Publications by category
Books
Wills J (eds)(2020).
The Power of Pragmatism Knowledge Production and Social Research. Manchester, Manchester University Press.
Abstract:
The Power of Pragmatism Knowledge Production and Social Research
Abstract.
Blunt A, Wills J (2016).
Dissident geographies: an introduction to radical ideas and practice.Abstract:
Dissident geographies: an introduction to radical ideas and practice
Abstract.
Wills J (2016).
Locating Localism Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy., Policy Press.
Abstract:
Locating Localism Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy
Abstract.
Lee R, Wills J (2014).
Geographies of economies.Abstract:
Geographies of economies
Abstract.
Wills J, Lee R (2014). Introduction.
(2005). Threads of Labour., Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Martin R, Sunley P, Wills J (1996).
Union retreat and the regions: the shrinking landscape of organised labour.Abstract:
Union retreat and the regions: the shrinking landscape of organised labour
Abstract.
Journal articles
Clements J, Lobley M, Osborne J, Wills J (2021). How can academic research on UK agri-environment schemes pivot to meet the addition of climate mitigation aims?.
Land Use Policy,
106, 105441-105441.
Full text.
Kinsley S, Layton J, Davis J, Wills J, Featherstone D, Temenos C, Barnett C (2020). Reading Clive Barnett's the Priority of Injustice. Political Geography, 78, 102065-102065.
Greenhough B, Read CJ, Lorimer J, Lezaun J, McLeod C, Benezra A, Bloomfield S, Brown T, Clinch M, D’Acquisto F, et al (2020). Setting the agenda for social science research on the human microbiome.
Palgrave Communications,
6(1).
Abstract:
Setting the agenda for social science research on the human microbiome
The human microbiome is an important emergent area of cross, multi and transdisciplinary study. The complexity of this topic leads to conflicting narratives and regulatory challenges. It raises questions about the benefits of its commercialisation and drives debates about alternative models for engaging with its publics, patients and other potential beneficiaries. The social sciences and the humanities have begun to explore the microbiome as an object of empirical study and as an opportunity for theoretical innovation. They can play an important role in facilitating the development of research that is socially relevant, that incorporates cultural norms and expectations around microbes and that investigates how social and biological lives intersect. This is a propitious moment to establish lines of collaboration in the study of the microbiome that incorporate the concerns and capabilities of the social sciences and the humanities together with those of the natural sciences and relevant stakeholders outside academia. This paper presents an agenda for the engagement of the social sciences with microbiome research and its implications for public policy and social change. Our methods were informed by existing multidisciplinary science-policy agenda-setting exercises. We recruited 36 academics and stakeholders and asked them to produce a list of important questions about the microbiome that were in need of further social science research. We refined this initial list into an agenda of 32 questions and organised them into eight themes that both complement and extend existing research trajectories. This agenda was further developed through a structured workshop where 21 of our participants refined the agenda and reflected on the challenges and the limitations of the exercise itself. The agenda identifies the need for research that addresses the implications of the human microbiome for human health, public health, public and private sector research and notions of self and identity. It also suggests new lines of research sensitive to the complexity and heterogeneity of human–microbiome relations, and how these intersect with questions of environmental governance, social and spatial inequality and public engagement with science.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2020). The geo-constitution and responses to austerity: Institutional entrepreneurship, switching, and re-scaling in the United Kingdom.
Transactions of the Institute of British GeographersAbstract:
The geo-constitution and responses to austerity: Institutional entrepreneurship, switching, and re-scaling in the United Kingdom
© 2020 the Authors. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers published by John Wiley. &. Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) a nation's geo-constitution – its spatially uneven political institutions – plays a critical role in mediating change. This paper explores this in relation to local government responses to austerity. The paper presents original research collected in Cornwall, United Kingdom, to highlight the scale and impact of asset transfers to town and parish councils. This degree of institutional switching was possible because of a willingness to use legacy constitutional institutions to mediate the trajectory and impact of reform in response to austerity. Town and parish councils have taken on important assets (public toilets, parks, and libraries) and raised local taxation to pay for them. This has reconfigured relationships between local government institutions while also incentivising innovation in service organisation. The research highlights the role of political institutions and their personnel in mediating responses to austerity, as well as raising broader questions about the rescaling of the social contract, and the scope for further constitutional reform.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2019). The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions.
Progress in Human Geography,
43(3), 416-435.
Abstract:
The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions
This paper draws on existing work in the discipline of human geography and cognate fields in order to develop the concept of the ‘geo-constitution’. This concept aims to: (1) highlight the importance of intersections between geography and political institutions in the constitution of government; (2) consider the path-dependent development of political institutions and their impact on statecraft and citizenship; (3) explore the implications of this for political reform. The paper provides an overview of current thinking in political geography and applies the concept of the geo-constitution to the example of devolution and localism in the United Kingdom.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J, Scott J (2017). The geography of the political party: Lessons from the British Labour Party’s experiment with community organising, 2010 to 2015.
Political Geography,
60, 121-131.
Full text.
Wills J (2016). (Re)Locating community in relationships: questions for public policy.
Sociological Review,
64, 639-656.
Full text.
Wills J, Simms M (2016). Building reciprocal community unionism in the UK.
Capital & Class,
28(1), 59-84.
Abstract:
Building reciprocal community unionism in the UK
British trade union renewal has focused on the twin strategies of organising and partnership. Drawing on experience from North America, and fledgling developments in Britain, this paper argues that reciprocal community unionism could provide another weapon in the union movement's armoury for reversing decline. The paper provides a brief historical overview of the intersection between unions and community in Britain before addressing reciprocal community unionism in more detail. The final part of the paper then looks at the work of Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council's Organising Centre in South West London during 2000 and 2001. The case study highlights the ways in which trade unionism can develop when focused on a particular locality, and the advantages of having extra-workplace organisation in any place. The case also illustrates some of the barriers preventing this model of trade unionism being translated to other boroughs, towns and cities in the UK. In the conclusion, the paper then calls for further experimentation in the development of reciprocal community unionism.
Abstract.
Harney L, McCurry J, Scott J, Wills J (2016). Developing ‘process pragmatism’ to underpin engaged research in human geography.
Progress in Human Geography,
40(3), 316-333.
Abstract:
Developing ‘process pragmatism’ to underpin engaged research in human geography
This paper explores the contribution that pragmatist philosophy can make to the way that we do research and teaching in human geography. It provides a historical overview of the key ideas in the tradition, their influence on the Chicago School of Sociology and community organizing, and the implications of this work for epistemological practice. The paper then looks at the variety of ways in which human geographers are using research as a means to engage in the world today, focusing in particular on the contributions of participatory action research (PAR), before making the case for ‘process pragmatism’ as a framework for doing this kind of research. To illustrate the potential of this approach, the paper outlines current research, teaching and organizing activity being undertaken by geographers at Queen Mary University of London. The paper suggests that pragmatism provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for research and teaching which can facilitate the creation of new publics, and can help to build power and democratic capacity with the aim of remaking the world.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2016). Emerging geographies of English localism: the case of neighbourhood planning.
Political Geography,
53, 43-53.
Full text.
Linneker B, Wills J (2016). The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers.
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy,
34(5), 759-776.
Abstract:
The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers
in the UK, a campaign for the living wage has emerged as a civil society initiative to reduce in-work poverty. This article reports empirical evidence from a study of employers adopting the London Living Wage and the benefits from this intervention, as reported by their workers. Implementation strategies to cover higher wage costs varied, from clients meeting full costs, to reduced employer profit, to reductions in hours and employment. There were strong substitution effects from low to higher qualified workers. The evidence suggests that while there were worker benefits from the living wage, they were not automatic, as higher wage rates did not necessarily translate into higher incomes due to variations in hours of work. Workers reported more in-work benefits, than family or financial benefits. In-work poverty reduction was limited by large concentrations of part-time living wage jobs with few hours, small income increases and the rising costs of living.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2015). Populism, localism and the geography of democracy.
Geoforum,
62, 188-189.
Full text.
Wills J, Linneker B (2013). In-work poverty and the living wage in the United Kingdom: a geographical perspective.
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers,
39(2), 182-194.
Full text.
Flint E, Cummins S, Wills J (2013). Investigating the effect of the London living wage on the psychological wellbeing of low-wage service sector employees: a feasibility study.
Journal of Public Health,
36(2), 187-193.
Full text.
Wills J (2013). London’s Olympics in 2012: the good, the bad and an organising opportunity. Political Geography, 34, A1-A3.
Datta K, Cathy McIlwaine, May J, Wills J (2012). Migrants and migration: Academic research in the UK. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1), 103-105.
Wills J (2010). Academic agents for change. City, 14(6), 616-618.
Rantisi NM (2009). Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers Perspective. Edited by Angela Hale and Jane Wills. Economic Geography, 83(2), 205-206.
Wills J (2008). Subcontracted Employment and its Challenge to Labor.
Labor Studies Journal,
34(4), 441-460.
Abstract:
Subcontracted Employment and its Challenge to Labor
This article argues that subcontracted employment is becoming paradigmatic. This form of employment has stark consequences for traditional models of trade union organization that focus on collective bargaining with the employer. The article highlights the need for subcontracted workers to put pressure on the “real employer” at the top of any contracting chain. Drawing on the lessons from community-union organizing efforts and, particularly, living wage campaigns, the article suggests that trade unions can effectively work with other social movements and allies in the community to secure the political leverage needed to change the terms and conditions of subcontracted employment. The article illustrates these arguments by exploring recent experience of the living wage campaign in London. The article draws on original research material from the Homerton Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London, to explore the progress of these living wage campaigns and their wider significance for labor organization.
Abstract.
Wills J (2008). Taking on the CosmoCorps? Experiments in Transnational Labor Organization. Economic Geography, 74(2), 111-130.
Wills J (1999). European Works Councils in British firms. Human Resource Management Journal, 9(4), 19-38.
Wills J (1998). A Stake in Place? the Geography of Employee Ownership and its Implications for a Stakeholding Society. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 23(1), 79-94.
Wills J (1998). Uprooting tradition: Rethinking the place and space of labour organization. European Planning Studies, 6(1), 31-42.
Martin R, Sunley P, Wills J (1993). The Decentralisation of Industrial Politics? the Role of Regional Context in the Reshaping of Trade Unionism within British Engineering. Management Research News, 16(5/6), 2-2.
Chapters
Wills J, Lake RW (2020). Introduction: the power of pragmatism. In (Ed)
The power of pragmatism: Knowledge production and social inquiry, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 3-54.
Abstract:
Introduction: the power of pragmatism
Abstract.
Full text.
Harney L, Wills J (2020). Reflections on an Experiment in Pragmatic Social Research and Knowledge Production. In (Ed)
The power of pragmatism: Knowledge production and social inquiry, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 176-194.
Abstract:
Reflections on an Experiment in Pragmatic Social Research and Knowledge Production
Abstract.
Wills J (2019). Organising. In the Antipode Editorial Collective (Ed)
Keywords in Radical Geography: Antipode at 50, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 202-206.
Abstract:
Organising
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2018). Faith in action: Lessons from Citizens UK’s work in east London. In Pemberton C (Ed) Theology and civil society, Routledge, 19-44.
Wills J, Horton A (2018). Impacts of the living wage on in-work poverty. In Lohmann H, Marx I (Eds.) Handbook of research on in-work poverty, Edward Elgar.
Lee R, Wills J (2014). Concluding reflections on geographies of economies. In (Ed) Geographies of Economies, 357-358.
Wills J (2014). Engaging. In Lee R (Ed) Sage handbook of progress in human geography, 367-384.
(2013). Globalization and protest Jane Wills. In (Ed) Introducing Human Geographies, Routledge, 585-599.
Wills J (2013). Organising in the global economy: the accor IUF trade union rights agreement. In (Ed) European Works Councils: Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will?, 211-223.
Wills J (2012). Place and Politics. In (Ed) Spatial Politics: Essays for Doreen Massey, 133-145.
Datta K, McIlwaine C, Herbert J, Evans Y, May J, Wills J (2011). Global workers for global cities: Low paid migrant labour in London. In (Ed) International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, 390-397.
Wills J, McIlwaine C, Datta K, May J, Herbert J, Evans Y (2010). New migrant divisions of labour. In (Ed) The Economic Geography of the UK, 225-238.
Anderson J, Hamilton P, Wills J (2010). The multi-scalarity of trade union practice. In (Ed) Handbook of Employment and Society: Working Space, 383-397.
Wills J, Hurley J (2008). Action Research: Tracing the Threads of Labour in the Global Garment Industry. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 69-94.
Hale A, Wills J (2008). Conclusion. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 234-239.
Wills J, Hale A (2008). Threads of Labour in the Global Garment Industry. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 1-15.
Wills J (2007). The place of personal politics. In (Ed) Politics and Practice in Economic Geography, 131-140.
Wills J (2003). Organizing in transport and travel: Learning lessons from TSSAs Seacat campaign. In (Ed)
Union Organizing: Campaigning for Trade Union Recognition, 133-152.
Abstract:
Organizing in transport and travel: Learning lessons from TSSAs Seacat campaign
Abstract.
Reports
Wills J, Woolgrove N, Willett J, Ax T (2021).
Peripheral Vision:. Reimagining. Regional Policy for a Greener Union. Britain's Leading Edge and University of Exeter, Cornwall, Cornwall Council and University of Exeter.
Abstract:
Peripheral Vision:. Reimagining. Regional Policy for a Greener Union
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Wills J, Gaskell C, Craig N, Hartgroves R (2021).
Sustaining the Environment and Visitor Economy in Cornwall. University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK, Environment and Sustainability Institute.
Abstract:
Sustaining the Environment and Visitor Economy in Cornwall
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J, Smyth V, Harvey-Scholes C (2021).
Sustaining the Visitor Economy and Environment in the Isles of Scilly. University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK, Environment and Sustainability Institute.
Abstract:
Sustaining the Visitor Economy and Environment in the Isles of Scilly
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Wills J, Shaw R, Muir M (2020).
Growing Communities Through Nature: Research report. UKRI, Penryn, Cornwall, University of Exeter. 0 pages.
Abstract:
Growing Communities Through Nature: Research report
Abstract.
Full text.
Turner R, Poznansky F, Smirthwaite N, Blundell A, Benson D, Gaston K, Hamshar J, Maclean I, Wills J, Yan X, et al (2020).
Towards a sustainable Cornwall: State of the Doughnut. Penryn, Cornwall, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter. 71 pages.
Abstract:
Towards a sustainable Cornwall: State of the Doughnut
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2019).
A new geography of local government: the changing role of town and parish councils in Cornwall, UK. Locality, Penryn, University of Exeter. 30 pages.
Abstract:
A new geography of local government: the changing role of town and parish councils in Cornwall, UK
Abstract.
Full text.
Publications by year
2021
Clements J, Lobley M, Osborne J, Wills J (2021). How can academic research on UK agri-environment schemes pivot to meet the addition of climate mitigation aims?.
Land Use Policy,
106, 105441-105441.
Full text.
Wills J, Woolgrove N, Willett J, Ax T (2021).
Peripheral Vision:. Reimagining. Regional Policy for a Greener Union. Britain's Leading Edge and University of Exeter, Cornwall, Cornwall Council and University of Exeter.
Abstract:
Peripheral Vision:. Reimagining. Regional Policy for a Greener Union
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Wills J, Gaskell C, Craig N, Hartgroves R (2021).
Sustaining the Environment and Visitor Economy in Cornwall. University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK, Environment and Sustainability Institute.
Abstract:
Sustaining the Environment and Visitor Economy in Cornwall
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J, Smyth V, Harvey-Scholes C (2021).
Sustaining the Visitor Economy and Environment in the Isles of Scilly. University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK, Environment and Sustainability Institute.
Abstract:
Sustaining the Visitor Economy and Environment in the Isles of Scilly
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
2020
Wills J, Shaw R, Muir M (2020).
Growing Communities Through Nature: Research report. UKRI, Penryn, Cornwall, University of Exeter. 0 pages.
Abstract:
Growing Communities Through Nature: Research report
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J, Lake RW (2020). Introduction: the power of pragmatism. In (Ed)
The power of pragmatism: Knowledge production and social inquiry, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 3-54.
Abstract:
Introduction: the power of pragmatism
Abstract.
Full text.
Kinsley S, Layton J, Davis J, Wills J, Featherstone D, Temenos C, Barnett C (2020). Reading Clive Barnett's the Priority of Injustice. Political Geography, 78, 102065-102065.
Harney L, Wills J (2020). Reflections on an Experiment in Pragmatic Social Research and Knowledge Production. In (Ed)
The power of pragmatism: Knowledge production and social inquiry, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 176-194.
Abstract:
Reflections on an Experiment in Pragmatic Social Research and Knowledge Production
Abstract.
Wills J (2020). Review of spatial histories of radical geography.
The Annals of the Association of American Geographers: Review of Books,
8(4), 236-258.
Abstract:
Review of spatial histories of radical geography
Book review symposium to discuss Trevor J. Barnes and Eric
Sheppard, eds. Hoboken, NJ:Wiley and Sons, 2019.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Greenhough B, Read CJ, Lorimer J, Lezaun J, McLeod C, Benezra A, Bloomfield S, Brown T, Clinch M, D’Acquisto F, et al (2020). Setting the agenda for social science research on the human microbiome.
Palgrave Communications,
6(1).
Abstract:
Setting the agenda for social science research on the human microbiome
The human microbiome is an important emergent area of cross, multi and transdisciplinary study. The complexity of this topic leads to conflicting narratives and regulatory challenges. It raises questions about the benefits of its commercialisation and drives debates about alternative models for engaging with its publics, patients and other potential beneficiaries. The social sciences and the humanities have begun to explore the microbiome as an object of empirical study and as an opportunity for theoretical innovation. They can play an important role in facilitating the development of research that is socially relevant, that incorporates cultural norms and expectations around microbes and that investigates how social and biological lives intersect. This is a propitious moment to establish lines of collaboration in the study of the microbiome that incorporate the concerns and capabilities of the social sciences and the humanities together with those of the natural sciences and relevant stakeholders outside academia. This paper presents an agenda for the engagement of the social sciences with microbiome research and its implications for public policy and social change. Our methods were informed by existing multidisciplinary science-policy agenda-setting exercises. We recruited 36 academics and stakeholders and asked them to produce a list of important questions about the microbiome that were in need of further social science research. We refined this initial list into an agenda of 32 questions and organised them into eight themes that both complement and extend existing research trajectories. This agenda was further developed through a structured workshop where 21 of our participants refined the agenda and reflected on the challenges and the limitations of the exercise itself. The agenda identifies the need for research that addresses the implications of the human microbiome for human health, public health, public and private sector research and notions of self and identity. It also suggests new lines of research sensitive to the complexity and heterogeneity of human–microbiome relations, and how these intersect with questions of environmental governance, social and spatial inequality and public engagement with science.
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (eds)(2020).
The Power of Pragmatism Knowledge Production and Social Research. Manchester, Manchester University Press.
Abstract:
The Power of Pragmatism Knowledge Production and Social Research
Abstract.
Wills J (2020). The geo-constitution and responses to austerity: Institutional entrepreneurship, switching, and re-scaling in the United Kingdom.
Transactions of the Institute of British GeographersAbstract:
The geo-constitution and responses to austerity: Institutional entrepreneurship, switching, and re-scaling in the United Kingdom
© 2020 the Authors. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers published by John Wiley. &. Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) a nation's geo-constitution – its spatially uneven political institutions – plays a critical role in mediating change. This paper explores this in relation to local government responses to austerity. The paper presents original research collected in Cornwall, United Kingdom, to highlight the scale and impact of asset transfers to town and parish councils. This degree of institutional switching was possible because of a willingness to use legacy constitutional institutions to mediate the trajectory and impact of reform in response to austerity. Town and parish councils have taken on important assets (public toilets, parks, and libraries) and raised local taxation to pay for them. This has reconfigured relationships between local government institutions while also incentivising innovation in service organisation. The research highlights the role of political institutions and their personnel in mediating responses to austerity, as well as raising broader questions about the rescaling of the social contract, and the scope for further constitutional reform.
Abstract.
Full text.
Turner R, Poznansky F, Smirthwaite N, Blundell A, Benson D, Gaston K, Hamshar J, Maclean I, Wills J, Yan X, et al (2020).
Towards a sustainable Cornwall: State of the Doughnut. Penryn, Cornwall, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter. 71 pages.
Abstract:
Towards a sustainable Cornwall: State of the Doughnut
Abstract.
Full text.
2019
Wills J (2019).
A new geography of local government: the changing role of town and parish councils in Cornwall, UK. Locality, Penryn, University of Exeter. 30 pages.
Abstract:
A new geography of local government: the changing role of town and parish councils in Cornwall, UK
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2019). Organising. In the Antipode Editorial Collective (Ed)
Keywords in Radical Geography: Antipode at 50, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 202-206.
Abstract:
Organising
Abstract.
Full text.
Wills J (2019). The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions.
Progress in Human Geography,
43(3), 416-435.
Abstract:
The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions
This paper draws on existing work in the discipline of human geography and cognate fields in order to develop the concept of the ‘geo-constitution’. This concept aims to: (1) highlight the importance of intersections between geography and political institutions in the constitution of government; (2) consider the path-dependent development of political institutions and their impact on statecraft and citizenship; (3) explore the implications of this for political reform. The paper provides an overview of current thinking in political geography and applies the concept of the geo-constitution to the example of devolution and localism in the United Kingdom.
Abstract.
Full text.
2018
Wills J (2018). Faith in action: Lessons from Citizens UK’s work in east London. In Pemberton C (Ed) Theology and civil society, Routledge, 19-44.
Wills J, Horton A (2018). Impacts of the living wage on in-work poverty. In Lohmann H, Marx I (Eds.) Handbook of research on in-work poverty, Edward Elgar.
2017
Wills J, Scott J (2017). The geography of the political party: Lessons from the British Labour Party’s experiment with community organising, 2010 to 2015.
Political Geography,
60, 121-131.
Full text.
2016
Wills J (2016). (Re)Locating community in relationships: questions for public policy.
Sociological Review,
64, 639-656.
Full text.
Wills J, Simms M (2016). Building reciprocal community unionism in the UK.
Capital & Class,
28(1), 59-84.
Abstract:
Building reciprocal community unionism in the UK
British trade union renewal has focused on the twin strategies of organising and partnership. Drawing on experience from North America, and fledgling developments in Britain, this paper argues that reciprocal community unionism could provide another weapon in the union movement's armoury for reversing decline. The paper provides a brief historical overview of the intersection between unions and community in Britain before addressing reciprocal community unionism in more detail. The final part of the paper then looks at the work of Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council's Organising Centre in South West London during 2000 and 2001. The case study highlights the ways in which trade unionism can develop when focused on a particular locality, and the advantages of having extra-workplace organisation in any place. The case also illustrates some of the barriers preventing this model of trade unionism being translated to other boroughs, towns and cities in the UK. In the conclusion, the paper then calls for further experimentation in the development of reciprocal community unionism.
Abstract.
Harney L, McCurry J, Scott J, Wills J (2016). Developing ‘process pragmatism’ to underpin engaged research in human geography.
Progress in Human Geography,
40(3), 316-333.
Abstract:
Developing ‘process pragmatism’ to underpin engaged research in human geography
This paper explores the contribution that pragmatist philosophy can make to the way that we do research and teaching in human geography. It provides a historical overview of the key ideas in the tradition, their influence on the Chicago School of Sociology and community organizing, and the implications of this work for epistemological practice. The paper then looks at the variety of ways in which human geographers are using research as a means to engage in the world today, focusing in particular on the contributions of participatory action research (PAR), before making the case for ‘process pragmatism’ as a framework for doing this kind of research. To illustrate the potential of this approach, the paper outlines current research, teaching and organizing activity being undertaken by geographers at Queen Mary University of London. The paper suggests that pragmatism provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for research and teaching which can facilitate the creation of new publics, and can help to build power and democratic capacity with the aim of remaking the world.
Abstract.
Full text.
Blunt A, Wills J (2016).
Dissident geographies: an introduction to radical ideas and practice.Abstract:
Dissident geographies: an introduction to radical ideas and practice
Abstract.
Wills J (2016). Emerging geographies of English localism: the case of neighbourhood planning.
Political Geography,
53, 43-53.
Full text.
Wills J (2016).
Locating Localism Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy., Policy Press.
Abstract:
Locating Localism Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy
Abstract.
Linneker B, Wills J (2016). The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers.
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy,
34(5), 759-776.
Abstract:
The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers
in the UK, a campaign for the living wage has emerged as a civil society initiative to reduce in-work poverty. This article reports empirical evidence from a study of employers adopting the London Living Wage and the benefits from this intervention, as reported by their workers. Implementation strategies to cover higher wage costs varied, from clients meeting full costs, to reduced employer profit, to reductions in hours and employment. There were strong substitution effects from low to higher qualified workers. The evidence suggests that while there were worker benefits from the living wage, they were not automatic, as higher wage rates did not necessarily translate into higher incomes due to variations in hours of work. Workers reported more in-work benefits, than family or financial benefits. In-work poverty reduction was limited by large concentrations of part-time living wage jobs with few hours, small income increases and the rising costs of living.
Abstract.
Full text.
2015
Wills J (2015). Populism, localism and the geography of democracy.
Geoforum,
62, 188-189.
Full text.
2014
Lee R, Wills J (2014). Concluding reflections on geographies of economies. In (Ed) Geographies of Economies, 357-358.
Wills J (2014). Engaging. In Lee R (Ed) Sage handbook of progress in human geography, 367-384.
Lee R, Wills J (2014).
Geographies of economies.Abstract:
Geographies of economies
Abstract.
Wills J, Lee R (2014). Introduction.
2013
(2013). Globalization and protest Jane Wills. In (Ed) Introducing Human Geographies, Routledge, 585-599.
Wills J, Linneker B (2013). In-work poverty and the living wage in the United Kingdom: a geographical perspective.
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers,
39(2), 182-194.
Full text.
Flint E, Cummins S, Wills J (2013). Investigating the effect of the London living wage on the psychological wellbeing of low-wage service sector employees: a feasibility study.
Journal of Public Health,
36(2), 187-193.
Full text.
Wills J (2013). London’s Olympics in 2012: the good, the bad and an organising opportunity. Political Geography, 34, A1-A3.
Wills J (2013). Organising in the global economy: the accor IUF trade union rights agreement. In (Ed) European Works Councils: Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will?, 211-223.
2012
Datta K, Cathy McIlwaine, May J, Wills J (2012). Migrants and migration: Academic research in the UK. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1), 103-105.
Wills J (2012). Place and Politics. In (Ed) Spatial Politics: Essays for Doreen Massey, 133-145.
2011
Datta K, McIlwaine C, Herbert J, Evans Y, May J, Wills J (2011). Global workers for global cities: Low paid migrant labour in London. In (Ed) International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, 390-397.
2010
Wills J (2010). Academic agents for change. City, 14(6), 616-618.
Wills J, McIlwaine C, Datta K, May J, Herbert J, Evans Y (2010). New migrant divisions of labour. In (Ed) The Economic Geography of the UK, 225-238.
Anderson J, Hamilton P, Wills J (2010). The multi-scalarity of trade union practice. In (Ed) Handbook of Employment and Society: Working Space, 383-397.
2009
Rantisi NM (2009). Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers Perspective. Edited by Angela Hale and Jane Wills. Economic Geography, 83(2), 205-206.
2008
Wills J, Hurley J (2008). Action Research: Tracing the Threads of Labour in the Global Garment Industry. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 69-94.
Hale A, Wills J (2008). Conclusion. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 234-239.
Wills J (2008). Subcontracted Employment and its Challenge to Labor.
Labor Studies Journal,
34(4), 441-460.
Abstract:
Subcontracted Employment and its Challenge to Labor
This article argues that subcontracted employment is becoming paradigmatic. This form of employment has stark consequences for traditional models of trade union organization that focus on collective bargaining with the employer. The article highlights the need for subcontracted workers to put pressure on the “real employer” at the top of any contracting chain. Drawing on the lessons from community-union organizing efforts and, particularly, living wage campaigns, the article suggests that trade unions can effectively work with other social movements and allies in the community to secure the political leverage needed to change the terms and conditions of subcontracted employment. The article illustrates these arguments by exploring recent experience of the living wage campaign in London. The article draws on original research material from the Homerton Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London, to explore the progress of these living wage campaigns and their wider significance for labor organization.
Abstract.
Wills J (2008). Taking on the CosmoCorps? Experiments in Transnational Labor Organization. Economic Geography, 74(2), 111-130.
Wills J, Hale A (2008). Threads of Labour in the Global Garment Industry. In (Ed) Threads of Labour: Garment Industry Supply Chains from the Workers' Perspective, 1-15.
2007
Wills J (2007). The place of personal politics. In (Ed) Politics and Practice in Economic Geography, 131-140.
2005
(2005). Threads of Labour., Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
2003
Wills J (2003). Organizing in transport and travel: Learning lessons from TSSAs Seacat campaign. In (Ed)
Union Organizing: Campaigning for Trade Union Recognition, 133-152.
Abstract:
Organizing in transport and travel: Learning lessons from TSSAs Seacat campaign
Abstract.
1999
Wills J (1999). European Works Councils in British firms. Human Resource Management Journal, 9(4), 19-38.
1998
Wills J (1998). A Stake in Place? the Geography of Employee Ownership and its Implications for a Stakeholding Society. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 23(1), 79-94.
Wills J (1998). Uprooting tradition: Rethinking the place and space of labour organization. European Planning Studies, 6(1), 31-42.
1996
Martin R, Sunley P, Wills J (1996).
Union retreat and the regions: the shrinking landscape of organised labour.Abstract:
Union retreat and the regions: the shrinking landscape of organised labour
Abstract.
1993
Martin R, Sunley P, Wills J (1993). The Decentralisation of Industrial Politics? the Role of Regional Context in the Reshaping of Trade Unionism within British Engineering. Management Research News, 16(5/6), 2-2.
