pgrg newsletter october 2001 · postgraduate celebrities 24 registration form / conference details...
TRANSCRIPT
POPULATION GEOGRAPHY RESEARCH GROUP
PGRG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2001
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY – INSTITUTE OF BRITISH GEOGRAPHERS
________________________________________ PGRG Newsletter Address Correspondence to: Dr. Darren Smith Department of Geography University of Brighton Brighton, BN2 4GJ Tel: 01273 643318 Fax: 01273 642285 Email: [email protected]
Contents Committee members 2001 2 Editorial 3 Report from the Chair 4 Forthcoming events 6 Conference reports 13 Around the departments 21 Postgraduate corner 23 Postgraduate celebrities 24 Registration form / conference details 26
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Committee Members 2001 Chair Professor Paul Boyle (-2004) Department of Geography, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY19 9ST, Tel: 01334 462397, Fax: 01334 467298, Email [email protected] Secretary Dr. John McKendrick (-2002) School of Social Sciences, Glasgow CALEDONIAN University, Glasgow G4 0BA, Tel: 0141 3313492, Fax: 0141 331 3439, Email: [email protected] Treasurer Dr. Adrian Bailey (-2003) School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, Tel: 0113 333322, Fax: 0113 2333308, Email [email protected] Newsletter Editor Dr. Darren Smith (-2004) Department of Geography, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, Tel: 01273 643318, Fax: 01273 642285, Email [email protected] Postgraduate Liaison Officer Andrew Bateman (-2004) Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Tel: 01792 295228, Fax: 01792 295955, Email: [email protected] Web Site Manager Dr Paul Williamson (-2002) Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, PO Box 147, Liverpool, L69 3BX, Tel: 0151 7942854, Fax: 0151 7942866, Email: [email protected] RGS-IBG Awards Officer Professor John Salt (-2002) Department of Geography, UCL, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, Tel: 0171 504 5525, Fax: 0171 380 7565, Email: [email protected] Conference Officer Dr. Jenny Seavers (-2004) Centre for Urban Development and Environmental Management, Leeds Metropolitan University, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3HE, Tel: 0113 283 1723, Fax: 0113 2833190, Email: [email protected] Societies Liaison Officer Dr. Khalid Koser (-2003) Department of Geography, UCL, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, Tel: 0171 380 7564, Fax: 0171 380 7565, Email: [email protected]
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Editorial Welcome to the October (WINTER) edition of the PGRG newsletter 2001. I hope my second
‘stab’ as editor of the PGRG newsletter meets with your approval, and you find the content
and information valuable (déjà vu!).
In this edition, you will find some very comprehensive conference reports – thanks to Clare
Holdsworth, Adrian Bailey and Andrew Bateman for their efforts here. It would be good if
session organisers could ‘twist arms’, ‘legs’ or any other parts of the anatomy, and try to
organise volunteers during the conference proceedings. Please, please, please!
Also, I have reinstated the ‘Around the Departments’ slot, and in this edition there is a focus
on the Migration Unit in Swansea. (Any volunteers for the next newsletter?) Thanks to all
the ‘academic celebrities’ who made this possible – especially Vaughan Robinson and Keith
Halfacree! Also, thanks to Nissa Finney and Andrew Bateman for providing the content for
the ‘Postgraduate Corner’, and for offering lots of ‘personal detail’ in ‘Postgraduate
Celebrities’.
As you will see from ‘Forthcoming Events’, there are lots of sessions which may be of
interest to Population Geographers – especially in Belfast. I am sure Paul Boyle, Robin
Flowerdew and Elspeth Graham will also be publicising The 1st International Conference on
Population Geographies in the forthcoming months (booking form enclosed).
Once again, please forward any material or reports that you would like to be included in the
next edition of the newsletter. I look forward to hearing from all of you – ‘out there’!
Bye for now,
Darren
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Report from the chair
This is my second report from the chair and I am pleased to say that we have an active
calendar ahead of us. The RGS-IBG conference is approaching fast and we have four
sessions organised. Particularly impressive has been the work by Caitríona who had to
request extra slots because of the number of people keen to offer papers in her session on
diaspora. The other sessions are on Migration and Health, Divided Cities and a postgraduate
session. I encourage everyone to support these sessions if possible.
As in the previous newsletter, I would also like to draw attention to the First International
Conference on Population Geographies that will be hosted by the Population Geography
Research Group in St Andrews in July 2002 (registration details enclosed). Obviously, we
hope that the turn out will be good and please register as early as possible to help with the
administration.
Other highlights in this newsletter include the impressive effort from the Department of
Geography at the University of Wales, Swansea, which follows the fine contribution made by
the School of Geography, University of Leeds in Darren’s first newsletter. I hope there will
be a volunteer Department for the next issue (no doubt Darren will be in touch with someone
soon!).
Finally, following my last Chair’s report I did, at least, manage to generate one response from
Tony Warnes (Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing). I was bemoaning the lack of
impact that population geographers have at a national level and he makes a valuable point in
relation to ‘academic social gerontologists’:
"There's a logical problem: the more an academic/researcher gets involved in a
specialist field, the less they are identified with where they come from. If you assess
the contribution of a (sub)discipline to an area of applied research only by the
participation of the activists in the 'club of origin', then you arrive at the assessment,
for example, that 'population geographers are notably absent from ... debates on
population ageing'. If however you look at the contribution to the field of those
trained in, or who have made contributions to, the (sub)discipline, then, in the case of
UK ageing research and debates, a different picture emerges.
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Social and population geographers are prominent among the first generation of academic
social gerontologists' in this country. Among them are Miriam Bernard (Director, School of
Social Relations, Keele), Andrew Blaikie (Dept of Sociology, Aberdeen), Sarah Harper
(Oxford Centre on Population Ageing), Nick le Mesurier (Social Science in Medicine Group,
Birmingham), Peter Lloyd Sherlock (School of Development Studies, UEA: interests in
ageing and development), Sheila Peace (School of Health and Social Welfare, Open Univ.),
Judith Phillips (School of Social Relations, Keele), and Christina Victor (Public Health, St
George's Hosp Med School, London). Apologies to anyone I've misdescribed and anyone
I've missed.
It's good that few if any disown their origins, and some keep strong links with professional
geography. Several have been consulted frequently by national policy commissions and
inquiries.
Other prominent population geographer-gerontologists include David Phillips, now in Hong
Kong, and Emily Grundy (an honorary geographer!). There are a few more who were trained
(whole or part) in the UK but work overseas, e.g. Graham Rowles in Kentucky, and Geoffrey
Smith and Mark Rosenberg in Canada.
If we reflect that the co-existence of 'home' and 'away' teams of researchers is commonplace
for economists or biochemists, then maybe what we see is population geography joining a
utilitarian club. The Study Group might ponder if it has a role in forging links.”
Perhaps others agree…?
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Forthcoming Events 7th November 2001
Title: Workshop on Internal Migration Organiser: The Centre for the Study of Migration Location: Queen Mary College, University of London Contact: Dr Shompa Lahiri, Centre For the Study of Migration, Department of
Politics, Queen Mary College, University of London, Mile End Road , E1 4NS, Tel: 0171 975 5003, Email: [email protected]
Speakers: Female migrant networks in Indonesia Rebecca Elmhirst, University of Brighton Flight or migration? The Cold War Exodus from Eastern Germany, 1949-89 Patrick Major, University of Warwick Seasonal rural-rural migration in Eastern India Ben Rogaly, University of East Anglia Urban-rural migration in Britain Malcolm Williams, University of Plymouth
Please inform Dr Shompa Lahiri ([email protected]) if you are able to attend. There is no registration fee. Attendance is by invitation only.
4th January 2002 Title: Migration and Health Organiser: Population Geography Research Group Location: RGS/IBG Annual Conference, School of Geography, Queens
University, Belfast Contact: Professor Paul Boyle, School of Geography & Geosciences
University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, Tel: 01334 462397, Fax: 01334 463949, Email: [email protected]
Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 Addressing the denominator: small area estimates for populations at risk Paul Norman, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Phil Rees, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Paul Boyle, School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews Health Inequalities: patterns and explanations for morbidity and mortality variation in the 1990s in Yorkshire and The Humber Dominic Brown, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Phil Rees, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Bob Haining, School of Geography, University of Leeds How to monitor the health of areas: a methodological challenge. Dermot O’Reilly, Dept of Epidemiology & Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast
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The impact of migration on the changing geography of health in Britain Danny Dorling, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Richard Mitchell, Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, The University of Edinburgh Medical School, Mary Shaw, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol Session 2: 11:00 – 12:30 The effects of family migration on the physical, social, and psychological health of married couples Thomas J. Cooke, Department of Geography, University of Connecticut Does where you live, or where you were born influence your health most? A British analysis Paul Boyle, School of Geography, University of St Andrews The confounding effect of migration: a case-study of ALS in Finland Clive Sabel, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Paul Boyle, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Robin Flowerdew, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Markku Löytönen, Dept of Geography, University of Helsinki, Finland, Paula Maasilta, Dept of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland The impact of migration upon the resurgence of highland malaria in Kenya: space and health seeking behaviours Yumiko Doi, Department of Health Care Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University
3rd – 4th January 2002 Title: Geographies of Diaspora: migration, displacement and dispersal Organiser: Population Geography Research Group Location: RGS/IBG Annual Conference, School of Geography, Queens
University, Belfast Contact: Dr Caitríona Ní Laoire, School of Geography, Queens University
Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Email: [email protected] Session 1: Thursday 09:00 - 10:30 Chair: Caitríona Ní Laoire Diaspora spaces: geographies of ethnic and national identities Hybridity and whiteness: second generation Irish identities in Britain Bronwen Walter Dominican diasporas and the stasis of race David Howard Power, citizenship, and struggles over the production of interstitial spaces in diasporic communities – the case of the Irish Catholic diaspora in the West of Scotland Mark Boyle Session 2: Thursday 11:00 - 12:30 Chair: Allan Findlay Migration policies and managing diasporic populations
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The Dispersal Policy and Settlement Patterns of Asylum Seekers: A Challenge to Build Multicultural Communities Theresa Shanahan (Re)producing Salvadoran transnational geographies Adrian Bailey et al. Mixed descent, migration and diaspora: Anglo-Indians in Britain after 1947 Alison Blunt Session 3: Friday 09:00 - 10:30 Chair: Bronwen Walter Identities and belonging in the Irish diaspora Women on the margins: Irish women religious, migration and ethnic identity Yvonne McKenna, Irish grannies and plastic paddies: soccer and the Irish diaspora Michael Holmes and David Storey New communities, new worlds - redefining spaces and places Brenda Murphy Performing the diasporic geographies of Irish traditional music Frances Morton Session 4: Friday 11:00 - 12:30 Chair: Alison Blunt Diasporas, homelands and transnational geographies From emigration to circulation: the evolution of Japanese international migration Paul White Transnational places: territory and Polish national identity in Leicester Kathy Burrell Boundaries of identity: the English in Scottish cities Caroline Hoy et al. Can the concept of diaspora incorporate staying-put? Breda Gray
5th January 2002
Title: Postgraduate Research in Population Geographies Organiser: Population Geography Research Group Location: RGS/IBG Annual Conference, School of Geography,QueensUniversity
Belfast Contact: Andrew Bateman, PGRG Postgraduate Liasion Officer, Department of
Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Tel: 01792 295 228, Email:[email protected]
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Session 1: 09:00 - 10:30 Chair: Wayne Harvey (Newcastle) Understanding 'illegal' migration to the UK - numbers, characteristics and in-depth experiences Andrew Bateman, University of Wales Swansea Dispersal of asylum seekers: politics,press and public attitudes in the UK Nissa Finney, University of Wales Swansea The dynamic performance of (dis-)ability in school contexts Louise Holt, Loughborough Univeristy Session 2: 11:00 - 12:30 Chair: Andrew Bateman Swansea The utility of migration research in disentangling the relationships between spatial and social processes of exclusion Andrew Clark, University of St. Andrews Exclusion and residential mobility in Urban Scotland Michael Gray, University of Dundee Migratory lifestyles and cultural baggage: mobile British residents in France, are they really leaving it all behind? Sam Scott, University of Sheffield
2nd - 6th January 2002 Title: Divided cities: regeneration or (re)division? Organiser: Population Geography Research Group Location: RGS/IBG Annual Conference School of Geography,QueensUniversity
Belfast Contact: Dr Paul Williamson, Department of Geography, University of
Liverpool, PO Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, Tel: 0151 794 2854, Fax: 0151 794 2866, Email: [email protected]
After decades of decline, cities appear to be experiencing a renaissance. Government policies are encouraging the redevelopment of ‘brownfield’ sites, whilst social trends are leading to the reemergence of city centre living and continuing selective gentrification. This is a call for papers that explore the impact of these latest trends in urban regeneration upon the socio-economic composition of urban populations. For example, what sorts of people are occupying the new-build in inner city areas, and where are they coming from? Are current trends leading to genuine regneration or simply to new social divisions and increased social polarisation? International comparisons and papers on other aspects of social division within cities, such as religion and health, are also welcome.
March 2002
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Title: Transnational migrants, transnational cities: flows, identities, places
Organiser: Urban Geography Study Group of the Association of American Geographers
Location: Los Angeles Contact: Dr Alan Latham, Lecturer in Human Geography, Department of
Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom, Tel: (023) 80 593 822, Fax: (023) 80 593 295, Email: [email protected]
Session 1 Chair: Alan Latham, University of Southampton Elite and Middling Transnationalisms, Elite and Middling Spaces Transnational Elites Returning Home and Not-Belonging: Tales of repatriation and reverse culture shock Jonathan Beaverstock, Loughborough University Singaporean and British Transmigrants in China and the Cultural Politics of "Contact Zones" Brenda Yeoh, Singapore National University and Katie Willis, University of Liverpool The ‘Work:Family:Gender’ Interface and Employee Relocation: Transnational biographies in Great Britain and the United States Darren Smith and Adrian Bailey, University of Leeds Mobilities and (Relative) Fixities for the Twenty-First Century: British Working Holiday Makers in Sydney Nick Clark, University of Bristol Theorising Middling Transnationalism: Global cities, international migration, and national identity David Conradson and Alan Latham, University of Southampton Session 2 Chair: David Conradson Flows: Transnational Places and Identities Reshaping Places and Identities: The impact of transnational migration on Australian cities Mike Poulsen, Jim Forest, Macquarie University and Ron Johnston, University of Bristol New Transnational Spaces in Suburban Auckland, New Zealand Ward Friesen, Robin Kearns and Larry Murphy, University of Auckland Transnationalism as a Way of life? Mapping out the transnational social fields of Indian migrants in Australia Carmen Voigt-Graf, University of Sydney Constructions of Place and Identity in a Multicultural London Suburb: Northolt Nicola Higgens, University of Cambridge Transnationalism and the Ecudorian Diaspora: Conceptualising transnational landscapes Brad Jokisch, Ohio University
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Session 3 Transnational Cities, Transnational Communities, Transnational Struggles Chair: Alan Latham Transnational Networks and New Community Spaces Lucy Williams, University of Kent Performing Belonging: Turkish immigrants and transnationalism in a German city Patricia Ehrkamp, University of Minnesota Mind the Gap! Anke Strüver, University of Nijmegen Transnationalism and Conflict over Urban Space Amnemarie Bodaar, Ohio State University Appropriating Globalization: Transnational practice in New York City's anti-police brutality movement Cheryl Gower, Rutgers University Session 3 (Co-sponsored by the Urban Geography Research Group, British Royal Geographical Society) Panel Discussion: Theorising Transnationalism – cities, communities, identities Chair: David Conradson Leading the discussion: Michael Peter Smith, University of California, Michael Peter Smith is a leading theorist of transnationalism and author of Transnational Urbanism, 2001, Blackwell, co-editor Transnationalism From Below, 1998, Transaction Publishers and many other books. Co-discussants: Claire Dwyer, University College London Ali Rogers, University of Oxford Scott Salmon, Miami University Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore 19th – 23rd July 2002
Title: The 1st International Conference on Population Geographies Organiser: Population Geography Research Group Location: School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews Contact: Professor Paul Boyle, School of Geography & Geosciences
University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, Tel: 01334 462397, Fax: 01334 463949, Email: [email protected]
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Population Geography is buoyant in many nations, but despite this there is no regular international meeting bringing us together. This will be the first conference designed to do so which will be hosted by the Population Geography Research Group which is one of the specialist research groups of the Royal Geographical Society / Institute for British Geographers.
The long-term aim is for this to be a bi-annual event with the 2nd meeting in the summer of 2004. We hope that it will become the major, regular Population Geography event world-wide. Participants Although designed for geographers, contributions will be welcomed from those who would not regard themselves as population geographers, but are working in pertinent research areas. For example, we would welcome speakers from other disciplines including Demography, Sociology, Economics, Social Anthropology etc. Postgraduates are also encouraged to attend and offer papers. Attendance will not require the presentation of a paper, but we would strongly encourage people to submit papers. Papers The remit for the 1st meeting is broad. We will not be advertising specific themes, but will be encouraging people to submit papers on any research issue relevant to Population Geography. The organisers will decide the strands of the conference once we have received the abstracts. Papers will be 20-25 minutes long, allowing for 5-10 minutes discussion in ½ hour slots. Accommodation will be booked in St Salvator’s Hall, North St, University of St Andrews.
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Conference Reports
Investigating Aspects of the Lifecourse
On 15th June 2001 the Population Geography Research Group organised a one-day conference on ‘Investigating Aspects of the Lifecourse’, held at the Centre for Urban Development and Environmental Management, Leeds Metropolitan University. The conference consisted of 6 speakers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. The morning session addressed Families and Household Change. Darren Smith from the University of Leeds and Simon Duncan from the University of Bradford, began the session by considering the geography of partnering and parenting practices. Based on analysis of census microdata, they demonstrated the diversity of partnering and parenting practices throughout Britain. Moreover they argued that the geography of family formation does not simply parallel regional geographies of economic and social prosperity, but reflects relatively autonomous regional gender cultures. The theme of family practices was also addressed in the second presentation by Sarah Irwin, University of Leeds, which focused on the importance of reproductive regimes in understanding family and household change. Sarah argued that conventional interpretations of household and family change had tended to prioritise individualism and gender equalisation as the main driving forces of social change. The alternative offered in this paper was the concept of reproductive regimes, with the focus on understanding how family change is bound up with a re-ordering of relational ties, rather than as an outcome of their inter-dependencies. The final paper of the morning session was by Kate Davidson from The University of Surrey, which considered the changes that are occurring to family life at older ages in the context of an aging society. The presentation explored this phenomenon with particular reference to gender, health and marital status, and addressed the implications and consequences of living circumstance choices and changes in later life.
The afternoon session considered youth and children and the lifecourse. The first presentation by Roger Burrows, University of York, presented results from an ESRC-funded project on the housing biographies of young people. Ideal types of young people’s housing biographies were identified, based on analysis of secondary data, a new survey of c1000 16-25 year olds in 5 different localities and a qualitative panel of c50 young people. These types are summarised by student biographies, controlled biographies, uncontrolled biographies and the chaotic biography. The second paper of the afternoon session by Clare Holdsworth, University of Liverpool, gave an overview of leaving home patterns in Europe, exploring the differences between early leaving in the North and older ages of leaving home in the South. Using preliminary analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with young people in Britain and Spain, as part of an ESRC-funded project, the paper explored the different implications and interpretations of independence as experienced by young people in the two countries. The final paper of the conference was by John McKendrick, Glasgow Caledonian University, on thinking conceptually about children and poverty. The presentation began with a review of the current government policy towards eradicating child poverty and highlighted three potential problems with this objective. The first, whether social and economic policy could succeed in eradicating child poverty, given that income inequality is currently increasing in
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the UK; second, the conception of poverty as a relative concept, and the third, the differences between government’s vision of child policy and the poverty that is experienced by children. In this final point John considered a few examples of how environmental improvement schemes in deprived areas were not necessarily in the interests of children.
The conference ended with a round-table discussion led by Paul Boyle. Many thanks to Jenny Seavers and Margaret Burden of CUDEM for organising the conference. Clare Holdsworth __________________________________________________________________________ Popfest 2001 - IX Annual Conference of Population Studies Postgraduates From the 9th - 11th July 2001, Swansea's geography department hosted the IX Annual Conference of Population Studies Postgraduates. This year's programme encapsulated the many and varied aspects of contemporary population studies that was particularly evident from the vibrant and diverse topics and methods of research offered by the presenters. For full abstracts, contact details and copies of available papers please see the conference website at http://ralph.swan.ac.uk/popfest.
Conference Summary: After the initial registration and welcome by the conference organisers (Andrew Bateman and Nissa Finney, University of Wales Swansea), Michael Gray (University of Dundee) chaired the first session, entitled "Space, Place and Population Studies." Andrew Clark (School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St. Andrews) began with an exploration into the impact of external perceptions of place on migration. The paper examined how an appreciation of migration behaviour and decision making may begin to untangle the dialectical relationships between place, identity and exclusion. One strand that helped to contextualise this presentation, as well as several of the proceeding papers, was the need for geographers to undertake more policy-relevant research, whilst also making greater use of social theory particularly within Population Geography. Gareth Hoskins (Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth), developed the session by making sense of how immigrants have been represented in legislation. His anaylsis concentrated on the Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 and the Peopling of America (theme study) Act, 2001 both of which relate to the old immigration buildings on Angel Island, San Franscisco. Sam Scott (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield) continued the geographical element of the first session through his original and informative paper on the global city and local identities, with a particular emphasis on exploring and developing transnational typologies of the British in Paris.
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After tea, Nissa Finney (University of Wales Swansea) chaired the second session entitled, "Contemporary International Migration" that illustrated well the interdisciplinary nature of the conference and current research in population studies. Tom Obokata (Department of Law, University of Nottingham,) explored the changing definitions of human 'trafficking' and 'smuggling' as seen in international law and questioned whether such definitions and their policy implications are reflected in reality. Andrew Bateman (Migration Unit, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea), then presented some original research concerning the numbers, characteristics and in-depth experiences of asylum seekers that have been 'smuggled' to the UK 'illegally'. The paper highlighted the fact that definitions, as alluded to by Obokata, do not always reflect reality and that 'illegal' migration is a complex and multilevelled phenomenon that can be better understood with a structuration-biographic approach. A successful and informative first day ended with a wine reception and departmental welcome by Professor David Herbert (Head of Department) on the front lawns of the geography department. This was followed by a sumptuous meal at the "Pub-on-the-Pond."
The second full day of the conference continued the theme from the previous day, with the third session chaired by Michael Gray (University of Dundee) entitled, "Seeking Asylum: UK Statistics and the Media." Emma Stewart (Department of Geography, University of Dundee) began with a comprehensive and well presented audit of the deficiencies in asylum data in the UK, as compounded by evidence from Australia, before identifying potential future directions for data collection in relation to key public policy issues. Nissa Finney (Migration Unit, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea) further developed the theme of asylum with an informative and interactive analysis of national and local press portrayals of policy and public attitudes towards the dispersal of asylum seekers around the UK. Central to the contribution of this research are theories of prejudice and othering, and media influence and power. Session four, "Children and Population Studies" began after coffee and was again chaired by Michael Gray (University of Dundee). The session was another good example of the interdisciplinary nature of current population studies and emphasised a further rapidly growing area of research. Louise Holt (Department of Geography, University of Loughborough) presented the research findings from an empirical study of micro-scale population geographies of 'disabled' and 'non-disabled' children in the context of 'inclusive' primary schools. Interestingly, the findings showed that schools do not construct a homogeneous concept of disability, highlighting the fact that the external identity signifier 'disabled' can be transient and shifting. Momodou Jasseh (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) then presented comprehensive statistical and modelled evidence from the Demographic and Health surveys, concerning the age patterns of childhood mortality in twenty one countries of Sub-Sahara Africa. Zoe Sheppard (Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton) concluded this session by using the Living Standards Measurement Survey to quantitatively analyse an increasingly common practice of child fostering arrangements in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Session five began the afternoon programme with three papers that were interesting examples for, "Illustrating Diverse Research in Population Studies." Using multivariate analysis of the 1996 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, Kabwe Benaya (Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton) looked at regional variation in contraceptive use and method choice in Zambia. Preliminary results indicated that contraceptive use and choice varied according to background characteristics. Carmen Llernas (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol) then diverted the delegates attention to mapping the population distribution for Western Mexico using census data, GIS and Lansat TM satellite imagery, with the aim of highlighting the potential usefulness of this technology for use in research elsewhere. Andrew Tallon (Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea) completed this eclectic session with research that identified the selling of the city centre as a place to live, from a predominantly public policy focus, as a way of repopulating of the city center and exploring the evolution of an 'urban idyll.' Session five continued after a hearty lunch, with four impressive poster presentations as further illustrations of the diverse nature of research in population studies. Using Pakistan Panel Data, Faiza Tabassum (Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton) portrayed the food consumption patterns and their consequences on nutrition and growth among children in rural Pakistan. Malnutrition is not only seen as a medical problem, but it is also a social disorder, rooted in poverty and discrimination. Hannah Howes (Department of Psychology, University of Wales Swansea) explored the psychological effects of brain injury on the significance of body image, concluding that individuals that have a brain injury identify a change in body image as a primary concern. Annette Leponis (Department of Psychology, University of Wales Swansea) looked at whether an association exists between emotional abuse and eating disorders, using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, concluding that sufferers related the development of their eating disorder to emotional abuse factors in contrast to popular notions of weight concerns. Wayne Harvey (Department of Geography, University of Newcastle)
completed the group with a poster display illustrating household change, residential mobility and the changing role of social housing with a view to examining the current status of the social rented sector in regard to tenants perceptions and landlord management policies and practices. Guest Presentation and Discussion: New to the 2001 conference was a sixth session that debated the current and future state of population studies and was chaired by Andrew Bateman (University of Wales Swansea). The session began with a formal presentation by the guest speaker, Professor Paul Boyle (School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews). The presentation, "Some thoughts on the past, present and future state of population studies from a Population Geographer", highlighted several issues to be aware of in population studies including: the continued need for postgraduates to remain active and at the forefront of research; the interdisciplinary nature of population studies; the on-going need to identify research gaps and assess the effects of such research; the need for more policy driven / applied research; issues of data acquisition; dissemination of research; and the future development of methodologies used in population studies. These themes helped to frame two separate discussions that took place between delegates and four guest panelists: Dr. Vaughan Robinson, Dr. Keith Halfacree, Dr. Marie Gillespie (all University of Wales Swansea) and Dr. Darren Smith (University of Leeds). In the plenary session, summaries from each of the two discussions were presented by Nissa Finney and Michael Gray, which helped to bring this useful and evocative session to a close. An active second day was rounded off with a lively BBQ for all the delegates and guests, where the 'changeable' Swansea weather was experienced by all! Session seven, "Decision Making, Communication and Fertility in Population Studies" was held on the final morning of the conference and chaired by Michael Gray (University of Dundee). The first presenter, Adebisi Adebayo (Department of Geography, University of Liverpool) was unfortunately unable to attend the conference, but would have spoken about family size decision making in South Western Nigeria. Kaberi Gayen (Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Napier University) spoke informatively about modelling communication processes in demography, using actor network theory applied to fertility decision making, while Muluye Desta (Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton) rounded off the presentations with an analysis of measuring the impact of family planning on fertility, showing the use of statistical modeling for the planning and assessment of public policy on population issues. Before delegates departed, a coastal walk on The Gower was enjoyed by the delegates, several of which experienced the surf of Caswell Bay! The three days provided an excellent opportunity to learn more about the diversity of population studies and the intricacies of each other's research. The high standard of papers and posters as well as the enthusiasm of the delegates helped to ensure the continued success and enjoyment of Popfest. Next year’s conference is being organised by Michael Gray and held at the Department of Geography, University of Dundee. For further information please contact [email protected] Andrew Bateman and Nissa Finney __________________________________________________________________________ Report on "Family and Migration Across the Lifecourse" Exploratory Workshop
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School of Geography, University of Leeds, September 2001.
Researchers from across Europe traveled to Leeds to discuss recent research developments in the field of family migration. The exploratory workshop was held over the weekend of September 7-9 and hosted by the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. In addition to an introductory, context setting panel, and a synthetic closing discussion, a total of five thematic panels were convened. The workshop attracted twenty scholars from seven European countries. The opening panel set the inter-disciplinary tone of the workshop by reviewing recent developments in the legal underpinnings of family migration and by surveying theoretical debates within the field. Louise Ackers summarised a range of research that explores the relationships between family, intra-community mobility, and citizenship in the EU. Her paper demonstrated how citizenship rights vary according to the type of mobility and position within family unit. Although Article 18 states that every citizen of the union shall have the right to move, in practise it is one’s ability to make contributions via paid work (and not nationality status per se) that mediate access to the benefits of citizenship. Ackers argued that her own work on migrant children and retirement migration also showed that definitions of “work” vary across national contexts. The paper called for greater attention to variations in national laws and legal discourses across Europe, with particular regard to family rights. In the second paper, Eleonore Kofman laid out a broad critique of traditional family migration literature. The paper noted that family migration research is largely ignored in discussions of international migration, despite the fact that family reunification is an important element of this type of mobility. As marriage is a linchpin for much long distance mobility to Europe, Kofman argues for greater attention to be paid to issues of gender relations within families. Indeed, the paper suggested there was mileage in “hitching up” the hitherto separate research agendas on the international movement of dual career households and the regional labour market oriented, traditional “family migration” strand. Like Ackers, Kofman saw utility in theorising the role of children in accounts of family migration. More attention should also be devoted to understanding how the dynamics of labour markets (for example, casualisation) mediate family migration. Paul Boyle moderated panel 2 on the topic of mobility and family formation and dissolution. This panel considered the relationship between family formation and dissolution and migration, including marriage, divorce, cohabitation and children leaving the parental home. The panel also addressed the changing nature of the family and its potential implications for migration. Examples include rising rates of divorce, cohabitation and autonomous motherhood. These processes, and their effects on migration, connect to a theoretical discussion of the notion of ‘family’, charting the family as a site of acute political debate, and the changes in intimate relationships that have helped shape a redefinition of the ‘family’. Finally, rather than simply focusing on the effects of family formation and dissolution on migration, the questions of whether and how migration influences family formation and dissolution were raised. In his opening remarks, Paul Boyle described the ways in which families were changing across Europe, noting a dearth of baseline empirical work on this topic. He then identified some of the ways that family dynamics could affect mobility strategies. A central point of this paper concerned the need to think in a recursive way about the links between family context and mobility, with each affecting the other. To gain purchase on what is a complex system, Boyle suggested given more attention to the composition of intra-household power relations.
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The paper by Robin Flowerdew and Alaa Al-Hamad reported on research carried out in
Northern England that sought to link family events with migration events. The paper began with a broad overview of why young people – and young families – consider mobility options, with an emphasis upon internal migration. The paper focused on some of these linkages, especially related to family formation and dissolution, by using longitudinal data from the Social Change and Economic Life Initiative. Reinforcing other recent work in this topic, the authors reported that most moves occurred in the same year as family events, although it was not uncommon to find mobility events two or more years before and after family events. The paper raised a number of important conceptual issues, including the direction of causality between separation/divorce, the factors prompting mobility (perhaps the same factors associated with the family event, for example poor labour market prospects), and the mobility event itself. Agata Gorny and Ewa Kepinska described how their research on mixed marriages involving Ukrainians in Poland sheds light on the intersection between immigration law, family formation, and mobility. Linking the growing incidence of mixed marriages to economic and cultural shifts, the paper utilised Polish marriage data for the 1990's to assess the conceptual framework of mate selection proposed by Becker. They argued that much of the movement of Ukrainians women to Poland occurs not through family reunification, but as temporary, economic migration that leads to mixed marriages. By combining ethnographic data from Warsaw with correlation analysis of visa rates and mixed marriage rates, the authors concluded by suggesting that mixed marriages are likely to become a more, rather than less important part of settlement processes in Poland. Panel 3 examined migration, commuting, and family in aging societies. Much research on mobility focuses on the family formation and upward labour career stages in the life cycle. However, in an aging society other family forms dominate, such as empty nest families, retired couples, widows and widowers. Their residential needs and preferences are different from those of other household types. For instance, empty nest households are less restricted in their residential choices than younger families. Often, they combine high incomes with a more flexible working situation. Another example: retired households often need health care facilities, that are not necessarily available in those regions that are most attractive for pre-retirement and early retirement households. International migration of early retirement families is another topic of interest in this panel. It may become more important, especially in view of new forms of combined residential and service housing that are being developed in southern European regions). Panel 4 examined tied migration. Contributors acknowledged that the geographic mobility of families is associated with a broad set of labour market implications for both partners and that empirical investigations of women as “tied migrants” demonstrate short-to-medium term declines in labour force participation, hours worked and wages. In introducing the panel, Adrian Bailey surveyed these, and more recent themes in this branch of literature. A number of critiques of previous approaches were also raised, including the lack of cross-national and comparative work, the difficulties associated with theorising fluid gender relations within families, and the limitations of treating families as “closed systems” to be the recipients of various policy initiatives (i.e. instrumentalist views).
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Keith Halfacree began his paper on “untying” tied migration by posing the question – are dual career households a desirable or even viable social blueprint? Drawing examples from recent statements by British politicians, Halfacree sketched a series of connections between political discourse and the role of migration norms and ideologies in much broader globalisation imperatives, arguing that key international labour markets necessary for the latter rely on a culture of migration. Indeed, other workshop contributors also spoke of an “expectation of mobility” among certain groups. The paper closed by calling for a
structuration perspective which can jointly theorise the practises of mobility, global capitalism, and patriarchy. Parvati Raghuram launched her critique of traditional tied migration lenses from a discursive perspective. Her paper described how four “meta-narratives” of tied migration research have left no analytical space for more nuanced descriptions of the processes of tied migration, and have helped perpetuate the view of women as victims and men as leaders of family migration events and practises. Leveling a similar critique at the literature on dual career couples, Raghuram introduced a case-study of medical migration to suggest how Indian doctors were using transnational migration strategies to contest and shape/reproduce the underlying class and gender relations of their communities. In the panel’s third paper, Darren Smith sketched an emerging research agenda that focuses on a neglected corner of the tied migration literature: the relocation practises used by large companies. Like his colleagues on this panel, Smith had no truck with many of the assumptions of tied migration scholarship. Concerned to not only discuss the measurable impacts that mobility might have on the work:family outcomes (eg division of labour) but also to jointly consider how mobility feeds into the very meaning of taken-for-granted terms like work and family, Smith outlined a research agenda that links origins and destinations and tracks employees asked to relocate. Like Halfacree, Smith also questioned the basis of normative policy constructions, in particular the notion of “family-friendly” measures. Panel 5 focused on migration and ethnicity. This emerging branch of family migration literature examines how ethnicity frames the relationship between migration strategies and family outcomes. The panel discussed what is going on in international and regional migration in terms of "family patterns" among different ethnicities. Dusan Drbohlav kicked off the discussion with a broad ranging, international and historical review of ethnicity-mobility links, with an accent on international movement. The paper began by articulating and problematising the concept of ethnicity before turning to exemplars that highlighted the roles of ethnicity in mediating both causes and consequences of international family migration. A number of this paper’s arguments were raised at other junctures in the workshop. For example, is the family group the best scale at which to study the effects of ethnicity? Is the concept of family migration in some senses underbounded? Is the practise of transnational migration undermining traditional family-oriented assimilation and settlement norms? How does ethnicity intersect with gender, cross-culturally, to illuminate the practises of family migration in response to elder-care responsibilities? Drbohlav closed with a call for response that explores the intersections of ethnicity, gender, and class across the lifecourse. The paper by Phil Rees and Andy Peloe gave delegates a glimpse of one strategy for responding to Drbohlav’s call for greater attention to ethnicity across the lifecourse. Taking the 1991 UK Census-derived definition of ethnicity, and cross-classifying these groups with a series of lifecourse informed categories, Rees and Peloe showed how movement into London boroughs varied both across ethnicity and the lifecourse. The paper showed, for example, the differences in settlement strategies for Whites and Black Africans. Most groups were to be found across Greater London, and not – on this evidence – concentrated or segregated in limited number of boroughs. This paper pointed to the utility of empirical work for benchmarking demographic and social processes and for generating research hypotheses (in this case, discussion followed about the operation of housing markets). The sixth panel explored family migration in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) context.
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The first paper by Marek Kupiszewski was devoted to the review of the development in
migration both internal and international. The paper dealt with not only traditionally understood migration, but also with various forms of mobility, in particular with incomplete migration - a new form of pendular mobility typical of people in the lowest segments of the labour market who try to retain the standards of living of their families. The paper identifies the key characteristics of the migration and mobility patterns in the last decade and set some research hypothesis, which may be used to formulate research projects aiming at expansion and consolidation of our knowledge of family migration. The second paper by Phil Rees and Marek Kupiszewski focused on the patterns of internal migration by age in 18 European countries. The age variable was used as a proxy variable for life stage. An attempt was made to typify migration by age patterns in Central and Eastern Europe and in Western Europe (understood in political not geographical terms). It was established that in CEE family migration tend to direct towards urban centres whereas in Western Europe it is the main force of deconcentration. Young adults tends to concentrate in all countries surveyed. Old age migration differs slightly, but in any case may be explained by the tendency to provide the elderly with the best possible access to services and facilities. The last paper of the session by Zdenek Cermak was devoted to the changing patterns of internal migration in the Czech Republic and to a comparison of these patterns with other CEE countries. The author identified the main changes in the migration patterns: the growing importance of small towns and reducing role of the cities in the migration choices of population. The workshop closed with a discussion of the possibilities for further collaborative work. By the end of three days a large programme of original research findings had been covered. This, together with the opportunities for constructive discussion and networking made the workshop an intensive, but enjoyable and worthwhile affair. Delegates also pointed out they particularly enjoyed Phil Rees's impromptu walking tour of Leeds at twilight. Adrian Bailey __________________________________________________________________________
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Around the departments The Migration Unit at Swansea The Migration Unit was established in 1992 by Dr.s. Vaughan Robinson and Keith Halfacree as a University of Wales Research Centre. Through evidence based research, the Migration Unit seeks to promote the study of all aspects of human mobility at scales varying from international to local. Central themes of the current research programme are the mobility of powerless or outsider groups and the relationship between migration and social, cultural and economic change. The Migration Unit has a successful track record of attracting external finance from bodies such as ESRC, The Council of Europe, Home Office, The Nuffield Foundation, Royal Society, and The Simon Population Trust and British Refugee Councils. Within the Geography Department, the Unit has its own climate controlled office and networked computer facilities. It publishes a Research Paper series, which is edited by Dr Halfacree, and staff have recently been instrumental in producing several key books and published articles (see website at http://ralph.swan.ac.uk). The unit hosts an occasional Visiting Speaker programme and has organised several conferences both for the Institute of British Geographers and for postgraduates specialising in Population Geography ('Popfest, 1996 and 2001 - see http://ralph.swan.ac.uk/popfest). The Migration Unit also enjoys active international links with several other similar Units. Migration Unit, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP. Tel: (01792 295 228). Dr. Vaughan Robinson, E-mail: [email protected] Brief C.V: 1996 - present Reader, University of Wales Swansea. 1991 - 1996 Senior Lecturer, University College Swansea. 1983 - 1991 Lecturer, University College Swansea. 1982 D.Phil.. Nuffield College, Oxford. 1977 B.A. (First class) Geography, St. Catherine's College, Oxford. Vaughan's initial interest was in the social demography of ethnic minorities in advanced western societies, particularly the interaction between their life strategies and racism. His recent research has focused upon comparative analysis of integration interventions, especially those concerned with patterns of settlement, internal migration and social mobility, including definitions of best practice in the EU and comparing dispersal policies across Europe. In addition, two major pieces of research have been completed for the Home Office, the first of which looked at why asylum seekers come to the UK and the second reviewed best practice in refugee dispersal policies. Vaughan's research has mainly been funded by the Home Office (three grants), Nuffield Foundation (three grants) and the European Commission. He has also received funding from the Simon Population Trust, the Welsh Refugee Council , the British Council, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, The Royal Society, ESRC, and ECRE . Vaughan was formerly a 'Prize Research Fellow' at Nuffield College, Oxford, and is an Editorial Advisor to the Journal of Refugee Studies and a UNHCR 'Expert Consultant'. Vaughan also teaches the following lecture courses: World Population; Wales: Migration and the making of the Welsh population; Social Survey design; Geographical Thought; The Geography of Race Relations. Personal interests: When not in an 'action' mood, Vaughan takes great delight in sitting down with a good car magazine, or better still going for a spin in his new Subaru (not that any of his postgrads.
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have been yet) or fiddling with his classic Jaguar. He is obsessed with gardening and travelling and has combined these interests by creating a truly postmodern landscape at home in West Wales where a classical Chinese garden abuts Celtic and Italian gardens. Dr. Keith Halfacree, E-mail: [email protected] Research interests: Rural studies, population migration, cultural constructions of space, geographies of law, radical environmentalism and the application of social theory. Brief C.V: 1993 - present Lecturer, University of Wales Swansea. 1991 - 1993 Research Tutor, University of Wales Swansea. 1990 - 1991 Research Associate, University of Lancaster. 1992 PhD, University of Bristol. 1987 B.Sc., University of Bristol. Keith recently established the centre for Social and Cultural Change in the British Countryside, within the Department of Geography. Work is seeking to understand some of the social and cultural changes which have been transforming the British countryside in the post-1945 period. In particular, attention has been paid to the ways in which people's ̀ common-sense' understanding of the rural (and urban) environment has manifested itself in the changes wrought on the social and physical landscape, and the ways such understandings underpin contemporary conflicts and disputes over the future of the countryside. Initial work considered the role played by migration and migrants in these processes. Through trends such as counterurbanisation, `different' types of person are coming to live in the rural environment, with their own ideas about what does and does not belong in the countryside. In particular, migrants often have a ̀ romantic' imagination of rural life which can have important material consequences when forming the basis of rural anti-development pressure groups. Thus, attention needs to be paid to migrants' understandings and related behaviour patterns. Keith is a committee member of the Rural Economy and Society Study Group and committee member of the Rural Geography research group of the RGS/IBG. Keith also teaches the following lecture courses: Human Geographies of Wales and Welshness; Development Issues in the Third World; Tourism, Heritage and Leisure; Geographical Research Methods; Geographical Thought; Contemporary Rural Britain. Other members of staff: Dr. Georgina Gowans, B.A., M.A. (London), P.h,D (Southampton), Lecturer, Department of Geography, [email protected].. Research interests: Feminist and post-colonial geographies; travel, home and empirialism. Jeremy Segrott, B.A. (Lampeter), M.A. (Nottingham), Senior Research Assistant, Department of Geography, E-mail: [email protected]. Research interests: Welsh identity, self identity and migration; asylum seekers and refugees; complementary and alternative medicine. Andrew Bateman
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Postgraduate Corner My name is Andrew Bateman and I am the Postgraduate Liaison Officer on the PGRG Committee. Apart from convening the postgraduate session at the 2002 RGS/IBG Annual Conference in Belfast, my role is to facilitate the participation of population postgraduates within the PGRG, so that it remains an active and vibrant research group. In order to achieve this, I am opening myself up as a point of contact between population postgraduates and senior academics, so that issues of concern, as well as success, can be managed effectively. In this newsletter I would like to provide some background to the popfest conference, and would encourage you to attend next years Popfest in Dundee.
Popfest: background
Popfest is organised entirely by postgraduates, for postgraduates. This ethos ensures that a forum is available for MPhil and PhD postgraduates to present their research to their peers in a relaxed and supportive environment. The conference transcends disciplinary boundaries by incorporating a variety of academic fields of study that are related to population studies. These include Human / Population Geography, Demography, Social Anthropology, Social Policy and Statistics, Health, Development, Law and Psychology. Since 1993, various institutions have organised and hosted Popfest. In 1996, the conference came to Swansea for the first time and over the last three years it has been held at: Dundee (1998) http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rossm/top.htm Southampton (1999) http://www.socstats.soton.ac.uk/popfest99/ LSE (2000) http://www.lse-students.ac.uk/bakilaam Such events are ideal for postgraduates, whatever their stage of research, to gain constructive feedback, whilst also sharing their research experiences. Popfest is therefore an invaluable springboard for junior researchers, providing an opportunity to practice presentation skills as a paper or poster display, before facing more demanding academic audiences. As an example, three Popfest delegates also presented their research at the BSPS Annual Conference in Leeds, September 2001, while six further delegates will be presenting at the Annual RGS / IBG conference in Belfast, January 2002. Popfest 2001 gratefully acknowledges the support of the following sponsors, without whom the conference would not have been possible: The Simon Population Trust, 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP The Wellcome Trust, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE (www.welcome.ac.uk/international). British Society for Population Studies, Room Q152, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE (www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/spa/bsps). Popfest 2000, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE (www.lse.ac.uk). Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP (http://ralph.swan.ac.uk). Population Geography Research Group, Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers), 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR ( )www.liv.ac.uk/geography/PGRG Andrew Bateman: PGRG Liaison Officer, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Email: [email protected]
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Postgraduate Celebrities (1) Andrew Bateman, E-mail: [email protected] Research interests: Population geography, illegal migration, ethnic groups, asylum seekers and refugees. Supervisors: Dr.Vaughan Robinson and Dr. Keith Halfacree. PhD: "Understanding 'illegal' migration to the UK - numbers, characteristics and in-depth experiences.” The extent and nature of 'illegal' migration to the UK is alluded to in this research through the review of existing literatures and the utilisation of multiple quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative data reveals the socio-demographic characteristics of five hundred asylum seekers and three hundred sea-faring stowaways that have used unorthodox means of entry to the UK. The qualitative testimonies of forty Iraqi and Tamil volunteers that migrated to the UK 'illegally' help to 'voice' the in-depth experiences of such journeys from source to destination country, as well as the reasons that lie beneath these extreme migrations. In order to elucidate these complex and multileveled explanations, the research adopts a 'structuration-biographic' approach and therefore seeks to contribute to the current debate on the (Re)Theorising of Population Geography. The findings from this research will be presented in the 'Postgraduate Research in Population Geographies' session of the Annual RGS / IBG conference in Belfast 2002. Brief C.V: 2001 - 2004 Postgraduate liaison officer and committee member of the PGRG. 2001 - 2002 Convenor for the PGRG 'Postgraduate Research in Population Geographies' session of
the annual RGS/IBG conference, Belfast, 2002. 2001 Fieldwork research grant from the Simon Population Trust. 2001 Consultant to the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate, Immigration Research and Statistics Service. 2000 - 2001 Chairman and co-organiser of "Popfest 2001" - IX Annual Conference for Population
Studies Postgraduates, Department of Geography 1999 - present PhD (Wales): "Understanding 'illegal' migration to the UK" (in preparation). 1999 'The Ethics and Philosophy of Social Research' as part of a Dip / M.Sc. Econ. in Social
Research. 1999 - 2002 Teaching Bursary, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea: first year
tutor and demonstrator; open day representative. 1996 - 1999 BA Honours Geography (2i), University of Wales Swansea. 1999 Undergraduate dissertation: “International Manual Labour Migration, Employment
‘Institutions’ and the Agricultural Industry in S.England.” Personal interests: I thoroughly enjoy watching and participating in most sports, particularly golf, sailing and hockey, for which I was awarded the University athletic union loyalty colours as 2nd XI Captain. I enjoy reading a good adventure book with a glass of Jack Daniels and going to the theatre and cinema. I have a continued interest in aviation after completing my basic gliders training. I have been a voluntary reader at the University ‘Recording Centre for the Blind' and I am an Associate Fellow of the RGS / IBG. Prior to studying at Swansea, I took a very rewarding and useful gap year to work as a Junior Master / Sports Coach, and saved enough money to travel to Portugal, Kenya and Tanzania, the highlight of which was a successful ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon completing my first degree and having gained a ‘first’ in my dissertation, I was successfully awarded a departmental teaching bursary which enabled me to also embark on the PhD.
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Postgraduate Celebrities (2) Nissa. R. Finney, E-mail: [email protected] Research interests: Minority settlement and integration, population migration, ethnic relations, asylum seekers and refugees, media cultures and effects, cultural change, Russia. Supervisors: Dr. Vaughan Robinson and Dr. Keith Halfacree.. PhD: "Dispersal of asylum seekers: press and public attitudes in the UK." Representations and realities of the present UK policy to disperse asylum seekers away from London and the South East of England to consortia in other areas of the country are investigated in this thesis. Representations of the policy in the British press on a local and national scale from its introduction through stages of development and implementation (1998-2002) are explored. Content Analysis, theories of Critical Discourse Analysis and the notion of local media cultures are used to examine what press portrayals develop, how and why. ‘Realities’ of dispersal will be looked at in terms of the attitudes of long-term UK residents towards its philosophy, implementation and effects. Theories of prejudice and othering will be drawn on and surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups carried out in five areas of Britain. In particular, implications for the integration of asylum seekers will be identified. The relationships between the representations and realities - the press portrayals and the attitudes - will be explored using theories of media influence and power, with an overall view to informing future integration interventions and minority settlement policies. Brief C.V: 2000-2003 PhD (Wales): see above. University of Wales Swansea Full Postgraduate Studentship. 2001 Chair and co-organiser of “Popfest 2001” – IX Annual Conference of Population Studies
Postgraduates, Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea. See http://ralph.swan.ac.uk/popfest.
2001 Demonstrator: year two module “Research Methods”, Department of Geography, UWS. 2000 Research Assistant to Dr. Vaughan Robinson (UWS) on European Commission funded
project: “A comparative study of policies designed to disperse asylum seekers in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK”. See http://ralph.swan.ac.uk/refugeedisp
2000 ‘The Ethics and Philosophy of Social Research’ as part of a Dip/Msc. Econ. in Social Research (UWS)
2001 B.Sc. Honours Geography (First Class), University of Wales Swansea. 2000 Undergraduate dissertation: “Retail, Consumption and Culture: Post-Perestroika change
in Novgorod the Great, Russia” Personal interests: I enjoy living by the sea and when the Swansea weather treats us well I like to walk or cycle along the coast and take a dip. I’m a keen hockey player and have received loyalty colours for contributions as Treasurer and 1st XI player in the University club. I now play for a local team. I thoroughly enjoy swimming as a way to relax. Reading, writing, photography, theatre, concerts, being creative, looking after my plants and good food give me great pleasure. I play clarinet in the Swansea Community Orchestra and have recently taken up West African dancing. I am interested in voluntary work, most recently through involvement with Swansea Student Community Action and Student Action for Refugees (STAR). I love to travel and spending six months teaching in Russia during my year out prior to University is one of the most significant experiences of my life so far. At the end of the day, a good chat with friends over a nice drink is just the tonic.
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REGISTRATION FORM The 1st International Conference on Population Geographies
Organised by the Population Geography Research Group (PGRG) of the Royal Geographical Society – Institute for British
Geographers (RGS-IBG)
19-23 July 2002 School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Scotland
PERSONAL DETAILS
Name (capitals) Department University Address Post/zip code Contact Tel. No: Fax: E-mail address: COSTS
Registration fee (all participants must pay a registration fee) Tick
Standard £ 70 Postgraduates and unwaged £ 40 Standard day delegate fee (includes lunch and refreshments) £ 35 Postgraduate and unwaged day delegate fee (includes lunch and refreshments) £ 20 Accommodation and meals (St Salvator’s Hall, North St, University of St Andrews) Bed, breakfast, all meals (+ conf. dinner) between lunch Friday 19th and breakfast Tuesday 23rd July £210 Additional bed and breakfast, Thursday 18th July £22 Additional bed and breakfast, Wednesday 24th July £22 Vegetarian Dietary or other requirements _________________________ Total £_________
PAYMENT INFORMATION
I enclose a cheque for £___________ made payable to the ‘University of St Andrews’ Or Please debit my Visa / Mastercard / Amex / Switch card (delete as applicable) with the sum of £ ____________ Name of Card Holder ___________________________(in capitals) Card number _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Expiry Date _ _ / _ _
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Signature Date ABSTRACT If you wish to present a paper, please email your abstract of no more than 200 words
to [email protected]. I have emailed my abstract (includes title, list of authors with postal and email addresses) I have yet to email my abstract, but I intend to submit a paper and will do so by April 30th 2002 at the latest I do not intend to present a paper FIELD TRIPS (There are no sessions on the morning of Sunday 21st) Please indicate if you would like: To play golf on a local links course (likely cost £20 - £30) A tour of Edinburgh (likely cost £5) A tour of St Andrews (free) Ceilidh (Saturday night, free) FORM RETURN Please return this form as soon as possible but in any case before 30th APRIL 2002 to: Conference Officer, The 1st International Conference on Population Geographies, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Scotland KY16 9ST (Tel: +44 (0)1334 463923 Fax: +44 (0)1334 463949)
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The 1st International Conference on Population Geographies
Conference details
PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE OF 30th APRIL 2002 FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION & REGISTRATION
Event Population Geography is buoyant in many nations, but despite this there is no regular international meeting bringing us together. This is the first conference designed to do so. It will be hosted by the Population Geography Research Group which is one of the specialist research groups of the Royal Geographical Society / Institute for British Geographers. It will begin with lunch on Friday 19th July 2002 and end on the morning of Tuesday 23rd July 2002. The long-term aim is for this to be a bi-annual event hosted in different nations. We hope that it will become the major, regular Population Geography event world-wide. Participants Although designed for geographers, contributions are welcome from those who would not regard themselves as population geographers, but are working in pertinent research areas. For example, we would welcome speakers from other disciplines including Demography, Sociology, Economics, Social Anthropology etc. Postgraduates are also encouraged to attend and offer papers. Papers The remit for the 1st meeting is broad. We are encouraging people to submit papers on any research issue relevant to Population Geography and the organisers will decide the strands of the conference once we have received the abstracts. In addition, there will be a few theme sessions and if you are interested in organising a theme session (minimum of 3 and maximum of 6 papers) please contact the conference officer with a title and a provisional list of possible speakers. Papers should be 20-25 minutes long, allowing for 5-10 minutes discussion in ½ hour slots.
Travel arrangements
Flights Flights from most countries are available into Edinburgh, or Glasgow. Within Britain, cheap flights are available from Luton (Easyjet) and Stansted (Go), and flights with British Midland from Heathrow can be relatively cheap.
Rail information If you want more details of train connections to Leuchars (the nearest station to St Andrews), visit: http://www.railtrack.co.uk From Edinburgh airport (the nearest major airport to St Andrews) A bus will take you into Edinburgh to Waverley rail station (about 15-20 minutes) from where there are regular train connections to Leuchars (the closest station to St Andrews). If there are three or four people in your party a taxi from the airport to St Andrews may be worthwhile, despite the likely cost of around £60. From Glasgow airport A bus will take you into Glasgow to Queen St station (about 20 minutes) from where there are regular rail connections to Edinburgh and on to Leuchars. From Leuchars rail station to St Andrews On the morning of Friday 19th a minibus will travel to and from Leuchars and the University and you should wait for this to arrive. If you intend to arrive at Leuchars station before or after this time, buses or taxis can be used for the trip to St Andrews (around 10 minutes). We look forward to seeing you in St Andrews in July 2002. Conference Organisers: Paul Boyle, Robin Flowerdew, Elspeth Graham