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PhD POSITION IN SOCIOLOGY OF LABOUR
The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies AIAS and the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research ASSR of the University of Amsterdam are looking for candidates for an interesting and stimulating

PhD POSITION IN SOCIOLOGY OF LABOUR
(5 days per week, for up to four years, initially for a period of one year)

The PhD-student will contribute her or his research efforts to a two-year project on Low-wage Work in the Netherlands and be offered the possibility of writing a thesis on the subject during two more years.

The AIAS (together with STZ consultancy, Eindhoven) will be contributing the Dutch part to the Low-wage Work in Europe research project, which has received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for the period July 2004-September 2006. This research is a co-operative effort with eminent institutes in four other countries: Århus School of Business (Niels Westergård-Nielsen) for Denmark, Ecole Normale Supérieure (Thomas Piketty) for France, Institut Arbeit and Technik (Gerhard Bosch) for Germany and NIESR/SKOPE (Geoff Mason/Ken Mayhew) for the UK. The Dutch work plan can be viewed and downloaded at www.uva-aias.net/rsf.asp?id=201&lang=en&menu=RSF

The project aims to compare the quality of low-wage jobs in Europe to that in the US as found in an earlier study, and consider how this quality is affected by employer strategies of work organisation in response to competitive pressures and national institutional environments. Against the background of a national overview study of the evolution of (low-wage) employment and the factors and institutions affecting this, in accordance with an internationally agreed set-up, case studies of individual firms with a focus on six industries will be the primary means for conducting the study. The PhD will contribute to the methodological development of the approach including the (later) international comparison of results, in cooperation with professor Kea Tijdens, research coordinator of AIAS, and to the performance of the case and industry studies, particularly (but not only) for the hospital sector, in cooperation with dr Marc van der Meer, senior researcher of AIAS. The PhD should to a limited extent also provide organisational support to the research project.
The AIAS provides the working environment while ASSR takes responsibility of the PhD training. Thesis supervisor will be professor Jelle Visser.

What we offer:
* a stimulating, young, small-scale interdisciplinary work place with a strong involvement in international research projects and networks concerning labour and institutions, internationalisation and inequalities (see www.uva.nl/aias);
* either a PhD scholarship or a position as an AIO (gross monthly salary that conforms to the rates of PhD scales, which start at EUR 1813 and after four years end at 2394);
* Amsterdam.

Candidates should:
* hold a degree (Master or "Drs"). in sociology or economics,
* have a clear affinity with the subject of organisational behaviour, wage inequalities and institutions,
* and have a good knowledge of English (written and spoken) and at least a working knowledge of the Dutch language enabling firm interviews.
Preferably they should also have some experience in questionnaire design, data search, statistical analysis and techniques (SPSS or Stata), and interviewing techniques and have acquainted themselves with labour issues during their studies or career.

For more information please write to aias@uva.nl , mentioning "PhD RSF" as the subject.
Written applications that respond to the work plan and explain how the requirements are met and what contribution to the work can be expected, and elaborate on a corresponding thesis plan with the help of the attached form, together with a clear CV, should be received no later than Friday 1 October by aias@uva.nl or W. Salverda, managing director AIAS, Plantage Muidergracht 4, 1018 TV Amsterdam, the Netherlands

enviado por omar :: 11:16 ::

Sustainable Cities Fellowship
Dear All,

I've pasted below details of a new fellowship at Royal Holloway Geography
Department, which converts into a full-time academic post at the end of
three years.

Please direct questions to Professor Rob Imrie rather than me -- suffice to
say that we are very keen to get applications from excellent Geographers (to
continue the expansion of the Department here), that the Department is an
excellent place to work in, and that I wish I'd had the chance to have 3
years post-doc research time with a guaranteed lectureship at the end of it.

Gratuitous departmental promotion over ...
--------------------------------------------------
Dr David Gilbert
Reader in Human Geography
Department of Geography,
Royal Holloway,
University of London,
Surrey TW20 0EX.

Tel (01784) 443653
Fax (01784) 472836
d.gilbert@rhul.ac.uk
www.gg.rhul.ac.uk/gilbert/index.html
--------------------------------------------------

Sustainable Cities

A three-year research fellowship is available at Royal Holloway University
of London. The fellowship will be converted into a full time lectureship at
the end of the three years. The research area is 'sustainability' and the
successful candidate will be placed either in the Department of Geography or
School of Management depending on their substantive field of expertise. The
Department of Geography invites applications from individuals with some
expertise in the areas itemised below. The appointed person will have a PhD
and a demonstrable record of research excellence. Contact Rob Imrie
(r.imrie@rhul.ac.uk) for further details (telephone: 00 44 (0)1784 443654).

One of the principal challenges facing our cities is one of developing
sustainable urban communities. As Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has
argued, sustainable urban development is not restricted to the economy and
job creation, but brings together traditional greenfield environmental
concerns with others about inner city dereliction, congestion and local
enterprise, and wider cultural issues of democracy and the urban public
realm. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of new forms of
government urban policy that attempt to develop a holistic and contextually
sensitive approach to the state of the cities. This is reflected in major
policy documents and initiatives, including the Urban White Paper (DETR,
2000), The Core Cities Initiative (2001), and the Sustainable Communities
Plan (2003). Urban sustainability is related to wider intellectual
challenges in geography and the social sciences concerning the need to
create cities that accommodate cultural diversity, social engagement and
economic dynamism. In more international terms, there is also a need to
integrate 'green' and brown' development agendas and link the theory and
practice of increased urban sustainability through structural, planning and
lifestyle changes.

The Department of Geography has established research programmes in four
aspects of urban sustainability that are seen as priority areas for
appointment of the Fellowship.

* Democratic renewal and sustainable cities (Imrie, Dolton, Till).
Sustainable cities require socially inclusive neighbourhoods, characterised
by people who are empowered and able to take responsibility for the quality
of their local environments. Research in the Department is focused on an
evaluation of empowerment strategies, especially the role of Best Value, the
operation of Local Strategic Partnerships, and the politics of the new
urbanism.

* Cultural policy and sustainable urbanism (Crang, Imrie, Till,
Gilbert). The role of the cultural industries in urban regeneration, and the
significance of the urban public realm in sustaining liveable cities are key
features of current policy and inquiry. Research in the Department focuses
on the role of cultural regeneration for urban renaissance, the provision of
urban public space, the cultures of consumption in city centres, riverscapes
and urban living and the cultural geography of tourism in European cities.

* Management and regeneration of brownfield sites (French, Imrie,
Rose, Dengler). Planning Policy Guidance 3, and related government
directives, requires development to be increasingly focused on brownfield
sites. The implications of this is one of the research foci in the
Department, in which issues related to land contamination, the impact of
building on areas of flood risk, and the evaluation of policies and
programmes to achieve the recycling of brownfield sites, are being
addressed.

* Sustainable cities in the developing world (Simon, Desai, McGregor,
Willis). Urbanisation crises in the developing world present urgent
challenges for urban restructuring in the context of reducing poverty,
social inequality and economic instability. Research is focusing on
concepts, methods and tools for promoting more sustainable cities in this
light