Higher education’s positive effects
HIGHER LEVELS OF education are associated with a wide range of positive outcomes including better health and wellbeing, higher social trust, greater political interest, lower political cynicism, and less hostile attitudes towards immigrants, according to a study of the psychological effect of differences in education. The study, the first to compare the strength and stability of the effect of education on a range of outcomes over time, suggests that it’s harder for people with low levels of education to develop a positive social identity. To counter this
problem, researchers recommend awareness campaigns promoting the benefits of education and portraying vocational skills as valuable in their own right as well as policies to remove the stigma attached to lower levels of education. n
i Contact Professor Antony Manstead,
University of Cardiff Email
mansteadA@cardiff.ac.uk Telephone 029 2087 0139 ESRC Grant Number ES/K003534/1
sites.cardiff.ac.uk/issw
Church of England is losing Generation A pew power
THE CHURCH OF England is losing the unique contribution provided by ‘Generation A’, the stalwart group of Anglican women, born in the 1920s and 30s who have provided not only numbers in the congregation but also a kind of labour, leadership and knowledge which has quietly kept churches going, says researcher Dr Abby Day. “This may well be the final active generation of the Church of England because their descendants are not replacing them.” “Generation A is unique and has
wielded a ‘pew power’ very different from priestly leadership but still instrumental to church life,” she explains. The passing of Generation A signals an inevitable decline of the Church of England and Anglican
Communion of the global north due to Generation As not being able – amid widespread cultural revolutions – to transmit specific skills, beliefs and practices to their ‘baby-boomer’ children and churches, she argues. Priests may need to think quickly
about how to replace the kind of leadership provided by Generation A. “Counterintuitively, the church’s emphasis on attracting young people appears misplaced: it is the ‘middle- generation’, the children of Generation A, they should have retained,” Dr Day concludes. n
i Contact Dr Abby Day, University of Kent
Email
a.f.day@kent.ac.uk Telephone 01895 265410 ESRC Grant Number RES-000-22-4584
POLICE ECONOMICS Three broad areas of policing will be examined in a project of interest to academics and policymakers at national and local level. Researchers will explore the factors that affect retention of police officers, the impact of local labour market conditions on the quality of police recruits, and the scope for local discretion over spending on police officers and the deployment of police officers. ESRC grant number ES/L0081165/1
SPEECH PROBLEMS Speech communication can be difficult for older people due to the combined effects of age- related hearing loss, a decline in speech articulation, and cognitive problems such as poorer short- term memory. Researchers aim to provide a better understanding of communication difficulties to assist professionals such as social workers and care professionals in improving the quality of life for older people.
ESRC grant number ES/L007002/1
PARTY ORGANISATION How do political parties’ structures and resources shape democratic life? The new Political Party Database Project aims to gather systematically collected data on 138 parties in 19 countries which will provide a public database on party organisation. This regularly updated database will be an ongoing resource for students of politics as well as reformers seeking to improve representation and increase political participation. ESRC grant number ES/L016613/1
SUMMER 2011 SOCIETY NOW 9 AUTUMN 2014
IN BRIEF
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32