Geography, Geology and the Environment

 I joined Keele in 2010 after over 15 years at the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester working in the Departments of Geography and the Centre for Census and Survey Research, respectively. My academic background is interdisciplinary: I read Human Sciences at Oxford, followed by an MA in Demography at the London School of Economics and a PhD in Geography at Liverpool.

My research interests focus on three main themes: family practices and  mobilties; higher education and social justice; and family health in relation to substance (mis)use.

I am currently preparing a manuscript on Families and Intimate Mobilities for Palgrave Macmillan  which explores synergies between the mobilities turn and family practices literature. The book will make an innovative contribution to literature on mobilities and family studies by thinking through in a critical way how assumptions are made linking families and mobilities. This involves exploring how families are constructed by and in turn generate mobility and the social and cultural meanings of family mobility.

I have published widely on students’ mobility and more recently have considered the relationship between students and local communities and how this impacts on widening participation policies and the opportunities for mutual learning between HEIs and local learners. The recent expansion of HEI community engagement projects supporting student volunteering raises important questions about who benefits from these activities: students, universities and/or local communities? I am currently carrying out a collaborative project on student volunteering with the Institute for Volunteering Research, funded by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

Research on family health and substance (mis)use focuses on the interplay between family relationships and health outcomes, focusing on parenting practices. Completed research has considered the impact of parental smoking on family relationships, current research explores the significance of family practices for both women’s and young people’s drinking.

Outside of Keele I am actively involved in supporting social science research, through membership of learned societies, editorial boards and undertaking various tasks for the ESRC. I am a member of the ESRC’s Methods and Infrastructure Committee, Board of Examiners for the Open Studentship Competition and Peer Review College for Postdoctoral Fellowships.

• ESC-10035 Geographical Skills
• GEG-10013 Human Geographies
• GEG-10012 Practising Human Geography
• ESC-20004 Advanced Systematic Geography
• GEG-20016 Space, Time & Environment
• GEG-20009 Geographical Research Training
• GEG-20015 Space & Society
• GEG-20018 Concepts & Debates in Geography
• GEG-30006 Dissertation
• GEG-xxxxx Families and Community