I Joined UWS in 2003 as a lecturer in sociology. Before becoming a full time academic  I have had a varied and wide ranging employment history, including amongst others, civil servant, and sports journalist.

Prior to joining UWS I was Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Social & Cultural Studies of Sport & Leisure,School of Life & Sport Sciences, University of Surrey Roehampton, where I completed my PHD in 2002. My particular areas of expertise and academic interest are broadly drawn from fields of sociology of leisure, identity and consumption, and social theory. I have published widely on these subjects in a number of different academic (and non-academic) publications, and media platforms.

My research is driven by an interest in the relationships between culture, society, identity and the individual. I am particularly interested in the intersections of identity, memory and place. Key areas of interest, expertise and research which have developed key outputs include celebrity; sport and leisure; popular culture; and authenticity and new media.

In the recent period my main research focus has been guided an interest in role and impact of cultural memory in the redesign and regeneration of urban spaces – culture and heritage have become central features of urban regeneration policies as urban spaces seek to reposition themselves within increasingly post-industrial service led globalised economies.

Recent Research Activity

2012 -2017: Collaborative project with colleagues in the Department of Humanities, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology - on the critical analysis of urban regeneration strategies and identity within post- industrial contexts. Multidisciplinary in its approach – drawing on analytical and conceptual techniques from sociology, psychoanalysis, film studies and tourism studies; and international in scope, the project explored the cultural and policy imaginings of post- industrial urban space within contemporary Scottish and Irish contexts. The project had a particular focus upon the discursive construction of ‘creativity’ and the ‘creative’ as a form of (de) politicised ‘moral’ differentiation, within narratives of urban regeneration. The collaboration produced a number of key outputs, including conference papers and peer reviewed articles.

2017: Renfrewshire Council ‘Streetwise’ evaluation – assessing selected anti-poverty initiatives in and around the Paisley area as part of their ‘Tackling poverty Commission’ (formed in 2014).  The evaluation comprised a series of qualitative research interventions at three primary school’s morning clubs; and the ‘Streetstuff’ initiative.

The morning clubs consisted of providing breakfast for children, sports coaches delivering health and well-being activities three mornings per week and teachers providing literacy and educational development two mornings per week.  The funding provided was to allow teachers and teaching assistant’s engagement with the morning club and extra staff to help within the school. The additional resources were hoped to link to improving learning and health and well-being of the children. The delivery of the programme differed from school to school especially in terms of resources and staffing. An analysis of the limited sample of morning clubs is provided below, discussing the types of intervention and the impact of that on the children, families and school life.

The ‘Streetstuff’ scheme provides young people with positive activities, improve social inclusion and access to facilities for young people living in areas of delivery. In addition to a programme of activities and healthy eating for young people ‘Streetstuff’ also provide volunteering and employment possibilities for those young people growing up in areas characterised by multiple deprivation.

The final report - Tackling Poverty Programme: A Limited Qualitative Evaluation of Streetstuff and Morning Clubs – was submitted to Renfrewshire Council in August 2017.

2018- present: Youth & (Dis)Organised Crime: A collaborative multi-disciplinary research project with colleagues from UWS,  which seeks to challenge official policy driven narratives on youth and organised crime. This work has already produced outputs in the form of peer reviewed articles; and a funding application to BA/Leverhume Small Research Grants

2019: Mega-Events, Community & Wellbeing: A Comparative study. This research offers a comparative study of global sporting mega events as producers of narratives of well-being, and how these narratives are challenged by local communities. The research is the subject of  mobility’s funding provided by the Eventright initiative sponsored by the EU.

I have two primary objectives - both  focused around developing funding applications with a view to progessing research.

• Cultural Heritage in Contested Places: Symbolism and the American South in Global Contexts. Collaboration with Dr Joel Nathan Rosen, Moravian College PA. USA. The research is interested in the intersection of cultural memory, race and gender in the contemporary contestation of cultural heritage in the American ‘southern’ states. Although centred largely upon the contemporary memorialisation of the Confederacy and American Civil War, the research is also interested in the ways in which historical memory and notions of ‘the past’ become problematised through the contemporary contestation of cultural heritage, and in turn inform our understanding of what constitutes a legitimate cultural heritage. Particular focus is placed upon the role of the ‘South’ not only in the mythological narratives of American popular culture, but the apparent ‘Americanisation’ of global culture. Proposed funding application  to AHRC International research scheme

• Learning & Teaching: The development and practice of reflexive learning environment through group assessment with a focus on developing assessment strategies, through practice, that seek to encourage more reflexive, problem solving approaches