PhD Call for Applications at Luiss University in Rome, Italy

Eight positions are available this year, four of which are funded by a three-year scholarship of 11,000 euros per year. The Doctoral Program in Political Theory is interdisciplinary, and covers four main areas of study: philosophy (ethics and applied philosophy, political and social philosophy, and issues in contemporary philosophy), political theory (ethics of international relations and human rights theories), law (international law, humanitarian law, and international criminal law), and politics and economics (international political economy, development policies, sustainability theories, international relations, and theories of globalization). Approximately twenty faculty members, including both Italian professors and foreign visiting professors, currently teach on the program, and there are more than thirty doctoral students, half of which are foreign. The program thus has a strongly international character. Applicants are generally expected to have majored in an area of the social sciences, humanities, or philosophy, although those with degrees in other disciplines may also be considered on the basis of their curricula vitae and research proposals. Successful applicants will begin the program in the Fall semester of 2011, by following three semesters of taught courses. Each semester lasts approximately three months, and students will have approximately 6-10 hours of classes per week during these three semesters. All courses are taught in English.
Scholarship Application Deadline:May 30, 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application

6th round of Southeast Europe and EU - Leadership Development Programme Dead Line: 27 April 2011‏

The future of Southeast Europe depends on targeted and consistent action to develop effective civic structures and integrate the region into Euro-Atlantic political, economic and security spheres. This requires consultation and collaboration between international and regional policy-makers. Initiatives that build confidence among citizens in the region are a prerequisite for peace and stability, and ultimately for regional integration and economic prosperity. Underlying this project is the belief that the driving force for the continuation of the political, social and economic reform and the success of the region’s EU integration are qualified young professionals with international experience.
In an effort to contribute to the reform process in Southeast Europe, the TRANSFUSE Association and the College of Europe jointly launched a programme in 2006 for young people from the region, as well as from the rest of Europe, who aspire to play an active role in the future of their countries. The Programme runs over a ten-month period and aims to transmit knowledge about the EU and its relation to the region, to stimulate the leadership and professional skills of participants and to encourage the exchange of views.
The European Fund for the Balkans has been generously financing the programme since 2008 and since 2009, has been organising it jointly with the College of Europe and the TRANSFUSE Association. The 2011/2012 Programme will consist of the following activities:
Two-week Summer Academy in Austria and Slovakia in September 2011
The curriculum includes topics related to the European Union and the development of its relations with Southeast Europe, as well as wider issues of international and economic relations. Practical training components focusing on negotiations, project management and presentation skills provide participants with essential leadership qualities
Group activities, between November 2011 and March 2012: The participants will work together in small groups to develop and implement a joint activity or an event in Southeast Europe.
Five-day Spring Seminar in Belgium (Brussels/Bruges), in April 2012: The programme includes working visits to the EU institutions and NATO in Brussels and classes in the campus of the College of Europe in Bruges.
The Programme is led by an Academic Dean, who guides the participants through the different aspects of the Programme. The working language of the Programme is English.
Certificates are awarded to participants upon successful completion of the Programme.
Only 30 selected applicants are invited to participate. Their participation in the Programme is sponsored by the European Fund for the Balkans. For information on the application procedure and sponsorship details see ‘How to apply’ and ‘Practical information’ pages.

Strengthening European Participatory Democracy Sofia, 1-8 May 2011

The National Student Confederation along with JEF and UEF-Bulgaria have the pleasure of inviting you to participate in the international training course "Strenthening European Participatory Democracy".
In the post Lisbon Europe more and more decisions move from a national to a European level. Besides those legal and political changes, it is important to develop a European consciousness in order to live and work in a globalising world and be not only a citizen but an active citizen. However, active citizenship is not only important for the people living in the EU, it is also necessary for the EU itself. The EU depends on participation and needs a political and active citizen. However, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about the various possibilities for creating and being part of the European civil society.
The training course "Strengthening European Participatory Democracy" to be held in Sofia from 1 to 8 May, 2011 will provide young people with knowledge and skills for active participation in the democratic life of the union. The political, social, economic and cultural aspects that the course addresses will contribute to shape a vision how to strengthen European democracy and reaffirm the concept of active European citizenship.
The participants will acquire competences about how to develop activities fostering European citizenship and practical knowledge how to communicate the EU to the young citizens. The ideas and knowledge generated during the course can be used by every participant and be implemented at local level
Methodology:
Panel discussions, working groups, lectures, plenary sessions, simulation games and information market will be some of the methods used to debate these issues.
The rich social program, including horse ride in Vitosha mountain (optional), parties and sightseeing trip to the Rila Monastery, one of the most significant and picturesque monuments on the Balkans, will enable the participants to feel the atmosphere of Bulgaria - an ever-evolving and modern country with great cultural heritage and traditions, dating back from Roman and Byzantine times.
PARTICIPATING CONDITIONS
Age 18-30
Countries EU Member states
Costs 70% of Travel Costs will be reimbursed (up to 230 Euro)
Fee/person 75 Euro participation fee/person
Board & lodging covered by the organisers
Deadline for applying: 24 April 2011!!!
FOR MORE DETAILS AND APPLICATION FORM:
nsc@scas.acad.bg

Cosmopolitanism in Context, Stockholm, 24-26 November 2011‏

Cosmopolitanism in a Wider Context: Conceptualizing Past and Present
International conference at Södertörn University/The Nobel Museum,
Stockholm, 24–26 November 2011
Ideas and aims
Cosmopolitanism has been a major topic in academia since the end of the
cold war. While cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism have been recognized
officially, xenophobia has become more intense. Is cosmopolitanism a way
out of the xenophobic state, or is the interest in cosmopolitanism in
itself adding to antagonism and disrespect for human rights?
Problems
The problem can be highlighted from several different aspects. However,
cosmopolitanism has been extensively theorized within the social sciences,
where the semantic field often tends to be separated from its historical
context. In an effort to make the academic discussion more responsive to
conceptual and historical perspectives, we would like to gather
researchers with different backgrounds to an international conference on
cosmopolitanism, with a special view to its conceptual history.
New perspecitves
The aim of the conference is to present a new perspective on a
contemporary discourse, which is often dominated by ahistorical
presumptions. The conference seeks to create a meeting between the social
sciences and humanities in order to examine how the history, and
prehistory, of cosmopolitanism has left traces in contemporary notions and
perceptions. We are interested in how the history of the concept says
something about the often contradictory meanings attributed to the term
today—empirically, theoretically, and normatively.
What impact did the events of 1989 have on the conceptualization of
cosmopolitanism?
How have the concepts of cosmopolitanism and the cosmopolitan been
used in the past—and how and why are they used differently today?
Can the cosmopolitan project be released from its original
Enlightenment impulses of Eurocentrism and Occidentalism?
How do we create or reconstruct a linguistic horizon of
intelligibility that transcends rather than reproduces the
dichotomizing implications of cosmopolitanism, such as between
West/East (and North/South)?
Organization
The conference is organized by the Center for Baltic and East European
Studies (CBEES) at Södertörn University, in cooperation with the Nobel
Museum in Stockholm, and is coordinated by PhD Kristian Pertrov. It is
open also for scholars, students and other interested who do not intend to
participate in the sessions with a paper. The conference is organized in
connection with the research project `East of Cosmopolis': www.sh.se (In
English/Research/Research database)
Procedures
At the conference, participants will be allotted 20 minutes to present
their papers, including discussions. Papers should be distributed among
the participants of a particular panel session; at the sessions all
participants are expected to have read each other's papers and to be able
to comment upon them in relation to their own paper, and vice versa.
Places and schedules
The conference will last three days and consist of keynote lectures,
parallel panel sessions and, possibly, workshops. The venue will be the
assembly hall at Södertörn University, in South Stockholm. On the second
day, Friday 25 November, the conference will be moved to Old Town in
Stockholm, and be situated in the 18th century building of the Nobel
Museum. All participants will have the possibility to visit the Nobel
price exhibitions after the keynote session.
Keynote speakers
Andrew Vincent, Professor of Political Theory, University of Sheffield.
Georg Cavallar, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Vienna.
Galin Tihanov, Professor of Comparative Literature and Intellectual
History, University of Manchester.
Mica Nava, Professor of Cultural Studies, University of East London
Topics may be chosen freely, but should be contextualized conceptually or
historically, with regards to the problems and questions addressed in the
call.
Those interested in chairing a session, or suggesting its theme or a
workshop, should send in a one-page proposal, including information about
current position and past activities.
Registration form
Full paper submission
Once the abstracts are accepted, the full papers for the presentations
must be submitted to the conference organizer before October 26th. Papers
will afterwards be considered for publication in an anthology or a special
issue of a peer reviewed journal.
Key dates and deadlines
Abstracts/applications due: 19th May 2011
Acceptance notification: 21st June 2011
Publication of conference program: 5th September 2011
Full paper submission/confirmation of registration: 26th October 2011
Conference: 24–26 November 2011
Conference coordinator
Kristian Petrov. Contact: cosmopolitanism@sh.se
+46(0)8-6084284
Administrator
Karin Lindebrant. Contact: karin.lindebrant@sh.se
+46(0)8-6084625
Call for papers application

Abstract submission
Proposals of maximum 400 words, together with a registration form, should
be sent to Kristian Petrov cosmopolitanism@sh.se before 19th May 2011.
Abstract proposals will be peer reviewed. The authors of the accepted
abstracts will be notified by 21st June.

How to write a Master Thesis

A Successful master thesis has two main characteristics: first, it identifys a good question and secondly, it provides a satisfactory answer to this question. What makes a good thesis question? First of all, it shoud be unanswered. Secondly, it must correspond to actions in the field of knowledge. Inportant is that the thesis subject you have chosen has a good question, and you've responded to it, you also have convinced the reader that you made a significant and original contribution to knowledge.This is intended as a guide to writing masters thesis successfully. A summary of the thesis is first, followed by some remarks on the general lines and a collection of tips for keeping your readers happy and committed.
Structure of the thesis
1. Introduction to problem of the master thesis
In the opening paragraphs, aim to introduce the reader to the specific topic of the thesis that seeks to address. Unlike the traditional five paragraph essay on the thesis-writing, the introduction is not only a summary of the points developed in the following sections. Instead, its purpose is to inform the reader what the question is, why is it important, and how the thesis deals with the problem and the answer.
2. Background of the master thesis
Thesis Writing often produced works of a very esoteric content. Depending on the nature of your work, it may be necessary to give the reader a certain degree of basic information relevant to the topic. This is particularly useful when your work is interdisciplinary, in this case, it is more likely that the reader will benefit from one section to contextualize the issue and provides the history and terminology, so that the reader will be better able to track the pages appear. It is often better to use a specific title for each section on general information, for example, "an over view of impact of WTO rules on nature."
3. Literature review and research
The next step is to examine the current state of research on the subject related to this thesis. This differs from a section on this baseline information, as background information is more general, this section focuses on issues and concerns of the field that relate specifically to the question that thesis tries to answer. As such, this section should also include a discussion of various points of view on your question to guide the reader in the discourse of the field. Note, however, that at this stage of thesis writing your goal is simply to present these diverse views, not to be critical of them. That will come later.
This section should also have a title specific topics, and must be organized by ideas rather than authors or works. The use of the subdivision is a convenient way to distinguish the different approaches to the problem.
4. State the issue or problem that you will discuss in your master thesis
different disciplines use different words to describe the main work. There is one question you are trying to respond or groped solve the problem, there are three important steps to take to create the role of the thesis:
* State of the issue.
* To say that this question remains unanswered.
* Explain why this question is to answer all worthwhile.
By declaring the issue is the clarity of the utmost importance. Here it is not a good idea to beat around the bush. Use clear, precise language and precise terminology to avoid misleading the reader.
In the second section, your goal is to assert that your question remains unanswered. It is at this stage of thesis writing that will provide a critical analysis of the information presented in the previous section. Take the different approaches that have been submitted by other, and show that each of them can not give a satisfactory answer to the question. Of course, no need to search them one by one. Since it held the previous section with ideas, you can now take whole classes of approaches rather than blame individual writers.
Now, when you said that your question has not been answered, your final task of this section is to explain why it is necessary to answer this question at all. What good will come out to find the answer? How will it contribute to knowledge? The reader is good to have some understanding for their thesis to be sympathetic to the views.
This section is the heart of the thesis, and readers will looking in to it. You can actually include the word "matter" or "problem" in the title proper to emphasize to the reader.

5. Presentation of your work
What have you done to answer the question, and what results were achieved? The structure of this section is very flexible and depends much on the nature of your work. Regardless, the goal is one and the same: to convince your reader of a scientific work by writing the thesis. Show all relevant evidence to support your position, and to avoid jeopardizing the talks on the impasse or deadlock, unless they are also relevant to demonstrate that you answered the question.

6. Conclusion of master thesis
As with the introduction, the conclusion section of the writing of the thesis is not the same as in the five paragraph essay. A typical conclusion essay consists of three sections: the conclusions of your work, a summary of your thesis done, and a perspective for future research.
In the first paragraph, avoid synthetic amorphous and pursue a clear and concise presentation of the conclusions of your work. From most to least important, to describe the impact you have made as a result of your research and be sure to link them directly to the issue of your thesis.
So, give the reader an overview of tariffs, knowing that the job is done. Make sure you're in the presence of these new and original contributions, otherwise the reader forget the stuffing. Of course, this article may overlap with the previous year. Re-contributions for the most is the least important.
Finally, share your ideas on how your thesis can serve as a starting point for future research. This paragraph is for future researchers who may be interested in your ideas.
7. References
Any reference in the body of your thesis should display the list of references. The list of references can be used as a measuring stick to assess the scope of your search. A good review of the literature, after all, is crucial for a good thesis.
The reader will be generally on the reference list to determine if you've heard of larger works in the area. Readers can also search for its own publications if they are relevant to the thesis topic, so be sure to use them as well.
Know that, unlike a bibliography, which may include securities that are not directly covered by the text, each item on your list of references should be cited in the body of the thesis. The best way to organize your references in alphabetical order by author's name, but you can sort the list in order of citation in the thesis.
8. Schedules
The appendices are a useful tool to present material that would otherwise interrupt the flow of thesis writing, such as data tables long, complex graphics, a comprehensive list of all types, etc. In general, information not is absolutely essential for the reader to continue in the thesis, but should be available to the reader to save the important points in your argument.
Notes Outline of the master thesis
This diagram shows the work of the reader are two major concerns. The reader wants to know first if you followed a good question, and second if you responded.  3 and 4 work to answer the first concern,  5 is the second. The rest of the picture the shoulders of this body, to facilitate the reader the problem, and then drawing back again to a new understanding of the problem. It is a thesis student of art.
Tips for Successful Thesis Writing
Be sensitive to your audience. Trials often deal with topics of obscure species or intense detail, and all your readers can have a background in the field, they may not be as closely related as you are with the particular issue of your thesis addresses. Be sure to explain difficult concepts clearly and thoroughly, and provide enough information so that the reader will be able to follow your ideas. Always try to clarity. If your readers have to work too hard to understand your point of view, they may grow frustrated and unreceptive. Use precise language and clear structures to effectively communicate your ideas. Also be sure to do the important parts are distinguished by the reader. A thesis is long and complicated and contains a huge amount of information. Direct the reader to focus on aspects of the theory is most relevant to support your position.
Avoid unnecessary editorial. Personal opinions as "education is the most important part of society" is subjective and without foundation and pave the way for an informed reader to strain yourself with questions like "Can you prove that education is the most important part of society? "Other things to avoid in writing of the thesis includes phrases like" It is clearly evident that ... "or" It goes without saying ... "These statements have the potential offend readers by implying that if they do not follow that they must be stupid.
Perhaps more importantly, give yourself time for you to produce a successful business. Write the thesis will take time - a long time - and time them to appear in the finished product. Start early. Make sure you devote enough time to explore and develop ideas before you actually sit down and start writing. When you begin to write, take time to formulate these ideas in a clear and present them convincingly. Also, remember to leave yourself time to check your work and finally crystallize their weaknesses, and what you can to correct them.
Finally a word about the candidate's thesis in relation to writing a doctoral thesis. Thesis Writing different theories of the thesis writing dissertations is not the format but in the expectations of the reader, with a PhD necessarily a question or a problem with a higher level, both in size and complexity. If a master's thesis can try to expand knowledge through the promotion of a known position in a new direction or using a technique known to a new case study committee, a doctoral thesis to contribute original and important knowledge. Always strive to achieve and exceed the expectations of your readers.

2 PhD Scholarships – New Environmental Governance: Examining new approaches to governing climate change and groundwater, Australia

Two outstanding doctoral candidates are sought to undertake studies in either of the projects below. Both projects are focused on novel forms of governance that seek to address two of the greatest environmental challenges facing Australia and the international community: climate change and scarce groundwater resources.
Climate Project: Given the continuing failure of governments and multilateral treaties to deliver effective climate outcomes, this project investigates an emerging, but potentially powerful new ‘actor’ in climate governance regimes both in Australia and globally. These new actors take the form of climate change civil society movements (eg ‘Get Up’, ‘1 Million Women’, ‘350.org’ and ‘1010’). The project examines the circumstances under which these new movements can shape law, policy and practice (eg direct action mechanisms, lobbying and partnerships) to produce effective and legitimate climate outcomes. The project aims to develop principles to guide these new movements to better influence climate law regimes and deliver improved climate outcomes.
Groundwater Project: This project responds to the recent call for a ‘water reform revolution’ to empower communities to collaboratively manage water buy-back and entitlements in Australia. The project will examine the circumstances under which collaborative forms of groundwater management are likely to be effective both as a standalone governance approach and as a component of wider legal and regulatory systems. It aims to provide necessary guidance and prescription to policy makers so they can deliver this ‘revolution’ and mobilise collaborative groundwater governance to achieve improved environmental outcomes for Australia.
The successful applicant will join an innovative team of researchers at Macquarie Law School who are undertaking interdisciplinary research on contemporary issues related to legal governance and public policy.
These scholarships are open to both domestic and international applicants, although only one is currently available for an international student.
Scholarship Application Deadline: 22 May 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application

Two Full-time PhD Scholarship in Biological Sciences – Macroecology and Macroevolution, Australia

Research projects may focus on any plant or animal taxonomic group having a substantial fossil record. The ideal group would also have substantial living diversity and the potential to be studied in the context of both community ecology and systematics. Data to be compiled and synthesised will include two or more of the following:
Fossil presence-absence and abundance data to be entered into the Paleobiology Database
Similar data for extant communities
Ecologically important attributes such as body mass and ecomorphology
Phylogenies based either on molecular or morphological data
The 2011 MQRES full-time stipend rate is $22,860 pa tax exempt for 3.5 years. For an international candidate tuition fees will be covered for the scholarship period. For a domestic candidate tuition fees are covered by RTS funding.
Scholarship Application Deadline: 27 April 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application