Women count cost of divorce
NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS that the greater legal protection offered by marriage does not appear to translate into economic protection where women are concerned. When relationships fail, income loss for women who were married is greater than the financial loss experienced by women who were cohabiting. “Cohabitees lose less even after taking into account characteristics such as age and children,” says researcher Professor Hamish Low. But it’s not access to benefits or employment after separation that explains the difference. Rather, divorced women do not
return to living with their extended families. “The difference arises because of differences in access to family support networks,” he says. “Cohabitees’ household income falls by less because following separation they are more likely to live with other adults, particularly their family.” n
i Contact Professor Hamish Low,
University of Cambridge Email
hamish.low@econ.cam.ac.uk Telephone 01223 335221 ESRC Grant Number RES-063-27-0211
Celebrity makes an impact on elites but not the public
FOR DECADES CELEBRITIES have been working for good causes both independently and with charities. Many assume that celebrity advocacy attracts public attention to a charitable cause. But while celebrity advocacy can be effective for working with business and government, it can be limited among wider publics. Celebrity advocacy does not always engage well with much of the public, says researcher Professor Dan Brockington. A star of a particular TV soap, for example, will only resonate with the audience of that TV show. “Celebrity is populist in form, but not always popular in character,” he says. Celebrity can work well for fundraising but not awareness-raising. In focus group research on media consumption of development issues, for example, celebrities are rarely mentioned as a source of information or influence. Audience surveys also show that almost three quarters of people think others pay more attention to celebrity than they do.
But celebrity advocacy does make an impression on politicians and business leaders – one of the most important groups in terms of policy formation. These people not only enjoy meeting celebrities, but also believe that celebrity influences the public. This is good news for well-connected charities with good links who have been able to build credible brand associations between their organisations and particular public figures. But it also promotes certain forms of elite-dominated democracy which may be less healthy in the longer term. n
Celebrity Advocacy and International Development will be published by Routledge in April
i Contact Professor Dan Brockington,
University of Manchester Email
dan.brockington@
manchester.ac.uk Telephone 0161 275 3233 ESRC Grant Number RES-070-27-0035
www.celebrityanddevelopment.wordpress.com
PAYING ATTENTION Human visual perception is strongly affected by current expectations and intentions. What is perceived is determined by what is the focus of attention. Innovative new research will explore whether systematic differences exist between individuals in their ability to attend to more than one thing at a time. Findings will inform current theoretical models of how attention operates. ESRC grant number ES/K006142/1
SOCIAL JUSTICE Based on research in three countries, China, Tanzania and Venezuela, researchers aim to contribute to the challenge of reconciling forest conservation with social justice for local people in developing countries. Researchers will generate new empirical data on what social justice means to these local people and work with donors, NGOs and policymakers to bring this new knowledge into practice.
ESRC grant number ES/K005812/1
PATTERNS WORK Patterns, in terms of project and programme management, are not a decorative design or motif, but a structured description of behaviours or problem-solving approaches. Patterns help draw out the lessons learned through experience. Researchers aim to develop a collection of patterns that can be used to capture the lived experience of Project and Programme Managers (PPMs) and create a website to share this information with practitioners. ESRC grant number ES/L001985/1
SUMMER 2011 SOCIETY NOW 5 SPRING 2014
IN BRIEF
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