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The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne offers 8 scholarships for prospective doctoral students in the Social and Economic Sciences (Sociology, Political Science, Law, Social Policy, Economics, Social and Economic Psychology and Statistics). Selected students will be funded for 3 years beginning October 1, 2008 (monthly tax‐free stipend of 1000 &#8364;, allowances of 103 &#8364;, and family benefits). SOCLIFE is sponsored as a prestigious &#8220;Graduiertenkolleg&#8221; (research training group) by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, GK 1461). Another 8 scholarships will be offered beginning October 1, 2009. Additionally, there is 1 Post‐Doc position offered for 2 years beginning October 1, 2008 (state employees salary scheme TV‐L 13). The APPLICATION DEADLINE is July 15, 2008. Detailed information on SOCLIFE, the contributors, the research focus and the application&#160;: www.wiso.uni-koeln.de/cgs/soclife. (Post‐Doc information&#160;: separate file &#38; website)SOCLIFE is an interdisciplinary Graduiertenkolleg bringing together more than 10 professors from the University of Cologne from different fields of the social and economic sciences, statistics and law as well as at least 10 collaborating experts from other universities in and outside of Europe. Cross‐national comparisons are a research strategy common to many disciplines. But there are different types of comparisons with strengths and weaknesses. SOCLIFE aims at bringing together these approaches using multi‐level research designs and types of analysis. Some cross‐national comparisons in the social and economic sciences have traditionally focussed on persons within countries, others on global indicators for countries. The first approach uses harmonized large scale surveys as a data source and has the advantage of using a broad range of information on individuals. But there also is a serious disadvantage as comparisons often remain on the individual level of analysis, thereby ignoring the impact of the social constitution and the history of countries. There is a lack of systematic control of the influences on both mean values and correlations. The second approach uses aggregate data which have often been assembled independently from survey results and thus characterize countries as a whole. One major weakness of this approach is that it remains on the aggregate level although causal relationships need to be interpreted by including the actors. As relations are interpreted on the sole basis of the macro level of analysis, the corresponding correlations are overestimated and their meaning remains questionable.The Graduiertenkolleg SOCLIFE will combine both approaches by analyzing the impact of life chances on choices of actions or attitudes of natural or corporate actors within the frame of the social order of politics, economics, civil society and the culture of modern, industrialized and democratic nation states. As for research, general hypotheses on the impact of the social order, the social structure and the social history of countries on actors within countries will be developed and examined by statistical multi‐level analysis whenever this is possible. The teaching program will (1) introduce theories and research results, (2) guide students to specify hypotheses for their own research projects, (3) teach them the appropriate analytical strategies and statistical techniques, and (4) make them acquainted with both approaches and data sources. A broad range of relevant topics will be researched in the different projects, each being supervised by at least two members of the Graduiertenkolleg and discussed by all doctoral students and teachers. Doctoral students will be asked to develop their research in a strict time frame, establish contacts within the scientific community and present and publish their results. Social Order and Life Chances in Cross‐National Comparison Cologne Research Training Group ‐ SOCLIFE 2008‐2013 K&#246;lner DFG‐Graduiertenkolleg Sozialordnungen und Lebenschancen im internationalen Vergleich The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne offers 8 scholarships for prospective doctoral students in the Social and Economic Sciences (Sociology, Political Science, Law, Social Policy, Economics, Social and Economic Psychology and Statistics). Selected students will be funded for 3 years beginning October 1, 2008 (monthly tax‐free stipend of 1000 &#8364;, allowances of 103 &#8364;, and family benefits). SOCLIFE is sponsored as a prestigious &#8220;Graduiertenkolleg&#8221; (research training group) by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, GK 1461). Another 8 scholarships will be offered beginning October 1, 2009. Additionally, there is 1 Post‐Doc position offered for 2 years beginning October 1, 2008 (state employees salary scheme TV‐L 13). The APPLICATION DEADLINE is July 15, 2008. Detailed information on SOCLIFE, the contributors, the research focus and the application&#160;: www.wiso.uni-koeln.de/cgs/soclife. (Post‐Doc information&#160;: separate file &#38; website) Prerequisites&#160;: Applicants should have a Master&#8217;s degree (or a national equivalent, e.g. University Diploma, German Magister, Swiss Lizenziat) in Economics, Law, Political Science, Psychology, Social Policy, Sociology, Statistics, Survey Research or another discipline related to the Social Sciences. Good proficiency in statistics and multivariate data analysis is expected.All courses of the Graduiertenkolleg SOCLIFE are offered in English. For a successful 3‐yearstay in Germany, knowledge of German is strongly recommended but not expected at the beginning of the program. Courses in German as a foreign language (DAF) are offered by the University of Cologne. You can receive a certificate in the German language examination (DSH). The Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences (CGS) is closely related to SOCLIFE and will assist students and answer many questions (www.wiso.unikoeln. de/cgs). For more information prior to application regarding language and visas as well as accommodation foreign students may also refer to the International Office of the University of Cologne/ Akademisches Auslandsamt (http://verwaltung.uni-koeln.de/international/content/index_eng.html). Degree&#160;: After successful completion of the program students will receive a German Doctoral Degree (Dr. rer. pol.) in their chosen discipline from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences. Application&#160;: Please send your application in English including &#8226; a curriculum vitae and the filled out standard form from the above mentioned website, &#8226; notarized copies of your academic degrees and your final school certificate, &#8226; a transcript of records or a diploma supplement, &#8226; a summary of your Master&#8217;s thesis (2‐3 pages), &#8226; evidence of English language proficiency (e.g. TOEFL or a certificate by an English language lector or teacher) &#8226; a research outline related to the overall topic of SOCLIFE and the research areas defined below (2‐3 pages), please note that the topics of the projects listed below only serve as exemplary doctoral research projects &#8226; two confidential letters of recommendation from full professors and an additional standard form (online) by July 15, 2008 by mail to&#160;: SOCLIFE c/o Forschungsinstitut f&#252;r Soziologie, Univ. zu K&#246;ln Prof. Dr. Heiner Meulemann, Greinstr. 2, 50939 K&#246;ln. As a second step, there will be additional interviews in Cologne for some applicants. Areas of research, faculty and exemplary doctoral research projects&#160;: Culture &#8226; Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life (Prof. Wolfgang Jagodzinski, Prof. Heiner Meulemann) &#8226; Religiosity and Civil Society (Prof. Heiner Meulemann, Prof. Detlef Fetchenhauer) Economy &#8226; Welfare State Regulation of Life Cycle Risks (Prof. Hans‐J&#252;rgen Andre&#223;, Prof. Frank Schulz‐Nieswandt, Prof. Michael Wagner) &#8226; Determinants and Consequences of Financial Honesty (Prof. Detlef Fetchenhauer, Prof. Andr&#233; Kaiser) &#8226; Taxes and Business Decisions in Cross‐National Comparison (Prof. Clemens Fuest, Prof. Hans‐J&#252;rgen Andre&#223;) Politics and Law &#8226; Programmatic Supply Strategies of Political Parties (Prof. Andr&#233; Kaiser, Prof. Wolfgang Jagodzinski) &#8226; The State Constitution and the Individual (Prof. Angelika Nu&#223;berger, Prof. Frank Schulz‐Nieswandt) Society &#8226; Demographic Development&#160;: Quantitative and Qualitative Determinants (Prof. Eckart Bomsdorf, Prof. Michael Wagner) &#8226; Regimes of Elderly Care in Comparison (Prof. Frank Schulz‐Nieswandt, Prof. Detlef Fetchenhauer) &#8226; Comparative Family Research (Prof. Michael Wagner, Prof. Hans‐J&#252;rgen Andre&#223;) Methodology &#8226; Survey Instruments in Cross‐National Research (Prof. Wolfgang Jagodzinski, Prof. Hans‐J&#252;rgen Andre&#223;, Prof. Heiner Meulemann) &#8226; Statistical Analysis of Data from Cross‐National Comparisons (Prof. Hans‐J&#252;rgen Andre&#223;, Prof. Eckart Bomsdorf, Prof. Heiner Meulemann) Network&#160;: SOCLIFE is supported by the Professors of the University of Cologne from diverse disciplines, and also profits from the University&#8217;s excellent research institutions, the close cooperation with the Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences (www.wiso.uni-koeln.de/cgs), other local co‐operations (e.g. GESIS‐ZA Central Archive for Empirical Social Research&#160;: www.gesis.org/en/za and Max‐Planck‐Institute for the Study of Societies&#160;; www.mpi-fgkoeln. mpg.de) and a broad network of international experts in substantive and methodological fields who have confirmed to participate in SOCLIFE and teach workshops and courses. You can thus expect to learn and to do research in an intellectually challenging environment.Des personnes int&#233;ress&#233;es peuvent contacter M. Tilo Beckers:Forschungsinstitut f&#252;r SoziologieUniversit&#228;t zu K&#246;lnGreinstr. 250939 K&#246;lnfon: +49 221 470-6140, fax: -5169beckers@wiso.uni-koeln.dehttp://www.fis.uni-koeln.de 