News and Blog

Last week (4th-6th July) I attended the 11th international Interpretive Policy Analysis (IPA) Conference in Hull, 2017 UK City of Culture. This article reflects on the conference and the IPA. Most importantly, it highlights the sense and benefits of an IPA community within which a milieu of interdisciplinary and international social and policy researchers can reside. Variation in topics covered…

Before the referendum our post on ‘Religion and the EU Referendum’ examined how preferences for the UK’s membership of the European Union were affected by the religious affiliations of Christian voters. We found notable differences between the denominations, with Anglicans, Methodists and Baptists supporting a withdrawal from the EU, Presbyterians and those of no religious…

Bennett and Segerburg write about connective action, personalised content sharing across media networks, which is different from but can be combined with the more traditional collective action or the formation and mobilisation of collective identities (for example marching against government austerity measures). Connective action for political purposes using social media to campaign, lobby and petition…

Since the introduction of its well-being programme in 2010, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has introduced a number of questions into its surveys in an attempt to measure the well-being of the population in the UK.  The Annual Population Survey, the largest regular household survey undertaken by the ONS, now includes a suite of…

The European Union receives a bad press, especially in the UK, for its alleged inability to deal with crises. The British press is world class in its ability to misinform, but the way in which the Commission has handled the Greek debt crisis has not helped the cause of European unity. The EU negotiators representing…

On 25th June, just two days after Britain voted to leave the EU, the small Welsh valleys town of Ebbw Vale hit the headlines (Town showered with EU cash votes to leave EU.) The article questions why a town that, like so many others in Wales, has received billions in EU funding for infrastructure and economic re-generation…

In the weeks, months and years following 23rd June 2016, the long-term consequences of a majority Brexit vote will slowly unfold. Regardless of whether the British economy continues in freefall or stabilises, to what degree EU leaders, not wanting to be seen giving the UK a ‘good deal’, continue trading with the UK and whether or…

It is now four days since the UK took the most momentous political decision of this generation, and the dramatic consequences have dominated the weekend news: the Prime Minister has resigned, the Leader of the Opposition is facing a vote of no confidence, a second independence referendum in Scotland is now a serious possibility, and…

WISERD Civil Society WP3.2: Implications of Spatial & Temporal Variation in Service Provision for Inequalities in Social Outcomes This work package will undertake a comprehensive review of the literature on social capital with a particular focus on community level measures at a range of spatial scales. The ultimate aim is to critically assess the suitability of existing secondary…

Dr Sioned Pearce’s guest blog for The London School of Economics and Political Science: The philosophers have only interpreted the world…The point, however, is to change it (Karl Marx 1888) Drawing from a recent study on how impact occurs in the social sciences, Sioned Pearce looks at some specific issues with the case study approach to understanding impact….