ESF launches four more Scientific Networks on sign languages; oral cancer; European Arctic; household dynamics
The European Science Foundation has launched four more in its series of Scientific Networks to stimulate collaboration between key European scientists and research institutes in a variety of fields drawn from the medical, life and social sciences, and the humanities. The four new Networks exemplify the broad scope of the ESF’s interests, covering the study of sign languages; multiple primary tumours in oral cancer; environmental studies in the European Arctic; and a comparative study of household dynamics in Europe and Asia.
Intersign: sign linguistics and data exchange
Sign languages are natural, full-fledged languages with a grammatical structure that is comparable to that of spoken languages. However, research into their structure in Europe is still a recent development. This network aims at developing standards and guidelines for the study of (European) sign languages at all levels of language description, including the way these languages are acquired.
Multiple primary tumours in oral cancer: aetiology and clinical significance
Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer. It’s also a persistent disease, with approximately 60% of patients dying within five years of diagnosis, that appears to result from complex interactions between the environment and the human genome. Although theories about these links have existed for some time, the new network is set to put these ideas to the test. The network aims to test the hypothesis that, in addition to problems in the epithelial cells that line the mouth, both inductive and carcinogen-induced alterations in stromal cell behaviour also occur during the process of field cancerisation.
Regional climate modelling and integrated global change: impact studies in the European Arctic
The European Arctic is a particularly sensitive part of the global system. Through a series of three workshops, this network will bring together two important research communities – regional climate modellers and impact researchers. It aims to develop Europe’s capacity to carry out regional integrated impact studies, combining both the natural and the socio-economic aspects of global change impacts on a regional level.
Household and community dynamics: an Eurasian approach of mobility in the past societies
Population registers provide a valuable resource for researchers to study how individuals, families, and societies, reacted under pressure, when crises challenged their traditions or their cultural rules. By analysing 17th to 19th century registers from a variety of countries including Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, China and Japan, this network will be the first systematic attempt to compare the ways in which different family systems responded to economic stress.
The four new Networks, which will run for the next three years, bring the ESF’s portfolio of current Networks to 21. They all share a common aim of building bridges between relevant scientists, research institutes and universities in different European countries by making use of a variety of networking arrangements including workshops and exchange visits. Another major objective of the scheme is to encourage multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to complex research problems. This is being done both by establishing communications between the people in these various fields, and by encouraging the involvement of younger scientists helping to create a new generation of researchers with a broader based perspective of the problems involved.
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For further information contact: Andrew Smith
Category: Media Centre, Press Releases 1997