Newyddion

Has the disability employment gap really declined?

If you keep track of key measures of disability equality in the UK, you’ll know that the gap in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled working-age people has gone down over the past fifteen years.  And you’d be in good company. Many experts have flagged this trend: Dame Carol Black in her influential 2008 Review, DWP indicators…

Framing the Geographies of Higher Education Participation: Schools, Place and National identity

How young people make choices about university, where and what to study has been a question asked by many social researchers, policy-makers and practitioners alike. Research has shown that when young people make choices about going to university, a range of factors come into play including peer influences, their families’ experience of university and their…

WISERD Toasts Another Successful Annual Conference

Last week the 6th Annual Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) Conference took place at Cardiff’s iconic Millennium Stadium. The WISERD Conference is the largest of its kind in Wales, and brings together practitioners, policy makers and social scientists to discuss and debate a range of topical themes such as health; social care; wellbeing;…

Reflections on the Rising of Merthyr: The Waun Common Debates

The Merthyr Rising 2015 festival is a three day event aimed at remembering the town’s radical past and promoting a positive image of the town’s future with a mixture of music, film, performance and debate. SCHeP were proud to take part in this year’s event by sponsoring and supporting the Waun Common Debates These debates were inspired…

Economic Austerity and Older Volunteers

In recent years the political, economic and social climate in which volunteering by older adults occurs has changed significantly, with the onset of an economic downturn, concern about pensions, a change in the public policy context for volunteering following a change of government, and the abolition of default retirement age. The notion of ‘unretirement’ is…

Exposing the Welfare Myth of Them and Us

A new book by John Hills explores key issues in the current debate about ‘welfare’ and the welfare state. The debate contrasts a stagnant group of people benefiting from it all with the rest who pay in and get nothing back – ‘skivers’ against ‘strivers’. John explains how, because people’s lives and circumstances change, most…

What role do the political parties think the voluntary sector should play in delivering welfare services? How have parties’ ideas changed over the post-war period? And, what impact has devolution had… ?

These are some of the questions that I set out to address in a study that is to be published this month. Despite an extensive academic literature extending back decades – perhaps surprisingly, there has been little work on elections and how the political parties envision the role of the third – or voluntary –…

WISERD research reveals benefits to Assisted Places holders

Professor Sally Power uncovers the benefits for those from less advantaged homes attending independent schools. WISERD research has revealed that beneficiaries of the Assisted Places scheme, which provided a means-tested education at independent schools for young people from less advantaged homes until 1997, continue to reap the benefits from their private education. The research, funded…

Census debate to take place at Wales’ largest Social Science Conference

Delegates join distinguished keynote speakers for special Census debate   A unique opportunity to discuss the Census will take place at the Annual Conference for the Wales Institute for Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD). Now in its fourth year, the WISERD Annual Conference is Wales’ largest social science conference; bringing practitioners, policy…