Dr Rachel Swann

Cyhoeddiad

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Ymchwil

I have a broad range of interests and am currently involved with the following research areas:

Night time economies. I have researched women’s self-regulation, violence and safety in Cardiff’s night-time economy. I have also recently been awarded funds to write a book that will be published in 2018.

Taxis and safe egress from the night-time economy. In keeping with my interest in safety and night-time economies, and at the request of Cardiff Council, I am currently working with my colleague, Adam Edwards, and a group of dissertation students on taxi’s and safe egress from the NTE.

Street sex workers’ pathways into prostitution. Working with Safer Wales I am currently undertaking a large scale project that aims to identify risk factors that led to (predominantly women) becoming street sex workers in Cardiff. The current phase of the research project aims to develop an understanding of the early experiences of street sex workers in Cardiff and the nature and extent of their engagement with the local authority’s children’s services. Developing an understanding of how many of the sex workers are ‘known’ to social services and what, when and why they are/were clients of social services when they were children is critical in terms of identifying the presence of known risk factors. Existing research has highlighted a number of key risks and vulnerabilities during childhood that have been disproportionately experienced by sex workers. However, whilst these have all been consistently identified as early risk factors there is insufficient understanding of the nature and extent to which these and other risk factors co-exist in the same ‘cases’ and neither is there currently sufficient understanding of how, when and why these risk factors may be particularly significant. As part of this broader aim, this particular part of the research relates to undertaking an exercise that explores the nature and extent to which the clients of ‘Streetlife’ are/were known to children’s social services in Cardiff. It will provide empirical evidence relating to the number of women known to the statutory service and will map whether the women had been identified as a child in need (CIN) and/or flagged as a child protection (CP) case. The report from this phase of the research will be available in October 2017.

Eliasian figurational sociology. Together with Prof. Gordon Hughes, we would argue that Norbert Elias’ work has significant potential for illuminating ‘Criminological’ problems, yet his contribution remains under-utilised. His work has been used in my PhD research exploring women’s participation in Cardiff’s night-time economy and the community study undertaken alongside Prof Hughes and published in the Sociological Review.

Addysgu

I convene the first year ‘foundations of contemporary criminology’ module and the second year ‘Responses to Crime’ module and I teach across the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the school.  All of my teaching is informed by my pedagogic interests in the interrelationship of theory, method and data.

Current Undergraduate Teaching

• Foundations of Contemporary Criminology, module convener (SI0238)
• Responses to Crime, module convener (SI0202)
• Diversity, crime and criminal justice (SI0184)
• Offending and Victimisation (SI0201)
• Theory and Method in Contemporary Criminology (SI0200)
• Criminological Practice (SI0204)
• Dissertation supervision (SI0301)

Current Postgraduate Teaching

• Researching Crime, Safety and Justice (SIT725)
• Dissertation supervision

PhD Supervision

I welcome PhD applicants to work on topics related to:

• Violence and women as victims and perpetrators
• Sex workers
• Eliasian figurational sociology
• Night time economy
• Community studies

I have a broad range of interests and am currently a supervisor for three students in the school;

Chris Wilson (restorative justice and sex offenders);

Fryni Kostara (regulation and the night-time economy) and

Steve Meredith (Eliasian study of a British ‘sink’ estate).

Bywgraffiad

Dr. Rachel Swann has been a full-time member of academic staff within the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University since 2011.

Education and qualifications

2012: PhD (socio-legal) Cardiff University

2007: MSc Social Science Research Methods, Cardiff University

2003-2006 BSc (hons) Criminology & Social Policy, Cardiff University

Anrhydeddau a dyfarniadau

Finalist for The Sociological Review 'Outstanding Scholarship' Prize 2017 for Exploring micro-sociality through the lens of ‘established-outsider’ figurational dynamics in a South Wales community (2016). See http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-954X.12428/full

Nominated for 'Exceptional Enhancement of the Student Experience' (Celebrating Excellence Awards, 2017)

Nominated for Personal Tutor of the Year, Enriching Student Life Awards, 2017

Nominated for Most Effective Teacher, Enriching Student Life Awards, 2017

Finalist for ‘Exceptional Enhancement of the Student Experience’, Celebrating Excellence Awards 2016. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAP6DkGQ76w&list=PL5e0LFsOYWruNwqyl9GbknoGccQjz7ZEt&index=18

Finalist for Personal Tutor of the Year, Enriching Student Life Awards, 2015.

Finalist for Student Rep Co-ordinator of the year, Enriching Student Life Awards, 2013.

Nominated for Personal Tutor of the Year, Enriching Student Life Awards

Nominated for Most Uplifting Member of Staff, Enriching Student Life Awards

Nominated for Most Effective Teacher, Enriching Student Life Awards

Aelodaethau proffesiynol

• British Society of Criminology
• European Society of Criminology
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Member of Cardiff Sex Work Steering Group
• Member of the All Wales Sex Work Group
• Member Cardiff Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (CCLJ)

Safleoedd academaidd blaenorol

2011 - present: Lecturer, Cardiff University

Pwyllgorau ac adolygu

• Member, Cardiff Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (2011 – present)
• Senior Personal Tutor Network

Meysydd goruchwyliaeth

I am particularly interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• Night time economy
• Sex work/prostitution
• Eliasian sociology