Innovation is the creation of new objects or ideas - it is the process by which people introduce, re-think, adapt, surprise, generate, transform, and otherwise move some part of the world in a new direction. Innovation brings attention to human agency and creativity, and the importance of recognizing our capacity to think, act, and react beyond "the norm" or what is expected. The 2010 NCFR annual conference theme is "Families and Innovation." [See page for links to the conference program booklet; audio/video order form; program schedule; presentation downloads/handouts; and more]
The international character of San Francisco, the site for the 2009 NCFR Conference, will afford an exciting context for examining how diversity issues affect family scholarship, practice, policy, and education and how each of us might contribute to better understanding of the heterogeneity, as well as the commonalities of diverse families, not only in the United States, but also around the globe. [See page for links to the conference program booklet; audio/video order form; program schedule; and presentation downloads/handouts]
The lenses through which we view family affect what is seen and unseen, as well as how our research findings are understood. The theme of this year's conference encompasses how families are defined, which family processes are presumed to be adaptive, and how our research findings are interpreted in the public arena. Putting on diverse lenses (cross-culturally, methodologically, disciplinarily, pedagogically, ideologically, and in other ways) allows us to expand our vision of possibilities for family relationships.
Family Vulnerabilities: Challenges to Safety, Security and Well-being
November 07, 2007 - November 10, 2007
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The 2007 conference focuses on the challenges families face as they balance the relational, social, spiritual, health-related, financial, occupational and other dimensions of their daily lives. The degree to which families can live safe, secure lives is influenced by a number of factors in individual, family, and community contexts. What are the emerging issues for mass media, policymakers, and the public that challenge the safety, security and well-being of families?
