Geobyte - news updates for geographers

News - MA in Community Organising at QMUL

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:49:56 +0000

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is pleased to be launching a new Masters degree in Community Organising from September 2010. This programme combines academic and praactical work and students will complete a 5 month-long placement working as a community organiser with London Citizens as part of their training.

More information and download a brochure

Apply for a place

PhD Studentship in Applied Geography at the University of the West of England

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:29:17 +0000

Applications are invited for a full-time PhD Studentship in Applied Geography in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

The successful candidate will work on one of the following research projects:

Charity shops in the credit crunch
Managing water demand in the context of reduced supplyrelocalisation and improved management of neglected UK woodlands
The emergence of local wood fuel supply chains and their implications for energy
Enhancing public engagement with local woodland
A reconstruction of recent coastal lowland and coastal landform evolution from the Holocene sediments of the Somerset Levels

The Department of Geography and Environmental Management comprises 22 members of academic staff, specializing in a broad range of geographical sub-disciplines. In the recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), the Department was shown to have an excellent research record in Geography and Environmental Studies, with 70% of its research falling in the internationally excellent or internationally recognised categories.

The Studentship is open to UK and EU nationals or residents of over three years and is available from May 2010. It includes fully-paid tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend for three years beginning at £13,500.

For initial enquiries and further particulars for each of the projects, contact Dr Jennifer Hill. For application forms, please contact the Graduate School Office, Faculty of Environment and Technology via email or telephone (+44) 0117 32 83309.

Application forms should be completed with reference to one of the projects cited above, and sent to the Graduate School Office by email.

Deadline: Monday 29 March 2010

20 PhD Scholarships for International Students at University of Southampton

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:29:02 +0000

The University of Southampton is offering 20 bursaries for Geography PhD programmes starting September 2010.

Each bursary is equivalent to 25% of the annual tuition fee (equivalent to £3875) which can be used to reduce the costs of the whole tuition fee or taken as funds for maintenance.

The bursaries are designed to encourage studentships which focus on interdisciplinary research which can address environmental and climate change, the societal challenges these create, and the necessary policies for environmental management and adaptation.

For queries about studentship topics and making an application contact Julie Drewitt (Graduate School Administrator).

More information

PhD Studentships from British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS)

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:57 +0000

The British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS) is delighted to announce five new scholarships to support Japanese studies in the United Kingdom. The scholarships are open to any postgraduate student, of any nationality, who is currently studying or applying to study a Japanese studies-related degree at a UK university.

For more details and online applications, please refer to the BAJS homepage.

Deadline: 15 April 2010

Funding opportunity - MA in Human Geography

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:40 +0000

Dr. Josh Lepawsky in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland is seeking a graduate student (MA) interested in studying the international trade and traffic of electronic waste (e-waste).

An ideal applicant will be a recent or current undergraduate with a background in one of the major subdisciplines of Human Geography (e.g., cultural, political, economic, historical) and/or Anthropology, Asian Studies, African Studies, Development Studies, or Sociology.

This is a SSHRC-funded research opportunity which provides for student involvement in a program of research that seeks to understand various cultural, political, economic, and historical dimensions of e-waste. Opportunities exist for fieldwork in Canada and abroad.

Interested students are encouraged to contact Dr. Josh Lepawsky directly by e-mail. Please include a C.V. or a brief description of your program of study and a short statement of your general research interests (you need not have a specific topic in mind).

Further information about the project can be found here and here.

Details about applying to graduate studies at Memorial University

Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Vacancy - Post-doctoral position in urban and transport planning at Aalborg University

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:35 +0000

At the faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine, Department of Development and Planning a position as postdoc in urban and transport planning (position no. P29028) is open for appointment from 1 June 2010.

The position is available from 1 June 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position will initially be for a period of 2 years, with the possibility of extension.

Research areas will be within the broad field of urban and transport planning, and the postholder will be placed with the Urban Planning and Mobility research group. A main task initially will be to work on the research project “Innovation for Sustainable Public Transport in Nordic Regions”, with professors Tim Richardson and Petter Næss. The research will involve conducting a Danish case study. The position may include involvement in other related research projects held by the group. The person employed will work with colleagues in the research group on new applications for external funding and will be expected to develop her/his own personal research programme. The position will also involve the development of a teaching portfolio in the broad area of urban and transport planning.

The Department of Development and Planning conducts research and teaching on development and planning in a broad sense, including social science aspects as well as more technical aspects of development, and with a focus on environmental, international as well as administrative dimensions.

More information

Deadline: Morning of 31 March 2010

Event - 21st Century Challenges - 'Natural disasters: how can we do better?'

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:29 +0000

Date: 25 May 2010, 7pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

The earth is a hazardous place; natural disasters will continue to happen. But how can we improve our response to them and ensure the lessons learnt benefit vulnerable communities worldwide in the long-term?

Barbara Stocking, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB
Cameron Sinclair, Founder of Architecture for Humanity
Martin Bell, UNICEF Ambassador (Chair)

Join our expert international panel to explore these issues further and put your questions to them.

Book tickets online or call our Events Office on 020 7591 3100.

This event is part of the 21st Century Challenges discussion series, thought-provoking talks on geographical issues.

Vacancy - Two lectureship posts at the University of Exeter

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:21 +0000

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Energy Policy (Ref. 12155)
Lecturer in Human Geography (Ref. N2554)

Both posts will be held in the School of Geography at the University of Exeter, one of the UK’s leading Geography Departments. Ranked 8th in the UK for world leading research in Geography and Environmental Studies and 12th in The Times Good University Guide 2010, we are committed to pursuing world-class research and to providing outstanding teaching through our wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes.

For the post in Energy Policy we would particularly welcome applications from those working in the energy economics field or those focused on the international aspects of energy use, such as energy security. However, we are happy to consider all applications from the energy policy field. The successful applicant will be part of the Energy Policy Group and will support the teaching of the Energy Policy and Sustainability MSc, the only Masters programme in the UK with a specific focus on energy policy. The successful applicant will also be expected to teach on the undergraduate Geography programme, and the post will be based at the University’s Cornwall Campus.

For the Human Geography post we are particularly seeking applicants who have an interest in political, urban or economic geographies, and who can contribute to the School’s research group on Governance, Ethics and Social Justice. An interest in political spaces, both formal and informal, and their contemporary orderings would also be welcome. This post is based at the University’s Streatham Campus in Exeter.

The starting salary for Lecturers will be will be within the range £31,671 - £35,646 on Grade F, and for Senior Lecturers will be within the range £38,951 - £45,155 on Grade G, depending on qualifications and experience. The University offers an exceptional range of employee facilities and benefits including access to the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

From 1 August 2010 the College of Life and Environmental Sciences will bring together the Schools of Biosciences, Geography, Psychology and Sport and Health Science under the Deanship of Professor Mark Goodwin, currently Head of the School of Geography.

Application packs are available from the website, or by e-mail; quoting reference number 12155 or N2554 as appropriate. Both posts are available from 1st September 2010.

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer and promotes diversity in its workforce and, whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, is particularly keen to consider applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce.

University of Exeter Geography Department

Deadline: 9 April 2010

Vacancy - Four posts available at Northumbria University

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:12 +0000

There are four posts available within the Disciplines of Geography and Environment at Northumbria University.

Professor in Human Geography/Environmental Management
Reader/Senior Lecturer in Social Geography/Crime Science
Head of Environmental Management
Senior Lecturer/Lecturer in Crime Science

Details below and also available at jobs.ac.uk and Northumbria University website.

For informal enquires please contact Jane Entwistle (Head of Geography) on +44 (0) 191 227 3017.

Deadline: 5 April 2010

Call for Papers - Eighth European Urban & Regional Studies Conference: Repositioning Europe in an era of global transformation

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:03 +0000

Date: 15 -17 September 2010
Location: Europahaus Vienna, Austria

To address these questions the Editors propose the following broad themes but also welcome papers that cut across or go beyond those specified:

Global Competitive Pressures and Regional Realignment
Changing Global Divisions of Labour and Regional Development
Financial/Economic Crisis and the Restructuring of Cities and Regions
Surviving/ Living through the Crisis / Uneven Impact of the Recession
European Borders and Boundaries, Inclusion, Exclusion and Identity
Geographical Peripherality and Regional Development
Creativity and Sustainability
Economic and Environmental Sustainability in Cities and Regions
Constructing Creative Cities and Regional Advantage
Gender, Diversity, Difference, Inclusions and Exclusion
Urban Change, Vernacular Cosmopolitanisms and Creative Subcultures
Mobility and Migration
Theories, Methods and Models of Development in an era of transformation

Plenary Speakers include:

Ron Boschma (Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht)
Mick Dunford (University of Sussex)
Costis Hadjimichalis (Harokopio University)
Merje Kuus (University of British Columbia)
Frank Moulaert (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Andreas Novy (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration)
Speakers from the City Hall in Vienna

Proposals for Papers: A one page abstract should be sent to Kathy Wood.

Further details: Booking forms and further details can be obtained by contacting: Kathy Wood, Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK. Phone 00 44 191 334 1926

Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2010

Vacancy - Research Assistant at Bristol University

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:00 +0000

Research Assistant (ref. 15290)
School for Policy Studies

Grade: Level a in Pathway 2
Salary: £29,853
Contract: Fixed Term Contract for 22 months

The Centre for Urban Studies seeks to appoint a Research Assistant to work on an ESRC funded project ‘The middle classes in the city: social mix or just “people like us”? A Comparison of Paris and London’. The post involves theoretical and qualitative empirical research on the middle classes, their social relationships and political attitudes, in a range of different types of neighbourhoods in London.

You will be part of a team involving co-researchers in London, and also working in collaboration with a team of colleagues working in Paris, in a study funded as part of a bilateral initiative by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche. Working under the direction of the Principal Investigator (Prof Gary Bridge, University of Bristol) and in collaboration with the co-investigator (Prof Tim Butler, Kings College London), you will be based in Bristol and will be involved in the following tasks: analysis of the theoretical literature on the middle classes; socio-demographic analysis of the neighbourhoods in London; analysis of relevant documents and interviews with key informants that discuss middle class identity and activity in the neighbourhoods; design, conduct and subsequent qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with middle-class residents in the different neighbourhoods. You will also be involved in the writing up and dissemination of the results of the study.

You will have a postgraduate research degree in a relevant social science discipline and/or relevant professional experience in a relevant discipline together with good experience of analysing theoretical material. You will also have experience of the design, conduct and analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews and should have good familiarity with socio-demographic analysis (such as NOMIS) and in the use of documentary sources. You should have the ability to work in a team and to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, to a range of audiences.

If successful, you may be appointed either on a fixed term or a permanent contract depending on the extent of your previous relevant research experience.

Further information

Contact for informal enquiries: Prof Gary Bridge

Anticipated interview date: 12 April 2010
Anticipated start date: 1 June 2010

Deadline: 9am on 23 March 2010

Vacancy - Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Environment, Society and Policy

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:00 +0000

The University of Ottawa and its Institute for Science, Society and Policy (ISSP), based at the Faculty of Arts, invites applications for a CRC (Tier 2) in Environment, Society and Policy. The ISSP aims to be the leading institute in Canada for research, teaching and knowledge transfer in science, society and policy, as well as a major contributor to the international science, technology and policy dialogue.
The Chair holder will assume a leadership role and contribute to capacity building in the ISSP. Applicants must have an interdisciplinary approach to environmental policy development and its links to sustainability, human adaptation or technological change.

Required Qualifications: A PhD or equivalent, superior achievement in the CRC’s identified area(s), a commitment to teaching and graduate training, a strong track record in and a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, excellent communication skills in either English or French with a passive knowledge of the other official language.

Rank and salary: Regular academic tenure-track appointment in the relevant faculty.

Please send your curriculum vitae, a detailed research proposal, a description of teaching interests and the names of three people able to supply a letter of reference to:

Dr. Mona Nemer, Vice-President, Research, University of Ottawa, 75 Laurier Ave. East, Ottawa ON Canada K1N 6N5. Phone: 613-562-5270 / Fax: 613-562-5271.

More information

Deadline: 9 April 2010

Postgraduate bursaries for 2010 GISRUK Conference

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:28:00 +0000

The Quantitative Methods Research Group (QMRG) are able to offer up to three postgraduate student bursaries for the 2010 GISRUK Conference with value of up to £300 each to cover conference fees and travel.

Additionally, the Geographical Information Science Research Group (GIScRG) are able to offer an additional postgraduate student bursary, again with a value of up to £300 for conference fees and travel.

These bursaries will cover the full registration cost at the student rate.

To be eligible for a bursary you will need a full paper accepted in the main program. We usually have more applications than bursaries so will assign them on a competitive basis with later stage PhD students being giving priority.

To apply for a bursary, please send your accepted extended abstract to Alex Singleton before 26th March 2010.

GISRUK Conference

Call for Abstracts for a Special Issue of Children, Youth and Environments

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27:57 +0000

Children, Youth and Environments - Place-based learning: Connecting children, youth and their communities Spring 2011

Guest Editors:
Robert Barratt - Leader, Children and the Environment Research Centre, School of Education, Bath Spa University, UK
Elisabeth Barratt Hacking - Lecturer, Centre for Research in Education and the Environment, Department of Education, University of Bath, UK

Research has shown that place-based education has many benefits for participants, including improvements in learning and well-being. Place-based approaches can also contribute to the well-being and sustainability of the places involved. This special issue of Children, Youth and Environments will explore multi-disciplinary perspectives on place-based education and critique its role in learning and community development. Papers will be based on real-world research in formal and informal educational and/ or community settings, with a focus on participant experience and voice. The issue will reflect an international perspective and will draw on ideas from theory, research, policy and practice. Papers will be particularly welcome that focus on: i] place-based education in environments of disadvantage or conflict, and ii] place-based education with children and young people with special needs and/or from marginal communities.

Expressions of interest
One-page abstracts of your paper ideas should be sent to Robert Barratt and Elisabeth Barratt Hacking and copied to Louise Chawla. A selection of abstract authors will be invited to submit full papers for peer review. Full papers will be due by September 30, 2010. Abstracts should mention how the ideas in the full paper will apply directly to research or practice.

Illustrative Questions
The following questions are intended as a stimulus for exploring the significance of place for education. Authors are invited to submit papers that address one or more of these questions, or related questions, and that make connections with education, including the implications for place-based education.

How do people understand and make sense of place(s)?
How is place represented through popular culture, and what influence does this have on understandings of place?
In what ways are people emotionally attached to place? How is identity formation influenced by place?
What outcomes are associated with place-based education for children and young people, for teachers or other school staff, for the environment, for the community? (for example, learning about sustainable lifestyles, learners’ connection to their local community and environment, the health and well-being of children and youth)
(How) can place-based education contribute to the places, communities and environments concerned? (for example, community attitudes and behaviours, community cohesion, more sustainable communities, conservation and habitat protection plans, place-sensitive design and development).
How can local communities contribute to place-sensitive landscape development in urban and rural places?

Deadline for abstracts: 15 April 2010

Call for Papers - EGRG Annual Postgraduate Symposium

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27:52 +0000

Date: 18 May 2010
Location: School of Geography, University of Nottingham

The Economic Geography Research Group (EGRG) is delighted to announce the date and location of its Annual Postgraduate Symposium.

The Symposium is a friendly and informal forum for postgraduate research students working within any area of economic geography (broadly conceived) and at any stage in their research to present their work and/or meet other economic geographers. Papers are grouped thematically and sessions will be chaired by a range of economic geographers. The symposium, therefore, offers a supportive environment in which to present your research as well as the opportunity to network with other economic geographers from around the country and receive feedback on your research project.

To present a paper at the symposium, please send an abstract of no more than 250 words of your paper to Sarah Hall and Laura James.

The postgraduate symposium will be followed on the 19 May by the EGRG Annual Symposium and participants at the Postgraduate Symposium are encourage to participate in this event. Unlike the Postgraduate event, this symposium is themed and this year will comprise papers from leading scholars addressing the theme ‘Geographies of finance after the crisis’.

Deadline for abstracts: 23 April 2010

Call for Papers - Geography of Health Research Group (GHRG) Conference

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27:48 +0000

Date: 13-14 July 2010
Location: Lancaster

Geographies of Disability and Ageing

The RGS-IBG Geography of Health Research Group is running a mini-conference on focused around Geographies of Disability and Ageing. The aim of the conference is to engage with debates increasingly being raised within health geography, but also more broadly within disability studies and critical gerontology, that disabled and frail older people are often treated as mutually exclusive groups despite the fact that a) impairment rises with increased age; and b) many issues around the body, stigma, exclusion, dependency and independency, care versus independent living and the social construction of disability and old age run in parallel.

By bringing together geographers and those working within disability and ageing studies the conference aims to open up opportunities for those working within these two broad areas of interest to engage in dialogue and debate that is designed to explore how we might develop meaningful common project.

Keynote speakers will include:

Prof Rob Imrie, Human Geographer whose work contributes to disability debates, Kings College London.
Prof. Sheila Peace, Gerontologist and Human Geographer at the Open University.
Carol Thomas, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre for Disability Research at Lancaster University.

Those interested in participating in this conference should submit an abstract of up to a maximum of 250 words together with a proposed title (clearly stating name, institution, and contact details) to Prof Christine Milligan.

The overall cost for participation in this conference is £45.00 including conference meal. Overnight campus accommodation can be booked if required. A number of small travel bursaries for geography students and unwaged/fixed term staff are available for attendance at this event.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 April 2010

Vacancy - Climate Change Specialist needed by Nepal Government

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27:35 +0000

Nepal urgently needs to fill a pivotal position in its National Climate Change Adaptation Program For Action (NAPA). The preparation of this document, and capacity-building activities supporting it are in their final stages, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the United Nations Development Program Climate Change Specialist position has become vacant.

The position needs to be filled urgently, but is only for three months to support and coordinate the completion of the NAPA document. A successful applicant is expected to have a PhD in a relevant field and ideally over 10 years of experience in Climate Change. The position can be filled by a natural scientist or a social scientist or economist, but a successful applicant must have a deep understanding both of science of climate change and the social and political context of adaptation practice and policy.

More information

Request for help in Spatial Data Provision for IGM in Chile

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27:00 +0000

CRL. Juan Vidal García-Huidobro (Phone 56 2 4109410), the Director of Instituto Geográfico Militar (IGM) in Chile, has issued the following appeal after the earthquake in Chile:

Dear all friends of IGM,

I really apologize for not writing you before today but I have had a lot of work trying to generate all the maps and spatial information urgently needed for many organizations here in Chile, dealing with the tragic situation related with the earthquake occurred in February the 27, this means travelling and inspecting the disaster area and a lot of work generating and creating a huge amount of cartography in different formats and scales for these bodies and organizations among the the army, facing the catastrophic effects of the quake, and demanding more cartography and imagery data urgently in large scales, then we went to Concepcion again to implement a team to manage spatial data and cartography to support the chief of staff in the emergency zone and the same work for Talca, the second emergency area.

As you probably already know the severe effects of the earthquake were within the rectangle located between 30º to 40º of south latitude and 70º to 74º west longitude.

Now back at IGM, we are in a hurry trying to get good enough data to update the cartography and imagery from the damaged areas, which as you know, is the regular 1:50.000 digital cartography of Chile, we are rushing against the time to provide with it to everyone who calls here for maps.

Now I would like to appeal to your help because of our lack of spatial data to do so. We would really appreciate if you or anyone else could help us in one of these several ways:

Suggest us some place at the web where we can get some (high resolution, 1mt or less) satellite imagery of the area. We urgently need your support on this subject.
We also need urgently radar data with 10 mts or less resolution from the same area (DTMs., the best format), (we don´t need radar images without heights or SRTM levels 1 or 2 because we already have that products)
Finally another useful way to help us is sending to IGM one or several GIS students who really have good domain in geoinformatics and gis technology who could help us to manage and integrate all the new data that we are receiving right now (NGA has given a strong support to us from the beginning of the crisis). We can afford their stay and meals here, but not their travelling cost; we don’t want engineers, just good enough GIS operators, guys able to start working immediately joining to our task force team here at IGM, in Concepcion or in Talca where our cartographic teams are deployed.

Thanks a lot for your time and patience and God bless you all.

News editors wanted for Geography Directions

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:26:59 +0000

Be part of an exciting new initiative launched by Geography Compass and the RGS-IBG journals.

What is Geography Directions?
Geography Directions is an associated community site launched by Geography Compass and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) journals.
The site features daily posts from a team of news editors linking topical news items to articles published in the RGS-IBG journals and Geography Compass.

Why become a News Editor?

Engage students with journal articles
Demonstrate the relevance of Geography to everyday matters
Free access to the featured journals
Free access to Blackwell Reference Online
Gain experience using blog technology
Include your profile on the site
After initial training, the role only requires 1 hour of work every fortnight
Fit the work around your current schedule

What does being a News Editor entail?
As a News Editor you will be asked to find a news story that links topical news items to articles published in RGS-IBG journals, Geography Compass or to an entry in Blackwell Reference Online. You will be one of many News Editors and will be asked to post once a fortnight. We also encourage you to comment on other items between your schedules posts.

For further information please contact: Helen Ashton

Geography Directions website

Competition - Graduate Student Paper Competition for the journal Environmental Values

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:02:00 +0000

The international journal Environmental Values is running a graduate student competition to celebrate the first issue of the 20th year of the journal.

Find out more about the competition, including prizes and how to submit papers

Deadline: 1st August 2010