10259 research outputs found
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Distribution Regression with Sample Selection and UK Wage Decomposition, 1978-2013
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This study contains the final dataset used in 'Distribution regression with sample selection and UK wage decomposition, by Victor Chernozhukov, Ivan Fernandez-Val and Siyi Luo.* The data come from the UK Family Expenditure Survey (FES) for the years 1978 to 2001, Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS) for the years 2002 to 2007, and Living Costs and Food Survey (LCFS) for 2008-2013, supplemented with variables constructed with the tax and welfare-benefit model (TAXBEN) by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).*(See: Chernozhukov, V., Fernández-Val, I. and Luo, S. (2023) 'Distribution regression with sample selection and UK wage decomposition', CEMMAP working paper CWP09/23, Institute for Fiscal Studies/Department of Economics, UCL.)The data are available to download in Stata format only, with an accompanying Stata .do file and supplementary documentation. Main Topics:Sample selection, distribution regression, quantile, heterogeneity, uniform inference, gender wage gap, assortative matching, glass ceiling. 
Buzzing About Bees: Exploring Active Storytelling for Transforming Children’s Environmental Agency, 2024
No full textThis data is produced as a result of an ACCESS Network flex-fund project which engaged primary school children with a dance and storytelling workshop about bee decline.
Through this work we: investigated how children reflected on their experience of engaging with action-based storytelling methods; critically evaluated action-based storytelling as a tool for developing children’s environmental engagement and agency; and explore avenues for future child-focused storytelling projects.
The data was produced through surveys and recorded group discussions.This ACCESS Network flex-fund project engaged primary school children with a dance and storytelling workshop about bee decline, using social science methods to examine the significance action-based storytelling as a tool for children’s environmental engagement and agency.
Through this work we: investigated how children reflected on their experience of engaging with action-based storytelling methods; critically evaluated action-based storytelling as a tool for developing children’s environmental engagement and agency; and explore avenues for future child-focused storytelling projects.
The findings of this work show that, having participated in the workshops, children expressed enthusiasm for further environmental learning, and reported increased levels of agency and intentions to engage with pro-environmental actions.</p
Reducing Land Degradation and Carbon Loss from Ethiopia's Soils to Strengthen Livelihoods and Resilience, 2019-2024
No full textTwo household surveys conducted in February/March 2021 (baseline) and February/March 2023 (endline) in Southern Ethiopia in localities (kebeles) where land was judged to be highly degraded. The endline survey aimed to collect data from the same set of households (and respondents) as in the baseline survey. The data collected included a discrete choice experiment (DCE)on preferences over local community choices on land management, experience and attitudes to land degradation, plus demographic, land use and livelihood information. The second survey also collected information on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour with respect to different types of gully interventions.
The data collected was designed to allow specific interventions to be evaluated. In two treatment kebele the Ethiopian Bureau of Agriculture provided resources to selected groups to enable them to undertake new productive activities in beekeeping, sheep and oxen rearing drawing on the resources of local “exclosure areas”. Data was collected both from these areas in the surveys plus in two control districts. In addition, in one kebele on-farm field experiments on low-cost gully rehabilitation measures were undertaken and demonstrated to the community.Land degradation is a major problem in Ethiopia. Recent estimates put the size of degraded land in Ethiopia at more than one-quarter of the entire country, which affects nearly a third of the population. Land degradation takes many forms and has many different effects, with the most adverse impacts on poor people, who depend heavily on natural resources. Forests, soils, water, biodiversity, and economic and social services derived from the ecosystems are all affected. Climate change and extreme weather events, such as the recent El Niño effect, significantly increase the risk of soil erosion, and losses of soil nutrients.
The impact of degradation and measures to restore land are inherently unequally distributed across the population in time and space. Restoring degraded common lands through the establishment of "exclosure" areas where traditional community access is restricted is widely used in Ethiopia. These restrictions particularly affect those without access to other sources of firewood and grazing. Such inequalities and local perceptions of justice need to be taken into account if soil restoration is to be sustainable in the long run.
This project aims to improve the design of measures to combat land degradation while considering equity and justice, strengthening risk management and benefits for communities, particularly poor and marginal groups, increasing the capacity of local people to adapt and improve their lives.
The project draws on an interdisciplinary approach covering anthropology, agricultural and forestry science, economics, environmental modelling, hydrology, sociology, and soil science. In case study areas within the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region in Ethiopia (SNNPR) covering different agricultural and climatic zones, the project will design interventions with the Ethiopian Bureau of Agriculture to
- Train and provide access to exclosures to selected eligible landless youth and women to enable them to undertake new productive activities in 1) beekeeping or 2) livestock management.
- Demonstrate and train local farmers in simple measures to address gully formation
The research aims to find out the impact of the new interventions on the participants, how the interventions were communicated and promoted within the communities, how they were experienced by different groups, and their impact on preferences and attitudes to natural resource management within the community.
The project will collect soil, hydrology and socio-economic data. This will be used with environmental and economic modelling to measure the impacts of the interventions on the direct participants, and preferences for natural resource management in the wider community, and the potential long-term effects on land degradation, thus helping to improve the design local natural resource management.
With local and regional practitioners, development agents and representatives of local communities, the project will draw together all the results of the research to develop recommendations for improving frameworks to planning land degradation measures aligned to communities' aspirations, values and notions of justice.</p
Organisational Readiness and Perceptions of Synthetic Data Production and Dissemination in the UK: Qualitative Data, 2024-2025
No full textThis collection comprises of interview and focus group data gathered in 2024-2025 as part of a project aimed at investigating how synthetic data can support secure data access and improve research workflows, particularly from the perspective of data-owning organisations.
The interviews included 4 case studies of UK-based organisations who had piloted work generating and disseminating synthetic datasets, including the Ministry of Justice, NHS England, the project team working in partnership with the Department for Education, and Office for National Statistics. It also includes 2 focus groups with Trusted Repository Environment (TRE) representatives who had published or were considering publishing synthetic data.
The motivation for this collection stemmed from the growing interest in synthetic data as a tool to enhance access to sensitive data and reduce pressure on Trusted Research Environments (TREs). The study explored organisational engagement with two types of synthetic data: synthetic data generated from real data, and “data-free” synthetic data created using metadata only.
The aims of the case studies and focus groups were to assess current practices, explore motivations and barriers to adoption, understand cost and governance models, and gather perspectives on scaling and outsourcing synthetic data production. Conditional logic was used to tailor the survey to organisations actively producing, planning, or not engaging with synthetic data.
The interviews covered 5 key themes: organisational background; Infrastructure, operational costs, and resourcing; challenges of sharing synthetic data; benefits and use cases of synthetic data; and organisational policy and procedures.
The data offers exploratory insights into how UK organisations are approaching synthetic data in practice and can inform future research, infrastructure development, and policy guidance in this evolving area.
The findings have informed recommendations to support the responsible and efficient scaling of synthetic data production across sectors.The growing discourse around synthetic data underscores its potential not only in addressing data challenges in a fast-paced changing landscape but for fostering innovation and accelerating advancements in data analytics and artificial intelligence. From optimising data sharing and utility (James et al., 2021), to sustaining and promoting reproducibility (Burgard et al., 2017) to mitigating disclosure (Nikolenko, 2021) synthetic data has emerged as a solution to various complexities of the data ecosystem.
The project proposes a mixed-methods approach and seeks to explore the operational, economic, and efficiency aspects of using low-fidelity synthetic data from the perspectives of data owners and Trusted Research Environments (TREs).
The essence of the challenge is in understanding the tangible and intangible costs associated with creating and sharing low-fidelity synthetic data, alongside measuring its utility and acceptance among data producers, data oweners and TREs. The broader aim of the project is to foster a nuanced understanding that could potentially catalyse a shift towards a more efficient and publicly acceptable model of synthetic data dissemination.
This project is centred around three primary goals:
1. to evaluate the comprehensive costs incurred by data owners and TREs in the creation and ongoing maintenance of low-fidelity synthetic data, including the initial production of synthetic data and subsequent costs;
2. to assess the various models of synthetic data sharing, evaluating the implications and efficiencies for data owners and TREs, covering all aspects from pre-ingest to curation procedures, metadata sharing, and data discoverability; and
3. to measure the efficiency improvements for data owners and TREs when synthetic data is available, analysing impacts on resources, secure environment usage load, and the uptake dynamics between synthetic and real datasets by researchers.
Commencing in March 2024, the project will begin with stakeholder engagement, forming an expert panel and aligning collaborative efforts with parallel projects. Following a robust literature review, the project will embark on a methodical data collection journey through a targeted survey with data creators, case studies with d and data owners and providers of synthetic data, and a focus group with TRE representatives. The insights collected from these activities will be analysed and synthesized to draft a comprehensive report delineating the findings and sensible recommendations for scaling up the production and dissemination of low-fidelity synthetic data as applicable.
The potential applications and benefits of the proposed work are diverse. The project aims to provide a solid foundation for data owners and TREs to make informed decisions regarding synthetic data production and sharing. Furthermore, the findings could significantly influence future policy concerning data privacy thereby having a broader impact on the research community and public perception. By fostering a deeper understanding and establishing a dialogue among key stakeholders, this project strives to bridge the existing knowledge gap and push the domain of synthetic data into a new era of informed and efficient usage. Through meticulous data collection and analysis, the project aims to unravel the intricacies of low-fidelity synthetic data, aiming to pave the way for an efficient, cost-effective, and publicly acceptable framework of synthetic data production and dissemination.</p
Annual Population Survey Two-Year Longitudinal Dataset, January 2023 - December 2024
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a major survey series, which aims to provide data that can produce reliable estimates at local authority level. Key topics covered in the survey include education, employment, health and ethnicity. The APS comprises key variables from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), all its associated LFS boosts and the APS boost.The APS allows for analysis to be carried out on detailed subgroups and below regional level. In recent years (particularly with the sample size of the LFS 5 quarter dataset reducing) there has been some interest in producing a two year APS longitudinal dataset to look at any trends that may occur over a year. The APS Two-Year Longitudinal Datasets, covering 2012/13 onwards, have been deposited as a result of this work. Person- and Household-level APS datasets are also available. For further detailed information about methodology, users should consult the Labour Force Survey User Guide, included with the APS documentation.Occupation data for 2021 and 2022The ONS has identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in 2021 and 2022 data files in a number of their surveys. While they estimate any impacts will be small overall, this will affect the accuracy of the breakdowns of some detailed (four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)) occupations, and data derived from them. None of ONS' headline statistics, other than those directly sourced from occupational data, are affected and you can continue to rely on their accuracy. Further information can be found in the ONS article published on 11 July 2023: Revision of miscoded occupational data in the ONS Labour Force Survey, UK: January 2021 to September 2022Main Topics:Topics covered include: household composition and relationships, housing tenure, nationality, ethnicity and residential history, employment and training (including government schemes), workplace and location, job hunting, educational background and qualifications. Many of the variables included in the survey are the same as those in the LFS
Easy as ABC - Functional-pragmatic Factors Explain Binding-principle Constraints on Pronoun Interpretation: Evidence from Nine Pre-registered Rating Studies, 2019-2025
No full textHow do English-speakers interpret pronouns (e.g., himself, him and he) in sentences such as Samuel told Oliver about himself, Samuel told Oliver about the picture of him, and He was driving home, when Yusuf started coughing? Since the 1980s, patterns of (im)possible pronoun interpretation have been taken as some of the strongest evidence for highly abstract (and possibly innate) grammatical principles.
The present set of nine preregistered studies tested an alternative possibility: that listeners’ interpretations are based instead on their functional-pragmatic understanding of what the speaker most likely intended to convey, given both the speaker’s choice of words and the listener’s knowledge about the world.
Across all studies, participants’ judgments varied according to the relative real-world event-likelihood of the possible interpretations, to the speaker’s choice of the particular words used to refer to the characters given considerations of topicality (who is the “central character” in the unfolding narrative), and to whether or not other characters had been previously mentioned. Crucially, these factors did not merely nudge participants’ judgments a few percentage points in either direction.
In all studies, these functional-pragmatic factors conspired to explain a range of judgments from around 85% SUBJECT (e.g., himself=Samuel for Samuel told Oliver about himself) to 85% OBJECT (e.g., himself= Oliver for Samuel asked Oliver about himself). Thus, while the present findings cannot disprove the existence of formal binding principles, they do suggest that, once discourse-pragmatic factors have been taken into consideration, there may be little remaining for other factors to explain.LuCiD's mission is to transform our understanding of how children learn to talk, and deliver the scientific evidence needed to design effective interventions in early years education and healthcare.
Learning to use language to communicate effectively is hugely important for society. Many children enter school without the language skills they need to succeed in the classroom, and these early weaknesses in language and communication are a major predictor of educational and social inequality in later life. To tackle this problem, we need to know the answers to a number of questions: How do children learn language from what they see and hear? What do measures of children's brain activity tell us about what they know at different ages? How do differences between children and differences in their environments affect how children learn to talk? Answering these questions is a major challenge for researchers, but, in the first phase of LuCiD, we have made great strides towards meeting this challenge by bringing together researchers from a range of different research backgrounds and with a range of different research skills.
In its next phase, LuCiD will build on this success by coordinating three research streams in the UK and abroad.
STREAM 1: FROM VARIATION TO EXPLANATION: will take what we have discovered about word learning and grammatical development and use it to explain development in children with Developmental Language Disorder.
STREAM 2: FROM SIMPLE TO COMPLEX: will take what we have discovered about communicative development and use it to understand how different groups of children learn to use language to communicate in the more complicated real-world situations that they will encounter when they enter school.
STREAM 3: BEYOND 0-5: will build on LuCiD's 0-5 project - a study of 80 children's language learning across the first 5 years - by a) using the 0-5 data to understand how children's curiosity-based exploration shapes their word learning; b) using the 0-5 data to build individualized computer models of how particular children perform across different experiments and across development; and c) following the 0-5 children into school and determining how their preschool language abilities impact on the beginnings of their literacy development.
In this research, we will seek to understand language learning using a range of different methods. We will observe and record children in natural interaction as well as studying their language in more controlled experiments and using behavioural measures and correlations with brain activity (EEG). Combining information collected using these different methods will constrain the types of explanations that can be proposed; and using computer models to understand our results will help us to create more accurate and comprehensive theories of how children learn.
The next phase of LuCiD will also include a COMMUNICATIONS AGENDA, a TECHNOLOGY AGENDA and a CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME.
In the COMMUNICATIONS AGENDA, we will work with our IMPACT CHAMPIONS to ensure that parents know how they can best help their children learn to talk, and to give healthcare and education professionals and policy-makers the information they need to create training and intervention programmes that are firmly rooted in the latest research findings.
In the TECHNOLOGY AGENDA, we will make the new tools and research designs that we have developed, and the new data that we have collected, available to other researchers and practitioners on an open access basis.
In the CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME, we will train new researchers in the range of different methods used across the Centre, and in how to communicate their findings to parents, educational professionals and policy makers. This will ensure the long-term future of language development research in the UK and of our approach to understanding how children learn to talk.</p
Poverty, Inequality, and The International Monetary Fund: How Austerity Hurts The Poor and Widens Inequality, 2021-2024
No full textAmong the drivers of socio-economic development, this study focuses on an important yet insufficiently understood international-level determinant: the spread of austerity policies to the developing world by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In offering loans to developing countries in exchange for policy reforms, the IMF typically sets the fiscal parameters within which development occurs. Using an original dataset of IMF-mandated austerity targets, we examine how policy reforms prescribed in IMF programs affect inequality and poverty.
Our empirical analyses span a panel of up to 79 countries for the period 2002–2018. Using instrumentation techniques, we control for the possibility that these relationships are driven by the IMF imposing harsher austerity measures precisely in countries with more problematic economies.
Our findings show that stricter austerity is associated with greater income inequality for up to two years, and that this effect is driven by concentrating income to the top 10% of earners while all other deciles lose out. We also find that stricter austerity is associated with higher poverty headcounts and poverty gaps. Taken together, our findings suggest that the IMF neglects the multiple ways its own policy advice contributed to social inequity in the developing world.Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) are key actors in the spread of ideas, relying on their widely held legitimacy to influence policymakers around the world through a combination of coercion and persuasion. They devise rules and norms on issues as diverse as economic policy, health security, and environmental protection. Given the profound influence IGOs have on domestic policy decisions, the ideas these bodies represent are at the centre of current policy debates. Nonetheless, despite persistent academic attention, the avenues through which ideas travel from IGOs to domestic policymakers remain insufficiently understood. How do these ideas diffuse, where and when are these ideas implemented, and why do ideas become embedded in some countries but not others?
This project will be among the first to systematically examine the activities of IGO technical assistance missions. The three core research questions are:
1. Why do IGOs provide technical assistance?
2. How does IGO technical assistance spread ideas to domestic officials?
3. What effect does IGO technical assistance have on domestic policy?
To answer these questions, this project draws on recent theoretical advances in international relations and policy studies.
The focus of the empirical research will be the IGO underpinning the world economic order: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a central hub of knowledge on issues of key concern to developing countries, like fiscal and financial sector policies. The IMF presents a 'strategic research site', offering a unique analytical lens into the spread of policy norms to countries across the globe. The centrality of the organisation in global economic governance makes it a prime candidate for developing theoretical contributions that will be relevant to scholars across the social sciences.
The analysis will scrutinise the inner workings of IMF technical assistance activities, which account for one-quarter of the organisation's operating budget and is provided free-of-charge to requesting member countries. To study this phenomenon, the project will create a dataset of IMF technical assistance that systematizes information on all activities between 1990 and 2019, to be analysed using advanced quantitative methods. The project will also generate in-depth case studies of two frequent recipients of technical assistance-Kenya and Rwanda-by employing qualitative analyses of interviews with domestic officials and IMF staff. The research findings will contribute to academic debates on the diffusion of policy ideas by IGOs, and to policy debates on how to reform global governance.
What is at stake? IGOs typically court controversy because of the more conspicuous formal compliance mechanisms at their disposal-like the policy reforms governments must implement to obtain access to loans from international financial institutions. But profound influence is also exerted quietly in the background in providing domestic policymakers with routine technical assistance. These commonplace acts of persuasion are hidden from public scrutiny, and global governance institutions have been unaccountable for them. Consequently, this project aspires to lay the foundations for evidence-based policy debates on how IGOs provide technical assistance in order to increase public oversight and accountability for their actions.
The project is designed with a view to maximise impact for three groups of beneficiaries: academics, policymakers, and civil society. To effectively reach academic beneficiaries, the project will rely on academic articles, a book, conference organisation and attendance, and a reading group. To achieve non-academic impact, the project will rely on policy briefs, an interactive website, and pieces in popular media. To meet these objectives, the project will also draw on its Expert Advisory Board, and the institutional support of Royal Holloway's Department of Politics and International Relations.</p
UK Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study: Age 9-10 months Sweep, 2023-2024
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The overarching aim of the Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study (ELC-FS) was to explore the feasibility of a new birth cohort study in the UK that would paint a nationally representative picture of the circumstances and lives of a new cohort of babies born at a critical time in the UK's history, and to understand how inequalities in early child development are changing over time.
ELC-FS was based on a sample of babies born in England, Wales and Scotland in November-December 2022 and in Northern Ireland in June-July 2023. In England, Wales and Scotland, samples were drawn from birth registration data that was matched with maternity records; samples were provided by NHS England, National Records Scotland and Public Health Scotland. In Northern Ireland, samples were drawn from maternity records only, provided by the Business Services Organisation on behalf of Health Trusts. The sampling design comprised over-sampling at national level in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and in England, a boost of Black Caribbean, Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi babies and a boost of families living in low-income areas.
Interviews were mainly conducted in-person, with telephone, Teams, and web options, with up to two parents in up to two households for each birth. Main fieldwork was conducted September 2023-February 2024 in England and Wales, late November 2023-April 2024 in Scotland, and April-July 2024 in Northern Ireland. Once the main fieldwork stage was complete, those who had not participated were invited to complete a shorter version of the questionnaire via web (online follow-up survey).
The study recruited 1,933 families in the UK: 1,015 families in England, 279 families in Wales, 319 families in Scotland and 320 families in Northern Ireland. The study aimed to recruit families during their babies' first year of life; most babies were between 9-12 months.A Secure Access version of the data are available under SN 9450, containing detailed sensitive variables not available under Safeguarded access. Further information is available in section 5.14 of the User Guide.Main Topics:The ELC-FS questionnaire was comprised of different modules which covered household relationships, housing, parent's background (education, employment ethnicity, health), information about other parents or partners, household income, self-completion for sensitive topics (computer-assisted self-interviews - CASI), childcare, child health, the parent-child relationship and contact information
Examining Advanced Technologies in the Creative Industries: Metadata and Documentation, 2024-2025
No full textThe influence of advanced technologies on work continues to expand rapidly across global industries, generating widespread policy debates. This research aimed to examine how advanced technologies are influencing work in the UK creative industries. How technologies such as artificial intelligence and generative AI are shaping the work experiences of individuals working in the creative industries has been underexplored. This knowledge gap is important to address because the creative industries are a major source of employment and make a significant contribution to GDP. The creative industries also generate significant social and cultural impact by contributing to community cohesion, public health and social inclusion.
The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with individuals working in the creative industries and stakeholder representatives. The data highlighted a wide range of views, perspectives and experiences relating to the adoption of advanced technologies in the creative industries. The potential advantages of incorporating advanced technologies into work practices were discussed by participants. These advantages included for example, the time-savings technologies may yield, how advanced technologies can improve accessibility and the job creation possibilities in tech-orientated roles. However, the participants stressed the key challenges individuals working in the creative industries face because of advanced technologies. These included for example, the threat of job losses across creative industry sub-sectors and the implications for intellectual property and privacy.
Importantly, the participants highlighted how understanding the impact of advanced technologies on the creative industries requires careful consideration of the complex socio-economic and political context in which the creative industries operate. The participants discussed the impact and implications of COVID and economic conditions on individuals working in the creative industries, along with other challenges relating to diversity and inclusion, skill shortages and contract work.The research project was conducted by the researcher, Dr Emma Hughes, as part of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre's research programme.
The Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Dig.IT) will establish itself as an essential resource for those wanting to understand how new digital technologies are profoundly reshaping the world of work. Digitalisation is a topical feature of contemporary debate. For evangelists, technology offers new opportunities for those seeking work and increased flexibility and autonomy for those in work. More pessimistic visions, in contrast, see a future where jobs are either destroyed by robots or degraded through increasingly precarious contracts and computerised monitoring. Take Uber as an example: the company claims it is creating opportunities for self-employed entrepreneurs; while workers' groups increasingly challenge such claims through legal means to improve their rights at work.
While such positive and pessimistic scenarios abound of an increasingly fragmented, digitalised and flexible transformation of work across the globe, theoretical understanding of contemporary developments remains underdeveloped and systematic empirical analyses are lacking. We know, for example, that employers and governments are struggling to cope with and understand the pace and consequences of digital change, while individuals face new uncertainties over how to become and stay 'connected' in turbulent labour markets. Yet, we have no real understanding of what it means to be a 'connected worker' in an increasing 'connected' economy. Drawing resources from different academic fields of study, Dig.IT will provide an empirically innovative and international broad body of knowledge that will offer authoritative insights into the impact of digitalisation on the future of work.
The Dig.IT centre will be jointly led by the Universities of Sussex and Leeds, supported by leading experts from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Manchester and Monash Universities. Its core research programme will cover four broad-ranging research themes. Theme one will set the conceptual and quantitative base for the centre's activities. Theme two involves a large-scale survey of Employers' Digital Practices at Work. Theme three involves qualitative research on employers' and employees' experiences of digitalisation at work across 4 sectors (Creative industries, Business Services, Consumer Services, Public Services). Theme 4 examines how the disconnected attempt to reconnect, through Public Employment Services, the growth of new types of self-employment, platform work and workers' responses to building new forms of voice and representation in an international context. Specific projects include:
1. The Impact of Digitalisation on Work and Employment
-Conceptualising digital futures, historically, regionally and internationally
-Comparative regulation of digital employment
- Mapping regional and international trends of digital technology and work
2. Employers' Digital Practices at Work Survey
3. Employers' and employees' experiences of digital work across sectors
-Changing management processes and practices
-Workers' experiences of digital transformation
4. Reconnecting the disconnected: new channels of voice and representation
- displaced workers, job search and the public employment service
- self-employment, interest representation and voice
Dig.IT will establish a Data Observatory on digital futures at work to promote our findings through an interactive website, report on a series of methodological seminars and new experimental methods and deliver extensive outreach activities. It will act as a one-platform library of resources at the forefront of research on digital work and will establish itself as a focal point for decision-makers across the policy spectrum, connecting with industrial strategy, employment and welfare policy. It will also manage an Innovation Fund designed to fund novel research ideas, from across the academic community as they emerge over the life course of the centre.</p
Designing for Healthy Cognitive Ageing Project: Workplace Ethnographies Data, 2022-2023
No full textThe DesHCA research aimed to develop designs for homes that could support people as they age, including if they develop cognitive, physical and/or sensory challenges. As part of this effort, an understanding of the perspectives and experiences of professionals involved in delivering such homes was important, particularly to consider the challenges and facilitators in the process. To gain an authentic, immersive understanding of this, an ethnographic approach was used in housing provider/developer organisations. The ethnographies aimed to observe home developments in action, and the interactions of those involved, particularly how they facilitated or constrained home design.
Three workplace topic-oriented ethnographies were conducted, to examine the interactive processes involved in delivering projects producing age and cognitively supportive housing. Three researchers studied each of the sites, observing interactions and interviewing a small number of key individuals, spending time within the organisations and observing work practices and interactions in real time.
The archived data includes fieldnotes and transcribed interviews.As we age, many of us will experience cognitive changes, and for some of us, these will develop into dementia. We know that people's homes can make the experience of cognitive changes more difficult, or can enable continuing inclusion and sense of self-worth and self-esteem. DesHCA worked with people experiencing ageing and cognitive change and those who design and develop housing. DesHCA identified housing innovations that can support living better for longer with cognitive change. Our emphasis on healthy cognitive ageing goes beyond narrow conceptions of 'dementia-friendly design' into a more expansive and inclusive approach to housing innovation.
The multidisciplinary DesHCA team involved stakeholders from all areas of housing provision, including people experiencing ageing and cognitive change, architects and designers, housing experts, planners, builders and housing providers. Older people were integral to DesHCA and their health was at its heart. The project designed homes that act as demonstrators and test-beds for innovations to support healthy cognitive ageing. These designs have been developed and evaluated from stakeholder points of view, then considered at a larger scale to examine their real-world feasibility. DesHCA is feeding directly into the UK and Scottish Government City Region Deal for Central Scotland (Stirling and Clackmannanshire), providing groundwork for local housing developments. The focus of this is sustainable, lifetime health, community and economic development, addressing deprivation and inequality.
To achieve these aims, DesHCA took a co-production approach, with the whole team working to identify innovations that engage with their real-world experiences and aspirations. We used a range of data collection methods and produced analyses informed the design of the demonstrator houses. These designs evolved as stakeholders interacted with them and provided feedback from their different points of view. To collect data, we asked older people to map and evaluate their own homes and to experience and comment on new design features using virtual reality (VR). They then collaborated with builders, architects and housing providers in VR workshops to identify practical, realistic and affordable designs that can support healthy cognitive ageing, and therefore longer healthy, independent life. Partners came together in interactive workshops to convert designs into plans within a fictional town, building and retrofitting homes, creating services and managing budgets. We demonstrated how designs can work out in the real world, and how to bring together the various interests involved. Throughout, issues of costs were considered, to inform business planning and help make decisions on implementation of the new designs.
The impact of DesHCA is achieved through showing what works in housing design for healthy cognitive ageing. Immediately, DesHCA will feed into the City Region Deal and longer term we will provide tools for future developers to inform their decisions about housing for healthy cognitive ageing. Throughout the project, disseminate findings were distributed to the housing, architecture and building sectors through stakeholder networks. We have published rigorous research findings to provide a peer reviewed, high quality research base for innovation. Thus the project goes beyond recommendations and guidance to provide evidence to support delivery at scale, grounded in the co-production approach that draws on the real experience, interests and imperatives that drive different stakeholders.
DesHCA's multidisciplinary team built capacity among early career researchers in research leadership, working across disciplines such as architecture and planning, economics, sociology and across sectors with a range of different industrial and professional stakeholders, such as housing workers, planners and construction companies.</p