PhD Researchers

In this page, you can find further details about the current PhD researchers at the Centre for Global Development, including their thematic focus and contact details. If you are interested in commencing postgraduate study in this area, please contact Prof Katy Jenkins or Prof Matt Baillie Smith, co-Directors of the Centre.

 

Adam Cross

Supervisors: Dr Joanna Allan, Prof Katy Jenkins and Dr Inge Boudewijn

PhD research summary: Adam’s PhD research investigates the resistance practices of women land and environmental defenders in Colombia who are affected by forced displacement. His project focuses on how displacement driven by armed conflict, dispossession and ecological destruction provokes experiences of dislocation and loss, but also creates spaces within which new relationships with community, territory, and place are generated. Adam’s research uses decolonial and feminist perspectives to analyse the diverse knowledges and resistance practices which emerge from contexts shaped by patriarchy, racism, and intersecting histories of colonialism and development.

Email: adam.g.cross@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Adam's LinkedIn Profile

 

 

Aneeta Shajan

Supervisors: Prof Steve Taylor and Prof Katy Jenkins

PhD research summary: Aneeta's PhD research looks at return migration from Gulf economic region to Kerala, India. The research aims to conceptualise the impact of migration on the health outcomes of migrants in the Kerala‐Gulf corridor. The effect is analysed by examining if and how temporary international migration has brought about accelerated health vulnerabilities amongst migrants compared to non‐migrants from the same origin area. It does so by navigating how migration has led to better opportunities, income, lifestyle, and quality of life and how these factors have affected the health‐seeking behaviours of migrants in the destination country.

Email: aneeta.shajan@northumbria.ac.uk

 

 

Angelica Ribichini

Supervisors: Dr Oliver Hensengerth, Prof Matt Baillie Smith and Dr Joanna Allan

PhD research summary: Through an intersectional feminist lens, Angelica's research explores youth vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta - a region that is widely considered to be one of the most exposed to the impacts of climate change globally. Employing a participatory action research (PAR) methodology, the project seeks to illuminate how intersecting markers of power and inequality shape young people's experience of, and ability to cope with, changing living conditions in the delta area.   

Email: angelica.ribichini@northumbria.ac.uk

 

 

Becky Richardson

Supervisor: Prof Andrew Collins

PhD working title: Child-centred Disaster Risk Reduction; the use of creative methods to understand hazard scenarios and risk communication pathways for children living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

PhD research summary:  Becky’s research seeks to critically explore child-centred health risk communication within the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR) with children living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.  Children have the right to be heard and listened to, as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC, 1989) yet their voices rarely contribute to policy or practice despite being a marginalised group.  This research applies a child-centred approach to understand children’s perceptions of hazard and risk that impact their health and wellbeing in school and their neighbourhood. Those risks are then explored further to see how they are communicated within the child’s own networks and linked to local level innovative solutions to reduce risk and improve health and wellbeing. A participatory action research (PAR) method is applied, adopting creative and arts-based tools to enhance engagement, trust, and equality in power relationships. Methods include deep mapping, walking interviews, body mapping, model-making, storytelling, and drawing.

Email: rebecca.richardson@northumbria.ac.uk

 

 

Benita Siloko 

Supervisors: Dr Oliver Hensengerth and Prof Helena Farrand Carrapico

PhD working title: Human security, livelihoods and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

PhD research summary: Benita’s PhD research seeks to understand and address the complex connection between vulnerability, human security, and livelihoods in the context of environmental degradation, in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Understanding the factors that shape or contributes to social vulnerabilities of the Niger Delta or a community is important, as this will inform the needed entry points to increase resilience. The environment is humans first right, without a safe environment, we cannot exist to claim other rights – be it social, political, or economic rights. Benita’s research further brings together the concept of environmental security, justice and emancipation and the rights-based approach to human security.

Email: benita.e.siloko@northumbria.ac.uk

Twitter: @BenitaSiloko

 

 

Bina Limbu

Supervisors: Dr Katie Oven and Dr Sarah Hughes

PhD working title: Living with mountain hazards: Everyday experiences of rural households in Nepal

PhD research summary: Owner-driven approaches to disaster risk reduction (DRR) have been globally endorsed under the Sendai Framework 2015-2030, however, much ambiguity exists regarding how to effectively integrate community participation and local knowledge into DRR practices. The current literatures contrastingly portray disaster-affected people either as ‘suffering victims’ driven to risky locations, or as the ‘drivers of their own change’ possessing indigenous knowledge and social capital. However, in the messiness of everyday reality, householders constantly negotiate with state and non-state bodies to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, but do they end up any more resilient than before? This research aims to seek answers by carrying out ethnographic study of people living in geo-hazardous locations in Dhading district of Nepal (prone to landslides, floods and earthquakes). In doing so, this study explores what kind of socio-economic, political, and environmental factors interplay in their everyday lives and how these shape their agency and decisions-making regarding hazards.

Email: bina.limbu@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Bina's LinkedIn Profile

Relevant publications:

Aijazi, O., Amburgey, E., Limbu, B., Suji, M., Binks, J., Balaz-Munn, C., Rankin, K., & Shneiderman, S. (2021). The Ethnography of Collaboration: Navigating Power Relationships in Joint Research. Collaborative Anthropologies, 13(2), 56-99. https://doi.org/10.1353/cla.2021.0003

Le Billon, P., Suji, M., Baniya, J., Limbu, B., Paudel, D., Rankin, K., Rawal, N., & Shneiderman, S. (2020). Disaster Financialization: Earthquakes, Cashflows and Shifting Household Economies in Nepal. Development and Change, 51(4), 939-969. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12603

Limbu, B., Baniya, J., Suji, M., & Shneiderman, S. (2019, 19 February 2019). Reconstruction conundrums. The Kathmandu Post. https://kathmandupost.com/opinion/2019/02/19/reconstruction-conundrums

Limbu, B., Rawal, N., Suji, M., Subedi, P., & Baniya, J. (2019). Reconstructing Nepal: Post-Earthquake Experiences from Bhaktapur, Dhading and Sindhupalchowk. https://soscbaha.org/publication/reconstructing-nepal-post-earthquake-experiences-from-bhaktapur-dhading-and-sindhupalchowk/

Shneiderman, S., Hirslund, D., Baniya, J., Billon, P. L., Limbu, B., Pandey, B., Rankin, K., Rawal, N., Subedi, P. C., Suji, M., Thapa, D., & Warner, C. (2021). Expertise, Labour, and Mobility in Nepal's Post-Conflict, Post-Disaster Reconstruction: Law, Construction, and Finance as Domains of Social Transformation. In M. Liechty, M. Hutt, & S. Lotter (Eds.), Epicentre to Aftermath: Rebuilding and Remembering in the Wake of Nepal's Earthquakes (pp. 49-86). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108991636.003

Shneiderman, S. B., Limbu, B., Baniya, J., Suji, M., Rawal, N., Subedi, P. C., & Warner, C. D. (2022). House, Household, and Home: Revisiting Anthropological and Policy Frameworks through Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Experiences in Nepal. Current Anthropology.

Suji, M., Limbu, B., Rawal, N., Subedi, P. C., & Baniya, J. (2020). Reconstructing Nepal: Bhaktapur—Heritage and Urban Reconstruction [Working paper]. https://soscbaha.org/publication/reconstructing-nepal-bhaktapur/

 

 

Daniel Walsh

Supervisors: Dr Pete Howson and Dr Paul Dolan

PhD research summary: Building on an emergent body of scholarship in “geographies of outer space”, Daniel’s PhD research seeks to critically interrogate the relationships between the “space industrial complex” and minoritised communities in the United States, particularly Indigenous Nations. Connecting political ecology with decolonial geographies, this research will explore interwoven political-economic, ontological, and epistemological dynamics of power and resistance. Ethnographic research will be conducted at commercial spaceports and launch sites in Texas and New Mexico, USA. Daniel also serves on the advisory board for the Global Network Against Weapons and Military Power in Space.

Email: daniel4.walsh@northumbria.ac.uk

 

 

Geoffrey Bwireh

Supervisors: Dr Robert Newbery and Prof Matt Baillie Smith

PhD working title: Volunteerism, mixed embeddedness and entrepreneurial behaviour of Congolese youth refugees in Nakivale settlement in Uganda

PhD research summary: Geoffrey’s PhD analyses human capital, volunteerism, social networks, and performance of youth refugees owned micro-enterprises in Ugandan refugee settlements. Existing evidence suggests that engaging refugees in entrepreneurial activities can support their embeddedness within society; at the same time, volunteerism is increasingly being celebrated as a silver bullet strategy for enhancing aid and development in the global South. However, although the majority of the world’s refugee population is hosted in global South countries, research into refugees entrepreneurship has mainly focused on issues of mobility and individuals’ dual-embeddedness within host countries of the global North. This research thus explores human capital, volunteerism and social networks through the experiences of young refugee entrepreneurs living in Uganda refugee settlements.

E-mail: geoffrey.bwireh@northumbria.ac.uk

Twitter: @GeffreyBwireh

LinkedIn: Geoffrey’s LinkedIn Profile 

 

 

Janet Clark

Supervisor: Prof Matt Baillie Smith

PhD research summary: Janet’s PhD research is in collaboration with the International Forum for Volunteering in Development. It explores the changing relationships between volunteering and development as ideas and practices have been challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, decolonisation and reduced aid budgets. The research will analyse how organisations working with volunteers are responding to these challenges and whether these responses have prompted a more socially just and equitable reimagining of volunteering.

Email: j.m.clark@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Janet’s LinkedIn profile

Relevant publications:

Clark, J., & Lewis, S.K. (2017). Impact beyond volunteering: A realist evaluation of the complex and long-term pathways of volunteer impact. https://www.vsointernational.org/sites/default/files/VSO_ImpactBeyondVolunteering_MainReport_web.pdf

Hayes, F., Clark, J., & McCauley, M. (2020). Healthcare providers’ and managers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding international medical volunteering in Uganda: a qualitative study. BMJ Open, 10. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039722

 

 

Jos Bamborough

Supervisor: Prof Matt Baillie Smith

PhD research summary: Joseph’s research project explores concepts at the heart of contemporary thinking around humanitarian response through a lens of ‘everyday’ work within international non-governmental organisations (iNGOs).  It builds on four critical (and overlapping) bodies of literature:  population displacement, humanitarian localisation, supply chain management, and ‘geographies of the everyday’, within the context of conflict in the Middle East, to develop an understanding of how workers manage the flow of goods and services, funds, and information through their supply chains.

Email: joseph.w.h.bamborough@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Joseph's LinkedIn profile 

 

 

Lindsay Bewick

Supervisors: Prof Matt Baillie Smith and Prof Katy Jenkins

PhD research summary: Lindsay's PhD research seeks to critically explore the ways in which entrepreneurial activities enable urban women refugees to create livelihoods opportunities, focusing on three key inter-related lenses – biographies, solidarities and space. Taking the emphasis away from current policy and programming which has a narrow focus on how entrepreneurship leads to local economic contributions, the broader everyday experiences and interactions of urban women refugees will be investigated using visual and participatory methods. The research will take place in Uganda.

Email: lindsay.s.bewick@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Lindsay's LinkedIn profile 

 

 

Mridula Mary Paul

Supervisor: Dr Francis Masse and Prof Andrew Collins

PhD working title: The making of One Health: Cultural politics and political ecology of the global responses to zoonoses

PhD research summary: Although zoonotic diseases have significantly impacted already vulnerable forest-/wildlife-dependant and herder communities in developing countries, the thrust of the global response to zoonoses is surveillance and ‘hotspot’ mapping with the expressed goal of containing the spread “closer to their source” i.e., locations in the global South. The scientific research on zoonoses that inform policies for response are therefore political endeavours as much as scientific ones, because they implicitly confer certain spaces and groups of people with more culpability for zoonotic disease emergence. As a dominant paradigm addressing public health and zoonoses, One Health provides the ideal ground for exploring the cultural politics of the science and expertise underpinning global responses to zoonoses. The PhD project aims to merge the political ecology of human-animal relations and the political ecology of health, thereby contributing to the emerging field of political ecology of zoonoses and One Health.  

E-mail: mridula.paul@northumbria.ac.uk

Twitter: @MridulaMPaul

 

 

Robert Bowden

Supervisor: Prof Matt Baillie Smith

PhD research summary: Robert's PhD project is a collaborative research in partnership with the international NGO Christian Aid, focused on the dynamics of ‘transformational’ supporter engagement and global citizenship in relation to Christian Aid’s work in the UK.  

Email: rob.c.bowden@northumbria.ac.uk 

 

 

Robert Olet Egwea

Supervisors: Prof Matt Baillie Smith and Dr Francis Masse

PhD working title: The impact of tree protection strategies on rural livelihoods in the shea tree belt of Uganda

PhD research summary: Robert’s PhD research investigates the impact of tree protection strategies on livelihoods in Uganda's shea tree belt, a vital ecosystem supporting the livelihoods of millions of people in a region that has experienced significant deforestation in recent years, leading to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, reduced water quality, poverty, and food insecurity. The study will contribute to knowledge on deforestation, climate change mitigation, and livelihood outcomes in the global South by providing insights into the complex interrelationships between various tree protection strategies, challenges, and livelihoods in the shea tree belt. The original contribution to knowledge in this study lies in the synthesis of the concepts of agency, theory of access and sustainable livelihoods approach to understand these relationships. While previous studies have explored the environmental benefits of tree protection strategies, this study highlights the crucial role of the strategies in supporting the livelihoods of rural communities in the global south, particularly in the shea tree belt.

Email: robert.egwea@northumbria.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Robert's LinkedIn Profile 

 

 

Ruth Stevenson

Supervisors: Prof Steve Taylor and Prof Katy Jenkins

Summary: Ruth's PhD research seeks to critically explore the relationship between international migration and women’s development within Kerala, India, where overseas migrants provide 40% of state income. The international migration process in India is still largely male dominated, and dominant discourses celebrate the positive relationship between migration and Indian development. This research will make a distinctive contribution to an emerging body of literature focusing on migration and inclusive development by focusing on Keralan women ‘left behind’, the challenges they face, and the longer term impacts on women in the Keralan model of development which has seen vast improvements in health outcomes and literacy rates in Kerala.  

Email: ruth.stevenson@northumbria.ac.uk

 

 

Sichelesile N. Maxine Mpofu

Supervisors: Prof Matt Baillie Smith and Dr Reem Talhouk

PhD working title: A Critical Analysis of How Young People with Disabilities Shape the Development of Rural Zimbabwe

PhD research summary: Maxine is interested in Youth Geographies, with a particular focus on the elasticity of young personhood and the nuanced experience of global development. The current research project employs Participatory Research approaches to collaborate with diverse young people with disabilities in interrogating the nature of Participatory Development in rural Zimbabwe. The project seeks to contribute to studies filling the dearth of Development Geographies literature that captures decolonised youth narratives, by the youth and for the youth in the global South.

Email: maxine.mpofu@northumbria.ac.uk

Twitter: @maxine_mpofu

LinkedIn: Maxine's LinkedIn Profile 

 

 

Shamima Akter Shanu

Supervisors: Prof Matt Baillie Smith and Dr Katie Oven

PhD working title: Voluntary Labour in the Climate Emergency: Exploring the Experiences of Youth Volunteers in the Context of Climate-Vulnerable Bengal Delta

PhD research summary: Shamima’s PhD research explores the roles of youth volunteers in climate emergency at the Bengal delta in South Asia. This delta is repeatedly affected by disasters and ongoing climate impacts. Despite inclusion in diverse policy objectives and ambitions, young volunteers’ lived experiences, voices and practices are absent from popular, scholarly and policy thinking. Therefore, this research aims to explore the everyday life experiences of those marginal youth volunteers amongst climate vulnerable communities in Bangladesh. This research adopts participatory research approaches to collaborate with diverse stakeholders in the coastal communities in order to generate new knowledge that will contribute to both volunteer and climate change domains separately and combinedly. Shamima’s overall research interests are related to climate change adaptation, disasters risk reduction, water and sanitation, mangrove ecosystem and deltaic ecosystem.

Email: s.shanu@northumbria.ac.uk

Twitter: @ShamimaShanu

LinkedIn: Shamima’s LinkedIn profile

 

 

Tzu Jung Feng (Emily)

Supervisor: Prof Katy Jenkins    

PhD research summary: Tzu Jung (Emily) is interested in everyday resilience and the geography of medical voluntourism, with a particular focus on health professional identity and their voluntary experiences in the development of community well-being in the global South. Through feminist participatory research and visual ethnographic methodologies, her current research project seeks to contribute to studies of gender inequality in the medical profession, both among health professionals and within their households.

Email: tzu-jung.feng@northumbria.ac.uk