Cognitive mapping the topic of homelessness

Cognitive mapping the topic of homelessness

Joseph Kim-keung Ho

Independent Trainer

Hong Kong, China

Abstract: The topic of homelessness is complex. By making use of the cognitive mapping technique to conduct a brief literature review on the homelessness topic, the writer renders a systemic image on the topic of homelessness. The result of the study, in the form of a cognitive map on homelessness, should be useful to those who are interested in the topics of cognitive mapping, literature review and homelessness.

Key words: cognitive mapping, homelessness, literature review

Introduction

The topic of homelessness is complex. It is thus useful to employ some learning tool to conduct its study, notably for literature review purpose. As a teacher in research methods, systems thinking and housing studies, the writer is specifically interested in finding out how the cognitive mapping technique can be employed to study homelessness as a literature review exercise. This literature review exercise is taken up and reported in this article.

On the cognitive mapping exercise for literature review

Literature review is an important intellectual learning exercise, and not just for doing final year dissertation projects for tertiary education students. On these two topics of intellectual learning and literature review, the writer has compiled some e-learning resources. They are the Managerial intellectual learning Facebook page and the Literature on literature review Facebook page. Conducting literature review with the cognitive mapping technique is not novel in the cognitive mapping literature, see Eden and Simpson (1989), Eden, Jones and Sims (1983) and Open University (n.d). In this article, the specific steps involved in the cognitive mapping exercise are as follows:

Step 1: gather some main points from a number of academic journal articles on homelessness. This result in the production of a table (Table 1) with the main points and associated references.

Step 2: Consolidate  the main points from Table 1 to come up with a table listing the cognitive map variables (re: Table 2).

Step 3: Link up the cognitive  map variables in a plausible way to produce a cognitive map (re: Figure 1) on the topic under review.

The next section applies these three steps to produce a cognitive map on homelessness.

Descriptions of cognitive map variables on the homelessness topic

From the reading of some academic articles on homelessness, a number of main points are gathered. They are shown in Table 1 with explicit referencing on the points.

Table 1: Main points from the homelessness literature and referencing

Main points from the homelessness literature	Referencing
Point 1: More preventive focus in homelessness policies.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 2: Contemporary thinking that homeless can and should be prevented.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 3: Warehousing homeless  people in temporary accommodation.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 4: Judiciable right of homeless people to settled housing.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 5: Conceptual categories of homelessness: rooflessness, houselessness, insecure housing and inadequate housing.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 6: Drivers of homelessness prevention policy adoption, i.e., cost-effectiveness of prevention, the societal stigma of high homelessness populations and the benefits conferred on the individual.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 7: Crime, poor physical  and mental health, and heightened social care needs due to homelessness.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 8: Homelessness prevention interventions are restricted to those where a cost-saving  can be made.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 9: Address underpinning housing supply and poverty problems.	Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.
Point 10: Barriers for mothers to reestablish families, e.g. dealing with children, having low resources and economic conditions of the neighborhood.	Long, S.M. 2015. "Navigating homelessness and navigating abuse: how homeless mothers find transitional housing while managing intimate partner violence" Journal of community psychology 43(8),Wiley: 1019-1035
Point 11: The interactive combination of intimate partner violence, unemployment, low levels of education and/or having young children puts women at a higher risk of homelessness.	Long, S.M. 2015. "Navigating homelessness and navigating abuse: how homeless mothers find transitional housing while managing intimate partner violence" Journal of community psychology 43(8),Wiley: 1019-1035
Point 12: Emergency homelessness and domestic  violence shelters offer short-term housing for women and their children.	Long, S.M. 2015. "Navigating homelessness and navigating abuse: how homeless mothers find transitional housing while managing intimate partner violence" Journal of community psychology 43(8),Wiley: 1019-1035
Point 13: Individuals who are homeless access hospital emergency departments more frequently.	Forchuk, C., J.P. Reiss, B. Mitchell, S. Ewen and A, Meier. 2015. "Homelessness and housing crises among individuals accessing services within a Canadian emergency department" Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 22: 354-359.
Point 14: Individuals who are homeless experience public stigma[1].	Phillips, L. 2015. "Homelessness: Perception of Causes and Solutions" Journal of Poverty 19, Routledge: 119.
Point 15: General public views on homelessness include sin talk (homelessness related to morality), system talk (homelessness related to systemic societal problems) and sick talk (homelessness related to abnormality or disorder).	Phillips, L. 2015. "Homelessness: Perception of Causes and Solutions" Journal of Poverty 19, Routledge: 119.
Point 16: All people, including those who have disability labels, have a right to full community participation and membership (the community integration principle).	Phillips, L. 2015. "Homelessness: Perception of Causes and Solutions" Journal of Poverty 19, Routledge: 119.
Point 17: The meaning of homelessness depends on the housing conventions in a specific culture.	Isogai, S. 2016. "In search of 'home' for wellness: Mental health social workers' views on homelessness in mental health" Qualitative Research 28(3): 67-78.
Point 18: Emergency measures to address the homelessness problem are critiqued for their high cost and ineffectiveness.	Pauly, B., B. Wallace and K.  Perkin. 2014. "Approaches to evaluation of homelessness interventions" Housing, Care and Support 17(4), Emerald: 177-187.
Point 19: The success or failure of programs to end homelessness is dependent on broader structural and social conditions such as  the availability and affordability of housing.	Pauly, B., B. Wallace and K.  Perkin. 2014. "Approaches to evaluation of homelessness interventions" Housing, Care and Support 17(4), Emerald: 177-187.
Point 20: People will re-enter the cycle of homelessness unless there is a supply of available affordable housing.	Pauly, B., B. Wallace and K.  Perkin. 2014. "Approaches to evaluation of homelessness interventions" Housing, Care and Support 17(4), Emerald: 177-187.

With a set of main points collected, the writer produces a set of cognitive map variables. These variables are informed by the set of main points from Table 1. These variables are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Cognitive map variables based on Table 1

Cognitive map variables	Literature review points
Variable 1: Adopt more preventive homelessness policies	Point 1: More preventive focus in homelessness policies. Point 2: Contemporary thinking that homeless can and should be prevented.
Variable 2: Offer temporary/ emergent accommodation to homeless people	Point 3: Warehousing homeless  people in temporary accommodation. Point 12: Emergency homelessness and domestic  violence shelters offer short-term housing for women and their children. Point 18: Emergency measures to address the homelessness problem are critiqued for their high cost and ineffectiveness.
Variable 3: Tackle housing supply problem	Point 9: Address underpinning housing supply and poverty problems.
Variable 4: Tackle poverty problem	Point 9: Address underpinning housing supply and poverty problems.
Variable 5: Stronger driving forces on homelessness  prevention policy adoption	Point 6: Drivers of homelessness prevention policy adoption, i.e., cost-effectiveness of prevention, the societal stigma of high homelessness populations and the benefits conferred on the individual. Point 8: Homelessness prevention interventions are restricted to those where a cost-saving  can be made.
Variable 6: Existing barriers on individuals to reduce homelessness	Point 10: Barriers for mothers to reestablish families, e.g. dealing with children, having low resources and economic conditions of the neighborhood. Point 11: The interactive combination of intimate partner violence, unemployment, low levels of education and/or having young children puts women at a higher risk of homelessness.
Variable 7: Existing macro barriers to reduce homelessness	Point 19: The success or failure of programs to end homelessness is dependent on broader structural and social conditions such as  the availability and affordability of housing. Point 20: People will re-enter the cycle of homelessness unless there is a supply of available affordable housing.
Variable 8: Improved understanding of what is homelessness	Point 5: Conceptual categories of homelessness: rooflessness, houselessness, insecure housing and inadequate housing.
Variable 9: Public views on homelessness	Point 14: Individuals who are homeless experience public stigma. Point 15: General public views on homelessness include sin talk (homelessness related to morality), system talk (homelessness related to systemic societal problems) and sick talk (homelessness related to abnormality or disorder). Point 17: The meaning of homelessness depends on the housing conventions in a specific culture.
Variable 10: Fulfill right of homeless people to settled housing	Point 4: Judiciable right of homeless people to settled housing. Point 16: All people, including those who have disability labels, have a right to full community participation and membership (the community integration principle).
Variable 11: Adverse homelessness impacts on the individuals and society	Point 7: Crime, poor physical  and mental health, and heightened social care needs due to homelessness. Point 13: Individuals who are homeless access hospital emergency departments more frequently.
Variable 12: Cost-effectiveness of homelessness policies
Variable 13: The homelessness problem status

The next step is to relate the cognitive map variables to make up a cognitive map on homelessness. The cognitive map is explained further in the next section.

A cognitive map on homelessness and its interpretation

By relating the variables identified in Table 2, the writer comes up with a cognitive map on homelessness, as shown in Figure 1.

The cognitive map on homelessness  comprises the following types of variables:

Policy option variables: they are variable 1 (more preventive homelessness policies), variable 2 (offer temporary/ emergent accommodation), variable 3 (tackle housing supply problem), variable  4 (tackle poverty problem).

Policy drivers and barriers: they are variable 5 (driving forces on preventive homelessness policy), variable 6 (barriers on individuals to reduce homelessness), variable 7 (macro barriers to reduce homelessness).

Intermediate factors: they are variable 8 (improved understanding on homelessness) and variable 9 (public view on homelessness).

Outcome variables: they are variable 10 (fulfill right to settled housing), variable 11 (adverse impacts of homelessness) and variable 12 (cost-effectiveness of homelessness policies).

These cognitive  map variables are related to make up a systemic image of homelessness. The links in the cognitive map (re: Figure 1) indicate direction of influences between variables. The + sign shows that an increase in one variable leads to an increase in another variable while a -ve sign tells us that in increase in one variable leads to a decrease in another variable.

Concluding remarks

The cognitive mapping exercise captures in one diagram some of the main variables involved in homelessness. The resultant cognitive map promotes an exploratory way to study homelessness  in a holistic tone. The experience of the cognitive mapping exercise is that it can be a quick, efficient and entertaining way to explore a complex topic such as homelessness. Finally, readers who are interested in cognitive mapping should also find the article informative on this mapping topic.

Bibliography

1.      Eden, C. and P. Simpson. 1989. "SODA and cognitive mapping in practice", pp. 43-70, in Rosenhead, J. (editor) Rational Analysis for a Problematic World, Wiley, Chichester.

2.      Eden, C., C. Jones and D. Sims. 1983. Messing about in Problems: An informal structured approach to their identification and management, Pergamon Press, Oxford.

3.      Forchuk, C., J.P. Reiss, B. Mitchell, S. Ewen and A, Meier. 2015. "Homelessness and housing crises among individuals accessing services within a Canadian emergency department" Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 22: 354-359.

4.      Isogai, S. 2016. "In search of 'home' for wellness: Mental health social workers' views on homelessness in mental health" Qualitative Research 28(3): 67-78.

5.      Literature on homelessness Facebook page, maintained by Joseph, K.K. Ho (url address: https://www.facebook.com/Literature-on-homelessness-907105879398468/).

6.      Literature on literature review Facebook page, maintained by Joseph, K.K. Ho (url address: https://www.facebook.com/literature.literaturereview/).

7.      Long, S.M. 2015. "Navigating homelessness and navigating abuse: how homeless mothers find transitional housing while managing intimate partner violence" Journal of community psychology 43(8),Wiley: 1019-1035.

8.      Mackie, P.K. 2015. "Homelessness Prevention and the Welsh Legal Duty: Lessons for International Policies" Housing Studies 30(1): 40-59.

9.      Managerial intellectual learning Facebook page, maintained by Joseph, K.K. Ho (url address: https://www.facebook.com/managerial.intellectual.learning/).

10. Open University. n.d. "Sign graph" Systems Thinking and Practice (T552): Diagramming, Open University, U.K. (url address: http://systems.open.ac.uk/materials/T552/) [visited at April 10, 2017].

11. Pauly, B., B. Wallace and K.  Perkin. 2014. "Approaches to evaluation of homelessness interventions" Housing, Care and Support 17(4), Emerald: 177-187.

12. Phillips, L. 2015. "Homelessness: Perception of Causes and Solutions" Journal of Poverty 19, Routledge: 119.

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[1] Public stigmas are negative stereotypes shared by large  segments of the general public (Phillips, 2015)