Reproductive justice and the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments
CRFR and the University of Stirling welcome Professor Liz Beddoe, Dr Lucy Lowe and Dr Laura Sochas to speak on reproductive justice.
Stories of Decolonisation: Experiences from children and young people
This public engagement seminar brings together university scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to create sociological fiction, narrating stories inspired by children and young people with whom they have worked in their research. Through these narratives, we will explore how children challenge, navigate, and transform the colonial structures that shape their daily experiences.
The Power of Purpose workshop series
Led by Take Note and produced in collaboration with The Binks Hub and The Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR), The Power of Purpose workshop series is based on the simple idea that the ability of charities and grassroots social change organisations to clearly articulate their “why”, their “what” and their “so what” is the bedrock for effective impact and long-term survival.
CRFR International Workshop: ‘Friendship – Continuities and Social Change’
Read the first summary of our recent workshop exploring research that asks new questions or adopts innovative methodological approaches to reflect on the part played by friendships in the context of current global disruptions and widespread social change.
CRFR Associate Director Margaret Arnott recognised by the Academy of Social Sciences
Congratulations to CRFR Associate Director Margaret Arnott on being recognised by the Academy of Social Sciences – an honour that celebrates her fantastic contribution to research and public life.
Sarah Nelson
CRFR are very sad to announce the death of Dr Sarah Nelson on the 29th March, a longstanding associate of CRFR at the universities of Edinburgh and Dundee, and an honorary fellow in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh and Social Work at the University of Dundee.
CRFR PhD Network Event: Making Marriage and Coupledom – Imaginaries and Lived Realities
In this event, we welcome four researchers from our CRFR network at advanced stages of their doctoral research to deliver a series of presentations that attend to how dominant cultural norms impinge upon various forms of coupledom.
Baos and Bagpipes: Exploring sibling influence on the lived experience of Scottish-born Chinese individuals
Louise Ho has explored how, in the context of the Chinese diaspora in Scotland, the role of siblings extends beyond childhood companionship, delving into the complexities of cultural identity while also reflecting on their own experiences.
“My Father Told Me That If I Didn’t Get Married, I’d Be Done For.”
I am Chinese and it seems that I have always lived under the persistent prodding of my elders. From childhood, when I was urged to speak and walk, to my teenage years, when the pressure was on to study hard, and now, as an adult, to marry.
Young People and Contraception
Throughout human history, there has always been a desire and need to contracept. That is, a desire to prevent or be able to plan pregnancies or prevent against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
In this blog, Dr Marie Larsson introduces her new research briefing, which outlines and summarises the key findings and insights from her research on young people’s experiences and practices with contraceptives in Sweden.
Youth Researchers Group
Are you involved in youth research? Join our new interdisciplinary group to connect, share ideas, and explore diverse methods and perspectives in youth studies.
Friendships as a lever of social change?
In this lecture, Lynn Jamieson will consider whether the social research evidence suggests hope concerning friendships’ impacts on uncertain futures and point to how important it is for social scientists to systematically attend to friendships as both lived realities and ideals in the imagination.
Focus on Family Estrangement: A Policy Predicament
This seminar will focus on the policy challenges that are faced by people who are estranged and explore how a lack of family capital can cause real-time disadvantage in the areas of Higher Education and Mental Health.
Intimacy as a lens in work and migration–Experiences of ethnic performers in Southwest China
Jingyu Mao, author of ‘Intimacy as a Lens in Work and Migration’, along with a guest panel, will discuss her recent book, which demonstrates how rural/urban, ethnic, and gendered inequalities structure certain kinds of service work and migration trajectories, and how they are experienced through the intimate and emotional experiences of workers themselves.
Trailing Spouses: Not just ‘tied movers’
In this seminar, Mini Kurian draws on the reflexive narratives of 12 ‘trailing spouses’ of Indian origin living in gated communities in Bangalore and considers the ways in which a trailing spouse negotiates structural constraints to create channels for self-growth.
Struggling families in Britain: Addressing the absence of ethnic minority lone mother families in scholarly and policy work
Sarah Akhtar Baz writes on her doctoral research, which aimed to attend to the neglect of Pakistani and Bangladeshi lone mother families in both scholarly and policy work, focusing on the lived experiences of lone mothers living in a Northern English city.
How Streamers and Viewers Offer Support and Care on Twitch
The rise of live streaming platforms creates new ways for people to connect with one another, and for the provision of support and care that is completely mediated by technology.
Read more on Eva Duncanson’s research, which looks at the relationships between streamers and their viewers on the platform Twitch.
Family Estrangement and the Evolution of Social Policies to Recognise It
There are a growing number of media articles seeking to address a ‘new epidemic’ of family relationships going ‘no contact’. However, there has been surprisingly little research on why family ties are not lifelong and the impact of this.
Using and designing surveys with, for, and on children and young people
Using and designing surveys with, for, and on children and young people.
Asian!MacAsian! – Podcast
We are delighted to bring you news of a new podcast from Dr Guanyu Jason Ran (Lecturer at Edinburgh Napier, CRFR Associate Director) and Zijing Echo Wan.
How is the value of co-producing research understood?
Helen Berry began her doctoral research just over a year ago, exploring the co-production of research. But her journey through the subject matter began before that.
Read more on the challenges of defining co-produced research, what we know of its outcomes, and how Helen’s project is expected to add to collective efforts in troubling reductive framings of research ‘impact’.
CRFR Network Reception
CRFR network reception for postgraduates, early career researchers and interested staff
Patriarchy Transformed?
Official figures suggest that there were 295 million rural-to-urban migrants in China in 2021. Among them 63% were male. Join Prof. Susanne Choi to discuss the effect of this migration on family and gender relationships in China, with a specific focus on changes in men and masculinities.
Friendship – Continuities and Social Change
Call for Abstracts: Friendship – Continuities and Social Change
What is care? And what does it look like? Co-creating the ‘Images of Care’ exhibition.
When you hear the word “care,” what images come to mind? Read more about a brilliant exhibition, ‘Images of Care’, which was developed out of extensive participatory research with the desire to show a more balanced view of care in later life.
CRFR Co-directors Win NCRM 20th Anniversary Impact Prize
We are delighted to announce that CRFR co-directors Dr. Emma Davidson and Professor Lynn Jamieson were among the winners of the NCRM 20th Anniversary Impact Prize. Together with their colleagues, Dr. Susie Weller (Oxford University) and Professor Ros Edwards (Southampton University), they received the award for the long-term impact of their work on big qualitative data analysis. The team pioneered a new breadth-and-depth method for analysing large volumes of qualitative data.
CRFR Events – Semester One 2024-2025
CRFR and our partners are delighted to announce our forthcoming series of events for Semester One 2024-2025
“It’s all human stories” – Teachers’ Relational Agency to Accommodate Migrant Students in Scotland, Finland and Sweden
The Teaching That Matters for Migrant Students (TEAMS) Project aimed to uncover how teachers make use of relational agency in supporting migrant students in Scotland, Finland, and Sweden. Read Cecilia Gialdini, the projects Postdoc Fellow, on the projects findings.
Book Launch – Gender in South Asia and Beyond
Join us to celebrate the book launch of Gender in South Asia and Beyond, celebrating the scholarship of Professor Patricia Jeffery.
Reconceptualising Resilience – A CRFR Seminar
At our final seminar last term, CRFR had the pleasure of welcoming our Associate Director, Lisa McDaid, and her colleague Stephanie Wyeth, from the University of Queensland to reflect and reconceptualise ‘resilience’. In this blog, CRFR Co-Director Emma Davidson, and CRFR PhD Student Maddi Bunker, offer there insights from the day.