Dear Peter
We do work with different types of contracts when there is a good reason
to do so, such as wide range of languages needed, but we would always want
to ensure they get proper support, training opportunities, guidance,
acknowledgement, and a better pay rate than this. Also, we prefer to build
up relationships with people who might get involved in different projects,
ensure they can take modules at the university, work closely with more
regular researchers etc etc. So, from my perspective it does depend on
how research teams approach these things. I could have drawn the wrong
inferences from reading the advert but I found the extent and type of work
they were being expected to do, with no indication of how this would be
supported quite worrying.
UK universities with the academic unions have developed a Concordat with
guiding principles for researchers on short-term contracts and City
University has signed up to this. I wonder if Oxford has?
On 13/11/2014 10:53, "Peter Cave" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I am not intending to defend this advertisement, but I think it would be
>worth clarifying the debate. Many of the comments made seem to imply the
>view that research interviews of this type should only be carried out by
>full-time academic staff or postdocs, or by PhD students (in either case
>with a contract of at least one year), on the grounds that only this kind
>of contract provides the kind of stability and potential for academic
>development (including publication etc) that will be of benefit to the
>interviewer; and, that it is never legitimate to employ staff on a
>temporary (less than one year) or part-time basis to do such interviews.
>Would that be a fair summation of the position that many are putting
>forward? Or, is there any acceptance that there may be room for
>employment of staff to do research interviews on short-term contracts if
>proper training is provided, the job title is appropriate, and the work
>and time demands are reasonable (as many have argued is not the case with
>this advertisement - the suggestion is that though no PhD is required, in
>practice the essential person specifications are likely to require
>someone with extensive research training and experience already)?
>
>Peter Cave
>Lecturer in Japanese Studies
>SALC, University of Manchester
>Samuel Alexander Building
>Oxford Road
>Manchester M13 9PL
>United Kingdom
>Tel: +44 (0)161 275 3195
>www.manchester.ac.uk/research/peter.cave/
>________________________________________
>From: The Anthropology-Matters forum mailing list
>[[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Catherine Baker
>[[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: 13 November 2014 09:46
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: COMPAS Casual Researchers
>
>Likewise, I agree with Mariya. I'm shocked to see an organisation that
>ought to know *much* better advertising research contracts on this basis -
>and the research councils are also at fault in allowing projects costed on
>this basis to be funded.
>
>One point of contact might be UCU's Anti-Casualisation campaign (UCU is
>the
>academic trade union in the UK) - I and others could contact them through
>Twitter if there was a URL containing more information that the tweet
>could
>link to. (This might mean posting a response on a blog somewhere first)
>
>Best wishes
>
>Catherine Baker
>University of Hull
>
>On 13 November 2014 09:16, Cesari, Chiara de <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I also fully agree with Mariya's words - thanks for raising people's
>> attention on this! -and would like to support the initiatives that come
>>out
>> of this.
>>
>> What I find also terribly worrying is that such calls are passed as
>> 'normal' and that this has also to do with the kind of research and its
>> political economy promoted by these big grant schemes with their
>>emphasis
>> on feasibility.
>>
>>
>> Chiara de Cesari
>> University of Amsterdam
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> > On 13 nov. 2014, at 05:33, Miia Halme-Tuomisaari
>><[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > Dear Paddy, ELa, Mariya and others
>> >
>> > We could not agree more with your important views - this is indeed a
>> worrying precedent, a new low, and it screams for a collective response!
>> Allegralaboratory.net would be honoured to assume an active role in the
>> planning of such a letter and do what we could to contribute to it's
>> visibility - we actually already agreed with Mariya that she would
>>write a
>> post on this issue for the website.
>> >
>> > Looking forward for more brainstorming & ACTION!
>> >
>> > Miia Halme-Tuomisaari, Director of Things, Allegra Lab
>> > things(at)allegralaboratory.net
>> >
>> >> On 12 Nov 2014, at 23:24, Patrick Bresnihan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> yes, thanks mariya for writing that important response and setting
>>off
>> this
>> >> thread. infuriating *and* worrying is what I am left feeling. while
>> >> conditions here in ireland, and the UK, have been worsening for some
>> time
>> >> in terms of the casualization of work for third level researchers and
>> >> teachers the term 'casual researcher' (and the terms being offered)
>>must
>> >> break new ground. if this is setting a new precedent then we need to
>> speak
>> >> out against it - otherwise in no time 'casual researcher' will be a
>> term we
>> >> will all be familiar with.
>> >> following up on the idea of a letter could we (to begin with) write
>> >> something that identifies the disgraceful way in which COMPAS (and
>> Oxford?)
>> >> are proposing to exploit researchers (along the lines of what you
>>wrote
>> >> Mariya) and call on them to remove the term 'casual researcher',
>>offer
>> it
>> >> as a postgraduate or postdoctoral position and review the
>> pay/conditions.
>> >> we could get signatures from academics in the UK (including permanent
>> >> staff) and submit it to the Guardian or other newspapers? i am a
>>little
>> at
>> >> a loss because i'm not based in the UK (is anyone on this list and
>> aware of
>> >> groups who might take up this issue?) but I could certainly help word
>> the
>> >> letter (perhaps with Mariya), collect signatures and submit it to the
>> >> newspaper.
>> >>
>> >> paddy
>> >>
>> >>> On 12 November 2014 21:39, Ela Drazkiewicz <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> Just did some math, based on the advert:
>> >>> 60 interviews with migrants +24 with employers = 84 to be done in 12
>> weeks
>> >>> 84 * 18h = 1512h (COMPAS estimates that one interview = 18h work)
>> >>> 1512 h /12 weeks = 126h work-week!!
>> >>> 1512* 12.32=18627GBP for a 12 weeks of crazy work with no credential
>> which
>> >>> they could simply pay for some post-doc/PhD decent year of work
>>which
>> would
>> >>> be more beneficial to both "casual researcher" and the research
>>itself.
>> >>>
>> >>> Best wishes,
>> >>> ELa
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> On 12 November 2014 14:29, Gil Middleton <
>> [log in to unmask]>
>> >>> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>> COMPAS is looking to recruit a minimum of five casual researchers
>>to
>> >>> carry
>> >>>> out in-depth interviews with irregular migrants from various ethnic
>> >>>> backgrounds (Australian, Brazilian, Pakistani, Ukrainian, and
>> Turkish) as
>> >>>> well as with relevant employers in three different locations in
>> England
>> >>>> (London, probably Hertfordshire, and another city, exact locations
>>to
>> be
>> >>>> confirmed). These interviews are to be conducted as part of a
>> three-year
>> >>>> ESRC-funded project called 'Does Immigration Enforcement Matter
>> (DIEM)?'
>> >>>>
>> >>>> The overarching theme of the study is to examine the impact of
>> >>>> increasingly rigid legislation and robust enforcement measures on
>> >>> irregular
>> >>>> migration. It aims to find out if and how irregular immigrants
>> navigate
>> >>>> controls; to investigate the interaction between irregular
>>immigrants'
>> >>>> strategies, employer practices and enforcement measures; to show
>>how
>> >>>> enforcement measures are perceived by immigrant communities; to
>> explore
>> >>> the
>> >>>> impact of enforcement on irregular migrants' access to fundamental
>> >>> rights;
>> >>>> and to understand the political, practical and ethical limits to
>>law
>> >>>> enforcement in order to highlight its impact and effectiveness.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Candidates should have excellent communication and interviewing
>>skills
>> >>> and
>> >>>> an ability to work independently to deliver results.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Deadline for applications will be the 19th November 2014 at 12
>>noon UK
>> >>>> time.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Full details attached.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> *************************************************************
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>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> --
>> >>> El¿bieta Dr±¿kiewicz, PhD
>> >>> Marie Curie Fellow,
>> >>> Anthropology Department
>> >>> NUI Maynooth, Ireland
>> >>>
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>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Irish Research Council Post-doctoral Fellow
>> >> Maynooth University
>> >> (+353) 851288836
>> >>
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