The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might app... more The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might appear to be making grandiose claims. Our intention, however, is not to replace an existing field with a new one but to generate broad-ranging discussion about the nature of work and ways of theorizing and researching it. All four editors of this book have wrestled with debates within the sociology of work in relation to our own research projects. What brought us together was our search for conceptual tools that would enable us to understand particular sets of experiences and activities that were outside a narrowly employment-focused definition of the field. Where we found innovative conceptual development being conducted, however, it was either in relative isolation or in fields other than work and employment. There was a clear need to consolidate these advances, and reinvigorate debate in a way that would provide a more inclusive and sophisticated basis for research on work in the 21 st century.
The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might app... more The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might appear to be making grandiose claims. Our intention, however, is not to replace an existing field with a new one but to generate broad-ranging discussion about the nature of work and ways of theorizing and researching it. All four editors of this book have wrestled with debates within the sociology of work in relation to our own research projects. What brought us together was our search for conceptual tools that would enable us to understand particular sets of experiences and activities that were outside a narrowly employment-focused definition of the field. Where we found innovative conceptual development being conducted, however, it was either in relative isolation or in fields other than work and employment. There was a clear need to consolidate these advances, and reinvigorate debate in a way that would provide a more inclusive and sophisticated basis for research on work in the 21 st century.
This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA poli... more This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA policy framework for older persons, comparing its priority policy directions with the framework of indicators and the protocols used. The report recommends that a dashboard of indicators aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.
The report details the mixed methods research that we conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better ... more The report details the mixed methods research that we conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better on age-friendly workplaces. Key issues of focus are: reducing age bias is recruitment; promoting good quality flexible work; and maximising the benefits of age diversity at work. Examples of good practice around these issues are discussed. A companion to the report is the employer report: Becoming an age-friendly employer, a good practice guide published in collaboration with Business in the Community.
This collection examines the concept of work, questioning what constitutes work, where work ends ... more This collection examines the concept of work, questioning what constitutes work, where work ends and other activities begin, and how different forms of labour are organized across and within societies. It asks what might be required of a new sociology of work and why such a project is vital for understanding people's working lives at the start of the twenty-first century.At the book's core is the acknowledgement that work goes on outside formal employment as well as within it, in the family, the community and within various institutions. Drawing together fieldwork from young researchers as well as those eminent in the field, it explores how a diverse range of localized, temporal and socio-economic factors shape people's experiences of work. The collection offers particular insight into the experiences of people who are constrained in their economic activities.In the opening and closing chapters, the editors develop a distinctive theoretical framework and draw together key conclusions and policy recommendations.
Being uniquely positioned in terms of population growth and rapid ageing, the Asia-Pacific region... more Being uniquely positioned in terms of population growth and rapid ageing, the Asia-Pacific region is of high importance in ensuring that the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) monitoring and implementation framework is accessible and attractive to member States, the majority of which are developing and have varied resources and research infrastructures. This paper reviews the current data collection processes of 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and discusses the various frameworks being used to monitor active ageing in the global context. We consequently suggest how a more functional and sustainable set of metrics can be developed to maximise countries’ participation in the MIPAA implementation and to build ageing knowledge globally, in particular around developing countries. We conclude that a dashboard of indicators that both constructs the Active Ageing Index (AAI) and is aligned with the key priorities of the MIPAA should become part of the toolkit to ...
The world of work is changing as processes of globalisation, digitisation, economic crisis, demog... more The world of work is changing as processes of globalisation, digitisation, economic crisis, demographic and social change intersect to produce new forms of work, working and working lives. At the same time, enduring inequalities of gender, class, race and ethnicity, age and region continue to shape the patterning of work and employment as well as the experiences and relations of working lives. The ‘new dynamics of work’ must be understood as emergent and complex formations at the intersection of continuity and change. ‘Work’ includes both employment and unemployment, paid and unpaid work, in and outside formal workplaces. In order to better understand and respond to its increasing complexities and dynamics, research and policy must take the broadest possible interpretation of work.
The volunteer moderators that run the boards at Reddit, an online community built of thousands of... more The volunteer moderators that run the boards at Reddit, an online community built of thousands of themed discussion groups, recently staged an uprising against the firm’s management. That this uprising ultimately claimed the scalp of Reddit chief exec Ellen Pao says much about how the world of work is changing, particularly the challenges of managing relationships between paid and unpaid workers in an increasingly virtual workplace.
Data from a mixed methods study of the 1958 NCDS cohort is used to explore distinctive long term ... more Data from a mixed methods study of the 1958 NCDS cohort is used to explore distinctive long term patterns of participation and volunteering (consistent participators, non-participants, and high-intensity participants). We explore how the changes in questioning on social participation within the NCDS complicate the task of mapping long term patterns of participation, and use the recent qualitative Social and Participation Survey with the Cohort to make sense of these tensions. Our mixed methods are employed to provide insight into why and how individuals participate in very different ways in the light of unexpected similar demographic characteristics for the sample groups, as well as how this participation fluctuates over the lifecourse. The process and expectations involved in taking part in the NCDS has changed over the 50 years in which the Cohort have been members, as the same time as their relationship to the study has evolved in ways that reflect their participation credentials...
This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA poli... more This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA policy framework for older persons, comparing its priority policy directions with the framework of indicators and the protocols used. The report recommends that a dashboard of indicators aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.
Measures of prosocial behavior can influence policy, legislation, investment, and inform assessme... more Measures of prosocial behavior can influence policy, legislation, investment, and inform assessments of the overall state of society. Evidence suggests that methods are important in determining these measures. To widen and deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between these items, we compared participation and volunteering data from a national birth cohort study (National Child Development Study [NCDS]) with data from a linked qualitative study, the Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS). We evaluated the strengths and prosocial behavior content of each and explored possible links between their respective methodologies and participation and volunteering estimates. We found that prompts and probes were associated with higher estimates and narrow filter questions with lower estimates. The SPIS afforded detailed insights into lived experiences and personal narratives of volunteering and participating, whereas the NCDS supported analysis of these behaviors over ti...
The 2010 General Election marked a turning-point in British politics, with a new coalition govern... more The 2010 General Election marked a turning-point in British politics, with a new coalition government replacing the Labour administration that had been in power for 13 years. This resulted in an apparent change in policy on the third sector, from a period of ‘hyperactive mainstreaming’ in which significant support was provided for the sector to the ‘Big Society’ agenda under which voluntary and community action are promoted as an alternative to state intervention. This article explores this transition through analysis of the presentation of third sector politics in the election campaign and the subsequent development of these under the new government, providing an insight into the relationships between electoral politics and policy development within the United Kingdom.
The recession of 2008/09 threatened a crisis for the third sector and its beneficiaries. Amidst m... more The recession of 2008/09 threatened a crisis for the third sector and its beneficiaries. Amidst mounting concern for the sector's future, national and horizontal infrastructure and government worked together to minimise potential impacts. This research report, based on media scoping, literature review and key informant interviews, seeks to explore the evolving third sector policy environment and the discourses and relationships that animated it during this period. It outlines the shift from the initial rhetoric of crisis to a 'mixed picture' discourse which accommodated a lack of evidence for substantial impacts while providing the basis for continued infrastructure/government support. Exploring the diversity of sector interests highlighted by responses to the OTS' third sector action plan, Real Help for Communities, suggests the continued importance of vertical and local channels of communication with and support from government for groups within the sector. Finally it traces how sector leaders talked about the recession having lagged effects or being a phoney war. They looked with trepidation to the 'real crisis' predicted to hit the sector in 2010/11: a period of financial uncertainty brought about by the convergence of the spending review, the end of several large public sector contracts and the impending general election.
We are particularly indebted to the various service providers and members of the farming communit... more We are particularly indebted to the various service providers and members of the farming communities who gave up their time to help with the research in various ways, and who reflected so candidly, and often poignantly, about their experiences. Finally, thanks are due to PSI's research associates,
Some Western societies, it has been claimed, are experiencing an unparalleled downward trend in p... more Some Western societies, it has been claimed, are experiencing an unparalleled downward trend in participation with manifold grave consequences predicted. In the UK, for instance, politicians and commentators, arguably influenced by Robert Putnam's warnings of a collapse in community, have spoken of Britain's broken society and disintegrating social ties with opting out, or nonparticipation, presented as a pressing social problem. Set against this background, and engaging directly with Putnam's thesis, we explore the scale, characteristics and causes of an 'extreme' variant of nonparticipationlifelong nonparticipationamongst members of a national birth cohort, the UK's National Child Development Study (NCDS) (1958). Joining structured survey data collected over the lifecourse, with biographical interview data collected from cohort members at age 50, we identify lifelong nonparticipation as a minority disposition associated with distinctive demographic traits being, for example, highly gendered and related to lower educational attainment. In terms of causes, time pressures arising from work and caring duties or, more precisely, the feeling of being 'pressed for time', appeared critical. The implications for policy and practice are considered.
The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might app... more The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might appear to be making grandiose claims. Our intention, however, is not to replace an existing field with a new one but to generate broad-ranging discussion about the nature of work and ways of theorizing and researching it. All four editors of this book have wrestled with debates within the sociology of work in relation to our own research projects. What brought us together was our search for conceptual tools that would enable us to understand particular sets of experiences and activities that were outside a narrowly employment-focused definition of the field. Where we found innovative conceptual development being conducted, however, it was either in relative isolation or in fields other than work and employment. There was a clear need to consolidate these advances, and reinvigorate debate in a way that would provide a more inclusive and sophisticated basis for research on work in the 21 st century.
The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might app... more The question mark in the title of A New Sociology of Work? is deliberate. Without it we might appear to be making grandiose claims. Our intention, however, is not to replace an existing field with a new one but to generate broad-ranging discussion about the nature of work and ways of theorizing and researching it. All four editors of this book have wrestled with debates within the sociology of work in relation to our own research projects. What brought us together was our search for conceptual tools that would enable us to understand particular sets of experiences and activities that were outside a narrowly employment-focused definition of the field. Where we found innovative conceptual development being conducted, however, it was either in relative isolation or in fields other than work and employment. There was a clear need to consolidate these advances, and reinvigorate debate in a way that would provide a more inclusive and sophisticated basis for research on work in the 21 st century.
This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA poli... more This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA policy framework for older persons, comparing its priority policy directions with the framework of indicators and the protocols used. The report recommends that a dashboard of indicators aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.
The report details the mixed methods research that we conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better ... more The report details the mixed methods research that we conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better on age-friendly workplaces. Key issues of focus are: reducing age bias is recruitment; promoting good quality flexible work; and maximising the benefits of age diversity at work. Examples of good practice around these issues are discussed. A companion to the report is the employer report: Becoming an age-friendly employer, a good practice guide published in collaboration with Business in the Community.
This collection examines the concept of work, questioning what constitutes work, where work ends ... more This collection examines the concept of work, questioning what constitutes work, where work ends and other activities begin, and how different forms of labour are organized across and within societies. It asks what might be required of a new sociology of work and why such a project is vital for understanding people's working lives at the start of the twenty-first century.At the book's core is the acknowledgement that work goes on outside formal employment as well as within it, in the family, the community and within various institutions. Drawing together fieldwork from young researchers as well as those eminent in the field, it explores how a diverse range of localized, temporal and socio-economic factors shape people's experiences of work. The collection offers particular insight into the experiences of people who are constrained in their economic activities.In the opening and closing chapters, the editors develop a distinctive theoretical framework and draw together key conclusions and policy recommendations.
Being uniquely positioned in terms of population growth and rapid ageing, the Asia-Pacific region... more Being uniquely positioned in terms of population growth and rapid ageing, the Asia-Pacific region is of high importance in ensuring that the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) monitoring and implementation framework is accessible and attractive to member States, the majority of which are developing and have varied resources and research infrastructures. This paper reviews the current data collection processes of 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and discusses the various frameworks being used to monitor active ageing in the global context. We consequently suggest how a more functional and sustainable set of metrics can be developed to maximise countries’ participation in the MIPAA implementation and to build ageing knowledge globally, in particular around developing countries. We conclude that a dashboard of indicators that both constructs the Active Ageing Index (AAI) and is aligned with the key priorities of the MIPAA should become part of the toolkit to ...
The world of work is changing as processes of globalisation, digitisation, economic crisis, demog... more The world of work is changing as processes of globalisation, digitisation, economic crisis, demographic and social change intersect to produce new forms of work, working and working lives. At the same time, enduring inequalities of gender, class, race and ethnicity, age and region continue to shape the patterning of work and employment as well as the experiences and relations of working lives. The ‘new dynamics of work’ must be understood as emergent and complex formations at the intersection of continuity and change. ‘Work’ includes both employment and unemployment, paid and unpaid work, in and outside formal workplaces. In order to better understand and respond to its increasing complexities and dynamics, research and policy must take the broadest possible interpretation of work.
The volunteer moderators that run the boards at Reddit, an online community built of thousands of... more The volunteer moderators that run the boards at Reddit, an online community built of thousands of themed discussion groups, recently staged an uprising against the firm’s management. That this uprising ultimately claimed the scalp of Reddit chief exec Ellen Pao says much about how the world of work is changing, particularly the challenges of managing relationships between paid and unpaid workers in an increasingly virtual workplace.
Data from a mixed methods study of the 1958 NCDS cohort is used to explore distinctive long term ... more Data from a mixed methods study of the 1958 NCDS cohort is used to explore distinctive long term patterns of participation and volunteering (consistent participators, non-participants, and high-intensity participants). We explore how the changes in questioning on social participation within the NCDS complicate the task of mapping long term patterns of participation, and use the recent qualitative Social and Participation Survey with the Cohort to make sense of these tensions. Our mixed methods are employed to provide insight into why and how individuals participate in very different ways in the light of unexpected similar demographic characteristics for the sample groups, as well as how this participation fluctuates over the lifecourse. The process and expectations involved in taking part in the NCDS has changed over the 50 years in which the Cohort have been members, as the same time as their relationship to the study has evolved in ways that reflect their participation credentials...
This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA poli... more This report provides a critical reflection on the review and monitoring process of the MIPAA policy framework for older persons, comparing its priority policy directions with the framework of indicators and the protocols used. The report recommends that a dashboard of indicators aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.
Measures of prosocial behavior can influence policy, legislation, investment, and inform assessme... more Measures of prosocial behavior can influence policy, legislation, investment, and inform assessments of the overall state of society. Evidence suggests that methods are important in determining these measures. To widen and deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between these items, we compared participation and volunteering data from a national birth cohort study (National Child Development Study [NCDS]) with data from a linked qualitative study, the Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS). We evaluated the strengths and prosocial behavior content of each and explored possible links between their respective methodologies and participation and volunteering estimates. We found that prompts and probes were associated with higher estimates and narrow filter questions with lower estimates. The SPIS afforded detailed insights into lived experiences and personal narratives of volunteering and participating, whereas the NCDS supported analysis of these behaviors over ti...
The 2010 General Election marked a turning-point in British politics, with a new coalition govern... more The 2010 General Election marked a turning-point in British politics, with a new coalition government replacing the Labour administration that had been in power for 13 years. This resulted in an apparent change in policy on the third sector, from a period of ‘hyperactive mainstreaming’ in which significant support was provided for the sector to the ‘Big Society’ agenda under which voluntary and community action are promoted as an alternative to state intervention. This article explores this transition through analysis of the presentation of third sector politics in the election campaign and the subsequent development of these under the new government, providing an insight into the relationships between electoral politics and policy development within the United Kingdom.
The recession of 2008/09 threatened a crisis for the third sector and its beneficiaries. Amidst m... more The recession of 2008/09 threatened a crisis for the third sector and its beneficiaries. Amidst mounting concern for the sector's future, national and horizontal infrastructure and government worked together to minimise potential impacts. This research report, based on media scoping, literature review and key informant interviews, seeks to explore the evolving third sector policy environment and the discourses and relationships that animated it during this period. It outlines the shift from the initial rhetoric of crisis to a 'mixed picture' discourse which accommodated a lack of evidence for substantial impacts while providing the basis for continued infrastructure/government support. Exploring the diversity of sector interests highlighted by responses to the OTS' third sector action plan, Real Help for Communities, suggests the continued importance of vertical and local channels of communication with and support from government for groups within the sector. Finally it traces how sector leaders talked about the recession having lagged effects or being a phoney war. They looked with trepidation to the 'real crisis' predicted to hit the sector in 2010/11: a period of financial uncertainty brought about by the convergence of the spending review, the end of several large public sector contracts and the impending general election.
We are particularly indebted to the various service providers and members of the farming communit... more We are particularly indebted to the various service providers and members of the farming communities who gave up their time to help with the research in various ways, and who reflected so candidly, and often poignantly, about their experiences. Finally, thanks are due to PSI's research associates,
Some Western societies, it has been claimed, are experiencing an unparalleled downward trend in p... more Some Western societies, it has been claimed, are experiencing an unparalleled downward trend in participation with manifold grave consequences predicted. In the UK, for instance, politicians and commentators, arguably influenced by Robert Putnam's warnings of a collapse in community, have spoken of Britain's broken society and disintegrating social ties with opting out, or nonparticipation, presented as a pressing social problem. Set against this background, and engaging directly with Putnam's thesis, we explore the scale, characteristics and causes of an 'extreme' variant of nonparticipationlifelong nonparticipationamongst members of a national birth cohort, the UK's National Child Development Study (NCDS) (1958). Joining structured survey data collected over the lifecourse, with biographical interview data collected from cohort members at age 50, we identify lifelong nonparticipation as a minority disposition associated with distinctive demographic traits being, for example, highly gendered and related to lower educational attainment. In terms of causes, time pressures arising from work and caring duties or, more precisely, the feeling of being 'pressed for time', appeared critical. The implications for policy and practice are considered.
Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Coh... more Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Survey, i.e. the National Child Development Study (NCDS), with qualitative biographical interview data from the associated Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS) to investigate long term patterns of participation and volunteering.
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Books by Jane Parry
aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.
Papers by Jane Parry
aligned with the key priorities of MIPAA and the adoption of the concept and measure of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can jointly serve as the toolkit to monitor MIPAA implementation in the future.