A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

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Browse all the articles published on the Research Matters blog, with the most recent articles appearing at the top.

Reconciliation sculpture i nthe grounds of the Stormont Estate, by the artist Josefina de Vasconcellos.

Dealing with the past in Northern Ireland

One area that has created considerable political division in Northern Ireland is how to deal with a contested past. Broadly, ‘dealing with the past’ tends

Suicide rate per 100,000 persons; Belfast North and Belfast West are the two constituencies with the highest average annual suicide rate

Death by suicide in Northern Ireland

Please note that a more recent article on Suicide statistics and strategy in Northern Ireland: Update was published in November 2019. ______________________________ For the second

Image of girl using mobile phone: Increased access to social media, particularly via personal devices, presents opportunities but also risks (Image: Creative Commons Zero)

Seen but not heard: children ‘sexting’

Rapid technological changes have caused the norms and methods of children’s sexual behaviour to evolve. Much screen-based media use now involves accessing interactive social networking

Fishing boats in Ardglass harbour (Creative Commons; Image: Ardfern)

A single species fishing industry

Despite not being particularly large in overall UK terms, the sea fishing industry in Northern Ireland makes a significant contribution to the economy of the

Outcomes-based budgeting

What is ‘outcomes-based budgeting’, and what are the key benefits and limitations of using it?

An image of two hands: there may be testing times ahead for the Third Sector

Testing times ahead for the Third Sector

The Third Sector makes a substantial, but at times unrecognised, contribution to society in Northern Ireland. It is a key provider of health/social care; housing/housing

Modernising equality legislation

Following decades of piecemeal development, governments are increasingly seeking to address the common problem of fragmented, uneven and incoherent equality legislation.