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.