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The President opened the meeting and presented a short report of the activities carried out during the first year of the Society. He sketched the steps leading up to the foundation of the Society and emphasised the important role played by ISSBD in initiating the European conferences. The proposal to proceed to set up a European Society had been advanced at the business meeting at the Bonn conference and passed virtually unanimously (with one abstention) by those attending. Since then, the Society had been granted charitable status under British law on the 29th of June 1994 at which time the Constitution and By-Laws had been formally established. These would be made generally available to members via the next issue of the Newsletter.
An interim committee had been established comprising the former Chair-persons of the previous conferences. George Butterworth had been elected President and Sandy Jackson Secretary/Treasurer by the committee. In order to improve the geographical and disciplinary representation on the Council three additional members had been appointed as ad hoc members: Charles Crook, Editor of the Newsletter, Scania de Schonen representing French language areas and Neuro-Psychology and Claes von Hofsten representing the Scandinavian countries.
The interim committee will be replaced in stages by a fully elected committee during the course of the next five years. Steps will be taken to set up an electoral procedure so that this process can be started during the coming year. This will include the preparation of a list of members since only members are entitled to vote.
Charles Crook, University of Durham, had agreed to serve as editor of the Newsletter. The first issue had been produced in the Spring of this year and was made available to members via e-mail. The Newsletter is permanently located on the Internet. The second issue is planned for November and members are invited to send contributions to this to Charles Crook as soon as possible. The establishment of an electronic Newsletter had been made possible thanks to a small grant from the Cosine initiative of the European Union. This arrangement offers great benefits to members in that virtually no costs are involved and this means not only that there is no membership fee at present but also that the future level of such fees is likely to be very low.
The President had represented the Society at the recent meeting of the European Congress of Psychology in Athens.
One or two points were raised from the floor immediately after the Presidents address. Professor Pulkinnen, President of ISSBD referred to the previous links between the European conferences and ISSBD and the role ISSBD as an international and interdisciplinary organisation had played in attempting to foster regional activities. She felt that it was in the interest of both Societies to try to develop the field of Developmental Psychology in Europe. She wished the European Society good luck in its future development and activities.
Professor Camaioni (Rome) suggested that some form of informal exchange might be developed in order to improve contact between the Executive Council and the various regions of Europe. One way to achieve this might be to try to work through the Chairpersons of National Associations for Developmental Psychology in situations where the country concerned was not represented directly on the Council. The President pointed out that a difficulty with this suggestion was that very few countries had established such Associations.
Professor Pulkinnen referred to the possible dangers of competition developing between ISSBD and the European Society with regard to fee structures. The President commented that it might be worthwhile to explore ways in which the two Societies might try to work together to help each other.
The Treasure/Secretary pointed out that the Society had no financial resources at present and that there were also no debts. Discussions would be taking place in the near future concerning a fee structure for membership of the Society. The Visa and Mastercard/Eurocard organisations had been approached in order to explore possibilities for provided credit card payment to members. To date, no concrete arrangement had been established in this direction.
Michel Deleau reported briefly on the financial and other arrangements for the Rennes conference. The University of Rennes had agreed to make a cash advance to help with initial arrangements. He was confident that it would be a highly successful conference.
The President reported that three Universities were interested in organising the 1999 conference. He invited representatives to inform the meeting of the possibilities. Prof. Elias Besevegis, University of Athens, Dr Christiane Spiel, on behalf of the University of Vienna and Professor Helgard Rauh, University of Potsdam each provided a brief description of the possibilities at each of their Universities. The President invited those attending to provide an indication of their preference. The result of the (consultative) vote was : Vienna 7, Greece 16 and Potsdam 2.
The President reported that four publishers had expressed an interest in publishing a journal for the Society. He felt that there was no real need to reach a hurried decision about this since there are already many relevant journals and the need for yet another is by no means clear. He suggested that it might be worthwhile to think of a developmental publication along similar lines to Brain and Behaviour Sciences. This possibility was currently being explored together with the ways in which it could be made available to members. The Society was also exploring the possibility of publishing book reviews via electronic mail. A consistent aim behind all these activities is the need to ensure that a high quality is achieved.
Professor Rauh urged the need to produce a publication dealing with advances in Developmental Psychology , including European research. She felt that this could be a useful substitute for an advanced text book.
No other items of business were raised.
The President thanked those who had attended and formally closed the meeting.
On January 30, 1996, a symposium will be organized in Groningen in the honour of Lex Kalverboer. The title of the symposium is: Biopsychology and Developmental Risk
10.20 | R.H. Geuze: Introduction |
10.30 | Prof. Heinz Prechtl (Graz): Spontaneous Motility, a Window into the Brain of the At-Risk Fetus and Young Infant |
11.10 | coffee break |
11.30 | Prof. Hanus Papousek (Munich): Psychobiology of Parenthood: Ecological Risks |
12.10 | Prof. Michael Rutter (London): title will follow |
12.50 | Lunch |
13.30 | Poster session: Topics in Developmental and Experimental Clinical Psychology |
14.40 | Prof. Paul van Geert (Groningen): Models for Development: Risk |
15.20 | Tea |
16.00 | Prof. Lex Kalverboer: Afscheidsrede (final lecture) |
17.00 | Reception |
The costs for the symposium will be Dfl. 100.-, inclusive lunch, coffee and tea and documentation.
To receive further information you are kindly requested to put your name and address on our mailing list:
secretariat tel.: 31 50 636397 (after October 9: 31 50 5636397)
or E-mail: G.W.Landeweerd@PPSW.RUG.NL
The centenary of the births of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) is in 1996. A special Centenary Conference is being planned in Britain during April 1996. The Planning Group of this Conference has the support of the Developmental Psychology Section, the Education Section and the Standing Conference Committee of the British Psychological Society. The Centenary Conference will be independent but linked to the British Psychological Society Annual Conference, and will be held in Brighton during 11-12 April 1996.
The aims of the Centenary Conference will be twofold. One aim is commemorative as a mark of the original contributions made by both Piaget and Vygotsky over the present century. The other aim is prospective as a progressive contribution to the evaluation of perspectives in developmental psychology and education over the decade leading to the next century.
The Centenary Conference is currently planned to include:
Submitted papers will contribute an integral element and occupy a central place in the Piaget-Vygotsky Conference. All submitted papers will be presented in poster format with specifically arranged discussion sessions. Papers may be empirical or theoretical. Submitted Papers may overlap the themes of the Invited Papers or deal with any issue compatible with the Centenary Conference aims.
By all means contact any member of the Planning Group for further information about Submitted Papers or the Piaget-Vygotsky Conference.
Dr Leslie Smith
Department of Educational Research
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YL, GB
The Invited Papers will be organised around five themes. There will be two invited speakers together with a discussant for each theme which will be allocated 90-120 minutes. The Conference will be participatory with the pre-circulation of the papers of all invited speakers for open discussion. Each speaker will make a short (15-20 minutes) oral contribution at the outset. This will be followed by open discussion so as to allow the participation of those attending the conference. A final overview and evaluation will be given by the discussant (10 minutes). There will also be a Conference Address.
Educational intervention and teaching
Speakers
Professor Michael Beveridge (University of Bristol)
Dr Michael Shayer (King's College, London)
Discussant
Professor Kathy Sylva, (University of London)
Social collaboration and learning
Speakers
Dr Gerard Duveen (University of Cambridge)
Professor Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont (University of Neuchatel)
Discussant
Dr Gerry Finn (University of Strathclyde)
Cognitive skills and domain-specificity
Speakers
Professor Peter Bryant (University of Oxford)
Professor Lauren Resnick (University of Pittsburgh)
Discussant
Dr Robin Campbell (University of Stirling)
Measurement of development
Speakers
Dr Trevor Bond (James Cook University, Australia)
Dr Margaret Chalmers & Dr Brendan McGonigle (University of Edinburgh)
Discussant
Dr Jim Ridgway (Lancaster University)
Development of modal understanding
Speakers
Dr Paul Harris (University of Oxford)
Dr Leslie Smith (Lancaster University)
Discussant
Dr Peter Tomlinson (University of Leeds)
Conference Address
Professor Deanna Kuhn (Columbia University, New York)
Dr Leslie Smith
Deparment of Educational Research
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YL
Email L.Smith@lancaster.ac.uk
Dr. Julie Dockrell
Department of Child Development
Institute of Education
London WC1H 0AA
Email J.Dockrell@ioe.ac.uk
Dr Peter Tomlinson
School of Education
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email P.D.Tomlinson@education.leeds.ac.uk
San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 10-15 April 1996
Speakers will include:
E. Blass, Y. Burnod, J.I.P. de Vries, G. Lamberz-Dehaene, L. D+Odorico, N. Frijda, J. Gomez, M. Harris, M. Johnson, A. Karmilloff-Smith, P. Kuhl, J.P. Lecanuet, J. Linaza, J. Locke, O. Maratos, N. Masataka, J. Mehler, A. Meltzoff, J. Nadel, K. Plunkett, F. Simion, E. Spelke, D. Stern, E. Thelen, V. Volterra
The aim will be to explore the extent to which recent research on early human development may reveal the origins of species-typical human symbol systems. The main focus will be on early communication and the structural and functional precursors of language. How do non-symbolic processes already available in the first 6 months of life lead to symbolic cognitive processes at the end of the first year? Constituent processes, such as the prenatal origins of asymmetries in brain and behaviour will be considered, as will the role of the emotions in communicating meaning before the acquisition of speech. Models of the development of symbolic and non-symbolic processes will be discussed both from connectionist and dynamic systems perspectives.
Deadline for Applications: Mid-January 1996
The number of participants will be limited to about 100. The emphasis will be on discussion about new developments. There will be a Registration Fee covering full board and lodging. Some grants will be available for younger scientists, in particular those from less favoured regions in Europe, and for participants from Eastern and Central Europe.
For information & application forms, contact the Executive Director of the Programme:
Dr. Josip Hendekovic, European Science Foundation, 1 quai Lezay-Marnesia, 67080 Strasbourg Cedex, France. Fax.(33) 88 36 69 87 E-mail: euresco@esf.org on-line information on WWW server at: http://www.esf.org
July 21st - 23rd 1997
University of Padua, Italy
For further information
Prof. A. Comunian
University of Padua
General Psychology department
Via Venezia 8, 35100 Padova (Italy)
Tel: 049/8276629
Fax: 049/8276600 - 6611
email: comunian@ipdunivx.unipd.it
11-13 September 1996
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Submissions are invited for: Papers, Symposia, Posters (postgraduate posters welcomed). Deadline: April 19th 1996
We are not using forms for the submissions. Instead, we would like the following:
For individual papers or posters:
Please send 4 copies of the submission by April 19th.
Registration information will follow in The Psychologist in May or in response to submissions. Please let me know if you require any additional information.
Morag MacLean
BPS Developmental Psychology Section Conference
Psychology Unit
Oxford Brookes University
Headington
OXFORD
OX3 0BP
fax: 01865-483937
email: mmaclean@brookes.ac.uk
The international Human Frontiers Scientific Foundation have awarded a three year grant entitled "Visual cognition in human infants in relation to cortical development" to a team of four labs, including two in Europe. The labs involved are those of Professors Mark H. Johnson at the MRC Cognitive Development Unit, London (project leader); Scania de Schonen, Developmental Neurocognition Unit, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CNRS, Marseille; Michael Posner and Mary Rothbart, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, U.S.A.; and Daphne Maurer, Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.
The aims of the grant are to investigate the following questions within the context of studies on the development of visual attention and face recognition in infants:
In the near future this collaborative team will have a technical reports series and a world wide web sight with further information.
The Johann Jacobs Foundation has decided to continue its very successful competitive grant program, which supports young researchers in the field of adolescence and youth related issues, for a further three years, from (January 1996 to December 1999).
The program is specifically designed to help scholars from developing countries in Asia, Africa, Middle and South America, and Eastern Europe.
In order to continue its success, it is important that we can inform as many potential applicants as is possible. To this end, in my capacity as Chair of the Expert Committee, serving the JJF grant program, I am hoping youwill agree to publish the enclosed announcement in yournewsletter, and that you will do so without any cost to ourselves.
Rainer K. Silbereisen, Professor of Developmental Psychology,
The Johann Jacobs Foundation (JJF), a foundation devoted to the study of youth in a changing world and to the improvement of youth-related services, accepts competitive grant proposals for empirical research investigations conducted either in conjunction with dissertation projects or as independent projects by young investigators (particularly investigators from Eastern European and from developing countries in Asia, Africa, Middle and South America). Fields covered include the behavioral, educational, and social sciences, particularly in the following eight areas: Positive beliefs about self agency and the future; Social relations and generational nexus; Life skills and life planning; Inner-city youth (poverty); Impact of high-tech communication technology; Cultural and individual diversity; Educational values; Match between institutions and individual development.
Dissertation grants are available to predoctoral students whose dissertation proposal has the approval of a dissertation mentor or a committee. Funds up to US $5,000 are available for materials, subject fees, research assistance, personal costs for field work, and other expenses required for conducting a study, analyzing data, presenting the data at an international conference, or for other forms of technical support.
Young investigator grants are aimed at postdoctoral investigators (normally within four to six years of award of the doctorate) who are initiating their own research in the field of adolescence and youth. Funds are available up to a maximum of US $10,000. Personal stipends (salaries) are not covered by either grant program. Institutions which administer or sponsor grants can receive an overhead of 10%.
To initiate a proposal, applicants should contact the Foundation at: Johann Jacobs Foundation, Administrative Assistant, Seefeldquai 17, P.O. Box 101, CH-8034 Zurich, Switzerland. Fax (+41) 1-388-6153; Tel.: (+41) 1-388-6123. Propsals will be reviewed by an international Expert Committee (Rainer K. Silbereisen, Germany, Chair).
Rainer K. Silbereisen, University of Jena, has been appointed new Editor of the International Journal of Behavioral Development
Dept. of Psychology, University of Jena, Am Steiger 3/1, D-o7743 Jena, Germany. Email: sii@rz.uni-jena.de
Marcel van Aken, University of Nijmegen
Research in developmental psychology in the Netherlands has a long tradition, even going back to the Groningen professor Heymans' study of personality descriptions of children at the beginning of this century, and it has often been interwoven with the study of the child from related disciplines, such as philosophy and pedagogy. In the time since then, the field has developed into a fairly strong research discipline, often cooperating with, but still independent from other disciplines within psychology, or within the pedagogical sciences.
In a recent quality assessment of psychological research in The Netherlands (VSNU, 1994), an international review committee evaluated the 9 research programmes on developmental psychology from the 6 Dutch universities at which developmental psychology is taught. The review committee concluded that "developmental psychology in the Netherlands is representative of the range of the discipline encountered elsewhere" (p. 24), and judged the quality of the various programmes as ranging from moderate to excellent, with the majority being good or excellent. The research programmes concerning developmental psychology are based at the University of Groningen ("Normal and Deviant Development"), the University of Amsterdam ("Cognitive and Social Development"), the Free University Amsterdam (two programmes: "Development of Children's and Adolescent's Behaviour", and "Children at Risk"), the University of Nijmegen (two programmes: "Social and Perceptual Development of Children and Adolescents" and "Personal Meaning Systems in the Second Half of Life"), the University of Leiden (two programmes: "Education and Development in a Changing Society" and "Behaviour Analysis with Normal and Developmentally Handicapped Children"), and the University of Utrecht ("Developmental of the Self and its Developmental Pathologies"). Although the labels of the research programmes are often very global, they give a good indication of the kind of research that is conducted.
With the exception of some developmental psychology research at a few independent institutes (such as a Max-Planck-Institut for psycholinguistics, and a TNO-institute for preventive health), most of the research in conducted at the Universities. Typically, a developmental psychology department at a Dutch university consists of a small number of tenured staff (at the level of assistant professor, associate professor, or full professor), some untenured post-docs, and Ph.D students. Most of the research is conducted in the form of projects by Ph.D students, under the supervision of the tenured staff. Financial support for developmental psychological research in the Netherlands comes from three main sources. The first 'financial stream' is the direct state funding of the universities. This funding is dependent upon the number of students, and usually covers the costs for the tenured staff at the universities and a few grants for Ph.D students. The second financial stream is also state funding, but is allocated to the universities on the basis of grant proposals through a competition with peer-reviews, organised by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This stream usually covers only Ph.D - or post-doc grants. Sometimes single projects are funded, but also sometimes projects are grouped together in a so-called "Aandachtsgebied" (area of special attention). The third stream is funding from private or institutional sources, not necessarily with the aim of granting a Ph.D student and usually more aimed at applied research.
In 1990, Koops and Soppe started a review of developmental psychology in The Netherlands with the remark "Whoever wants to encounter Dutch developmental psychologists would be well advised to go to an international conference on developmental psychology. On their home ground it is much more difficult to meet more than two of them at the same time" (p.v). In the relatively short period since then, things seem to have changed. Dutch developmental psychologists now have a biennial meeting, that in 1995 was held for the fourth time, with c. 150 participants. At these meetings, the majority of Dutch researchers in developmental psychology is present, and a wide variety of topics is covered. This year's themes ranged from N=1 studies of important life-events, to non-linear dynamics of developmental processes. A second important development has been the governmental pressure on more cooperation between researchers within the Netherlands. As a result, a nationwide research institute has been established: the ISED (the Institute for the Study of Education and Human Development). In this institute, most of the researchers on developmental psychology cooperate, together with a number of researchers from related disciplines (i.e., methodology, family studies, and special education). Some of the more experimentally oriented developmental psychologists cooperate in another research institute: the EPOS (the Research School for Experimental Psychology). Besides stimulating cooperation between researchers, the aim of these schools is also to develop a specialised training program for Ph.D.-students in this area. Although the governmental policy has its drawbacks in terms of decreasing financial resources and increasing administrative efforts from researchers developing and managing these research schools, let's hope that it will have its positive effects on the cooperation between researchers from different universities and on the training program for Ph.D.-students in developmental psychology.
Koops, W. & Soppe, H. (1990). Preface. In: W. Koops & H. Soppe (Eds.), Developmental psychology behind the dikes. Delft, NL: Eburon.
VSNU (1994). Quality assessment of research - Psychological research in the Netherlands: Past performance and future perspectives. Utrecht: VSNU
