Poverty, homelessness and social inequality
Current research
Reconceptualising partnerships: new options for effective
partnerships between state government and third sector in employment
services in Australia
ARC Linkage. E
Carson (with Kerr and Simmons)
Demographic change, ageing and the workforce: an integrated model to
inform workforce development and planning in Australia
ARC Linkage. E Carson (with Spoehr, Hugo and Richardson, Uni of Adelaide
administering funds total $153,358).
Inequality and social exclusion
A collaborative research partnership between Uniting Care Wesley and the Social
Policy Research Group. E Carson and L Kerr.
UCW Adelaide and the SPRG have combined to undertake applied
research on pressing social concerns and social policy issues for South
Australia that are generated through the interface between inequality
and social exclusion. This
is a dynamic and changing field, which must use key economic, political
and social indicators in ways that are responsive to community needs.
The evaluation, development and use of policy requires a transdisciplinary approach and is based on knowledge drawn from fields
such as social work, sociology, political science and economics. It
requires skills in the identification of current and emerging social
issues and expertise in the management of human services, including the
delivery and evaluation of community programs. Our combined research
aims to generate frameworks, programs and guidelines based on principles of
social justice and equity and develop options for achieving social objectives.
These activities are clearly in line with the vision, mission and core values of UCW
Adelaide and the university's mission of 'educating professionals
– creating and applying knowledge – serving the community'.
Completed projects
Family policy and the impact of poverty on families and children at
risk
H Cameron (with Slee, Murray-Harvey and Baghurst). 2000–2004. In collaboration
with Flinders University, SA Department for Human Services and Adelaide Women's
and Children's Hospital.
This research defined several factors separating some families 'at risk' from
others, and the range of factors that impact on family outcomes and on the
families' patterns of service access and use. Our research found that families
living in socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances were found to experience
increased difficulty in making and maintaining social connections within their
neighbourhoods. They also experience a low sense of safety for themselves and
their children. It was found that crime is higher in disadvantaged areas than in
more affluent areas and this intersects with perceptions about lack of family
safety. The results have direct implications for both service delivery
strategies and the location of such services, and contribute to the literature
on families at risk and on community intervention strategies to improve safety.
Community forums in both the northern and southern suburbs conveyed the major
findings of this research to service providers who showed considerable interest.
Reports
Carson E, Fopp R & Parker S (2003) Vulnerable in the city: a study of accommodation and other services for vulnerable adults in inner Adelaide, Inner City Administrators Group, Adelaide. (PDF 2 MB)
Carson E & Martin S (2001) Social disadvantage in South Australia.
Flinders University et al (2004) Families at risk: the effects of chronic and multiple disadvantage, Flinders University et al, University of South Australia, Department of Human Services and Women's and Children's Hospital. (PDF 845 kb)
Kerr L & Savelsberg H (2002) The impact of mutual obligation policies on unemployed young people, community organisations and the wider community, Social Policy Research Group and Adelaide Central Mission, Adelaide. (PDF 448 kb).
Kerr L & Savelsberg H (2003) Breaching and disadvantaged young people: the social and financial impacts, Social Policy Research Group and Adelaide Central Mission, Adelaide. (PDF 531 kb)
King S, Bamford D, Sarre R (2005) Factors that influence remand in custody: final report to the Criminology Research Council, Social Policy Research Group, Magill, South Australia. (PDF 1.55 MB)
Sarre R, King S & Bamford D (2006)
Remand in
custody: critical factors and key issues. Trends and issues in
crime and criminal justice no. 310. Australian Institute of Criminology,
Canberra.
Publications
Fopp R (2006) 'Social constructionism and housing research: exploring issues', paper presented at Australian Housing Researchers Conference, Adelaide, 19–21 June.
Arthurson K (2006) '"It puts your value down, I think if you've got them all around" – estate regeneration and the malign effects of social mix', International Social Sciences Conference, Rhodes.
Arthurson K (2006) 'Historical Constructions of Social Mix', Urban History Planning Conference, Wellington, New Zealand.
Arthurson K (2006) 'The Labour Force Benefits of Community Housing', Dunstan Foundation Research Roundtable: Changes at Work and their Implications for Housing in Australia, Adelaide, 10 April.
Arthurson K (2006) '"A lot of people don't notice who they are, but I do!": Stigma and mixed tenure communities', European Network of Housing Researchers Conference.
Arthurson K (forthcoming) 'Restructuring large Housing Estates in Europe', Book Review, Housing Theory and Society.
Arthurson K (2004) 'Conceptualising social inclusion in estate regeneration policy: what part does public housing play?' Just Policy, 34, 3–13.
Arthurson K (2004) 'From stigma to demolition: Australian debates about housing and social exclusion', Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 19(3), 255–270.
Arthurson K (2002) 'Creating Inclusive Communities Through Balancing Social Mix: A Critical Relationship or Tenuous Link?' Urban Policy and Research, 20(3), 245–261.
Arthurson K & Jacobs K (2006) 'Housing Policy Discourses in the Australian Post-Welfare State', Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 19–21 June 2006.
Baker E & Arthurson K (2006) 'Social networks, Housing Quality or Residential Environment: What's more important for the Well-being of Relocating Tenants?' European Network of Housing Researchers Conference, Slovenia.
Cameron H (2006) 'Poverty and family life under welfare-to-work', South Australian Policy Online, Australian Institute of Social Research, University of Adelaide.
Cameron H (2005) 'Social disadvantage and families with young children', Journal of Family Studies, 11(2), 297–316.
Carson E, Kerr L & Goddard J (2002) 'Contractualism, employment services and mature-age job seekers', The Drawing Board, 3(2).
Jacobs K & Arthurson K (2004) 'Public housing and the "problem" of anti-social behaviour', Parity, 17(10) and Housing Works, 2(2), 23–24.
Jacobs K, Arthurson K & Randolph B (2004) Developing appropriate exit strategies for housing regeneration programmes. Positioning paper no. 69. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Southern Research Centre.
Winefield A and Carson E (2006) 'Active labour programs for young long-term unemployed: psychological impact of participation in a recent program', in T Kieselback, A Winefield, C Boyd and S Anderson (eds), Unemployment and health: international and interdisciplinary perspectives, Australian Academic Press, Brisbane.
Ranzijn R, Carson E & Winefield A (2006) 'On the scrap heap at 45: the
human impact of unemployment', British Journal of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology, 79(3), 467–479.