Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Levana Magnus @levanamagnus.bsky.social · Aug 18

Using my first Bluesky post to share that Marsha Wood & I have a new article out! 🎉

We take a gendered street-level look at how Universal Credit policies shape parents’ everyday realities of navigating work, care & welfare.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

“They’re Not Thinking on the Same Side We Are”: Street-Level Activation of Parents under Universal Credit | Social Policy and Society | Cambridge Core

“They’re Not Thinking on the Same Side We Are”: Street-Level Activation of Parents under Universal Credit

www.cambridge.org

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Annie Irvine @annieirvine.bsky.social · Jul 7

This was an excellent piece of exploration and analysis seeking a better understanding of how to engage residents in the LCWRA group in an initial conversation about work. Sign up to hear the key lessons learned! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/camden-emp... @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social

Camden employment support test & learn

An online event about work in Camden to foster voluntary engagement with employment support among ill & disabled people on Universal Credit

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Jul 1

Very excited for the Social Policy Association annual conference, starting tomorrow! We'll be presenting some early findings from our @nuffieldfoundation.org project on Universal Credit, Good Work and Progression #York2025

SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 24

16:00-17:30 Wednesday, 2 July, 2025, SLB/005
Symposium: Inclusive work and welfare: Examining welfare and work interactions and dimensions of job quality (including Levana Magnus, Anne Daguerre, Clara Mascaro, Ashwin Kumar, Katy Jones, Paul Sissons, Vanessa Fuertes)

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Urban Studies & Social Policy @uofgussp.bsky.social · Jun 25

📣 Come work with us!

Research Assistant on the Changing Realities project @changingrealities.bsky.social working with our own @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social & colleagues 😀

🗓️ Full time & fixed term until 28 Sept 2026

👇 More details & apply by *21 Jul* 👇

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNQ284/r...

Research Assistant at University of Glasgow

An opportunity for an academic position as a Research Assistant is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

www.jobs.ac.uk

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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · Jun 25

🔥Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR job vacancies now live working at @uofglasgow.bsky.social on @safety-nets.bsky.social @changingrealities.bsky.social with some amazing colleagues

first: a research assistant post on Changing Realities

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNQ284/r...

🧵for links to vacancies

Research Assistant at University of Glasgow

Searching for an academic job? Explore this Research Assistant opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.

www.jobs.ac.uk

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 24

16:00-17:30 Wednesday, 2 July, 2025, SLB/118
Symposium: Examining welfare state rescaling in the UK (including Ruth Patrick, Hayley Bennett, Jed Meers, John Hudson, Rhiannon Simms, Neil Lunt, Kit Colliver)

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 24

09:00-10:30 Thursday, 3 July, 2025, SLB/101
Social Security 1
Examining Universal Credit and in-work benefits, (including Jay Wiggan, Laura Robertson, Trude Sundberg, Marsha Wood, Lavana Magnus, David Young)

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 24

16:00-17:30 Wednesday, 2 July, 2025, SLB/005
Symposium: Inclusive work and welfare: Examining welfare and work interactions and dimensions of job quality (including Levana Magnus, Anne Daguerre, Clara Mascaro, Ashwin Kumar, Katy Jones, Paul Sissons, Vanessa Fuertes)

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 24

Going to the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social next week? Look out for (thread)...

Thurs 3rd July 3pm-4.30pm: 'Place-based approaches to employment and skill support' With papers by Elke Heins, Charlotte Zealley and Sioned Pearce.

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · Jun 12

Hi 👋 we're moved over from X. This is the bluesky account for the @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social policy group for Employment (and Social Security). social-policy.org.uk/news/spa-pol...

SPA Policy Groups - Social Policy Association

The SPA exists to advance the teaching, research, and dissemination of knowledge in the field of social policy, and to represent the interests of our [...]

social-policy.org.uk

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Annie Irvine @annieirvine.bsky.social · Jun 4

Are you a post-doctoral researcher with strong qualitative skills, a critical mind and a love for digging into the complexities of how people navigate work and health? Check out our vacancy at the Uni of York School for Business and Society: jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/rese... @uoysbs.bsky.social

Jobs - The University of York

jobs.york.ac.uk

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Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre @mmudecentwork.bsky.social · May 23

Why a ‘rip-off’ degree might be worth the money after all

New @uk.theconversation.com article from our @seanbrofee.bsky.social 👇

theconversation.com/why-a-rip-of...

Why a ‘rip-off’ degree might be worth the money after all – research study

Higher education is about more than just income.

theconversation.com

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · May 19

The Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre has joined the Blue Sky party! Give us a follow! @mmudecentwork.bsky.social

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Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre @mmudecentwork.bsky.social · May 19

Last week our Centre Head @katyjones.bsky.social was in UK Parliament showcasing some of our key projects. Our research speaks to key national priorities, including govt's Make Work Pay and Get Britain Working agendas

Picture of Manchester Met academics visiting UK Parliament

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Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre @mmudecentwork.bsky.social · May 19

Hello Blue Sky! Give us a follow to stay up to date with the goings on of our research centre. More info here: www.mmu.ac.uk/research/gro...

Decent Work and Productivity

Engaging with organisations and policymakers to shape the nature of decent work and productivity.

www.mmu.ac.uk

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Amy Chandler @amychandler.bsky.social · May 19

This looks like a super-cool postdoc for people interested in #qualitative #mentalhealth research and the interactions between #mh and #welfare

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/114985-...

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Welfare Experiences & Mental Health

www.kcl.ac.uk

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Craig Berry @craigpberry.bsky.social · Mar 11

Looking ahead to the disability benefits green paper, this essay for @citizensadvice.bsky.social makes the case for a system focused on improving health outcomes.

Co-authors @maddyirose.bsky.social, @victoria-anns.bsky.social & Simon Collerton

We challenge the 5 big falsehoods underpinning cuts…🧵

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Feb 21

Looks ace, sorry to have missed it!

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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · Feb 5

In research, too often we get only a snapshot of how lives are shaped by policy. This w/paper shares findings from walking alongside those at sharp end of austerity for more than a decade.

Spoiler: more cuts to welfare & conditionality are not the answer.

sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/pu...

A decade on: Walking the sharp edge of the UK’s social security system

The UK’s social security landscape and public services infrastructure have been transformed since the Conservatives took office in 2010, initially as part of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The collision of austerity and a punitive approach to welfare reform have seen a drastic and far-reaching hollowing out of provision, which left the welfare state in poor health to respond to Covid-19 and then the cost-of-living crisis. There is growing evidence documenting the impact of these changes on society, and a greater appreciation of the harm caused by inadequate social security provision and under-resourced, failing public services. However, not enough is known about how these changes map onto the experiences of individuals over time. This working paper corrects this, reporting on in-depth research with those at the sharp edge of the social security system. The researchers have conducted repeat interviews with ten individuals for more than ten years, with the most recent interviews taking place during the winter of 2023-24. This research uncovers the extent to which social security and the wider infrastructure routinely fails individuals and their families. It highlights the harms caused by conditionality, and reveals the extent to which repeated fights for entitlement to support can grind people down over time.

sticerd.lse.ac.uk

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Jan 29

Wondering if govt is similarly focused on tax fraud/evasion crackdowns? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Banks raise concerns over benefit debt recovery powers

The biggest group representing UK banks says the measures could conflict with customer protections.

www.bbc.com

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Colin Lindsay @clindsaystrath.bsky.social · Jan 26

New in #SocialPolicy & Administration journal: My top Strathclyde Business School @strathbusiness.bsky.social colleague Adam Whitworth shares important insights on “Activation, Work and #WellBeing: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications”…
doi.org/10.1111/spol...

Activation, Work and Well‐Being: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications

Despite the centrality of activation, paid work and well-being to advanced welfare systems their inter-relationships remain fragmented and underdeveloped in scholarship and policy. The present articl...

doi.org

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Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · Jan 26

An awful lot rides on the Government’s welcome commitment to complement its package of labour market reforms with a new single enforcement body.

In our recent blog, @tom-clark.bsky.social and @hannahslaughter.bsky.social asses its challenges and chances⤵️

https://buff.ly/4guhiQs

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Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · Jan 24

📣 We're hiring! 📣

The Resolution Foundation is looking for a thoughtful and proactive individual to join our research team on a one-year fixed term contract to support work on a specific research project.

Full job description 👉 https://buff.ly/3PSACeM

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Journal of Youth Studies @youthstudies.bsky.social · Jan 21

NEW ARTICLE ALERT!
Duncan U. Fisher:
Young adults as paid care workers: gendered and classed transitions, trajectories, and experiences
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Young adults as paid care workers: gendered and classed transitions, trajectories, and experiences

This article brings a youth lens to the study of care by empirically examining the accounts of young adults who pursue paid adult social care employment. The youth lens includes drawing on youth st...

tandfonline.com

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patrickjbutler.bsky.social @patrickjbutler.bsky.social · Jan 21

Good Guardian leader on incapacity benefit reform: the Treasury should not be calling the shots www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on incapacity benefit: the Treasury should not be calling the shots | Editorial

Editorial: Liz Kendall needs a policy to match her rhetoric on helping claimants back into work

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Jan 16

Manchester Met's think tank @mcrmetropolis.bsky.social now on bluesky! Follow to keep up with all the amazing policy-focused research going on across the university

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Jan 16

And thanks to @mcrmetropolis.bsky.social for support to attend!

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Dr Katy Jones @katyjones.bsky.social · Jan 16

It is critical that measures to Get Britain Working and Make Work Pay work in tandem. So it was great to be invited to share research insights from research on active labour market policy with the Department for Business and Trade today

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Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · Jan 15

👩‍🔬 Testing Bluesky's reach and impact:

I have space from early Feb for new projects - drop me a line if you need:

✨ top notch qual research and/ or policy advisory
✨ specialisms include tech & public sector, future of work & welfare, tech & society, digital exclusion
🖥️ www.abdconsultancy.co.uk

ABD Consultancy

Anna Dent: Research and policy consultancy. Employment, skills, welfare, ethical tech. Social research, policy analysis and development, innovation and ideas

www.abdconsultancy.co.uk

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Joanna Massie @joannacm.bsky.social · Jan 13

My book review for @delibdemjournal.bsky.social - I review six handbooks about running #deliberative processes from DemocracyNext, MosaicLab, newDemocracy and OECD Public Governance.

See the review here: delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

#polsky #deliberativedemocracy

Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes

Governments seeking to address declining trust, increasing polarisation, and greater complexity in government policy have increasingly turned to democratic innovations to engage citizens. For practiti...

delibdemjournal.org

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