Research Across the Social Sciences

The College of Social Sciences brings together a diverse range of areas of research that encompass five Schools: Business; Interdisciplinary Studies; Law; Education; and Social and Political Sciences. Within each are a number of Research Centres and networks.

In addition, the Adam Smith Research Foundation aims to support and encourage interdisciplinary research and collaboration through a number of cross-College Research Themes.

The College also has shared responsibility for two inter-College Research Institutes: the Confucius Institute and the Institute of Health and Wellbeing.

Our goal is to produce excellent and world-changing research; locally, nationally, and internationally.

Click on the arrow (above, right) to begin browsing a selection of our research.

International trade in cultural artefacts

Researchers at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research are beginning work on a project which seeks to find solutions to combat the global trade in illicit artefacts. Each year, objects of cultural importance and significant value are looted and then smuggled around the world, often turning up in private collections and even museums in the West.

The project, which has been funded by the European Research Council, will gather and analyse data ranging from illegal excavation and pricing structures to the motives of traffickers. The aim is not only to develop new approaches to regulate the international trade of cultural goods but also to help policymakers better define laws to fight criminal activities.

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Working together for human rights

A new initiative at the University is bringing together researchers, practitioners, members of civil society organisations and policymakers to address human rights issues.

The Glasgow Human Rights Network marshals the wide expertise in human rights at the University and elsewhere and contributes to the College of Social Sciences’ themes on justice, rights, security and conflict; and inequalities, inclusion, identities and social change. A key player in the new network is social scientist Dr Kurt Mills.

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Learning the global economic lessons of the past

Given current global economic conditions there is certainly no doubt over the relevance of Catherine Schenk’s research.

‘My work is about how policy-makers coped with global imbalances and financial instability in earlier periods of history to see whether we might draw some lessons for how to resolve current problems and also to help us anticipate future crises,’ says the Professor of International Economic History.

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Connecting Cultures

At a time when the complex relationships between creativity, culture, faith and education are at the heart of international politics, the School of Education's Research & Knowledge Transfer Group offers a unique hub for research which looks at these relationships to enable a better understanding of cultural identity and its role in the experience of education.

The group, led by James Conroy, Professor of Religious & Philosophical Education, has recently completed the first in-depth study into the aims, practices and effects of religious education in schools.

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Innovative solutions for a healthier population

With the establishment of the cross-college Institute of Health & Wellbeing, academics and clinicians, scientists and social scientists, patients and policymakers are working to ensure that the health and wellbeing of future generations is better than the one before.

Professor Sally Wyke has recently joined the University as the newly created Interdisciplinary Chair in Health & Wellbeing. Her role is to bring academics from different disciplines together with the mission of improving health at the whole-person level.

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Risky Business

Professor of Risk & Resilience Denis Fischbacher-Smith has seen many changes in his chosen field over the years. 'When I started to undertake research in risk management in 1981, it wasn't an issue that had the media profile that it does today.

'Sadly, a series of major loss-of-life events over the past 20 years have brought the wider set of issues around risk to people's attention, as have the threats from the new forms of terrorism.'

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New Gambling Technologies

Professor Gerda Reith’s research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, has found that new technology in UK betting shops may encourage new types of gamblers and potentially more harmful betting habits.

“Touch-screen Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) allow players to bet on the outcome of various games and may be encouraging new types of customers as well as new styles of play," states Professor Reith. “This widening appeal may have harmful consequences in terms of problem gambling.”

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New ways to do business

‘In the last ten years regulatory reform of financial reporting and auditing has changed accounting immensely,’ says Professor of Accounting Vivien Beattie, for whom it has provided a rich seam of research.

‘We now have global accounting standards in the form of the International Financial Reporting Standards, new auditing standards, new ethical standards, tighter corporate governance in relation to audit committees and stricter enforcement.’ Professor Beattie is especially interested in examining narrative business reporting – looking at companies that divulge a lot of information voluntarily to outsiders, and those that don’t; and looking at the consequences of these decisions.

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Universities and their cities and regions

Professor of Adult & Lifelong Education Michael Osborne is a bit of an expert at making connections. He is involved with an innovative research project (PURE) that is helping cities and regions to get more out of their universities by making links and sharing expertise.

‘Traditionally universities do two main things: they teach students and they do research,’ says Professor Osborne. ‘But there’s a lot more that universities can contribute to their cities and regions. That’s what we call the third mission.’

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Making the 2014 Commonwealth Games Safe

Glasgow is looking forward to the Commonwealth Games coming to the city in 2014. But alongside the talk of sport and celebration, a largely unspoken aspect of the Games, supported by a research project by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, is concerned with ensuring that the event is safe for competitors and spectators alike.

In a three-year project funded by the European Commission, Glasgow Professor of Criminology Michele Burman is leading a multidisciplinary team of experts who will monitor, evaluate and inform the security planning process leading up to 2014.

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New Partnerships in China

China has the second biggest economy in the world and it continues to grow rapidly. It will clearly have an enormous impact on the international and UK economy and society in the future.

Researchers across the University of Glasgow, including Jane Duckett and colleagues in the College of Social Sciences, are building partnerships with colleagues in China.

These research links were further boosted by the launch, in October 2011, of the Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow, in partnership with Nankai and the Chinese Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban).

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