A computational theory of willingness to exchange, ESRI working paper no. 477, January 2014

A new model of exchange is presented following Marr’s conception of a “computational theory”. The model combines assumptions from perceptual theory and economic theory to develop a highly generalised formal model. The approach departs from previous models by focussing not on how ownership alters preferences, but instead on difficulties inherent in the process of exchange in real markets. Agents treat their own perceptual uncertainty when valuing a potential exchange item as a signal regarding the variability of potential bids and offers. The analysis shows how optimising agents, with no aversion to risk or loss, will produce an endowment effect of variable degree, in line with empirical findings. The model implies that the endowment effect is not a laboratory finding that may not occur in real markets, but rather a market phenomenon that may not occur in the laboratory

\u27You Have Lost Your Opportunity\u27 British Quakers and the Militant Phase of the Women\u27s Suffrage Campaign: 1906-1914

Quakers are widely believed to have been in the forefront of 19th century social change, and in particular to have been in favour of women\u27s equality. Through consideration of individual and corporate public statements by British Friends during the period of militant campaigning for women to have the parliamentary vote, I show that this perception is inaccurate, largely mythic, and based on generalisation from the actions of a small number of individual Friends. I suggest that Friends\u27 reputation for having been corporately progressive on the question of women\u27s equality is undeserved, based on superficial consideration of the use of the term \u27equality\u27, and that the position of the London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends was far more cautious and divided than is generally supposed

\u27Do We Still Quake?\u27: An Ethnographic and Historical Enquiry

Michele Tarter\u27s (2004) essay, on first generation Friends and their prophecy of celestial flesh, explores the striking bodily manifestations of their spiritual experience, particularly \u27quaking\u27. Reflecting on this, she writes: \u27it is precisely what we no longer do: quake\u27. Using interview data from a small group of British Friends I shall show that some twenty-first-century Friends certainly do quake. I use accounts of early quaking, a variety of Quaker commentators, and historical accounts of the understanding of the body, to show the ways in which current quaking is different, and differently understood, from that of early Friends

GET SUBJECT SPORT -The Games We Used to Play An Application of Survival Analysis to the Sporting Life-course. ESRI WP272. January 2009

In the absence of longitudinal data, recall data is used to examine participation in sport. Techniques of survival analysis are adapted and applied to illuminate the dynamics of sporting life. The likelihood of participation has a distinct pattern across the life-course, rising to a peak at 15 years of age, falling sharply in late teenage years and more gradually during adulthood. Logistic regressions and Cox regressions reveal strong effects on participation of gender, cohort and socioeconomic status, which vary over the life-course and by type of sport. The findings add significantly to previous work and have implications for policymakers wishing to increase physical activity

GOLF IN IRELAND: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 63 MAY 2017

This report, commissioned by the Confederation of Golf in Ireland, provides evidence relating to the level of participation in golf in Ireland and the factors that underpin it. Four data sources are used – three from the Republic of Ireland and one from Northern Ireland. In addition, the report reviews evidence for the positive contribution made by golf to physical activity, health and wellbeing. The analysis assesses patterns of participation in golf over time and by social group, as well as exploring people’s motivations and patterns of playing. The analysis examines both active participation in golf, i.e. physically playing the game, and social participation in the form of club membership and attendance at events. The primary purpose is to provide helpful evidence for the various organisations involved in managing and administering golf in Ireland. Below we summarise some of the key findings and policy implications. Additional findings, details and discussion of policy implications are to be found in the body of the report

The Position of Calories on Menus Influences How Much People Eat. ESRI Research Bulletin 2019/15

High levels of obesity worldwide have led to calls for calorie information to be put on food menus. Ireland’s Obesity Policy and Action Plan commits the government to introduce legislation on calorie posting. In advance of this measure, some restaurants have adopted voluntary policies and put calories on their menus already. However, the size of the calorie information and where it is placed on the menu differs across restaurants. This may matter, because research in behavioural economics suggests that, in general, the size, colour and location of information affects how people respond to it. In research funded by the Department of Health, the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit designed an experiment to test how the location of calorie information on menus affects whether consumers notice calorie information and how much they order, eat and understand