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• School of Social and Political Studies

Social Policy

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Qualifications

• MA (Honours) in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh

• MSc in Housing Studies

• MSc in Childhood Studies (with distinction)

Supervisors

Kay Tisdall , Lynn Jamieson and Sheila Hamilton

Research Interests

Prior to commencing her PhD Emma was a research associate at Heriot Watt University and worked on a number of projects examining current policy and practice in relation to antisocial behaviour and housing issues more generally.

She was awarded an ESRC (CASE) studentship in 2008 which is being undertaken collaboratively with Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People. The research aim is to explore how young people define and understand the term ‘antisocial behaviour’; how these definitions are constructed; and how they affect the everyday lives of young people (their places, spaces and relationships).

For her fieldwork, Emma spent a year volunteering as a youth worker, both in a youth club and through a detached youth work project. Using this method allowed her to build relationships with a range of young people and talk to them on their own terms.

Initial findings have revealed nuanced and often contradictory understandings of ‘antisocial behaviour’ amongst young people. The concept has a strong spatial dimension; meaning that what is ‘antisocial’ can vary depending on the place or space it occurs. It is also relational and both adults and peers play key roles in the categorisation of certain behaviours as ‘antisocial’. The research has shown that many young people develop - sometimes unsuccessfully - strategies for avoiding, negotiating and challenging the ‘antisocial’. The study is now coming to the end of second year and Emma is about to start writing up her findings in full. The research will be completed in December 2011.

Research projects

Young People and Alcohol in Scotland: A Review of the Literature (2011) Granton Youth Centre and Junction.

Single Outcome Agreements for Scottish Local Government, 2009/10 - A  thematic Analysis, Children’s Voluntary Sector Policy Officers Network and Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People (2010).

CRFR Policy Scoping Paper, Single Outcome Agreements (2009) 

Our Say: Young People's Awareness and Understanding of the Educational Maintenance Allowance in Scotland, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People (2009) - supporting Connie Bennett, Morven Dockery and Hala Ousta.

Review of the Argyll and Bute Homelessness Strategy, Argyll and Bute Council (2009) - with Anna Evans Housing Consultancy.

The Impact of Housing Stock Transfers in Urban Britain, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2009) - with Hal Pawson, James Morgan, Robert Smith and Rebecca Edwards.

Evaluation of the establishment, operations and impact of 5 projects focused on families at risk of eviction for antisocial behaviour , Scottish Government (2009) - with Hal Pawson, Filip Sosenko, John Flint, Judy Nixon, Rionach Casey and Diana Sanderson.

Knowledge Exchange Across Settings - project to facilitate communication between mainstream and special schools, Economic Social and Research Council (2008) - Research Assistant.

Evaluation of the Implementation and Impact of Local Antisocial Behaviour Strategies at Neighbourhood Level in Selected Local Authorities, Scottish Executive (2007) - with John Flint, Hal Pawson and Judy Nixon.

Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland, Scottish Executive, (2007) - with Hal Pawson and DTZ Pieda.

Antisocial Behaviour: Understanding Registered Social Landlords Use of Powers, Housing Corporation (2007) - with Hal Pawson.

Tackling anti-social behaviour in Glasgow: An evaluation of policy and practice in the Glasgow Housing Association, Glasgow Housing Association (2007) - with John Flint and Rionach Casey.

Evaluation of Homelessness Prevention in Scotland, Scottish Executive (2007) - with Hal Pawson and Gina Netto.

Publications

Davidson, E. (2011) ‘Second best? Raising the status of telephone interviewing in families and relationships research’, Reflections on Researching Families and Relationships, London: Palgrave.  

Pawson, H. & Davidson, E (2008) Radically divergent? Homelessness policy and practice in post-devolution Scotland; European Journal of Housing Policy, Vol 1.

Pawson, H. and Davidson, E (2006) Fit for Purpose? Official Measures of Homelessness in the Era of the Activist State, Radical Statistics, No 93.

Presentations and seminars

I suppose it’s just life, you see it aw the time: locating the everyday antisocial in young lives’, paper presented at the Edinburgh Police Research and Practice Group, 14 November 2011.

‘Finding the ordinary in the antisocial’’ – paper presented at British Sociological Association Youth Study Group, Stuck in the Middle With Who?, 4 November 2011.

‘The everyday antisocial: children’s experiences of antisocial behaviour’, European Sociological Association, Social Relations in Turbulent Time, 7-10 September 2011.

'Your space or mine? The role of space in the live of young people' - paper presented at Horniman Museum Youth Conference, part of the Cultural Olympiad programme, Stories of the World, 26-27 November 2010. Conference audio and transcripts are available here. 

‘Controlling the unattached? Exploring the role of detached youth work in policing youth territories’ – paper presented at Royal Geographical Society International Conference, 1-3 September 2010, Youth Geographies of In/civility panel.

‘Antisocial behaviour and young people: their spaces, relationships and interactions with policy’, University of Edinburgh, Social Policy Seminar Series 2009

‘Becoming an Ethnographer’, University of Edinburgh, paper presented at Social Policy Seminar Series 2010

‘Serving whose interests? Involving Young People as Researchers’, paper presented at Young Researchers Conference, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, 2009

Teaching Experience

Tutoring: Analysing Qualitative Data (postgraduate); Education 2B (undergraduate)

Lecturing: Data Collection (postgraduate) – 'Doing' Ethnography; Social Policy and Society (undergraduate) - Rights and Responsibilities: Antisocial Behaviour; Children's Rights (undergraduate honours): Children's rights and antisocial behaviour