmed). Further inquiries and expressions of interest should be directed to adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk. Abstracts of up to 250 words should be sent to adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk by Friday October 26th 2007. Participants are expected to present on the day and are encouraged to submit in advance a written paper of up to 5000 words maximum to other participants. This written paper, as with all written papers submitted to any of the SPA’s postgraduate events, will be eligible for consideration for publication in the Social Policy Review if judged to be the best publication submitted to an SPA postgraduate event in that year.

Many thanks, Dr Adam Whitworth, University of Oxford, Postgraduate Representative of the Social Policy Association.

Call for Papers - Postgraduate Workshop of the Social Policy Association (SPA)

2006-03-22T10:18:25.921875+00:00

Welfare states: past, present and future

Monday 17th July 2006, 11am-4.30pm
University of Birmingham

The SPA are pleased to invite papers from postgraduate students for a one-day postgraduate workshop. The workshop will take place on Monday 17th July 2006 at the University of Birmingham. This will be followed by the 39th Annual SPA Conference from the 18th to 20th July 2006. The workshop provides an opportunity for postgraduate students to present and discuss their work with peers and to receive comments and feedback in a friendly and informal arena. Attendance at the workshop is subject to submitting and presenting a paper and places at this workshop will therefore be limited. Participants will provide full written papers in advance for distribution to other participants prior to the workshop and will present their work at the workshop. The day will be structured around themed sessions with three short presentations in each followed by a roundtable discussion.

Themes of the Workshop
We welcome papers across the range of social policy topics. Amongst others, papers may address issues relating to: family policy; welfare state transitions; education; health; crime; research methodologies; poverty and social exclusion; demographic change; labour markets; and housing. Session themes will be decided based on the topics of submitted abstracts.

Cost
Members of the SPA: £7, including lunch and coffee

Non-members of the SPA: £25, including one year's membership to the SPA (usually £18 for postgraduates), lunch and coffee. For a list of benefits to SPA membership see http://www.social-policy.com/membership.aspx.

There are a small number of discounted places available to postgraduate students for the Annual SPA Conference (18th-20th July). A limited amount of accommodation at the University of Birmingham is available for the evening of Monday 17th July at a cost of £44 per room. NB: No expenses for travel or accommodation can be paid.

Abstracts and Papers
Abstracts (max 300 words) should be submitted by April 15th 2006. All abstract submissions should include your name, postgraduate year of study (e.g. 2nd year PhD student), department and university, postal address, contact telephone number, and email address. Written papers of those participating in the workshop (max 4000 words) should be received by June 9th 2006 to the same address. All abstract and paper submissions should be sent to adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk.

Further details
Please contact Adam Whitworth if you have further questions or are interested in participating in this event: adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk.