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This article summarizes some of the data collected via the 1999/2000 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey. The absence of any counterpart in Northern Ireland to the British Family Resources Survey has resulted in a dearth of basic information on the financial and allied circumstances of pensioners in this part of the United Kingdom. The authors review the data obtained on levels and sources of income, health and receipt of core disability benefits and the extent of non‐take‐up of the Minimum Income Guarantee. The authors locate the data within the broader debate about the new directions of pension policy in the UK.

Education is often seen as a means of achieving social change. Underlying this view is contact theory, which argues that increased contact between social groups will help reduce prejudicial attitudes and alleviate racial and ethnic divisions. This article tests and extends these propositions by examining the long-term impact of segregated and integrated education on political identities and attitudes. Using a pooled sample of surveys conducted on the adult population in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2003, we address, for the first time, the question of whether or not experiencing a religiously integrated education has a significant effect on the political outlooks of Protestants and Catholics. The results suggest that attendance at a religiously integrated school - either one formally constituted as integrated or a religious school incorporating a proportion from the opposite religion - has positive long-term benefits in promoting a less sectarian stance on national identity and constitutional preferences. The results also support recent research that has shown that the impact of contact on intergroup relations may not only vary significantly in terms of the nature of the contact situation but also in terms of the societal status of the groups involved. We conclude that as the numbers experiencing integrated schooling grows, these individuals have the potential to create a new common ground in Northern Ireland politics.

Education is often seen as a means of achieving social change. Underlying this view is contact theory, which argues that increased contact between social groups will help reduce prejudicial attitudes and alleviate racial and ethnic divisions. This article tests and extends these propositions by examining the long-term impact of segregated and integrated education on political identities and attitudes. Using a pooled sample of surveys conducted on the adult population in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2003, we address, for the first time, the question of whether or not experiencing a religiously integrated education has a significant effect on the political outlooks of Protestants and Catholics. The results suggest that attendance at a religiously integrated school - either one formally constituted as integrated or a religious school incorporating a proportion from the opposite religion - has positive long-term benefits in promoting a less sectarian stance on national identity and constitutional preferences. The results also support recent research that has shown that the impact of contact on intergroup relations may not only vary significantly in terms of the nature of the contact situation but also in terms of the societal status of the groups involved. We conclude that as the numbers experiencing integrated schooling grows, these individuals have the potential to create a new common ground in Northern Ireland politics.

'If A Majority Of People In Northern Ireland Ever Voted To become part of a United Ireland what would you do?' At first sight the question may seem plucked from the realms of constitutional fantasy. A united Ireland seems an unlikely prospect, at least in anything but the long term. Even proponents of unity predict a 15–20 year wait. Yet the 1998 Good Friday Agreement empowers the people of Northern Ireland to decide their own constitutional future. As a result questions on Northern Ireland's future constitutional status, and public reactions to possible changes in that status, are relevant to current political debate.It is important to note that the principle of consent is not a new constitutional invention. It has had a long association with Northern Ireland. It is argued that the peace process and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement have refocused attention on the long-standing consent principle. While consent was part of the constitutional furniture it was often overlooked during the Troubles.This article re-examines consent in the light of the peace process. It draws on evidence from the 1998 and 1999/2000Northern Ireland Life and Timessurveys, as well as a number of in-depth interviews with senior politicians and policy-makers involved in the peace process and the negotiations on a political settlement. First it considers the changing significance of the consent principle to Northern Ireland's constitutional status, arguing that the principle has assumed a renewed immediacy. Secondly, the article reports the findings of the two most recentNorthern Ireland Life and Timessurveys in relation to constitutional preferences. While public attitudes towards a unitary Ireland or continued Union within the United Kingdom have been surveyed regularly, as far as the authors are aware no previous survey has asked whether people would accept or oppose constitutional change if it was supported by a majority of Northern Ireland's citizens. In other words, no survey has gauged the level of public acceptance of the consent principle. The key question is: would unionists be prepared to come quietly if a majority of Northern Ireland's citizens voted to accept a united Ireland?

The article examines public consent to a united Ireland in light of the peace process in Ireland, drawing on evidence from the 1998 & 1999/2000 issues of Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT). It is argued that the principle of consent has gained a new immediacy. NILT survey results suggest considerable differences in public views of what to expect to happen in Ireland in the future. They also suggest that the consent principle has gained acceptance in both the republican & Unionist/Loyalist Irish communities, but with strong caveats. It is concluded that both factions have the power to disrupt the peace process. 7 Tables. J. Backman

Das International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) ist ein länderübergreifendes, fortlaufendes Umfrageprogramm, das jährlich Erhebungen zu Themen durchführt, die für die Sozialwissenschaften wichtig sind. Das Programm begann 1984 mit vier Gründungsmitgliedern - Australien, Deutschland, Großbritannien und den Vereinigten Staaten - und ist inzwischen auf fast 50 Mitgliedsländer aus aller Welt angewachsen. Da die Umfragen auf Replikationen ausgelegt sind, können die Daten sowohl für länder- als auch für zeitübergreifende Vergleiche genutzt werden. Jedes ISSP-Modul konzentriert sich auf ein bestimmtes Thema, das in regelmäßigen Zeitabständen wiederholt wird. Details zur Durchführung der nationalen ISSP-Umfragen entnehmen Sie bitte der Dokumentation. Die vorliegende Studie konzentriert sich auf Fragen zu Umwelt, Klimawandel und Umweltschutz.