A pair of diagrams on unrelated diversification in the ALRA: an illustration

A pair of diagrams on unrelated diversification in the ALRA: an illustration


Diagram 1: A management-concerns diagram

Diagram 2: A theoretical framework

Sometimes, an inexperienced agile literature review approach (ALRA) user has difficulty to construct the two diagrams and, consequently, produced a diagram which is a hybrid of the of the two diagrams. So, it is vital to examine the two diagrams and be able to discern their differences in terms of features and purposes.

Developing a management-concerns diagram from a core theme in ALRA: an illustration

Developing a management-concerns diagram from a core theme in the Agile Literature Review Approach (ALRA): an illustration 


Sometimes, a student's initial management-concerns diagram is purely his/her research theme expressed in diagram form. For example, the research theme is on sustainable product development. In this case, it is possible to introduce a few additional components into the management-concerns diagram to depict a set of management concerns more clearly, thus, more meaningfully. This is indicated in the following diagram:

Diagram 1

Components 3 and 4 cover the core theme of the research project on "sustainable product management" and "sustainable product marketing". Components 1, 2 and 5 are added to cover factors that raise the need to improve components 3 and 4. Preferably, the student should go through the project orientation phase more properly so as to include more specific factors for components 1, 2 and 5 so as to make the set of management concerns more specific to a particular client system at a particular time-space. Diagram 1 serves to encourage the student to do so.

A pair of diagrams on homelessness of young couples (HK) in the agile literature review approach

A pair of diagrams on homelessness of young couples (HK) in the agile literature review approach (ALRA): an illustration


Diagram 1: Housing-concerns diagram

Diagram 2: A theoretical framework

Managerial cognitive filter and intellectual intelligence in applied business research

Part-time MBA students participate in applied business research projects with their own managerial intellectual competence profile. I consider two components of the managerial intellectual competence profile. They are (a) the existing managerial cognitive filter and (b) managerial intellectual intelligence. Their roles in applied business research are depicted in Diagram 1.

Diagram 1: the notions of managerial intellectual cognitive filter and intellectual intelligence in the conceptual landscape of an ALRA-based applied business research project

The existing managerial cognitive filter (element 5 in Diagram 1) works as a intellectual cognitive filter of the student on comprehending information learned about the client system of his/her dissertation project. The fact is, some students are good at, e.g., human resource management while other at micro-economics/ strategic management. Thus, they are sensitive deferentially to the project background information exposed to them. The consequence is that, given the same project background, different students will produce a different diagram of management-concerns. The existing managerial intellectual intelligence (element 6 of Diagram 1) refers to the ability to acquire and apply intellectual knowledge to good use, e.g., production of a good quality applied business research report. The main determinants of this element are the student's intellectual learning mindset, thus also the motivation to learn, and personal resources, e.g., time available to learn, to support intellectual learning. Together, elements 5 and 6 of a particular student affects consequently the management-concerns diagram (element 1 of Diagram 1) and the associated theoretical framework (element 2 of Diagram 1) produced.

The dissertation project supervisor of the student plays an active role in the e-resources and other supportive infrastructure (element 7 of Diagram 1), but the supervisor is not expected to "instruct" or "order" the student, especially at a detailed level, what to do for his/her dissertation project.

The agile literature review approach (ALRA) offers useful theoretical concepts and procedural guidance to the students, notably on the construction of the management-concerns diagram (element 1), the theoretical framework (element 2), the research methods mapped with clear justification  (element 3) onto the theoretical framework and a good quality theory-driven analysis and recommendations (element 4). Lastly, the conduct of the applied business research project in this ALRA-guided mode leads to managerial intellectual learning (MIL)  (element 8 of Diagram 1) on the student's part.

A level 1 theoretical framework for housing dissertation: an illustration

The following diagrams explain how to construct a level-1 theoretical framework for housing dissertation: an illustration on the theme of homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong


Diagram 1: A level-0 theoretical framework on the theme of "homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong

Diagram 2: A level-1 theoretical framework on component 3 of the theoretical framework (level 0)

Component 3 of Diagram 1 is "Evaluation of homelessness conditions of Hong Kong baby boomers". Diagram 3: A level-1 theoretical framework on component 3 of Diagram 1 with mapped research methods

Note that the academic ideas in the level-1 theoretical framework on component 3 (re: Diagram 1) come from the literature review of the researcher.


Note: with a pair of diagram on homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong, plus the corresponding level-1 theoretical frameworks on all Level-0 components and mapped research methods, the researcher in the housing field is a position to produce a clearly organized and informed dissertation proposal.



Reference
FB group on the agile literature review approach (ALRA)

A pair of level-0 diagrams for a housing dissertation project: an illustration

A pair of diagrams [at level 0] for a housing dissertation project: an illustration on the theme of homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong


Diagram 1: A housing-concerns diagram on  homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong: level 0

Regarding Diagram 1, the five components are:
Component A: Profile of baby boomers in Hong Kong
Component B: Drivers of homelessness of baby boomers (HK)
Component C: Occurrence of homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong
Component D: Problem of quality of life of homeless baby boomers in Hong Kong
Component E: Negative impacts of baby boomer homelessness to the Hong Kong society Follow-up task: try to provide 3-4 relevant ideas (e.g., viewpoints, complaints, debating points and empirical observations) via study of local newspapers on components A to E above to make the nature of the components in diagram 1 [i.e. a set of related housing concerns] clear. [Sometimes, you cannot find much or any local information about a particular component from the Internet; in this case, you may be interested to do some own fact-finding for your dissertation project related to the component. Anyway, the academic literature may be able to offer you some generalized ideas related to the component concerned. So, you could still use these generalized ideas from the academic literature to describe the component in general terms. This is usually sufficient for initially justifying the chosen research topic and related research objectives.]


Diagram 2: A theoretical framework on homelessness of baby boomers in Hong Kong: level 0

The theoretical framework (re: Diagram 2) represents your intellectual response to examine and address your chosen set of housing concerns (as portrayed in Diagram 1). The theoretical framework provides the agenda for you to perform a focused literature review for your dissertation project.

[Also note that:
(a) the components in the core-focus domain make up: (i) your research objectives, i,e., research objective 1: to evaluate the homelessness conditions of HK baby boomers; research objective 2: to evaluate the personal and societal impacts of baby boomers homelessness in Hong Kong; research objective 3: to evaluate the available measures to alleviate the baby boomers homelessness problem in Hong Kong and (ii) the title of your proposal: "An evaluation of the homelessness conditions and impacts of the baby boomers in Hong Kong" and,
(b) your chosen intellectual response depends much on your profile of intellectual competence.]


Follow-up task: try to conduct literature review to provide 3-4 specific academic ideas / academic topics on components 1-5 of diagram 2 clear. You need to pay more attention to do literature review to include extra useful academic ideas for components 3-5 as they make up the core-focus domain of your theoretical framework. The main source for the literature review is academic journals related to your theme of homelessness of baby boomers.

On continuous professional development after university graduation

My recommendations on continuous professional development after university graduation are as follows:


1. An agile approach: mainly relying on the social media, especially on Youtube to learn topics ans concepts in an agile mode, e.g. with the agile literature review approach;

2. A globalized approach: Learn information and knowledge in a globalized way; do not confine to learning in local educational/ professional institutions and local newspapers. Again, the social media on the Internet is one of the main channels to learn globally; Related to this, learning outlook should be cosmopolitan.

3. Adopt an appropriate mind-set of learning, as supplemented with a suitable life-style. In this regard, I recommend the pursuit of the scholar-practitioner development path;

4. Adopt a multi-disciplinary and, better still, a trans-disciplinary mode of intellectual learning, such as the multi-perspective, systems-based research mode;

5. Obtain some kind of tutorial and mentoring support, if necessary.

6. Continuous professional development should be self-driven, life-based, critical and reflective, and agile.


Lastly, compatible with my recommendations above, do not rely "too much" on continuous professional development programmes that are "expensive", "inefficient", "rigid", "big-bang-style", "intensively accelerated" and "external pressure-driven".



References

• FB page on managerial intellectual learning
• FB page on scholar-practitioner

How to get high marks for Independent Study?

Over the years, some Independent Study students ask me this question:

"How to get high marks for Independent Study?" 

First of all, on the quick-fix advice: 

Study the course info carefully, check your writing to refine your reasoning; check referencing format and reference list format. Make sure the reference list is sorted in ascending order. Double-check your data analysis to ensure that the data interpretation is technically correct. See if you could make use of literature review ideas in your data interpretation; Check if your multiple regression formula is clearly justified with literature review ideas; check if you have use too many quotations. See if you could further refine your ideas and line of reasoning with more literature review. Ensure your report is within +/-5, maximum +/-10% of word counts allowed. There is a limit on what a student can do to make academic improvement with the quick fix approach

The long-term solution [to build up intellectual competence and intellectual intelligence] is this:

Commit to the life-long path of personal development as a scholar-practitioner; one can study my works on managerial intellectual learning. By doing so, a student can improve academic performance and much more. This personal development path requires life-long engagement with managerial intellectual learning.




I do not have suggestions on how to achieve long-term academic improvements with quick-fix advice. Feel free to consider these short-term and long-term suggestions on how to improve your academic performance in doing assignments. If you still have time to make some refinement to your assignment reports, please feel free to review and reflect on your draft and make some improvement on it.


Reference
FB group on scholar-practitioner

Concern about reuse of proposal content in final Independent study report: a reply

I notice that quite some students have concern about "reuse of proposal content in final Independent study (IS) report", leading to higher similarity score.

Basically, re-using the IS proposal content in the final IS report is not much a concern (as related to plagiarism). I certainly recommend students to rephrase contents on proposal before incorporating them into the final reports.

I will study the detailed software report to find out what actually have happened regarding to the issue of potential plagiarism.

Student A: Does it mean that there is no way to find out what actually happens with regard to the plagiarism topic by studying the similarity statistics?

Reply: I do not solely on the similarity statistics to judge what has happened to the content with regard to the plagiarism concern. I will carefully study the detailed software reports for that. So, I can find out what has happened, for sure.

Some ALRA advice for beginners doing applied business research

Some Agile Literature Review Aapproach (ALRA) advice for beginners doing applied business research:

Very often, students will start by picking a management theme, e.g., staff turnover, work-life balance or knowledge management, and then direct their main attention to research methods design, mainly on questionnaire survey. I recommend that, initially, students spare the main efforts to explore the research project background (involving a specific organization) to work out ideas in the following three main Agile Literature Review Approach (ALRA) content areas:

Main content area 1: management theme(s): about 1 to 2 related management themes
Main content 2: A set of related management concerns, expressed in the form of a management-concerns diagram
Main content 3: A theoretical framework, representing the researcher's well-thought-out intellectual response to the set of management concerns identified (re: Content 2)

The contents of the three main content areas are to be produced via an agile process such that these contents can be said to emerge in a co-evolutionary way. The Agile Literature Review Approach (ALRA) endorses this co-evolutionary view of this content generation process. This is depicted in the following diagram (Diagram 1):

Diagram 1: Co-evolutionary emergence of the ALRA contents

Besides the three main ALRA content areas, Diagram 1 also recognizes three other secondary content areas in the initial stage of the ALRA application. They are contents on: " Explore the dynamic dissertation project background", "Design research methods", and "Perform literature review". These three secondary content areas can also exert influences on the three main ALRA content areas of "Construct management theme(s)", "Construct a set of related management concerns" and "Construct a theoretical framework".



At this point, a busy student might ask: what is the most important task to do right now?
Answer: Not one task, but two main immediate tasks: (a) Find a company to study and (b) try to work out a diagram-pair prototype of "a management-concerns diagram and a theoretical framework".

How different is the ALRA when employed in Housing Dissertation Projects?

How different is the Agile Literature Review Approach (ALRA) when employed in Housing Dissertation Projects? I suggest the following 3 characteristics:

Suggested characteristic 1: With regard to the task of constructing the housing-related concern diagram, the researcher relies more on studying secondary data, e.g.,  newspaper articles, and, sometimes, academic journal articles, than that in the business management field.

Suggested characteristic 2: With regard to the task of constructing a theoretical framework on a specific housing theme, the researcher needs to make use of academic concepts and techniques that are more fuzzy, human value-full, unstructured and time-space specific than that in the business management field.

Suggested characteristic 3: Researchers tend to more receptive to the subjective and critical perspectives to comprehend and explicitly examine the dissertation project background than that in the business management field. As a result, the housing-concerns diagram very often exhibits "wickedness" in problem property.


These are the three suggested characteristics of the agile literature review approach when applied in housing dissertation project.


Apparently, in this case, researchers need to study much more the academic literature on housing studies than those on business management.

Identification of academic ideas for theoretical framework preparation - on housing affordability

Identification of academic ideas/ topics for the preparation of a theoretical framework: on housing affordability

The note provides some illustration of identifying potential academic ideas, including academic topics, that could be considered by a researcher in housing studies to construct a theoretical framework. Such a theoretical framework can then be employed in the agile literature review approach (ALRA). There are five academic articles examined in this note.

Academic theme: housing affordability

Article 1

Luc Borrowman, Gennadi Kazakevitch & Lionel Frost (2017) How long do households remain in housing affordability stress?, Housing Studies, 32:7, 869-886, DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2017.1280140.

Abstract: We develop a model that specifies the duration of housing affordability stress for particular types of households. Using panel data from Australia, households are considered in semi- and parametric analysis against different household characteristics, revealing whether these characteristics predict the duration of housing affordability stress. For most types of households, an experience of housing affordability stress lasts less than one year. A group of household types disproportionately made up of renters and sole persons remains in stress for longer periods. Chronic housing affordability stress occurs if the duration of stress lasts for more than three years. Linking the duration of stress to household types, and demographic, financial and educational characteristics makes it possible to design more targeted, and therefore more efficient housing affordability policies.

Academic ideas used: Housing affordability; duration of housing stress; household budget

Article 2

Marietta E. A. Haffner & Harry J. F. M. Boumeester (2010): The Affordability of Housing in the Netherlands: An Increasing Income Gap Between Renting and Owning?, Housing Studies, 25:6, 799-820.

Abstract: Housing became more expensive in the Netherlands between 2002 and 2006, a trend which has been demonstrated using various measures of affordability. The expenditure-to-income ratios calculated for households confirm that the average cost of housing rose for tenants and homeowners, as well as for most income groups generally. This contribution analyses the development of various components of household expenditure which contributed to these higher ratios. One of the most important considerations here is the fact that average household disposable incomes either fell (tenants) or remained stable (homeowners) during the four-year period under review. This leads to the question of whether these increasing income differences between renting and owning can be attributed to the business cycle alone, or whether they are part of a longer-term trend that will eventually result in a rental sector that provides housing for those on lower incomes. The findings suggest that a longer-term or structural widening of the income gap between renting and owning may indeed be taking place.

Academic ideas used: affordability; expenditure-to-income ratio; income inequality

Article 3

Michael E. Stone (2006) A Housing Affordability Standard for the UK, Housing Studies, 21:4, 453-476, DOI: 10.1080/02673030600708886.

Abstract: Since 1990 there has been extensive exploration of the meaning of housing affordability by members of the academic, professional and advocacy communities in Britain. These debates have revealed weaknesses in the traditional ratio standard of affordability and led to arguments in support of an alternative, residual income concept of affordability. However, so far there has been only limited success in operationalising and applying the residual income approach in the UK. In the US, by contrast, arguments in support of a residual income approach to housing affordability emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, culminating in the formulation of operational standards utilising normative family budgets. This paper draws upon the US experience to formulate a residual income housing affordability standard for the UK that utilises the non-shelter components of the Family Budget Unit (FBU) ‘Low Cost but Acceptable’ budgets as the normative standard for minimum adequate residual income. The paper concludes by suggesting how use of such a ‘shelter’ poverty standard to assess housing affordability problems and needs in the UK might yield results that differ from those based on the ratio standard.

Academic ideas used: Housing affordability; residual income; shelter poverty

Article 4

Gavin Wood & Rachel Ong (2011) Factors Shaping the Dynamics of Housing Affordability in Australia 2001–06, Housing Studies, 26:7-8, 1105-1127, DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2011.615156.

Abstract: This paper investigates factors shaping the dynamics of housing affordability in Australia over the period 2001–06. Panel model findings indicate that those with children and the unwaged are more prone to persistent housing affordability stress. However, residential moves during spells of housing affordability stress alleviate housing cost burdens. Survival in affordable housing has become progressively more difficult over the 2001–06 timeframe, an unsurprising finding given a house price boom over the period of analysis. Residential moves are again influential, but those made by households during a spell in affordable housing are associated with the onset of housing affordability stress.

Academic ideas used: Housing affordability dynamics; housing affordability stress

Article 5

Andrew Beer , Bridget Kearins & Hans Pieters (2007) Housing Affordability and Planning in Australia: The Challenge of Policy Under Neo-liberalism, Housing Studies, 22:1, 11-24, DOI: 10.1080/02673030601024572.

Abstract: Housing affordability has once again appeared on the policy agenda of Australian governments. House prices have risen in response to booming demand and constraints on the supply of dwellings, especially a shortage of land in the capital cities and skill shortages within the housing industry. Many young and low-income households have experienced great difficulty in gaining access to homeownership and in being able to afford private rental housing. This paper briefly considers the characteristics of public debate around housing affordability in Australia. It examines the role of neo-liberalism in shaping policy responses to housing affordability problems and assesses the argument that affordability goals can be achieved through manipulation of the planning system. It contends that neo-liberal philosophies of government direct policy action to the planning system, but such strategies have a limited capacity to improve housing affordability. Australian governments need to adopt more effective housing policies if they are to meet the needs of the 700 000 to 1 million households who live in unaffordable housing.

Academic ideas used: Housing affordability; neo-liberalism, planning

Compiling a set of housing concerns on housing affordability (HK)

Compiling a set of housing concerns on a housing theme: on housing affordability

I. Housing theme: housing affordability in Hong Kong

II. Study note covering 4 news articles on housing concerns in Hong Kong with regard to the housing affordability theme [The key words that express specific concerns related to homelessness are in bold type]

News article 1: Stryson, E. and O. Lai. 2018. "Finding sufficient land won't solve Hong Kong's housing crisis on its own, and it may not even be the most pressing issue" South China Morning Post April 27 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2143559/finding-sufficient-land-wont-solve-hong-kongs-housing-crisis) [visited at June 15, 2018].

1.1. "This week, the government’s Task Force on Land Supply launched a public consultation revealing 18 proposals on where it believes the best opportunities are to free up land for housing. The hope is that this “big debate”, as coined by the chief executive, will lead to societal consensus on what land is deemed acceptable to develop. The question of where to find land dominates the housing affordability discussion. But is the exclusive focus on land the most useful approach and are the right questions being asked?";

1.2. "With the objective of identifying land in urban areas supported by existing infrastructure, the investigation revealed that measures to unlock underutilised land could free up 4,379 hectares and provide around 2.9 million units, six times the government’s stated requirement of 460,000 units over the next 10 years. If just 28 per cent of this were unlocked, it would satisfy the shortfall of 1,200 hectares for residential development with all necessary auxiliary services by 2046. It would do so without reclaiming land or cutting into country parks in any way";

1.3. "There has been continued debate over the accuracy of the government’s estimated land requirement. Our Hong Kong Foundation estimates a need of over 9,000 hectares over the next three decades while Professor Roger Nissim believes we do not have a shortage of land for development in Hong Kong";

News article 2: Li, S. and P. Sito. 2017. "Hong Kong's home prices are the world's highest. Can the city fix it?" South China Morning Post December 23 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2125379/can-hong-kong-untie-gordian-knot-citys-home-prices) [visited at June 15, 2018].

2.1.: "Since 2003, home prices in Hong Kong have soared 430 per cent, making the city the most expensive place in the world to buy a home among 406 urban centres tracked by the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey";

2.2.: "A major contributor to the exorbitant housing price is Hong Kong’s high land cost. That could make up between 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the total project cost, more than double the 20 per cent to 30 per cent range seen outside Hong Kong, said Far East’s managing director Chris Hoong Cheong Thard. “It is time for Hong Kong to consider changing its land sale policy,” he said...  Highest-bidder-wins-all is no longer the mainstream land sale policy in most countries, especially for plots located in city centres, said Christopher Law, founding director of Oval Partnership, a Hong Kong architecture firm.";

2.3: "What’s changed was the emergence of deep-pocketed developers from mainland China in the last two years, such as the HNA Group, which had no hesitation in bidding 50 per cent above market valuation to grab land. HNA paid HK$27.2 billion to buy four plots of land from the Hong Kong government at the former Kai Tak airport site over four months last year...";

News article 3: Li, S. 2017. "Hong Kong homes to become even more expensive in 2018, deepening the affordability crisis, analysts say" South China Morning Post December 11 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2123877/hong-kong-homes-become-even-more-expensive-2018-analysts) [visited at June 15, 2018].

3.1.: "The property market, already ranking as the world’s least affordable urban centre, will be propelled higher by the wealth effect from the booming stock market, record-low unemployment and high economic growth, the analysts said. They added that demand continues to outpace supply, providing strong support to price growth";

 3.2.: "Joseph Tsang, managing director and head of capital markets at JLL, urged the government to review price-cooling measures to get the market functioning properly. “The shutdown of the secondary sales market was one of the reasons behind Hong Kong’s housing woes,” said Tsang";

News article 4: Zhao, S. 2017. "Does Hong Kong have a housing crisis? The answer depends on whether you own a flat" South China Morning Post December 26 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2125641/does-hong-kong-have-housing-crisis-answer-depends-whether-you) [visited at June 15, 2018].

4.1.: "The priciest subsidised flat above 500 sq ft was a 592 sq ft home in Charming Garden in Mong Kok, which was sold in April for HK$8.8 million. Even homes that were previously public rental flats sold like hot cakes. Up till 2006, tenants could purchase their rental flats and after five years, sell them in the private market and return the government the discount they received originally";

4.2.: "Recently, the city’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she never pledged to correct surging property prices when she became chief executive on July 1 this year. Instead, what she hopes to reverse is the lack of affordable flats with her administration looking to boost land supply to achieve that";

4.3.: "Supporters praise the establishment of the task force as being able to initiate a society-wide debate and subsequently reach a consensus on long-term land supply. But critics say it is merely paving way for the government to conduct large-scale reclamation, ignoring other options such as developing degraded agricultural land, and using large areas of land in the New Territories for indigenous villagers to build small houses. Others complain that all the options are about long-term developments, which will not help to solve the immediate housing crisis";

The study note on housing concerns related to housing affordability in Hong Kong informs researchers to construct "a diagram on homeless-related housing concerns " in the agile literature review approach (ALRA).

Identification of academic ideas/ topics from academic articles for the preparation of a theoretical framework

Identification of academic ideas/ topics from academic articles for the preparation of a theoretical framework in a housing research project: an illustration

The note provides some illustration of identifying potential academic ideas, including academic topics, that could be considered by a researcher in housing studies to construct a theoretical framework. Such a theoretical framework can be employed in the agile literature review approach (ALRA). There are five academic articles examined in this note.

Article 1

Hodgetts, D., O. Stolte, A. Radley, C. Leggatt-Cook, S. Groot and K. Chamberlain. 2011. "'Near and Fair': Social Distancing in Domiciled Characterisations of Homeless People" Urban Studies 48(8) June, 1739-1753.

Abstract: For domiciled individuals, homeless people provide a disturbing reminder that all is not right with the world. Reactions to seeing homeless people frequently encompass repulsion, discomfort, sympathy and sometimes futility. This paper considers domiciled constructions of homeless people drawn from interviews with 16 participants recruited in the central business district of a New Zealand city. It documents how, when trying to make sense of this complex social problem, domiciled people draw on shared characterisations of homeless people. The concept of ‘social distance’ is used to interrogate the shifting and sometimes incongruous reactions evident in participant accounts. ‘Social distancing’ is conceptualised as a dynamic communal practice existing in interactions between human beings and reflected in the ways that domiciled people talk about their experiences with homeless individuals.

Academic idea used: social distance

Article 2

Peter K. Mackie (2015) Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies, Housing Studies, 30:1, 40-59, DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2014.927055.

Abstract: The paradigm shift in international homelessness policies towards a prevention focus has resulted in proven benefits to society and most importantly to individuals at risk of homelessness. Across the developed world, homelessness prevention is being pursued with vigour alongside existing homelessness interventions and yet there has been no pause for a systematic evaluation of how prevention fits alongside existing systems. Wales provides the first case where homelessness services have been systematically reviewed since the prevention turn. This paper critically examines the implementation of homelessness prevention in Wales, identifying how deficiencies echo emerging global concerns about the prevention turn. Drawing upon evidence gathered during a review of homelessness legislation in Wales, the paper examines the extent to which emerging proposals for legislative change will overcome problems with prevention. The emerging Welsh homelessness prevention and alleviation duty is seen as a desirable and replicable model of prevention, albeit it offers no panacea to the social tragedy of homelessness.

 Academic ideas used: homelessness prevention, prevention turn, social tragedy of homelessness

Article 3

Anthony Warnes & Maureen Crane (2006): The Causes of Homelessness Among Older People in England, Housing Studies, 21:3, 401-421.

Abstract: A comparative study of the causes of new episodes of homelessness among people aged 50 years and over has been undertaken in Boston, Massachusetts, Melbourne, Australia and four English cities. This paper presents the findings from England, where information was collected from 131 respondents and their key-workers about the circumstances and problems that contributed to homelessness. Two-thirds of the respondents had never been homeless before. The many reasons why they became homeless involved interactions between personal disadvantages and weaknesses, negative events and inadequate welfare support services. For some, their behaviour rather than external factors triggered homelessness. Other cases involved deficiencies with the administration of services and social security payments, the failure or limitations of agencies to detect and respond effectively to vulnerability, and poor collaboration or information co-ordination among housing providers and welfare agencies.

 Academic ideas used: older homelessness, causes of homelessness.

Article 4

Martha R. Burt (2001) Homeless families, singles, and others: Findings from the 1996 national survey of homeless assistance providers and clients, Housing Policy Debate, 12:4, 737-780, DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2001.9521428.

Abstract: The first question people typically ask about homelessness is, “How many people are homeless?” After that, questions usually turn to characteristics: “What are they like?” Basic demographic characteristics such as sex, age, family status, and race have always been of interest, in part because the homeless population appears to be very different from the general public and even from most poor people who are housed with respect to these characteristics. Often, because these differences are so dramatic, demographic characteristics are overinterpreted as representing the reasons for homelessness. But as various studies have documented, most demographic factors quickly disappear as proximate causes when other factors representing personal vulnerabilities are available for examination. The underlying causes of homelessness, the structural conditions of housing and labor markets that turn vulnerabilities into loss of housing, do not lie within individuals at all and are thus difficult to include in analyses based on individual data.

 Academic ideas used: characteristics of the homeless population, conditions of homelessness.

Article 5

Lee, B.A. 2004. "The Geography of Homelessness in American Communities: Concentration or Dispersion?" City & Community 3(1) March: 3-27.

Abstract: Few recent studies of homelessness have focused on the distribution of the phenomenon across different types of community contexts. Nevertheless, claims are often made about the decline of urban skid rows and the increasing spatial ubiquity of the homeless population. Motivated by these claims, our research analyzes 1990 Census S-night data at multiple geographic levels to determine whether homeless people remain locationally concentrated or have become more dispersed in the contemporary United States. Data from the 2000 Census, though limited in scope, are briefly examined as well. We find that the “visible” homeless are overrepresented in metropolitan and urban portions of the nation, in central cities of metropolitan areas, and in a minority of neighborhoods within these areas. Such an uneven distribution, which favors the concentration over the dispersion perspective, often takes a polynucleated form in large cities. Forces shaping the geography of homelessness are discussed, as are the policy implications and methodological caveats associated with our results.

 Academic ideas used: geography of homelessness, "visible" homeless

Compiling a set of housing concerns on a housing theme: an illustration

Compiling a set of housing concerns on a housing theme: an illustration

I. Housing theme: homelessness in Hong Kong

II. Study note covering 3 news articles on housing concerns in Hong Kong [The key words that express specific concerns related to homelessness are in bold type]

News article 1: Siu, P. 2018. "Number of registered Hong Kong homeless soars as sky-high rents force people to sleep rough" South China Morning Post May 2 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2144384/number-registered-hong-kong-homeless-soars-sky-high-rents) [visited at June 14, 2018].

Point 1.1. "Official figures tabled to the Legislative Council on Wednesday showed there were 1,127 registered street sleepers in the year 2017-18, up 21.9 per cent from 924 in 2016-17. The latest figure was an increase of 51 per cent from 2013-14. But one community worker said even those numbers might not give the whole picture. “We have always felt that the government’s figures are underestimated,” said Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, a community organiser with the Society for Community Organisation (SoCo), which helps street sleepers. “Studies conducted by academics and non-governmental organisations have put the figure at about 2,000";

Point 1.2. "....“The problem with the government’s handling of the street sleepers is that you don’t know which department is responsible for this issue [on street sleepers]. The Social Welfare Department is involved and so is the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.”...";

Point 1.3. "High property prices and rents have been perennial complaints among Hongkongers. The Rating and Valuation Department’s rental index for March reached 189.8, up from 152.1 five years ago";

News article 2: Su, X.Q. 2018. "Fears for homeless set to be evicted from Hong Kong pier as temperature drop" South China Morning Post January 8 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2127348/fears-homeless-set-be-evicted-hong-kong-pier-temperatures) [visited at June 14, 2018]

Point 2.1.: "Eight street sleepers who have been living at Kwun Tong Public Pier for as long as three years were ordered by the Lands Department and the Transport Department on December 28 to leave by January 12. The Lands Department, citing the Land Ordinance, said the eight had committed “unlawful occupation of unleased land”. Liu Kin-wai, a senior transport officer responsible for public transport issues in Kwun Tong, said the authority was trying to “maintain the normal operations of the public pier”...";

Point 2.2.: "According to the Land Ordinance, if the street sleepers were found guilty of refusing to leave, they could each be fined at least HK$500,000, HK$50,000 for each additional day of “continuous offence” and imprisoned for six months.

Point 2.3.: Ng Wai-tung, a community organiser with the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) who has been helping the street sleepers, said the eight were worried about how to cope with the low temperatures – which were set to dip to eight degrees Celsius on Tuesday, with strong winds and light rain";

News article 3: Su, X.Q. 2018. "Hong Kong's McSleeper trend rises 50 per cent in three years, as NGO highlights vulnerability of women in the group" South China Morning Post March 4 (url address: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2135647/hong-kongs-mcsleeper-trend-rises-50-cent-three-years-ngo) [visited at June 14, 2018].

Point 3.1.: "The number of homeless people in Hong Kong who spend their nights in 24-hour branches of a popular fast food chain has increased by 50 per cent in three years, according to an NGO highlighting the vulnerability of women in the group [of McSleepers]....    There were 384 such people this year, compared with 256 in 2015, a study conducted by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) found. Called McSleepers or McRefugees, they are known for seeking overnight shelter at McDonald’s outlets around the city....";

Point 3.2.: "SoCO also conducted follow-up surveys with 116 of the 384 people, and found that 11.2 per cent – or 13 individuals – were female. Most of the women said they chose to stay overnight in the outlets because they felt safer. Other reasons included a preference for air-conditioned and clean environments.....  “I didn’t want to stay there any more,” Monitor said. “Because there were bullies, thefts, and sexual harassment among the 20 female members...";

The study note on housing concerns related to "homelessness in Hong Kong" informs researchers to construct "a diagram on homeless-related housing concerns " in the agile literature review approach (ALRA).