Research
The School has a varied research profile with particular strengths in applied research connected to health and social policy concerns. In the Research Assessment Exercise, the School achieved 3a in Social Policy and contributed to a score of 4 in European Studies.
Established research strengths in Applied Psychology, Substance Misuse, Social Policy and European Studies have been added to recently through key appointments at professorial level in psychology and in a chair in public health. There are strong research-active colleagues in all of the key social science disciplines in the School, however, and not all of our research is of an applied nature.
The School has also pooled applied research expertise into the Institute for Applied Social and Health Research that was launched in 2004.
Politics and Sociology
The group contributed research to the RAE submission in social policy and has applied research interests in: the sociology of health, mental health and disability; the sociology of medical technology in midwifery and obstetrics; comparative health policy. Other active staff research programmes lie in: the historical sociology of gender and the family in the nineteenth century, with particular reference to the middle class; historical materialism, language and activity theory; and urban partnerships in Scotland. In addition, members of the group are actively involved in the University's Centre for Contemporary European Studies and contribute to its research programme and RAE rating with work on: the European Union and its implications for state sovereignty; citizenship and identity; and EU accession, environmental policy and political economy in East Central Europe.
Psychology
Research in the psychology subject group reflects the interdisciplinary and applied nature of the work of the School as a whole. Major interests of staff are child employment and educational attainment and development; pre-school provision and behaviour management; behaviour analysis and numeracy; the role of working memory in planning and decision making; the relationship between working memory, language and reading in learning disability; audio-visual aspects of speech perception; teaching and learning in Higher Education; psychological approaches to legend and rumour; recycling behaviour; stress and job satisfaction; odour and ERP, and forensic psychology. Recently research has been supported by the Chief Scientist Office, Leverhulme Trust and Careers Scotland.
Social Policy and Social Work
Research activity relates to the two broad themes of social and family policy, and health and social care. Within these themes, specialist areas are: theories of welfare state development; comparative analysis of support for the welfare state; post Communist welfare in Eastern Europe; housing and social security; adoption & fostering; safeguarders and the Children's Hearing System; and social work law in Scotland. Funded research is concentrated in two research centres and in the work of the chair in public health.
The Drug and Alcohol Research & Teaching centre has engaged in an evaluation of alcohol and drug services for Renfrewshire Council and in two projects relating to the transition from addiction to training and employment, and has research expertise specifically in relation to motivational aspects of addiction and relapse prevention.
Professor Taylor, chair in public health, has extensive research expertise in social and behavioural aspects of injecting drug use, with particular reference to blood borne viral infections. She is currently leading several major studies funded by the Chief Scientist's Office and other Scottish Executive Departments. These include a study of methadone maintenance treatment, an ethnographic study of injecting practices and an evaluation of recent legislative changes relating to the supply of sterile needles and syringes to injectors.
CENTRE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICE STUDIES
The Centre for Criminal Justice and Police Studies is situated with the School of Social Sciences on the Hamilton Campus. It has developed from Hamilton’s association of over thirty years with the Scottish Police Service in the field of police higher education. In particular, it now carries forward the work undertaken by the Scottish Centre for Police Studies, formed in 2003 to provide a basis of research and publication on various aspects of policing in Scotland.
Whilst retaining and developing its interests in policing research, the Centre is broadening the scope of its interests to other areas, including the Scottish criminal justice system, prisons, money-laundering and asset recovery, and youth justice.
The scope of activities undertaken include the following:
- The provision of an undergraduate B.A. (Honours) degree in Criminal Justice.
- Supervision of postgraduate master’s and doctoral students.
- Undertaking funded research projects.
- Continuing professional development programmes for criminal justice agencies, voluntary organisations and part-time students.
- Knowledge transfer activities such as the publication of research bulletins and papers.
- Collaborating in the activities of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research.
- Providing services for consultancy, practitioner research and media information.