Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 11:00 - 12:30
PAPER SESSION 7
rhythms, extending activities into the nighttime. Accompanied by the proliferation of wireless and mobile
communication technologies, these shifts have given rise to important changes in city residents’ experience of space
and time, such as the transformation of public into private space and the blurring of lines between work and personal
life. This paper explores the impact of these developments on the leisure habits of young people in the East End of
Glasgow. Building on landmark sociological research from the 1960s (Jephcott 1967), the paper examines the role of
space and time in structuring youth leisure, highlighting key changes and continuities. Data is drawn from an ongoing
study of youth leisure in Scotland and Hong Kong, involving approximately 150 16-24 year olds. Findings demonstrate
that young people have increasingly few free public spaces available to them, resulting in an apparent upsurge in free
time spent in private space indoors and online. Where previous home-based interactions and activities would have
been subject to adult surveillance and physical space restrictions, young people can to carve out private (and public)
space whilst sitting on the sofa next to their parents.
Young People’s Experiences of Living in Regenerating Neighbourhoods
Neary, J.
(University of Glasgow)
Urban regeneration is often viewed as a solution to the socio-spatial problems in deprived neighbourhoods. Policy
makers seek to improve residential outcomes through a series of urban changes including relocation of residents
from, and subsequent demolition of, ‘sub-standard’ housing; development of new services and amenities; and the
introduction of a wider mix of residents from a wider scope of social backgrounds. However, these changes do not
occur overnight, and the regeneration process may take over 15 years to complete.
This paper focuses on young people’s view of living in two regenerating neighbourhoods in Glasgow. Both
neighbourhoods were, at the time of the study, undergoing similar regeneration processes: demolition of all high-rise
accommodation, relocation of all residents, and re-development of housing and services. Given the long-term nature
of regeneration, young people living in these affected neighbourhoods spent the majority of their childhood or
adolescence living within a regenerating neighbourhood.
For many, their understanding of the neighbourhood was intertwined with their understanding of regeneration. Using a
qualitative multiple method approach, including go-along interviews, and photo-elicitation, this paper examines the
ways in which young people’s everyday life in the neighbourhood were influenced, both positively and negatively, by
these macro-level regeneration policies. Furthermore, this paper highlights the active ways in which young people
were able to adapt their everyday lives to negotiate these socio-spatial changes
Culture, Media, Sport and Consumption 1
W110, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Does Media Coverage Influence Public Attitudes Towards Welfare Recipients?: The Impact of the 2011
English Riots
De Vries, R., Reeves, A.
(University of Oxford)
Following the shooting of Mark Duggan on the 4th August 2011, rioting occurred in many large cities in the UK. As the
rioting was widely perceived to be perpetrated by the urban poor, links were quickly made with Britain's welfare
policies. In this paper, we examine whether the riots, and the subsequent media coverage, influenced attitudes toward
welfare recipients. Using the British Social Attitudes survey, we use multivariate regression models to compare
attitudes toward welfare recipients among those interviewed before (prior to the 6th of August) and after (10th August–
10th September) the riots occurred (N = 3,311). We use variation in exposure to the media coverage to test theories
of media persuasion in the context of attitudes toward welfare recipients. Before the riots, there were no significant
differences between newspaper readers and non-readers in their attitudes towards welfare recipients. However, after
the riots, attitudes diverged. Newspaper readers became more likely than non-readers to believe that those on welfare
did not really deserve help, that the unemployed could find a job if they wanted to and that those on the dole were
being dishonest in claiming benefits. This divergence was concentrated in readers of right-wing papers. These results
suggest that media coverage of the riots influenced attitudes towards welfare recipients; specifically, that right-wing
newspaper coverage of the riots caused readers of right-wing print media to significantly diverge from the rest of the
population in terms of their negative attitudes towards welfare recipients.
BSA Annual Conference 2015 260
Glasgow Caledonian University