Public Perceptions

Overview

Since 2006, I have been working to try and gain a better understanding of the way that work-related fatalities and issues of criminal enforcement in this sphere interact with public attitudes, and are represented within the wider social narratives that these attitudes support. This has involved using primarily deliberative qualitative methodologies (interviews that discuss detailed reports about real-life cases) to tap into the preferences, understandings, and motivations of members of the public; do they see work-related deaths as serious? As matters of concern? As potentially criminal wrongdoing? Are they punitive?

I managed to secure funding from different bodies (primarily the ESRC) to undertake this work, and have published a series of papers outlining and developing my findings.

Research Funding

ESRC (2008) Small Grant Scheme: £99,862 awarded (for project ‘Understanding public perceptions of the social significance of work-related fatality cases’; RES-000-22-3080) - summary document here.

British Academy (2007) Overseas Conference Grant: £200 awarded (for paper ‘Investigating Public Perceptions of Legal Responses in Work-Related Fatality Cases’)

University of Reading (2006) Research Endowment Trust Fund: £1985 awarded (for project ‘Public Perceptions of Actual and Proposed Legal Responses in Work-Related Fatality Cases’)