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While the profound effects of spatial mobility on social structures and patterns of interactions have long been recognized, the association of mobility experiences and tolerance towards immigrants has received limited attention. In this paper, we examine such patterns in Iceland, a country with a long history of emigration and return migration of the local population but a recent surge in international immigration. We find in-migrants and locals who have lived in the capital city area or abroad for at least a year to be more tolerant of immigrants than locals who have never lived elsewhere. These patterns of tolerance among more mobile respondents persist after controlling for other predictors such as age, gender, education and language skills, employment status, income, community integration, residential satisfaction and generalized trust. These results are discussed in the context of changing patterns of mobility and immobility in western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographical unevenness in labour market and social conditions is one reason why the 'local' has been emphasised increasingly in the delivery of labour market policy in the UK. This article explores the extent to which there are local differences in labour market conditions using the characteristics and experiences of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants in Northern Ireland as an example. It then offers some comments on the potential for policy initiatives to cope with these spatial variations. Evidence from a survey of 803 IB claimants is used, supplemented by focus group material derived from discussions with Personal Advisers (PAs). The article shows that whilst there are important variations between areas, largely in the quantity and quality of jobs, and the perceptions that IB claimants hold of their local labour markets, there are also similarities in the general types of labour market barriers they face across areas. There is some evidence, however, to conclude that these barriers in urban areas are particularly pronounced and that some IB claimants in these places face severer obstacles to re-integration in the labour market than those in rural areas. The article also suggests that policy delivery to cope with these geographical differences faces two problems. First, capacity to respond to local differences is limited by strong systemic impulses towards centralisation. Secondly, and paradoxically, local differences erode capacity to respond to severer urban problems because social/institutional capacity within providers and policy-deliverers in these places is limited by high staff turnover and a crowded institutional landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shuttleworth I. and Green A. E. Spatial mobility, workers and jobs: perspectives from the Northern Ireland experience, Regional Studies. How best to address local concentrations of worklessness is a key question for labour market, economic development and social inclusion policy. Historically, initiatives in Northern Ireland have focused on moving 'jobs to workers', but in changed political circumstances there is now greater emphasis on encouraging the movement of 'workers to jobs'. A review of the Northern Ireland experience in the context of broader consideration of the geography and socio-institutional... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shuttleworth I. G. and Lloyd C. D. (2005) Analysing average travel‐to‐work distances in Northern Ireland using the 1991 Census of Population: the effects of locality, social composition, and religion, Regional Studies 39 , 909–921. Travel‐to‐work patterns have important implications for national and international debates about employability and the causes of unemployment. Therefore, using Northern Ireland as an example, this paper explores the factors that shape commuting flows using data from the Census of Population. An analytical framework is developed that explores the use of local regression for this type of socio‐economic application. The relative importance of locational and social compositional factors as influences on daily travel‐to‐work patterns is considered. The paper concludes by suggesting that general regression models may hide local variations in relationships and that locational factors, such as proximity to employment opportunities, can outweigh social characteristics as determinants of commuting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In debates about employability, the role of area perceptions in shaping the labour market behaviour of individuals has been neglected. This paper sets out to gain an understanding of what relatively disadvantaged young people in Belfast know about the geography of labour market opportunities in the city and the locations were they are prepared to work. Using secondary data analysis and primary research methods, it is shown that most young people have a highly localised outlook. Factors of limited mobility, lack of confidence and religion intertwine in complex ways to limit perceived opportunities. It is concluded that geography does play a role in shaping access to employment and training opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the possibility of inward investment from the United States, as a solution for the conflicts in Northern Ireland. Strategies to encourage economic growth; Social distribution of employment; Conclusion.

The paper analyses the impact of individual/family background and school characteristics on science uptake at GCSE in Northern Ireland using survey data by means of a series of multilevel logistic models. Selecting two outcome variables ('science’ in its widest sense and a more restricted definition of ‘hard’ science), it shows that attendance at grammar school and parental labour‐market status are significant determinants of science uptake, and attendance at grammar school, parental labour‐market status, gender and religious background of ‘hard’ science uptake. The paper concludes by looking at the policy implications of inequality in the curriculum and suggests that the introduction of GCSE has not eradicated gender and religious inequalities in ‘hard’ science uptake. However, despite evidence that subject type of GCSE pass is no longer important for the employment chances of young people because of the restructuring of the youth labour market, considerations of equity, social justice and access to training and further education, mean that inequalities in science uptake might still be usefully addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]