University of Sunderland

Current Research Activity

The Centre for Children, Young People and Families invites you to put a date in your diary:

Wednesday 14th December 2011 10-12

The Impact of the Spending Review in the North East: Initial Findings and Panel Discussion

The event will focus on the findings of a study conducted with partner agencies of the Department of Social Sciences, to review current and potential impacts of the Coalition Spending Review on their services and service users, and provide an aopportunity to take part in a panel discussion aboout their implications.

In addition there will be an opportunity to sign up for a short series of follow-up events on themes arising from the study: working with voolunteers; evidence gathering and evaluation; and new funding strategies and consortia.

We also intend to continue this study and will use this event as an opportunity to recruit participants into the second phase focussing on persepctives of service users.

We expect take up of this free event to be high. if you would like to attend please contact Alision Perrett on alison.perrett@sunderland.ac.uk to book your place.

The Wednesday lecture - 23rd November 2011 3-5pm Priestman Building B31

Ilona Buchroth - Does the 'Big Society' already exist? Voolunteering and Community Action in the North East

Community engagement and volunteering has become the renewed focus of current governmet policy, most notably through the 'Big Society Vision'. This seminar draws on findings of a study of 20 people who are active in their local community in the North East of England, aiming to understand contemporary motivations and conditions for collective community action. The findings from this study challenge the prevailing assumptions of apathy, inactivity and individualism and show the very broad range of reasons that motivate people of different ages and backgrounds to become and remain active with others. Furthermore, this study outlines the conditions that are likely for this engagement to flourish, to take it beynd a remedial, temporary 'life style' option and instead to allow it to take root as a sustainable and transformative contirbution to local neighbourhoods.  

The Wednesday Lecture - 5th October 2011 3-5pm Priestman Building D2

CCYPF Equalities and Social Justice Research Strand welcomes back Colin Cremin for a guest lecture on:

Eros and Austerity: Capitalism, Consumption and Crises

'Desire', said Deleuze and Guattari, 'is shamed, stupefied...it is easily persuaded to deny 'itslf' in the name of more important interests of civilisation'.  Today desire is being shamed for what it has apparently done to the economy and ecology. With all roads leading to austerity, all fingers point at a generic subspecies called the 'consumer'. After all, their crass individualism, selfishness and greed has corroded public life, contributed to the depletion of planetary resources, the rise of sweatshops in India and skyrocketing food prices in Africa. And now, by 'bringing on easy credit', consumers are now to blame for the economic crisis. As a commentator wrote in The Guardian newspaper at the time of the first bailout of the Greek economy, 'it's time to take the pain as the Irish have, that we did this to ourselves and there's no choice but to put on a brave face and forge a 'New Greece'. The paper mounts a defence of the consumer. It argues against a logic of austerity whether justified for econonic or ecological reasons and invokes a Herber Marcuse who saw Eros - the pleasure principle - as a liberating force. Anticiipating iCommunism, published by Zer0 books in 2012, the paper argues that it is time to give the consumer what they want, what they really want.

The Wednesday Lecture - 28th September 2011 3-5pm Priestman Building B31

Continuing our series on 'risk' the speakers will be:

Rick Bowler & Alsion Ni Charraighe - The risky business of challenging risk: the role of youth work in fostering alternatives to defecit identities

In September 2011 Justice Minister Ken Clarke set out his view that the riots in Agust were caused by a 'feral underclass of young people'. The concept of 'problem youth' and their defecit cultures is nothing new. These moral panics are irrational (Cohen, 1972), political and racialised (Hall, 1978). However, in more recent years, the concepts of youth 'at risk' and 'risk-taking' young people have been added to the social policy agenda. Significant academic research has been produced which seeks to outline the 'risk factors' inherent in both individuals and communitities. A tacit acceptance of this 'risk paradigm' lies in the focus of the work undetaken by professionals with young people and communities.  The acceptance of 'targeted interventions', most of which are class-based, gendered and racialised, is arguably transforming and potentially undermining the basic assumptions of practice within Youth Work. We will explore the risks to youth workers and identity of youth work as a whole if they challenge these dominant discourses of risk. 

Gillian Denny: 'Stop and search' powers since September 11th 2001: the 'risk' of using ethnic profiling

This presentation will explore the arguments around 'stop and search' powers, the risk with this approach and how this has resulted in the loss of rights for Muslims since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and support from the Muslim community.

Annual European Congress on Learning Disabilities (9th-10th September 2011) - co-organised by Dr. Steve Macdonald

The conference is being held by Learning Disabilities Worldwide. LDW is pleased to annouce its first conference outside the USA, which will be held at the University of Applied Sciences of Special Needs Education in Zurich, Switzerland. We invite proposals for sessions related to its theme: 'Learning Disabilitie: Research and Education'. Areas of interest include all aspects of language based and non-verbal LD, ADHD, dyslexia, reading difficulties, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, processing disorders and developmental disabilities. The purpose of the conference is to present and exhibit the most up to date information to a diverse audience, which includes researchers and practicioners (teachers, educators, sociologists, psychologists, social workers, physicians etc). You are invited to be among those presenters to come from a variety of a different countries outside and inside Europe.  If you would like to submit a paper please follow the link below:

http://www.ldworldwide.org/conferences/_ldw_annual_european_conference_on_ld.html

Also see the following pdf documents for information on the conference:

Learning Disabilities Conference

Learning Disabilities Conference Info

Research seminars

The ESOJ research strand organises monthly seminars on the last Wednesday of each month 3-5pm in Forster Hall F14. Everybody is welcome. Speakers usually speak for about 50 minutes and then time is given for questions, discussion and comments. 

2010-2011 Reporting Back - this is a mini series of three seminars reporting on the findings of recently completed research:

October 27th 2010 - John Clayton: Digital inclusion in the city of Sunderland: an evaluation

November 24th 2010 - Catherine Donovan and Sue Griffiths: Holistic models addressing domestic violence: an evaluation of impact and processs

December 15th 2010 - Stephen Macdonald: The role of patient and public involvement within the commissioning of National Health Service

In the new year, research seminars will draw from papers being written for an edited collection by members of the Centre. More information will be posted here in January 2011.

January ESOJ seminar

26th January 2011 2-4pm Murray Library Lecture Theatre, City Campus

Alison Jobe (NSPCC) - Safeguarding Young People: Responding to young people aged 11-17 who are maltreated

Grant Writing Workshops

This year we are holding regular workshops for those interested in developing research proposals for external funding.  Those participating in these workshops are working on proposals both inside the workshops and outside so that as the year progresses we will take each proposal through the development process and see at least 50 per cent of the original ideas being submitted for external funding.  These workshops are run on a Friday morning 10-12pm about every 4-6 weeks.  Any colleague is welcome to join in. Please contact catherine.donovan@sunderland.ac.uk if you want any information about this group.

New To Research Workshops

We are also holding regular workshops for those interested in (re)-starting research: for those that might think that they are interested in research, but are not quite sure what it means of what it might entail. These workshops are run about every 4-6 weeks. Any colleague is welcome to join in. Please contact catherine.donovan@sunderland.ac.uk if you would like more information on this.

'Race' and racism in the North East: From theory to practice

A small group of us have been working to raise the profile of 'race' and racism in the North East and have been successful in securing funding to put on three public regional events that are aimed at researchers, practitioners and policy makers.The first event in October 2009 was a very successful day event at which internationally known researchers in the field presented their most recent work and workshops were facilitated by regional practitioners on three issues: community cohesion, politics and immigration and racism and education.  A report from this day is available here: 'Race' and racism conference report as are the audio visual lectures and powerpoint presentations:

Nayak - Shadows on the Landscape

Crozier - white noise, moral panics and a discourse of antagonism

Thomas - Community cohesion and the death of Multiculturalism

Over eighty participants from around the region took part.  As a result of this event Unison North East Black Members gave us a grant to develop two further events to develop the theme.

The second event which took place in May 2010 was a half day focussed on ''Race', being white and social class'. Dr Steve Garner started the day with a presentation and workshops explored some of the implications of his work. Again this was a successful event with over 40 participants.

Our third event will take place on Friday July 1st 2011 and will be a one day event. Further details will be posted as they become available.