Vaughan Ellis
vaughan ellis

Dr Vaughan Ellis

Lecturer

Biography

Dr Vaughan Ellis is a Lecturer in Work and Industrial Relations and has been employed at Edinburgh Napier University since 2007. Vaughan specialises in the contemporary organisation and experience of work and how changes in an organisations' external environment impact upon the labour process.

Prior to joining Edinburgh Napier he was employed at Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Stirling. Before becoming an academic Vaughan worked at British Gas for six years in a number of locations in a variety of managerial and project roles, gaining considerable experience in managing teams, recruitment and selection, handling grievance and disciplinary matters and managing the change process.

Vaughan's PhD examined changes in the labour process of clerical workers at British Gas (1970-2004) and in particular was concerned with the impact of privatisation and the introduction of call centres upon the organisation and experience of work. Present research interests include the changing patterns of work organisation within the UK Higher Education sector and trade union responses to the changing nature of work. Vaughan has published in a number of top rated international journals including Work, Employment and Society and New Technology, Work and Employment, of which he is a member of the Editorial Board. Vaughan is a member of the British Sociological Association (BSA), the Association of Business Historians (ABH) and the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA).

Themes

Research Areas

Esteem

Conference Organising Activity

  • Co-Organiser of Centre for Beer Research and Enterprise (CBREW) Inaugural Conference (July 2019)
  • Panel Chair - International Labour Process Conference, Berlin, (2017)
  • Panel Chair - International Labour Process Conference, New York (2013)
  • Co-Organiser of 2009 International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh
  • Organised PhD student pre-conference workshops International Labour Process Conference (2009)
  • Panel Chair - International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh (2009)

 

Editorial Activity

  • Editorial Board Member New Technology, Work and Employment (2009-present)

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Examiner University of Bedfordshire (2014-2016)
  • External Examiner University of East London (2009-2013)

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Nominated for Best Academic Support Award by ENSA 2019

 

Grant Funding Panel Member

  • Chair of Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) Research Grant Assessment Panel (2012)

 

Invited Speaker

  • EIS Representative Training - Getting the Vote Out (October 2019)
  • Getting the Vote Out - Advising Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers' Association (EIS-ULA) August 2019
  • The Brewers' Association of Scotland AGM - (17/08/2018)
  • Should we bulldoze Edinburgh Napier Business School? (30/05/2018)
  • The Purpose of Businesses and the Role of Business Schools (June 2016)
  • Festival of Politics - Workers' Rights Debate Panelist, Scottish Parliament (August 2015)
  • Working together? An investigation of managers' perceptions of trade unions in the UK, CIPD KIP Event, Edinburgh Napier University (28/04/2014)
  • The changing academic labour process - Centre for Research on Work and Wellbeing (CRoWW) - Heriot Watt University, 20/11/2013

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Educational Institute of Scotland - University Lecturers' Association President (2015-2017)
  • Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers' Association President (2010-2012)
  • Educational Institute of Scotland Council Member (2010-2014)
  • Member of Scottish Trade Union Congress HE/FE Roundtable (2009-2012)
  • Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers' Association Vice President (2008-2010)
  • Member of Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers' Association Executive Committee (2004-2018)
  • British Sociological Association (2003 - )
  • British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) (2003 - )

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • The Great Scottish Craft Beer Treasure Hunt (July 2019)
  • Member of STUC Research Network (2018-)
  • Chair of Edinburgh Napier University Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee (JNCC) (2016/2017)
  • Member of New JNCHES - Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (2014-2017)
  • Member of Edinburgh Napier University Academic Workload Framework Steering Group (2013-2018)
  • Academic Staff Member Edinburgh Napier University Court (2012-2018)
  • Member of New JNCHES - Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (2010-2012)
  • Member of New JNCHES - Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff Sustainability Working Group (2009-2010)
  • Member of Edinburgh Napier University Joint Consultative Committee/Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee (2007-2017)

 

Research Degree External Examining

  • Anna Klamet (Edinburgh Napier) - The future is unwritten. E-publishing in the small nations of Europe: A comparative approach to policy frameworks and small business strategies (Jan 2020)
  • Anthony Rosada (Edinburgh Napier) - Exploring the mechanisms to manage the internal context of change within a law enforcement organisation in the Caribbean
  • Jimmy Main (Strathclyde Uni)- Scared to go sick: Trade union and member responses to sickness absence policy management within local government (Jan 2018)

 

Reviewing

  • Reviewer for Sociology
  • Peer reviewer - NTWE, HRMJ and Personnel Review
  • Textbook proposal and new editions reviewer for OUP, Palgrave, Cengage, Sage (2006-2016)

 

Visiting Positions

  • Visiting Lecturer Heriot Watt University (2015)
  • Visiting Lecturer - University of Stirling (2004-2007)

 

Date


42 results

Developing the concept of leaveism: From presenteeism/absence to an emergent and expanding domain of employment?

Journal Article
Richards, J., Ellis, V., Canduela, J., Pustelnikovaite, T., & Saxena, S. (in press)
Developing the concept of leaveism: From presenteeism/absence to an emergent and expanding domain of employment?. Human Resource Management Journal, https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12452
The changing nature of employment has led to increased awareness of leaveism, a practice involving employees using allocated time off when unwell, taking work home, and pickin...

Behind the beer: An examination of ‘entrepreneurial’ motives for starting a craft brewery

Book Chapter
Ellis, V., & Richards, J. (2021)
Behind the beer: An examination of ‘entrepreneurial’ motives for starting a craft brewery. In D. Clarke, V. Ellis, H. Patrick-Thomson, & D. Weir (Eds.), Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector. Bingley: Emerald
Brewing has experienced a considerable revival in recent years with the number of brewers in the UK being at its highest level since the 1930s (Cask Report, 2018). After decad...

Strategies for success? Market entry strategies of new craft beer producers

Book Chapter
Quinn, D., Ellis, V., & Richards, J. (2021)
Strategies for success? Market entry strategies of new craft beer producers. In D. Clarke, V. Ellis, H. Patrick-Thomson, & D. Weir (Eds.), Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector. Bingley: Emerald
Fewer than half of UK start-up businesses will survive beyond 5 years and there are many, and complex, reasons for this (ONS, 2020). In the Scottish Small Business Survey of 2...

Organising to beat the Trade Union Act 2016’s voting thresholds: a case study of organising and tactics from the University and College Union

Journal Article
Richards, J., & Ellis, V. (in press)
Organising to beat the Trade Union Act 2016’s voting thresholds: a case study of organising and tactics from the University and College Union. Personnel Review, https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2020-0756
Purpose: The paper responds to calls for ‘best practice’ on how trade unions may respond to member voting threshold requirements of the Trade Union Act 2016 (the Act). A broad...

“Brilliant at everything, saying yes to even more”: The realities of overwork in academia

Presentation / Conference
Pustelnikovaite, T., Richards, J., Ellis, V., & Saxena, S. (2021, August)
“Brilliant at everything, saying yes to even more”: The realities of overwork in academia. Paper presented at Work, Employment and Society, Online
Leaveism is an important yet underresearched phenomenon in contemporary work and employment. It refers to employees using allocated time off to work, such as taking work home ...

‘Organising from home’: Beating the Trade Union Act 2016 in a global pandemic/recession

Presentation / Conference
Richards, J., & Ellis, V. (2021, July)
‘Organising from home’: Beating the Trade Union Act 2016 in a global pandemic/recession. Paper presented at British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA), Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
In 2017, the Trade Union Act 2016 (the Act) became law in the UK, an Act extending several decades of anti-union measures, but notable for the setting of a 50% threshold in st...

Organising an industrial action ballot to protect jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of a UK university and the University and Colleges Union

Presentation / Conference
Richards, J., & Ellis, V. (2021, July)
Organising an industrial action ballot to protect jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of a UK university and the University and Colleges Union. Paper presented at 7th Conference of the Regulating for Decent Work Network, International Labor Organisation (ILO) Geneva
The paper responds to key themes of the stream: the importance/relevance of collective bargaining in protecting high-quality jobs in the UK higher education sector during the ...

Technology assisted organising: Getting the vote out during a pandemic

Presentation / Conference
Richards, J., & Ellis, V. (2021, May)
Technology assisted organising: Getting the vote out during a pandemic. Paper presented at Challenging Tech, Cardiff University
In 2017, the Trade Union Act 2016 (the Act) became law in the UK, an Act extending several decades of anti-union measures, but notable for the setting of a 50% threshold in st...

Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector

Book
Clarke, D., Ellis, V., Patrick-Thomson, H., & Weir, D. (Eds.)
(2021). Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector. Bingley: Emerald
Decades of stagnating demand for beer and the emergence of global brewing conglomerates had seen many of Britain’s longstanding breweries disappear and a decline in the divers...

Developing the concept of leaveism: From a form of presenteeism/absence to an emergent and expanding domain of work

Presentation / Conference
Richards, J., Canduela, J., Pustelnikovaite, T., Ellis, V., & Saxena, S. (2021, April)
Developing the concept of leaveism: From a form of presenteeism/absence to an emergent and expanding domain of work. Paper presented at International Labour Process Conference, University of Greenwich
The purpose of the paper is to develop the emergent notion of leaveism by drawing on concepts related to work intensification (WI) and ideal worker (IW) norms. The argument dr...

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