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Alexis Alamel
email: A.Alamel@lboro.ac.uk |
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Stacey Balsdon
email: S.L.Balsdon@lboro.ac.uk
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Francisco Castaneda
email: F.Castaneda@lboro.ac.uk
Analysis of Global Commodity Chains and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): a Public Policy Perspective
There exists wide consensus about potential competitive advantages that can be derived by SMEs from participation in networking and clustering activities. The key factors in order to foster successful networks and clusters depend on institutional arrangements of each country. The highest standard reached by some countries and determined regions, is a result of active public policies, embedded in an institutional context, and in a combination with demographic factors and local capabilities. The aim of this research project is to characterise the response of public policies in order to insert small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an effective way within global commodity chains. Specifically: i) SMEs and their relation with Cluster activities, international experience in SMEs, and the role of financing through named “second floor banking”. ii) Global Commodity Chains and their impact in the economic development. Topics to be studied in depth are global production networks and how it is realised in the services sectors in global city networks. Further, It will overview the experience of East Asian Countries as examples of industrial transition from apparel basic structure to more sophisticated export ways, and compare it with the former industrialisation Latin-American strategy. |
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Yifei Chen
email:Y.Chen5@lboro.ac.uk |
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Joni Cook
email: J.L.Cook@lboro.ac.uk |
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Eleanor Darlington
email: E.F.Darlington@lboro.ac.uk
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Hannah Deakin
email: H.Deakin@lboro.ac.uk
The Geographies of immobility amongst UK students: exploring low rates of student mobility and the role of higher educational institutions in tackling this problem
There is a growing geographical interest in the UK’s outgoing HE student mobility due to the comparable low levels of outgoing mobility from the UK compared to other European countries; this has led to much debate surrounding the barriers and drivers to this form of mobility. The opportunity for European students to take part in a work placement in another European country was introduced into the Erasmus programme in 2007 under the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Scheme. This programme has substantially increased the UK’s level of outgoing student mobility since its introduction and has proven popular amongst UK students. This research aims to explore these work placements by analysing the drivers, barriers, perceptions, experiences and management of this programme within a UK context. Underlying neoliberal ideologies within this scheme such as the requirement for competent and ‘employable’ graduates will be investigated and particular focus will be given to exploring issues surrounding inclusion.
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Danielle Gent
email: D.K.Gent@lboro.ac.uk
Exploring the Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Technologies: The Case of Central America
Improving access to energy to one third of the world’s population thought to be living “off grid”, is considered crucial in meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Renewable energy technologies are increasingly posited as a solution to such issues of energy insecurity and meeting developmental objectives. This study will examine the notion of “social acceptance”, exploring how micro-scale renewable energy systems have been adopted as a solution to meeting the energy needs of unelectrified rural Central American communities. |
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Richard Gravelle
email: D.R.Gravelle@lboro.ac.uk
www: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~gydrg
Water routing and sediment transport in a polythermal glacier: modelling and high-resolution measurement
My research focuses on the critical role of glaciers in the hydrological cycle, and the importance of meltwater as a medium for sediment transport. The project uses high spatial- and temporal-resolution meltwater discharge and suspended sediment concentration data obtained during fieldwork at Storglaciären, northern Sweden. These data, combined with a numerical model of glacial water routing, will allow varying patterns of sediment delivery and meltwater discharge to be linked to the seasonal evolution of the subglacial drainage system.
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Stefanie Gregorius
email: S.Gregorius@lboro.ac.uk
Investigating livelihood strategies, social and human capital of young people with disabilities in Accra, Ghana
Young people with disabilities, especially those in the Global South, remain marginalised from mainstream debates about geography, development and broader social science, and little is known about their lived experience as well as how they make sense of their lives and perceive them in social and economic terms. The project fills this gap by focussing on individual perceptions and experiences of the everyday lives of young people with disabilities in the particular case of Accra, Ghana. Using participatory methods, this study seeks to explore how young people with disabilities sustain themselves through education, employment, social networks, family and friends. |
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Hao Gu
email:H.Gu@lboro.ac.uk
Processes of studentification in China.
I focus on the relations of higher education and studentification. This project aims to find student mobility within two forms of housing :housing in multiple occupation (HMO) and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in the local context.
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Matthew Hill
email: M.J.Hill@lboro.ac.uk |
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Chloe Kinton
email: C.Kinton@lboro.ac.uk
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Antonia Liversidge
email: A.C.Liversidge@lboro.ac.uk
The role of climate in determining the ontogeny trends of low Arctic lakes in south-western Greenland
My research investigates the role of climate in determining the ontogeny trends (how lakes develop both chemically and biologically through time) of lakes in the low Arctic. Lakes demonstrate either progressive enrichment or oligotrophication as they age. This research will test the hypothesis that over time lakes in a continental climate will tend towards nutrient enrichment and higher production, whereas lakes in a coastal setting will experience progressive dilution, acidification and oligotrophication. A paired lake approach will be used to compare and contrast the Holocene ontogeny trends of two lakes from a continental setting and two lakes from a coastal setting in south western Greenland. Sedimentary pigments will be used to reconstruct past lake primary production and diatoms will be used to reconstruct pH of the lakes through the Holocene. |
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Tom Matthews
email: T.K.R.Matthews@lboro.ac.uk
Glacier-climate relationships at Langokull, Iceland
My research aims to better understand glacier-climate interactions at the ice-cap scale, using Langjökull, Iceland, as an examplar. The motivation of this project is to develop a synoptic dimension to surface melt modelling. Current research has tended to emphasize the boundary layer, calculating energy balance from in-situ, site-specific, data. This approach however, does not readily lend itself to the purpose of quantitative prediction of glaciers’ response to regional-scale climate change. As such, this project will link surface meteorology (components used to determine energy balance) to regional air masses through robust statistical techniques, so that changes in the pacing, duration and frequency of these air masses, may be quantitatively simulated in their effect on surface melt. |
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Anne Lise Montreuil
email: A.L.Montreuil@lboro.ac.uk
Aeolian dune development on a macro-tidal coast with a complex wind regime, Lincolnshire coast, UK
My research aims to improve our understanding of the ways in which beach-dune interactions occur under a complex wind regime – i.e. one with onshore, offshore and alongshore components on a macro-tidal beach such as along the North Lincolnshire coast. The relationship between wind regime, tide and environmental setting influencing aeolian sand transport will be investigated during different wind conditions in order to quantify short- to long term dune morphology and evolutionary trends.
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Julian O'Neill
email:J.Oneill@lboro.ac.uk
Sustainable flood risk management: the effects of improved building resilience and climate change on economic losses due to flood events
My research aims to couple a flood inundation simulation (Parallelised version of FloodMap) and a flood loss estimation model in order to address two key research questions:
How may climate change affect economic losses due to flooding?
How does building resilience affect economic loss caused by a flooding event?
Several variables including flow depth and flood duration will be obtained from the inundation model and integrated into the loss estimation in order to provide "real time" loss estimation.
Data from the 2009 Cumbrian Flooding event has been collected and will be utilised as a case study for the project. The 2000 flood event in York will be used as a secondary study site.
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Joanne Parker
email: J.Parker2@lboro.ac.uk
Adaption and resilience of Water Resource Systems to Climate Change
My study provides case study material for a larger UK based project supported by EPSRC looking at the resilience of water supply, distribution and demand to climate change at scales larger than individual water utilities. Using a micro-component flow meter dataset of household water usage provided by Anglian Water, it will seek to examine the sensitivity of metered water components to climate variability and change. This will enable review of long-term demand projections under climate change, and hence more robust water planning for Anglian Water Services.
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Lucia Diana Paul
email: L.D.Paul@lboro.ac.uk
Transnational migration of Transylvanian-Saxons after the Second World War
My project investigates the migration process of the Transylvanian-Saxons from Romania to Germany over a period of the past 65 years. The focus of my study is to explore at a micro level the cultural, social, economical and political dimensions of these post-migratory lives. I will use archival data, interviews and participant observation in order to examine how the meaning of these dimensions changed for ethnic Germans across the post-war generations.
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Norah Ijeoma Penawou
email: N.I.Penawou@lboro.ac.uk
Children in the Niger Delta (Nigeria): Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Oil Exploration Activities.
This project examines the environmental and socio-economic impacts of oil exploration on children, critically assessing both the dividends of oil wealth and associated social infrastructure and facilities, and its harmful environmental and socio-economic impacts. Central to the thesis will be an analysis of children's lived experiences, vulnerabilities and coping strategies as they grow up in communities partly shaped by oil exploration activities.
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Andy Pledger
email: A.Pledger@lboro.ac.uk |
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Joe Pomeroy
email:J.A.Pomeroy@lboro.ac.uk
The extent and character of subglacial deformation and its links to ice flow dynamics in the Tarfala massif, northern Sweden
This project seeks to investigate the character and extent of subglacial deformation and its links to ice flow dynamics in the Tarfala region of northern Sweden. A combination of high resolution geophysical techniques, sediment analysis, and micromorphology will be used to examine the subglacial sediments and landforms recently exposed on a number of glacial forelands, and to determine the nature of deformation beneath polythermal, sub-arctic glaciers. |
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David Rigby
email: D.Rigby@lboro.ac.uk |
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Jenny Sandberg
email:J.C.Sandberg@lboro.ac.uk
“The potential impacts of climate change on the migration of diffuse source contaminants from catchments in fractured carbonate aquifers of East England under varying land use scenarios
The main objective of my research project is to quantify the impacts of climate change on the quality of groundwater abstracted from the chalk aquifer of East England using numerical models. The results will be used to assess the potential implications for water utilities in terms of the effectiveness of using catchment management measures to improve raw water quality, as an alternative to more traditional end of pipe solutions.
If successful, catchment management measures could bring significant long-term benefits in the form of improved raw water quality and subsequent reductions in capital and operational expenditures and carbon emissions. However, catchment management measures are a long-term commitment and may rely on multi-stakeholder engagement. It is, therefore, essential to have a clear understanding of what measures are needed to achieve the set water quality objectives, where this should be done and when it could be achieved. In addition, the significance of any associated uncertainties arising from greenhouse gas emission scenarios, regional climate change projections, landuse change, structure and parameterisation of the models need to be quantified.” |
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Daniel Scott
email:D.Scott@lboro.ac.uk
The role of small, eutrophic lake systems in carbon cycling
There is growing awareness that smaller, especially nutrient-enriched, water bodies may play a far greater role in regional, and potentially global, nutrient cycling than has been previously recognised. I therefore intend to show the role these eutrophic lake systems play in carbon cycling by investigating the impact of terrestrially derived Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) on Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) and estimating an accurate annual carbon budget for a small eutrophic lake and its catchment. I will undertake this work in a number of lakes and their catchments throughout Northern Ireland and the Cheshire & Shropshire Meres in order to compare the dynamics in different lake systems. |
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Emma Seddon
email:E.L.Seddon@lboro.ac.uk
Determining historic ecological conditions in lowland rivers: applying palaeoecological techniques to river restoration
Widespread anthropogenic activities, such as channelization, have resulted in significant changes to the hydromorphology and the ecology of riverine ecosystems globally. My research project aims to investigate the nature and number of riverine flora and fauna that have been lost or disadvantaged by historic modifications at selected sites in order to characterise the benefits of planned measures to restore and reinstate channel form and function. To generate this understanding an innovative palaeoecological approach will be used provide a window on past riverine conditions so that the contemporary channel and community inhabitating it can be gauged prior to restoration. Examination of fossilised and contemporary Trichoptera (caddis fly larvae) and Coleoptera (beetles) assemblages will be undertaken to explore the recent history of selected lowland rivers in England.
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Matthew Standell
email: M.R.Standell@lboro.ac.uk |
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Agnieszka Szewczyk
email: A.P.Szewczyk@lboro.ac.uk
My research interests are focused on migration and mobility of Polish graduates who arrived in the UK after European Union enlargement in 2004, and stayed in the East Midlands region. I explore not only their motivations for migration, but also willingness and reasons for entering higher education or further education in the UK, and how they negotiate their skills advancemsent in the UK. The research embraces graduates opinions on experienced higher education systems: Polish and English, and provides an insight on their skills and knowledge acquisition at both. In addition, the research includes graduates feelings of home and belonging, and reasons for consideration of a British citizenship. Furthermore, their perception on belonging to a special Polish generation is being explored, including their stance towards other Polish graduate migrants in the UK. Overall, the study aims to bring an understanding of the ways graduates manage temporariness and future in terms of their personal life, career, mobility and settlement. |
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Kelly Wakefield
email:K.R.Wakefield@lboro.ac.uk
Global Networks of pedagogic practise and research
Despite a growing interest in geographies of higher education, little is known about flows of knowledge and ideas through global pedagogic networks and their impact upon teaching practice. My research investigates these evolving networks, focusing on geography departments in UK higher education institutions. I aim to critically interrogate the creation, sustainability and interactivity of pedagogic network formations through the flows of knowledge and iedas, academics and students. Particular focus will be placed upon the use of technology enhanced communication and Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. social networking) in the conception of such networks. The study will look at differences between geography based academics within different types of UK universities such as the Russell Group, the 1994 Group and post-1992 universities.
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Catherine Waite
email: C.A.Waite@lboro.ac.uk
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Allan Watson
email: A.Watson3@lboro.ac.uk
www: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~gyaw/index.html
Creativity and Multi-Scalar Knowledge Networks in London's Music Industry
My research project investigates the formal and informal knowledge networks that foster creativity across multiple scales in London’s music industry. The research will in particular focus on how the cosmopolitan environment of London attracts creative talent and fosters the coming together of music industry actors in creative ‘episodes’ in certain places and at certain times. |
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George Windsor
Email: G.Windsor@lboro.ac.uk
www: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~gygw/
High Skilled Migration and the Promotion of Entrepreneurship in the UK
Funded by Loughborough University and Paragon Law, Nottingham. This is a policy-relevant PhD on highly skilled migrants and their contribution to the UK 'knowledge–economy. The research aims to:
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Explore the potential for highly-skilled migrants to set up enterprises in the UK;
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Investigate existing incentives and disincentives to migrant entrepreneurship in the UK, for example, transnational connections, government policy and access to private equity.
Supervisors: Dr Elizabeth Mavroudi, Dr Adam Warren
Paragon Law is one of the UK’s foremost specialist immigration law firms (Chambers UK, 2012) and part of The Paragon Group. They advise several blue chip companies on the employment of highly skilled migrants and the transfer of staff and business globally. In addition Paragon Law advises entrepreneurs and investors looking to set up or trade in the UK. With offices in the UK, India, China, and an associate office in the USA coupled with their area of specialism, Paragon Law’s involvement in this research is very relevant to them, their clients and associates. |
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Tom Worrall
email:T.P.Worrall@lboro.ac.uk
The Influence of Hydromorphology on Instream Ecology
This research project aims to examine how river hydromorphology and physical channel management activities influence instream ecological communities with specific reference to macroinvertebrates. The proposed research will incorporate information from River Habitat Survey (RHS) data, appropriate metrics derived from it and additional fluvial geomorphological data to explore its potential influence on instream ecology. |
