Society

We believe that universities have an important role in helping to address the issues impacting upon the world and in encouraging social responsibility. By developing a better understanding of individuals and communities, their needs, interests and motivations, we can help society fulfil its potential. Our applied approach to research means that much of our work is focused on real-life situations and issues.

You can help tackle some of society’s biggest problems by supporting the University of Brighton.

A school for Malagiri

This project, led by our School of Education and in particular, senior lecturer, Kevin Fossey (pictured), supported the building, and now the maintenance and development of a new school in Malagiri, Nepal, for local children aged three to eight. Many children in this rural area have no education because the nearest government school is a two-hour walk away. The people of Malagiri are incredibly skilled, with a strong oral tradition, but children are very keen to learn to read and write. The school will teach literacy and numeracy, but also practical skills for later years, for instance, how to get the best price for their crops at market.

University staff and students have raised money in all kinds of ways and the project has also been supported through generous donations from alumni and friends of the university. Nepal may be thousands of miles away, but we have been able to make a genuine difference to the lives and futures of the villagers that can be sustained for years to come. Many of our students have visited the school for their final year placement, allowing them to see first-hand the impact of education on the village community, and how their efforts have made a difference.

Examining gun crime

Social scientists picked up the changing patterns of firearm use by criminals some 20 years ago, but the post-Dunblane handgun ban had little effect. Following the ban, recorded gun crime actually increased. Professor Peter Squires (pictured) explored the problem and sought to identify what could most usefully be done to reduce the use of guns in crime.

Peter looked at the types of guns being used and noted that the situation was not straightforward. He found that many of these firearms did not count as banned items: they were either converted weapons (legally bought in Europe, but illegally altered here to fire live rounds) or were perfectly legitimate air weapons. While the existing laws concentrated largely on real handguns – the sort used in Dunblane – it overlooked the majority of the guns causing the trouble on British streets.

Research by Peter and his colleagues showed that the law had to take a different approach if it was to succeed in reducing gun crime. In 2006, the Violent Crime Reduction Act changed the restrictions on imitation weapons, and tightened controls on air weapons and other firearm misuse. As a result, overall recorded gun crime has been falling in England and Wales, although significant problems remain with the trafficking of converted weapons.

Leading the way

Our academics are also leading the way in addressing other important issues for society, such as:

• reducing disadvantage in communities through partnership working
• finding more effective ways to support parents of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties
• using social marketing to change attitudes and behaviour for the better.