Designing for Healthy Cognitive Ageing Project: Professional Perspectives on Housing Data, 2021-2023

The aim of the data collection was to ascertain the views of professionals in the housing field about designing homes for healthy cognitive ageing. 22 professional were included in the study, recruited by snowball sampling. The data archive holds transcripts of 19 interviews with professionals in the housing field about their views on and experiences of designing homes for healthy cognitive ageing. One of these is a group interview with four participants. The archive also include an information sheet and consent form for participants and a topic guide for the 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

Survey of Moto-taxi Riders in Kampala, Uganda, 2022

Survey data from 334 moto-taxi riders in Kampala, Uganda, generated using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) software between January and February 2022. Content includes: respondents' backgrounds and employment histories; means of motorcycle access; incomes and expenditures; working conditions; experiences of digital (ride-hail) work; interactions with law enforcers; and perceptions of politics and governance.Doctoral research carried out at the London School of Economics, which looked at the rise of new digital and financial technologies in Uganda's moto-taxi sector over the past decade. Focusing primarily on digital ride-hailing platforms, the study examined the ways in which 'platformisation' has reshaped work, livelihoods and politics in the sector, whilst also underlining the limits of such a process in transforming pre-existing systems of labour informality. Data collection for this study involved in-depth interviews with 112 respondents, a survey of 370 moto-taxi riders (deposited here), and six months' worth of in-person observations and 'ride-alongs'.</p

Third Sector and Civil Society Organisations in the UK, 1869-2025

This dataset brings together information on all organisations registered with at least one charitable or non-profit regulator in the United Kingdom. It was developed by combining and deduplicating records from ten separate registers, covering organisations across all four nations of the UK. The Third Sector and Civil Society (TSCS) in the UK are overseen by a range of regulatory bodies, including three national charity regulators and several additional registers for non-profit entities. Companies House, the UK’s official register of companies, also includes non-profit types such as companies limited by guarantee and community interest companies. Because these registers operate independently and often overlap—many organisations appear in more than one—the available data is fragmented. This fragmentation makes it difficult to form a clear picture of civil society and its role within the UK. By integrating these diverse sources and linking records where evidence suggests they refer to the same organisation, we produce a unified “spine” of TSCS organisations. This consolidated list enables consistent mapping, analysis, and monitoring of the sector as a whole. The spine can also be linked to other datasets—such as government procurement records—to examine patterns in public spending, or to demographic data to explore the geographic and social distribution of civil society activity across the UK.The voluntary sector is widely acknowledged as containing very large numbers of organisations that make an enormous contribution to well-being and social cohesion in the UK. It encompasses charities, social enterprises, mutuals, cooperatives, and many less formal voluntary and community organisations. We know a great deal from survey data about patterns of individual giving to charities, and about patterns of volunteering. But there is a substantial gap in the availability of high-quality data about voluntary organisations. And it is argued that better-quality information and evidence would lead to the contribution of those organisations being properly recognised, leading in turn to higher levels of public and voluntary support for them. This project responds to this need by creating the first national database on the population of organisations forming the third sector through bringing together information about charities with information about different kinds of noncharitable civil society organisations (including Community Interest Companies, Co-operatives and Mutuals, and non-profit Companies Limited by Guarantee). A variety of relevant registers are maintained by different regulators and public bodies across the four nations of the UK. Each register holds partial and sometimes overlapping information about civil society organisations. This project combines them into a single, deduplicated dataset, linking records that refer to the same organisation. The project will open up new avenues for research on, for example, the survival and growth of third sector organisations; the contribution of the third sector to public service delivery; the level of voluntary sector activity in different parts of the country. In this way, we will make the contribution of the sector much more visible to stakeholders. In strategic terms this work provides an important demonstration of the uses of administrative data for research on organisations - a field in which most work to date has focussed on administrative data on individuals. The dataset can be linked to publicly available information on government and NHS spending, allowing users to identify which organisations receive public funding. It can be used to support further analysis of the size, scope, and distribution of third sector organisations across the UK This will be of value to funders (such as charitable foundations), central and local government, local and regional councils for voluntary service, which sustain these organisations locally, and commissioners of public services such as the NHS, which rely substantially on the voluntary sector to deliver services.</p

Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study: Age-30 Follow-up, 2024

This follow-up aims to collect new data from twin participants of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study when they are 30 years old. This nationally representative cohort of 2,232 same-sex twin children born in 1994-1995 across England and Wales, together with their 1,116 mothers, has previously been followed up through 5 successive waves to age 18 with 93% retention. E-Risk spans the full socioeconomic spectrum: 900 young adults grew up in the most disadvantaged homes across England and Wales, 700 age peers are from comfortably-off backgrounds, and 600 from wealthier backgrounds. At age 30, we will are comprehensively assessing via online video interviews the lives of these young adults (including human-capacity building behaviours, achievement of adult milestones, social relationships and behaviour, occupational and financial situation, mental health and substance use, victimisation exposure, physical health, social mobility), collecting blood samples via nurse home visits, buccal swabs via post, and linking to health, welfare, education, crime, social media, and geographical records. This updated dataset will be made freely available and widely accessible to researchers across the UK and globally. It will provide a unique resource for conducting genetically informed investigations of how mental health problems, biological factors, social inequality and adversity in the first two decades of life shape variation in mental health, pace of aging, relationships/connectedness, future expectations/aspirations, and prosperity in the third decade of life.CONTEXT: The twenties are an important developmental period in which individuals traditionally become fully independent of their parents, complete their education, enter the workforce/housing-market, and develop stable relationships. How individuals navigate this early adulthood period will determine their health, well-being, and economic prosperity in mid-life. Unfortunately, the twenties are also the peak age for mental health problems, which can derail these key developmental tasks. The triple shocks of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the transition to a Net Zero future have resulted in major societal changes and economic instability - we do not know how this will affect the mental health and prospects of young adults nor what will influence whether they falter or prosper. Therefore, we propose to assess young adults at the end of their twenties to capture the factors that may influence these different outcomes so that researchers and practitioners can explore how best to support the most vulnerable young adults to thrive in these unprecedented times, and ultimately influence policy. AIMS: This infrastructure funding bid aims to collect new data from twin participants of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study when they are 30 years old. The three decades worth of comprehensive clinical-quality data, genetic and biological stress markers, and linked administrative records will then be made freely and widely accessible to the research community. METHOD: We will capitalise upon the E-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a cohort of 2232 twins born in England and Wales in 1994-1995 who have completed extensive home-visit assessments (including on mental health, social experiences, deprivation, educational attainment, and provided biological samples) at 5, 7, 10, 12 and 18 years of age (when 93% of the twins were seen). This cohort is unique as study members are spread among poor (n=900), comfortably-off (n=700), and wealthier (n=600) families, allowing researchers to compare the outcomes of these groups. For this project we propose to collect new data on the twins when they are 30 years old in 2024-2025. This will involve remote assessments by trained researchers over Zoom on mental health, adverse life experiences, human-capital-building behaviours, social and economic outcomes, and potential protective factors. We will capture their quality of life and expectations about the future and social mobility via a tool developed by young adults with lived experience of mental health issues. A nurse will visit participants at home to collect a blood sample, and we will link data to their health, welfare, education, crime, social media, and geographical records. This updated dataset will be made freely available and widely accessible to researchers across the UK and globally. We will publicise this resource through webinars, journal papers, and websites, and create training videos to support researchers to access and use this data. Additionally, our young-adult advisors will produce a priority list of questions for researchers to answer with the E-Risk dataset. BENEFITS: This project will provide a unique resource for researchers to conduct genetically informed investigations of how mental health problems, biological factors, social inequality and adversity in the first two decades of life shape variation in mental health, pace of aging, relationships/connectedness, trust, future expectations/aspirations, and prosperity in the third decade of life. Such research will provide important insights into which factors lead to young adults faltering or prospering in this period of social and economic turmoil. These insights are crucial to inform policy, practice, and societal responses to support young adults to thrive in these unprecedented times. Increasing the number of young adults who are mentally healthy and socially mobile in mid-life could ultimately boost the UK economy and reduce strain on the NHS.</p

Growing Up in Scotland: Cohort 1: Sweep 1, 2005-2006: Special Licence Access

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study is a large-scale longitudinal social survey which follows the lives of several groups of Scottish children from infancy through childhood and adolescence. It aims to provide important information on children, young people and their families in Scotland. The study forms a central part of the Scottish Government's strategy for the long-term monitoring and evaluation of its policies for children and young people, with a specific focus on the early years. The study seeks both to describe the characteristics, circumstances and experiences of children in their early years in Scotland and, through its longitudinal design, to generate a better understanding of how children's start in life can shape their longer term prospects and developmentSince 2005 fieldwork has been undertaken by the Scottish Centre for Social Research. The survey design for Birth Cohort 1 consisted of recruiting the parents of an initial total of 5,217 children aged 10 months old in 2005 and interviewing them annually until their child reached age six. Further fieldwork was then undertaken at ages 8, 10, 12, 14 and 17-18 with a sample boost added at age 12.Data for sweeps 1-9 were collected via an in-home, face-to-face interview with self-complete sections. Fieldwork for sweep 10 was disrupted due to the COVID pandemic. As a result, the final portion of the data was collected via web and telephone questionnaires. Sweep 11 data were gathered via web, telephone and face-to-face surveys of cohort members and their parent/carer.Further information about the survey may be found on the&nbsp;Growing Up in Scotland&nbsp;website.In May 20205, data and documentation for Cohort 1, Sweeps 1-11 were released as individual studies (SNs 9373-9383 and 9386-9387). Previously they were held under one study (SN 5760) which has been withdrawn from the data catalogue.Main Topics:The questionnaire covered the following topics:household information&nbsp;non-resident parents and non-resident children&nbsp;the pregnancy and birththe first few monthscurrent situationparental supportparenting styles and activitiesparenting responsibilitieschildcarechild health and development&nbsp;self-completion section&nbsp;own employment, income and education&nbsp;partner's employment, income and education&nbsp;accommodationA topic overview&nbsp;covering all sweeps, is available on the GUS website.</div

Egyptian Parliamentary Speeches, 1924-1952

This research program aims at developing a new historical political economy of the Middle East that explains the economic roots of authoritarianism in the region. It theoretically and empirically investigates how demands for democratization could emerge from intra-elite conflicts in an agrarian economy, despite the lack of an industrial bourgeoisie, and how elite politics shift with colonialism and postcolonial regimes. While elite conflicts can lead to democratization, they can alternatively result in autocracy. Furthermore, colonialism and postcolonial military coups could curtail these developments leading to episodes of democratic opening and authoritarian backsliding. The research program tests this by examining elite politics in Egypt, using a novel database on parliament members from 1824 to 2020, and parliamentary speeches in 1866–1882 and 1924–1952. This dataset covers the universe of speeches made in the Egyptian House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwab) in 1924-1952. The dataset was constructed by the data creators from high-quality images of the Arabic-language minutes of the daily meetings of parliament created and made available online by the Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Japan. The data construction consisted of three stages: (1) image segmentation into text block images, (2) implementing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the corpus of text block images using Google Document AI, and (3) extraction of speeches and speaker names using OpenAI. The dataset is at the speech level. It provides the following information for each speech: text body of the speech, speaker's full name, politician ID (including whether speaker is member of parliament or minister), date of meeting, parliamentary session, and parliamentary cycle. While most of these speeches are made by members of parliament and ministers, other speakers include high-level bureaucrats and members of the public who presented petitions to the parliament

Evidence-Based Policymaking in Adult Learning and Education, 2024-2025

This ESRC project was motivated by policy interest in Adult Learning and Education (ALE) as a mechanism for addressing skills shortages, economic competitiveness and social inclusion despite significant declines in participation rates throughout the 2010s. The project aimed to increase knowledge and understanding on how policymakers conceptualise ALE, prioritise competing policy objectives, formulate their research agendas, and incorporate evidence, potential ideological biases and external influences and stakeholder views into such policymaking process. Advancing such knowledge was essential to support future policy development that makes ALE more effective and efficient in reaching its potential, both for individuals and society as a whole. The project aimed to capture new insights from across the devolved nations of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) and the Republic of Ireland as a means to stimulate policy learning between the different jurisdictions. Data were collected through semi-structured expert interviews with policymakers and relevant stakeholders across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The interviews focussed on several key themes: interviewees’ professional backgrounds and institutional roles; the processes used to generate and refine policy priorities; the influence of ideological beliefs and institutional constraints such as funding, time and governance structures; and the role of evidence, including statistical data and international surveys such as PIAAC and the Labour Force Survey, in shaping policy decisions. Additional data were collected among insiders within international organisations (OECD, UNESCO and European Commission) to examine intergovernmental relationships with the UK, particularly considering post-Brexit policy shifts. Interview data shed light on the ALE policy landscape as gathered from experts across the UK, Ireland and international organisations. The data offer opportunities to identify gaps in available ALE data and evidence use in decision-making. In line with the ambitions of the project, the data captured details on how policy-making is negotiated and justified across the devolved administrations.The main objectives of this project are (1) to investigate the (potential lack of) consistency of the current statistical evidence base on ALE across the four countries of the UK and Ireland (2) to identify factors that contributed to the decline in ALE participation against economic, societal and political changes in the past 25 years, (3) to investigate convergence and divergence of ALE discourses between the devolved administrations of the UK and Ireland with a specific focus on the role of evidence-based policy making through documentary analyses and in-depth interviews.</p

New Arenas for Civic Expansion: Humans, Animals and Artificial Intelligence, 2020-2024

This project involved cross-national qualitative research which explored what factors shape individualism, and human and non-human relations in civil society, with reference to animal rights and welfare, and artificial intelligence. Interviews were carried out to explore the framing of animal rights and animal welfare in Civil Society Organisations’ advocacy and campaigning materials in order to understand how they express and reflect civil society views on animal rights and animal welfare. We specifically explored how they seek to recast and challenge traditional conceptions of civil society to take fuller account of human and non-human relations. For animal rights and artificial intelligence, interviews were conducted in Civil Society Organisations in the United Kingdom. Further interviews were conducted on animal rights in Non-Governmental Organisations in India.WISERD celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over time it has grown into an international research institute that develops the next generation of research leaders. Our research brings together different disciplines (geographers, economists, sociologists, data scientists, political scientists) to address important issues for civil society at national and international levels. Our social science core provides a strong foundation for working with other disciplines including environmental science, engineering and medicine to transform our understanding and approaches to key areas of public concern. Our aim is to provide evidence that informs and changes policy and practice. This Centre will build on all previous WISERD research activities to undertake an ambitious new research programme. Our focus will be on the concept of civic stratification. This is a way of looking at divisions in society by focusing on the rights and obligations and practices of citizens and the role of civil society organisations in addressing inequalities in those rights and obligations. We will examine and analyse instances where people do not have the same rights as others (for example people who are migrants or refugees). We will also look at examples of people and groups working together within civil society to win new rights; this is referred to as civic expansion. Examples might include campaigns for animal rights or concerns about robots and Artificial Intelligence. We will investigate situations where people have the same rights but experience differences in their ability to access those rights; sometimes referred to as civic gain and civic loss (for example some people are better able to access legal services than others). Lastly, we will explore how individuals and groups come together to overcome deficits in their rights and citizenship; sometimes referred to as forms of civil repair. This might include ways in which people are looking at alternative forms of economic organisation, at local sustainability and at using new technologies (platforms and software) to organise and campaign for their rights. Our centre will deliver across four key areas of activity. First our research programme will focus on themes that address the different aspects of civic stratification. We will examine trends in polarization of economic, political and social rights, looking at how campaigns for rights are changing and undertaking case studies of attempts to repair the fabric of civil life. Second, we will extend and deepen our international and civil society research partnerships and networks and by doing so strengthen our foundations for developing further joint research in the future. Third, we will implement an exciting and accessible 'knowledge exchange' programme to enable our research and evidence to reach, involve and influence as many people as possible. Fourth, we will expand the capacity of social science research and nurture future research leaders. All our research projects will be jointly undertaken with key partners including civil society organisations, such as charities, and local communities. The research programme is broad and will include the collection of new data, the exploitation of existing data sources and linking existing sets of data. The data will range from local detailed studies to large cross-national comparisons. We will make the most of our skills and abilities to work with major RCUK research investments. We have an outstanding track record in maximising research impact, in applying a wide range of research methods to real world problems. This exciting and challenging research programme is based on a unique, long standing and supportive relationship between five core universities in Wales and our partnerships with universities and research institutes in the UK and internationally. It addresses priority areas identified by the ESRC and by governments and is informed by our continued close links with civil society organisations.</p

Maladaptive Cognition in Depression, 2022

This project aims to improve our understanding of the maladaptive cognitions driving depressive symptoms. To gain a more mechanistic understanding of the neurocognitive bases of (mal)adaptive cognition, we will leverage computational models of behaviour. This overarching goal will be achieved by conceptualising maladaptive depressive cognition as maladaptive attributions. To test this we will measure: (a) biases in the attribution of positive and negative events to the self vs. external causes; (b) biases in the metacognitive evaluations of decision confidence and their potential misattribution to action-outcome learning. Using cutting-edge analysis methods, across online, clinical, and neuroimaging studies, this project will achieve the following objectives: 1. Clarify the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive attribution (of external events and of metacognitive signals), in healthy participants. 2. Identify behavioural markers of maladaptive attribution related to depressive symptoms in a non-clinical sample. 3. Test the specificity of markers of maladaptive attribution to depressive symptoms, relative to other common mental health problems. 4. Test the clinical relevance of markers of maladaptive attribution.CONTEXT Depression is the single leading cause of disability worldwide and a major public health problem. Even with the best treatments, around 30% of patients remain unwell, demonstrating the importance of improving our understanding of depression. Decades of research in clinical psychology suggests that vulnerability to depression is associated with negative cognitive styles, such as attributing negative events to stable and global causes, often blaming oneself, and maladaptive metacognitive beliefs (about one's own cognitive processes), such as low self-confidence. These biases are a focus of psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but the assessment of maladaptive depressive cognition is limited by imprecise measurement, relying on introspection and self-report. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This project aims to improve our understanding of the maladaptive cognitions driving depressive symptoms. To gain a more mechanistic understanding of the neurocognitive bases of (mal)adaptive cognition, we will leverage computational models of behaviour. This overarching goal will be achieved by conceptualising maladaptive depressive cognition as maladaptive attributions. To test this we will measure: (a) biases in the attribution of positive and negative events to the self vs. external causes; (b) biases in the metacognitive evaluations of decision confidence and their potential misattribution to action-outcome learning. Using cutting-edge analysis methods, across online, clinical, and neuroimaging studies, this project will achieve the following objectives: 1. Clarify the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive attribution (of external events and of metacognitive signals), in healthy participants. 2. Identify behavioural markers of maladaptive attribution related to depressive symptoms in a non-clinical sample. 3. Test the specificity of markers of maladaptive attribution to depressive symptoms, relative to other common mental health problems. 4. Test the clinical relevance of markers of maladaptive attribution. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS Improving our understanding of the mechanisms that drive maladaptive cognition in depression, and underpin attributional processes in healthy participants, will constitute an important scientific contribution to the fields of clinical psychology and cognitive and computational neuroscience. Given the high societal cost of depression, this research is of high societal and clinical relevance. Disseminating our findings to the wider society will demonstrate how a better understanding of basic cognitive processes may translate to understanding everyday behaviour. Presenting our project and findings to people with mental health problems, including service users, will allow receiving their feedback on our experimental designs and findings, and help broaden the perspective for future research. The work will also be regularly disseminated to academic audiences, through publications and conferences, across the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and mental health. Engaging with clinical experts, by organising an interdisciplinary workshop, will help increase our clinical impact, establish novel collaborations, and receive expert feedback. Identifying behavioural and neural markers related to maladaptive cognition in depression offers a unique opportunity to develop novel tools that may subsequently help to refine differential diagnosis and improve treatment selection, as well as provide a foundation for the development of novel psychological interventions.</p

Digital Technology Adoption in UK Manufacturing Firms, 2024

This project investigates the factors that encourage or hinder digital technology adoption among UK manufacturing firms. Through interviews with industry stakeholders, the study found that efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and workforce development are key motivators for adopting digital tools such as predictive maintenance systems, real-time data analytics, and 3D modeling. These technologies enhance decision-making, reduce operational costs, and help firms meet environmental and regulatory demands. However, many manufacturers—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—remain hesitant due to implementation risks, uncertain returns, and high costs of advanced systems. Challenges such as fragmented systems, security concerns, and insufficient post-adoption support further impede adoption.This project draws on the classic Bass innovation diffusion theory to develop a model that captures the diffusion processes of digital technologies within the UK manufacturing industry. To attain these objectives, this project conducted in interviews involving manufacturing enterprises, industry experts, and digital technology providers to understand the current barriers and enablers of digital technology adoption in UK manufacturing industry.</p