Social Issues Research Centre
Encyclopedia
The Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) is a non-profit think tank
and PR front group, working on social and lifestyle issues. It is based in Oxford
, but is not part of, and has no relationship to, Oxford University.
and psychological
rather than a sociological flavour.
The SIRC has played a central role in advising the government on the development of a "Code of Practice on Science and Health Communication" for communication science issues to the media, which has been criticised for promoting mainstream views and suppressing dissenting voices.
asked "how seriously should journalists take an attack from an organisation that is so closely linked to the drinks industry?." The commissioning of the SIRC by pharmaceutical industry group HRT Aware to write a well-received report highlighting favorable outcomes from HRT was also noted in an editorial in the BMJ as part of a PR
campaign following the 2002 Women's Health Initiative
study. The BMJ found that SIRC shared its leading staff and offices with a public relations firm called MCM Research, which asked on its website: "Do your PR initiatives sometimes look too much like PR initiatives?"
, Professor Dwight Heath and Professor Robin Fox
.
Directors include
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
and PR front group, working on social and lifestyle issues. It is based in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, but is not part of, and has no relationship to, Oxford University.
Organization and focus
SIRC has a ‘social intelligence’ unit, monitoring and assessing social, cultural and ideological trends. SIRC's approach has an anthropologicalSocial anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
and psychological
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
rather than a sociological flavour.
The SIRC has played a central role in advising the government on the development of a "Code of Practice on Science and Health Communication" for communication science issues to the media, which has been criticised for promoting mainstream views and suppressing dissenting voices.
Criticism
When the SIRC criticised journalists for publishing stories on health scares, the BMJBMJ
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
asked "how seriously should journalists take an attack from an organisation that is so closely linked to the drinks industry?." The commissioning of the SIRC by pharmaceutical industry group HRT Aware to write a well-received report highlighting favorable outcomes from HRT was also noted in an editorial in the BMJ as part of a PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaign following the 2002 Women's Health Initiative
Women's Health Initiative
The Women's Health Initiative was initiated by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in 1991. The objective of this women's health research initiative was to conduct medical research into some of the major health problems of older women...
study. The BMJ found that SIRC shared its leading staff and offices with a public relations firm called MCM Research, which asked on its website: "Do your PR initiatives sometimes look too much like PR initiatives?"
Staff
The Advisory Board includes the social anthropologists Professor Lionel TigerLionel Tiger
Lionel Tiger is a Canadian-born, American-based anthropologist. He is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University and co-Research Director of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. He is a graduate of McGill University, and the London School of Economics at the University of...
, Professor Dwight Heath and Professor Robin Fox
Robin Fox
Robin Fox is an Anglo-American anthropologist who has written on the topics of marriage, human and primate kinship systems, and evolutionary anthropology and sociology. He was born in Yorkshire. He founded the department of anthropology at Rutgers University in 1967 and remained a professor there...
.
Directors include
- Kate FoxKate FoxKate Fox is a social anthropologist. She is the director of the Social Issues Research Centre an independent, not-for-profit organisation . She has written several books.- Background:...
. She has published on beauty & body imageBody imageBody image refers to a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. The phrase body image was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his masterpiece The Image and Appearance of the Human Body...
, the psychology of scent, pub behaviour, body languageBody languageBody language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....
, etiquetteEtiquetteEtiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
, gossipGossipGossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
, drugsRecreational drug useRecreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, flirtingFlirtingFlirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
, celebrationsCelebrationsCelebrations are a chocolate collection made by Mars, Incorporated, comprising miniature versions of Mars-produced chocolate bars. After the success of Celebrations, Cadbury UK released their own version, Miniature Heroes.-Contents:...
and stressStress (medicine)Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
. - Peter Marsh – best known for work on football hooliganismFootball hooliganismFootball hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
and the connections between drinkingDrinkingDrinking is the act of consuming water or a beverage through the mouth. Water is required for many of life’s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems.-Physiology:...
and disorderCivil disorderCivil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
.