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.
Rhiannon Fisher joined the CCRI in June 2008 as a part time research assistant and part time PhD student. She achieved a first class honours degree in Heritage Management from the University of Winchester and has completed a Masters degree in International Rural Development at the Royal Agricultural College. Rhiannon's PhD research focuses on the issues relating to environmental justice in connection with the potential impacts of climate change. Rhiannon is supervised by Dr Paul Courtney, Dr James Kirwan and Dr Carol Kambites in the CCRI.
Bryce Gilroy-Scott is currently working on a PhD thesis entitled ‘Developing an ecological footprinting methodology for building construction and operations’. His degree programme is within a partnership framework with the Graduate School of the Environment at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, and the key research project for his programme is the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education building at CAT. His director of studies is Professor Tom Woolley in the CCRI.
Jane Hart is a town planner who works for West Devon Borough Council and is registered as a professional doctorate student. She is undertaking research exploring the relationship between small-scale development and the retention of key local services in rural villages. The geographical focus of her research covers Devon. She is supervised by Professor Nigel Curry in the CCRI and Dr Stuart Farthing in the Faculty of Environment and Technology at UWE.
Katarina Kubinakova works as a Research Assistant in the CCRI and is studying part-time for a PhD. Her thesis research entitled ‘Investigation of decision making processes within integrated rural development programmes’ investigates participatory approaches in the decision making process during the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the integrated rural development strategies (LEADER type). She is supervised by Dr Janet Dwyer and Professor Malcolm Moseley, both CCRI.
Emily Measures was awarded an ESRC (Project-linked) +3 studentship in October 2008. Her thesis research is entitled 'Impact of climate change on diseases of oilseed rape and the rural economy' and it explores issues around farm-level adaptation to climate change in England and will run alongside the RELU 'growing risk' project. Prior to joining the CCRI, Emily worked as a consultant with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for four years. Much of her work looked at the socio-economic impact of disease on rural livelihoods in Africa, with a special focus on Uganda and Tanzania. Emily has a Master of Arts in Politics (University of Toronto, Canada) and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Philosophy (University of Toronto, Canada). She is supervised by Professor Brian Ilbery and Dr Damian Maye in the CCRI, and Dr Peter Mills of Warwick HRI. For further information, please contact emeasures@glos.ac.uk.
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 Nigel Curry, Matt Reed and Carol Kambites (all CCRI).
Sandrina Pereira works as a Research Assistant in the CCRI and 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.
Nick Prince is an ESRC (CASE) +3 student, co-funded by the Association of Chief Estate Surveyors (ACES) for a study entitled 'Farm tenancy and agricultural restructuring: analyzing the current structure and future potential of county farms in England and Wales'. Nick has a Masters Degree in Environmental Technology from the University of Hull and comes from a tenant farming background. He is supervised by Professor Brian Ilbery, Dr James Kirwan and Dr Damian Maye (all CCRI) and began his PhD in October 2007. Nick has recently completed a survey of county farms estate managers, and is about to start the main part of his research. This involves interviewing around 60 tenant farmers, and others with an interest in the county farms estate. The research is to be undertaken in three case study counties, which demonstrate links with a number of key issues identified in previous research. Nick has disseminated three reports to his external collaborator group, the ACES Rural Practice Branch and has been invited to join a think tank on the future of the Hampshire County Council Estate. He is also a co-author of a paper about ‘new entrants to agriculture’, which is to be published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in October 2009. Contact nprince@ccri.ac.uk
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.
Julie Smith was appointed to a 3 year ESRC-funded (CASE) PhD studentship in January 2008. The project is entitled, 'The changing place of traditional food retailing: a geographical analysis of English retail markets'. Julie has completed a Master of Science in Food Policy at City University, London, and prior to that she worked as a researcher on various sustainable development projects, including 'race to the top'. National Association of British Market Authorities is the collaborating partner on the project, which aims to examine the development of English retail markets, focusing especially on the nature of supply chain links within the local food economy, including market opportunities associated with local food hubs and wholesale markets. Julie is supervised by Dr Damian Maye and Professor Brian Ilbery, both CCRI.
Lauri Walker enrolled on the Research Masters course within the CCRI in October of 2008. Graduating with a 1st class degree in Management and Chinese from the University of Central Lancashire his dissertation on biodynamic agriculture in the UK forms the foundation of his proposed PhD. While applying for funding he is working on his Master's thesis, which is looking at how inspirational myths have affected and continue to affect demand for organically produced food in different sectors of the organic market place. Lauri is actively involved with the Stroud Community Agriculture farm, which supports organic and biodynamic agriculture. He is supervised by Dr Matt Reed and Dr Janet Dwyer, both CCRI.
Recent Successes
In May 2010, Stela Valchovska succesfully defended her PhD subject to minor amendments. Stela is a PhD student funded through a University of Gloucestershire studentship. Her thesis is entitled ‘Entrepreneurship among post-socialist agricultural producers: the case of Bulgaria'. The aim of the research was to critically examine 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
