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THE DEBATE ABOUT HOMELESSNESS
Author(s) -
Chamberlain Chris,
Johnson Guy
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2001.tb01312.x
Subject(s) - subjectivism , poverty , perception , sociology , agency (philosophy) , accommodation , relation (database) , disadvantaged , project commissioning , literal (mathematical logic) , social psychology , psychology , political science , social science , publishing , epistemology , law , linguistics , philosophy , database , neuroscience , computer science
Three definitions of homelessness which have been influential in Australia may be categorised as the literal, the subjectivist and the cultural. The literal definition equates homelessness with ‘rooflessness’. The subjectivist definition attempts to establish homelessness ‘ by asking people about the adequacy of their accommodation The cultural definition argues that homelessness is an objective category which is not dependent on people's perceptions. From examining the usefulness of the three definitions in relation to a large body of data collected at an agency providing services for homeless people, we may contend that homelessness is best treated as a concept like poverty, which should be measured objectively and not depend on people's perceptions.