Doctoral Research Conference 2019

Title of PhD: Justice, migration and displacement in the Anthropocene

"My thesis looks at the phenomenon of climate-related migration and displacement. Various climate change impacts – such as sea-level rise, drought and desertification, and extreme weather events like typhoons and hurricanes – have been shown to result in the movement of people both within and across borders.

"My work looks at how we can re-shape our political institutions in order to respond to this development in ways that realise the ideals of justice and fairness."

Jamie Draper

PhD student, Department of Politics and International Relations

Title of PhD: Essays on the economics of large-scale land acquisitions

"With an estimated 100 million hectares of land globally demanded by international investors since the year 2000, the surge in Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) shows that a new global market for land is in place.

Yet, there is very little we know about the socio-economic and environmental implications of trading such a large amount of land internationally. My research explores the most recent rush for land in human history, with a series of different but intertwined papers focusing on the economics of this phenomenon." 

Marcello de Maria

PhD student, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Title of PhD: Jargon busting: the cognitive mechanisms underpinning Jargon aphasia and perseveration

"After a stroke, some people have difficulty organising the sounds within words, causing a word production problem e.g., witness is produced as ‘witwim’. This is called jargon speech and it has a severe impact on communication, often leading to social isolation.

"Existing treatment options for jargon speech are limited, so my research explores techniques to improve jargon speech with a view to identifying more effective treatments."

Emma Pilkington

PhD student, School of Psychology and Clincal Language Sciences

Heritage and Creativity Research Theme, Department of English Literature

Title of PhD: The literary industry 1926-32: Wyndham Lewis and publishing

"The history of the printed word is the history of publishing. Since the invention of the press, the ability to produce and circulate books has had a profound impact on not just how, but on what we read, and why.

"I conduct original archival research in the field of book history to analyse how changes in technology, publishing practices and war have impacted historical and contemporary literature in book marketplaces, universities and popular culture."

Gareth Mills

PhD student, Department of English Literature