Key Projects

Funded by a £4.2m grant from UKRI and the British Academy, EDICa is a national project which aims to bring an intersectional perspective to the multiple disadvantages which can face marginalised researchers and innovators. EDICa uses a co-design approach led by those with lived experience of exclusion and marginalisation to undertake and evaluate interventions designed to create equitable workplaces across the research and innovation ecosystems. EBS colleagues Professor Kate Sang and Dr James Richards are Principal Investigator and Co-investigator, respectively. Dr Richards is PI on EDIca's Organisation of Work workstream.

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This project was recently completed in partnership with Into Work and funded via Inspiring Scotland (£14k), and it sought to take the lived experience of autism and employment, plus the lived experience of managing autistic employees, to extend Scotland's Fair Work Framework to include the autistic workforce. Read the Summary Report.

Accessible Laboratories aims to address two key gaps in inclusiveness and diversity within chemical sciences via focus groups with disabled chemical scientists.

Firstly, the project will improve understanding and raise awareness of the experiences of disabled chemical scientists, specifically those with long term conditions or hidden impairments. Secondly, it will address the lack of understanding of what an accessible chemical sciences research laboratory would look like for those with long-term conditions and hidden impairments.

Doing so will move discussions on accessibility beyond reactive initiatives such as height adjustable lab benches, toward the proactive design of chemical sciences research laboratories which are inclusive of disabled chemists across early, mid and senior career stages.

Accessible Laboratories will produce a report for chemical sciences community key stakeholders, which will describe the barriers faced by disabled chemical scientists, examples of better practice as well as a co-designed set of recommendations for accessible chemical sciences research laboratories. The project will conclude with an online workshop to present the findings of the project as well as launch the co-designed recommendations for accessible research laboratories for chemical scientists.

Project Lead: Kate Sang

Co-investigator: Graeme Barker

Funding Body: The Royal Society of Chemistry

Funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, this projects examines the use of trade union practices to resist right-wing media accounts, create influential discourse about disputes, and directly access public opinion, and how these tactics could enhance unions' bargaining capacity.

Existing literature demonstrates how trade unions have a vital battle to fight when in dispute with the employer, responding to the (often right-leaning) media, which typically present disputes as 'illogical', 'damaging', and 'unnecessary'.

Over the past decade, UK unions have begun to build capacity across social media platforms, campaigning about issues like the cost of living crisis, recruiting members and shaping public opinion of disputes.

Since June 2022, the RMT union, which has been in an almost head-on dispute with rail employers, the government and the media, have made creative use of Twitter. They have developed successful tactics that resist right-wing media accounts, create influential discourses about disputes and directly access public opinion, historically off-limits except to the press and government.

Understanding such practices could enhance unions' bargaining capacity, lead to positive outcomes for its members and aid unions in navigating some of the toughest strike-related legislation in the world.

Project Lead: Cat Morgan

Co-Investigators: James Richards, Kate Sang

Funding Body: The Royal Society of Edinburgh

To understand the implications of 26 recommendations from Advance HE’s Assessment of its terms and conditions of training grants (T&Cs) from an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion perspective, as set out in the commissioning document:

• People with childcare and adult caring responsibilities
• Disabled, Deaf  and neurodivergent people (note: we are guided by the social model of disability, which does not use person first language)
• Mode of study (full time or part time) and phased return to study (both of which may support the above groups of people but that may also have application to the wider student body)
• Information needs

Primary Investigator: James Richards

Co-Investigators: Kate Sang, Jemima Napier

Funder: ESRC

Project Background

It is estimated one in three of UK adults will develop dementia and that one in nine adults will become caregivers (Alzheimer’s Society, 2018). Dementia symptoms can cause financial hardship through missed bills and inability to access online and offline channels and to help others, most likely close family, can be granted lasting power of attorney for finance and property (LPA F&P). A lasting power of attorney finance and property (LPA F&P) agreement enables an individual to appoint named others to assist with or manage their finances. However, whilst an LPA F&P provides vital support and reassurance for those living with dementia it can also prove to be an additional burden of care for family members who are charged with making important financial decisions.

The project seeks to understand how and when UK financial services operate to support or frustrate the use of a lasting power of attorney, finance and property (LPA F&P) by close family and the impact upon the caregiver burden. This study is an important addition to research due to its focus on formal family-based arrangements and its inclusion of supportive arrangements. Current understanding is limited to the perspectives of paid care staff, patterns of financial abuse and patterns of only informal arrangements amongst family and friends (Arksey et al 2008).

The project gathers data from 20 family members who hold an LPA (F &P) for individuals who are living with dementia. Participants will be asked to share information on the extent of financial management, the various channels used, examples of positive and negative experiences and to suggest areas for improvement. In addition, participants will also be asked about the impact that Covid-19 upon their use of LPA F&P.

Research Questions

There are three research objectives:

1. To understand the financial management challenges and knowledge needs of family caregivers of those living with dementia across different financial product categories and processes and with a focus on how the challenges differ according to family relationship.
2. To identify a range of circumstances where practices and procedures of financial services providers support or reduce effective LPA F&P use.
3. To understand the positive and negative impact of financial services procedures upon the caregiver themselves and upon the wider care environment

Project Lead: Dr Kathryn Waite

Co-investigator: Professor Tina Harrison - University of Edinburgh, Business School

Funding: The British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic on March 12th, having confirmed spread to more than one hundred countries (World Health Organization, 2020). Malaysia currently has the highest number of cases in South East Asia. As of 14 April 2020, a total of 4987 positive cases has been reported by Ministry of Health (MOH), with a death toll of 82 and active cases numbering 2427.

Project Background

As COVID-19 continues to spreads at a community level, public health policies have shifted from ‘containment’ to ‘delay’ and/ or ‘mitigation. Malaysia’s enforcement of the “Movement Control Order” (MCO) has been a part of this approach, and efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ has been effective (Nazari, 2020). However, this approach has not been without socio-economic sacrifice. The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM); Malaysia’s central bank; predicts that Malaysia’s real GDP growth will drop, from 4.0% to -2.9% (Ernst & Young, 2020; Bank Negara Malaysia, 2020). The whole nation especially vulnerable groups are suffering the highest rates of financial losses and degeneration of the psychological well-being and resilience.

This project will quantify the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on psychological well-being and resilience in the Malaysian population, and will help derive solutions that improve the psychological well-being and livelihoods for vulnerable groups. We will facilitate national surveys and interviews with target vulnerable groups, providing the needed flow of information to preserve psychological well-being.

Research Questions

How do new employees experience virtual socialisation? And How does that impact their workplace commitment?

Project Lead: Dr Ke Guek Nee

Co-investigator: Dr Dasha Grajfoner

Funding: GCRF

Project Background

With the rapid evolution of digital technologies, more businesses are moving to a digital working environment. Lately, the global pandemic accelerated this digital transformation, and forced people to change their behaviour in a dramatic way, indeed, businesses have moved to remote working. The use of communication and information technologies has become a way to achieve organisational affiliation and a central focus of organisational members’ everyday work and social relationships. It is expected that this digital workspace would reshape our socialisation practices and influence individuals’ attitudes and behaviours.

This also could have a massive impact on new employees’ early socialisation experiences, who are joining the organisation for the first time through this virtual workspace. The research on the socialisation process has primarily been focused on traditional practices in co-located groups. Therefore, we are conducting interviews as part of a research study to investigate how virtual socialisation could influence newcomers’ early work experiences and form their workplace commitment.

Research Questions

• How do new employees experience virtual socialisation?
• How does it impact their workplace commitment?

Project Lead: Dr Nima Ali

Co-investigators: Professor Juani Swart - University of Bath

Project Background

The laws surrounding industrial action in the UK are perhaps the strictest in the Western world. In 2017, the Trade Union Act 2016 became law with a key part of such legislation requiring a minimum 50% turnout in statutory ballots, a strategy to reduce further record low levels of strike activity, but more importantly, hampering the bargaining powers of trade unions seeking to resist austerity measures put in place by UK governments post-2010, and more generally creating a further downward pressure on terms and conditions of millions of UK employers. The aim of the project is to devise and put into action a get the vote out (GTVO) model for organising to the beat the Trade Union Act 2016. A further aim is to build an impact case based on trade unions using the GTVO model to successfully achieve the requirements of the Trade Union Act 2016 and subsequently, e.g. defend jobs, increase bargaining power in industrial disputes.

Research Questions

The project is based on answering the following research questions:

1. What is best practice in developing a GTVO organising model in relation to statutory ballots?
2. How can best practice be best illustrated and communicated to trade union organisers?
3. How can the model be developed/varied to suit a range of organising context and size of bargaining units?

Project Lead: Dr James Richards

Exploring why professional workers use time off to catch up with work.

Project Background

There has been a growing amount of interest in presenteeism in recent years, but little research has been done in relation to the times when workers find themselves working while at home sick, when on annual or even away on vacation, and when taking work home to be done, typically in the evenings, while commuting and the weekends. This projects aims, via an electronic survey, to scope out Leaveism plus paving the way for a follow-up study considering the lived experience of Leaveism.

Research Questions

The research is based on answering four research questions:

1. What is the scope and impact of Leaveism for employees working in the UK?
2. How does Leaveism differ depending on gender, disability and age?
3. How do flexible working and well-being policies impact on Leaveism?
4. How can the findings inform HRM practice related to Leaveism?

Project Lead: Dr James Richard

Funding: Internal Research Grant

Project Background

Although universities are making efforts to achieve gender equality, for example through Athena Swan, little work has been undertaken to improve disability inclusion in UK Higher Education. This project aims to foster disability inclusion within STEM careers by increasing the disability literacy of research leaders and trade union representatives. Using immersive virtual reality, DISC, aims to support research leaders to better understand disability and embed disability accessibility into their decision making.

Research Questions

• What are the experiences of disabled academics in STEM?
• To what extent to research leaders understand the needs of disabled colleagues and associated legal frameworks?
• How can we improve the inclusion of disabled academics in UK universities?

Methods

A participatory action research approach to codesign interventions to improve disability inclusion in UK universities.

Project Leads/ Supervisors:

• Professor Kate Sang
• Garry Pender

Co-investigators/ PhDs/ RAs:

• Dr Jen Remnant
• Abraham Babajide – PhD student
• Dr James Richards
• Professor Robert MacIntosh
• Professor Steve McLaughlin
• Professor Malcolm Chrisp
• Professor Beatrice Pelloni
• Dr Sara Shinton - University of Edinburgh
• Dr Frederik Bosche - University of Edinburgh

Funding: EPSRC - Inclusion Matters

This project explores the biographical ramifications of the increasing social media (SM) activity – Facebook[ing], among rural Sri Lankan women.

Project Background

This project explores the biographical ramifications of the increasing social media (SM) activity – Facebook[ing], among rural Sri Lankan women. The recent influx of Facebook[ing] is a novel experience for rural individuals that generates profound changes in their customary lifestyle. Much of the current research focuses on the impact of SM on the social organisation of advanced societies, neglecting the global periphery, and particularly the biographical consequences of SM on rural women, whose life and occupational circumstances are strongly shaped by patriarchy. The study analyses 26 biographies of rural Sri Lankan women through the conceptual lenses of reflexivity and digital distraction underpinned by a critical realist analytic framework and contributes in theorising the biographical and occupational consequences of SM among rural women living in the global periphery.

Research Questions

• How do rural Sri Lankan women negotiate the manifestations of patriarchy in their SM – Facebook(ing) - activity?

Project Lead: Dr Lakshman Wimalasena

Funding: Internal Research Grant