Well designed and planned exercises are essential to ensure that the UK can respond effectively to emergencies of all kinds, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme is pleased to announce the start of the new £2.1 million Science and Security Programme.

The government and police efforts to tackle financial crime - from business fraud to tax evasion - are hampered by a lack of accurate data about the nature and extent of offending, according to new research.

Often refugees cannot just return to their home country when conflict ends. Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) shows that for many refugees a quick return isn't the right answer.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are one of the most prestigious events in the world and in 2012 all eyes will be on London. The well published post - 2012 Games legacy includes world class sports facilities, a woodland park, new homes, shops and restaurants. What isn’t clear is what will happen to the high level security measures that will be left behind after the Games.

Following the victory of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the recent Scottish elections on May 5, a unique in-depth survey of the entire SNP membership conducted throughout 2008, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), reveals a range of views on Scotland’s constitutional status.

The regulation of personal data varies hugely across countries and sectors, research funded by the ESRC reveals. Privacy regulations in the UK, the United States, Germany, and Sweden is highly dependent on local context and institutional arrangements in each country.

As public sector prisons move towards the thin staffing level model of profit-making institutions, with their high turnover of personnel who are less connected to their occupation, a study funded by the ESRC warns of a potentially detrimental impact on prison quality.

Urban conflict is nothing new in cities like Belfast, Jerusalem and major cities in the Middle East. An international conference at Queens’s University in Belfast explores how cities have been shaped by ethnic, religious and national conflicts.

Researchers at Oxford University will lead an interdisciplinary team of global experts in carrying out field studies and controlled experiments on exploring how ritual contributes to intergroup conflict and violence.

New research from the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at King's College, London, examines whether the police and the youth justice system treat young people from different ethnic groups in different ways.

Swine flu, terrorist attacks and extreme weather have all been the subject of government preparedness exercises, but few people know what is involved in planning for emergencies.

What contributes to people's fear of crime in cities? How much do litter, graffiti, broken street lighting and dilapidated buildings play a role? Or do people's social and cultural knowledge play a stronger role in shaping people's fears?

Sunderland City Council has teamed up with a group of academic researchers to put on an exciting interactive event aimed at making internet users more aware of the problems of disclosing personal information online.

Following recent media reports of racial strife and gangs in high security prisons in the UK, a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) paints a more encouraging - if sometimes contradictory - picture of multicultural prison life.

The police service faces a host of new challenges but also opportunities in the wake of the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorism attacks and the global economic downturn.

Greater government aid to overseas development charities does not discourage individual giving, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Fears that increasing government grants would serve to 'crowd out' donations from individuals are unwarranted.

A partnership of outstanding international research organisations will support new economy research agency. The Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi (DED) is launching the Abu Dhabi Economics Research Agency (ADERA).

With spectacular losses of personal details by major organisations still fresh in the public mind, a new booklet, Assessing Privacy Impact, provides important insights from leading academics, industry experts and information regulators into the whole debate around who knows what about us, whether they need to, and the treatment of often sensitive data.

Social science research is essential to tackling UK and global security challenges, getting to grips with reforming the financial markets and helping households adapt to climate change. This is the message from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as it publishes its Strategic Plan 2009-2014.

A fresh approach to public sector leadership is vital if the Scottish Government's vision of a more successful country is to realised - especially given challenges such as the current financial situation and a general loss of trust in leaders - according to a new report from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

How individuals, communities and nation states form their ideas and beliefs about security and insecurity will form the basis for 14 new fellowships under the Research Council's Global Uncertainties programme.

The debate over how to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked to fight AIDS and other killer diseases in developing countries will come under the spotlight at a meeting of international experts today (April 6).

The most ambitious independent policy review in the UK for over a decade is published this week and makes challenging reading for both Government and Opposition.

The blame for the rise of an anti-political culture in Britain rests with politicians not voters, two leading experts will argue at a debate at the forthcoming Economic and Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science (6 - 15 March).