Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 09:00 - 10:30
ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS
winter floods as a case study, this paper will examine how governmental policy and collective responses involving
multiple actors are unfolding in the immediate aftermath of the floods and the implications this has for longer-term
climate adaptation. The paper uses insights derived from interviews with members of the public affected by the floods
and stakeholders with professional roles related to flooding, to re-examine existing political and social theory on policy
change. Initial insights into the processes of policy and wider socio-political change following these major floods are
presented and the implications for lives and livelihoods in a climate changed world are discussed. The paper aligns
closely with the wider conference theme in exploring the role of crisis in the progression or regression of societies.
Governing Sustainability Transitions: Inclusion, Representation and Participation in Community-Based
Initiatives
Dinnie, E.
(James Hutton Institute)
Tackling climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing modern societies. The repeated failure of
international attempts to reach meaningful agreement on reducing global emissions has turned attention to local and
grassroots initiatives and a focus on changing social practices and behaviours. Community-led actions to reduce
carbon advocate a shift in lifestyles and energy requirements that are more local and smaller in scale than those
currently dominant in modern, capitalist societies. Government policy is increasingly supporting local actions which
tackle climate change at the same time as they renew local social relations. While localism can be empowering for
individuals, and can lead to more resilient communities, there is also concern that it can open up new forms of
exclusion and inequality, raising questions over who gets represented and can participate in decision-making. This
paper uses qualitative data collected as part of the European project 'Towards European Societal Sustainability '
(TESS) to explore ways in which local sustainability transitions manage the challenges of inclusion, representation of
the 'community' (bearing in mind communities can be based on interest, ethnicity or lifestyle as well as place) and
participation in decision-making to see if new forms of participatory governance to tackle climate change also lead to
social relations that are fairer and more equitable.
Families and Relationships 1
ROUNDTABLE 6, CONFERENCE HALL, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
The Wedding Paradox: Individualised Conformity
Carter, J., Duncan, S.
(Canterbury Christ Church University)
Marriage rates are historically low, almost half of marriages end in divorce, and it has never been easier to live in other
relationship forms like cohabitation and LAT (living apart together). Nevertheless marriage maintains continued social
appeal and significance as an ideal and as a life goal. Weddings stand at the heart of this paradox: while what we
understand as the 'traditional white wedding' is not (and has never been) necessary for marriage, increasingly ornate
and expensive -but traditional- weddings appear to be growing in size, cost and exposure, and support both a thriving
consumer industry and a pervasive celebrity and reality culture. We address this wedding paradox in our pilot
interview study. Why do couples have a wedding, how is this related to marriage, and how do individuals construct
their wedding day? Participants had recently experienced or were soon to have their own wedding, and came from a
range of economic backgrounds and ages. We found a number of discourses in their narratives that individuals relied
upon when talking about why they had a wedding; these included: 'project of the couple', relationality, retraditionalisation,
and romanticised consumption. These discourses led the participants to create particular types of
wedding that reflected either conformist, reproducing, reluctant or alternative positions. Overall, while some resistance
to tradition was expressed, and some interviewees more actively created modernised tradition, the overwhelming
picture was of individuality operating within conformity.
Social Assets, Low Income and Child Social and Emotional and Behavioural Wellbeing
Treanor, M.
(University of Edinburgh)
This paper examines the association between mothers' social assets (kith and kin relationships) and child social,
emotional and behavioural (SEB) wellbeing for children living in persistently low income. SEB wellbeing is measured
using the Stress and Difficulties Questionnaire at age 4/5 years. Social assets is measured using factor analysis of
variables measuring the closeness and supportiveness of relationships with family and friends. Persistently low
BSA Annual Conference 2015 232
Glasgow Caledonian University