• Room 02.032 - Riddel Hall Block 3

    United Kingdom

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

I am quite busy on the Ph.D. student front at the moment, but do get in touch if you have a proposal or project for which you think I may help.

20092024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Interests

I have a background in Economic Geography which I have sought to integrate in both research and teaching roles at Queen's Business School (and before that, Sheffield University Management School). Drawing specifically on my interests in Labour Geography, I combine a geographical approach to researching work, employment and political economy which contributes to multiple Management and Business school subjects/sub-disciplines. I am thus part of a wider cohort of Geographers who have traversed into Management/Business schools in recent years, contributing to exciting new developments (see James et al. 2018 for a recent debate on this subject!). 

I am enthusiastic about conducting research on behalf of different governance organisations with a view to both funding research and delivering impact and engagement on the ground. I have undertaken research on behalf of the International Labour Organisation, the European Commission. Most recently I have conducted several projects on behalf of the Department for Economy in Northern Ireland, including research into economic inactivity and transitions in the rural economy (the latter projects have examined the use of anaerobic digestion in developing greener forms of energy and new economic pathways).

Research interests and themes include:

  • The political economy of labour market institutions. This includes an interest in labour regulation and governance policies, including a focus on labour inspection/monitoring approaches geared to upholding worker rights. In 2015 I co-authored a toolkit on labour inspection on behalf of the ILO (with Jason Heyes). Extending Labour Inspection to the Informal Economy is available online and is intended as a tool for training labour inspectors throughout different regions of the world. 
  • An interest in worker agencies and experiences of modern work, drawing on and contributing towards debates in the Labour Process Theory (LPT) tradition and Labour Geography.
  • An interest in urban and regional development in the context of neoliberalism. Recent papers in this area have focussed on the politics of heritage governance, and have examined competing stakeholder efforts to influence planning and the management of UNESCO heritage sites. 
  • I have a longstanding interest in regional economic development more generally which draws on my geography training. Recent work includes a focus on Green transitions and path switching potential with respect ot the rural economy and its links to renewable technologies (in particular the role of anaerobic digestion). This work has been funded by the Department for Economy in Northern Ireland. 

 

Teaching

I have worked in different schools of Management/Business in Oxford, Sheffield and Belfast (in addition to a short spell at the School of Geography at Plymouth University). Over the course of this journey I have gained a broad repertoire of teaching and research experiences and areas of interest, and have undertaken research projects which examine experiences of regional economic development, changing forms of employment, and the wider politics of labour market regulation. 

I am the current Programme Director for BSc Business Management. As part of this role I am responsible for the strategic direction of the programme, working with the Subject Leader and Module Coordinators to ensure that its curriculum is up to date and in-line with QAA standards.

Past and present teaching at Queen's has spanned several different modules and degree levels.

Courses include:

Consultancy Project (MGT3030) - An undergraduate final year capstone course designed to encourage use of existing skills, critical thinking and problem solving. 

Human Resource Managemnet (MGT2013) - The second year course aims to develop an understanding of the role and impact of good human resource management. Students learn about the nature of the employment relationship and how it can evolve.

Organisational Behaviour (MGT1009) - First Year Undergraduate. This course explores how and why organisations of one form or another play a vital role in society and serve important needs. The module explores three key areas. Firstly, the factors that influence individuals, such as personality, attitudes, perception, motivation, learning, communication, and job satisfaction. Secondly, the factors that influence the nature of groups and teams, and the importance of leadership. Thirdly, the nature of organisations by analysing issues such as goals, structure, design, control, culture, and development.

Contemporary & Emerging Issues in Business (MGT3034) - Final year third year undergraduate course. Here students engage both theoretical and empirical material, drawing on business and other social science literature to better understand contemporary business challenges. This is an innovative course that challenges students to think hard in order to apply different theories for understanding contemporary challenges. The course includes novel assessment in the form of documentary analysis as well as traditional assessment formats. 

Research Methods (MGT 7158) - Masters level; this module aims to provide students with a range of skills to undertake effective research in business and management. Skills learned are applicable across all professions as the relevance and importance of being able to design research, interpret, critically analyse and evaluate qualitative and quantitative information is crucial in today’s management world.

Leadership & Organisational Behaviour (TLI7005) - On behalf of the Clinton Leadership Institute (CLI). This course explores the importance of leadership in driving organisational change and examines the wider importance of Organisational Behaviour (OB) in the running of different organisations. 

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

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