The Institute for the Study of Sparsely Populated Areas is a multidisciplinary research unit which acts to coordinate, further, and initiate studies of the economic and social conditions of sparsely populated areas. Short summaries of the eight studies completed in the session of 1977-78 indicate work in such areas as the study of political life in a small burgh in northeast Scotland, the development of the Kuwait economy, and an analysis of the direct and indirect input and requirements of labour skills in Welsh industries. Other topics deal with oil tanker operations and pollution in the North Sea, and an economic appraisal of the loss of fishing grounds due to oil and gas installations in the North Sea. Fifteen studies are currently in progress dealing with such subjects as Scottish migration patterns, economic effects of oil and gas developments on local communities, Norwegian oil policies, cost of living and rural areas of Scotland, resource allocation in capital surplus economics, and education and migration from the rural Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Information given on each study includes title, staff members, timescale, finance source, and summary of the work. The final section of the paper lists the Institute's publications for 1977-78. (DS)