Government Social Research
Welcome to this Government Social Research bulletin.
Please use the links below to navigate to sections of interest to you.
Visit the Homepage and Research news pages for more recent items.
GSR work makes shortlist for Civil Service Awards - two teams involving GSR have made the shortlist of this year's Civil Service Awards. Both are in the 'strategic analysis and use of evidence' category. DCLG's entry is about the use of the long-term evidence base in preparing the Local Government White Paper. The DCMS 'Taking Part' survey is a rich, detailed and authoritative data set of national participation in culture and sport.
Welsh Assembly Government news: The first in a new series of “Spotlight on Research” Lunchtime Seminars (being organised by OCSRO) was held on 7th September in Cathays Park, Cardiff. The focus of the seminar was “Children of the 21st Century in Wales” with presentations from Professor Heather Joshi (Centre for Longitudinal Studies) and Professor Ian Butler (Cabinet Advisor, Welsh Assembly Government). Over 50 researchers, statisticians, economists and policy colleagues attended the event from the Welsh Assembly Government. Feedback has been very positive on the whole. Suggestions for improvement were mainly around the venue and acoustics - please note that these issues have been addressed and future seminars will be held elsewhere, with the provision of microphones for speakers.
The seminar provided attendees with engaging subject matter, with a specific
focus on the results of the first two sweeps of the Millennium Cohort Study
for Wales. Attendees were given copies of the recently published “MCS
Briefings” - which summarise the results of the MCS on a range of
different topics including: poverty; obesity; cognitive development; housing,
neighbourhood and community; child health; and parenting. If you have not
yet received your copy of Heather Joshi’s presentation or would like
additional copies of the 12 MCS briefings, please contact Beverley
Morgan (OCSRO).
Ceri Hughes - on career break from WAG GSR to work on community projects in Ecuador, posts his latest blog update
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publish Evaluation of the Childcare Taster Pilot and Extended Schools Childcare Pilot programmes: final report on qualitative research into implementation (PDF) - the pilots ran from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2006 in eleven local authorities in England and looked at whether a lack of affordable and accessible childcare is a significant barrier to work for lone parents on income support. It concludes that the Pilots met their aims and objectives with varying degrees of success and some parents still found prohibitive the cost of childcare provided through ESCP.
Department for Work and Pensions publish Employer responses to an ageing workforce: a qualitative study (DWP Research Report number 455) (PDF) - the research consisted of qualitative interviews with 70 employers, drawn from 9 sectors, and with a broadly representative mix of small, medium and large firms across England. In each firm one individual was interviewed - generally either a general manager/chief executive or a senior HR professional. The study focused principally on older, rather than younger, workers. Fieldwork was conducted in summer 2006. The report investigates how employers were responding to an ageing workforce and to the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. It sought to provide further depth to a quantitative survey (DWP Research Report 325: Survey of employers' policies, practices and preferences relating to age - SEPP) and to the sectoral analysis of the SEPP data carried out by CROW and published by DWP in a series of nine sector reports in August 2006 - Age Positive website
Scottish Government publish Well? What do you think? (2006): the third National Scottish Survey of Public Attitudes to Mental Health, Mental Wellbeing and Mental Health Problems - examines the views and experiences of a representative sample of the adult Scottish population in relation to a spectrum of mental health issues. The survey is run every second year.
Ministry of Justice publish Towards a policy evaluation service: developing infrastructure to support the use of experimental and quasi-experimental methods (PDF)- assesses the current position in terms of government use of such methods, the key issues involved and the support needed to promote their use (when appropriate).
Sociology (journal) publishes The coming crisis of empirical sociology - argues that, in an age of knowing capitalism, sociologists have not adequately thought about the challenges posed to their expertise by the proliferation of ‘social’ transactional data which are now routinely collected, processed and analysed by a wide variety of private and public institutions. Drawing on British examples, it argues that whereas over the past 40 years sociologists championed innovative methodological resources, notably the sample survey and the in-depth interviews, which reasonably allowed them to claim distinctive expertise to access the ‘social’ in powerful ways, such claims are now much less secure. The paper argues that both the sample survey and the in-depth interview are increasingly dated research methods, which are unlikely to provide a robust base for the jurisdiction of empirical sociologists in coming decades. Speculates how sociology might respond to this coming crisis through taking up new interests in the ‘politics of method’.
The Scientist (e-journal) publishes The future of public engagement - says that the facts never speak for themselves, which is why scientists need to "frame" their messages to the public. Arguments in favour of the popular science model cut against more than 60 years of research in the social sciences, a body of work that suggests citizens prefer to rely on their social values to pick and choose information sources that confirm what they already believe, often making up their minds about a topic in the absence of knowledge.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation publish:
Lone
parents working under 16 hours a week ('mini-jobs') - analyses the incentives
for lone parents to work in mini jobs and compares these to those for mothers
in couples.
The impact of tax credits on mothers' employment - assesses whether the credits act as an incentive for mothers to reduce their working hours and review the policy implications of their findings.
The reports find that changes in the benefit regime for lone parents will have a significant impact on the number who chose to take up jobs and could help reduce child poverty.
The Happy Planet Index - New Economics Foundation site which attempts to calculate life satisfaction and expectancy in relation to environmental impact. Reports on countries under Global and European headings.
Visit the Bulletin Archive to view the contents
of previous Bulletins.
Copy deadline for next Bulletin is noon 12 November 2007