Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, May 17, 2024 07:10 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Will Baker

Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of Bristol
My research is broadly within the sociology of education, but I have strongly interdisciplinary interests. A unifying theme in my research is understanding the causes and consequences of educational inequalities. There are three interconnected strands to my scholarship.

Firstly, I am pioneering research into the rise of food charity in schools. Against a backdrop of growing food insecurity in the UK, a growing number of schools are running their own food banks. I study how and why this is happening and what it tells us about education, inequality and the state (see Baker 2023; Baker and Bakopoulou 2022 and 2023). My research in this area has been covered by the BBC, The Independent and many of major news sources.

Secondly, along with Dr. Katherin Barg, I have developed a program of research that explores the interconnections between parenting, socio-economic background, and educational inequalities. We are also interested in exploring how family life and parenting has changed over time and differs between countries and cultures (see Barg and Baker 2021; Baker and Barg 2019). Finally, I have published widely on how young people develop educational aspirations, career goals and orient themselves to the future (see Moles et al. 2023; Baker 2020). I’m particularly interested in how these are connected to moral attitudes and values.

Methodologically, I draw on both qualitative and quantitative sources of data, including sources of secondary data such asthe Millennium Cohort Study. I make extensive use of interviews in much of my empirical work.

‘They don’t have enough’ – schools in England are running food banks for families

Apr 18, 2024 06:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The peak of the cost-of-living crisis may have passed, but millions of families are struggling to buy enough food to feed their children. Experiencing food insecurity can be deeply damaging for children and negatively...

Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

Technology

Tether's $1B USDT Mint Boosts Bitcoin, Eyes on $70K Milestone

Bitcoin has switched its former resistance into support, as Tethers market capitalization continues to rise swiftly in 2024. Tether, the worlds largest stablecoin, has issued another $1 billion, raising its market...

Crucial SHIB Warning Goes Out: Fake Airdrop Scams Targeting Community, Here's Reason

The Shiba Inu team has delivered a crucial warning to its community, highlighting the presence of fake SHIB airdrop scams and the importance of safeguarding cryptocurrency assets. Shiba Inu Team Warns Community Against...

China To Drive Next Rally in Bitcoin, Gold Prices: Tapiero's Bold Predictions

The prospective outlook for Chinas economy, combined with speculation of Quantitative Easing (QE) in the regions real estate industry, is expected to have an impact on Bitcoin (BTC) and gold prices and liquidity in the...

Microsoft Integrates AMD AI Chips into Azure, Competing with Nvidia’s GPU Offerings

Microsoft announced Thursday that it will integrate AMDs MI300X processors into its Azure cloud services, offering a competitive alternative to Nvidias GPUs. Azures New AI Processing Power According to Reuters,...

Altcoins a ‘Relatively Huge’ Risk as Big Returns Fade, Analysts Warn Investors

Analysts caution that altcoins now represent a relatively huge risk, with the days of massive returns fading. Markus Thielen of 10xResearch suggests the high-reward era is over as crypto market narratives...