Amanda Howard
Biographic Data
| ID | 3827606 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amanda Howard |
| GIVEN NAMES | Amanda |
| FAMILY NAME | Howard |
| SIGNATURE | HOWARD A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Newcastle Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2479-3442 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 81 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Enablers of community‐led action in Australian climate disasters
This study explores how disaster‐impacted communities in New South Wales, Australia, mobilised during and after the bushfire crisis of 2019–20 and multiple catastrophic floods between 2020 and 2022. Interviews were conducted across three regions: Northern Rivers; Blue Mountains; and Hawkesbury. Our findings illuminate how community‐led actions are driven by a broad range of ‘local knowledges’, based in and organised through long‐standing networks…
Recognition and relationship-building
The role played by communities in all phases of disasters is critical, yet genuine collaboration between community-led groups and disaster management agencies remains scarce. This paper examines the dynamics of these interactions in the aftermath of a catastrophic flood and landslip event in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in 2022. Using qualitative data from 41 interviews undertaken one to two years after the disaster, …
Being heard and being seen
Emancipatory decoloniality as leadership in social service organizations
Around the globe, there is a growing demand for leadership in resolving longstanding social injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples. As part of a larger, international study, this article draws on early findings from yarnings/qualitative interviews to contribute to theorizing Indigenous leadership in social service organizations. Within our research design, the team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers consciously centre Indigenous w…
The How of Doing Decoloniality in Social Work
Not just a new house”
While scholarship regarding the promises and challenges of deinstitutionalisation is expansive, less is known about deinstitutionalisation within the context of contemporary neoliberal disability policy frameworks. This article reports on a study exploring recent transitions from institutional to community living within the context of the highly contested National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia. The perspectives of family members…
Learning together about disasters through action research partnerships
Walking along side those responding to climate-related threats as co-researchers is surfacing new understanding of the potential for community action in complex and chaotic situations. Action research enables academia, government, non-government organizations and community members to learn collaboratively, building knowledge that is nuanced and contextualized. Whilst this approach aims to disrupt traditional power in relation to knowledge product…
Normalising community-led, empowered, disaster planning
Disasters (and the dynamics that proceed and follow them) are inherently disruptive of customary routines and taken for granted ordinariness. Many fear that in the context of climate change disasters will become “the new norm”. How we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters provide a rich terrain for exploring “normality” and interrogating normalising processes. In this article we draw on insights from empirical research on policy eff…
Post-disaster social work research
The aim of this study was to understand the extent, range and nature of social work research activity after natural disasters and to identify the implications for future research and practice. A Scoping review methodology framework was used search of three databases: Web of Science, ProQuest and Informit was conducted to identify relevant studies between 2000 and 2018. Selection of studies was based on empirical research about social work and nat…
Australian and New Zealand social workers adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic
In 2020, social workers across the world responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent strict lockdown procedures over several months. In many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, this virtual shutdown period necessitated a reframing of social work practice to incorporate factors including delivery of services via virtual means and more limited access for vulnerable clients. This article draws on the integration of two m…
Social Work and Human Services Responsibilities in a Time of Climate Change
The service system challenges of work with juvenile justice involved young people in the Hunter Region, Australia
Current policies suggest that collaborative approaches are core to working effectively with juvenile justice involved young people. However, there is little research examining the workings of multi-agency and collaborative endeavours in this field, or the experiences of the human service workers facilitating these connections. This paper reports on qualitative research that resulted from the Juvenile Justice and Education Equity in the Hunter Reg…
How Social Isolation Affects Disaster Preparedness and Response in Australia
Natural disaster impacts on populations already experiencing significant health, income, and social disadvantage, are both more intense and longer lasting than for the general population. The intersection of social isolation and poverty for some groups often results in significant risks during the immediate crisis of a disaster and ongoing challenges for recovery. This article reports on qualitative research examining natural disaster preparednes…
Older people as assets in disaster preparedness, response and recovery
This article reports on findings from a qualitative research study on natural disaster preparedness in ‘at risk’ population groups in regional Australia, and in particular on findings highlighting the key, and often unrecognised, role played by many older people in developing and maintaining local informal networks, activated repeatedly before, during and after natural disasters. The article outlines major themes in recent literature on community…
Hovering above the stream
This article reports on qualitative Australian research that was conducted with 32 workers from Job Services Australia and Emergency Relief agencies. Researchers investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture. Findings included individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical…
Navigating dilemmas of community development
Intrinsically, community development involves navigating dilemmas. These dilemmas have intensified as neoliberal “arts of government” become more widespread and a “results agenda” more entrenched. Recent studies explore how community development practitioners manage the ambiguities of this current context. This article contributes by exploring how practitioners who work with Aboriginal communities in Central and Northern Australia navigate the di…
I’m not really sure but I hope it’s better’
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the most significant initiatives in Australian social policy history. Its complexity has been compounded by a fast-paced introduction and ongoing refinement throughout the initial trial phase. Parents and carers of very young disabled children face particular challenges accessing and navigating NDIS systems. This article presents findings from a mixed-method pilot study examining the persp…
Australian Workers’ Narratives about Emergency Relief and Employment Service Clients
This paper illuminates two under-investigated, and often intersecting, frontline services accessed by unemployed people. It reports on the narratives of 32 Australian service providers working in emergency relief or employment services during 2012, including perceptions of clients’ presenting issues and problems, and rationale for intervention. Workers tended to use reductionist and individualistic terms to describe complex client issues suggesti…
Students' Experiences of University and an Australian Social Work Program
Student engagement, retention, and professional commitment is strongly influenced during the early stages of the university experience. However, a number of factors can undermine engagement, which has implications for the individual, the professional workforce, and university funding and reputation. This paper reports on cooperative inquiry research that explored the beginning experiences of 17 social work students from one regional Australian un…
Perspectives on Neoliberalism for Human Service Professionals
This article provides an overview of recent perspectives on neoliberalism, which serve as a foundation for the assessment of neoliberalism’s influence on human services practice. Conventionally, neoliberalism has been conceived of as an ideology, but more recent perspectives regard neoliberalism as an art of government, a thought collective, and an uneven but path-dependent process of regulatory development. We argue that these new perspectives h…
The Language of Mediums and Psychics
Perspectives on Neoliberalism for Human Service Professionals
This article provides an overview of recent perspectives on neoliberalism, which serve as a foundation for the assessment of neoliberalism’s influence on human services practice. Conventionally, neoliberalism has been conceived of as an ideology, but more recent perspectives regard neoliberalism as an art of government, a thought collective, and an uneven but path-dependent process of regulatory development. We argue that these new perspectives h…
How Social Isolation Affects Disaster Preparedness and Response in Australia
Natural disaster impacts on populations already experiencing significant health, income, and social disadvantage, are both more intense and longer lasting than for the general population. The intersection of social isolation and poverty for some groups often results in significant risks during the immediate crisis of a disaster and ongoing challenges for recovery. This article reports on qualitative research examining natural disaster preparednes…
I’m not really sure but I hope it’s better’
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the most significant initiatives in Australian social policy history. Its complexity has been compounded by a fast-paced introduction and ongoing refinement throughout the initial trial phase. Parents and carers of very young disabled children face particular challenges accessing and navigating NDIS systems. This article presents findings from a mixed-method pilot study examining the persp…
Students' Experiences of University and an Australian Social Work Program
Student engagement, retention, and professional commitment is strongly influenced during the early stages of the university experience. However, a number of factors can undermine engagement, which has implications for the individual, the professional workforce, and university funding and reputation. This paper reports on cooperative inquiry research that explored the beginning experiences of 17 social work students from one regional Australian un…
Navigating dilemmas of community development
Intrinsically, community development involves navigating dilemmas. These dilemmas have intensified as neoliberal “arts of government” become more widespread and a “results agenda” more entrenched. Recent studies explore how community development practitioners manage the ambiguities of this current context. This article contributes by exploring how practitioners who work with Aboriginal communities in Central and Northern Australia navigate the di…
Australian Workers’ Narratives about Emergency Relief and Employment Service Clients
This paper illuminates two under-investigated, and often intersecting, frontline services accessed by unemployed people. It reports on the narratives of 32 Australian service providers working in emergency relief or employment services during 2012, including perceptions of clients’ presenting issues and problems, and rationale for intervention. Workers tended to use reductionist and individualistic terms to describe complex client issues suggesti…
The How of Doing Decoloniality in Social Work
Not just a new house”
While scholarship regarding the promises and challenges of deinstitutionalisation is expansive, less is known about deinstitutionalisation within the context of contemporary neoliberal disability policy frameworks. This article reports on a study exploring recent transitions from institutional to community living within the context of the highly contested National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia. The perspectives of family members…
Older people as assets in disaster preparedness, response and recovery
This article reports on findings from a qualitative research study on natural disaster preparedness in ‘at risk’ population groups in regional Australia, and in particular on findings highlighting the key, and often unrecognised, role played by many older people in developing and maintaining local informal networks, activated repeatedly before, during and after natural disasters. The article outlines major themes in recent literature on community…
Hovering above the stream
This article reports on qualitative Australian research that was conducted with 32 workers from Job Services Australia and Emergency Relief agencies. Researchers investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture. Findings included individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical…
Emancipatory decoloniality as leadership in social service organizations
Around the globe, there is a growing demand for leadership in resolving longstanding social injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples. As part of a larger, international study, this article draws on early findings from yarnings/qualitative interviews to contribute to theorizing Indigenous leadership in social service organizations. Within our research design, the team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers consciously centre Indigenous w…
Learning together about disasters through action research partnerships
Walking along side those responding to climate-related threats as co-researchers is surfacing new understanding of the potential for community action in complex and chaotic situations. Action research enables academia, government, non-government organizations and community members to learn collaboratively, building knowledge that is nuanced and contextualized. Whilst this approach aims to disrupt traditional power in relation to knowledge product…
Australian and New Zealand social workers adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic
In 2020, social workers across the world responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent strict lockdown procedures over several months. In many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, this virtual shutdown period necessitated a reframing of social work practice to incorporate factors including delivery of services via virtual means and more limited access for vulnerable clients. This article draws on the integration of two m…
The Language of Mediums and Psychics
I’m not really sure but I hope it’s better’
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the most significant initiatives in Australian social policy history. Its complexity has been compounded by a fast-paced introduction and ongoing refinement throughout the initial trial phase. Parents and carers of very young disabled children face particular challenges accessing and navigating NDIS systems. This article presents findings from a mixed-method pilot study examining the persp…
Australian Workers’ Narratives about Emergency Relief and Employment Service Clients
This paper illuminates two under-investigated, and often intersecting, frontline services accessed by unemployed people. It reports on the narratives of 32 Australian service providers working in emergency relief or employment services during 2012, including perceptions of clients’ presenting issues and problems, and rationale for intervention. Workers tended to use reductionist and individualistic terms to describe complex client issues suggesti…
Students' Experiences of University and an Australian Social Work Program
Student engagement, retention, and professional commitment is strongly influenced during the early stages of the university experience. However, a number of factors can undermine engagement, which has implications for the individual, the professional workforce, and university funding and reputation. This paper reports on cooperative inquiry research that explored the beginning experiences of 17 social work students from one regional Australian un…
Perspectives on Neoliberalism for Human Service Professionals
This article provides an overview of recent perspectives on neoliberalism, which serve as a foundation for the assessment of neoliberalism’s influence on human services practice. Conventionally, neoliberalism has been conceived of as an ideology, but more recent perspectives regard neoliberalism as an art of government, a thought collective, and an uneven but path-dependent process of regulatory development. We argue that these new perspectives h…
Hovering above the stream
This article reports on qualitative Australian research that was conducted with 32 workers from Job Services Australia and Emergency Relief agencies. Researchers investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture. Findings included individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical…
Navigating dilemmas of community development
Intrinsically, community development involves navigating dilemmas. These dilemmas have intensified as neoliberal “arts of government” become more widespread and a “results agenda” more entrenched. Recent studies explore how community development practitioners manage the ambiguities of this current context. This article contributes by exploring how practitioners who work with Aboriginal communities in Central and Northern Australia navigate the di…
Older people as assets in disaster preparedness, response and recovery
This article reports on findings from a qualitative research study on natural disaster preparedness in ‘at risk’ population groups in regional Australia, and in particular on findings highlighting the key, and often unrecognised, role played by many older people in developing and maintaining local informal networks, activated repeatedly before, during and after natural disasters. The article outlines major themes in recent literature on community…
How Social Isolation Affects Disaster Preparedness and Response in Australia
Natural disaster impacts on populations already experiencing significant health, income, and social disadvantage, are both more intense and longer lasting than for the general population. The intersection of social isolation and poverty for some groups often results in significant risks during the immediate crisis of a disaster and ongoing challenges for recovery. This article reports on qualitative research examining natural disaster preparednes…
The service system challenges of work with juvenile justice involved young people in the Hunter Region, Australia
Current policies suggest that collaborative approaches are core to working effectively with juvenile justice involved young people. However, there is little research examining the workings of multi-agency and collaborative endeavours in this field, or the experiences of the human service workers facilitating these connections. This paper reports on qualitative research that resulted from the Juvenile Justice and Education Equity in the Hunter Reg…
Normalising community-led, empowered, disaster planning
Disasters (and the dynamics that proceed and follow them) are inherently disruptive of customary routines and taken for granted ordinariness. Many fear that in the context of climate change disasters will become “the new norm”. How we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters provide a rich terrain for exploring “normality” and interrogating normalising processes. In this article we draw on insights from empirical research on policy eff…
Post-disaster social work research
The aim of this study was to understand the extent, range and nature of social work research activity after natural disasters and to identify the implications for future research and practice. A Scoping review methodology framework was used search of three databases: Web of Science, ProQuest and Informit was conducted to identify relevant studies between 2000 and 2018. Selection of studies was based on empirical research about social work and nat…
Australian and New Zealand social workers adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic
In 2020, social workers across the world responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent strict lockdown procedures over several months. In many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, this virtual shutdown period necessitated a reframing of social work practice to incorporate factors including delivery of services via virtual means and more limited access for vulnerable clients. This article draws on the integration of two m…
Social Work and Human Services Responsibilities in a Time of Climate Change
Learning together about disasters through action research partnerships
Walking along side those responding to climate-related threats as co-researchers is surfacing new understanding of the potential for community action in complex and chaotic situations. Action research enables academia, government, non-government organizations and community members to learn collaboratively, building knowledge that is nuanced and contextualized. Whilst this approach aims to disrupt traditional power in relation to knowledge product…
Not just a new house”
While scholarship regarding the promises and challenges of deinstitutionalisation is expansive, less is known about deinstitutionalisation within the context of contemporary neoliberal disability policy frameworks. This article reports on a study exploring recent transitions from institutional to community living within the context of the highly contested National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia. The perspectives of family members…
Recognition and relationship-building
The role played by communities in all phases of disasters is critical, yet genuine collaboration between community-led groups and disaster management agencies remains scarce. This paper examines the dynamics of these interactions in the aftermath of a catastrophic flood and landslip event in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in 2022. Using qualitative data from 41 interviews undertaken one to two years after the disaster, …
Being heard and being seen
Emancipatory decoloniality as leadership in social service organizations
Around the globe, there is a growing demand for leadership in resolving longstanding social injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples. As part of a larger, international study, this article draws on early findings from yarnings/qualitative interviews to contribute to theorizing Indigenous leadership in social service organizations. Within our research design, the team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers consciously centre Indigenous w…
The How of Doing Decoloniality in Social Work
Enablers of community‐led action in Australian climate disasters
This study explores how disaster‐impacted communities in New South Wales, Australia, mobilised during and after the bushfire crisis of 2019–20 and multiple catastrophic floods between 2020 and 2022. Interviews were conducted across three regions: Northern Rivers; Blue Mountains; and Hawkesbury. Our findings illuminate how community‐led actions are driven by a broad range of ‘local knowledges’, based in and organised through long‐standing networks…
Sociology (15 works) · Political science (14 works) · Public relations (11 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Social Work Education and Practice (8 works) · Disaster Management and Resilience (7 works) · Social science (7 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration (4 works) · Economics (4 works)