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David Willetts MP to announce £14 million funding boost for Data Research Centres

The Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP, has announced the release of £14 million to fund the second phase of the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) investment in Big Data. At a speech at the High Performance Computing and Big Data Conference Mr Willetts outlined what steps are being taken to strengthen the UK’s competitive advantage in Big Data. This latest funding, part of a pot of £64 million announced in October 2013, will be used to support the establishment of the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centres at Essex, Glasgow, University

More long term support needed for families displaced by flooding say researchers

Planning for the emotional aftermath of devastating floods is as important as dealing with the immediate impact of such emergencies, say researchers from the Hull Floods project at Lancaster University. As local councils brace themselves for the estimated £400m repair bill for damage caused by the recent storms and flooding, Dr Rebecca Whittle, Lecturer at Lancaster University’s Lancaster Environment Centre said "It’s actually about what comes after - it’s about that long and very protracted recovery period. It’s about that secondary trauma of having to deal with insurers and builders -

Tackling the challenges of dementia

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is pleased to announce that, along with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) it's awarding £20 million to six research projects which will significantly add to our understanding of dementia. Amongst other things, the research will look at how we can better prevent dementia, and improve the quality of life of those with dementia and their carers. There are currently 44 million people in the world living with dementia, and by 2050 this number is set to treble to 135 million. Following on from last year's announcement by Prime

New initiative will research ways to support the British retail sector

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is pleased to announce funding of the flagship Retail Sector Initiative. The initiative will support a wide range of collaborative projects, with businesses such as M&S and Waitrose, working alongside social and economic researchers to undertake research and knowledge exchange activities. Neighbourhoods rely on the retail sector as a provider of employment and skills development, with the local town centre a focal point for community activity. However, in recent years the sector has been through many changes; the speed and impact of

Scottish Centre on Constitutional Change

The ESRC Scottish Centre on Constitutional Change , formally launched today, represents a significant boost to the debate on the future of Scotland. Led by Professor Michael Keating, one of Scotland’s foremost scholars on devolution and constitutional politics, the centre will provide academic research and analysis to help inform the referendum debate, and analyse the constitutional options in the event of either a Yes or a No vote. The centre's evidence and insights are readily available to all governments and campaigns.

Top earners' wages growing faster than for rest in Scotland

Scotland’s top one per cent of income earners - about 25,000 people - have increased their wages and total income at a greater rate than the rest of the nation’s workers in the past decade, according to a new report funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Someone in the top one per cent income bracket in Scotland can expect to earn 20 times more than someone in the bottom one per cent. But once taxes and benefits are taken into account, overall household income inequality in Scotland has not increased substantially since the mid-1990s. This is because the UK tax and

Where do I belong? – photo competition

The ESRC is pleased to announce the launch of its 2013/14 photographic competition – Where do I belong? The competition is open to all young people aged between 14-18, who are invited to take a picture of where they feel they belong - whether it’s a place, what they do, who they are with, or where they want to be in the future. On the judging panel are: · Sophie Batterbury, Head of Pictures, The Independent · Ellie Crisell, BBC newsreader · Ollie Smallwood, Freelance Photographer · Professor Paul Boyle, Chief Executive for the ESRC An awards ceremony for the winning

The state of Britain today debated at flagship festival event

Leading social scientists will reflect on some of the country’s most pressing issues at a showcase event on Thursday (7 November). The interactive panel discussion, organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), gathers members of the public and policymakers with researchers who will present their findings on subjects including crime, poverty and ageing. The evening will also see the launch of Britain in 2014, the ESRC's definitive annual magazine featuring key data and expert opinion on the state of the nation today. Each year, Britain in showcases how ESRC funded

Countryside bearing the burden in "Big Society"

Empowering local people to help out in their communities is one of the flagship policies of the coalition government's 'Big Society'. However, new research suggests some communities are bearing more of the burden than others, with volunteering in rural areas significantly higher than in cities. The research by Dr Alasdair Rutherford, a lecturer in Quantitative Methods at the University of Stirling, will be discussed at an event as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) annual Festival of Social Science which runs from 2-9 November 2013. The study showed that in

Does talking about race fuel racism?

Imagine if we just stopped mentioning race, would the EDL and other far right groups cease to exist? If we stopped talking about race, would racial discrimination suddenly disappear? On Thursday 7 November the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading race equality think tank, is holding a free debate at the Wolverhampton Science Park. The event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science and will explore the topic, 'Does talking about race fuel racism?'. Speakers include Dr Nicola Rollock, Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Race & Education at the University of Birmingham,

Dementia isn't the end of fun!

"Dementia is so often equated with decline and a 'doom and gloom' perspective, our approach challenges that, as living with dementia can still be a life full of fun," says Anthea Innes, Director of the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI). Ways in which popular technologies can be used to enable people with dementia to have fun as well as unlock memories and enhance communication with relatives and carers will be showcased during the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science. "One of our ideas at BUDI was to try out different 'fun'

Maori culture teaches us that families are crucial to helping with mental health crises

Health service providers could learn from New Zealand Maoris when it comes to helping adults who have had mental health problems to get back on their feet, new research suggests. In Maori culture close family and friends are intimately involved with helping people with difficulties, and such family-based approaches appear to have advantages over conventional methods where professionals tend to take the lead. Dr Jerry Tew of the School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham led a research project examining the effectiveness of family-based approaches to the 'reablement' of

Witnesses of crime need help to remember

The memory of people who have witnessed or been victims of crime is prone to errors which law officials must take into account when proceeding with criminal cases, according to research to be presented at an event as part of this year's annual Festival of Social Science. "I was once caught up in a bank robbery, and as soon as the perpetrators left, a lot of people in the bank started talking about what had happened," recounts Dr Anne Ridley from London South Bank University, an expert in the field of eyewitness memory. "I knew that this was bad, as discussing an event after it has

Language difficulties can last a lifetime

People who suffer from language difficulties as children may continue to suffer from various emotional and behavioural problems as adults, according to new research. Childhood language impairment used to be seen as an early years difficulty, with children catching up gradually as they got older. However, new research shows that is not always the case and that many people experience communication difficulties into adulthood. The research, led by Professor Gina Conti-Ramsden, from the University of Manchester, will be presented at an event as part of the annual Economic and Social Research

Transformation Project successful in targeting crime

New project management toolsets developed with the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) funded Transformation Project helped Warwickshire Police launch its new Automatic Number Plate Recognition schemes on time and budget – targeting vehicle-based criminality and solving a string of serious crimes. The toolsets enabled Warwickshire Police to identify problem areas and measures to address them, which led to the ANPR schemes being successfully implemented in 2010 on time and within budget. As a result between 2010 and 2012, the Coventry Airport ANPR scheme identified 646,172

Children's voices are being heard loud and clear in Belfast

The old adage that children should be seen but not heard appears to be becoming a thing of the past, at least in Northern Ireland, according to a new survey, with questions even being designed by children themselves. Around three out of four children who were polled felt that their views were sought and were taken seriously in their school on issues such as what they do in the classroom and how to make the school better, while four out of five children believed it was easy to give their views. More than 3,700 final year primary school pupils across Northern Ireland responded to the

Animations in court cause jury errors

Using animated evidence in court can confuse and bias a jury, according to new research. Computer-generated evidence (CGE) is frequently used in courts as a technique with which to demonstrate complex sequences of events, or collate different pieces of evidence into a more coherent picture. Famously used in the trials of Amanda Knox and in presenting evidence against Oscar Pistorious, one of the advantages of CGE is that it allows a number of different viewpoints to be examined in a way which is often not possible with still images. However, research suggests that using CGE may confuse

Infrastructure decisions now a matter of 'life and death'

Carbon-neutral planning and design needs to be embedded in infrastructure decisions now if we are to achieve a low carbon economy within 30 years, argues Keith Clarke CBE, former CEO of Atkins Global and Chairman of the Forum for the Future. Delaying infrastructure decisions is no longer simply inconvenient, it's a matter of life and death for people in countries most affected by the adverse consequences of climate change, Mr Clarke will claim in a debate to be held during the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science Game-changing evidence on climate change

Rude Britannia – what our politeness says about our nation

Britain is still a nation of polite people and fears that texts, tweets and Facebook are making people ruder is a myth, according to research from Lancaster University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). The British are famous for their reserve, indirect way of saying things and a love of queuing. However, new research shows that what we find polite, and what we find rude is unique to our culture and can be very different to notions of rudeness in other cultures. The research carried out by Professor Jonathan Culpeper, an expert in linguistic politeness, will be presented at an

Risk averse carers hasten dementia decline

Focussing only on keeping people with dementia physically safe can actually contribute to the person's decline and result in the unnecessary loss of a person's skills. Carers, family and even some health practitioners may unwittingly be behaving in ways that can cause 'silent harms’' for people with dementia in their efforts to help them live with the condition, argues Professor Charlotte Clarke of the University of Edinburgh. "Focussing only on the physical safety of someone with dementia can result in the person’s psychological and social wellbeing being neglected or 'silently harmed',"

Kids know what makes them happy

Fridays are definitely the best day of the week and one of the things likely to make many school children happy, according to an annual innovative schools event on happiness that takes place during the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) annual Festival of Social Science. Fish and chip school lunches, family, friends and fun are mentioned by children in this small-scale project as some of the ingredients of a happy school life, says event organiser Dr Lindsey Cameron, a child development specialist at the University of Kent. "Asking children themselves what makes them happy

Wolves no longer the stuff of fairy tales and fables

Little Red Riding Hood has a lot to teach conservation biologists when it comes to reintroducing the wolf into the wild, according to a leading anthropologist. The ingrained image of the wolf in many cultures as the epitome of a physically powerful, cunning and malevolent force, propagated down the centuries through fairy tales, myths and legends, must be taken into account in any re-introduction strategy, or where wolves re-emerge naturally, said Garry Marvin, Professor of Human–Animal Studies at the University of Roehampton. "We need to understand why the wolf has been demonised so

Wind turbines evoke a variety of emotional responses

People’s attitudes towards wind turbines are more complex than a simple case of love-or-hate, a social science researcher is discovering. Visitors gazing at turbines in the Welsh countryside experience a wide range of emotions, from memories of youth to feelings of powerlessness in the face of the political machine, according to Greg Dash, who is studying for a PhD at Aberystwyth University. Mr Dash, who is researching how visitors to rural landscapes perceive wind turbines, will be investigating his theme further during the national Festival of Social Science in November, organised by

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