I started out doing geology at the University of Glasgow. So, I used to work with rocks. During my time as an undergraduate I had ‘a philosophical crisis’ which catapulted me into taking a Human Geography degree. After my Masters in Urban and Regional Change in Europe, at the University of Durham I embarked on a PhD. I critically examined the role of retail capital in the regeneration of Glasgow city centre. You will find the articles in Geografiska Annaler: B: Human Geography and in Urban Research and Practice. For reasons to do with the changing nature of higher education, I reinvented myself as an interdisciplinary social scientist, working at the interface between human geography, politics and sociology. To this end I have published articles across a wide range of journals including Architectural Theory Review and Area. My main current research interests are 1) Government and public policy making in Northern Ireland and the current shared future initiative (2013-2023); 2) Sectarianism/anti-sectarianism in Northern Ireland and in Scotland and; 3) Social research methods. The approaches that I take in these areas can be identified with traditions of work in contemporary social and political theory and they typically involve qualitative research methods. 

I have three ‘main’ writing projects connected with Northern Ireland. The first is a policy analysis of the recent Welfare Reform Bill. The second is looking at what the rise of Scottish nationalism means for unionism. Thirdly, since the 2016 EU referendum, I am also considering the impacts of Brexit on the relationship between the north and south of Ireland. 

My main desire is that my research (individual and collaborative) will go more in the direction feeding into key policy areas, including welfare, shared future building and other issues of local and international importance. This will ensure that it reaches audiences far beyond academia. It should also remain relevant, theoretically informed and methodologically robust. 

Colleagues in other universities: Queen’s University Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Government Departments in Northern Ireland and across the UK; Charities such as nilbymouth, Youthlink Scotland, Groundwork Northern Ireland and range of community groups who are working to build a “good relations perspective.”