I'm feeling like maybe I should write something on: how to start a community. You start with you and one friend trying to live near enough to each other that you can walk to each other's houses. You host a regular meal for other friends who live nearby, at home or somewhere local and cheap.

Naomi Alderman@naomialderman.bsky.social · last wk.

Communities also obviously have the effect of making us happier. Whereas so much climate praxis seems to be about things you can give up and ways you can make yourself more miserable.

Why does 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 despite promises that hard work and free markets create opportunity for all? And what if the 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 we take for granted are 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱?

Short blog on the challenge of defining #exposures in the evaluation of #CommunityWealthBuilding #CWB www.cowbellsstudy.com/post/exposur...

Exposures, mechanisms and outcomes: which is which?

Authors: Gerry McCartney, Heather Brown, Jayne Galinsky, Michaela Mazzei, Jennifer McLean, Neil CraigIn research, an ‘exposure’ is typically understood as something that influences outcomes — but in p...

cowbellsstudy.com

Reflections from @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social #BeyondADarkRoom #Economics #Inequality beyondadarkroom.substack.com/p/talking-ab...

Talking About Inequality from the Top Down

Beyond a Dark Room Guest post from Professor Gerard McCartney, University of Glasgow

beyondadarkroom.substack.com

New article (or mini-play!) imagining a conversation in the Department of Health about #socialmurder and #stalled #lifeexpectancy and #mortality trends in the UK www.euppublishing.com/doi/epub/10....

Sign up below for this event, taking place on the 3rd and 4th September, to recognise the lifelong contribution of our own Bridget Fowler to the nourishing of a critical sociological imagination in Scotland and beyond.

Against the 'masters of thoughtless thought': An event for Bridget Fowler.

This short conference brings together contributions inspired by, responding to, or in conversation with, the work of Bridget Fowler.

eventbrite.co.uk

GP practices in Scotland are changing with the emergence of #megapractices with large patient lists and different service models. New research led by @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social identified 5 megapractices with over 30,000 patients - including one with almost 120,000. doi.org/10.1016/j.pu...

This is incorrect Welsh Water is not in public ownership, it's a 'not for profit' which loses 41% of bills to finance costs, same as Thames Water Publicly owned Scottish Water on the other hand has finance costs of only 8% - and 50% more investment www.theguardian.com/business/nil...

‘Complicated and expensive’: Burnham is right about the risks of nationalisation | Nils Pratley

Track record of Welsh Water shows public ownership is not the answer to all the woes in the utilities sector

theguardian.com

The latest in our Sociological & Cultural Studies blog series was published this morning. In ‘Meeting Polite Society to Discuss Inequalities’, @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social considers what the Deaton Review on social inequality fails to ask. Please spread the word...

Blog on my experience of the Scottish launch of the #Deatonreview www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...

1/4 New paper out today: 'How much do we really know about the implications of demographic change for future health and social care costs? Articulating a research agenda.' This questions core assumptions underlying #projections of #fiscalsustainability 'https://doi.org/10.1017/nie.2026.10098

As part of #TaxJusticeScotland we're calling on the First Minister to take practical steps to make the tax system fairer: • replace Council Tax with a fairer system • accelerate the introduction of a strong private jet tax Those with the most wealth should pay their fair share bit.ly/TJSFMLetter

The National@scotnational.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Scotland's new government must replace the council tax and introduce a levy on private jets or 'risk failing on poverty, public services and climate action', campaigners have told the First Minister

New part-time role available to support the development of the Scottish Centre for Work and Health and associated research grant applications. Closes 2nd June. www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/research...

New analyses confirm that adverse changes in #LifeExpectancy in Scotland across the first two decades of the 21st century have been most pronounced in the most deprived areas of the country. 1/2 @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social @publichealthscot.bsky.social

New paper out looking at the rise of 'megapractices' in Scotland, and proposing a tentative typology of GP provisioning: traditional; megapractice (noting marked diversity in this category); social enterprise; direct NHS provision. More research needed on the health impacts doi.org/10.1016/j.pu...

3/3 In ‘Urban ethnography and walking Nan Shepherd’s mountain’, Natanya Mark @nmdlb.bsky.social takes up a lesson from Nan Shepherd about how we might properly attend to the places we inhabit. www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...

Great article on changing land ownership and the actions of the wealthy. A Laird for our Times: Questions of Philanthropy and Community in the Scottish Highlands bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/03/25/a...

Part-time role (14 hours/week until 31st March 2028) now advertised for any current University of Glasgow staff to help in the development of the Scottish Centre for Health and Work. More details here: www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/research...

📢New report out today 📢 People in Scotland are clear: 83% say the wealth gap is too big 90% think inequality is more harmful than good 85% support higher taxes on the wealthy over reducing them Public opinion is NOT the barrier to reform. #TaxJustice #Scotland

Thrilled to see Social Murder? covered in The Guardian! (06.03.26) Over the last 100 years, Life Expectancy in the UK, US and other rich nations has improved beyond recognition. Year on year, we’re living longer and more healthily than ever! (1/5)

It's encouraging to see @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social and David Walsh's crucial work being referenced in this article on declining life-expectancy in the UK.

This is a life and death story for the UK – so why is it being brushed under the carpet? | Aditya Chakrabortty

The news that healthy life expectancy is in decline in Britain exposes a serious truth about the state we’re in, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

theguardian.com

Since the results of the Gorton and Denton by-election, we have witnessed a barrage of smears against Muslim people in the UK. Voting is a fundamental right. Voting according to political interests is entirely ordinary and is how our democratic system is set up.

Great episode of Thinking Allowed with two great contributors @academicdiary.bsky.social and @imogentyler.bsky.social. Well worth a listen! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Thinking Allowed - The demise of Grand Theory? - BBC Sounds

Laurie Taylor charts changes in current sociological study with Les Back and Imogen Tyler.

bbc.co.uk

New report out now from me and @bkarb.bsky.social at @workersobservatory.org ScORSA Scoping Review: Wellbeing, Health, and Road Safety in On-Demand Delivery Work workersobservatory.org/resources/re...

ScORSA Scoping Review: Wellbeing, Health, and Road Safety in On-Demand Delivery Work

A scoping review exploring how the growing platform economy affects health and safety on the road.

workersobservatory.org

New @sgsss.bsky.social funded #PhD opportunity to undertake an #ethnography at #galgael in Glasgow with @giopicker.bsky.social and myself. This is a fully funded #Scholarship / #Studentship, which includes a stipend, fees and research expenses. Closes 24th March. www.sgsss.ac.uk/studentship/...

Mirroring GalGael: An Ethnography of Repair and Belonging - Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Repair can be understood as a civic practice and an essential form of care, particularly in the face of ecological crises and the need to move towards a circular economy. Most research on repair tends...

sgsss.ac.uk

As Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) in Scotland continues to drop it is worth reminding people that we know #austerity is the main cause. Commentators that fail to discuss that evidence probably aren't qualified to talk about it policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/social-murder

Social Murder?

Social Murder? - Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK; Combining robust evidence with real-life stories, this book reveals the shocking impact of austerity policies on life expectancy and offers an...

policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

Good article in the Guardian today (with interactive graphics if you are looking online!) on post-growth economics www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Economic growth is still heating the planet. Is there any way out?

Rising GDP continues to mean more carbon emissions and wider damage to the planet. Can the two be decoupled?

theguardian.com

#Poverty and the #ClimateCrisis won’t be solved by doubling down on economic growth. This #ReclaimTheEconomyWeek, I argue in TIME for moving beyond the growth orthodoxy still defended at #Davos and towards new development models that put people and planet first. time.com/7358059/econ...

Economic Growth at Any Cost Fails Us All

We saw this paradigm at Davos last week, as leaders talked up growth. But that fails the planet and the world’s poorest.

time.com

New polling by Tax Justice Scotland shows that changing the current unfair #counciltax is popular. Council tax is one of the least progressive taxes in Scotland and needs radical change - this could be more progressive bands, an income-based alternative, or a land tax. @oxfamscotland.bsky.social

I just signed a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social petition: Reclaim our economies for people and planet. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/re...