I have worked on the challenges of socially responsible and sustainable production and consumption throughout my career to date, in Scotland, Senegal, and India. For my PhD in Psychology, I analysed how product designers negotiate agency and responsibility in decision-making about environmental sustainability. I used an approach from social psychology called discursive psychology to analyse conversations with designers. I found patterns in the ways the designers deflected or assumed responsibility, and in how they depicted their roles as sustainability champions within their wider businesses.
The fellowship year helped me explore how to position my research in relation to different disciplines. For example, I was able to present findings from my PhD research at an operations management conference in Hamburg, at a psychology research methods conference in Milan, and at a management research conference in Nottingham. I have built connections and collaborations with both business and psychology academics, which put me in a good position to take up a new role of Assistant Professor in Strategy and Enterprise after the fellowship.
The fellowship provides some protected time to work on specific research outputs. It is also a great opportunity to expand professional networks and explore new collaborations and ideas.
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