Social Sciences

Self-employed male Britons have been found to work longer hours for lower wages than those of their employee counterparts. This is attributed to them facing greater uncertainty and so working harder as a way to insure their future livelihoods. In addition, according to the research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, there was no evidence of growing female self-employment, or the anticipated greater labour flexibility resulting from self-employment during the 1990s.

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When asked, both consumers and advertisers agree that conspicuous white space around a word or image – epitomized by the design of Real Simple magazine – associate a product with refined taste and upscale qualities. However, in the first paper to trace the history of white space in advertising, researchers from University of Alberta and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana argue that the meaning of this design element comes not from its inherent features, but from relatively recent art h

We like to believe that all the thinking about development and all the assistance we give is helping the poorest people in the world. In a new dissertation, Bent Jörgensen, at Göteborg University in Sweden, maintains that assistance and economic growth in certain circumstances aggravates the situation for the poorest of the poor. The problem is primarily that the concept of development takes on another meaning.

Over the last two decades Vietnam has undergone strong economic development as

With World Health Day being celebrated today (7th April), significant opportunities to help bring lasting peace to countries previously torn by civil war – through re-building and improving their local health systems – are largely being missed by the world’s major aid donors, according to important new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Health is increasingly an international matter, with foreign policy and security implications. But issues are

The Grand National spurs over a third of the adult population of the United Kingdom into having a flutter making it the country’s single biggest gambling event. However, even with the recent boom in internet gambling, problems with gambling are often overlooked.

Problem gambling is the subject of a new research venture funded by Economic and Social Research Council in partnership with the Responsibility in Gambling Trust (RIGT). Funding worth around £920,000 over a three year peri

Some 60 million older Europeans suffering from chronic diseases and/or needing care say they would welcome online help delivered to their homes. A new tested video-telephony system underlines the ‘e-care’ benefits for users and over-stretched social-service and healthcare providers.

Video telephony allows immediate contact with people at home, enables them to continue living at home and relieves pressure on care-providers by reducing physical journeys. It was first tested in Eur