The Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods’ (WISERD) second annual summer conference, will reflect on the institute’s interdisciplinary working methods and feature an array of speakers from academia, central and local government, and third sector agencies.
A key topic under discussion at the conference will be an analysis of the economic contribution of major events in Wales, where Rob Holt (Chief Executive of Ryder Cup Wales 2010) will reflect on the value of the Ryder Cup. The session will also look at the wider public policy implications of major events and to developing methodologies to measure the impact of similar events in the future.
Another session will address the concept of ‘behaviour change’ within a Welsh context. Clive Bates, Director General of Sustainable Futures at the Welsh Assembly Government, will be joined by Cardiff University’s Professor Ken Peattie to review the work being undertaken around behaviour change in Wales and its potential to offer improved policy outcomes.
Academics based at Cardiff will also lead a discussion on the relationship between ageing and place in Wales; in terms of poverty in rural places, social inclusion, material hardships and cultural denials.
Dr Catrin Redknapp of the Welsh Language Board will chair a talk on bilingualism and linguistic behaviour in Wales, exploring how bilingual consumers process marketing messages and the sociolinguistic issues of working in a bilingual environment.
Other themes to be covered over the two-day conference include; Inequality in Wales, Poverty and Homelessness, Education and Health in Wales, Migration, Tourism, Citizenship, Criminology and Devolution, Participation and Civil Society, and Skills and Employment.
Professor Charlotte Williams, Professor of Social Justice at Keele University will open the conference with a keynote address on the theme of race and equality in social research in Wales. The conference will close with a special lecture from WISERD Director, Professor Gareth Rees, on higher education, social mobility and locality in Wales.
Professor Rees commented: “The WISERD Conference is becoming established as the major ‘shop window’ for social science research in Wales, providing an opportunity for researchers to engage across Wales and with policy-makers and the public more widely.”
WISERD is a collaborative venture between the Universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Glamorgan and Swansea.
Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of Wales (HEFCW) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), WISERD has established itself as a leading centre for social science research excellence since its creation in 2008.
For more information about WISERD and the conference click here.