The convenors of Session T4-1 invite interested researchers to submit papers for a session titled "Ice, Snow, Mind, and Body: Human Health and Well-being in the Polar Regions".  This session will present the latest social and life sciences research on human health and well-being in the polar regions. 

Contributions are now being sought from researchers in the fields of polar medicine, psychology, sociology, human geography, and the related fields of tourism, community health, epidemiology,  human adaptation to extreme and unusual environments, and management of health-related activities in the polar regions.

Presentations of twenty minutes length are invited. Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary will be particularly welcomed.  A list of topics might include, but is not limited to:

• social and medical impacts of global changes
• resilience in individuals, small groups, and settlements
• new medical technologies and practices
• emerging issues in the health and well-being of polar sojourners and residents
• current research in individual psychological adaptation
• interactions between polar and temperate region groups
• impacts on health and well-being due to economic initiatives and activities (e.g., tourism, mineral exploration and development)
• applications of findings in the polar regions to other challenging environments

Abstracts are to be submitted to the IPY Oslo Science Conference website (http://www.ipy-osc.no/)  or to one of  the session convenors (see contact details below) no later than  January 20, 2010.

All abstracts will be double-blind peer-reviewed for technical content and originality, significance of the topic, relevance to IPY themes, and breadth of appeal.

If you have any questions about the session, please feel free to contact the convenors.