BSPS virtual Annual Conference 2021
13-15 September 2021
The 2021 Conference was again virtual, building on the experience of the 2020 virtual Conference.
BSPS Programme 2021
Posters - this link takes you to the posters themselves, accessed via the hyperlink in the title.
Abstracts can be accessed below.
Ageing & the life course abstracts
Climate change abstracts
Covid-19 - How demographic analysis can contribute to monitoring of the Covid-19 pandemic & formation of policy abstracts
Data science & data quality abstracts
Developments in official population statistics abstracts
Ethnicity abstracts
Families and households abstracts
Fertility & reproductive health abstracts
Food insecurity abstracts
Health & mortality abstracts
Historical demography abstracts
Migration abstracts
Qualitative demographic research abstracts
Telling the story in statistics abstracts
Strand organisers:
Ageing and the life course:
This strand welcomes submissions of papers relating to ageing over the life course; intergenerational relations and exchange of support; the consequences of ageing for the (e.g. physical, mental, emotional, financial) wellbeing of individuals and their families; qualitative and/or quantitative research methodologies.
Strand organiser: Professor Athina Vlachantoni (University of Southampton) –a.vlachantoni@soton.ac.uk
COVID-19 and older people in low and middle-income countries: Submissions are invited which will explore a range of related issues, including the robustness and availability of relevant data and the social determinants of COVID-19 mortality among older populations.
Convenor: Professor Peter Lloyd-Sherlock (University of East Anglia) –
p.lloyd-sherlock@uea.ac.uk
Effects of chronic conditions, co-morbidities and multimorbidity on the elderly: The session will focus on the effects of chronic conditions, co-morbidities, and multimorbidity on the daily lives and well-being of the elderly in the UK and internationally. Well-being will be understood broadly. Submissions are welcome on the topics of well-being, elderly time-use, the burden of treatment, or, generally, on the demographic, sociological, medical, and interdisciplinary scholarship of the chronic conditions among the elderly.
Convenor: Dr. Kamila Kolpashnikova (University of Oxford) - kamila.kolpashnikova@sociology.ox.ac.uk
Climate, the environment and demographic issues:
Climate and environmental change has already had, and threatens to continue to have, a major impact on societies and economies. Demography will not be immune, and we could see significant changes in mortality, health and migration patterns. This session is therefore looking for papers which cover the impact of existing levels of climate change and environmental threats as well as papers which look at the potential future demographic impact of climate change and other environmental issues.
Strand organiser: Dr Dermot Grenham – dermot.grenham@gmail.com
Covid-19 and demography:
How demographic analysis can contribute to monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic, the formulation of policy and understanding of the effects. Papers are welcome from both UK-based and international researchers, given the world-wide impact of COVID-19.
Strand organiser: Professor Emeritus Philip Rees (University of Leeds) –p.h.rees@leeds.ac.uk
Data quality:
This strand welcomes submissions relating to the quality of data inputs and/or outputs and how assurance can be provided of their fitness for purpose: from paradata and metadata to measures of uncertainty. Papers on how COVID-19 has influenced data quality or data quality of COVID-19 surveys are welcome.
Strand organiser: Phil Humby (Office for National Statistics) – philip.humby@ons.gov.uk
Data science: Innovative data, methods and models:
The combination of new sources of data and the increased availability of cheap computing power have opened up exciting new avenues for research in population science. Methodological advances and new statistical modelling approaches allow these new resources to be exploited to create new scientific knowledge and forecast our demographic futures. This strand welcomes papers that demonstrate the application of innovative methods and models to problems in the population sciences.
Demographic applications falling under the following headings are particularly encouraged:
• big data
• innovative statistical modelling and forecasting
• Bayesian methods and uncertainty quantification
• simulation
• machine learning
• ethical issues in data science research
Strand organiser: Dr. Jason Hilton (University of Southampton) ‐ J.D.Hilton@soton.ac.uk
Ethnicity:
In a year that has seen much discussion of ethnicity, inequalities and Black Lives Matter, the Ethnicity Strand returns to BSPS. Papers are invited on any aspect of ethnicity and population studies. ‘Ethnicity’ is broadly conceived and may include work concerned with ethnicity, race, religion, language, migrant generations. Theoretical and methodological papers are welcome with the intention that the Strand will incorporate work from academic and non-academic researchers, from postgraduates and early career scholars to esteemed colleagues. Our intention is to showcase contemporary population scholarship concerning ethnicity and to stimulate lively debate and connections for our research agendas.
Strand organiser: Dr. Nissa Finney (University of St. Andrews) –
nf42@st-andrews.ac.uk
Ethnicity and Covid-19. Evidence is emerging, in the UK and elsewhere, about the differential effects of the Covid-19 pandemic across ethnic groups. Papers are invited that demonstrate population scholars’ contribution to this evidence and the associated discussions. Papers may include, but are not limited to, concerns with: health outcomes of ethnic groups, socio-economic experiences of ethnic groups, demographic associates of differential experiences (e.g. age, family context), contextual/structural drivers of Covid-19 ethnic inequalities, spatial variations in experiences of ethnic groups, conceptualisation/theorisation of ethnicity for understanding the impacts of the pandemic, methodological challenges for identifying patters, causes and consequences of ethnic inequalities. Submissions from postgraduates and early career researchers are welcome.
Convenor: Dr. Nissa Finney (University of St Andrews) – nf42@st-andrews.ac.uk
Ethnicity and the UK Census: Lessons learnt and prospects for future research. This session welcomes papers from researchers who have utilised ethnicity data from UK or international Censuses. Research should focus on ethnic group (and/or migrant) experiences within population studies fields including (but not limited to): labour markets, education, housing, family/household, partnership, health, ageing, segregation, residential mobility, social mobility. Potential papers may include Census data at any geographical scale (multi-country/national/local), focussing on a single time-point or measuring change over time. Submissions are welcomed that focus on a) insight gained from ethnicity analyses (including policy recommendations); b) possibilities and priorities for future research (e.g. following the release of 2021/2022 UK Census data); c) methodological challenges for ethnicity-Census researchers.
Convenor: Sarah Garlick (University of Liverpool) –s.l.garlick@liverpool.ac.uk
Complexities of white ethnic identities: White ethnicity is often neglected as an ethnicity on its own and mostly used as an allegedly neutral reference category, thus normalising majority experiences, overlooking white immigrant experiences, and ‘othering’ ethnic minorities. This session calls for papers that study the complexity of white identities, perceptions and experiences across life domains.
Convenor: Ivelina Hristova (London School of Economics) – i.hristova@lse.ac.uk
Families and households strand:
This stream invites theory-driven conceptual or empirical papers that investigate the diversity of family or household compositions and outcomes. Comparative papers and case studies are welcome, as are submissions that challenge conventional assumptions and/or contribute to new conceptual and methodological frameworks for household and/or family. For instance, papers that assess the role of selection in known relationships in more detail are invited.
Examples of possible contributions include, but are not limited to:
· Trends, determinants and consequences of demographic events
· Union formation
· Union dissolution
· Care and unpaid work
· Family and work
· Policy related to families and households
· Heterogeneous effects by e.g. gender, class, income, race/ethnicity, age/cohort, region
Two related sessions are also inviting submissions on Kinship approaches in demography and Family complexity and child outcomes, as shown below
Strand organisers: Dr. Kathrin Morosow (University of Bath),Dr. Jenny Chanfreau (University College London) – km937@bath.ac.uk; j.chanfreau@ucl.ac.uk
Family complexity and child outcomes: We invite papers that focus on the link between family complexity and child outcomes, such as physical or mental health, well-being, education, and/or behaviour.
Convenors: Dr. Julia Mikolai and Dr. Katherine Keenan (University of St Andrews) – julia.mikolai@st-andrews.ac.uk
Kinship approaches in demography:
This session lies at the intersection of demography and kinship studies. Potential topics include kin availability and loss, family demography, marriage formation, assortative mating, genealogical studies, simulation studies, etc.
Convenor: Dr.Diego Alburez-Gutierrez - alburezgutierrez@demogr.mpg.de
Fertility and reproductive health:
This strand welcomes papers covering any aspect of fertility and reproductive health. Papers can examine any substantive topic and/or methodological aspect related to fertility or reproductive health in high, middle- or low-income countries. We particularly encourage the submission of papers which incorporate cross‐national comparisons, which are policy relevant or use innovative methodological and theoretical approaches. Reproductive health includes a variety of issues which include, but are not limited to, assisted reproductive technology, pregnancy loss, sexual and reproductive health and rights or contraceptive use.
Strand organisers: Dr. Alice Goisis, Dr. Alina Pelikh (University College London) – a.goisis@ucl.ac.uk; a.pelikh@ucl.ac.uk
Abortion and abortion-related care. This session invites theoretical contributions on abortion and abortion-related care within demographic scholarship. This can be critical reflections on the conceptualisations and framing of abortions, or methodological or theoretical innovations in research. [Note: this session aims to invite theoretical and not empirical proposals]
Convenor: Joe Strong (LSE) – j.strong3@lse.ac.uk
Food insecurity
Food insecurity is associated with a range of negative outcomes across the lifecourse, with serious implications for health, well-being, and economic development. The highest rates of food insecurity globally are found in the Global South--a situation which climate change will continue to exacerbate in the coming years. Moreover, Covid-19 has cast a light on the instability of food systems and has contributed to growing food insecurity globally. The proposed strand would explore topics broadly related to food systems and food insecurity. Proposals focused on the Global South, global food systems, and comparative perspectives would be particularly welcomed. Specific sessions within the strand could include:
Food Insecurity, Food Systems, and Covid-19
Modelling Food Insecurity: Data and Methods
Food Insecurity and Health Across the Lifecourse
Food Insecurity, Inequalities, and Social Policy
Determinants of Food Insecurity
Food Insecurity, Food Systems, and the Environment
Strand organiser: Dr. Jasmine Fledderjohann (Lancaster University) – j.fledderjohann@lancaster.ac.uk
Health and mortality:
This strand welcomes papers on health and mortality in high and low income country contexts using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches. Papers can examine any substantive topic and/or methodological aspect related to health and mortality including Covid-19
Strand organiser: Dr. Stephen Jivraj (University College London) – stephen.jivraj@ucl.ac.uk
Historical demography:
This strand welcomes submissions addressing any aspect of historical demography, or the history of demography as an academic discipline. Papers may focus on any of a broad range of themes, such as fertility, mortality, migration, household formation, social mobility, urbanization, public health, social inequality or other related fields in the context of historical populations. Contributions may focus on any part of the world, and at any scale, from local studies to international comparisons.
Strand organisers: Dr. Hanna Jaadla and Dr. Alice Reid (University of Cambridge) – hj309@cam.ac.uk; amr1001@cam.ac.uk
Internal and international migration:
We invite papers in the following research areas:
1. The analysis of the patterns, processes, impacts, and determinants of international and internal migration. The results of empirical analysis are especially welcome, but topics may also include discussions of conceptual challenges, migration terminologies, data sources and methodological issues.
2. The study of fertility, family, employment, health, and mortality of migrants and their descendants across countries or in different national settings.
3. The analysis of spatial aspects of population processes, for example, studies analysing spatial patterns of population or investigating contextual effects on demographic processes.
Strand organisers: Dr. Júlia Mikolai (University of St Andrews); Dr. Matthew Wallace (Stockholm University) - julia.mikolai@st‐andrews.ac.uk; Matthew.wallace@sociology.su.se
Employment, occupation, and labour market integration of immigrants and their descendants across industrialised countries. We invite papers for this session that cover topics related to the labour market integration and/or the interplay between family and employment trajectories of first- and second-generation immigrants across industrialised countries
Convenors: Dr. Julia Mikolai and Professor Hill Kulu (University of St Andrews) –Julia.mikolai@st-andrews.ac.uk; hill.kulu@st-andrews.ac.uk
Posters:
Poster submissions for virtual presentation are invited across the spectrum of population studies and demography. Researchers are encouraged to present results from completed studies or ongoing research not yet at the results stage (which is particularly well-suited to poster presentation). Presenters are welcome to submit more than one abstract for consideration as a poster, perhaps in addition to an oral submission. Posters will be presented as one PowerPoint slide or one PDF of the poster, which will be posted to the BSPS website in advance of the Conference. Each presenter will then have a five-minute slot during a Conference poster session to describe their work and to take questions. There will be a poster prize of £100 in book tokens or vouchers, at least half of which will be for a student poster.
Strand organiser: TBC
Regional, subnational and local demography: its impact on policy‐making for places:
This strand invites presentations that explore demographic themes at subnational, regional, and local level, particularly in the context of planning and policy-making. Topics might include:
- How local demographic trends and variations influence levels of poverty and deprivation, and the provision of local services.
- How demographic estimates and projections inform planning, policy design and service delivery.
- Gaps in local data and evidence; alternative sources and novel approaches used to supplement official statistics.
- Shifting patterns of residential mobility and preferences, particularly in the context of COVID-19.
Strand organisers: Ben Corr (Greater London Authority), Dr. Mark Fransham (University of Oxford) – ben.corr@london.gov.uk; mark.fransham@spi.ox.ac.uk
Qualitative demographic research: Challenging paradigms?
This strand invites submissions on qualitative demographic research. This includes a focus on methodological and epistemological implications of qualitative approaches in (and for) demography, as well as contributions reporting/reflecting on the use of qualitative methods in their research. Submissions may grapple with the complexities of presenting such research, as well as confronting the tensions of conducting such research in a largely quantitative discipline.
Strand organiser: Dr. Rishita Nandagiri (LSE) – r.nandagiri@lse.ac.uk
Telling the story in statistics.
.This strand invites sessions on you have brought your data to life, made your data discoverable, and/or communicated your results to non-specialists. These could include examples of data visualisation, open data platforms, or of how you have found ways of making your messages accessible and reaching a wider audience.
We’d also welcome short talks demonstrating/explaining how to do something which relates to data visualisation.
Strand organiser: Dr. Esther Roughsedge (National Records of Scotland) ‐ esther.roughsedge@nrscotland.gov.uk