• Should the system for electing MPs be changed?• What should replace it? • What system should be used for an elected second chamber?With the prospects of a hung Parliament increasing, the Commons voting for a referendum on changing the current “first past the post” system in 2011, and all three major parties now seemingly committed to a wholly or largely elected House of Lords; a new analysis of the pros and cons of different voting systems could scarcely be timelier. Choosing an Electoral System, published today by the British Academy, identifies the characteristics of the main types of electoral system – and...

The baby boom of 1945-65 produced the biggest, richest generation that Britain has ever known.  Today, at the peak of their power and wealth, these baby boomers run our country; but has this position been attained at the expense of their children?At a special event next week at the British Academy, David Willetts MP joins leading academics to explore whether the relatively high levels of wealth, in historic terms, of the post war generation has selfishly deprived future generations of their natural claims and rights.  The theme of the event is prompted by Willetts’ new book, The Pinch: How the...

IN FAMILY POLICY, BOTH MATTER. A new British Academy report, published today, explores the role of values in political debate; shows why policy makers need good social science; and offers advice on the complex relationship between political values and policymaking. Social Science and Family Policies explores the significance of social science research in issues such as family break-up and reconstitution; non-parental care; abuse and deprivation; drug use; and the role of communities in child well-being. Moreover, it illustrates how social science can help to shed light on various important policy questions, including why individuals’ responses to environmental hazards vary so...

UK MUST LEARN FROM IRAQ CULTURE CRISISThe UK Government’s failure to provide for the protection of important cultural heritage in Iraq contributed to the breakdown of social order, and alienation of much of the Iraqi population according to evidence given to the Chilcot Inquiry this week. In an unprecedented move, the British Academy in partnership with thirteen major cultural organisations* has submitted written evidence to the Inquiry outlining the shortcomings in the UK’s planning and implementation to protect Iraq’s cultural property during the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation.The major destruction and looting of Iraq’s museums, archaeological sites and ancient artefacts...

The British Academy has written a letter to Her Majesty The Queen to advise on the steps that might be taken to anticipate and prepare for any future shocks to the financial system and global economy.  Written off the back of a forum on financial and economic horizon-scanning, the letter recommends taking a more focused interest in contingency planning so that the Government is ‘readied and armed with the best intelligence’.   In July 2009, the Academy sent an initial letter to the Queen following her pertinent question asked (during a visit to the London School of Economics) on why no...

IS TEXTING VALUABLE OR VANDALISM? Children who are heavy users of mobile phone text abbreviations such as LOL (laughing out loud), plz (please), l8ter (later) and xxx (kisses), are unlikely to be problem spellers and readers, a new study funded by the British Academy has found.The research*, carried out on a sample of 8-12 year olds over an academic year, revealed that levels of “textism” use could even be used to predict reading ability and phonological awareness in each pupil by the end of the year.Moreover, the proportion of textisms used was observed to increase with age, from just 21%...

8 Fellows funded by European Research Council's Advanced Grants programme in recognition of pioneering researchIn its second competition for established leading researchers ("Advanced Grants"), the European Research Council (ERC) has selected eight British Academy Fellows to carry out pioneering research throughout Europe. The British Academy welcomes the funding awarded to Professor Orazio Attanasio, FBA Professor Michael Batty, CBE, FBA Professor Maxine Berg, FBA Professor Miriam Glucksmann, FBA Professor Ruth Mace, FBA Professor Stephen Shennan, FBA Professor Mark Steedman, FBA Professor Lorraine Tyler, FBA Under the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme, the ERC supports projects aiming at making important discoveries in...