CCRI Research Students

The following research students in the CCRI are registered at either the University of Gloucestershire or the University of the West of England.

Chris Bell was awarded an ESRC (CASE) +3 studentship, co-funded by the National Trust, in October 2009. Chris’ research project is entitled ‘Investigating the economic impacts of the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic farm buildings’ and he is interested principally in the contribution of heritage assets and activities to the generation and retention of income and employment in the rural economy. His research aims to examine the local economic linkages associated with the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic farm buildings to determine whether these buildings have value in being able to facilitate and support strongly integrated local economies. Chris is supervised by Dr Paul Courtney and Dr Peter Gaskell (both CCRI).

Gillian Cope's PhD looks at people and place and is partly funded by the National Trust. The aim of the project is to investigate the diversity and mutability of visitor experiences on a range of National Trust sites and develop a practice-based toolkit that can inform future policy and management. Within this overall aim of opening up new approaches to place for the National Trust, the research seeks to help answer a series of questions about places and peoples’ engagement with them. Her PhD is supervised by Dr Owain Jones. Prior to starting her PhD in 2010 Gillian completed her MSc in Social Anthropology from UCL and worked as a freelance web project manager and writer both in the UK and Ireland.

Katarina Kubinakova works as a Research Assistant in the CCRI and is studying part-time for a PhD. Her thesis research entitled “Investigation of integration and participation in decision- making within LEADER Local Actions Groups in Great Britain and Slovakia”. The aim of the research is to investigate the degree of integration achieved and extent and impacts of the participatory approaches apparent in the decision-making processes within the different stages of rural development strategy design and implementation, in LEADER groups. She is supervised by Professor Janet Dwyer and Professor Malcolm Moseley (both CCRI).

Oliver Moss is currently a Research Fellow/Research Funding Development Manager at Northumbria University. He first moved to the North East in 2007 as a Research Associate based at Newcastle University where he worked on the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) sponsored initiative 'the space of democracy and the democracy of space'. Prior to that, Oliver was a Senior Research, Training and Development Manager at the ESRC itself, holding particular responsibility for the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) and Science in Society (SiS) programmes. Oliver's research interests concern the rise of a post-political condition in territorial governance, particularly within the context of sustainability. Oliver's PhD seeks to explore the rise of morality as a master narrative within the context of climate change and the impact this has on questions of responsibility and accountability (e.g. collective versus individual). Oliver is supervised by Professor Nigel Curry, Dr Matt Reed and Dr Carol Kambites (all CCRI).

Sandrina Pereira is currently in the process of finishing her PhD. Her research thesis is entitled 'Knowledge transfer among Forest Landowner Organisations in small-scale private forests in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Galicia)'. The research project investigates and analyses the role of Forest Landowner Organisations (FLO) as key intermediaries in the process of knowledge transfer (KT) between scientific forestry research and forest management practitioners. The thesis is supervised by Dr Janet Dwyer and Dr John Powell in the CCRI.

Dirk Pardoel has worked as a geographical analyst for the Commission for Rural Communities, and as a junior researcher studied landscape politics and sensibilities towards landscape for the former Spanish Ministry of Environment. Currently he is undertaking a part-time PhD on dwelling as an approach to the understanding of landscapes and places, which involves linking the philosophical and geographical development of the dwelling concept to different landscapes practises in the Spanish context. He is supervised by Professor Nigel Curry and Dr Owain Jones (both CCRI).

Stephen Pritchard commenced his PhD in October 2008. His thesis is entitled ‘Landscape scale management in the South West of England: participatory governance between landowners / farmers and the Wildlife Trusts’. In particular Stephen is interested in what constitutes "landscape scale", how conservation groups can work with landowners and farmers, and what sort of management/governance model is appropriate in the UK. Stephen will be taking a case study approach and will also work with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and others to explore the role of Wildlife Trusts in the South West and other regions of the country. Stephen’s supervisors are Jane Mills and Dr Peter Gaskell, both CCRI.

Recent Successes

Rhiannon Fisher successfully defended her PhD in January 2013, subject to very minor corrections. Her PhD research focused on the role of social capital in increasing cattle farmers’ response capacity to the risk of bovine tuberculosis. Rhiannon was supervised by Dr Paul Courtney, Dr James Kirwan and Dr Carol Kambites (all CCRI). Rhiannon is currently a lecturer in Rural Land use and Management at the Royal Agricultural College, and a CCRI associate researcher.

Nick Prince was awarded his PhD in June 2012, subject to very minor corrections. Nick was an ESRC (CASE) +3 student, co-funded by the Association of Chief Estate Surveyors (ACES) and his study was entitled ' Agricultural property rights and the county farms estate in England and Wales'. He began his PhD in October 2007 and was supervised by Professor Brian Ilbery, Dr James Kirwan and Dr Damian Maye (all CCRI). Contact nprince@ccri.ac.uk

Julie Smith was awarded an ESRC (CASE) +3 studentship, co-funded by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA), in January 2008. She successfully defended her thesis, entitled, 'The everyday life of food: the cultural economy of traditional food markets in England' in December 2011. Her thesis used both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and provided the first detailed assessment of traditional food markets in England and investigated their role as providers of fresh food and as everyday places of social relations and cultural processes. Julie was supervised by Dr Damian Maye and Professor Brian Ilbery, both CCRI.

In May 2010, Stela Valchovska succesfully defended her PhD subject to minor amendments. Stela was funded through a University of Gloucestershire studentship. Her thesis was entitled 'Entrepreneurship among post-socialist agricultural producers: the case of Bulgaria'. Stela's research critically examined perceptions, attitudes, experience and the family context with a view to developing a rich understanding of entrepreneurial behaviour among owner-managers of small-scale agricultural enterprises in Bulgaria. Stela is a graduate of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and holds a Masters Degree in Economic Sciences, Management, Marketing and Finance from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Greece. She undertook her PhD under the supervision of Professor Brian Ilbery (CCRI), Professor Ged Watts (University of Gloucestershire Business School) and Professor Bill Slee (Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen).

Julie Urquhart was an ESRC CASE 1+3 student co-funded by the Forestry Commission. As part of her programme, Julie received a distinction in her Masters in Research Methods (for Countryside Planning) in 2006 from the University of Gloucestershire. Julie's PhD was entitled 'Public benefits from private forests and woodland in England: investigating the opportunities for public good enhancement'. It explored the potential for public goods to be delivered through private ownership of forests and woodland, using a mixed-methods approach involving Q Methodology and self-completion surveys. Julie's PhD was supervised by Dr Paul Courtney (CCRI) and Professor Bill Slee (Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen).

Richard Harper successfully defended his PhD thesis in October 2008. His thesis investigated the relationship between policy making in countryside recreational access and citizenship in England. It focused on the actions of policy makers involved in the development of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000, which were interpreted using van Gunsteren's neorepublican model of citizenship. Richard was supervised by Dr. Peter Gaskell (CCRI), Professor Nigel Curry (CCRI) and Dr. Nicky Williams (Business School, University of Gloucestershire). Contact  rharper@glos.ac.uk