Moving towards a Sexual Orientation Strategy for Northern Ireland by Ann Marie Gray, Goretti Horban and Amanda Leighton, is a new policy brief which draws on published research evidence, as well as the discussion at an ARK roundtable in July 2013.

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The next ARK seminar is Queering the family: attitudes towards lesbian and gay families and relationships in Northern Ireland.
On Tuesday 25 February 2014, Nicola Carr, Siobhan McAllister and Gail Neill will use data from the 2012 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey to explore public attitudes within the context of broader discourses that often underpin policy discussions on 'the family'.

The seminar will be held NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, from 12:00-13:00, followed by a sandwich lunch. Everyone is welcome, and the seminars are free. However, places must be booked by email info@ark.ac.uk, or by telephone 028 7167 5513

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In 2012, the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey included a new module of questions focusing on Attitudes to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues. These questions explored a range of topics including same-sex adoption, family relationships, and same-sex marriage. Tables of results for every question, as well as the questionnaire and dataset are available on the Life and Times website.

In 2012, the Young Life and Times Survey of 16 year olds also included questions within the Identity module which explored sexual orientation, and tables of results for all these questions are available online.

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The Online Research Bank contains a bibliography and summaries of policy-related research in Northern Ireland. One of the search terms for groups is 'lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender'.

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Accounts of the Conflict will create an on-line digital archive which will offer long-term storage and preservation of a range of personal accounts relating to life in Northern Ireland and the border region during the period of the conflict.

The next seminar in the Accounts of the Conflict seminar series is 'How to deal with our recent past by making important materials or sources available online. The seminar will be presented by Iratxe Momoitio Astorika (Director of the Gernika Peace Museum) on Wednesday 5 February 2014. The seminar will use examples from the Second World War such as the Holocaust and the dropping of the Atom Bomb in Japan, as well as the Basque Country and Spain in terms of the Spanish Civil War and terrorist violence, and the troubled past of countries in Latin America such as Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay

The seminar will be held MD008, Main Building, Magee Campus, University of Ulster, Derry/Londonderry from 12:00-13:00, followed by a sandwich lunch. Everyone is welcome, and the seminar is free. However, places must be booked by email je.farren@ulster.ac.uk, or by telephone 028 7167 5575

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'Older men: Demography' is the latest factsheet in the Men in Northern Ireland series, and collates data from the Census of Poulation and mid-year population estimates. This factsheet was produced as part of the ARK Ageing Programme, which supports engagement between the age and academic sectors.

ARK produces a range of publications, including Research Updates and fact sheets. Most of these are available online. For a full list of publications, as well as links, visit our Publications page.

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2 PhD opportunties are currently available at University of Ulster, as part of the ARK Ageing Programme. One has a focus on Adult social care policy and older people, whilst the second will explore Peace-processes, Peace-building and Older People.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 28 February 2014.  

The ARK Ageing Programme is pleased to be taking part in the next Age Encounters event on Wednesday 26 February 2014. Age Encounters is a network of researchers, academics and practitioners with an interest in age. Eddie Lynch (Age Sector Platform) will also give a presentation, and will highlight the work of the Northern Ireland Pensioners' Parliament.

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The most recent ARK seminar 'Sexual risks experienced by 16-year olds. Using research evidence to influence policy and practice' was held on Tuesday 28 January, and was presented by Dirk Schubotz and Meadhbh Bermingham.

As with most ARK seminars, this event was videoed. In the past, these were made available on the ARK website. However, we are pleased to announce the ARK Youtube channel, and a video of this latest seminar is available there. We plan to post videos of previous seminars on Youtube in the next few months too, so watch that space!

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Do you teach quantitative research methods to sociology and criminology undergraduates? If so, then the seminar Making undergraduate social science count: engaging sociology and criminology students in quantitative research methods will be of interest! In particular, the seminar will launch new teaching datasets that are based on the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, and the Young Life and Times Survey.

The seminar will take place on 7 March 2014, in the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.

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ARK is a joint initiative between Queen's University and the University of Ulster, and began in 2000. Our mission is to make social science knowledge on Northern Ireland easily accessible to the widest possible audience. Most of our dissemination is via our website at www.ark.ac.uk, which is divided into four main areas:

• Surveys
• Conflict, Politics and Elections
• Policy, Research and Resources
• Outreach, Dissemination and Training - including publications and events

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