Retail and leisure flows in the East Midlands

This report is the second phase of research for emda, analysing retail and leisure patterns around the East Midlands region, which follows on from phase one analysing commuter flows. Understanding city and town regions is important to understanding the dynamics of the economy in a region. City and town regions are characterised by flows (travel patterns) into and out of them, and these flows differ depending on the dataset / activity being monitored. Good data already exists about commuting flows, but there is less good data available about the flows to retail and leisure facilities

Atypical working practices in the East Midlands

The aim of this research was to examine the extent and nature of atypical working practices in the East Midlands region and, in particular, look at the way in which these forms of work are likely to encourage employment and economic development in remote rural areas, and more generally, promote social inclusion

Impact of housing options to inform the development of the regional spatial strategy

The report summarises work undertaken by Experian for emda to assess the economic impact of the preferred housing option set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and examined alternate scenarios linked to population projections

Economic spillover study

The study examines available evidence of the linkages between the Alliance SSP area of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. The study builds on scenario modelling conducted on behalf of the Alliance SSP using input-output analysis to approximate business and consumer spending links and leakages between the two areas. Using a best-case scenario from the associated SSP study we present leakage results from the simulation

The contribution of migration flows to demographic change in the East Midlands

In November 2006, emda commissioned Experian to undertake research to build a detailed and up to date picture of the scale and nature of migration flows into, out of, and within the East Midlands. The research aimed to assess the impact of migration on demographic change in the region to help identify implications for regional policy makers. This research entailed establishing a comprehensive base of evidence, a review of the drivers of demographic change and migration and an assessment of the role of migration in demographic change going forward. This report presents the key research findings

Skills research – Nottingham East Midlands Airport

Reports the finding from a review of the current and future labour supply and skills requirements for NEMA

Commuting flows in the East Midlands

This report investigates the size and nature of commuting flows within, to and from the East Midlands. The reports provides GIS mapping of commuter flows, socio-economic profiling of commuters and an analysis of their mode of transport

Insights into social disparities in smoking prevalence using Mosaic, a novel measure of socioeconomic status: an analysis using a large primary care dataset

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are well-established socio-economic differences in the prevalence of smoking in the UK, but conventional socio-economic measures may not capture the range and degree of these associations. We have used a commercial geodemographic profiling system, Mosaic, to explore associations with smoking prevalence in a large primary care dataset and to establish whether this tool provides new insights into socio-economic determinants of smoking.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analysed anonymised data on over 2 million patients from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database, linked via patients' postcodes to Mosaic classifications (11 groups and 61 types) and quintiles of Townsend Index of Multiple Deprivation. Patients' current smoking status was identified using Read Codes, and logistic regression was used to explore the associations between the available measures of socioeconomic status and smoking prevalence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As anticipated, smoking prevalence increased with increasing deprivation according to the Townsend Index (age and sex adjusted OR for highest vs lowest quintile 2.96, 95% CI 2.92-2.99). There were more marked differences in prevalence across Mosaic groups (OR for group G vs group A 4.41, 95% CI 4.33-4.49). Across the 61 Mosaic types, smoking prevalence varied from 8.6% to 42.7%. Mosaic types with high smoking prevalence were characterised by relative deprivation, but also more specifically by single-parent households living in public rented accommodation in areas with little community support, having no access to a car, few qualifications and high TV viewing behaviour.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Conventional socio-economic measures may underplay social disparities in smoking prevalence. Newer classification systems, such as Mosaic, encompass a wider range of demographic, lifestyle and behaviour data, and are valuable in identifying characteristics of groups of heavy smokers which might be used to tailor cessation interventions.</p

Community resilience : a policy tool for local government?

In many countries, local government has been a prime target of austerity measures. In response, local authorities are exploring a new repertoire of policy approaches in a bid to provide more with less. In England, local authorities have been drawn to community resilience as a pragmatic response to the challenge of deploying shrinking resources to support communities exposed to social and economic disruption. This application of resilience thinking is not without its challenges. It demands a working definition of community resilience that recognises the potential for communities to prove resilient to shocks and disruptions, but avoids blaming them for their predicament. There is also the practical challenge of developing and targeting interventions to promote and protect resilience. This paper sets out to explore these issues and establish the potential utility of community resilience as a policy tool through case study analysis in the city of Sheffield

Mapping household direct energy consumption in the United Kingdom to provide a new perspective on energy justice

Targets for reductions in carbon emissions and energy use are often framed solely in terms of percentage reductions. However, the amount of energy used by households varies greatly, with some using considerably more than others and, therefore, potentially being able to make a bigger contribution towards overall reductions. Using two recently released UK datasets based on combined readings from over 70 million domestic energy meters and vehicle odometers, we present exploratory analyses of patterns of direct household energy usage. Whilst much energy justice work has previously focussed on energy vulnerability, mainly in low consumers, our findings suggest that a minority of areas appear to be placing much greater strain on energy networks and environmental systems than they need. Households in these areas are not only the most likely to be able to afford energy efficiency measures to reduce their impacts, but are also found to have other capabilities that would allow them to take action to reduce consumption (such as higher levels of income, education and particular configurations of housing type and tenure). We argue that these areas should therefore be a higher priority in the targeting of policy interventions