The School of Applied Social Sciences has a strong staff base involved in research across a number of areas and is enhanced by lateral links in specific disciplinary and professional areas in other Schools.
Current research areas include:
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Children and Young People
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Anti-Social Behaviour and the Judiciary
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Social Policy
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Social Work
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Education
Further information on these areas is available below.
The School of Applied Social Sciences is able to support research students through supervision delivered by UCS Provost, Professor Mike Saks, as well as four experienced researchers, six high profile Visiting Professors and two Visiting Senior Fellows. Professor Saks has a renowned research profile in the social sciences, with a high international rating in Politics and International Relations and Social Policy and Social Work. In addition to his publications in these areas, he has produced extensive work in the sociology of professions and health and social care. He has substantial experience in examining and supervising postgraduate research students in these fields.
The School is looking to build its research base through the development of existing partnerships and the creation of new opportunities for collaboration.
Current research activity
The School has a number of areas in which there is current research activity including:
Children and young people
The School has recently undertaken two significant evaluation projects on twilight support for young people. Other staff research interests in this area include: inarticulate children and young people; children’s understandings of the end of life; experiences and perceptions of young fatherhood; and resilience in children and young people.
Dr Bond has recently completed nationally publicised research on children’s perceptions of the impact of mobile phones on relationships and is currently developing an online ethnographic study of the impact of websites which promote anorexia to young people.
In addition, the School has recently hosted a conference building on online safety work for children, parents and teachers. Next year, the School will be hosting a major conference on eSafety incorporating academic and practitioner inputs. Other staff in the School with academic interest in this area will be able to draw on the expertise of Mark Harrison (Visiting Senior Fellow) who has run social action Research Centres at the University of Nottingham, De Montfort University and the University of East Anglia and has extensive international experience in research involving disabled groups (including children) and in the use of social action as an approach to practice in human services.
Social policy
The School is particularly active in social policy research related to health and social care. Professor Saks, the Provost, currently holds Visiting Chairs at the Universities of Essex and Lincoln. He has an international reputation, has won prestigious research grants and has published extensively on his main research area of professions and health. Professor Saks also has extensive experience of international collaboration and comparative study and is currently researching a book on the comparative analysis of healthcare in the UK, USA and Russia. Professor Judith Allsop (Visiting Professor) and Professor Saks are also working on an updated text of their book (widely used internationally) on Researching Health.
Drs Sagan and Tocca have recently completed funded research work looking at information channels for family carers and Drs Hollinrake and Thomas have undertaken a major study of support provided for older people in their own homes. In both cases these projects have resulted in reports for policy makers and will contribute to research-informed teaching. The appointment of Professor Judith Allsop will support the growth of research building on her extensive experience in medical regulation, the health professions and primary care. Professor Allsop is also ideally placed to advise on the strategic growth of research in the School as she sits on the REF panel on Social Work and Social Policy. Dr Ellen Kuhlman (Visiting Professor) also brings experience of health policy, governance, organisation and management of healthcare; health professional groups and health human resource management; gender and public health; and gender mainstreaming policies in healthcare.
Antisocial behaviour and the judiciary
Staff in the School have research interests which include violence and identity; prison law and policy; alcohol use in adolescent children; and gender differences in antisocial personality. Drs Barker, Hammond and Thomas are presently seeking funding for a project studying the impact of attachment types on the care and management of youth offenders.
Education
Support for the development of pedagogical research is provided by the appointment of Professor Mike Neary (Visiting Professor) who has expertise in leadership development in higher education and in undergraduate curricula and who has previously delivered research for the Higher Education Academy, HEFCE and was Director of Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the Universities of Warwick and Oxford Brookes. Dr Thomas is currently involved with a research study led by the University of Sheffield and the Institute of Education, funded by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, which is looking at the role that Further Education Colleges play in the delivery of Higher Education.
Enterprise
Staff from the School are already involved in the delivery of a number of enterprise activities based on research conducted with the School including conferences, the development of learning materials and the delivery of continuing professional development activities, particularly for teaching professionals.
Collaboration
The School engages with a wide range of external partners in the delivery and development of research projects. A selection of current and previous initiatives are indicated below:
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INTAS – Changing attitudes of physicians in Russia
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Canadian Institute of Health Research and University of Toronto – Care in the community
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Institute of Education, University of Sheffield and Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) – Understanding HE in Further Education Colleges
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NOMINET Trust – Online ethnography of pro-anorexia websites
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Suffolk County Council – Information channels for family carers
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Suffolk NHS, Warren Hill YOI, Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust – Attachment types in youth offenders
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Ipswich Umbrella Trust – Analysis of patterns of support for individuals with chaotic lifestyles
