Government Social Research
30 March 2006 - Home Office RDS announce publication of the following reports in March
Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2005 & Excel spreadsheets
Measuring the harm from illegal drugs using the Drug Harm Index - An Update (Online report 08/06)
Policing and the criminal justice system - public confidence and perceptions: findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey (Online report 07/06)
Understanding Policy Options (Online report 06/06)
Changing behaviour to prevent crime: an incentives-based approach (Online report 05/06)
Employers’ use of migrant labour - Main report (Online report 04/06)
Levels of convictions following drug treatment - linking data from the National Treatment Outcomes Research Study and the Offenders Index (Findings 275)
Motoring Offences and Breath Tests, England and Wales 2004, and Supplementary Tables (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 05/06)
29 March 2006 - UK knowledge transfer found lacking
Report in The Scientist that the authors of an internal report told the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology , on 29 March 2006, that UK Research Councils do not do a good job of sharing fruits of research with the larger community. Click here for more details.
29 March 2006 - Department for Transport (DfT) publish Consumer behaviour and pricing structures: final report on qualitative research
The research commenced in March 2005 and was undertaken for the Department by a team from the Institute of Transport Studies at Leeds University, BMRB and MVA. This research is part of an ongoing project to improve the assessment of behavioural responses to road pricing schemes. The aims of the qualitative research were to refine understanding of the factors likely to influence behavioural responses and the findings raise a number of issues that need to be considered in designing road pricing schemes.
For further information about this research, please contact: Helen.Bullock@dft.gsi.gov.uk
27 March 2006 - Article in The Scientist by Susan Lindquist
"How to communicate science" speaks of taking "great care that the manuscripts we write are accessible to people, not just to the absolute experts ... Sometimes we spend so much time on the writing of papers - I'm a real stickler for it - that it slows down the dissemination of our work. But, on the other hand, our papers have had higher impact because of it ... The general public doesn't appreciate the full breadth and impact of the kinds of things we are doing. Things that are around the corner will have a huge impact on people's lives, huge medical benefits, changes in the way our planet works ... The public needs to be engaged, interested, and educated ... there's no doubt in my mind that communication is a craft, not a mystery, that can be improved upon. Different lecture styles can be successful. Speak directly to your audience, speak to their level, engage them, do not overwhelm them with details. A good presentation gives the audience the big picture and a flavor of how scientific inquiry works."
23 March 2006: Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC) publish a report (Causes of Action)
Finds that more than half of civil legal problems lead to adverse outcomes such as ill-health, unemployment and homelessness. The report highlights how solving civil legal problems can reduce demand on other public services when problems are addressed early.
A press summary can be viewed on the Legal Services Commission website
For more information and copies of Causes of Action research please contact: Michaela Keating Tel: 020 7759 0444 Email: michaela.keating@legalservices.gov.uk
16 March 2006 - National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Networked Learning Group publish systematic research review "The impact of networking and collaboration: the existing knowledge base" on their website: http://www.ncsl.org.uk/networked/networked-research.cfm
13 March 2006 - Article in The Scientist "Time running out for veteran health study"
Reports lack of funding and no plan to preserve data and biological specimens gathered in a 25-year, $143 million project. The money runs out on September 30, and there is currently no cash set aside to preserve the 87,000 biological specimens and reams of data collected since the study opened in 1982.
10 March 2006 - Article in The Scientist "Budget cuts imperil EPA library system"
Reports that research database and access to documents may be curtailed in Fiscal 2007 budget proposal to cut funding by 80% for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national library network , a system that supports the research needs of thousands of EPA staff scientists and enforcement personnel, environmental biologists and ecologists in academia and industry, and members of the general public.
10 March 2006 - Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU), University of Toronto publishes 'What do we know about quality in early learning and child care, and what do we think? A literature review'
Working document from CRRU’s Quality by Design project “reviews the literature on ideas, research, policy and practice vis-à-vis quality in ELCC.”
10 March 2006 - Statistics Canada publish Canada at a Glance 2006 - (PDF file - 1MB, 27 pages) (under "The Daily - New products")
"presents the current Canadian demographic, education, health, justice, housing, income, labour market, economic, travel, financial, and foreign trade statistics... Also includes important international comparisons, so that readers can see how Canada stacks up against its neighbours. Updated yearly ... a very useful reference for those who want quick access to current Canadian statistics."
9 March 2006 - DTI publish Survey of employers’ policies, practices and preferences relating to age (Employers relations research series no. 49)
Carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), in conjunction with DWP. The survey explores the extent to which age or age-related criteria are used by employers in a range of employment practices.
9 March 2006 - ESRC launches Social Science Week 2006
Celebrates some of the very best British social science research as well as highlighting the ways in which social science touches our everyday lives.
8 March 2006 - UK Resource Centre for Women into Science Engineering and Technology (SET) publish Genders in/of Engineering
The study was conducted by sociologist Dr Wendy Faulkner of the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It addressed the premise that the retention and progression of women engineers is impaired not only because of well-rehearsed structural issues (eg, lack of flexible work practices), but also because of subtle, 'taken for-granted' gender dynamics. It sought to investigate these dynamics by using observational methods - job shadowing men and women engineers in a range of workplaces - as well as interviews. There are three main conclusions with relevance to efforts to improve the representation of women to engineering: (i) recruitment efforts need to promote engineering as a 'broad church' and avoid appealing to gender stereotypes; (ii) there is room for improved practice in supporting, and so retaining, junior engineers (male and female) in university and during early years learning on-the-job; (iii) in various subtle ways, engineering workplaces often operate as 'men's spaces' in which women are in/visible - concerted efforts are needed to nurture more 'inclusive' workplace cultures.
The Employment Market Analysis and Research (EMAR) branch of the Department of Trade and Industry - publications during March:
These reports are all part of the Employment Relations Research Series and can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/research-evaluation/errs/page13419.html
The Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) in Canada publish Evaluating search and matching models using experimental data
This working paper introduces an innovative test of the quantitative performance of search and matching models that uses information that is becoming available through social experiments. It presents a prototypical Pissarides matching model and calibrates it to control group data from the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP). Then a program group is simulated from a randomized experiment within the model, and the outcomes are compared with those of the program group from SSP. More details on the SRDC website
Began in July 2005 and aims to examine the health of bar workers before and after the implementation of the ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland in March 2006. Workers in the hospitality sector have particularly high levels of ETS exposure. The introduction of smoke-free legislation in other countries suggests that hospitality workers may quickly experience improvements in respiratory health.
The DtS Enterprise in Education strategy aims to prepare young people for the world of work. Findings from the national evaluation of DtS phase 1, focusing on initial planning and early implementation, show that LAs and schools had made considerable efforts to implement the strategy. Almost all LAs had recruited Enterprise Development Officers, implemented communication strategies to inform schools and teachers of the aims and objectives of DtS/EinE and had increased the opportunities for pupils to engage in enterprise activities. Most teachers had received training related to DtS and felt confident to develop their practice.
The Corporate level report and Departmental reports were issued to staff back in January and Office of the Chief Researcher (OCR) conducted a series of follow up focus groups during January and February. There has also been a range of Departmental action planning activities as well as two senior civil service action planning events facilitated by OCR. The Employee Survey 05 was redesigned by OCR to focus on employee engagement. The survey achieved a response rate of 65% which is a significant improvement on previous years.
They will be of interest and relevance to GSR members also.
Evaluation of the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) Strategy
Learners were very positive about the quality of teaching/learning, with an over 90% satisfaction rate in respect of the learning environment, quality of tuition and social environment. The quality of guidance and support received by learners was weak at entry to and during the learning process. Increased self-confidence was the most likely outcome of ALN learning; this acted as a key to opening up opportunities in learners’ personal, family, public, education and working lives.