CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Web) provides a wealth of material on politics and the conflict in Northern Ireland since 1968. Much of this information is historical, and focuses directly on the Troubles. However, CAIN continues to add new material that relates to politics and society here.

For example, on 13 March, the report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme was released. Volumes 1, 2 and 3 are now available on CAIN, as well as the Chairman's statement by Patrick Coughlin.

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Fieldwork for ARK's three annual public attitudes surveys is now complete. In our most recent surveys, we asked people of all ages in Northern Ireland about issues affecting their lives.

• The Northern Ireland Life & Times Survey asked people aged 18 or over about a range of current topics, including politics, breastfeeding, road safety, community relations, and much more.
• Young Life & Times asked 16 year olds about breastfeeding, politics, community relations, and community safety.
• Kids' Life & Times focused on the attitudes of children in Primary 7 to key issues affecting their lives.

We will be releasing the results of all three surveys by mid-June, and full details will be available in future newsletters.

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In a new article Coronavirus: why young and old must pull together to survive this published in The Conversation, Gemma Carney has highlighted that the spread of the COVID-19 virus forces us to realise how connected we are, how vulnerable we are and how dependent we are upon each other. In particular, solidarity across different generations is also highly important right now.

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In each of our newsletters throughout this year, we will highlight previous research or events that ARK has carried out since 2000, in order to mark our 20th anniversary.

In April 2010, Dirk Schubotz and Gillian McMullan published Mental and emotional health of 16-year olds. Using data from the 2009 Young Life and Times survey, they highlighted concerns relating to the emotional and mental health of 16-year olds and their attitudes to relevant services.

Recommendations in this Research Update include strengthening young people's voices in the planning and delivering of emotional and mental health services; taking a more holistic view of schooling to incorporate the emotional and social wellbeing of all pupils; and the de-stigmatisation of mental and emotional health issues and awareness. These messages are still relevant ten years on.  

In our last newsletter, we highlighted two forthcoming events:

• 1-2 April: Understanding small areas: spatial analysis of population and neighbourhood data (NCRM training course)
• 3 April: Attitudes to migrant workers in Northern Ireland: a changing landscape? (seminar)

Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 situation, these events have been cancelled.  

ARK is Northern Ireland's social policy hub. Established in 2000 by researchers at Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University, its primary goal is to increase the accessibility and use of academic data and research. Most of our dissemination is via our website at www.ark.ac.uk, which is divided into five main areas:

• Surveys
• Projects
• Resources
• Publications
• Events

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