Four projects from the EUROCORES ECRP 2008 Competition have been funded. You will find below the abstracts of the projects as well as the lists of Project Leaders, Principal Investigators and Associate Partners.
08-ECRP-001 Caught in the Act of Protest: Contextualizing Contestation (CCC)
Despite the fact that political protest permeates Western societies, remarkably little is known about who participates in political protest, why and how they were mobilized. Previous studies on the dynamics of protest typically focus on a single demonstration within a single nation which takes contextual variation away. The central tenet of this proposal is that each decision to participate in protest originates in national socio-political and mobilising contexts. Therefore, only comparative, interdisciplinary approaches that take the influence of socio-political and mobilising surroundings into account will provide adequate explanations of protest participation.
This CRP proposes a comparative study that combines structural and individual factors in explaining protest participation with a standardized research design, methods and measures. Data will be collected re the socio-political characteristics of the countries included , the mobilizing context, the demonstration, and the protesters. Protesters will be approached while they are protesting. Protest surveys will be conducted in several countries during 8-12 demonstration in which protesters are asked who they are, why they protest and how they were mobilized. The project promises to generate an invaluably rich source of information on the dynamics of protest that generations of students of protest behaviour will be able to exploit.
Project website: www.protestsurvey.eu
Project Leader
- ProfessorBertKlandermansE-Mail
- Free University of AmsterdamFaculty of Social SciencesDepartment of SociologyAmsterdamNetherlands
Principal Investigators
- ProfessorStefaan A. J.WalgraveE-Mail
- University of AntwerpDepartment of Political ScienceResearch Group Media, Movements and Politics (M2P)AntwerpBelgium
- ProfessorJosé ManuelSabucedo CameselleE-Mail
- Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaFacultade de PsicoloxíaDepartamento de Psicoloxía Social, Básica e MetodoloxíaSantiago de CompostelaSpain
- ProfessorAbbyPetersonE-Mail
- Göteborg UniversityFaculty of Social ScienceDepartment of SociologyGöteborgSweden
- Dr.MarcoGiugniE-Mail
- University of GenevaDépartement de science politique et relations internationalesLaboratoire de recherches sociales et politiques appliqués (resop)GenèveSwitzerland
- ProfessorChristopher A.RootesE-Mail
- University of KentFaculty of Social SciencesSchool of Social Policy, Sociology and Social ResearchCentre for the Study of Social and Political MovementsCanterburyUnited Kingdom
08-ECRP-003 Comparative Assessment of E-Participation in the Context of Sustainable Development and Climate Change
Focusing on similar processes of citizens' participation by three signatory cities of the Aalborg Commitments in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, a comprehensive mix of methods will be employed in order to assess use, effects and impact of different online tools to support citizens' participation.
By analysing e-tools in the same context, comparability of cases will be maximised. Methods employed include content analysis of online fora, website inspection and log-file analysis, focus groups and expert interviews as well as survey data (online and telephone). Data will be collected according to the same guidelines at three measuring points and therefore allow for cross-national as well as longitudinal comparisons. The interdisciplinarity of the principal investigators (accounting, computer science, political science and sociology) allows for an unprecedented comprehensiveness of methods for data collection and theoretical analysis.
Project Leader
- ProfessorHerbertKubicekE-Mail
- University of BremenInstitut für InformationsmanagementMathematics and InformaticsBremenGermany
Principal Investigators
- Dr.GeorgAichholzerE-Mail
- Austrian Academy of SciencesInstitute for Technology AssessmentViennaAustria
- ProfessorLourdesTorresE-Mail
- University of ZaragozaFaculty of Economics and Business AdministrationDepartment of Accounting and FinanceResearch Group "Gespública"ZaragozaSpain
08-ECRP-012 Establishing a Knowledge-Base for Quality in Education: Testing a Dynamic Theory of Educational Effectiveness
The common project aims to develop a theoretical framework that can be used to provide answers to current debates on the improvement of learning outcomes and on specific issues concerned with educational policies in the participating countries. The extent to which the dynamic model of educational effectiveness can be used as a starting point for establishing such approach is investigated. Empirical support for the model is provided by a longitudinal study in one country. Including more countries will increase the variation at different levels and provides the possibility to investigate factors at the system level.
The study uses a longitudinal design including grade 4 students, their classes and schools in eight countries. The results may benefit the quality of education within countries and at the European level by indicating factors with respect to the quality of teaching and the school learning environment which contribute to learning outcomes and can be improved by policy and actions at the class/school/system level. The country projects contribute and build upon the common project and investigate specific topics which are directed to important issues in educational theory and practice such as the differential effects of education, the effects of new learning, and the school self-evaluation.
Project website: www.ucy.ac.cy/goto/esf/en-US/HOME.aspx
Project Leader
- ProfessorBertCreemersE-Mail
- University of CyprusDepartment of EducationNicosiaCyprus
Principal Investigators
- ProfessorJanVan DammeE-Mail
- K.U. LeuvenFaculty of Psychology and Educational SciencesDepartment of Educational SciencesCentre for Educational Effectiveness and EvaluationLeuvenBelgium
- ProfessorWilfriedBosE-Mail
- Technical University of DortmundFaculty of Educational Science and TechnologyInstitute for School Development ResearchDortmundGermany
- Dr.EmerSmyth
- ESRIDublinIreland
Associate Partners
- Dr.GaliniRekalidouE-Mail
- University of ThraceFaculty of Educational SciencesDepartment of Educational Sciences in Preschool AgeAlexandroupoliGreece
- ProfessorLoukiaBezeE-Mail
- University of ThraceDepartment of Educational Sciences in Preschool AgeAlexandroupolisGreece
- Dr.DarkoZupancE-Mail
- National Examinations CentreLjubljanaSlovenia
- Dr.GasperCankarE-Mail
- National Examinations CentreResearch and DevelopmentLjubljanaSlovenia
08-ECRP-028 The Social Dimension of Emotion Regulation: Brain, Mind and Behaviour
The overall objective of the proposed collaborative project is to build a multi-levelled understanding of emotion regulation, as a process by which intra- and interpersonal regulation of emotion emerges from the interaction of individual dispositions that have their basis in biological factors and the cultural meanings and practices of autonomy, responsibility and social obligation in which individuals cross-culturally engage. The core approach will be that of experimental social psychology. We will study emotion regulation empirically in social interactions but also in the individual using neuroimaging methods. Furthermore, cultural psychology survey studies will be used and the significance of linguistic strategies and art will be assessed. In particular, we hope that the systematic investigation of our cultural heritage will help to establish a historically informed examination of research questions as well as identifying potential pitfalls which can then be avoided.
Equipped with a clearer understanding of emotion regulation, it should be possible to see when, why and how emotion regulation influences the resolution of social conflict or the establishment of social trust and cooperation. This, in turn, should enable policy makers and practitioners to devise policies and practices that resolve conflict and promote cooperation.
Project Leader
- Dr.HenrikWalterE-Mail
- University of BonnDepartment of PsychiatryDivision of Medical PsychologyBonnGermany
Principal Investigators
ESF provides the scientific, administrative and technical secretariat for COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).