2018 Pre-university gap year report
On our systems by Luke Hatton, Summer 2018
A remarkable and wide-ranging report on the systems that produce our society, covering technology, energy, logistics, communications and waste. Read: 201804 On Our Systems...
2018 Essays
Policy briefing - Supporting suppliers of renewable electricity by Jonathan Moss, December 2018
The UK is not currently on track to reach its national legally binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions. What can be done to increase the share of electricity generated by renewable energy installations? This policy briefing examines the issues and recommends a range of measures. Read: 201812 Policy Briefin...
Germany – Climate change hero or hypocrite? by Jonathan Moss, April 2018
When Angela Merkel was first elected in 2005, few suspected two things: (1) That she would still be in power 13 years later, and (2) that she would globally become known as the ‘Climate Chancellor’. Yet in the past two decades many argue that Germany has become an environmental powerhouse, boosting renewable energy generation, and leading the fight against anthropogenic climate change. Read: 201804 Germany - Hero...
A review of the work of Nafeez Ahmed by Arran Elcoate, Summer 2018
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed is an award-winning journalist, academic, fellow of the institute and prophet for the coming post-carbon age. Arran takes a critical look at his ideas. Read: 201808 A Review Of Th...
A fair progressive taxation system to potentially benefit everyone by Dr Steven Chandler, October 2018
This paper describes a novel, fair, and much simplified, form of taxation that seeks to reduce wealth and power inequalities within and between and within nations which has similarities to the CCCTB corporate taxation proposals in the EU. It would improve the quality of life for everyone, without altering the wealth rankings, but helping and empowering, particularly the disadvantaged, who struggle to make ends meet. Growing inequality is leading to widespread hatred, particularly of
economic migrants, which is encouraged by certain wealthy and powerful individuals who promise solutions that cannot work, that is frighteningly reminiscent of the 1930’s. Read: 201810 A Fair Progres...
economic migrants, which is encouraged by certain wealthy and powerful individuals who promise solutions that cannot work, that is frighteningly reminiscent of the 1930’s. Read: 201810 A Fair Progres...
What is the public value of the humanities? by Lily Brown, January 2018
The humanities and the discipline of history, more specifically, have recently experienced heightened pressure to justify their position in the university and their broader purpose to the public. This comes as no surprise to historians, who seemingly suffer identity crises on a regular basis, leading Funke to observe that the discipline ‘seems to die every fifty years,’ with historians cyclically evaluating their work and their role in society. Read: 201801 What Is The Public ...
2018 Santander internship papers
Individual Sustainable Consumption and the Circular Economy - Research Gaps and Opportunities by Jessica Klaver, October 2018
This paper is interested in the contributions of (interdisciplinary) research in understanding the involvement of the consumer in the Circular Economy (CE), and in how sustainable consumption research (SCR) fits into the micro-level of the CE. Read: 201810 Individual Su...
2018 Q-Step internship papers
Homelessness, a multifaceted epidemic by Amy Hornsby, July 2018
We live in a global system where in the developed world, as privileged people, we have become at least somewhat disaffected to homelessness played out on street corners of the UK. Read: 201807 Homelessness, ...
An ST approach to automation and unemployment by Annie Elliott, July 2018
Although unemployment figures are generally low in the UK and US this is not reflective of materially affluent and financially secure lives. The relatively low levels of unemployment in the UK after the 2008 wage crisis was largely a result of self-employed people living off poverty wages. Read: 201807 An ST Approach...
Beyond territorial disputes and towards environmental cooperation in the South China Sea by Trystan Cullinan, July 2018
This report deploys a systems lens to ecosystem degradation in the South China Sea by highlighting its primary pressures, drivers, sub-drivers, impacts and responses. I argue that the numerous territorial disputes will be a long-term, if not permanent, feature of the Sea. With this in mind, reversing coral reef and fish stock depletion rests on indigenous cooperative environmental protection efforts that are not predicated upon firstly solving the territorial disputes. Here, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations possesses critical potential as regional conductor to develop scientific diplomacy initiatives. This role has become even more crucial in a post-American world order. Read: 201807 Beyond Territo...
Hydrogen and the UK by Ben Eggleston, July 2018
For decades, hydrogen has been thought of as a potential fuel source: it is the most abundant element in the universe and it can be burned to release energy with the only by-product being water (Johnston et al., 2005). Unfortunately, hydrogen does not naturally occur on Earth and must be extracted from other primary sources, therefore it is not really an energy source but a store and carrier of energy. However, many people see it as a potential way of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and global warming caused by their burning. Read: 201807 Hydrogen And T...
The prospect of Peak Oil by Alise Enly, July 2018 Peak oil describes an economic concept in which the world’s production of crude oil has reached its maximum potential, and oil production reaches a peak. Conceptually, peak oil represents the point in which the world will be forced to transition away from the era of oil reliance and towards a new, economic mode (Murphy and Hall 2011: 57). The inevitable transition away from crude oil presents several challenges, both economic and environmental, as well as to the human condition and global structures. Read: 201807 Report On Peak...
The Bristol University Q-Step internship project is provided by the Nuffield Foundation, Economic and Social Research Council and Higher Education Funding Council for England.
2018 Erasmus studentship
Urbanisation and Automation: How will Automation Change Urban Life? by Nicholas Jahn, April 2018The Digital Revolution refers to the ongoing trend of Digitisation, Automation and its tremendous impact on the way we live and work. It will not just change labour but also urban living and cities. In particular, the impact of automation generates opportunities but also creates social, political and urban risks. Read: 201804 Automation & U...