Biography
I am a Lecturer in Sociology within the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University. Prior to this I worked as a Research Assistant in the Employment Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University.
My research interests lie in the overlap between sociology and cultural studies with a focus on work, culture and care. I am particularly interested in the relationship between culture, economy and 'nature'; processes of commodification or 'value conflicts' in work and organisation; plants, gardening and organising sustainability; bureaucracy in society and culture; work within digital, cultural or public sector contexts; and representations of work and organisation in media and culture. My research is influenced by the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams and feminist thought more widely.
I have a degree in Management, a Masters by Research in Social Research and a PhD, all from Heriot-Watt University. My PhD examined the conflict between artistic freedom and the commercial pressures of work within the recorded music industry.
I am currently a co-investigator on a Leverhulme/British Academy Small Research Grant researching the work of producing sustainability in restaurant work. Prior to this, I worked on an ESRC-funded project investigating the use of temporary accommodation to house asylum seekers and refugees during the Covid-19 outbreak, and have previously worked on projects funded by the EPSRC, Carnegie and other funding bodies. Recent projects have explored stress in the work of dentists and the future of work in crofting. I have previously worked on projects investigating mental health and welfare reform, collectivism in open source software development and age management in the workplace.