Our members

Dr Anita Howarth Anita Howarth's research interests lie at the intersection of media/journalism and social justice issues, with a particular focus on how interactions of different political actors legitimize or challenge, resist or disrupt dominant perspectives. The nature of the research focus has led Anita to interdisciplinary research that draws on media/journalism studies, political thought and policy studies as well as sociology. She is currently writing a monograph entitled Britain's Manufactured Migrant Crisis: A Visual Politics, that is due to be published by Taylor & Francis in late 2025 and as part of the primary analysis Anita has developed a new methodology to deal with uncertainties over what images are manipulated, reappropriated and recycled and which are not. The methodology underpins the research on a range of themes including: The performative politics of cruelty under the Conservative Government Challenging dominant narratives through cartoons and animation The visual strategies of the radical right. Other research themes include Political, media and public struggles over food whether it be GMOs, contamination and hunger/food banks. British policy and media responses to contemporary refugee crises home and overseas (including at Calais) Fake news, reappropriated images and hoax websites. Prior to entering academia, Anita worked as a journalist on the business press, online news sites and financial desk of a national newspaper Political communication Food communication Risk communication · Humanitarian communication, migration and refugees · The politics and communication of food · Digital technologies in university classrooms · Environmental communication, journalism and risk Year 1 module: Foundations of research Year 3 module: Journalism in the Digital Age PG Module: Ethics PG Module: International Institutions

Dr Paul Moody Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, with research interests in British cinema history, Hollywood and US cultural diplomacy, emerging digital media, and the horror film. He is also a digital media practitioner whose work has won awards at international festivals. Paul's most recent monograph, EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema (2018), develops the first historical analysis of the largest British film company of the 1970s, EMI Films. The book argues that EMI’s amorphous nature as a ‘transnational’ film company problematizes traditional approaches to the creation of cultural ‘canons’ and the definition of ‘national culture’, with one reviewer commenting that it makes a ‘very significant contribution not only to British cinema history but also to British cultural history in general’. Paul's work on the company’s output is an ongoing research interest and currently, he is developing a project with the British Film Institute on the career of EMI Films’ first Head of Production, Bryan Forbes, analysing his work as part of a wider examination of how polymathic artists can be interpreted by cultural historians. Paul's other current research interest focuses on the connections between Hollywood and the U.S. Department of State's global network of embassies. His work in this field has been published in Media, Culture and Society and the International Journal of Communication, and he is completing a monograph on this topic provisionally titled The US Embassy-Hollywood Complex. In this book, Paul employs archival records from the US State Department to question existing theories of globalization which present state sovereignty in decline vis-à-vis ‘globalizing’ media companies. He argues that instead, these examples show how the US government has supported Hollywood’s global economic interests using a variety of strategies and tactics, problematizing attempts to explain Hollywood’s cultural dominance solely as a product of its wide public appeal or as a result of laissez-faire economic policy. Paul' research interests include British cinema history, Hollywood and US cultural diplomacy, emerging digital media, and the horror film. British Cinema History: Paul's most recent monograph, EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema (2018), develops the first historical analysis of the largest British film company of the 1970s, EMI Films. This is part of an ongoing project into the history of EMI Films, which has also resulted in Paul editing a special issue of the Journal of British Cinema and Television on the company, and producing a video essay on Verity Lambert, EMI Film's last Head of Production. He is currently developing a project with the British Film Institute on the career of EMI Films’ first Head of Production, Bryan Forbes, analysing his work as part of a wider examination of how polymathic artists can be interpreted by cultural historians. Hollywood and US Cultural Diplomacy: Paul has published widely on the connections between Hollywood and the U.S. Department of State, in journals such as Media, Culture and Society and the International Journal of Communication. Currently, he is completing a monograph on this topic provisionally titled The US Embassy-Hollywood Complex. In this book, Paul employs archival records from the US State Department to question existing theories of globalization which present state sovereignty in decline vis-à-vis ‘globalizing’ media companies. Paul's interests in emerging digital media can be seen in his publications on 360° VR films and in work he is developing on the conections between the history of CGI and the 'deepfake'. His work on the horror film includes articles on the filmmaker David Cronenberg and work on early British horror for the BFI's Screenonline. British cinema history Hollywood and US cultural diplomacy Emerging digital media The horror film Paul's teaching experience includes a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses across the film and media disciplines, including modules which focus on digital media practice. He is the module leader for CO1600 Media Production I: Non-Fiction, in which students analyse and produce a range of digital media, including video essays and short documentary films. He also leads CO2601 Media Production II: Fiction, in which students are introduced to screenwriting and the production of a short fiction film. Paul also teaches on SO1700 Making Sense of Culture and Society: Issues I, in which his lectures focus on disruptive emerging digital media, including the phenomenon of the 'deepfake' and the ethics of online privacy. In additon to this, he has established several extra-curricular projects that involved students working with media industry figures on funded short films and pioneered the development of an online interactive module for undergraduates on the principles of fiction filmmaking. Paul supervises dissertation students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and was part of the project team which led the development of a new practice pathway on the MSc Media and Communications, launching in 2022.

Dr Billur Ozgul I joined the School of Social and Political Sciences as a Lecturer in August 2019, where I have since taught students across communication, journalism, sociology, and political communication programs. Prior to that, I was a Lecturer in Politics in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University. My research interests lie in the fields of media and politics with a particular focus on digital media, political participation and the Middle East. Having completed my PhD in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, I undertook research in a broad range of fields, such as the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in periods of protest, comparative political analysis of digitally mediated movements, and social, political and cultural impact of ICTs. My first monograph, Leading protests in the digital age: Youth activism in Egypt and Syria, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2019. Since 2012, I have had an established record of working as a researcher on multi-disciplinary research projects with Royal Holloway, Open University and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. I have also experience working with industry, carried out social media research with the BBC World Service and British Council exploring how social media users around the world responded to their programmes (For further information please see: I work on the British Academy project on vaccine-hesitant minority communities and investigate social, cultural, and political factors underlying vaccine hesitant beliefs and ideas amongst minoritised communities in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US). For further information please see: Comparative Analysis of Alternative Media Organisations Comparative Political Analysis of Digitally Mediated Movements The Role of ICTs and Emotions in Periods of Protests Social, Political and Cultural Impact of ICTs L4 Digital Media Landscape (Convenor) L5 Journalism, Politics and Power (Convenor) L6 Media, Social Movements and Change (Convenor) L7 Political Communication (Convenor) L7 Researching Social and Political Sciences (Convenor) L7 Strategic communication L6 Journalism and Sociology/Communication Dissertation Convenor

Dr Victor Jatula My research is located in the general field of press and politics. I explore media studies, democracy and development. It is problem-based and relies on qualitative and empirical data collection methods. The key research focus is economic and political development with a particular emphasis on the political economy of the mass media. Specifically, it investigates factors that foster or hinder democratic processes, political participation and social development. It also examines the role of communication in such spaces and societies. My overarching focus is press and politics; and how this interconnection underpins social changes and development in emerging democracies. My research investigates two related areas: the nature of the relationship of media systems to broader structure of society. Specifically, it examines how media content reinforce, challenge or influence existing class and political relations. Second, it looks at how ownership, advertising and state policies influence media production, distribution and consumption; with forward and backward linkages to public opinion, political culture and democracy. I am interested in the intersection of press, politics and development in emerging democracies in the Global South. My speciality is in Nigeria's politics and media studies. Undergraduate JR2607- Research in Practice SO1703 Me, You or Us CO1603 Journalism, Communication and Politics SO1606 Power, Inequality and Society Postgraduate JR5626 News and Development in the Global South (Africa) PP5619 Research in Social and Political Science CO5515- Issues and Controversies in Media and Communication

Dr Katalin Halasz Katalin is a body scholar, researching the affective dimensions of power with respect to bodies, race, gender and nationalism. She employs artistic research methods to investigate diverse forms of embodiment and senses of belonging working across film, video art, installation, performance, cross-dressing and curation. She joined Brunel University as a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in 2021. As part of her Leverhulme research project entitled Affective whiteness: racializing Hungarian national identity Katalin produced the video installation You Are Invited on racial discomfort, which was staged at the Pratt Institute in NYC, at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and at the University of Veracruz in Mexico; and The Bell Rings, a short film, which was awarded Best International Documentary by the Young Jury of the Asti International Film Festival 2024 (Italy), Honorary Mention by the Activists Without Borders Film Festival 2024 (UK) and the CineFest São Jorge 2024 (Brazil), and selected for film festivals in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and the UK. She curated the event Breaking with Humanity? a double film screening and panel discussion in London. After finishing her PhD in Visual Sociology, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Politics of Patents ERC funded research project at Goldsmiths, University of London. She held teaching positions at City and Goldsmiths universities. Before her academic career, Katalin worked in the antiracist movement (European Network Against Racism, Action for Race Equality and The Runnymede Trust), and developed her art practice. Katalin has staged a number of participatory and multimedia performances in Brazil, Bolivia, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Mexico, the USA and the UK and curated the exhibitions Visualising Affect and The Future of Art is Urban – Artistic Research Practices and Methods in Social Sciences. More on her artful sociological research can be found on her website: katalinhalasz.com Katalin is on the Board of the International Visual Sociology Association and on the Editorial Board of Qualitative Research. Race, whiteness, and gender Affect, senses, and embodiment Migration Belonging Nationalism Feminism and antiracism Arts-based and creative methodologies Module leader of CO2607 Popular Culture and Creative Industries Teaching on SO1605 Global Sociology

Professor Peter D. Thomas Professor Peter D. Thomas is an historian of political thought, an historian of philosophy and a political theorist. He has studied and worked at the University of Queensland, Freie Universität Berlin, L’Università “Federico II”, Naples, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Vienna. He has been a member in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, a research fellow at the University of Helsinki, and the Jan van Eyck Academy, Maastricht, and a recipient of Australian, British, German, Italian and Dutch research fellowships. Qualifications: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy PhD (Amsterdam) MA (Research) BA (Hons) (UQ) BA (UQ) Professor Thomas is an historian of political thought, an historian of philosophy and a political theorist. As an historian of political thought, his major contributions have been in the history of Italian political thought in the early twentieth century, particularly the thought of Antonio Gramsci. He has also co-edited volumes on Karl Marx’s political-economic thought in historical context, and on the development of the thought of Louis Althusser. As an historian of philosophy, he has published on the history of German philosophy in the mid nineteenth century and Italian philosophy in the twentieth century, the history of Marxist philosophy, philosophies of history and theories of plural temporality. As a political theorist, his work has focused on concepts of political organization, forms of socio-political transformation, and theories of subalternity, inclusion/exclusion and citizenship. He is currently working on a study of central themes in contemporary radical political thought, including notions of the nature of politics and processes of politicization, the relationship between politics and the political, and the concept of the political subject. He is also working on a collection of documents and critical essays related to Gramsci’s time in Russia (with Professor Craig Brandist of the University of Sheffield, funded by a British Academy grant). In addition to his own research, he has also translated the work of Roberto Finelli, Antonio Negri and Massimiliano Tomba, among others. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory, and co-editor of the Historical Materialism Book Series. History of political thought History of philosophy Italian political philosophy Marxist philosophy and theory Contemporary political theory Undergraduate Programmes Module convenor The State and Revolution (Yr 2) Crisis and Critique (Yr 3) Module contributor Central Themes in Political Thought (Yr 1) Postgraduate Programmes Module convenor Revolution and Counter-revolution in Twentieth Century Political Thought Administration Co-director of the Brunel Social and Political Thought Research Centre

Dr Manu Savani My research uses mixed method experiments to answer questions about health and political behaviours. I am interested in behavioural biases and 'nudges' that might bring about better outcomes for people. Prior to my PhD, I was an economist at the UK Government's Department for International Development over 2003-2012. I held roles covering a range of countries (Afghanistan, Burundi, Malawi and Somalia) and policy issues (pro-poor growth, HIV and AIDS, conflict and development, and value for money in aid spending). More recently, I was a Global Impact Evaluation Adviser for Oxfam GB, managing evaluations for the Gendered Enterprise and Markets project in Zambia and Bangladesh using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in the field. Read about my work on: Covid-19 vaccination choices and attitudes across the G7, funded by the British Academy Commitment devices, and why nudges might fail Commitment devices and health behaviour change Whether people prefer to be 'nudged' or 'shoved' in a pandemic Why you should pre-register your research, and how easy it is to do Behavioural public policy I am interested in investigating how behavioural economics can support positive policy outcomes. My work has explored nudges for health behaviour change on obesity (read about my field experiments here and here). I am currently investigating how nudges might affect vaccination decisions, funded by a British Academy Grant on Covid-19 recovery. Our report is published here. I reviewed what we know about the public's preferences for nudges compared to harder policy instruments. Does the Covid-19 pandemic prompt a rethink of the conventional wisdom that people prefer softer, freedom-preserving policy measures over harder, restrictive measures? Read about our findings here. My PhD thesis applied Thaler and Shefrin’s (1981) Planner-Doer dual-self model to health behaviours. I designed and implemented two mixed methods field experiments that evaluated the impact of commitment devices on health behavior around obesity, working in partnership with Camden Council and the private sector. The research tested new ways to measure concepts such as sophistication and myopia, critically assessed the planner-doer model using quantitative and qualitative data, and raised new policy recommendations for how commitment strategies can be designed into public health programmes. My thesis was awarded the 'Best Dissertation' prize by UCL Dept of Political Science. Experiments in political science I use survey experiments to better understand voters attitudes. I am investigating how voters evaluate candidates accused of sexual harassment (with Dr Sofia Collignon at Royal Holloway University). Our study of US voters offers important insights into the role of personal values in voters' decisions (pre-registered here). I am also looking at what factors make British voters more or less likely to consider i-voting, remote online voting, in elections (with Prof Justin Fisher, pre-registered here). Welfare policy I am interested in how behavioural public policy might apply to welfare reforms, with a focus on financial capability and decision making. I am interested in how the design of the flagship welfare programme Universal Credit interacts with the realities of budgeting and financial decisions in low-income contexts. Behavioural public policy Field and survey experiments, and mixed methods RCTs Welfare policy and politics I teach Public Policy (undergraduate) and International Development (postgraduate) modules, and provide dissertation supervision.

Dr Caroline Ruddell Caroline Ruddell is Programme Lead and Senior Lecturer in Film and Television in the Department of Arts and Humanities. Before this she was Programme Director in Film at St. Mary’s University, Strawberry Hill. Caroline specialises in animation and teaches across a range of areas including gender and sexuality, horror and television, as well as production. Caroline specialises in animation, and has published widely on the concept of craft in animation practices and the representation of identity onscreen. She is the author of the monograph The Besieged Ego, which critically appraises the representation of doppelgangers and split or fragmentary characters onscreen across live-action and animation. Caroline has also edited 4 book collections. Caroline is the Book Series Editor of Palgrave Animation, alongside Professor Paul Ward. Caroline is Associate Editor for animation: an interdisciplinary journal, published by Sage. Animation Representation of identity onscreen

Professor Daniele Rugo I am an award-winning filmmaker and scholar. My main interests are in documentary and conflict, world cinema and film-philosophy. My most recent film The Soil and The Sea (2023) - with a text by writer Elias Khoury - unveils the violence lying beneath a garden, a school, a cafe, a hotel, and other unremarkable landscapes, in a search for mass graves from Lebanon's Civil War. About a War (2018) explores violence and change through the testimonies of former fighters from the same conflict. I also work on landscape and environmental films. My research has been funded by AHRC, ESRC and British Academy Before joining Brunel in 2013 I have taught at Goldsmiths, University of London, Dartmouth College (US) and University of Melbourne. · Documentary Film and Conflict (Theory and Practice) · Film-Philosophy · Landscape and environmental film

Dr Sam Han Sam Han is an interdisciplinary social scientist, working primarily in the areas of social/cultural/critical theory, new media studies, religion, the United States and East Asia (as well as their various overlaps and nodal points). He is currently Lecturer of Sociology at Brunel University London. He is the author of The Concept of Tragedy: Its Importance for the Social Sciences in Unsettled Times (Routledge, 2023), (Inter)Facing Death: Life in Global Uncertainty(Routledge, 2020), Technologies of Religion: Spheres of the Sacred in a Post-Secular Modernity (Routledge, 2016), Digital Culture and Religion in Asia (Routledge, 2015)(with Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir), Web 2.0 (Routledge, 2011), Navigating Technomedia: Caught in the Web (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007) and editor (with Daniel Chaffee) of The Race of Time: A Charles Lemert Reader (Routledge, 2009).

Dr Sara De Benedictis Sara joined Brunel in May 2017. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Communications in the Department of Social and Political Sciences. Sara’s research explores the cultural politics of gender, class, reproduction and activism. She has published on topics like televisual birth, ‘period poverty’, ‘poverty porn’ or #MeToo, and has contributed to public and political debates on such topics. Sara is currently writing a monograph on the cultural politics of reproduction (under contract with Manchester University Press), which brings together various case studies on this topic from over a decade of research in this area. Sara teaches various modules in Media and Communications and Sociology at Brunel. She has taught on media studies, cultural studies and sociology courses at various universities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, such as City University London, King’s College London and the London School of Economics. Before entering academia, Sara worked for charities in the women’s sector. Culture and power Gender, class and culture Cultural politics of reproduction Cultural production and feminist activism I teach on a variety of modules: L4 Key Ideas in Media L6 Gender, Sexuality and Feminism L6 Dissertation Supervisor

Professor Monica Degen Dr Mónica Degen is Professor in Urban Studies in the Political and Social Sciences Department at Brunel University London. She completed her ESRC funded PhD in 2001 within the Sociology Department at Lancaster University under the supervision of Prof John Urry and Prof Bulent Diken. She then worked with Prof S Whatmore and Prof S Hinchliffe on the project ‘Habitable Cities’ at the Open University, before joining Brunel in 2004. In 2016 she was awarded the prestigious British Academy Fellowship to research 'Timescapes of Urban Change'. She has held positions as visiting professor at Barcelona University, Gothenburg University and is currently a visiting professor at Lleida University in Spain. Her research examines the politics of space in cities through the prism of experiential urbanism, and is grounded in ethnographic approaches. She is particularly interested in understanding how urban change affects our senses of place and our interactions with others. Related to this, she explores how urban life and politics are underpinned by sensory, temporal and emotional dimensions, and how these shape power relations in urban culture, planning and governance. Her work has shaped strategies for the spatial design of public spaces in London and Barcelona, and influenced curatorial practices and activity planning for the New Museum of London, the Cologne City Museum and London’s Charterhouse. She has received numerous awards during her career for both impactful research and teaching most recently the Brunel University Community Impact Award 2023 for her work with Hillingdon Council to assess the uses and experiences of Uxbridge town centre and recommend suggestions for its regeneration: Reimagining Uxbridge High Street; and the Global Citizen Award 2020 and 2023 Student Led Awards for her commitment to challenge social injustice, promote inclusion and cultivate an empowering environment for students. Ongoing projects: 1) Researching the role that digital technologies play in reconfiguring our relationship to the city. The recently published book A New Urban Aesthetic: experiencing urban change digitally (Bloomsbury, 2022; co-authored with G. Rose, Oxford University) was shortlisted for the Jane Jacobs Urban Communications Award. The book examines how digital visualisations, such as the imagery used on Instagram and other phone apps or CGI’s for proposed architectural projects, are reconfiguring sensory urban experiences in powerful and differentiated ways, and are thus deeply transforming our everyday engagements with the city. 2) In the context of the Museum of London’s move to West Smithfield market, Mónica is investigating the socio-spatial impact that cultural institutions have on their surroundings. This has included a collaboration with the Museum of London (in 2018-2019) to research the transforming place identity of Smithfield market – the new location for the Museum of London. The findings (which can be viewed in the report Sensory Smithfield) have shaped the New Museum of London Interpretation Plan. Building on this, in June 2021 she organised an international symposium Museums, Places, Cultural Power with the Museum of London and Urban Lab UCL that brought together an international group of museum curators, academics and architects to discuss the complex dynamics between cultural organisations and the urban environment they are located in. 3) Developed from work with the Corporation of London and Hillingdon Council Monica is developing new work on analysing masterplanning practices with a particular emphasis on the role embodiment, experiences and emotions play in the conceptualisation and design of urban spaces. 4) Developing new methodological approaches to research qualitative sensory, temporal and emotional relations in the city such as sketching the senses, evocative interviews and social media analysis (as summarised in the Online Sensory Think-Kit ). Producing innovative online interactive dissemination to demonstrate sensory and temporal research findings (for example the Sensory Smithfield website). As a cultural urban sociologist my research is interdisciplinary. The key areas of research I cover are urban life and culture with a specific emphasis on the relationship between spatial politics and experiential urbanism. My work demonstrates how the management and organisation of urban experiences - the ‘urban aesthetic’ - is central to the redevelopment of urban environments. In my latest book A New Urban Aesthetic: experiencing urban change digitally that focuses on three international case studies of urban redevelopment Milton Keynes, London and Qatar, I argue that these processes are increasingly digitally mediated through CGI’s, social media and mobile phone apps, thus rearticulating people’s engagement with cities. Ultimately, I demonstrate that urban experiences are political, socially shaped, and underpin power relations between the manifold actors in the city, whether architects, planners, residents or visitors. Previous research projects have explored these themes from various perspectives, see details below. Experiencing the urban: atmospheres, temporality and the senses Between 2015-2017 I ran (PI) an international AHRC network: "Sensory Cities: researching, representing and curating sensory-emotional landscapes of urban environments"which brought together city museum curators, urban branding experts, activists and urban planners to develop new methodologies to capture the sense of place of cities and the ways in which urban environments are stratified by power relations (AHRC grant number AH/M006379/1). I have explored the importance of senses and time in how we experience urban environments through two projects. Firstly, between 2007 and 2009 the project Urban Aesthetics with Prof Gillian Rose explored new methods to research how people experience two very different town centres (Milton Keynes and Bedford), highlighting the role of memory in urban experiences (ESRC grant number RES-062-23-0223). In 2016 I was awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow examining “Timescapes of Urban Change” (BA grant number MD140041). I examined how different perceptions of time converge or conflict in urban regeneration processes across the structural and experiential level to produce a particular sense of place. Drawing on long term fieldwork of an urban regeneration process in el Raval, Barcelona, this research explored temporal features as a crucial dimension in shaping power relations in regeneration processes. Please access the research here: sensescitiescultures.com Museums, urban change and cultural power In 2021 I organised a 2-day international symposium Museums, Cities, Cultural Power (funding awarded by Brunel Research Seminar and Brunel Engagement Funding and match-funded by the Museum of London and UCL Urban Lab). This online symposium brought together international cultural and museum practitioners, academics, urbanists, architects and activists for a series of urgent discussions on the evolving power relationships between urban museums, their neighbourhoods and the people who inhabit them. More than 1000 people attended the symposium. A film, podcasts and a Urban Pampleteer have developed from this event. I have developed ongoing research around the changing sense of place of the Smithfield Market area as it becomes transformed through the City of London’s latest regeneration projects the 'Culture Mile' and the New Museum of London. Beginning in 2017, funded by Brunel Research Development and in collaboration with The Museum of London, I produced a report which informed the new museum’s design and curatorial content. The study analysed the changing identity of the Smithfield area, drawing on new digital and experiential methodologies quantified for the museum in a series of evocative digital maps, see: sensorysmithfield.com. Continuing this collaboration, in 2020 along with the Museum of London I was awarded an AHRC Collaborative Techne doctoral studentship “Changing Places: Evaluating the socio-cultural impact and experiential change of the new Museum of London in Smithfield” which is pursued by Tom Butler. Urban representations: Urban branding, social media and digital imagery In 2019/20 I conducted further research into the use of social media, in particular Instagram, in the branding of the Culture Mile which is discussed in the book A New Urban Aesthetic: experiencing urban change digitally (Bloomsbury, 2022; co-authored with G. Rose, Oxford University) The project Architectural atmospheres, branding and the social (ESRC grant number RES-062-23-3305), which I began in 2011 (with Prof G. Rose and Dr Clare Melhuish), was a two-year ethnographic study of architectural studios exploring how digital visualization processes and technologies operate within the architecture and urban design profession, shape new kinds of architectural work practices and envision particular forms of future social life. As part of the project we curated a two week exhibition in August 2013 at the Building Centre, London as well as an international workshop: Visualising Atmospheres. Commissioned research: In 2023 Hillingdon Council comissioned Monica to develop a community consultation to analyse the uses, embodied experiences amd perceptions of Uxbridge Town Centre to inform a forthcoming masterplan. Over 1000 local residents and visitors were engaged through a variety of methods from focus groups, walking interviews, vox pop surveys to an interactive exhibition (co-organised with Daniel Gutierrez-Lleide University), see: Echoes of Uxbridge In 2022/23 as part of knowledge exchange research at the Corporation of London Monica conducted a pre-implementation survey of the daily uses and experiences in the Moorgate area, see: Moorgate/London Wall: Green Space Area Uses And Sense Of Place In 2021 Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce and funded by the GLA’s ‘Putting Your High Street on the Map’, comissioned a 6 week pilot study during the summer of 2021 to produce an experiential-emotional map of the current look and feel of Uxbridge High Street, see: Reimagining Uxbridge High Street In 2015, commissioned by the charity UTurn Women's Centre, I conducted a one year research project with Prof. Sue Buckingham about the everyday lives and needs of street sex-workers in Tower Hamlets, in order to find out how the third sector can provide appropriate services and facilities. Cities, space and urban culture Spatial power relations and urban life Gentrification processes Experiential urbanism, the senses and embodiment Creative industries, museums and cities Urban branding and social media I welcome applications from PhD students or post-doctoral students in any of these areas. Undergraduate Programmes Current Modules: SO1605 Global Sociology SO3604 Global Cities Postgraduate Programmes PhD training Programme Past Modules: SO2022 Sociology of Everyday Life CO5520 The Creative Industries SO2604 Fashion, the Creative Industries and Culture Administration Creative Industries Lead College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences Sociology, Media & Communications and Journalism Research Seminar Coordinator Career and Employment Coordinator

Professor Sarita Malik Sarita Malik has been Professor of Media and Culture in the Division of Sociology and Communications since 2016. Her research examines issues of inequality and culture (representation, production and participation) in shifting sociopolitical, cultural and technological contexts. Since the 1990s, Sarita's work has made a major contribution to how 'diversity', social justice and the role of arts and culture are understood through policy and practice, most notably in the Creative Industries. Publications have spanned topics including 'race', representation and diversity in film, public service broadcasting and the cultural industries, creative activisms, racialised terminology in organisational cultures. She has produced a range of writings on culture and inequality more widely. Sarita is a Member of the AHRC Peer Review College and in 2022, was appointed to The Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) College of Experts. Sarita is a Member of Creative UK's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, and recipient of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award. Sarita was a Member of Sub-Panel 34 (Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management) for the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) exercise. As a former curator and public arts programmer, broadcast journalist and professional research bid writer, Sarita's research is built on knowledge exchange with a variety of stakeholder groups, community, professional and public, often drawing on collaborative, interdisciplinary and participative research methodologies. Since 2011, Sarita has been the Principal Investigator on four Connected Communities UKRI/Arts and Humanities Research Council projects, including a multi-stakeholder study of community filmmaking and cultural diversity and a collaborative project with the British Film Institute exploring diasporic cinema. Between 2014 and 2020, Sarita generated and led a major AHRC-funded international consortia project about the relationship between culture, creativity and resistance in mainland UK, Palestine, Northern Ireland and India . Her latest AHRC project (2021-24) is a collaboration with the Guardian and British Film Institute, and is a longitudinal study of the screen sector where racial inequality remains a policy challenge. Sarita's research has been disseminated widely in a range of outlets including the Guardian, Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Conversation, Arts Professional, Sight and Sound, Black Film Bulletin, Channel 4, the BBC and Sky Television. Example project: Principal Investigator on a large, international consortia project funded by the UK government’s Arts and Humanities Research Council examining how disenfranchised communities use the arts, media and creativity to challenge marginalisation in mainland UK, Northern Ireland, Palestine and India. Motivated by a concern to listen to largely unheard stories, this co-created project engages with past and emergent grassrooots art work that has responded to forms of social exclusion. Creative Interruptions brings together diverse practitioners, artists, activists, academics and non-University based collaborators to build a space where creative practices as well as theoretical, cultural and policy perspectives converge. Art is used as a forum to exchange knowledge about these experiences and research across divides. Creative industries and Social Inequality; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Creative Industries; Communities and Creative Practices; Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Diversity in the Creative Industries; Public Service Broadcasting and Cultural Representation; Cultural policy; Co-production; Lived Experience and Global Challenges. Sarita's convenes and teaches across a range of UG and PG modules in Sociology and Media and Communication Studies. Her teaching specialism spans cultural theory, media studies, sociology and screen studies. 2024/25: Module Convenor: CO2606; Media Genres Module Convenor: CO5604; Media Production as Activism Module Convenor: CO5610; Reporting Social Justice Module Convenor: CO3608; Media and Social Justice

Dr Sharon Lockyer Sharon Lockyer has an international research track-record in equality and diversity in the cultural and creative industries, critical comedy studies, and mixed-methods research. She is founding director of the Centre for Comedy Studies Research (CCSR) - the first, and only, international and interdisciplinary research centre devoted to the academic study of comedy. Sharon has worked on externally funded projects involving multiple stakeholders and is skilled in leading public engagement and impact activities involving diverse audiences, which utilise her extensive academic, industry, and public contacts. In addition to Brunel, she has researched and taught at other institutions including Loughborough University and De Montfort University, and has been a Visiting Professor at Dunarea de Jos University of Galati. Before becoming an academic Sharon worked in the cultural industries. Sharon’s research interests fall within the broad areas of mediated culture, critical comedy studies and media controversies. She has written extensively on the ethics and aesthetics of live and mediated comedy in relation to class, gender and disability. She is particularly interested in instances of popular humour and comedy that excite social tension and moral controversy. Her co-edited book (with Professor Michael Pickering) Beyond a Joke: The Limits of Humour and journal article in Sociology Compass (with Michael Pickering) are key texts in critical comedy studies. She is also interested in methodological issues and debates in humour and comedy studies. Critical comedy studies Equality and diversity in the cultural and creative industries Media controversies Media disability studies

Dr Simon Weaver Simon is a Reader in Media and Communications at Brunel University London. He is an internationally recognised expert on humour and comedy, whose research has provided a foundational critique of racist and offensive humour, and significantly reshaped understandings of the links between populism and comedy. Simon is a founding member of the Centre for Comedy Studies Research (CCSR) at Brunel University London. Simon completed his PhD in the Department of Sociology, University of Bristol, with a thesis entitled Humour, Rhetoric and Racism: A Sociological Critique of Racist Humour. That thesis formed the basis of his first book, The Rhetoric of Racist Humour: US, UK and Global Race Joking, which was published by Ashgate in September 2011. His first journal article (The ‘Other’ Laughs Back: Humour and Resistance in Anti-Racist Comedy, Sociology 2010 44.1: 31-48), won the British Sociological Association’s ‘Sage Prize for Innovation and/or Excellence 2011’. Between his PhD and arriving at Brunel in 2012, Simon worked as a Research Associate in Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester and held an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Communications and Media Studies, Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University. Qualifications: PhD Sociology (Bristol) MSc Sociology (Bristol) BA History and Sociology (UWE) Simon’s research interests focus on a number of overlapping areas in sociology, communications and media studies. These are social and cultural theory, the work of Zygmunt Bauman, semiotics, representations of disability and ‘deformity’ in media, racist and offensive humour, humour and rhetoric, and the sociology of race, ethnicity and racism. Most recently, Simon has been researching comedy about Brexit, the relationship between comedy and populism, and the ironies and ambiguities of Brexit discourse. This forms the subject of his latest book, The Rhetoric of Brexit Humour: Comedy, Populism and the EU Referendum (Routledge, 2021). Racist & offensive humour, humour & rhetoric; Comedy, populism and Brexit; Social & cultural theory, the work of Zygmunt Bauman, semiotics; Sociology of race, ethnicity & racism; Representations of disability and 'deformity' in media. Undergraduate Teaching Module convenor Me, You or Us? Analysing Identity and Power (Yr 1) Module contributor Comedy, the Media and Society (Yr 3) Postgraduate Teaching Module convenor Media as Power Analysing the Media Dissertation in Media and Communications Political Comedy and Satire Module contributor Digital Media Career Development

Dr Ezgi Merdin Uygur Ezgi (PhD, MBA, BA (Hons), FHEA) is a Lecturer in Digital Marketing within the Marketing Division within Brunel Business School. Her primary research interest has focused on the contexts of robotic services, virtual experiences, and the social influence effects in those settings. Ezgi published in international academic journals, such as Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Behaviour & Information Technology. She is the recipient of prestigious funds such as the British Academy/Leverhulme and Marketing Trust and the Best Paper Award in the AMA Winter Conference. Her research was mentioned in prestigious media outlets such as the Conversation and Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR). She currently serves in the Editorial Review Board of Psychology & Marketing. Topics she is interested in include the following: robotic services virtual experiences algorithmic digital nudging social influence self-construal Ezgi leads and teaches: MG3617 Tech, Robots, and AI in Marketing, MG2604 Digital Marketing MG5624 Digital Marketing MG3605 Database and Customer Relationship Marketing MG5537 Social Media for Business masterclass and co-delivers MG5610 Consumer Behaviour. Ezgi also supervises numerous dissertations and acts as personal tutor.

Dr Bryan McIntosh Bryan has worked in central Government, the NHS, local Government and at several academic institutions occupying several roles, he was previously a Reader in Organisational behaviour and Healthcare Management. Bryan is currently the Consultant Editor of the British Journal of Healthcare Management a Technical Adviser to the Shadow Health Minister (Scottish Parliament). He has over 120 publications and has been a Principal or a co-investigator on multiple research projects and grants. Lean systems, Service quality, Policy, Equality and Diversity and Human Rights 2022 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) “Supporting and learning from the recruitment of clinical specialist pelvic health physiotherapists in Perinatal Pelvic Health Services” (Berry, Turner, Norris, Kilbride, Cossar, Mcintosh, Pokhrel) - £110,000.00 2021 Economic and Social Research Council, Measuring Trust and its Variance during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Serial Surveys and Quantitative Text Analysis (Pickering, Yen, McIntosh, Scotto, Reifler & Dorussen) - £414446.15 2021 Garfield Weston Foundation: Lead, Tackling the National Shortage of Nurses. , 2018: Horizon 2020 (788503) Gender RRING Programme: Co-investigator - £3.2 million. 2014 British Telecom: Digital Health Zone (DHZ) - £1,000,000 at the University of Bradford, I facilitated £1 million of funding from BT for the Digital Health Zone (DHZ) as part of £15 million of funding. 2012 National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Service Delivery and Organisation Programme: Co-investigator; The efficient use of the maternity workforce and the implications for safety & quality in maternity care: An economic Perspective (Sandall, McIntosh, Bick, Bewley, Dodwell, Hamilton-Fairley, Warwick, Cookson, Murrells) - £216,524

Professor Mustafa Ozbilgin Mustafa F. Özbilgin is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Brunel Business School, London. His research focuses on workplace equality, diversity and inclusion from comparative and relational perspectives. He has conducted field studies in the UK and internationally. Supported by international and national grants from the ESRC, EPSRC, EU Horizon2020, CIPD, ACE, ACCA, and British Academy. he studied changing policies and practices of workplace equality, diversity and inclusion. He is an engaged scholar, driven by values of workplace democracy, equality for all, and humanisation of work. He has authored and edited more than 20 books and published over 200 papers in academic journals such as the British Medical Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Journal of Management Studies, British Journal of Management, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Human Relations, Gender Work and Organization, and Social Science and Medicine, among others. He has conducted research, consultancy and training at a large number of organisations, including the House of Commons, Barclays Bank, The Bank West Australia, Google, Halifax, the CIPD, the National Health Service, the NHS Employers, L'Oreal, Tesco, the Probation Services, The UK Fire Service, the Economist Research Unit, the OECD, the WRVS, DTI, Rio Tinto, PwC, Linklaters and ACCA. He served as the editor-in-chief of the journal, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: an international journal (Emerald Press) between 2006 and 2010. He served as the editor-in-chief of the European Management Review (EMR), the official journal of the European Academy of Management (EURAM), from 2014 to 2018 and as the editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Management, the official journal of the British Academy of Management, for four years from 2010 to 2014. He is currently serving on the editorial boards of over 20 journals internationally. He currently holds the following editorial roles: Book Series Editor: Equality Diversity and Inclusion: international perspectives (Emerald Press) Associate editor: Frontiers in Psychology Frontiers in Sociology Member of the Editorial Board: Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) British Journal of Management Journal of Management Studies Equality Diversity and Inclusion: an International Journal (Emerald Press) He is the founder of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: an international conference (EDI). The EDI conference was established in 2008 and has travelled to 14 different countries to date across four continents: www.edi-conference.org Mustafa Ozbilgin is a member of the Reform Club: Mustafa Ozbilgin is also on: LinkedIn: Twitter: Scholar citation: My research interests are on equality, diversity and inclusion at work from international and comparative perspectives, drawing mainly on sociology theory. In particular, I am interested in engaged scholarship that can support the development of theory and practices that promote equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights across public, private and voluntary sector organisations in Britain and internationally. Global diversity management Comparative employment relations Social and organisational change Discrimination at work International perspectives on equality at work Intersecting inequalities at work Academic labour process Global Diversity Management Qualitative Research Methods; International Human Resource Management Responsible Leadership Consultation and feedback sessions (please email me to make sure spaces are available): Wednesday 14:00-16:00 hrs

Dr Hayleigh Bosher Hayleigh is a Reader in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel, University of London. She is a legal consultant in the creative industries, an advisor for the independent UK charity for professional musicians, Help Musicians and sits on the advisory board of We Are The UnHeard, a social enterprise striving for inclusivity in the music industry and Pathways Into Music, a not-for-profit organisation to support music educators and music talent development programmes. Hayleigh was awarded the British Academy Researcher-led Innovation Fellowships 2024-25 for her project 'The Future of the UK Music Industry: Exploring Policy and Practice,' in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Hayleigh is well-recognised in the field of intellectual property law, in particular copyright law and the creative industries, and has attained an international reputation in the field of music copyright in particular. Her work in this area has been cited extensively in academic, practitioner and policy outputs and she is regularly interviewed by numerous national and international media outlets, including the BBC, ITV, Sky News, Channel 5 News and The Guardian, The Times and The Wall Street Journal. Hayleigh's research focuses on the area of copyright and related laws in the creative industries, particularly in context of music, social media, and artificial intelligence. Her research always involves public, policy and industry engagement, with an emphasis on helping creators understand their rights whilst at the same time ensuring that those rights are fairly balanced and adequately supported by law. As such, she is widely published in academic peer-reviewed journals, in the press, and has responded to a number of policy inquiries at international and national level. Her recent book; Copyright in the Music Industry, is accompanied with a playlist and podcast which she produces and co-hosts with Jules O'Riordan (AKA Judge Jules). She appeared before the DCMS Select Committee in relation to their Inquiry on the Economics of Music Streaming, the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee for their Inquiry on the Governance of Artificial Intelligence and the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee on Large Language Models. Hayleigh is a member of the UK Intellectual Property Office Research Experts Advisory Group, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence: Social and Digital Innovation, and the Research Centre for Law, Economics and Finance at Brunel, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Intellectual Property, Policy and Management. Hayleigh joined Brunel in 2018, having previously held positions at Coventry University, The University of the Arts London and the Academy of Digital Entertainment, Breda University (Netherlands). Hayleigh's research focuses on copyright law in the creative industries. In particular - copyright policy; copyright enforcement; copyright infringement; copyright remuneration; digital copyright; copyright education; copyright & social media, copyright & music, copyright & film, copyright & artificial intelligence. Hayleigh is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She runs the Intellectual Property Pro Bono at Brunel Law School and teaches on the following programmes: LLM/PGCert: Copyright, Designs and Allied Rights (Module Convener) LLM Contemporary Themes in Intellectual Property Law (Module Convener) LLM Philosophy of Intellectual Property MSC Artificial Intelligence Strategy LLB Intellectual Property Law PhD supervisor and dissertation supervisor Online Educational Tools Copyright and Social Media Faculti Interview 5 Free videos on Copyright, Designs & Trade Marks with Patsnap Academy. CreativeIP.org CopyrightUser.org Sharing Your Teaching Materials Through Social Media CLA Blog IPKat blog

Professor Joana Vassilopoulou Dr Vassilopoulou is a Professor in EDI & HRM and the Divisional Lead of the Organisations and People Department at Brunel Business School, Brunel University London. Her research focuses on equality, diversity & inclusion, gender, migration, AI & diversity and precarious work from a critical and international comparative perspective. She has been part of grants in the field of diversity and inclusion with a total value of over £2.5 million, such as for the OECD, the European Academy of Management (EURAM), EU Horizon2020 and EU Erasmus+. She is the Co-Founder of the Centre for Inclusion at Work (CEFI), in Athens, Greece: Joana Vassilopoulou has an established academic and professional record in the field of diversity and inclusion, is frequently invited to deliver talks and has organised and hosted the international Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) conference twice. Joana was an editor at the Work, Employment and Society (WES) Journal from 2020 to 2024 and from 2015 to 2020, she served as an Associate Editor of the European Management Review (EMR). She was a board member of the European Academy of Management (EURAM) and the UK National Representative of EURAM. She has published over 50 publications in edited collections and journals such as Human Resource Management Journal, Work, Employment and Society, European Journal of Industrial Relations, International Business Review and the International Journal of Human Resource Management. She is an associated faculty member at the Erasmus Centre for Women and Organisations, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam/Netherlands, and she has held visiting Professorships at Dauphine University, Paris /France, MCI Innsbruck (Austria), and the University of Wuppertal (Germany). Dr Vassilopoulou is the recipient of a visiting scholarship at Sydney University’s business school (2017), the winner of the Transnational Best Paper Award at the American Academy of Management conference (2012), and the recipient of the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Business School Diversity and Equality in Careers and Employment Research PhD scholarship (2007-2010). She has a PhD from Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia and her Social Science/Sociology degree from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Equality, diversity & inclusion, gender, migration, AI & diversity and precarious work, from a critical and international comparative perspective. Research group(s) Human Resource Management and Organization Behaviour Research Group (HRMOB) Dr Vassilopoulou's research focuses on equality, diversity & inclusion, gender, migration, AI & diversity and precarious work, from a critical and international comparative perspective.. MG3018 Gender in Organisations MB5527 Leading People and Managing Organisations

Dr Meltem Yavuz Sercekman I am a Lecturer in Management at Brunel Business School, specializing in organizational psychology, workplace well-being, and chronic health employment. I have extensive experience in delivering mindfulness-based programs, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL). Since 2019, I have been providing individual and corporate mindfulness training alongside my research on evidence-based academic publications. Over the past two years, I have expanded my expertise in Menstrual Cycle and Menopause Coaching and Women’s Health Facilitation, continuously advancing my knowledge in these domains. In collaboration with Brunel HIVE, I am developing corporate training programs and consultancy services focusing on: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Workplace Well-being Evidence-Based Inclusive Leadership Development Menstrual Health and Menopause Policies in the Workplace My research integrates management and psychological theories to examine their impact on professional life. I design and evaluate mindfulness-based interventions and training programs to enhance employee well-being, leadership effectiveness, and workplace inclusivity. Recently, my focus has been on advancing workplace policies and practices that support women managing chronic health conditions, particularly endometriosis. Through this work, I aim to raise awareness, foster understanding, and provide practical solutions that benefit both employees and organizations. The impact of my research extends beyond academia. I have been selected as a UN Women UK Delegate for CSW69, where I advocate for policy improvements to support women with chronic health conditions in the workplace. My work has been published in high-impact journals, including Gender in Management, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Frontiers in Psychology, Current Psychology, and Business Ethics: A European Review. My research interests are grouped into three main areas: 1) Application of Management and Psychological Theories: I use a synergistic approach, combining management and psychological theories to understand their broad impact on different aspects of professional life. 2) Development and Evaluation of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: This focus involves the creation and critical assessment of various mindfulness-based interventions and trainings. The primary goal is to improve employee health and wellbeing, leadership skills, and foster a healthier, more positive work environment. 3) Workplace Physical and Mental Health Issues: The third part of my research explores physical and mental health issues in the workplace, particularly chronic illnesses like endometriosis. These projects aim to increase awareness, foster understanding, and aid in the creation of supportive and inclusive policies for female employees dealing with these conditions. Organizational psychology Mindfulness, compassion, and wellbeing in organisations Equality, diversity, and inclusion Dynamic managerial capabilities Term 1 (2024/2025): MG1601 Introduction to Management Enquiry MG3614 Contemporary Issues of Entrepreneurship Term 2 (2024/2025): MG5645 Understanding Business and Management Research Feedback and Consultation Hours:Monday 12:00-13:00 and Wednesday 13:00-14:00 (By Appointment Only)

Dr Kubra Uygur Dr. Kübra Uygur is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour. With a strong academic background in history and sociology, her interdisciplinary approach brings a valuable perspective to her research and teaching. Her Ph.D. research at the University of Birmingham focused on the cultural identity of Ottoman Armenians by examining Armeno-Turkish print media in the nineteenth-century Ottoman world. Dr. Uygur employed post-colonial and public sphere theories to analyse public opinion, cultural identity, and hybridity among ethnic minorities. Dr. Uygur's research interests lie at the intersection of ethnic minorities, business history, historical marketing, and organisational behaviour. She explores the historical and cultural contexts in which ethnic minorities operate and critically examines the role of media and communication in shaping organisational behaviours and consumer culture. Her works shed light on the experiences and dynamics of ethnic minorities, providing a deeper understanding of their historical and cultural dimensions. She seeks to bring a critical perspective to human resource management and organisational behaviour by incorporating her interdisciplinary knowledge into her research and teaching. In her courses, she encourages students to think critically and consider the historical and cultural underpinnings of organisational behaviour. In addition to teaching, Dr Kübra Uygur is actively involved in research. She collaborates with esteemed scholars on ABS 4* publications and is currently working on a research project to be awarded by the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. Ethnic minorities Business history Historical marketing Organisational behavior Equality Diversity and Inclusion Gender at work Ethnic minorities Business history Historical marketing Organisational behavior Modules Taught on: MG5577 International and Comparative Human Resource Management MG3119 Issues and Controversies in Management Project (FYP) MG1051 Organisational Behaviour and Analysis MG5640 Dissertation MG2063 Critical Perspectives in Management Office Hours 23/24 Term 1 Thursday 13.00-14:00 Friday 12:30-13:30 Please e-mail in advance to book an appointment

Dr Marios Samdanis Dr Marios Samdanis is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Entrepreneurship and International Management. Prior to joining Brunel, he was a Lecturer in Digital Creativity and New Media Management at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Lecturer in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. He has a PhD in Management from Kent Business School, University of Kent, and a Master degree in Innovation Management and Technology Policy from Birkbeck College. His research has been published in journals such as International Journal of Management Reviews, International Business Review, Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, Information and Organization and International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. He is active reviewer for a wide range of journals in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. Dr Samdanis’s research interests focus on innovation and entrepreneurship in the creative industries, and in particular in contemporary visual arts, architecture and design drawing mainly on organisational theory. He is also interested in studying leadership, creativity and diversity in the domains of technology and culture. Innovation in art, design and technology Leadership and diversity management New institutionalism and sociomateriality Technology, cultural and social entrepreneurship MG5621 Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Module Leader) MG2607 Creativity, Innovation and Leadership (Module Leader) Consultation and Feedback Sessions: Wednesdays and Fridays 1-2pm

Dr Raffaella Valsecchi Dr Raffaella Valsecchi is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Organisational Behaviour at Brunel Business School. Prior to joining Brunel University, she held posts at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of Leicester. She completed her PhD in the Sociology of Work at the University of Leicester, fully funded by the ESRC and the College of Social Sciences, University of Leicester. Raffaella’s research focuses on health and well-being at work, community well-being, the role of social enterprises in social change, the impact of technology in health organisations, and flexible working. She has worked on multidisciplinary research projects funded by the ESRC, the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, the Brunel University London Knowledge Transfer Grant, and the Research Catalyst Fund. Her work has been published in renowned international journals, such as Work, Employment and Society, New Technology, Work and Employment, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, European Management Review, Economic and Industrial Democracy, and Employee Relations. She delivered a policy-making presentation related to her research on health and well-being at work for the Cabinet Office (2018), and in 2024, she was invited to present a policy talk on "Creating a National Standard for Health in the Workplace" at the Westminster Employment Forum & Westminster Health Forum policy conference, Health and Well-being in the Workplace. She served on the Editorial Board of the journal European Management Review (2017–2022) and has acted as a reviewer for the European Academy of Management (EURAM) conference. She is a member of the European Group for Organisational Studies (EGOS) and regularly presents papers at the EGOS Colloquium. She has organised several conference streams for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion conference. Raffaella also acts as a reviewer for academic journals including New Technology, Work and Employment, Gender, Work and Organization, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Raffaella has held numerous successful academic leadership roles, including Director of Postgraduate Programmes, Director of Student Experience, Director of Employability, Programme Leader for the MSc HRM, and Director of Undergraduate Programmes—making a substantial positive impact on academic programmes and students’ experiences. She recently served as REF Impact Champion, supporting the development of 30 early-stage impact case studies, and in 2024–25, she developed the new postgraduate programme MSc in Global Healthcare Management, due to launch in September 2025. She has played an important role in key successful accreditations, such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Raffaella is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). She is passionate about research- and practice-based teaching, and in the past three years has developed company-based dissertations in collaboration with social enterprises and charity organisations, including the British Red Cross. She currently serves as an external examiner at Bayes Business School and Henley Business School. She has been nominated for several awards, including ‘Best Final Year Project Tutor’ (UG students’ nomination, 2014), the ‘Ken Darby-Dowman Memorial Prize’ (2020–21), and ‘Collaborative & Collegiate Working’ (College nomination, 2021–22). The management of health and well-being at work The impact of technology in health organisations Tele-health Community Wellbeing Social entreprises and social change Flexible working Dissertation, Research Methods, HRM, Organisational Behaviour/Leadership.

Dr Lefteris Kretsos Dr Lefteris Kretsos is a Senior Lecturer in Business and Management. Prior to joining Brunel University London he was a Senior Lecturer in HRM at University of Greenwich, Greenwich Business School, a Research Fellow at Coventry University, Coventry Business School and a Lecturer in Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Business School. His achievements were acknowledged by City University of London through the distinguished honor of an Honorary Senior Lectureship. His research activity focused on the study of precarious work especially among young and cultural workers. He is currently working in the intersection of political economy and employment relations focusing on how AI, Public Policy and Management interventions result in certain outcomes, processes and strategies. Lefteris has been published in leading academic presses and in world-class journals such as Work, Employment and Society, Work and Occupations, Industrial Relations Journal, Industrial Law Journal. His research has also been funded by various organisations and streams including the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the European Research Council (ERC awards). In addition, Lefteris has been on a range of editorial boards and committees, he has proposed legislation and holds proven record in policy making and analysis in government and intergovernmental organisations (for example European Commission, ILO, OECD, Unesco). From March 2015 to July 2019 Lefteris served as a Cabinet Minister and as General Secretary responsible for Digital and Media Policy in Greece. During his tenure he initiated the restructuring of public policy organisations and championed policies for making Greece a global film friendly location. He is currently teaching Research Methods in Business and Management, International Human Resource Management for Undergraduate Students. He also teaches Leading People and Managing Organisations for MBA Students. Lefteris is also the Programme Leader for the PhD Programme with Ahlia University in Bahrain. My research has addressed the nature of change in a variety of work organisations, how this has impacted on employees, and how industrial relations processes shape the nature of outcomes of organisational and labour market restructuring. An on-going research interest concerned changes in working time patterns and employees’ experience of precarious work. I am currently working in the intersection of political economy and employment relations. I situate organizational and social related problems in a policy context examining how AI, public policy and Management interventions results in certain outcomes, processes and strategies. To date I have participated in 15 international research projects funded by a number of important institutions, such as the European Commission and the European Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions. Digitalisation and the Future of Work, Public Policy for the Creative Industries, Working Time Changes. MG2610 Research Methods MG2133 Human Resource Management and its International Dimensions MB5527 Leading People and Managing Organizations (MBA) Undergraduate and Postgraduate dissertation supervision and marking I am also Programme Leader for the PhD (Without Residence Programme). Office hours: Students can make an appointment to meet me by either using the following link by simply sending me an email.

Dr Selcuk Uygur Dr. Selcuk Uygur is a Senior Lecturer in Business Ethics. He has received his PhD degree from Brunel Business School on management researches. Selcuk holds an MBA degree from Baskent University and a BA degree from Inonu University, Turkey. His research interests include work ethic, business ethics and social responsibility, the influence of religion in business, diversity management. He is a reviewer for the Journal of Business Ethics, Gender Work and Organization, International Journal of Human Resource Management. Selcuk is acting as a member of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour (HRM-OB) research group at Brunel Business School. He has been a member of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) since 2007, and an Academic Member of CIPD since 2018. He is the Director of Teaching and Learning at BBS since 2019. Work ethic Corporate social responsibility Diversity management Religion and business ethics Research group(s) Human Resource Management and Organization Behaviour Research Group (HRMOB) MG3113 Business Ethics, Environmental Sustainability and, Governance; MG3119 Issues & Controversies in Management Project; MG5510 Dissertation

Mr Tareq Alnaimat Tareq Alnaimat is a Doctoral Researcher in journalism at Brunel University and senior news editor at Alaraby Aljadeed (New Arab) Newspere and website. He holds a B.A. in Political science from the University of Jordan and an M.A. in international relations from London Metropolitan University. Tareq is a former fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. Tareq worked for news media outlets in Jordan, the United States, Qatar and the U.K. Tareq's Research Project focuses on the correlation between Media and identity in the Middle East, especially in Jordan. Through his research, he explores How media contribute to the debate about identity and How the identity crises In Jordan affected the Media. Journalism, Media, Identity, Middle East, Jordan.

Ms Selin Maden Selin Maden completed her undergraduate education in 2016 from Akdeniz University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, as the top-ranking student of the department and faculty. During her undergraduate education, she received a total of five awards from the Aydın Doğan Young Communicators Competition and the TRT Future Communicators Competition. She graduated from Anadolu University Open Education Faculty, Radio and Television Programming in 2016, where she studied as her second university. She completed her master's degree at Akdeniz University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Journalism, in 2019. She worked as a research assistant at Üsküdar University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism between September 2018 and March 2023, and as a lecturer at Kırklareli University Community Relations Coordination Office between March 2023 and December 2023. Selin Maden has made academic publications on journalism-related subjects such as health journalism and earthquake reporting, and has served in the organizing committees and secretariat of various scientific events. In addition, Maden took part as a trainer in the Introduction to Climate Journalism and Information Reliability Training, which was held in 2024 and supported within the scope of the Scientific and Technology Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) 2237-A Scientific Education Activities Support Program. She is funded by the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey for PhD at Brunel University. Journalism, new media.

Ms Kelly Holmes Thesis title: The First Step or Short Vision?: The Influence of the British Film Institute on British Women’s Filmmaking. Building on recent work in feminist British film history (Bell et al 2020; Wreyford & Cobb 2017; Gledhill & Knight 2015; Mulvey & Backman Rogers 2015), this project will focus for the first time on the women filmmakers who were funded by the BFI’s production schemes, to examine how women’s films were shaped by the BFI’s funding and its institutional barriers. The core research will be based on an analysis of the BFI National Archive’s holdings of the 82 BFI-funded titles directed by women between 1952-2000, when state funding was transferred to the UKFC. This period includes work by renowned filmmakers Sally Potter, Gurinder Chadha and Ngozi Onwurah, through to lesser-known productions such as The First Step (Felicity Gray, 1961) and Short Vision (Joan Foldes, 1956). This unique lens will enable the development of an historiographical framework with which to explore the various obstacles faced by women filmmakers during this period, and how they intersected with other factors such as class, race, age and disability (Crenshaw 2017). To answer these questions, I will develop a creative methodology, combining skills of archival research, interviews, and media practice, to produce a thesis which explores ways in which multimedia responses (eg. an interactive documentary film) can inform the interpretation of the material in the BFI’s collection and reveal deeper insights into the work produced by British women filmmakers. This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), via a Technē studentship.

Ms Jennifer Holroyd-Doveton Jennifer is a Techne-funded PhD student in Film and TV in the first stages of a thesis on social class in British fantasy. She has worked as a support worker in the disability and dyslexia department here at Brunel for 9 years, alongside her work as a videographer and director of music videos for DIY punk bands. She has a BA in Mixed Media Fine Art from Westminster and an MA in Critical and Cultural Studies from Birkbeck. Supervisor: Professor Mike Wayne Social class Middle-class subjectivity Intersectionality Morality Fantasy and hybrid genres Reception and critical fan discourses Conservative/liberal hegemonic bloc Gramsci Bourdieu Skeggs Middle-class subjectivity and moral value in British fantasy film and television. Case studies include: The Harry Potter film series and the His Dark Materials telelvision series. Thesis will include a practical component in the form of a video essay.

Mr Matthew Adams Anthropologist researching the place of minorities in China's new cyber society. Qualifications: MSc - Brunel University London ALB - Harvard University Extension School ethnic minorities in China the Tujia minority metaverse gacha and monetisation social credit cybernetic anthropology psychoanalytic anthropology psychiatric anthropology mixed methods: psychology, sociology, anthropology