Stemming the tide. The challenges of a changing climate. Society Now. Plus legacy: What did the Olympics do for us?

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1 Socety ow Plus Socety Now by numbers housng ESRC research makng an mpact sprng 2014 ssue 18 Stemmng the tde The challenges of a changng clmate 2012 legacy: What dd the Olympcs do for us? Where do I belong?: The wnnng photographs Voces: The UK s future relatonshp wth the EU

2 SPRING 2014 ISSUE 18 Welcome to the Sprng ssue of Socety Now, the ESRC s regular magazne whch showcases the mpact of the socal scence research we fund. Ths ssue our man feature looks at the mpact of floods and how we create flood-reslent landscape and nfrastructure. Should poltcans or the people take responsblty? Wth fscal consoldaton contnung through to what wll the Chancellor do to reduce the defct and what wll the mpact be on us? Almost two years after the 2012 London Olympcs we look at the nsghts academcs are ganng nto the legacy of the games. The Scottsh government has set out ts vson of ndependence n ts Whte Paper Scotland s Future. Dr Ncola McEwen examnes the proposals. And Professor Anand Menon, research coordnator for the ESRC ntatve on The UK n a Changng Europe, looks at the mplcatons of a referendum on EU membershp and what we stand to lose or gan f we leave the EU. I hope you fnd the magazne enjoyable and nformatve. Nck Stevens, Edtor - nck.stevens@esrc.ac.uk All Socety Now photography Alamy unless otherwse marked Socety ow ESRC RESEARCH MAKING AN IMPACT ESRC RESEARCH MAK 2012 legacy: What dd the Olympcs do for us? Where do I belong?: The wnnng photographs PLUS Socety Now BY NUMBERS HOUSING Stemmng the tde The challenges of a changng clmate Voces: The UK s future relatonshp wth the EU The vews and statements expressed n ths publcaton are those of the authors and not necessarly those of the ESRC contrbutors Sarah Womack s the former Socal Affars Correspondent and Poltcal Correspondent of the Daly Telegraph Professor Mchael Power s Drector of the Centre for the Analyss of Rsk and Regulaton (CARR) at the LSE In ths ssue REGULARS 3 News 14 Opnons Professor Mchael Power examnes rsk culture n fnancal nsttutons; Dr Mke Thomas dscusses the mpact of cvl partnershps. 20 The UK by numbers: Housng 29 Informaton and updates People, publcatons, news n bref, webstes and events. Dr Mke Thomas s Lecturer n Socal Work at the Unversty of Kent Aaron Boardley s an ESRC Communcatons Offcer Dr Ncola McEwen s Assocate Drector of the ESRC Scottsh Centre on Consttutonal Change and ESRC Senor Scotland Fellow Anand Menon s Professor of European Poltcs and Foregn Affars at Kng s College London, and research co-ordnator for the ESRC ntatve on The UK n a Changng Europe Features 10 Waterworld How do we manage our envronment, deal wth floodng and buld a reslent nfrastructure? 13 The long road ahead The IFS Green Budget outlned the tough challenge of reducng the defct. 16 Where do I belong? The ESRC s photographc competton challenges young people to take a pcture of where they feel they belong. 18 Olympc mpact How can we better understand the successes, challenges and mpacts of mega events lke the 2012 London Olympcs and Paralympcs? 22 Towards ndependence Dr Ncola McEwen, Assocate Drector of the ESRC Scottsh Centre on Consttutonal Change, analyses the Scottsh Government s Whte Paper Scotland s Future. 26 Voces: Choosng wsely Professor Anand Menon dscusses the UK s relatonshp wth the EU and possble outcomes of a referendum on membershp. 2 socety now sprng 2014

3 NEWS Arm s length ad work challenges evaluaton of mpact n Dsadvantage ncreases dsablng condtons n Women count cost of dvorce n Celebrty makes an mpact on eltes but not the publc NEWS n Ethncty n poltcs onlne n Chld conduct and callousness n Publc support for Armed Forces hgh n Centralsed resource on nfant sleep n Hgh costs of leavng Islam n Desgnng for those wth learnng dffcultes n Dversty vtal for hgh streets n Separaton agreements prove popular wth Scottsh couples n Arm s length ad work challenges evaluaton of mpact The ncreasng mportance of rsk management means that rgorous evaluaton of the mpact of ad spendng has become more dffcult due to a growng tendency for ad agences to wthdraw nternatonal ad personnel from the socetes n whch they work, says researcher Professor Mark Duffeld. Snce the 1990s, ad agences have expanded ther reach and ambtons n war-affected or chroncally fragle states, provdng humantaran assstance and engagng n a varety of ambtous programmes of socal and poltcal transformaton led and funded by Western donor governments. Ths has both rased ther profle and ncreased the securty rsks they face. Ad work s now more dangerous than n the past and securty ntatves to protect nternatonal ad personnel have resulted n wthdrawal of many nto fortfed compounds, secure offces and resdental complexes, combned wth restrctve securty and travel protocols. Ths bunkersaton has contrbuted to the growng physcal and socal detachment of many nternatonal ad personnel from the socetes n whch they work, and a substantal shft towards ad managers attemptng to admnster or evaluate programmes from a safe dstance, through natonal and local feld workers, subcontracted ntermedares and new technologes such as moble phones and skype, says Professor Duffeld. In a 28-month project, researchers examned how nternatonal agences and ad workers n South Sudan and Afghanstan have adapted to workng n challengng envronments as well as the atttudes of host communtes to the nternatonal ad system. Fndngs pont to a growng remoteness or physcal separaton of nternatonal ad workers and a growng rsk averson among nternatonal ad agences as regards ther nternatonal personnel. As a consequence, ad agences often attempt to mantan ad programmes through varous forms of arm s-length subcontractng and rsk transfer. More subcontractng to natonal and local ad workers has ncreased problems relatng to montorng and evaluatng projects and hghlghted the dfference between natonal and nternatonal ad workers wth the former now exposed to hgher levels of securty rsks wthout the same level of protectons as nternatonal staff. The contradcton between the expectaton that agences mantan or expand ther operatons n conflctaffected countres, and the pressures to lmt exposure of nternatonal staff seems rreconclable. The fundamental contradcton between stayng and stayng safe suggests that bunkersaton and remote management are not only here to stay but are smply beng Bunkersaton has contrbuted to the growng physcal and socal detachment of many nternatonal ad personnel addressed through better or smarter operatonal securty management. The dffcultes faced by ad agences n montorng ther work drectly n the feld, and growng relance on remote methodologes, consttutes a crss of evaluaton, says Professor Duffeld. At a tme of austerty there s a concern that funds are beng spent on ad projects when the possblty of rgorous and ndependent evaluaton s no longer an opton n many recpent countres. n Contact Professor Mark Duffeld, Unversty of Brstol Emal m.duffeld@brstol.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES Sprng 2014 socety now 3

4 IN BRIEF EYES ON MIDDLE-MEN Ombudsmen provde an mportant pathway of Alternatve Dspute Resoluton (ADR) wthn European justce systems. Researchers wll examne what people expect from an ombudsman procedure as well as the dfferences and smlartes of varous natonal settngs and types of grevances. Ther am s to compare levels of perceved procedural farness and trust n ombudsman systems n France, Germany and the UK. ESRC grant number ES/K00820X/1 ONLINE MISOGYNY In July 2013, Carolne Crado- Perez was nundated wth msogynstc abuse on Twtter havng campagned to have a woman appear on an Englsh banknote. Legslatve bodes came under pressure to deal wth the ssue despte the dearth of research on the topc. Researchers am to address ths gap through a study of onlne msogynstc threats and wll explore why trolls make rape threats. ESRC grant number ES/L008874/1 REDUCING WASTE New perspectves on the causes and management of food waste are the am of a research and knowledge exchange project led by the Unversty of Manchester. Intervews wth stakeholders ncludng retalers, actvsts and chartes wll help researchers explore how the challenge of food waste reducton s beng framed, nterpreted and addressed. They am to dentfy nnovatve practcal mechansms for waste reducton. ESRC grant number ES/L00514X/1 Dsadvantage ncreases dsablng condtons For chldren lvng n the UK s most soco-economcally dsadvantaged households the odds of developng chronc, dsablng condtons are twce those of chldren lvng n the least dsadvantaged, accordng to a new study from the Unversty of Warwck. In the frst study of ts knd, researchers examned data from the UK Offce of Natonal Statstcs Longtudnal Study (ONSLS). Our am was to look at chldren who were dentfed as beng free from condtons that had a sgnfcant mpact on daly lfe for example, severe asthma and chronc mental health or developmental condtons n early chldhood (0-10 years) and examne whether exposure to soco-economc dsadvantage durng ths perod ncreased ther rsk of developng a dsablng chronc condton n later chldhood and early adulthood (10-20 years), says project leader Dr Clare Blackburn. Researchers also undertook the frst systematc revew of exstng evdence for the lnk between soco-economc deprvaton and chld dsablty. Fndngs show that n hgh-ncome countres, a hgh majorty of studes ndcate a statstcally sgnfcant relatonshp of chldhood dsablty wth soco-economc dsadvantage, says Dr Blackburn. For chldren lvng n low soco-economc households, the odds of beng reported to have a dsablng chronc condton were 70 per cent greater than for chldren n better-off households. Together these studes add to the evdence ndcatng that the level of exposure to soco-economc dsadvantage n early chldhood matters n terms of health and future lfe chances. And that concern over the ssue of chldhood dsadvantage appears warranted. A quarter of UK chldren are stll lvng n low-ncome famles and the number of chldren experencng materal deprvaton s forecast to ncrease between 2010 and Wthout targeted polces and programmes to tackle soco-economc dsadvantage, the prevalence of chronc dsablng condtons n chldhood may ncrease resultng n further demands on health, educaton and socal servces, says Dr Blackburn. Our study confrms the fndngs from other studes of chld health, that targetng preventatve efforts to reduce soco-economc dsadvantage n early chldhood s lkely to be an mportant publc health strategy to reduce health nequaltes n later chldhood and early adulthood. Although more research s needed, the current evdence tells us that developng polces that result n more favourable socal and economc lvng condtons are mportant. Reducng poverty among households wth young chldren s lkely to reman key to achevng ths. n Contact Dr Clare Blackburn, Unversty of Warwck Emal c.m.blackburn@warwck.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES socety now Summer Sprng

5 Women count cost of dvorce New research suggests that the greater legal protecton offered by marrage does not appear to translate nto economc protecton where women are concerned. When relatonshps fal, ncome loss for women who were marred s greater than the fnancal loss experenced by women who were cohabtng. Cohabtees lose less even after takng nto account characterstcs such as age and chldren, says researcher Professor Hamsh Low. But t s not access to benefts or employment after separaton that explans the dfference. Rather, dvorced women do not Celebrty makes an mpact on eltes but not the publc For decades celebrtes have been workng for good causes both ndependently and wth chartes. Many assume that celebrty advocacy attracts publc attenton to a chartable cause. But whle celebrty advocacy can be effectve for workng wth busness and government, t can be lmted among wder publcs. Celebrty advocacy does not always engage well wth much of the publc, says researcher Professor Dan Brockngton. A star of a partcular TV soap, for example, wll only resonate wth the audence of that TV show. Celebrty s populst n form, but not always popular n character, he says. Celebrty can work well for fundrasng but not awareness-rasng. In focus group research on meda consumpton of development ssues, for example, celebrtes are rarely mentoned as a source of nformaton or nfluence. Audence surveys also show that almost three quarters of people thnk others pay more attenton to celebrty than they do. return to lvng wth ther extended famles. The dfference arses because of dfferences n access to famly support networks, he says. Cohabtees household ncome falls by less because followng separaton they are more lkely to lve wth other adults, partcularly ther famly. n Contact Professor Hamsh Low, Unversty of Cambrdge Emal hamsh.low@econ.cam.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES But celebrty advocacy does make an mpresson on poltcans and busness leaders one of the most mportant groups n terms of polcy formaton. These people not only enjoy meetng celebrtes, but also beleve that celebrty nfluences the publc. Ths s good news for well-connected chartes wth good lnks who have been able to buld credble brand assocatons between ther organsatons and partcular publc fgures. But t also promotes certan forms of elte-domnated democracy whch may be less healthy n the longer term. n Celebrty Advocacy and Internatonal Development wll be publshed by Routledge n Aprl Contact Professor Dan Brockngton, Unversty of Manchester Emal dan.brockngton@manchester.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES IN BRIEF PAYING ATTENTION Human vsual percepton s strongly affected by current expectatons and ntentons. What s perceved s determned by what s the focus of attenton. Innovatve new research wll explore whether systematc dfferences exst between ndvduals n ther ablty to attend to more than one thng at a tme. Fndngs wll nform current theoretcal models of how attenton operates. ESRC grant number ES/K006142/1 SOCIAL JUSTICE Based on research n three countres, Chna, Tanzana and Venezuela, researchers am to contrbute to the challenge of reconclng forest conservaton wth socal justce for local people n developng countres. Researchers wll generate new emprcal data on what socal justce means to these local people and work wth donors, NGOs and polcymakers to brng ths new knowledge nto practce. ESRC grant number ES/K005812/1 PATTERNS WORK Patterns, n terms of project and programme management, are not a decoratve desgn or motf, but a structured descrpton of behavours or problem-solvng approaches. Patterns help draw out the lessons learned through experence. Researchers am to develop a collecton of patterns that can be used to capture the lved experence of Project and Programme Managers (PPMs) and create a webste to share ths nformaton wth practtoners. ESRC grant number ES/L001985/1 summer Sprng socety now 5

6 IN BRIEF HEALTHIER EATING Makng healthy food choces s not easy n an envronment n whch hgh calore foods are easly avalable and hghly vsble. In relaton to eatng behavour, people look to others as a gude for how much to eat and even food selecton. Researchers am to explore whether one way of encouragng healther eatng s to provde people wth nformaton on healthy eatng habts of others. ESRC grant number ES/K002678/1 CARBON INNOVATION In a seres of sx semnars, experts wll dscuss the challenges and major choces for envronmental nnovaton n the next four decades as the UK undergoes a green transformaton. Semnars wll address technologcal and organsatonal envronmental nnovaton, the central role of government polces and publc atttudes towards envronmental matters, as well as the role of the envronmental sector s SME frms n drvng technology. ESRC grant number ES/L000628/1 ADMIN DATA SERVICE Access to admnstratve data for research s a postve publc good. Usng ths data, researchers can evaluate publc polces on everythng from educatonal reforms to health servce nnovatons. The new Admnstratve Data Servce (ADS) s part of the Admnstratve Data Research network (ADRN) whch also ncludes four new nnovatve admnstratve data research centres. ESRC grant number ES/L007452/1 Ethncty n poltcs onlne A new onlne data centre offers easy access to good qualty nformaton about ethnc mnortes poltcal ntegraton, partcpaton and atttudes. Desgned by researchers from the Unversty of Manchester, the webste presents the man fndngs of the Ethnc Mnortes Brtsh Electon Study (EMBES) as well as other relevant data and expert opnons n an accessble, format. EMBES was conducted after the 2010 General Chld conduct and callousness Conduct problems n chldren, ncludng cruelty and physcal aggresson, represent a major socetal problem. About fve per cent of chldren n the UK qualfy for a dagnoss of conduct problems. Some, but not all of these chldren also lack empathy and can appear callous In a recent study, researchers amed to dscover more about the underlyng neurocogntve vulnerabltes assocated wth conduct problems and callous trats. The am, says researcher Professor Ess Vdng, s to gve drecton for more ndvdualsed treatment nterventons. In ths study, researchers from Unversty College London scanned chldren s brans by Functonal Magnetc Resonance Imagng (FMRI) to see how those wth conduct problems dffer n ther response to vewng mages of others n pan. The bran mages showed that, relatve to controls, chldren wth conduct problems show reduced responses to others pan specfcally n regons of the bran known to play a role Electon to provde the largest and most up-to-date survey of Brtsh ethnc mnortes poltcal atttudes and behavour ever conducted. n Contact Dr Mara Sobolewska, Unversty of Manchester Emal mara.sobolewska@manchester.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number ES/J010545/1 n empathy. The bran responses were most reduced for chldren wth conduct problems and callous trats. Ths pattern of reduced bran actvty upon wtnessng pan may serve as a neurobologcal rsk factor for later adult psychopathy, researchers state. But t s mportant, Professor Vdng says, to vew these fndngs as an ndcator of early vulnerablty, rather than bologcal destny. We know that chldren can be very responsve to nterventons, and the challenge s to make those nterventons better. The power of neuroscence research s not, she stresses, to pck out the psychopath but to help fne-tune or talor nterventons to sut the specfc profle of atypcal processng that characterses a chld wth conduct problems and callous trats. n Contact Professor Ess Vdng, Unversty College London Emal e.vdng@ucl.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES socety now Sprng Summer

7 Centralsed resource on nfant sleep Publc support for Armed Forces hgh Eght out of ten people n Brtan have a hgh or very hgh opnon of the UK Armed Forces, accordng to responses from 3,300 UK adults, surveyed as part of the 2011 Brtsh Socal Atttudes Survey. The study, conducted by the Kng s Centre for Mltary Health Research (KCMHR), Kng s College London, along wth the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research, Robert Gordon Unversty, and NatCen Socal Research, found consderably less backng for the operatons n whch the Brtsh mltary have been nvolved n the past decade, wth 58 per cent of the Brtsh publc opposed to the msson n Iraq and 48 per cent opposed to the one n Afghanstan. Professor Chrstopher Dandeker, the lead researcher on the project, ponts out that ths lack of support, as well as publc wearness over the mssons, may mean that future Brtsh governments may fnd t ncreasngly dffcult to gan support for campagns wth no perceved clear beneft for the UK, ncludng overseas based antterror mssons or nterventons to remove overseas dctators. Despte the lack of support for Iraq and Afghanstan, there s overwhelmng publc support for veterans of these mssons more than 90 per cent support personnel returnng from these mssons regardless of ther opnons of the campagn tself. But ths support comes wth some msconceptons of the effect of mltary servce. Over half of those surveyed felt, wrongly, that current members of the Armed Forces were more lkely than cvlans to have a mental llness and be sucdal. Publc opnon of both mltary servce and ts effects s ncreasngly shaped by cvlans, ncludng the meda, televson and flms, as well as by Forces-related chartes. In partcular, mages of repatraton at Royal Wootton Bassett have helped to renforce the hero-tovctm status of Forces personnel. At the end of a decade of conflct n Iraq and Afghanstan, the veteran as vctm s emergng as a key narratve, wth possble mplcatons for publc polcy and Armed Forces personnel, who may be at rsk of beng stgmatsed by cvlan socety, says Professor Dandeker. Should ths veteran as vctm myth persst, future recrutment to the Armed Forces as well as publc support for mltary operatons could be undermned and employers current postve atttudes to employng former Servce personnel could change. The meda and some Servce chartes, the researchers conclude, may need to consder carefully the pctures they pant of people s lves after leavng the mltary to prevent ths from happenng. n Contact Professor Chrstopher Dandeker, Kng s College London Emal chrstophe.dandeker@kcl.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number ES/ /1 Sleep s one of the man sources of stress facng parents of both new babes and older chldren, but one about whch there s much myth and msnformaton. Parents and healthcare professonals are beneftng from an authortatve onlne source of research-based nformaton on normal nfant sleep developed n partnershp by Durham Unversty and UK parent support chartes. The Infant Sleep Informaton Source (ISIS) s based on nformaton gathered from over 200 peerrevewed studes and provdes a centralsed resource of research evdence on nfant sleep as well as examples of polces, tools and nterventons for supportng nformed parental choce. The webste uk had over 25,000 vsts n the three months after launch and a further 135,000 snce then. ISIS s also recevng requests for comments on natonal polcy provson regardng nfant sleep such as the NICE gudance on post-natal care. The research team at Durham Unversty are now plannng to produce an ISIS app for phones and tablets to broaden further the audence for ths popular source of nformaton and gudance on nfant sleep. n Stockphoto Contact Professor Helen Ball, Unversty of Durham Emal h.l.ball@dur.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES Sprng 2014 socety now 7

8 Hgh costs of leavng Islam Lfe as an Islamc apostate or ex-muslm n the west s deeply problematc, accordng to a qualtatve study of 35 ex-muslms from the UK and Canada. Although apostasy from Islam s not a fundamental human rghts problem n western secular socetes as t s n Muslm-majorty countres t s problematc for ex-muslms themselves because of the stgma attached to t n Muslm communtes and the many challenges nvolved n leavng Islam. One of the greatest challenges ex-muslms face centres on the dsclosure of apostasy to ther famles, frends and communty members. Just over half of those ntervewed had dsclosed ther apostasy to ther famly, wth the rest lvng n the closet as secret apostates. Those who dd dsclose ther apostasy encountered negatve reactons, ncludng condemnaton, shock, hurt, rejecton, banshment and denal. The most commonly cted reason for remanng closeted was to avod hurtng parents by falng to meet ther expectatons and all desperately wanted to mantan good relatonshps wth ther famles. Those who concealed ther apostasy reported sgnfcant costs to ther mental wellbeng. Islamc apostasy n the west s perhaps best understood not as a legal or poltcal problem, but as a moral ssue wthn Muslm famles and communtes, says researcher Dr Smon Cottee. It s a battle less for rghts than for respect and emotonal carng. n The Apostates: When Muslms Leave Islam. Smon Cottee (forthcomng 2014) Hurst & Co (UK) and Oxford Unversty Press (USA) Contact Dr Smon Cottee, Unversty of Kent Emal s.cottee@kent.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number RES Desgnng for those wth learnng dffcultes Research conducted at Unversty College London nto optmal webpage desgn may gve those wth Learnng Dsabltes (LD) better access to nformaton on the nternet. Whle government polcy emphasses the need for socal ncluson, nformed choce and actve nvolvement n socety of people wth LD, these aspratons can only be acheved by the provson of accessble and relevant nformaton now ncreasngly n electronc form, says researcher Peter Wllams. But relevant nformaton on the nternet such as easy-read nformaton about aspects of ndependent lvng s often naccessble to people wth LD because of poor webste desgn and consequent dffcultes n navgatng the web. To tackle ths problem, Wllams worked wth over 100 people wth LD to fnd whch combnaton of web page attrbutes helped them fnd nformaton most easly. Fndngs show ths group of people has only seral access to nformaton. In a computng context ths term sgnfes data beng read from the storage medum from the begnnng forward, untl the requred tem s reached, as wth magnetc tape. Appled by Wllams to ths study, the term refers to the acton of readng sequentally, word-for-word, and beng unable to skm for nformaton or vew pages globally. Ths way of vewng pages has several mportant and unexpected consequences for webpage desgn whch contradct accepted gudelnes, he says. One surprsng fndng was that, counter-ntutvely, mages do not themselves ad speed of access to nformaton. Ths s because they are gnored untl reached serally and hence do not help sgnpost text. Second, for non-vsually mpared people, small text-szed content was read qucker than a larger sze, as the latter took up more lnes. Consderng the seral access behavour, the extra eye movements necesstated by not skmmng or omttng text made a dfference. Thrd, n terms of menu or contents lsts, evdence suggests that a horzontal arrangement s easer to negotate than a vertcal one because readng horzontally appears to be easer for people wth low levels of lteracy and fts wth the practce of accessng nformaton serally. Ths study shows that the constructon and dsplay of electroncally-hosted nformaton s complex, and that ntutve approaches used n many gudelnes may not necessarly provde the optmal presentaton of nformaton, Peter Wllams concludes. n Contact Peter Wllams, Unversty College London Emal peter.wllams@ucl.ac.uk ESRC Grant Number ES/J004286/1 8 socety now Sprng 2014

9 Dversty vtal for hgh streets Pawnbrokers, payday lenders and bettng shops enjoyed a 17 per cent growth on Brtsh hgh streets between , says a report nto the fortunes of 1,300 UK hgh streets. But Brtsh towns are forecast to lose 5,000 shops n the next fve years, wth women s fashon, stores sellng comparson goods such as electroncs, and shops specalsng n computer games, books, CDs and DVDs, lkely to be partcularly badly ht. The story s as much about change n the mx as t s of massve across-the-board declnes, says separaton agreements are ncreasngly popular wth Scottsh couples when they splt up. These mnutes of agreement mean ndvduals do not have to go to court to settle property, assets or arrangements over chldren. Use of these agreements, says researcher Dr Jane Mar, has almost doubled n the last 20 years wth the majorty of partes nvolved holdng a postve vew of them. In Scotland, couples can enter nto these agreements whch, once sgned and regstered, have the same legal effect as a court order. Based on a sample of 600 separaton agreements regstered n 2010, researchers estmate that there s one mnute of agreement for every two dvorces. In 1992 one agreement was made for every four dvorces. Agreements are predomnantly concerned wth dvson of property although the study shows that chldren researcher Dr Jonathan Reynolds. The most successful smaller town centres are provng to be dverse and versatle, perhaps developng specalst roles. n Contact Dr Jonathan Reynolds, Saïd Busness School, Unversty of Oxford Emal jonathan.reynolds@sbs.ox.ac.uk Telephone Web oxford-nsttute.sbsblogs.co.uk/ 2013/07/19/dversty-and-the-uks-hgh-streets/ ESRC Grant Number ES/K005383/1 Separaton agreements prove popular wth Scottsh couples are dscussed n almost half of the sample. The terms of the agreement were adhered to n the majorty of cases and three quarters of those ntervewed reported they were ether mldly or very satsfed wth the agreement they had entered nto, although the reasons for satsfacton vared and ncluded both fnancal and relatonal. The study shows that access to good, affordable legal advce s mportant wth evdence that partes who dd not take legal advce may have suffered fnancally. Researchers also hghlght the lmted provson n agreements for penson sharng or mantenance a concern because of the gendered nature of post-separaton chld care. n Contact Dr Jane Mar, Unversty of Glasgow Emal jane.mar@glasgow.ac.uk Telephone ESRC Grant Number ES/J004960/1 IN BRIEF Stockphoto SCHOOLING SOCIETY A key tenet of many academc theores and socal polces s that schools play a key role n socalsng future ctzens nto ther roles n cvc and poltcal communtes. Researchers am to re-examne these long held assumptons and reassess the extent to whch school polces and practces stll have an mpact on the cvc and poltcal socalsaton of young people n Europe n the 21st Century. ESRC grant number ES/K001620/2 POVERTY IN INDIA Inda s one of the world s fastest growng major economes but economc growth has not been nclusve. The trckle-down effects have been neglgble for vast swathes of the populaton, for example, the Dalt and Advas communtes, who account for almost one quarter of the populaton. Researchers wll explore the ethnc dmensons of poverty and the reasons why some groups are dsproportonately poor. ESRC grant number ES/K002341/1 CO-MORBIDITY MODEL Co-morbdty (when patents have two or more dseases) s on the ncrease and s a pressng ssue snce t s assocated wth a sgnfcant declne n both lfe expectancy and qualty, and ncreased health servce costs. Ths project wll develop a spatal mcrosmulaton model of co-morbdty for ndvduals wth cardo-vascular dsease, dabetes and obesty to meet the nformaton needs of health polcymakers and practtoners. ESRC grant number ES/K004433/1 summer Sprng socety now 9

10 Waterworld Waterworld Recent record ranfall and floodng across the UK have rased questons about how we manage our envronment, deal wth floodng and buld a reslent nfrastructure. But also whether the effects of weather nfluence our opnons of clmate change. By Sarah Womack Afew weeks nto 2014, and the year wll surely be remembered for one thng: sandbags specfcally the ncongruous sght of Ghurkhas delverng sandbags to the strcken resdents of Stanes. As floodng blghted parts of Brtan, wth spectacular rses n groundwater levels, the UK faced a major rethnk of how t deals wth floodwaters from tougher plannng protectons n flood-prone areas, to mprovng the water-holdng capacty of land. There s the broader pcture too: the recent floodwaters wll accentuate the sgnfcance of Clmate Week, whch s ntended to focus mnds on how we prevent clmate change. The Met Offce s chef scentst Dame Jula Slngo says all the evdence ponts to clmate change as a key reason for storms ragng across Brtan. So we must learn to deal wth extreme weather events whle tryng to mtgate and mnmse clmate change to protect ourselves and our envronment. ESRC-funded academcs have been lookng nto these ssues to shed lght on areas as dverse as our response to extreme weather, from floodng to drought, to how we use resources lke water. It s as a result of ths type of research that, after the worst ranfall n 250 years, Prme Mnster Davd Cameron hnted at major changes to transport networks, housng and nfrastructure. Take buldng on flood plans, for example. As floodwaters rampaged through bult-up areas, much crtcsm was drected at those who bought Below: The road to Muchelney n Somerset became a symbol of the severty and duraton of the Wnter floodng Opposte: The tradeoff may be securng areas aganst floodng, whle dvertng water to pasture land or bult houses on flood plans. In turn, resdents blamed a decson to stop dredgng rvers. Professor Nck Pdgeon s an ESRC Clmate Leader Professoral Fellow. He s also Professor of Envronmental Psychology and Drector of the Understandng Rsk Research Group at Cardff Unversty, and s researchng publc responses to, among other thngs, clmate change rsks. He says: We know from our ESRC research (Perceptons of Clmate Change, whch nvolved a survey of 1,800 partcpants) that people who experence floodng are more concerned about clmate change, and that clmate change and floodng are related n people s mnds, so you Nowadays rvers don t offer much economcally apart from aesthetcs and toursm would expect these events to rase concern about clmate change n general. Hs 2011 research concluded: Severe envronmental changes and events, such as floodng, present sgnfcant opportuntes to engage people wth clmate change, and encourage acton. Professor Pdgeon says there wll now need to be much tghter restrctons on where we buld, and we wll need to pay more for flood defences somethng the publc may well accept. We re gong to have to buld more reslent flood management systems n more locatons, move ralways... many of these are qute long-term nfrastructure nvestments. There wll also probably need to be much strcter buldng controls. The buldng ndustry and others may want to lobby aganst t, so there wll be a poltcal debate, but t s also a regulatory ssue, and f you are buldng on a flood plan you need to buld houses wth greater levels of flood protecton. Hs comments come amd a reported 30 per cent ncrease n applcatons to buld n locatons desgnated as hgh flood rsk by the Envronment Agency. Professor Pdgeon, who s also a member of the UK Department for Energy and Clmate Change s Scence Advsory Group, added: Our work for the UK Energy Research Centre shows people fully understand that money has to be pad on nfrastructure, whether t s dfferent ways of producng power or strengthenng defences aganst clmate change. They realse ths wll have 10 socety now sprng 2014

11 xxxxxxx xxxxxxx a fnancal mpact on them, but wll also requre them to take out more personal protecton for ther own home, and change ther personal behavour. All the clmate scence ponts to the rsk of extreme events (lke floodng) n the UK ncreasng wth clmate change. Flood relef schemes lke the one around Madenhead and Wndsor are workng, so thngs are beng done, but t takes tme and fnancal commtment. The fnancal cost of the recent floodng s beng calculated and s lkely to be consderable, says assocate professor of economcs Dr Guy Mchaels, a member of the ESRC-funded Centre for Economc Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economcs. Insurance experts already suggest the cost of clearng up could exceed 1 bllon. Dr Mchaels says buldng on flood plans s part of the problem, but adds: Many UK ctes have, through hstory, been establshed near rvers or on the coast because both provded mportant transport routes and we have to lve wth the consequences of floodng whle becomng more adept at dealng wth t. After the fall of the Roman Empre, Brtan s urban network collapsed and restarted n the Mddle Ages, and there was consderable value put on havng coastal access ether drectly or through navgable rvers, he sad. Nowadays rvers don t offer much economcally apart from aesthetcs and toursm opportuntes, and they sometmes pose rsks of floodng. It s hard to say what the aggregate costs on the economy are rght now, and t s very hard to predct weather patterns n the short and longterm. At CEP, we are assessng the mpact of urban floodng globally, and there may need to be tradeoffs acqurng the best technques for securng bult-up areas aganst floodng, whle dvertng water to pasture land. After the floodwaters recede, what f anythng do we have to learn about the broader ssue of our need and use of water? The Sustanable Practces Research Group (SPRG) s a consortum wth a hub at Manchester and partners at the Unverstes of Cardff, Ednburgh, Essex, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Queens Unversty Belfast and Salford. Funded by the ESRC, DEFRA, Scottsh Government and the Engneerng and Physcal Scences Research Councl, t has been lookng nto how rcher socetes use and msuse ths valuable resource. Clean water, for example, requres a great deal of energy to purfy and pump to a house, and then to heat. The SPRG s Patterns of Water report looked at how people n southern England used water n the home. Based on a survey of 1,800 people n 2011, t found that nearly three quarters of people have a bath or shower daly, a massve change to a generaton ago. Dr Alson Browne, based at The Unversty of Manchester s Sustanable Consumpton Insttute, sad these changes n habts have huge mplcatons for water and energy consumpton. Drawng on ongong research the INTERREG IVB NWE funded Drop Project whch looks at preparedness for and adaptaton to water scarcty n north west Europe she hopes t challenges sprng 2014 socety now 11

12 the way ndustry and polcymakers plan for and adapt to scarcty of water for drnkng, nature and agrculture. The Drop Project nvolves polcy analyss and ntervews wth stakeholders n Somerset as one case study, and fve other case study regons across Europe. Dr Alson Browne sad: What these recent floods teach us s that there s a rsk of creatng reactonary agendas to water management n a way that creates fragmentaton, and contradctons n polcy areas. For example, the Water Bll workng ts way through Parlament should be an opportunty to reconsder the connecton of ssues such as floodng and scarcty management for agrculture, nature, and the supply of drnkng water. But fractured thnkng stll domnates, whch has reduced the key debates n the Water Bll to ones about floodng and competton, and ths restrcts our ablty to create strateges as opposed to crss management responses. Wll Clmate Change week actually change anythng? Professor Elzabeth Shove of Lancaster Unversty, an ESRC Clmate Change Leadershp Fellow, s not sure: It turns the topc nto a matter of personal opnon sort of f you beleve n clmate change, acton wll follow. Ths knd of assocaton wth clmate change, as an overt poltcal topc, doesn t necessarly play out nto the areas of resource consumpton that really matter for clmate change. There s no reason to suppose our understandng of clmate change wll transform patterns of consumpton whch have a dynamc and logc of ther own. Nor dd she beleve floodwaters would fundamentally change how we use water: There s a lot of dscusson about people s atttudes to energy or water uses, but usng water s hghly routnsed. It s not a matter of atttudes. It s more ted up wth the ongong reproducton of shared socal practces and habts lke washng, showerng and launderng, and not lnked to atttudes about waste, the envronment, droughts or floods or whatever. For her part, Dr Browne sad she beleved that although t may not change everyday lfe and consumpton, events lke Clmate Change week can change the poltcal ntensty and support for clmate change. I thnk that t s an opportunty to create lnked-up thnkng n regards to broader water management polcy consderng the way we manage water n the context of extremes, for example, rather than just dealng wth flood polcy or drought or supply/demand management polcy. Most experts are agreed that we need more flood-reslent landscapes and farmng practces, and workng wth nature and not aganst t s crucal. But Professor Pdgeon warned: People want poltcans to act because they see clmate change as too bg for them to act, whle poltcans worry about the electoral cycle so try to place responsblty on people, and no one does anythng. That s what I ve descrbed as a governance trap no-one takes responsblty for organsng the longterm. That can be got round wth enough poltcal consensus, whch to some extent we have, and that s why we have the Clmate Change Commttee (an ndependent body establshed under the Clmate Change Act to advse the UK Government on reducng greenhouse gas emssons). That Commttee wll become ncreasngly mportant. n Sarah Womack s the former Socal Affars Correspondent and Poltcal Correspondent of the Daly Telegraph Clmate+change&current_page=1&tems_per_page=10&sort_ order=publcaton_date&flters=on&author=nck%20 Pdgeon&tab=outputs sc-unlever possbleshower.htm 12 socety now sprng 2014

13 IFS green budget The long road ahead The Chancellor s decson to extend the fscal consoldaton through to means even more dramatc spendng cuts are now planned, despte the better headlne economc news. The IFS Green Budget outlned the tough challenge of reducng the defct. Only 40 per cent of the Chancellor s planned spendng cuts wll be n place by the end of ths fnancal year wth 60 per cent yet to come, accordng to the Insttute for Fscal Studes (IFS). The Insttute, whch s core-funded by the ESRC, publshes the Green Budget annually as an analyss of the UK s fscal stuaton and avalable optons for the Chancellor s Budget. Ths year the IFS outlned the tough challenge of reducng the defct. The planned cuts would amount to more than 30 per cent n the unprotected publc servce budgets snce 2010 even wth 12 bllon a year of addtonal cuts to socal securty spendng, the report ponts out. These dauntng fgures do not tell the whole story and addtonal challenges le ahead that wll affect how cuts wll be made over the comng years. For example, the Government has already commtted to 6 bllon a year n addtonal spendng after , so to fund ths spendng t s lkely even more cuts wll need to be made n some areas. The government s ncreasngly relyng on a small group of very rch taxpayers to balance the books Publc servce spendng per person s set to fall by 2.4 per cent a year. Even though the overall fall s set to be less than ths (at 1.7 per cent), the populaton s estmated to ncrease by 3.5 mllon from 2010 to 2018 leavng less avalable to spend per person. And the populaton s gettng older, wth people aged 65 and over estmated to ncrease by two mllon n the same perod. Ths means greater demands on the NHS, and, agan, less to spend per person nne per cent lower n than n , when adjusted for age. On the revenues sde, the IFS researchers fnd that government s becomng ncreasngly relant on the three man taxes ncome tax, VAT and Natonal Insurance contrbutons whch wll account for two thrds of all revenue by Wth ths relance come rsks. The government s revenue forecasts assume that fuel dutes rse each year wth nflaton from September 2015 onwards but f, as recent hstory suggests, ths does not happen, the government would need to make up 4.2 bllon a year by Further sgnfcant ncreases n the ncome tax personal allowance would also be expensve. The government s also ncreasngly relyng on a small group of very rch taxpayers to balance the books. The share of ncome tax pad by the top one per cent of taxpayers rose from 11 per cent n 1979 to 27.5 per cent n The ncome tax alone pad by these 300,000 very hgh-ncome ndvduals accounts for 7.5 per cent of all tax revenue and they wll also pay a large fracton of VAT and captal taxes. And much of the expected ncrease n underlyng revenues over the next few years s projected to come from growth n captal taxes, whch are notorously dffcult to forecast. Returnng growth, and forecasts suggestng we should be runnng a Budget surplus by , should not lull us nto a false sense that all s now well wth the publc fnances, cautons IFS Drector Paul Johnson. The outstandng debt wll stll be very large and the scale of addtonal spendng cuts requred to ht that budget surplus remans hugely challengng, especally on top of cuts already delvered. A combnaton of sgnfcant addtonal spendng pledges already made and a growng and ageng populaton wll only add to the challenge. n The ESRC funds the Centre for Mcroeconomc Analyss of Publc Polcy and the Centre for Mcrodata Methods and Practce at the IFS. To download a copy of the IFS Green budget see: sprng 2014 socety now 13

14 opnon Mchael Power The nature of rsk What exactly s rsk culture n fnancal nsttutons and who s responsble for managng t? Professor Mchael Power explans The causes of the fnancal crss of 2009 have been extensvely dscussed and researched. Falure of systemc rsk oversght by regulators s clearly cted as a major contrbutor to the crss but also the central role of defectve organsatonal culture n general, and rsk culture n partcular. Interest n ths dea of rsk culture contnues and problems of rsk culture have been referred to extensvely n offcal reports, such as the US Senate report nto the London Whale at J.P. Morgan and the analyss of problems at HBOS n the Unted Kngdom. In November the Fnancal Stablty Board publshed a consultaton document on rsk culture and the Fnancal Reportng Councl publshed a revsed verson of ts gudance to Focus on rsk culture s a symptom of how socety has reacted to the fnancal crss Drectors on rsk management formerly the Turnbull Report whch ncludes a new focus on rsk culture. Internal audtors are also beng drawn nto the dscusson as they come under pressure to audt the rsk culture of fnancal organsatons. There are many defntons of rsk culture and they generally refer to the organsatonal norms, habts and atttudes whch nform the actual takng of rsk, and the actual operaton of related controls and mtgaton. In our ESRC co-funded project on rsk culture n fnancal organsatons, carred out over 18 months, we focused manly on the rsk management functon as an mportant but not unque contrbutor to the rsk culture*. Workng nsde several banks and nsurers and an arlne for comparatve purposes we dentfed a number of key cultural trade-offs that are mportant for rsk takng. Despte wdespread agreement on the mportance of rsk management, and the crowded advsory market and regulatory nterest n promotng rsk culture mprovement programmes, we found that rsk culture remans an elusve manageral and regulatory object. Wthn the banks and nsurers we studed we found much enthusasm to mprove management of rsk but also great varety of practces to change rsk culture. One of the key ssues and potental ndcators of the condton of an organsaton s rsk culture s the extent to whch rsk appette and related key rsk ndcators are understood, owned and actoned wthn busness unts. Ths may depend n part on the authorty of the rsk functon wthn the organsaton and ts ablty to manage the role of provdng valued advce whle actng as an overseer. Rather than attemptng an overarchng account of culture as a whole, our pragmatc approach looked at cultural encounters and actons nsde organsatons close to the jonng the dots approach advocated by the UK Fnancal Conduct Authorty. The focus on rsk culture s undoubtedly a symptom of how socety has reacted to the fnancal crss and the demand for more securty. Many respondents n our study assocated rsk culture wth takng less rsk and ths poses a challenge for regulators n the future to dstngush a good rsk culture from that of a hghly precautonary culture. Our research suggests that a good rsk culture s less to do wth the level of rsk-takng as such, and more to do wth the self-understandng, transparency and nformaton qualty wthn organsatons about crtcal rsk and control trade-offs. We also found that rsk culture s unlkely to be only entty-specfc; there seems to be a communty of actors across organsatons such as consultng frms, regulators and fnancal organsatons who share values of complance, process clarty and audtablty. Snce t s wdely recognsed that the fnancal crss was made worse by too lttle varety n rsk management systems, whch made all banks react n the same way under stress, t would be ronc f the current nterest n rsk culture resulted n smlar pressures for homogenety. n *Rsk culture n fnancal organsatons by Mchael Power, Smon Ashby and Tommaso Palermo s avalable at www. lse.ac.uk/researchandexpertse/unts/carr/pdf/fnal-rsk- Culture-Report.pdf Contact Professor Mchael Power, London School of Economcs and Poltcal Scence Emal m.k.power@lse.ac.uk Telephone Web 14 socety now sprng 2014

15 Mke Thomas opnon Out wth the old? Wth legslaton on same-sex marrage comng nto force n England and Wales, have cvl partnershps now had ther day? By Dr Mke Thomas Lesban and gay couples atttudes towards cvl partnershps were nvestgated as part of a comparatve study nvolvng the UK, the USA and Canada. Accordng to my research, cvl partner couples n the UK welcomed the package of clearly defned legal rghts, ncludng next of kn rghts and nhertance rghts. Couples wth chldren sad that cvl partnershp provded a context for them to be recognsed as a famly unt by offerng a legal status that others could relate to and understand. Research partcpants also reported that cvl partnershp made them feel more ncluded and assertve n a range of publc and commercal servce contexts, for example n health and socal care settngs. Cvl partnershps have had an mportant mpact on famly and communty lfe n the UK. In partcular, cvl partnershp ceremones have provded opportuntes for famly members as well as frends, neghbours and work colleagues to acknowledge gay and lesban relatonshps. For same-sex couples ths was often a source of great satsfacton, affrmng and cementng even long-standng relatonshps wthn ther socal networks. For others, ceremones were more bttersweet, brngng dffcult famly relatonshps to a head and remndng same-sex couples that despte ther new legal status, they could not expect to be treated as equals wthn ther famles. Cvl partners were sometmes wary of pushng the boundares of acceptance, wth some for example makng a clear decson not to kss at the end of ther ceremony for fear of causng offence. Negotatng the dfferences between marrage and cvl partnershps has been one of the most dffcult aspects of ths new form of recognton. A mnorty of cvl partners who took part n the research wanted to mantan clear boundares between ther new legal status and heterosexual marrage. But these dstnctons were eroded from the outset, wth cvl partnershp ceremones routnely referred to as gay weddngs n the meda and by couples themselves. Cvl partnershps have had an mportant mpact on famly and communty lfe n the UK Some couples were more open to nterpretng cvl partnershps as beng broadly equvalent to marrage, often because they felt that cvl partnershp was unfamlar, sounded bureaucratc and lacked the socal status and cultural meanngs that went wth marrage. In the early days, some couples even had to explan to famly members, hotelers and caterers what a cvl partnershp was. Wth same-sex marrage due to be mplemented n England and Wales from March 2014 and the UK government consultng on whether to extend cvl partnershps to opposte-sex couples or abolsh them altogether, t s worth consderng whether, less than ten years on, cvl partnershps have had ther day. The move to same-sex marrage n England and Wales, wth Scotland due to follow sut, may be seen as evdence that cvl partnershps were an nadequate substtute for marrage, and faled to acheve party of esteem wth marrage or to stem demands for fuller equalty. At the same tme, t would be msleadng to overlook the contrbuton of cvl partnershps towards both the greater vsblty of same-sex couples n UK socety and the contnung eroson of negatve socal atttudes towards homosexualty. As the frst UK same-sex couples prepare to marry, we should perhaps rase a glass to cvl partnershps as a pragmatc steppng-stone, wthout whch equal marrage n 2014 would have been poltcally mpossble. n Contact Dr Mke Thomas, Unversty of Kent Emal m.j.thomas@kent.ac.uk Telephone Web Sprng 2014 socety now 15

16 Where do I belong? Almost 1,000 young people from 332 UK schools, sxth forms and further educaton colleges entered 2,089 mages n the ESRC s Where Do I Belong? photographc competton. The competton challenged young people aged n or outsde educaton to take a pcture of where they feel they belong. The judges were Elle Crsell, journalst and BBC televson presenter, Sophe Batterbury, Pcture Edtor of The Independent on Sunday, Olle Smallwood, freelance photographer and wrter, and, from the ESRC, Chef Executve Paul Boyle and Jacky Clake, Head of Communcatons. The wnnng entres were dsplayed at The Strand Gallery, London durng Natonal Scence and Engneerng Week (18-23 March 2014), and are also shown here. See also news page 29. Clockwse from below: Socety hurts - Wnner: Opnons and belefs category, Grace Rdge, Shelfeld Communty Academy, Walsall Dreams are only a step away - Regonal wnner: Scotland, Matthew Charles, Galashels Academy, Galashels Man s best frend - Regonal wnner: England, Toby Pckard, Dr Challoner s Grammar School, Amersham Wldness of the theatre - Wnner: Communty category, Ben Huntley, Cox Green School, Madenhead Nghtskate - Wnner: Interests and hobbes category, Jackson Barton, Hghclffe Sxth Form, Chrstchurch Be ready - Wnner: the Future category and overall wnner, Leone Crck, Lealands Hgh School, Luton 16 socety now sprng 2014

17 WHERE DO I BELONG? Ant-clockwse from left: The essence of lfe - Wnner: Famly and frends category and judge s favourte (Olle Smallwood), Jode Krause, Surbton Hgh School Does anyone care? - Judge s favourte (Paul Boyle), Abgal Carter, Hnchley Wood Sxth Form, Esher The Cerog Valley - Regonal wnner: Wales, Wll Hawkes, Ysgol Dnas Bran, Llangollen Brng down the walls! - Regonal wnner: Ireland, Curts Irvne, Bangor Grammar School Urban land - Wnner: Country category, Nada Rouhpour, St Peters C of E Aded School, Exeter Good frends share - Judge s favourte (Sophe Batterbury), Amy Chapman, formerly of Park House School, Newbury Story of fath, Judge s favourte (Elle Crsell), Lucy Colbert, Surbton Hgh School Splt opnons - Judge s favourte (Jacky Clake), Sam Rees, The Netherhall School, Cambrdge sprng socety now 17

18 Olympc mpact Olympc mpact On 9 September 2012, sx weeks of Olympc and Paralympc frenzy came to a close n London s Olympc park, markng the begnnng of a legacy set to last decades. There s lttle n the way of precedent for such huge projects so how can we better understand ther successes, challenges, and mpacts? Aaron Boardley explans To meet the demand for mprovng understandng of the Olympc legacy, and born from the Internatonal Olympc Commttee s (IOC) own desre to develop an objectve analyss of each Games mpact, n 2009 the ESRC commssoned a team from the Unversty of East London (UEL) to produce the Olympc Games Impact Study (OGI) a sx-year project analysng data from before the games were awarded, rght up to the present day. The Olympcs s classed as a mega-event these are planned or unplanned events wth the potental to provde enormous transformatons n a short tme, explaned Professor Allan Brmcombe, head of the UEL Centre for Geo-Informaton studes and Project Manager for the London OGI. Gven the level of nvestment, we want to establsh what the benefts are. The team released a pre-games report n 2010 assessng 56 mpact ndcators, measurng factors as dverse as ar qualty and crme rates. It showed that the games were havng a postve mpact even before they began, wth major mprovements to water qualty and transport networks around the east London Olympc park. Top-level sports were also already showng they d been affected for the better by the Olympcs comng to the UK but the mpact on school sports, nutrton and health were less clear. A postve trend n sports partcpaton was reflected n Team GB s best-ever performance n the 2014 Wnter Olympcs We have a lot of optmstc apprasals but we have to ask what the net beneft s. What are the effects of the Games compared to what we would have done had we not won the Games? asked Professor Brmcombe. Though the number of adults takng part n regular sport ncreased between 2005 and 2012 even after takng the rsng populaton nto account t s dffcult to solate the causes of ndvduals changng habts. One of the thngs London dd rght s ncludng legacy from the begnnng Understandng the specfc net effects of the games remans a key focus for the team as they contnue to gather data ahead of ther post-games report, due n 2015, but ther research s already feedng n to publc polcy at the hghest level. Noted for hs work on the OGI, Professor Brmcombe was apponted as a Specalst Advsor to the House of Lords Select Commttee on Olympc and Paralympc Legacy, whch made 41 recommendatons to better assure that the promsed legacy wll materalse. The current arrangements have resulted n confuson on tmeframes and a lack of clear ownershp, accordng to the Lords report, whch recommends that a sngle government mnster should oversee the many strands of Olympc legacy, and urged acton n lght of the epdemc of obesty facng the UK. There needs to be more nvestment n producng a more actve naton, Professor Brmcombe explaned, ctng wrtten evdence to the Select Commttee clamng that obesty was costng the UK 20 bllon ever year far exceedng the cost to the publc purse of hostng the games. Though the government s own London 2012 metaevaluaton clams that more Brts are partcpatng n sport because of the Olympcs, t only looks at the short tmeframe up to 2012 tself. Lastng mpact s harder to acheve, and t s not just a Brtsh problem, accordng to Professor Brmcombe: No Olympcs has acheved heghtened partcpaton long term. The fgures do appear to be gong n the rght drecton though, accordng to Sport England. Its research fnds that there s a postve trend n sportng partcpaton n terms of numbers dong 18 socety now sprng 2014

19 sport regularly but that attrbutng ths to the games s dffcult. It s hoped that the post-games report wll shed more lght on whether London 2012 s havng a lastng mpact at a grass-roots level, but wth Team GB regsterng ther best ever Wnter Games performance at Soch, and smlarly hgh levels of elte sport fundng commtted to 2016 s Ro Games, the sgns are promsng. Some conclusons from the OGI are already much clearer. One of the thngs London dd rght s ncludng legacy from the begnnng, says Professor Brmcombe. If you are not plannng wth legacy n the begnnng then t s hghly unlkely legacy wll happen as has been the case n many prevous Olympc Games. The nfrastructure n east London was planned wth ts post-games future n mnd, and the development ncluded large-scale experments for sol clean-up and water recyclng. Compared to smlar developments and some people s expectatons the reducton of envronmental mpact was qute pronounced. The plannng practces employed for 2012 can help not just future Olympc hosts, but organsers of other mega-events n the UK and worldwde. One of the most sgnfcant mpacts so far, though, s n the nature of the OGI tself. London 2012 was the frst summer Games to feature such a study, and UEL s work wll provde a blueprnt for Olympc natons for years to come. The IOC feels that the London 2012 OGI s the exemplar whch others should try and emulate, explaned Professor Brmcombe, followng a progress meetng wth the Brtsh Olympc Assocaton and the IOC. The UEL approach looked at mpact on a number of scales from the host borough level, to the level of London, to the level of the UK as a whole, gvng a detaled nsght on how effects grew or dmnshed wth proxmty to the Olympc park. Advce from the UEL team s already beng sought from other host and canddate ctes wshng to embed legacy n ther plans early on. We ve set a standard. I ve commented on South Korea s OGI to the IOC, and we ve strong lnks wth Ro, Professor Brmcombe adds. One of the thngs that s really helped us s the open data polcy n the UK, and now our reports are freely avalable and are gven to a lot of people researchng London 2012, and dong OGI n other places. The team also organsed a megaevents conference last year, sharng ther expertse developed throughout the OGI process. As more of the Queen Elzabeth Olympc Park opens ths Aprl, some nsghts nto Olympc mpact are only just revealng themselves, and wll contnue long after the UEL delvers ts fnal OGI report n Ths s a year journey, emphassed Professor Brmcombe, hghlghtng the House of Lords recommendatons to ensure a contnung legacy s acheved. We are only just begnnng. n Aaron Boardley s an ESRC Communcatons Offcer Professor Allan Brmcombe Emal a.j.brmcombe@uel.ac.uk Telephone Web PreGames_OGI_Release.pdf socety now sprng

20 the uk by numbers THE UK by numbers housng We present an at-a-glance overvew of the key ssues n Brtan today. In ths ssue our focus s on housng. All statstcs are from the February 2014 DCLG Englsh Housng Survey data unless otherwse stated Total number of dwellngs At March 2012 there were 19 mllon prvate dwellngs (owneroccuped plus prvate rented tenures) and 4 mllon socal rented (Prvate Regstered Provders plus local authorty tenures). Source: DCLG Dwellng Stock Estmates: 2012 Decorate your home. It gves the lluson that your lfe s more nterestng than t really s Charles M. Schulz 25,000 (Thousands of dwellngs) 24,000 23,000 22,000 21,000 20,000 19,000 18,000 17,000 16,000 15, There s no place more delghtful than one s own fresde Ccero 77% 31% 64% In 1918 the majorty, or 77%, of households n England and Wales rented accommodaton, wth the remanng n ownershp In 1918 just 1% of households socally rented but rental sector polces followng the World Wars ncreased ths to a peak of 31% n 1981 Ownershp ncreased from 1971, reachng a peak of 69% n 2001; however n the last decade t has fallen to 64% Nearly half (45%) of households n the prvate rented sector were couples (wth or wthout dependent chldren). Ths s consstent wth the younger age profle of the sector. Sngle occupants aged under 60 made up 23% of all prvate rented sector households whle only 6% were sngle occupants aged 60 or over. The proporton of lone parent households was hgher n the rented sectors than n owner occupaton: 16% of socal renters and 12% of prvate renters were lone parents wth dependent chldren, compared wth just 3% of owner occupers. Weekly rents Average (mean) weekly rents n both the socal and the prvate rented sectors ncreased between and In the socal rented sector, average rent ncreased from 71 n to 89 per week n whle average prvate rents ncreased from 153 to 163 over the same perod Medan rent all prvate renters Medan rent all socal renters socety now sprng 2014

21 Types of tenure In , there were an estmated 22 mllon households n England. Overall, 65% or 14.3 mllon were owner occupers, 18% (4 mllon) were prvate renters and 17% (3.7 mllon) were socal renters. Sources: 1980 to 2008: ONS Labour Force Survey; onwards: Englsh Housng Survey, full household sample socal renters prvate renters owner occupers (thousands of households) 0 3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000 A house s not a home unless t contans food and fre for the mnd as well as the body Benjamn Frankln Housng stock by dwellng type In 2012, 92% of owner-occuped dwellngs were houses, mostly sem-detached or detached/bungalows. Meanwhle, 61% of prvately rented dwellngs were houses, most of whch were terraced. Purpose bult flat, hgh rse 1.8% Purpose bult flat, low rse 14.3% Converted flat 4.1% Bungalow 8.9% Housng stock by type - all dwellngs Mortgage lendng Gross mortgage lendng was an estmated 15.5 bllon n January, down 8% compared to the gross lendng total of December 2013 but a thrd hgher than January 2013 ( 11.6 bllon). Source: Councl of Mortgage Lenders February All terraced houses 27.7% Sem-detached house 25.8% Detached house 17.3% Housng stock by dwellng age The age of housng stock vared consderably by tenure. A thrd (33%) of homes n the prvate rented sector were bult pror to 1919 whle 22% of housng assocaton homes were bult after Post % % % Housng stock by dwellng age - all dwellngs Pre % % % Gross mortgage lendng (mllons) 0 50, , , , , , , ,000 SPRING 2014 socety now 21

22 towards ndependence Towards ndependence? Dr Ncola McEwen, Assocate Drector of the ESRC Scottsh Centre on Consttutonal Change, analyses the Scottsh Government s Whte Paper Scotland s Future, whch bulds the case for an ndependent Scotland around the themes of democracy, farness, and economc prosperty The Scottsh government s vson of ndependence, set out n ts Whte Paper Scotland s Future publshed n November, ncorporates a nuanced understandng of how a small European natonstate mght exercse ts soveregnty when navgatng ts way n an nter-dependent world. The case for ndependence s bult around three nter-lnked themes: democracy, farness, and economc prosperty. Underlyng all of these s the belef undsputed by any sde n the debate that Scotland s a dstnctve naton wth a rght to determne ts own future. At the heart of the democratc case s the belef that, wth ndependence, Scots would be assured of beng served by a government they chose to elect. The Whte Paper notes that, for 34 of the 68 years snce 1945, Westmnster governments Surveys consstently suggest jobs and the economy are a prmary concern of the electorate The have been elected wthout majorty representaton n Scotland, such that polces are mposed on Scotland even when they have been opposed by our elected Westmnster MPs (p41). That the same could be sad of other natons and regons of the UK s nether here nor there from a natonalst perspectve. The SNP s prncpal goal s that Scottsh Government s Whte Paper presents an embedded form of ndependence, wth a varety of proposals for close co-operaton wth the rest of the UK Scotland s rght to determne ts own affars be recognsed, and that rght, t s clamed, cannot be guaranteed wthn the Unon. Ths democratc case clearly seeks to make poltcal captal out of the fact that the current UK coalton government s led by a party wth only one MP n Scotland. The democratc case s supported by, and renforces, the socal case for ndependence. The UK government s welfare reform agenda has brought ssues of socal justce and the future of the welfare state centre-stage n the referendum campagn, creatng an opportunty to contrast a neo-lberal future wthn the UK wth the promse of a more equal, socally progressve ndependent Scotland. Usng the welfare state n pursut of terrtoral goals s not unque to ths referendum. The terrtoral poltcs of welfare s a common feature of natonalst clams across advanced democratc natons and states. It was a feature of the Scottsh home rule movement n the 1980s and early 1990s, aganst the backdrop of the socal and economc polces of the Thatcher/Major governments, when a Scottsh Parlament was presented by ts advocates as necessary to protect publc servces and to develop Scottsh solutons to Scottsh problems. In the current context, such clams are met by a counter-narratve whch both appeals to soldarty across Brtan and questons the affordablty of the SNP s socal democratc vson wthout beng able to pool rsks across a larger populaton. The thrd strand of the case for ndependence s an economc one. Snce the key economc levers under the control of government reman wth Westmnster, ndependence s presented as essental to enable the Scottsh economy to prosper. Surveys consstently suggest jobs and the economy are a prmary concern of the electorate when consderng how to vote n the referendum. The Whte Paper dedcates over 20 pages to outlnng Scotland s current publc fnances to emphasse the Scottsh government s vew that there s no queston of Scotland beng able to afford to be ndependent, and few would dspute ths basc affordablty clam. Moreover, the assumpton that an ndependent Scotland would own around 90 per cent of North Sea ol and gas deposts s barely questoned. What s dsputed s whether the fnances would be suffcent gven the level of nherted debt and Scotland s revenue-rasng capacty both at home and n 22 socety now sprng 2014

23

24 towards ndependence nternatonal markets to underwrte the costly unversal publc servces delvered n Scotland today, as well as those promsed as part of the ndependence vson. The Scottsh Government s Whte Paper presents an embedded form of ndependence, wth a varety of proposals for close co-operaton wth the rest of the UK. The Scottsh government remans frm n ts commtment to press for a formal currency unon wth the rest of the UK, n whch Scotland s government would effectvely become a shareholder n the ownershp and governance of the Bank of England. In broadcastng, accordng to the vson portrayed, a Scottsh Broadcastng Corporaton would The UK government and the UK partes have already ruled out a currency unon partcpate n a jont venture wth the Brtsh Broadcastng Corporaton, ensurng access to exstng BBC servces and programmes. The Whte Paper underlnes a commtment to mantanng the Brtsh Isles Common Travel Area (currently operatonal between the UK and the Republc of Ireland) to facltate cross-border travel and avod the need for nternal border posts. There are many more nsttutons where the Scottsh government wants contnuty and shared servce delvery. Many of these are functonal, low-profle nsttutons, lke the Offce of Ral Regulaton, the Cvl Avaton Authorty and the Green Investment Bank. The Natonal Lottery and the Bg Lottery Fund would also contnue as now, and the UK research councls an ssue dear to the heart of many academcs would be shared and co-funded. Managng nsttutons and servces on a crossborder bass would requre some mechansm for jont decson-makng, oversght and governance. Yet the Whte Paper says very lttle about such Scotland s a dstnctve naton wth a rght to determne ts own future governance arrangements. Experence from elsewhere suggests that a varety of treates and blateral agreements would be necessary, supported by less formal day-to-day co-ordnaton and communcaton between offcals. All such shared arrangements would of course be subject to negotaton wth the UK government f Scots vote Yes n September. The Whte paper presents Scottsh-rUK nsttutonal co-ordnaton as the common sense approach, and n the nterests of both an ndependent Scotland and the rest of the UK. Ths s somewhat presumptuous, optmstc and perhaps a lttle naïve. The Scottsh government may legtmately clam to be n a poston to determne what s n Scotland s best nterests, but t can t defne the nterests of the rest of the UK. The UK government and the UK partes have already ruled out a currency unon, wth heavy hnts that other cross-border arrangements may be unpalatable, mpractcal or mpermssble under EU law. If there s a Yes vote, poltcal pragmatsm may pont towards a more accommodatve approach, but competng poltcal pressures and perceptons of natonal nterests wll play a part. The referendum debate s n large part about whose vson of ndependence one beleves would transpre after a Yes vote: The soft vson of ndependence set out n the Whte Paper, whch would dssolve the parlamentary unon between Scotland and the rest of the UK, but see Scotland embedded n a range of other economc, defence, socal and cultural unons n the Brtsh Isles and Europe; or a starker vson of ndependence as separaton, where Scotland walks away from the rest of the UK, wth all the fnancal, poltcal and securty rsks that s thought to ental. A common crtque of the Scottsh Government s vson s that t s not offerng true ndependence. But no country s truly ndependent n today s world, unaffected and unconstraned by the decsons of others even f, for small states, the degree of nterdependence s often greater than for larger states. The Scottsh Government s vson not unlke the vsons put forth by other leadng natonalst partes n Europe explctly acknowledges the constrants on decson-makng autonomy such embedded ndependence would brng. Ther argument s rather that ndependence would mean the power to choose whch partnershps would work for Scotland. It remans to be seen whether ruk would prove to be a wllng partner. n Dr Ncola McEwen s Assocate Drector of the ESRC Scottsh Centre on Consttutonal Change and ESRC Senor Scotland Fellow Emal N.McEwen@ed.ac.uk Web The Future of the UK and Scotland Web 24 socety now sprng 2014

25 It s your naton Be nformed THE EFFECTS OF INDEPENDENCE GROWTH: PLAYING TO OUR STRENGTHS LOW-CARBON ENERGY OPTIONS EDUCATION POLICY IN PRACTICE Brtan n 2014 YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE ISSUES THAT MATTER WORKING FOR LESS? Insghts from the new economy 100 YEARS OF CHANGE How have we progressed snce World War One? 132 PAGES OF KEY DATA & EXPERT OPINION Brtan n Brtan n 2014 s avalable from WH Smth Travel and Hgh Street shops, Boots, Watrose, Waterstones and Marks and Spencer. You can also order a copy by callng or emalng sales@azonelogstcs.co.uk

26 voces Anand Menon Choosng wsely Professor Anand Menon, research co-ordnator for the ESRC ntatve on The UK n a Changng Europe, dscusses the UK s complcated relatonshp wth Europe and the posssble outcomes of a referendum on EU membershp. Can the UK negotate a new relatonshp and f we leave the EU what do we stand to lose or gan? Does the general publc n the UK really care as much about the EU as poltcans thnk? Poltcans are gamblng both ways on ths. Pollng ndcates that only a mnorty of voters really care that much about the EU. In a YouGov survey of ssue salency carred out n late 2013, only 18 per cent put the EU amongst the three most mportant ssues confrontng the UK, whle only seven per cent sad t was the ssue that mattered most to them and ther famly (rankng 11 out of 12 ssues). On the other hand, a rsng proporton of the electorate dsplay strong antpoltcs sentments, exemplfed n part by a belef that they have lttle or no say over government. Whlst the EU tself mght not be a major subject for most people then, refusng them a say over UK membershp mght ental electoral rsks. It s vrtually mpossble to stpulate accurate facts about the relatve costs and benefts of UK membershp Faced wth these mxed sgnals, poltcal partes have adopted contrastng postons. For some, arguments about the EU, and partcularly those pertanng to the free movement provsons t upholds, are a powerful electoral tool. UKIP clearly stands to do pretty well n the European electons n May. Although pollng by Lord Ashcroft has suggested that Tory voters have swtched to UKIP for a varety of reasons and not just because of ts The UK n a Changng Europe ntatve wll follow the debate about the relatonshp between the UK and the EU and fact-check the arguments put forward vews on the EU, some Conservatve backbenchers have tacked n a Eurosceptc drecton as a means of competng more effectvely wth UKIP challengers. Ed Mlband, n contrast, has recently announced that he would not hold a referendum on UK membershp of the EU, except n the (unlkely) event of the Unon beng gven major new powers. Do we tend to focus on the EU negatves waste, bureaucracy, too much regulaton and gnore ts achevements: preservng peace n Europe post-1945; encouragng movement of people and goods wthn Europe; and creatng a powerful body for trade wth large natons? European ntegraton has certanly provded sgnfcant general benefts: t played a role (albet not as central as some of ts most ardent supporters are wont to clam) n preservng peace followng the Second World War; t helped to entrench democracy n Greece, Span and Portugal followng ther accesson; and t was crucal n ensurng peaceful transtons to lberal democracy n the countres of East and Central Europe. None of these undertakngs, however, now acheve the popular resonance they once dd. Currently, the Unon lacks the knd of overall narratve that could be used to legtmse ntegraton as a project. Partly as a result, many debates about t focus on the specfc mpacts of ts actons. Those engaged n such debates tend to emphasse those aspects of the Unon postve or negatve that renforce ther arguments. Consequently, the conversaton about the EU has tended to lack nuance. Whlst membershp of the EU certanly brngs wth t numerous benefts not least the economc benefts conferred by partcpaton n the sngle market ts mpact s certanly not postve at all tmes and on all sectons of socety. Indeed, lke any body charged wth makng dstrbutve decsons, the Unon benefts some of ts ctzens more than others. Whlst some farmers beneft from the Common Agrcultural Polcy, consumers have to content wth nflated food prces. Socal regulatons mght generate costs for employers whlst offerng greater protecton for employees. What are the lkely effects on UK trade wth Europe f t leaves the EU? Would thngs contnue pretty much as normal? That depends fundamentally on the knd of relatonshp the UK manages to negotate wth the EU should t leave. There are several possble 26 socety now sprng 2014

27 optons. Ext could ental a complete break, wth the UK relyng on WTO rules to regulate ts trade wth the Unon. In ths case, the potental effects are sgnfcant, as these rules do not forbd all tarffs, whlst dong vrtually nothng to address non-tarff barrers. Alternatvely, the UK could negotate a deal wth the Unon that sees t adopt a poston lke that of Norway or Swtzerland. Whlst the relatonshp of each wth the EU s dfferent, they both enjoy at least some access to the sngle market. Both, however, have to comply wth EU regulatons over whch they enjoy no drect nfluence. Whlst the Swss enjoy a slghtly looser relatonshp, ths means that they do not, for nstance, beneft from full access to the EU s market for fnancal servces, whch would obvously be crucal for the UK. The devl, n other words, wll be n the detal. And much wll depend on the way n whch negotatons between the UK and EU proceed, and whether other member states are wllng to offer generous terms to London. What s clear s that a referendum vote n favour of leavng wll not be the end of the matter, as Brtsh and EU negotators wll need to agree on a mutually acceptable new relatonshp. What are the fnancal facts behnd the UK s relatonshp wth Europe? Do we contrbute a lot more than we receve back n subsdes for ndustres lke farmng or nvestment n nfrastructure n regons such as Cornwall and Wales? It s vrtually mpossble to stpulate accurate facts about the relatve costs and benefts of UK membershp. On the one hand, Brtsh contrbutons to the EU budget amount to about 0.5 per cent of UK GDP. A small proporton of ths comes back to the UK va payments from, for nstance, EU structural funds. Above and beyond drect payments, however, partcpaton n the sngle market s sad to be worth between four and fve per cent of GDP. Whether some or all of these benefts could be retaned n the event of ext from the EU wll, as I mentoned earler, depend on the relatonshp a Brtsh government charged wth negotatng such an ext could negotate. Does the US really value the UK s membershp of the EU and, f so, why? Offcals n the Obama admnstraton have certanly stated, both publcly and prvately, that they would lke to see the UK reman n the EU. The reason gven tends to be that the UK benefts from membershp, and wll enjoy far greater nternatonal nfluence wthn than outsde the Unon. It s also the case that successve Amercan admnstratons have seen sgnfcant benefts for themselves n havng the UK wthn the EU. Brtan s seen as an ally on economc ssues such as lberalsaton of the market and the protecton of the fnancal servces sector. In the area of securty, many n Washngton see London as a useful bulwark aganst schemes to provde the EU wth more autonomy that mght lead to t becomng a compettor to NATO. What about the current nternal dynamcs n Europe? Swtzerland has rejected free flow of EU mgrants (wth a referendum vote just scrapng 50 per cent) despte commttng to ths n ther agreement wth the EU. Are we lkely to see more sceptcsm and borders gong up aganst mgraton across Europe? If so, how closely s ths lnked wth a publc percepton of less money/fewer resources? The Swss have ndeed voted to mpose quotas on EU mgrants. But, as ever, the detals are yet sprng 2014 socety now 27

28 voces Anand Menon to be fnalsed. For one thng, the referendum dd not specfy the level at whch the quota should be set. For another, because Swtzerland s alterng the terms of ts agreement wth the EU, the latter may lmt the degree to whch Swtzerland can beneft from partcpaton n EU programmes and the sngle market. The Unon has already postponed talks wth the Swss on ther partcpaton n ts mult-blloneuro research and educatonal schemes, and excluded Swss students from exchange schemes. The tmng of the Swss move s also crucal. Gven the demands made by some euroscpetcs that the UK seeks to renegotate the terms of, or even end, ts membershp of the European Unon, there are those n the European Commsson who are anxous to concede as lttle as possble to the Swss to avod settng a precedent that can be drawn upon by the UK. More broadly, t does tend to be the case that opnons on mgraton become less postve n tmes of economc hardshp. Poltcans n several member states, ncludng the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany, have expressed dsquet about the dangers of large-scale mgraton from poorer, southern EU member states to the rcher north. Yet, for the moment, t s only n the UK that there s sgnfcant poltcal support for the dea of restrctng freedom of movement one of the four freedoms on whch the sngle market s based. Consequently, t s unlkely that these core provsons of EU law wll be altered. The fear of the consequences of leavng the EU mght prove a powerful motvatng force France s keen on a closer poltcal (as well as economc) unon, wth Germany hestantly agreeng, beng tred of proppng up the economy. What about the rest of EU s the majorty trend towards more unon, looser unon or the status quo? There has, over the last few years, been a marked hardenng of the tone of some erstwhle prontegraton states towards the EU. The Dutch are perhaps the clearest example of a member state that was tradtonally staunchly pro-ntegraton and s now demandng lmts to further centralsaton and a greater respect for the prncple of subsdarty. Other states, n contrast, perceve a need to tghten ntegraton, not least to ensure the more effectve functonng of the Eurozone. The problem confrontng both sdes n ths debate, however, are the dffcultes of any attempt to revse the EU treates. In France, whatever Presdent Hollande mght thnk of the objectve need for treaty change, he s reluctant to support such an ntatve as he mght be forced nto holdng a referendum on the outcome whch he s lkely to lose. Moreover, offcals from several member states pont to another problem wth treaty change, notably the danger that negotatons would be held hostage by a Brtsh government anxous to secure the renegotaton of the terms of membershp that s has promsed. Do UK voters care about EU membershp as much as poltcans thnk? Research has found that n the majorty of referenda, whatever the subject, the electorate tends to vote for the least rsky path e, no change (such as the referendum on proportonal representaton). Do you thnk that ths s the lkely outcome n the case of a referendum on membershp of the EU? An awful lot can happen between now and Polls currently suggest that, whlst a majorty would vote to leave the EU were a referendum held mmedately, a far greater majorty would vote to reman n should the UK manage to renegotate ts poston wthn t. That beng sad, most member states seem opposed to a major revson of the EU treates, whch rases the queston as to how such a renegotaton mght be carred out. Experence does suggest that fear of the consequences of leavng mght prove a powerful motvatng force n the event of a referendum. However, much wll depend on crcumstances at the tme of any vote. Take one hypothetcal scenaro that YouGov Presdent Peter Kellner has elaborated on: should the Conservatves perform poorly at the next General Electon, t s perfectly possble that they wll replace ther leader. In ths case, we face the prospect of an unpopular mdterm Labour or Lb-Lab government confrontng a Conservatve opposton led by a Eurosceptc and possbly recommendng ext. Ths mght alter the electoral maths, and s a key reason why Ed Mlband does not want there to be a referendum on EU membershp should he become Prme Mnster. n Anand Menon s Professor of European Poltcs and Foregn Affars at Kng s College London. In January 2014 he was apponted research co-ordnator for the ESRC ntatve on The UK n a Changng Europe Emal anand.menon@kcl.ac.uk Telephone Web staff/academc/menona.aspx 28 socety now sprng 2014

29 nformaton UPDATES & INFORMATION & updates News brefs Where do belong? photo competton Almost 1,000 teenagers aged 14 to 18 from across the UK entered the ESRC s photographc competton gvng ther own artstc twst to the queston of Where Do I Belong? Socal scence affects us at work, n school or college, wthn our communtes, when explorng our denttes and expressng our belefs. We challenged young people for ther take on socety and the socal scences by askng them to take a pcture of where they belong and feel at home. Over 2,000 mages were entered from 332 schools across the UK. That number was whttled down to 500 mages for the panel n January, where 46 mages were shortlsted. An exhbton of wnnng and shortlsted entres was held n March at the Strand Gallery n London. The judges ncluded BBC journalst and TV presenter Elle Crsell, Sophe Batterbury, Head of Pctures at The Independent and Olle Smallwood, a freelance photographer. Pckng the wnners was hard, accordng to Olle Smallwood: The selecton of wnnng mages caused delberaton and debate among judges, whch was largely nstgated by the nterpretatons of the competton theme. It was fascnatng to see how young people had used a vsual art form to express ther feelngs on ths subject, he sad. For one teacher, Dave Allen from North Halfax Grammar School, the man attracton of the competton was that t gave hs pupls the chance to closely focus on socety: I routnely gnore calls for competton entres, but ths seemed a good platform. The connectons between photography, socety and hstory are very mportant to us, he sad. See pages for the wnnng mages or vst: www. socalscenceforschools.org.uk/photographycompetton Leone Crck wth hs overall wnnng mage Be ready New Intatve to support the retal sector The ESRC announced fundng of the flagshp Retal Sector Intatve to support a wde range of collaboratve projects wth busnesses such as M&S and Watrose, workng alongsde socal and economc researchers to undertake research and knowledge exchange actvtes. Neghbourhoods rely on the retal sector as a provder of employment and sklls development, wth the local town centre a focal pont for communty actvty. But n recent years the sector has been through many changes caused by the speed and mpact of technologcal nnovaton, the changng nature of the UK hgh street and the global economc slowdown. Centres and Large Grants The Centres and Large Grants competton wll open n md-aprl. As n prevous years, n addton to the open route, the competton wll feature steers n areas of strategc prorty, as dentfed by the ESRC Councl. These wll be announced when the competton opens. The upper threshold for any sngle award s 10 mllon (100 per cent fec) and t s antcpated that the budget for the next round wll be 22 mllon. The ESRC Councl expects to make around four awards. For more nformaton about the competton see the ESRC webste or emal: centreslargegrants@esrc.ac.uk ESRC launches mpact acceleraton accounts The current Knowledge Exchange Opportuntes Scheme wll close on 31 March 2014 due to fallng demand. From summer 2014, the ESRC wll be provdng fundng for knowledge exchange actvtes through Impact Acceleraton Accounts (IAAs). IAAs are block awards made to Research Organsatons to accelerate the mpact of research. Tred and tested by the ESRC and other Research Councls, IAAs allow Research Organsatons to respond to knowledge exchange opportuntes n more flexble, responsve and creatve ways than centrally admnstered schemes. The IAA fundng wll be used flexbly and rapdly to support the followng key areas: n Buldng relatonshps and networks wth potental users of research to facltate co-producton of knowledge and maxmse mpact; n Movement and secondment of people between Research Organsatons and user stakeholders; n Support for researchers to buld networks wth potental users of the products of ther research, and further work to establsh proof of concept for ther nnovatons; n Drve culture change n Research Organsatons to promote knowledge exchange and mprove related skll sets and capabltes; n Improve engagement wth the publc sector, cvl socety, ndustry (ncludng SMEs, local busness and the Technology Strategy Board) and publcs. The support from IAAs wll enable Research Organsatons to provde fundng for Knowledge Exchange (KE) actvtes n ways that best sut ther nsttutonal strateges and opportuntes. Allocaton of IAA funds s based on the sze of Research Organsatons ESRC recent research fundng hstory. Those nsttutons whch have been provsonally allocated IAAs wll be requred to submt busness plans n order to release these funds. A specally convened panel wll revew the busness plans to ensure they are of suffcent qualty. n sprng 2014 socety now 29

30 UPDATES nformaton & INFORMATION & updates People New Year Honours 2014 A number of promnent socal scentsts and ESRC grant holders have been honoured n the New Year Honours lst. We are pleased to offer our congratulatons to everyone honoured. Knghts Bachelor Knghthoods Professor Rchard Blundell, CBE FBA, Professor of Economcs, UCL; Drector, ESRC Centre for the Mcro- Economc Analyss of Publc Polcy, IFS. For servces to Economcs and Socal Scence. Professor Paul Coller, CBE Co-Drector, ESRC Centre for the Study of Afrcan Economes (CSAE). CSAE was an ESRC-funded centre from 1991 to For servces to Promotng Research and Polcy Change n Afrca. Companon of the Order of the Bath Mr John Pullnger, Lbraran and Drector General, Informaton Servces, House of Commons; former ESRC board member. For servces to Parlament and voluntary servce to the communty through Great Culverden Park Ltd. Dame Commander of the Order of the Brtsh Empre Professor Cela Hoyles, Lately Drector, Natonal Centre for Excellence n Teachng Mathematcs; ESRC grant holder. For servces to Educaton. Commanders of the Order of the Brtsh Empre Professor Ash Amn, FBA Professor of Geography, Unversty of Cambrdge; former ESRC grant holder. For servces to Socal Scence. Professor John Kay, FBA FRSE, Supernumerary fellow n economcs at St John s College, Unversty of Oxford; former drector of the IFS. For servces to Economcs. Offcers of the Order of the Brtsh Empre Professor Sona Lvngstone, Professor of Socal Psychology, London School of Economcs; former ESRC grant holder. For servces to Chldren and Chld Internet Safety. Ms Cerdwen Roberts, Senor Research Fellow, Department of Socal Polcy and Interventon, Unversty of Oxford; former ESRC grant holder and former ESRC board member. For servces to Socal Scence. Davd Phllps IFS Senor Research Economst Davd Phllps has been apponted to advse the Tax Advsory Group for Wales. The Group wll gve advce and support to the Welsh Government n developng devolved tax polcy, ts collecton and management, and provde advce on the wder mpact of Welsh devolved tax polcy on stakeholders, economy and socal fabrc of Wales. Sr Davd Metcalfe Sr Davd Metcalfe, Emertus Professor at the Centre for Economc Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economcs, has been apponted to the board of trustees of the Brtsh Horseracng Educaton and Standards Trust. New Lfe Study Deputy Drector Professor Carol Dezateux, Drector of Lfe Study at the Unversty College London (UCL) Insttute of Chld Health, has announced the appontment of Professor Peter Elas as Deputy Drector of the Study. Peter has a dstngushed background n socal scences and has worked to establsh and support other brth cohorts and longtudnal studes over the last 20 years. For more nformaton, see: n ESRC news and meda coverage You can now get up-to-date ESRC news and nformaton from a range of sources. Twtter (@esrc) s a quck and easy way for us to reach a large number of people and we use t to communcate, engage and share wth our communty. There are also two other relatvely new Twtter run by the ESRC Press Offce the account for Socal Scence for Schools. As well as Twtter we use several other socal meda channels, ncludng Facebook ( com/theesrc), YouTube ( com/user/theesrc) and LnkedIn (www. lnkedn.com/company/economc-and-socalresearch-councl). ESRC news and press coverage s also avalable on Scoop.t a ste that combnes announcements wth lnks to news stes, vdeo and audo. See: Festval of Socal Scence The 2014 ESRC Festval of Socal Scence wll be takng place across the UK from 1-8 November. The Festval of Socal Scence s desgned to promote and ncrease awareness of socal scences and the ESRC s research, enable socal scentsts to engage wth nonacademcs and ncrease awareness of the contrbutons the socal scences make to the wellbeng and the economy of the UK. Everyone from schoolchldren to poltcans can take part n and hear about socal scence research n the Festval s many engagng events. Past events have ncluded publc debates, conferences, workshops, nteractve semnars, flm screenngs, vrtual exhbtons and much more. The Festval offers an opportunty for researchers to hold events amed at non-academc audences and they can apply for sponsorshp of up to 2,000 to assst wth events. Please note that events whch are amed prmarly at academc audences are not elgble to be part of the Festval or to receve sponsorshp. The call for applcatons s now open. The closng dates are: n Sponsored applcatons: on 9 May n Non-sponsored applcatons: on 16 May. For more nformaton or to apply for Festval sponsorshp, see: 30 socety now sprng 2014

31 nformaton & updates Publcatons Lush Lfe: Constructng Organzed Crme n the UK Ths book explores the contested noton of Brtsh organsed crme. Wth ntervews from theves, dealers and crmnal entrepreneurs, the book explores the flexble nature of the crmnal market, the constructed nature of the noton of organsed crme, and the normalsaton of crmnalty. The frst book to trace the hstory and polcng of Brtsh organsed crme, t addresses how the nterlockng processes of de-ndustralsaton, globalsaton and neo-lberalsm have normalsed actvty that was prevously the exclusve doman of professonal crmnals. n Lush Lfe: Constructng Organzed Crme n the UK by Dck Hobbs. ISBN (hardback), For more nformaton see: ukcatalogue. oup.com/product/ do Rescalng the European State Socal scentsts have regularly proclamed the end of terrtory under successve waves of modernsaton, yet t contnually re-emerges as a key prncple of socal, economc and poltcal organsaton. Rather than a de-terrtoralsaton we are wtnessng a rescalng of socal lfe as functonal systems, denttes, and poltcal expresson mgrate to new levels. Ths s not new but s a recurrent feature of the European state. Drawng on nterdscplnary lterature and orgnal research, the volume provdes a fresh and engagng analytcal approach to the understandng of terrtory and power n contemporary Europe. n Rescalng the European State by Mchael Keatng. ISBN , (hardback), For more nformaton see: ukcatalogue.oup. com/product/ do Managng and Sharng Research Data: A Gude to Good Practce Research funders across the world are mplementng data management and sharng polces to maxmse openness of data, transparency and accountablty of the research they support. Wrtten by experts from the UK Data Archve wth over 20 years experence, ths handbook gves students, researchers and research support staff the data management sklls requred n today s changng research envronment. n Managng and Sharng Research Data: A Gude to Good Practce by Louse Cort, Veerle Van den Eynden, Lbby Bshop and Matthew Woollard. ISBN (paperback), For more nformaton see: com/books/ Transtons n practce: Clmate change n everyday lfe Clmate change s wdely agreed to be one the greatest challenges facng socety today. Mtgatng and adaptng to t s certan to requre new ways of lvng. Efforts to promote less resource-ntensve habts and routnes have centred on typcally lmted understandngs of ndvdual agency, choce and change. Ths book shows how socal theores of practce can help us understand what socetal transtons towards sustanablty mght nvolve, and how they mght be acheved. n Transtons n practce: Clmate change n everyday lfe edted by Elzabeth Shove and Ncola Spurlng. ISBN , (hardback), For more nformaton see: books/detals/ Events May Health Inequaltes Research Network (HERON) Conference Health Inequaltes Research Network (HERON) s an nternatonal network founded n It ams to develop and promote the nteracton of health practtoners and researchers wth communty members and representatves to enable a more collaboratve approach to acton and research n nequaltes n health and health servce use at natonal and communty levels. news/conference2014.aspx May The economcs of nternatonal mgraton short course The ESRC Centre for Populaton Change wll run ts frst short course to present a detaled pcture of nternatonal mgraton today and to gve an understandng of the forces behnd the patterns of ts evoluton. The course wll analyse, both theoretcally and emprcally, the nteracton between nternatonal mgraton and other aspects of globalsaton. news/?acton=story&d= May IFS Annual lecture by Professor Raj Chetty (Harvard) Professor Raj Chetty wll delver the 2014 IFS annual lecture on the The Determnants of Socal Moblty: New Evdence and Polcy Lessons. Raj Chetty s the Bloomberg Professor of Economcs at Harvard Unversty. Hs research combnes emprcal evdence and economc theory to help desgn more effectve government polces. uk/events/ July Warwck Summer Workshop on Economc Growth Followng on from the success of last year s Summer School, the Warwck Summer Workshop n Economc Growth 2014 wll gve researchers the opportunty to learn about fronter research n the feld of Economc Growth. The workshop wll consst of Introductory Lectures from Oded Galor and Stelos Mchalopoulos (both Brown Unversty). www2.warwck.ac.uk/fac/soc/economcs/ news_events/conferences sprng socety now 31