#14 - March 1, 2006
Welcome to the 14th edition of Observatory PASCAL Project News – an e-newsletter about the development of this strategic information tracking and sharing service of international developments in place management, social capital and learning regions within the knowledge economy.
You have received this e-newsletter because of your expressed interest in tracking the progress of this initiative. If you do not wish to receive any further editions of the Observatory PASCAL news, follow the instructions at the bottom of this page.
If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter: http://www.obs-pascal.com/newsletters.php
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NOTE: The fourth PASCAL International Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia, July 13th – 14th, 2006. See section 3 for more information.
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Welcome to the first edition of the PASCAL newsletter for 2006.
In this edition we publish a new Hot Topics paper by John Field, alongside an incisive look at the paper by New Zealander Rob Strathdee. The conference calendar for 2006 is already crowded, as our list of upcoming conferences shows, and there are a number of new research projects and papers as well as some interesting and important books.
Scholars may wish to note the ESRC/SSRC Collaborative Visiting Fellowships for U.S. and Canadian scholars to visit and engage in collaborative activities with members of ESRC-supported projects in Britain, or for British scholars at ESRC-supported projects to visit collaborators in the U.S. or Canada, between June 2006 and September 2007. Approximately ten research fellowships of up to $8,500 (approx. £5,000) will be awarded.
http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/esrc/
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In this issue:
1. PASCAL's 4th and 5th International Conference notices
3. John Field's Hot Topics paper for PASCAL.
6. New items in the PASCAL library
9. About the PASCAL Observatory Project
10. How to unsubscribe from the Newsletter
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1. PASCAL International Observatory 4th and 5th Conference notices
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The Fourth PASCAL International Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia on 13-14th July, 2006.
The conference flier and information about the call for papers will be available shortly. For further information please contact Professor Bruce Wilson: bruce.wilson@rmit.edu.au
The Fifth PASCAL International Conference will be held in Pecs, Hungary, in September 2007.
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2. New briefing notes: Rob Strathdee writes about John Field's Hot Topics paper, "Social Networks, Innovation and Learning: Can Policies for Social Capital Promote Both Economic Dynamism and Social Justice?" and Kate Sankey's report of Vanessa Little's visit to the University of Stirling.
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"John Field's Hot Topic paper "Social Networks, Innovation and Learning: Can Policies for Social Capital Promote Both Economic Dynamism and Social Justice?" draws on a diverse literature to assess the relationships between social capital, innovation, sociability and the creation of a learning society.
The Topic contributes to the debate by providing a stock-take of current issues and, refreshingly, by suggesting concrete directions policy makers can take to help build social capital. The paper advances the widely held view that social capital impacts on our lives in many different ways. However, unlike some popular accounts of the concept, the paper is careful to set out the limits, possibilities, and dangers of building social capital.
One of the paper's key recommendations is that policies should encourage the formation of social networks in the form of clusters and linkages. The justification for this is that clusters and linkages foster innovation. As the arguments goes, competitive advantage is no longer derived from linear models of research and development in which innovative knowledge remained embedded within discipline-based groups.
In the contemporary period, innovation is more likely to emerge from interactions between knowledge generators, firms, investors, and other actors working together in clusters. Hence the claim that social capital is vital to innovation."
Read the Briefing Note: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=147
ABOUT ROB STRATHDEE
Rob Strathdee is Senior Lecturer of Education in the School of Education Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and the author of "Social Exclusion and the Remaking of Social Networks", Ashgate, London, 2005.
VANESSA LITTLE from Victoria's (Australia) Hume City Council visited the University of Stirling in February 2006. Kate Sankey reports.
Vanessa Little visited Scotland on 6 – 8th February 2006, and in this time she packed in meetings with a variety of people in Stirling and in Edinburgh. She was hosted by Kate Sankey and Lesley Doyle from PASCAL at the Institute of Education, University of Stirling.
The highlight of her stay was her presentation which was held at Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley (SEFV). More than 30 people crowded into the board room; representing community learning, adult literacies, health, sustainability, FE and HE sectors, researchers, local authority, community planning, regeneration, Scottish Enterprise staff and others. Stuart Ogg, Acting Chief Executive SEFV welcomed Vanessa.
Vanessa's presentation outlined the pioneering work in Hume City Council and set the activities in the policy context of the Council and within the state and federal strategies. Hume City is located 20 kms from the centre of Melbourne and borders rural Victoria. Hume City is 'a prosperous, progressive, sustainable and vibrant gateway City, distinguished by the diversity of its community and renowned for social justice and community inclusion'.
Read the rest of this report: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=151
FURTHER READING
Hume City Council: http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/
Scottish Enterprise: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
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3. John Field's Hot Topics paper, "Social Networks, Innovation and Learning: Can Policies for Social Capital Promote Both Economic Dynamism and Social Justice?"
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"This paper reviews the nature of the relationship between innovation, learning and social capital, and then goes on to consider some of the implications for policy and practice. It starts by examining some of the problems in translating research into practice. Having looked at the difficulties, it then assesses what we know about the relations between social capital and learning, and between social capital and innovation.
In each case, I acknowledge that there are significant 'dark sides' to the debate, but I also point to conclusive evidence of the positive resources that we can use to promote capabilities for sustainable growth and social justice. In reviewing the evidence, I also acknowledge that there is some force in certain of the scholarly criticisms of the current debates over social capital, innovation and learning; in particular, some research does not point to a clear and linear relationship between the various factors, but rather indicates much that is highly contingent.
Nevertheless, I conclude that ducking the policy challenge is deeply conservative; however radical the language, it boils down to letting market forces take their course. Rather than lamenting the risks and threats of policy development, we should try to turn the debate on its head, and ask what policies might be adopted if we place sustainability and justice at the heart of our approach."
Read the Hot Topics paper:
http://www.obs-pascal.com/resources/johnfieldfebruary2006.doc
ABOUT JOHN FIELD
John Field is Deputy Principal of the University of Stirling, where he works as Director of the Division of Academic Innovation and Continuing Education (http://crll.gcal.ac.uk/sri/srijf.htm). Previously he worked at the University of Warwick, where he was Professor of Lifelong Learning. He has also worked in the School of Education, University of Ulster, following a career in further education in Barnsley. He has advised a number of government bodies in Britain and elsewhere, and was a member of the National Advisory Group on Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, whose report influenced the Green Paper, The Learning Age.
He is the author of the recent book "Social Capital and Lifelong Learning", published in 2005 by The Policy Press, UK. http://tinyurl.com/pl8jn
More from John Field: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=100
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FACTOID: While various aspects of the concept [of social capital] have been approached by all social science fields, the modern usage of the term can be traced to sociologist Jane Jacobs in the 1960s. She did not explicitly define a term social capital but used it in an article with a reference to the value of networks. The term was little used even in sociology until it was adopted by Pierre Bourdieu in 1972, and subsequently picked up initially by James Coleman and then others. For a time in the late 1990s, the concept was highly fashionable, with the World Bank devoting a research programme to it, and the concept achieving public awareness through Robert Putnam's 2000 book, "Bowling Alone".
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital
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4. Papers from PASCAL's 3rd International Conference
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Papers from the 3rd PASCAL International Conference held at the University of Stirling, Scotland in October 2005 are now being published online and are available at: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=153
All of the papers presented at the conference will be available over the next few weeks.
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5. Book notices
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From The Social Capital Gateway: new books on trust and social capital
http://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/eng-news.htm
- NEW BOOKS -
Norman Longworth (2006) Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities, Taylor and Francis, London.
"This book deals with the background to the learning cities/regions movement and the tools that can be used in cities, towns and regions to create a culture of learning. Following the line that powerful modern cities and regions are the new city-states of the 21st century, as Athens and Venice were in the past, it suggests a new outward-looking role for cities and regions in helping to solve some of the more intransigent problems that face us today - and explains why this is crucial." http://tinyurl.com/zrwtm
Kwame McKenzie and Trudy Harpham (2006), Social Capital and Mental Health, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.
"Why do some areas have a higher prevalence of mental illness than others? How does the structure of a society affect its inhabitants' mental health? This book is the first to explore in detail the concept of social capital and its implications for mental health policy."
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843103554
Lynne Pettinger, Jane Parry, Rebecca Taylor, Miriam Glucksmann. (2006) A New Sociology of Work, Blackwell, London.
This book asks what might be required of "a new sociology of work" and why such a project is vital for understanding people's working lives at the start of the twenty-first century.
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=140513903X
Neil Selwyn, Stephen Gorard, John Furlong, (2005) Adult Learning in the Digital Age: Information Technology and the Learning Society, Routledge, London.
"This book sheds light on the ways in which adults in the twenty-first century interact with technology in different learning environments. Based on one of the first large-scale academic research projects in this area, the authors present their findings and offer practical recommendations for the use of new technology in a learning society."
http://tinyurl.com/lg2g9
Jo Anne Schneider, (2006) Social Capital and Welfare Reform Organizations, Congregations, and Communities Columbia University Press.
"Jo Anne Schneider considers the reasons behind the limited success of most welfare reform initiatives and offers evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of welfare policy.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023112/0231126506.HTM
Rob Strathdee, (2005) Social Exclusion and the Remaking of Social Networks, Ashgate, London .
"Social Exclusion and the Remaking of Social Networks", explores developments in training and in social welfare to show that third way administrations in England and New Zealand are reconnecting young people to the labour market through creating social networks. http://tinyurl.com/lx5hl
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6. Conferences and events
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-SPECIAL NOTICE-
Learning Communities Conference - call for abstracts closes 30th March.
Brisbane , Australia, 24 - 27 September 2006.
Australian Learning Communities Network biennial conference is a major three day conference focused on exploring the practitioners' perspectives of developing and sustaining learning communities.
The 2006 conference aims to provide networking, skills development, policy debate and trigger conversations and actions which will support increasing community activity making a positive social and economic impact in Australian communities.
The learning communities' framework, and our communities in action, are committed to holistic approaches to social, economic, cultural and environment activity and places an emphasis upon the importance of lifelong learning to achieve success.
http://www.learningcommunities2006.qut.edu.au/
-MARCH-
Human Capital, Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning: Where's the Strategy to Realise the Self-Sustaining Learning Society? London, UK, 15th March.
NIACE Conference to address the following issues: are we still serious about lifelong learning?; do we have a strategy to realise the self-sustaining learning society?; are we taking sufficient regard of demographic shifts, and the structural changes that are inevitable in the workforce?; has the Government got it right?
http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/HumanCapital.htm
Families and Social Capital Ethnicity Strand Seminar Programme 2006
London, UK 15th and 22nd March
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/families/events/events10.shtml
Rooting Development in Community: National Conference on Community Economic Development and the Social Economy
March 15th - 18th, 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia
This year there are five conference streams, as well as other topics of interest. The five streams are: Community Sustainability, Community-Based Enterprises, CED and Youth, Aboriginal CED, and Building Bridges Across Sectors.
http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/pages/conference.asp#2006NationalCEDConference
OLKC 2006 International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities
March 20th –22nd , 2006, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
http://www.olkc.net/
Old Economy Regions in the New Economy: a North/South Dialogue on Social, Cultural and Economic Issues, March 24th - 25th, Ontario, Canada.
The objective is to stimulate a dialogue between the North and the South in order to better understand how solutions to development problems in one region might be applied to other regions of the world.
http://www.oldeconomyneweconomy.ca/index.html
-APRIL-
The Association of Town Centre Management 2006 Annual Conference
April 3 - 4, London, UK.
The two day thought provoking programme will consider, examine and explore the essential elements that contribute to the delivery of vibrant competitive places at the heart of our town and city centres.
http://www.atcm.org/events/info.php?refnum=40
CUPP conference - Community-University Partnerships for Community-University Benefits, 6th and 7th April 2006, Brighton, UK.
The CUPP conference is about local communities and universities developing dynamic, effective and mutually beneficial partnerships.
http://www.brighton.ac.uk/cupp/conference.htm
Neighborhoods and Urban Transformation: the New Global Context - Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, Montréal, Canada, April 19 – 22, 2006
It is time to revisit what neighborhoods mean in the context of the urban place, and how they will help shape the future of cities on a global scale.
http://www.udel.edu/uaa/
-MAY-
Landscapes for Lifelong Learning: are we Heading in the Right Direction? Annual NIACE/OECD conference 2006
10th May, London, UK
NIACE and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) mount an annual conference to share recent findings from OECD's work in the field of lifelong learning.
http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/Landscapes.htm
3rd International Conference on Education and Economic Development
26-27 May, 2006, Greece.
This is a conference for any person with an interest in, and concern for new developments in business, management, economics of education and economic development.
http://preveza.teiep.gr/prevezaconference/preveza_conf_en.html
The City: a Festival of Knowledge/La ville: un festival du savoir
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
May 27-June 1, 2006, York University, Toronto, Ontario
The theme of Congress 2006 will be "The City: A Festival of Knowledge
While the city in history has had a profound effect on the civilizations that built them, the contemporary city is at once local and global. In Canada, it has become the crucible of the country's future.
http://www.fedcan.ca/congress2006/index.htm
If you have a conference or event you'd like publicised on PASCAL, please contact Katrina.Beard@rmit.edu.au
PASCAL listing of conferences and events for 2006: http://www.obs-pascal.com/events.php
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7. New in the PASCAL library
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Cities and the Knowledge-Based Economy - Research Project 2006 - 2008
The focus of this project is on economic and industrial development as a framework for urban futures. The ambition of the project is provide theoretical new insights on cities and the knowledge-based economy and to provide new empirical evidence on the economic geography of Denmark that will make a solid foundation for discussions of strategic planning and urban politics.
http://www.byforskning.dk/projekter/Knowledgeeconomy.html
Learning Lives: Learning, Identity and Agency in the Life Course
Learning Lives is a major research project which aims to deepen understanding of the meaning and significance of formal and informal learning in the lives of adults, and to identify ways in which the learning of adults can be supported and enhanced.
http://www.learninglives.org/
Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development
Universities and other higher education institutions make a significant contribution to regional economic, social and cultural development. In a globalised economy this role is growing in importance.OECD research project.
http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,2340,en_2649_34859051_34406608_1_1_1_1,00.html
Mark Lorezen, (2005), Localized Learning and Social Capital: the Geography Effect in Technological and Institutional Dynamics. Druid Working Paper 05-22.
Providing a concise working definition of social capital, this conceptual paper analyses why social capital is important for learning and economic development, why it has a regional dimension, and how it is created.
http://www.druid.dk/wp/pdf_files/05-22.pdf
For more new research, policy papers and articles visit the PASCAL Library: http://www.obs-pascal.com/library.php
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8. PASCAL Communications
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One of the aims of Observatory PASCAL is to make it easy for academics, practitioners and others interested in our aims to access the latest news research and commentary.
To this end PASCAL provides several ways of accessing our content.
RSS Feeds: the news items on PASCAL's front page can be read using a news reader or syndicated. http://www.obs-pascal.com/rss.php
If you missed an item from the news and would like to check it, PASCAL archives news items from the last few months: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=127
The PASCAL Blog contains information about updates to the site, added content and other items of interest: http://www.obs-pascal.com/blog.php
The PASCAL Events listing tries to provide coverage of conferences and events of interest to the PASCAL community. Please feel free to forward items to us for inclusion and publicity. http://www.obs-pascal.com/events.php
Periodically PASCAL runs online discussion forums around particular papers or issues, and we encourage you to use the forum to share ideas. PASCAL forums are publicised via the newsletter and the PASCAL home page.
There is also this newsletter, which comes out periodically and which has the latest information about content, events and research. Subscription to the newsletter is free. http://www.obs-pascal.com/newsletters.php
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9. About Observatory PASCAL
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PASCAL is an international research and policy development alliance which aims to develop, communicate and explain new and emerging ideas about place management, social capital and learning regions.
Read more about the Observatory PASCAL project http://www.obs-pascal.com/about.php and our project partners and stakeholders: http://www.obs-pascal.com/alliances.php
A copy of this newsletter is available online at: http://www.obs-pascal.com/newsletters.php
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10. How to unsubscribe/subscribe
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Regards,
Katrina Beard
Content Editor, PASCAL International Observatory, RMIT University
Katrina.Beard@rmit.edu.au
Dr Leone Wheeler
Manager/Senior Lecturer, RMIT Community Learning Partnerships, RMIT University
Leone.Wheeler@rmit.edu.au