Change, loss and community : resident narratives of life on a social housing estate

This thesis explores the value and meaning of community for residents on a regenerated social housing estate in the North-West of England. ‘Community’ has continuing relevance in academic inquiry and application within social policy. It is frequently portrayed as a lost idyll that can be retrieved to counteract social decline; thus, an important means of examining social change. I contend that community is an interpretative concept; consequently, objective policy constructions of community should be challenged and explored. I further argue that social policy directed towards social housing communities has become detached from the resident experience. Therefore, this research will contribute to knowledge that seeks to understand social housing communities from a resident perspective. Fourteen semi-structured interviews have been undertaken with a purposive sample of ten residents on a social housing estate in the North of England. The interviews were transcribed and analysed through a thematic, narrative approach.The research found that community is frequently constructed through social and community places, to which residents ascribe value and importance. These places were vital for facilitating supportive social networks and central to resident power, autonomy, and ownership. The loss of community spaces was seen as contributing to a rise in anti-social behaviour and a decline in social interaction. Subsequently, residents became unable to construct belonging to where they live, affecting their well-being and ability to feel at ‘home.’ The findings highlight the exclusion of residents from dialogues about their own homes as a consequence of entrenched meta-narratives about social housing and community. This study provides a counter-narrative that contributes to a growing body of research that prioritises the resident voice and challenges ineffective social policy

Challenges, Technologies and Solutions! How to measure cultural change within a diverse institution?

We are delighted to present Salford’s ESS instructional case study which forms part of the Advance HE “inclusive institutions strand” of the Collaborative Development Fund 2021: New challenges, new solutions. The project enabled us to develop a deep understanding of the key cultural institutional enablers that drove the change required to facilitate ESS. Given the complexity associated with whole institutional change we gained a better understanding of the nuances in adopting and implementing a large institutional change project. The interactive case study developed for the Advance HE Project provides a narrative for how Salford culture articulated the enablers for transformational change to deliver the ESS framework. This presentation presents the array of technologies used in the data analysis and formulation of the interactive case study

Developing age-friendly communities in an emergent post pandemic world - Phase 1 poster

This work will contribute new knowledge and recommendations about how age-friendly initiatives can better support older people to remain socially connected to the places where they live, particularly in light of experiences of Covid-19 and reduced opportunities for face-to-face connectivity during the pandemic.This poster was produced to provide a progress update of the project in March 202

SPARC 2022 book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2022 SPARC conference. Our conference is called “Moving Forwards” reflecting our re-emergence from the pandemic and our desire to reconnect our PGR community, in celebration of their research. PGRs have continued with their research endeavours despite many challenges, and their ongoing successes are underpinned by the support and guidance of dedicated supervisors and the Doctoral School Team. To recognise supervision excellence we will be awarding our annual Supervisor of the Year prizes, based on the wonderful nominations received from their PGR students.Once again, we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 60 presenters, 12 Three-Minute Thesis finalists, and 20 poster presentations, the conference showcases our extraordinarily vibrant, inclusive, and resilient PGR community at Salford. This year there will be prizes to be won for ‘best in conference’ presentations, in addition to the winners from each parallel session. Audience members too could be in for a treat, with judges handing out spot prizes for the best questions asked, so don’t miss the opportunity to put your hand up. These abstracts provide a taster of the diverse and impactful research in progress and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Take advantage of the hybrid format: in online sessions by posting a comment or by messaging an author to say “Hello”, or by initiating break time discussions about the amazing research you’ve seen if you are with us in person. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. As recent events have shown, researchers need to collaborate to meet global challenges. Interdisciplinary and international working is increasingly recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. We do hope, therefore, that you will take this opportunity to initiate interdisciplinary conversations with other researchers. A question or comment from a different perspective can shed new light on a project and could lead to exciting collaborations, and that is what SPARC is all about. SPARC is part of a programme of personal and professional development opportunities offered to all postgraduate researchers at Salford. More information about this programme is available on our website: Doctoral School | University of Salford. Registered Salford students can access full details on the Doctoral School hub: Doctoral School Hub - Home (sharepoint.com) You can follow us on Twitter @SalfordPGRs and please use the #SPARC2022 to share your conference experience.We particularly welcome taught students from our undergraduate and master’s programmes as audience members. We hope you enjoy the presentations on offer and that they inspire you to pursue your own research career. If you would like more information about studying for a PhD here at the University of Salford, your lecturers can advise, or you can contact the relevant PGR Support Officer; their details can be found at Doctoral School | University of Salford. We wish you a rich and rewarding conference experience