21st South African Psychology Congress - ABSTRACT SUBMISSION AND CONGRESS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) enters its third decade as the major representative body of Psychology professionals in the country, with a growing membership, increasing social responsiveness to health and human rights issues, and a record of hosting highly successful congresses throughout the country with international speakers. Very much like our democracy, PsySSA is constantly growing and maturing as an organisation, to provide a professional association that reflects and represents all of its members and the diversity that characterises Psychology as a discipline. In line with its strategic objectives, PsySSA continues in its quest to be more relevant and responsive to the concerns and priorities of the country, the continent and the world. This is in keeping with the Society’s enhanced public profile and professionalisation.

The 21st Annual South African Psychology Congress, with the theme Strength in Unity, to be held in Johannesburg 15 -18 September 2015 focuses on the strength of Psychology uniting within the discipline, and its capacity to forge greater unity in the nation, and beyond. The launch of the Pan-African Psychology Union last year and the highly successful hosting of the International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2012) are examples of PsySSA’s global record of uniting in the face of health, social and humanitarian challenges. To this end PsySSA continues to engage colleagues and organisations in efforts to broaden the horizons for Psychology as a discipline and especially the communities being served.

In the context of furthering development in South African Psychology and ensuring the inclusion of a wide range of voices, presentations, scholarly and practice-oriented perspectives, the Congress Committee invites you to submit contributions for the 2015 congress. It is hoped that the congress will showcase a broad range of scholarly research and reviews that reflect Psychology as science, profession and practice.

Abstract submission for posters, papers or symposia is now open. The closing date is 17 April 2015.

Register now for an early bird discount. 

International Society of Critical Health Psychology (ISHCP) 9th Biennial Conference: 12-15 July 2015, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

The ISCHP brings together health scholars who are interested in exploring ongoing and emerging issues in critical research, critical theory and critical practice in relation to health and health care. This shared interest in critical approaches to healthcare is exemplified in the theme of the 9^th Biennial Conference, ‘Health, Health Care and Social Justice’.

Abstracts

The call for abstracts for the 9th Biennial Conference of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology (ISCHP) is open. The final deadline for abstract submissions is 02 March 2015.

Workshops

Workshops will take place on Sunday 12 July 2015.

We are pleased to announce that the following workshops have been finalized for the conference:

1.       Narrative methods for critical health research (presented by Corrine Squire and Floretta Boonzaier)

2.       Doing better qualitative research (presented by Kerry Chamberlain)

3.       Project revision: reflecting on the methodological and pedagogical possibilities of digital storytelling (presented by Carla Rice, Jen Rinaldi and Michaela Hynie)

4.       Balancing the personal, the political and the professional: a reflective workshop (presented by Elizabeth Peel and Gareth Treharne)

5.       ‘Resisting the neoliberal construction of academia’ or, how to survive your PhD in critical health psychology in the face of work, life and pressures to ‘perform’ (presented by Ally Gibson and Jenny Setchell)

Abstract submission forms and details of the workshops are available on the conference website. To find out more about this conference, please visitwww.ischp2015.co.za.

We look forward to seeing you in Grahamstown!

Regards,

ISCHP 2015 Conference Organising Committee

Rhodes University

Email: conference@ru.ac.za

Invitation to Open Webinar: Consultation on Coalition Building & Collaborative Solutions: A Practitioner’s View

Dear Colleagues: 

I hope you are doing great. I am sharing with you an invitation for the Webinar "Consultation on Coalition Building & Collaborative Solutions: A Practitioner’s View".

When: Friday, November 21st, 12.30 p.m. Eastern Time (New York time)

Where: Register free at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scra-webinar-4-consultation-on-coalition-building-collaborative-solutions-a-practitioners-view-tickets-14154214637

In this e-mail I include information about the Webinar as well as the presenter, Dr. Thomas Wolff. 

Feel free to distribute this invitation among your networks, and let me know in case you have any questions. 

Thank you very much,

Carlos Luis, for SCRA's Online Learning Initiative.

​----

WEBINAR #4 Details: 

This SCRA online learning opportunity will present an overview of a consultation practice in the area of coalition building, collaborative solutions and community development.  Using specific examples, Dr. Tom Wolff will describe how clients request help and what they want. The Webinar #4 format will be a sample training led by Dr. Wolff, including exercises that are similar to trainings he provides to community coalitions.

​​

Learning objectives:

1.      Participants will understand core issues in developing a consulting practice focused on coalition building.

2.      Participants will understand the six principles of collaborative solutions.

3.      Participants will explore tools to help coalitions engage the community in their work.

· Register via Eventbrite by Thursday, November 20, 2014 at 5PM Eastern. 

· You will receive an invitation via email from GlobalMeet to log-in on Friday, November 21 at 12:30PM Eastern at https://scra.pgimeet.com/SCRA.

· Log-in as a guest.

Be sure to tweet about this event mentioning @scra and using Hashtag #SCRAsocial

Introducing our presenter:

Tom Wolff, Ph.D., is a community psychologist committed to issues of social justice and building healthy communities through collaborative solutions. A nationally recognized consultant on coalition building and community development, he has a lifetime of experience training and consulting with individuals, organizations, and communities across North America and around the globe.

Tom has published numerous resources to help communities solve their own problems. His most recent book is The Power of Collaborative Solutions – Six principles and effective tools for building health communities published by Jossey Bass-John Wiley in early 2010.His earlier writings on coalition building include From the Ground Up: A Workbook on Coalition Building and Community Development (with Gillian Kaye, 1997) and The Spirit of the Coalition (with Bill Berkowitz, 2000; American Public Health Association).
He presently runs Tom Wolff & Associates- www.tomwolff.com. in Amherst, Massachusetts. Consulting clients include federal, state, and local government agencies; foundations; hospitals; nonprofit organizations; professional associations; and grassroots groups.
In 2014 Tom was awarded the American Psychological Associations’ Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice.

***************************************​

Invitation to the HSRC Seminar Series in collaboration with PANSALB: Children think knowledge is bliss; mothers think ignorance is bliss: undisclosed father identity in South Africa

Invitation

 The HSRC Seminar Series in collaboration with PANSALB

Children think knowledge is bliss; mothers think ignorance is bliss: undisclosed father identity in South Africa

Speaker: Dr Mzi Nduna, Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand

Venues in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town (Videoconferencing facilities: see below)

Date: 11 November 2014

Time: 12H15 for 12h30  – 13H30   

Life trajectories of children with no connection and support from their fathers have received research attention. Within this group is a sub-group who do not know their fathers. This presentation is based on four studies conducted by the presenter and her colleagues in an attempt to better understand this phenomenon. The studies were based in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape provinces.

Kindly RSVP by 9 November 2014

Cape Town : HSRC, 12th Floor, Plein Park Building (Opposite Revenue Office), Plein Street, Cape Town. Contact Jean Witten, Tel (021) 4668004, Fax (021) 461 0299, or JWitten@hsrc.ac.za

Durban :  First floor HSRC board room, 750 Francois Road, Ntuthuko Junction, Pods 5 and 6, Cato Manor, Contact Ridhwaan Khan, Tel (031) 242 5400, cell: 083 788 2786 or RKhan@hsrc.ac.za

Pretoria : HSRC Video Conference, 1st floor HSRC Library Human Sciences Research Council, 134 Pretorius Street, Pretoria. Arlene Grossberg, Tel: (012) 302 2811, e-mail: acgrossberg@hsrc.ac.za

7th South African AIDS Conference at the Durban ICC from 9-12 June 2015: Abstract submission is now open

Abstract submission is now open for the 7th South African AIDS Conference 2015

We invite you to present your research, your successful programmes and innovative interventions and best practices for consideration to  be part of the programme at the South African AIDS Conference at the Durban ICC from 9-12 June 2015. The Conference  provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to share their work and ideas and creates collaboration and partnerships.

Submit a 300 word concept paper or abstract that describes your research, your projects and the results before the 20 January 2015 deadline. And invite your fellow partner organizations or community projects that have shown positive (or negative) results. Join us and exchange ideas with funders, scientists, medical practitioners, social scientists, economists and the community as well as representatives from the public sector, NGOs, the faith-based sectors and the corporate sector.

The Conference theme is “Reflection, Refocus and Renewal” and will cover the following tracks:

Track 1: Basic and Clinical Sciences
Track 2: Epidemiology, Prevention and Public Health
Track 3: Social, Economic Sciences and Human Rights
Track 4: Best Practices, Programmes and Ethics
Track 5: Community Exchange Encounters

You are invited to submit abstracts to become part of this all important Conference via the Conference website at www.saaids.com

Submitting abstracts for either oral or poster presentation at the Conference gives you a unique opportunity to play a leading role in setting the HIV and AIDS agenda going forward. This Conference creates a platform wherein all scientists (basic and social), clinicians, activists and community workers can showcase their significant contribution towards curbing the dual TB and HIV epidemics. We encourage you not to miss out on the chance to provide a meaningful contribution to debates on the impact of HIV infection on other infectious diseases, social and ethical issues as well as provision of healthcare in general.

We believe that the cross-pollination of ideas and best practices between research and practice is critical to solving our challenges. The Programme Committee reflects this diversity and includes twenty-four education experts from the research and practice community who will select the best papers for inclusion in the final programme.

Please take advantage of the early registration discount that is now available at R4560 (incl VAT)

To view the Conference Programme outline click here

To view the Conference Track descriptors click here

To submit an abstract click here 

For booking of any Travel Arrangements you can visit the website at www.saaids.com or simply click on any of the following links:
• Accommodation
• Transfers
• Flights

For more information on the Conference, please visit  www.saaids.com and link to our social networks for discussions and updates at:



We look forward to your contribution towards the Conference

With kind regards

Dr Nono Simelela
Conference Chairperson                                       
Advisor to the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa

Ms Mary Crewe
Conference Co-Chairperson
Co-Director, Centre for the Study of AIDS   

Notes on the 2014 AGM of the PsySSA Community and Social Psychology (CaSP) Division

Dear members and friends of the PsySSA Community and Social Psychology (CaSP) Division,

The AGM of the PsySSA Community and Social Psychology (CaSP) Division took place from 17h30 to 19h00 on Thursday, 18 September 2014 during the 20^th PsySSA Congress at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Only after completion of the session did we realised that no one took notes of the discussions and we therefore have to rely on memory in sharing some feedback on the discussions. Will try our best!

Context of the meeting

The Chair of the Division for Research and Methodology (DRM), Prof Sumaya Laher proposed that we combine the AGMs of the CaSP and DRM as these meetings were scheduled for the same time slot and some members present at the congress and at the meetings serves on both divisions. Those present supported the idea. The combined session was subsequently divided into three parts: first the discussions relating to CaSP, second the discussions relating to DRM and, third an integrated discussion of the shared interests of the members of the two divisions.

Apologies

Received from Wiehann Rademann

In attendance

Puleng Segalo, Nkateko Manabe, Suntosh Pillay, Eduard Fourie, Angelo Fynn, Martin Terre Blanche, Ronelle Carolissen, Gerda Bender, Vanessa Scherman, Janeen Prinsloo, Lee Anne Molobela, Gaogalalelwe Katide (as well as members of the DRM)

A brief overview of the history of the division was provided and members were reminded of the division’s blog - http://psyssacns.blogspot.com/ - and were encouraged to click on the relevant icon on the blog should they wish to receive email notifications of new posts.  Members were invited to respond to any items discussed during the annual PsySSA AGM that took place on the previous day, and were reminded that PsySSA’s 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan is available on the website. Talking money: members were reminded to pay their annual membership fees.

The CaSP Division hosted a series of individual papers as well as three symposia at this year’s congress. The three symposia were, (1) Social Psychology in South Africa: Challenges, possibilities and implications chaired by Puleng Segalo, (2) Inside-out Outside-in: Prison studies and communities chaired by Eduard Fourie, and (3) Volunteer experiences of psych student society’s community placement chaired by M Chown.

Towards the future:

(1)  Members of the division will continue to actively market the division and invite new members, student members and associates to join the division. A suggestion was made that student members of PsySSA should be allowed to register for the CaSP Division for free. Members and other interested parties are invited to join the division’s blog and to share information that we can post on the blog. The blog will continue to be one of the key engagement spaces where information about events, projects, interesting readings, community initiatives, research initiatives, etc., will be shared. A suggestion was made to make use of Webinars, to invite members and guests to speak on a specific topic during a specific time slot. All are welcome to email contributions to Eduard Fourie at fourime@unisa.ac.za or Carien du Plessis at cariendupl@gmail.com.

(2)  The Division will continue to support the Inside-out Outside-in Prison Studies and Communities Initiative. For more on the initiative, visit the website at http://insideoutoutsidein.co.za/ or contact Carien du Plessis at dplescm@unisa.ac.za for more information on how to get involved.

(3)  The Division, together with DRM and the Student Division will participate in the 2015 Southern African Students’ Psychology Conference. The conference will provide an opportunity for student members to share and reflect on their community engagement initiatives and related research projects.

(4)  The Division will be actively involved in the 6th International Conference on Community Psychology that will be hosted in Cape Town in 2016. Various members of the CaSP Division recently attended and presented at the 5^th International Conference on Community Psychology which was held in Fortaleza in Brazil. We are looking forward to continue the engagement and networking with representatives from other countries.

(5)  The Division will continue exploring the idea of mapping the teaching of community psychology at tertiary institutions in South Africa. This item has been discussed at each AGM over the last couple of years and we could consider the upcoming conferences – mentioned in 3 and 4 above – as an opportunity to present on the history and the story of community psychology teaching.

CASP Exec Members for 2015

Chair: Eduard Fourie

Vice-Chair and Treasurer: Puleng Segalo

Secretary: Wiehann Rademan

Additional members: Nkateko Manabe, Suntosh PIllay, Lavanya Pillay

New Additional members: Ronelle Carolissen, Gerda Bender

Post AGM discussions: we suggest that we invite student member, Carien du Plessis to join us on the Exec. Carien will assist with the further development of the division’s online spaces and in scheduling webinars.

Compiled by Eduard Fourie & Puleng Segalo

September 2014

Invitation to the September GR@UP Seminar at UP: 21st Century African Homophobia and the Roman Laws on Same-Sex Sexual Acts

You are cordially invited to the September GR@UP Seminar:

Presented by, Susan Haskins of the University of Pretoria, Department of Ancient Languages

Date:    Thursday 25th September 2014

Time:    15h30 – 17h00

Place:    Research Commons Seminar Room, 4th Level, Merenskey Library, Hatfield 

In recent years there has been a surge of homophobia across Africa. Among the arguments of this discourse against homosexuality, is that homosexuality is a pattern of behaviour not an orientation, that such behaviour is an import from the West and as such unAfrican. Paradoxically, this discourse also argues that homosexuality is against religion, where the religion referred to is Christianity, another Western import. However, one of the most dangerous manifestations of homophobia, especially in the former British colonies of sub-Saharan Africa, has been attempts not just to socially condemn but to legally prosecute homosexual acts. 

Such legal persecution has been possible due to the presence within the Penal Code of these countries of laws against ‘unnatural’ sexual acts. These laws can be traced back not just to Britain but to the first codified laws against same-sex acts in the West, namely the laws of the Roman Empire. This study examines the Roman laws on same-sex acts and the consequent creation of a legal concept of sexuality. It then illustrates how, due to the influence of these laws on the formulation of Victorian laws on unnatural acts, the Roman legal concept of sexuality underlies the laws which exist in former British colonies in Africa today. Consequently, this ancient, alien concept is being used to prosecute homosexuality in Africa. Perhaps understanding the socio-historical context of the legal concept of sexuality behind the Roman laws may assist in subverting the law argument of the African homophobic discourse.