ACSS2014 - The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences

ACSS2014 - The Fifth Asian Conference on the Social Sciences 12th to 15th June 2014 Osaka, Japan The International Academic Forum in conjunction with its global partners is proud to announce the Fifth Asian Conference on the Social Sciences, at the Rihga Royal Hotel and the adjoining Osaka International Conference Center, Osaka, Japan from June 12-15 2014. This international, intercultural and interdisciplinary academic conference on the social sciences is organised by IAFOR in conjunction with our global partners, including Waseda University (Japan), London University (UK) and Virginia Tech (USA). Enquiries: acss@iafor.org Web address: http://acss.iafor.org Sponsored by: IAFOR - The International Academic Forum CALL FOR PAPERS NOW OPEN Abstract Submissions Deadline: February 15 2014 Hear the latest research, publish before a global audience, present in a supportive environment, network, engage in new relationships, experience Japan, explore Osaka and Kyoto, join a global academic community... Theme: "Individual, Community and Society: Conflict, Resolution and Synergy" Conflict from earliest times has been a characteristic of the human condition. The struggle between our individual selves and our social selves arises from what makes us unique on the one hand, being challenged by our being part of an interdependent structure of relationships on the other. The specific blend of experiences, abilities, attitudes, and aspirations, that helps to define us, can sit sometimes uncomfortably alongside our commitments to those closest to us, our communities and our cultures. This can lead to conflict at different levels. Conflict within communities and societies is inevitable given that these groups are based on commonality of geography, values, attitudes, and beliefs that help to differentiate one from another. The dialectic engendered by diversity, however, although it may lead to conflict, can play an important role in the expansion of ideas in communities and societies. One major challenge of modern society is to harness the synergy that emerges from the interactive dialectic generated by these differences. As it enters its fifth year, The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences will again include a variety of presenters representing a wide range of social science disciplines, expressing divergent views, searching for common ground, and creating the synergies that can inspire multi-disciplinary collaborations. In developing these relationships among ourselves, the role of the social sciences is strengthened as we take our place at the table, along with scholars in the STEM disciplines (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), in seeking solutions to the complex issues and problems of the 21st century. I sincerely hope that we will use this time together, not just for intellectual discovery and discourse, but to establish a common vision and to motivate each other to do our part in the creation of a better world. We look forward to seeing you in Osaka! Professor Stuart D. B. Picken Chairman, IAFOR International Advisory Board ACSS/ACSEE 2014 Conference Chair Dr Andrea Molle Chapman University, USA Editor of the IAFOR Journal of the Social Sciences and 2014 Conference Programme Adviser Dr Alex Petrisor Urban-INERC (Romania), Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Sustainability, Energy and the Environment and 2014 Conference Programme Adviser To submit a paper through the online system, please click on the submissions tab IAFOR Global University and Institutional Alliance - Working Together IAFOR works with our university partners to nurture and encourage the best in international, intercultural and interdisciplinary research. We work with senior administrators and professors in our partner institutions to develop programs which are timely, thought-provoking and academically rigorous. The global partnership alliance means that our interdisciplinary conferences are backed by some of the world's foremost institutions of learning. For more information about IAFOR, as well as a full list of university and institutional partners, please go to www.iafor.org Publishing Opportunities Authors of Accepted Abstracts will have the opportunity of publishing their associated paper in the official conference proceedings, and a selection of papers will be considered for inclusion in the internationally reviewed IAFOR journals associated with the conference. For more information about the IAFOR Journal of the Social Sciences, and the IAFOR Journal of Sustainability, Energy and the Environment, see our website. ACSEE2014 ACSS 2014 will be held alongside the Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment (ACSEE 2014), and registrants for either conference will be given the opportunity to attend sessions in the parallel event at no extra charge. CONFIRMED FEATURED SPEAKERS: ACSS/ACSEE 2014 Featured Speaker Mr Lowell Sheppard Asia Pacific Director, HOPE International Development Agency Lowell Sheppard is Asia Pacific Director of the HOPE International Development Agency, an organization focused on working with the world's extreme poor in their quest to climb out of poverty. Aside from his 25-year involvement with Hope, Lowell has dedicated much of his life to social and environmental improvement projects throughout the world. He was the chairman of the Whose Earth initiative in the United Kingdom, and was the founding chairman of Novimost, a non-government organization responding to the needs caused by war in the Balkans. He was also CEO of one of the United Kingdom's largest youth charities and an executive member of Spring Harvest, an annual Christian festival which attracts more than 60,000 people each Easter, and raises more than one million dollars for charities every year. A fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, Mr Sheppard is the author of six books, which reflect his diverse intellectual interests, and life experience. His latest book, Boys Becoming Men, examines the importance of rites of passage, including adventures, for children becoming adults. Lowell is a noted public speaker, and has given lectures at both undergraduate and postgraduate level on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, and he is a former vice-chairman of the CSR Committee for the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. ACSS/ACSEE 2014 Featured Speaker Professor Jay Friedlander Sharpe-McNally Chair of Green and Socially Responsible Business, College of the Atlantic, USA Jay Friedlander is the Sharpe-McNally Chair of Green and Socially Responsible Business at College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor, Maine and founder of COA's Sustainable Business Program. Fast Company, Princeton Review, The New York Times and others have recognized COA as a sustainability leader. Jay has been a frequent presenter at both national and international academic conferences on sustainability, enterprise and innovation, as well as to private sector gatherings such as the Yale-Goldman Sachs Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures. Prior to joining COA, Jay was the chief operating officer for a natural and organic restaurant group; worked as a Fortune 100 strategy consultant; served in the Peace Corps in Mauritania; and broke fundraising records at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Jay holds a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Babson College, where he graduated as Valedictorian of his class. ACSS/ACSEE 2014 Conference Co-Chair and ACSS/ACSEE 2014 Featured Speaker Reverend Professor Stuart Picken Chairman of the IAFOR IAB Stuart D. B. Picken is the founding chairman of the IAFOR International Advisory Board. The author of a dozen books and over 130 articles and papers, he is considered one of the foremost scholars on Japan, China, and Globalization in East Asia. As an academic, Professor Picken has devoted more than 30 years to scholarship in Japan, notably as a professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo, where he specialized in ethics and Japanese thought, and as International Adviser to the High Priest of Tsubaki Grand Shrine (Mie prefecture). He has also served as a consultant to various businesses, including Jun Ashida Ltd., Mitsui Mining and Smelting Corp., Kobe Steel, and Japan Air Lines. In November 2008, the Government of Japan awarded Professor Picken the Order of the Sacred Treasure for his pioneering research, and outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the UK. The honour is normally reserved for Japanese citizens and is a mark of the utmost respect in which Professor Picken is held by the Japanese Government. Although now resident in Scotland, Professor Picken maintains his interests in Japan, as Chair of the Japan Society of Scotland, and through his work with IAFOR. A fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, he lives near Glasgow with his wife and two children.