Social Justice Matters

149. SJI Interviews Ep.93: Plain Numbers with Mike Ellicock

Plain Numbers is a UK based organisation working with firms to support their customers who struggle with numbers. Their founder Mike Ellicock is a social entrepreneur focused on running organisations that support people who struggle with numbers and data. He launched National Numeracy as founding Chief Executive in 2012, building the organisation from little more than an idea to become a well-respected national charity with strong evidence of impact. The seeds of the idea for Plain Numbers were sown at National Numeracy. Having handed over as Chief Executive there in 2020, Mike is now utilising his unparalleled knowledge of this largely hidden consumer vulnerability to work with firms to enable people to make informed decisions across all areas of their lives.

Mike chats with Susanne Rogers about the work of Plain Numbers, touching on their research findings, the positive impacts on individuals when organisations change their approach to financial information, especially in an increasingly  complicated and fast moving area.  

You can learn more about the research here: Plain Numbers Project: Initial trials report 

The numeracy challenge Mike mentions can be found here: nationalnumeracy.org.uk/challenge/

148.SJI Interviews Ep.92: Social Justice Ireland on SILC and the impacts of poverty and deprivation

Following on from last week's 10 minute lesson, analysts with Social Justice Ireland, Michelle Murphy, Colette Bennett and Susanne Rogers unpack the numbers contained in the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2022.

The conversation touches on the cohorts most at risk, what impacts poverty and deprivation have on those cohorts and the policy proposals made by Social Justice Ireland  that Government could take on board if they are serious about tackling poverty in Ireland in 2023. 

147. SJI 10 Minute Lessons Ep 19: Poverty and Deprivation in Ireland

On the 22nd February 2023, the Central Statistics Office released the results of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2022. These data provide the most up to date information on income, poverty, and living conditions across a range of different households in Ireland.   

In this episode of our 10 Minute Lessons series, Economic and Social Analyst, Colette Bennett, goes through the numbers and provides an overview of poverty and deprivation in Ireland today.

146. SJI Interviews Ep.91: Fashion and the Circular Economy with Carrie-Ann Moran

Carrie-Ann Moran is an award-winning Irish social entrepreneur, recognised nationally as a leading voice on circular fashion.  For over 15 years, Carrie Ann has pushed sustainable fashion across the private and third sectors  in Ireland, serving as sustainability manager for multiple small brands, Head of Fashion and Textiles for Rediscovery Centre Ireland, Director of Fashion Revolution Ireland and now Founder and lead consultant at Circular Fashion Ireland.  She has served on the National Advisory Committee of the Irish Government for the implementation of the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and as a judge on the European Commission’s Social Innovation Competition “Reimagine Fashion”.

She chats with Susanne Rogers about the global fashion industry, the impact it has on emissions and how we all, individual and industry can move from the linear model to a circular model. 

Here are the links Carrie-Ann mentions in the conversation - 

Textile Mountain Documentary  

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/

https://issuu.com/fashionrevolution/docs/fr_fanzine_001_moneyfashionpower/12

https://www.epa.ie/publications/circular-economy/resources/Nature-and-Extent-of-Post-Consumer-Textiles-in-Ireland---Study-Report.pdf

 

145. SJI Interviews Ep.90: From Pillar to Post with Paul Joyce, FLAC and Dr.Stuart Stamp, Maynooth University

Dr. Stuart Stamp is an Independent Social Researcher and Research Associate of the Department of Applied Social Studies at Maynooth University. His main areas of interest are personal overindebtedness and financial exclusion from an inequality and human rights perspective. 

Paul Joyce, BL, works as Senior Policy Analyst with Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC). He is the author of both of FLAC major reports on debt and the legal system in Ireland, ‘An End based on Means’ published in May 2003 and ‘To No One’s Credit’ published in July 2009, and numerous policy reports and submissions.

Paul and Stuart chat with Susanne Rogers about four papers they have written, From Pillar to Post. They examine the current situation for those dealing with problem debt, both secured and unsecured, the solutions that are available and what changes are needed. 

The Papers can be accessed here:

Paper One. 

Paper Two.

Paper Three.

Paper Four.

 

144. SJI Interviews Ep.89: Fake News and Conspiracies with Dr. Daniel Jolley

Alternative facts, fake news and conspiracies - why does there seem to be more of it about? What's the difference between mis-information and dis-information? Are there reasons some of us are more likely to believe the hype than others? And when it comes to dangerous dis-information - what can policymakers do to combat it?

In this week's episode, Colette Bennett chats with Dr. Daniel Jolley, an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Nottingham. Daniel has spent his career looking at the psychology of conspiracy theories, a topic that has gained prominence in recent years. 

If you would like to know more about Daniel and his work, check out is website www.danieljolley.co.uk. 

To try the Conspiracy Generator mentioned by Daniel, and to see just how easy it is to generate a conspiracy, check out this website by Professor Karen Douglas: Conspiracy generator demonstrates how easily conspiracy theories originate - News Centre - University of Kent

143. SJI Interviews Ep88: Crypto with Sarah Barrington

Sarah Barrington is an engineer, Data Scientist and graduate researcher at the UC Berkeley School of Information. Her research interests span across computer vision, artificial intelligence, decentralized technologies and digital forensics. She graduated from Cambridge University with First Class Honors in General & Manufacturing Engineering (BA, MEng, MA), before working at McLaren Applied as an Associate Engineer & Data Scientist in the Modelling & Decision Sciences function.  She is the current US-UK Fulbright award holder for Data and Analytics (2021-22).

She chats with Susanne Rogers about blockchain technologies, the evolution to crypto and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), regulation or lack of and what the future may hold. 

142. SJI Seminars Ep.33: Larry O’Connell and Anne-Marie McGauran, NESC on Ireland’s Wellbeing Journey

Dr. Larry O’Connell is the Director of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), and Chief Officer of the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO). As senior economist in NESC, since 2007, he worked on a range of policy areas including Ireland’s transition to low-carbon and digital future; housing and land; climate change and sustainable development; higher education funding; and Ireland’s five part crisis.

Anne-Marie McGauran is Policy Analyst with NESC. Her work focuses on equality and social issues.  In NESC, she led the 2021 projects on digital inclusion, and the roll-out of the Community Call initiative to support vulnerable people during Covid-19 lockdowns. In 2022, she led the project looking at how well-being policies are implemented internationally. She is currently working on the NESC project on Ireland’s economic resilience and vulnerability, looking at social vulnerabilities. 

They presented their paper, Ireland’s Wellbeing Journey, co-written with Helen Johnston, Senior Policy Analyst, NESC, at our 2022 Annual Social Policy Conference on the theme 'Towards Wellbeing For All'.  The videos, graphics and papers for the conference can all be accessed Here.

 

141. SJI Seminars Ep32: Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor of the Central Bank on Monetary policy, regulation and inequality: a tale of inter-linkages

Gabriel Makhlouf is the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, taking up that position on 1 September 2019. He chairs the Central Bank Commission, is a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund. 

Before joining the Central Bank Gabriel was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the Government's chief economic and financial adviser from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Secretary, he led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing.

He spoke at the Annual Social Policy Conference 2022 on the theme of 'Towards Wellbeing for All'. The videos, graphics and papers for the conference can all be accessed Here.

140 SJI Interviews Ep87: Climate Action with Clare O’Connor, Friends of the Earth

Michelle Murphy talks to Clare O’Connor, Energy Policy Officer with Friends of the Earth about climate change, climate action, protecting the vulnerable and COP27.