What's New

Measuring, analyzing, and mapping the societal risks and vulnerabilities of climate change has become part of the standard toolkit of climate risk and vulnerability assessments. This Special Issue focuses on the spatial assessment of climate risks and related vulnerabilities and the use of spatial data and analysis in field-based assessments. Papers may cover a range of spatial scales–from local to global–and represent any world region, and may be produced by authors from any discipline. The deadline for submission is 30 November 2019.

Papers must:

•    Define the problem space–that is, the system of analysis (what is vulnerable or at risk?), the valued attributes of concern (why are they important?), the external hazard (to what is the system vulnerable and exposed?), and a temporal reference (when?)–and the purpose of the assessment;
•    Describe the analytical framework applied;
•    Provide adequate detail regarding the data and methods used;
•    Address the uncertainty in underlying data and methods;
•    Present one or more maps portraying results;
•    Address the policy relevance of the mapping/spatial analysis.
Case studies and mapping projects are especially encouraged that:

•    were developed in conjunction with stakeholders (i.e., transdisciplinary science) and/or where mapping results were applied in planning and decision-making contexts;
•    utilize statistical techniques/novel methods to identify the drivers of risk and vulnerability;
•    use future scenarios for climate and/or socioeconomic systems;
•    integrate various streams of data (ranging from survey data and official statistics to Earth observation data);
•    seek to validate mapping results.

In addition to case study or location-specific applications, we invite papers that explore spatial methods as well as papers critically reflecting on climate risk and vulnerability mapping.

For further information or to submit a manuscript, please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Climate_Risk_Mapping

Event Dates: 11-12 November 2019

The Wittgenstein Centre is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for its 2019 conference “Demographic Aspects of Human Wellbeing”.

Researchers at the Wittgenstein Centre are currently involved in several studies around economic and health aspects of human wellbeing and an ERC Advanced Grant on “The demography of sustainable human wellbeing”. In this context and with partial funding from this grant the conference wants to bring together researchers from around the world working on different aspects of human wellbeing with a specifically demographic perspective. The aim is to put demography more prominently on the table as a discipline that has much to contribute to the scientific study of human wellbeing, both in terms of its measurement and the analysis of its determinants. There will be invited speakers as well as an open call for papers and posters. Travel funding will be available for a limited number of selected speakers.

Examples of topics include:

•    Life expectancy based indicators of wellbeing
•    Wellbeing over the life course and over time
•    Applying demographic metabolism model to forecast wellbeing along cohort lines
•    Demographic differentials/inequalities in wellbeing
•    What matters more for wellbeing: age or gender, education or income?
•    Wellbeing and intergenerational support
•    Feed-backs from environmental change to human wellbeing


Detailed information on the call is to be found at: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/vid/events/calendar/conferences/demographic-aspects-of-human-wellbeing/

As part of the Population Dynamics and Environmental Change Seminar series, Leiwen Jiang of the Population Council will present on subnational population scenarios. These scenarios provide future societal and climate information critical for resolving future climate-related risks and response options at a scale more relevant to the systems being affected or taking action. For this reason, Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) narratives as well as quantitative elements including population and GDP have been downscaled to provide regional or local information. Existing approaches insufficiently capture what is likely the principle source of spatial heterogeneity in demographic outcomes: migration between sub-regions, which can significantly change the broad patterns of population distribution at a scale that lies between the national and the local. Jiang has developed a novel set of scenarios for internal (state to state) migration rates within the US, as well as an extension to the SSP narratives that links our migration assumptions to the broader SSP storylines.

For more information visit https://www.popcouncil.org/event/20908

Event Dates: 6-7 June 2019

This Research Workshop is organized by the IUSSP Digital Demography Panel, LONGPOP H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN project, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, DisCont (ERC Advanced Grant, Bocconi University), the Institute of Economy, Geography and Demography (Spanish National Research Council) & the Institute of Statistics and Cartography of Andalusia.
 
Organizing committee: Diego Ramiro Fariñas, Elena Manzanera, Emilio Zagheni, Francesco Billari.
 
Demography has been a data-driven discipline since its birth. Data collection and the development of formal methods have sustained most of the major advances in our understanding of population processes. The global spread of Internet, social media, cell phones and, more broadly, digital technologies, have generated new opportunities for demographic research. At the same time, the use of social media, Internet and smartphones is affecting people's daily activities as well as life planning, with implications for demographic behaviour.
 
The submission of papers and/or extended abstracts is encouraged on the implications of digital technologies for demographic behaviour as well as the applications of new data from digital sources to understand population processes.
 
Topics that are relevant for the workshop include, but are not limited to:

•     Population research with social media and other big data
•     Sentiment analysis associated to demographic events like immigration
•     Implications of social media and Internet for demographic behaviour
•     Nowcasting fertility, mortality or migration with digital data
•     Official statistics on population
•     Linking online and administrative data
•     Geo-coded and linked administrative and survey data
•     Understanding population health with online and other big data
•     Methods for extracting information from non-representative samples
•     Applications of demographic methods to online populations

Participants who would like to present must submit a short AND an extended abstract (2-4 pages) or a full paper by 31 March 2019.
 
The submissions will be evaluated by the Organizing Committee on the basis of quality and fit to the workshop theme. Accepted abstracts and papers will be presented as short talks during the workshop.
 
To submit an abstract please fill out the online submission form on the IUSSP website: https://iussp.org/sites/all/modules/contrib/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5461&qid=1991410

Abstracts and papers must be submitted in English, which will be the working language of the meeting.

Submissions should be made by the author who will attend the workshop. If the paper is co-authored, please include the names of your co-authors in your submission form (in the appropriate order).

Applicants will be informed whether their paper is accepted by 15 April 2019.

Please note that no travel support is available for this meeting. There is no fee to attend the workshop, but participants are expected to cover their costs for travel and accommodation.
 
For further information, please contact the Workshop Organizer: Diego Ramiro Fariñas
(diego.ramiro @cchs.csic.es).

Event Dates: 19-21 June 2019

Registration deadline: 15 May 2019
            
For any further information please consult the following e-mail address: diego.ramiro @cchs.csic.es  or visit https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/p-u-r/konferenzen/environmental-non-migration-framework-methods-and-cases

The first ever international conference on Environmental Non-Migration provides a forum for exchange and discussion on influencing factors and capacities of individuals, households and communities to stay put despite environmental threats. The focus is on conceptual frameworks, methodologies, case studies, and cross-cutting issues. Key results will be used to derive priorities for future research considering originality and relevance. The event brings together renowned experts from relevant disciplines and different regions of the world as well as early career scientists in the PhD and postdoctoral phase of their career. Accordingly, the conference will also foster international networking taking advantage of the recently founded Global Network on Environmental Non-Migration.

The conference will be organized in a series of thematic sessions as follows:

•    Reviews on Environmental Non-Migration Concepts
•    Methodological Approaches in Environmental Non-Migration Studies
•    Non-Migration Decisions: Factors, Opportunities and Threats
•    Environmental Non-Migration Decision Making Between Uncertainty and Bounded Rationality
•    Environmental Non-Migration and Policy: Present and Future

The call is open to all topics related to the conference sessions. The submitted abstracts need to comprise the following information:

•    Title of the paper
•    Author(s) with the indication of the presenting author
•    Affiliation of (all) author(s)
•    Up to five keywords
•    Text up to 500 words (including references) on original work of the author(s) (figures and table will not be considered as part of the abstract)
•    Proposed assignment to the conference sessions
•    Application for oral or poster presentation

Event Dates: 18-22 November 2019

Conference Theme: “Harnessing Africa's Population Dynamics for Sustainable Development - 25 Years after Cairo and Beyond”

The UAPS Council is seeking suggestions from UAPS members for sessions to appear in the Call for Papers for the 8th African Population Conference (APC). To contribute to the scientific programme of the 8th APC, please submit your suggestions online by completing the form at http://uaps-uepa.org/call-for-sessions/

Your suggestion should include:

•    a short but self-explanatory title for the session;

•    a brief paragraph explaining the importance and rationale of the session given the theme of the conference (maximum 300 words);

•    the names and email addresses of two potential organizers (including yourself if you wish to be the session organizer);

•    Two sub-themes in which your suggested session belongs: one primary sub-theme and a secondary sub-theme if the session addresses more than one sub-theme (using the list of sub-themes provided here).

Although it is not expected that suggested sessions will not fit in the list of suggested sub-themes, please select “Other” if you consider that none of the sub-themes can accommodate your session and write in the appropriate primary sub-theme for your suggestion.

The International Organizing Committee will make final decisions on all sessions, organizers and sub-themes, including modifying or merging your suggested session with those of other members. Members are encouraged to propose broad topics as they may attract a large number of papers. Sessions that address new research and innovative methodologies or contribute to theory and policy are strongly encouraged.

Please also note that organizing a session does not entitle the organizer/chair for funding from UAPS to attend the Conference.

Given the success of its previous calls for abstracts, IOM is pleased to share a new call for abstracts for its Migration Research Series on the links between migration and technology, addressing, for instance, issues related to the use of ICT during migration journeys, the use of applications and social media throughout the migration cycle and in public debates, the implications for migration of artificial intelligence, and the use of new and emerging technologies to support digital identities.

The abstract should be of a maximum of 400 words and submitted by email to research @iom.int by 31 March 2019. For more information (including on the submission criteria and process), see https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ICP/MPR/iom_mrs_call_for_abstracts_mt.pdf   and https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ICP/MPR/guidance_note_for_authors.pdf.

Event Dates: 7-8 November 2019

Urban and rural living is decidedly distinct, with for example different primary economic activities, varying access to services including healthcare and education, and varying household arrangements. Demographic behaviour along the rural-urban gradient vary by the stage of the demographic and urban transitions reached. How different are rural and urban populations over the demographic transition? What is the role of internal migration in the diffusion of behaviour? Beyond the urban-rural dichotomy, differences in demographic behaviour over a range of urbanicity needs to be addressed.

Broad topics:

•    Gradient of urbanicity in demographic research
•    Diffusion of behaviours across rural & urban sectors
•    Migration and circulation within countries
•    Urbanisation, economic inequalities and ecology

Instructions to submit an abstract and other details on the conference website: https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/iacchos/demo/chaire-quetelet-2019.html

Event Dates: 2-12 September 2019

The Center for Economic Demography and Department of Economic History at Lund University will host a two-week intensive course on Living Conditions and Demographic Change in Pre-Industrial Societies. 

This advanced course in economic demography equips students with sources and methods for analysing living standards in the past. Using event-history analysis and combining longitudinal individual level demographic data with information on socioeconomic factors at household level, and macro data on food prices, wages, temperature, and rainfall, we investigate short and long-term economic stress and early life exposures on later life outcomes as well as intergenerational social and biological transfers.

Apply via email to jeanne.cilliers.7367 @ekh.lu.se, by sending:

•    a two-page curriculum vitae, including a list of your scholarly publications
•    a one-page letter from your supervisor at your home institution supporting your application
•    a one-page statement of your research and how it relates to the course and discipline

More information can be found here https://www.ed.lu.se/news/course-in-living-conditions-and-demographic-change-in-pre-industrial-societies-apply-now and here https://www.ed.lu.se/media/ed/documents/Living%20conditions%20-%20syllabus.pdf.  

Questions regarding application can be directed to jeanne.cilliers.7367 @ekh.lu.se

Information of admittance will be sent on 31 May 2019. A maximum of 20 students will be admitted.

The Global Development Institute Merit Awards are open and provides six full master's scholarships for outstanding students from Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe available.

The Merit Awards cover tuition fees, living expenses, flights to the UK and visa costs for our campus-based master’s courses commencing in September 2019. They're open to people who haven't previously studied outside Africa, have a first class undergraduate degree and relevant work experience.

Eligibility - Applicants must:

•    be a resident citizen of Ghana, Kenya, Zambia or Zimbabwe and have not previously studied outside Africa;
•    hold a bachelor’s degree with a First Class Honours (1st) classification or its international equivalent;
•    have at least three years of relevant post-graduation work experience (this does not include unpaid internships or voluntary work);
•    have a clear idea of how studying in Manchester will benefit both their career and the wider community.

Applicants are also required to hold one of the following English tests:

•    An overall score of 6.5 in IELTS, with 6.5 in writing and no other subsections below 6.0.
•    West African Education Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) with a B3 or above.
•    Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), with a B in English.
•    General Certificate of Education (issued by the Examinations Council of Zambia), with a 4 in English.

For more information and an application form for the Global Development Institute Merit Awards, see https://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/study/taught-masters/opportunities/gdi-merit-awards/.

The GOSES Summer School is specifically designed not only for doctoral candidates, but also for pre-docs, post-docs, junior and senior scholars, who wish to further explore the governance of socio-ecological systems, discuss cutting-edge research with peers and established scholars alike and develop specific skills such as presenting and discussing their own research, exploring the science-policy interface and modeling socio-ecological systems. It will also be an opportunity to be exposed to both Chinese and Western scholarship in sustainability science. The language of instruction will be English.

To pre-register to the GOSES Summer School, go to
http://enquete.univ-reims.fr/limesurvey/index.php?sid=41945

Actual inscriptions will be opened approximately three months before the event.  The deadline for pre-registration is 31 March 2019.

For more information, contact goses-school @univ-reims.fr

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is recruiting a Director to manage the IAI’s science program and activities. This Directorship is an executive position that reports directly to IAI’s Executive Director, with responsibility for implementation of the IAI scientific agenda focused on global change.

The Science Director is expected to identify key scientific strategic issues, opportunities and risks and assist the Executive Director in generating and communicating broad and compelling institutional scientific strategies and direction. He/She should also be able to communicate clearly links between the IAI’s Strategic Plan and Scientific Agenda and national priorities as articulated in a regional context.

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in program management in the sciences, scientific research and analysis, policy formulation, application of research principles in research programs, global change issues at the level of theory and practice, and a track record of publication in the domain of global change and related areas are required. Compensation is based on United Nations salary scales with a cost-of-living-adjustment. Additional benefits include health insurance, housing allowance, home leave and educational benefits for children. Directorships at the IAI have the UN equivalency of P5 step 1 professional posts.

Applicants to the post of Science Director must be a citizen from a Party to the IAI.

For more information, see http://www.iai.int/36607-2/?noredirect=en_US   and  http://www.iai.int/wp-content/uploads/Director-Science-Programs-post-2019_ENG.pdf   or  http://www.iai.int/wp-content/uploads/Director-Science-Programs-post-2019_ESP.pdf

The LSE Department of International Development promotes interdisciplinary postgraduate teaching and research on processes of political, economic, and social development and change. The department is dedicated to understanding problems of poverty and late development within local communities, as well as national and international political and economic systems. The appointed candidate will contribute to the intellectual life of the School through conducting and publishing outstanding quality research, engaging in high quality teaching as instructed by the Head of Department, and participating in the School and wider Department activities.

Based in the Department, the Fellow’s teaching will be concentrated in the MSc in Health and International Development with some teaching on Development: History, Theory and Policy. This is a Fellowship for an early-career scholar; it is intended that you will dedicate a significant amount of time to your own research, writing and professional development.

Successful applicants will also contribute to the scholarship and intellectual life of the School by conducting teaching and research which will enhance the School’s reputation as a research-led teaching institution, with appropriate mentoring from department. A key part of the work will involve supervising, teaching and examining Master’s level students through lectures, seminars, course work and tutorials.

Candidates should have completed or be close to completing a PhD from a social science discipline such as Politics, Development Studies, International Relations, Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Social Policy, Health Policy or related subjects. A strong knowledge of health and international development, combined with a developing research record in health as related to broader issues in the field of international development, is required. 

For further information about the post, please see the job posting. 

To apply for this post, please go to www.lse.ac.uk/LSEJobs. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email Professor Ernestina Coast (e.coast @lse.ac.uk).

The closing date for receipt of applications is 29 March 2019 (23.59 UK time).

Every year, 700 students from about 90 nationalities participate as scholarship holders in the European Forum Alpbach. Join smart minds from around the world in a charming Alpine village, immersing yourself in an environment bursting with novel ideas, new ways of thinking and opportunities for making great contacts.

With the Alpbach scholarship programme, young people under 30 can attend this leading interdisciplinary conference and a variety of academic seminars. A basic scholarship covers the participation fee to all events at the European Forum Alpbach. Additional subsidies are available for accommodation and daily allowances.

All information about the application procedure can be found online: www.alpbach.org/en/scholarships/