Northumbria researchers win record funding

Northumbria University, Newcastle, has secured a record five research grants in this year’s British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grants programme. These grants support primary research in humanities and social sciences and are awarded to established scholars.

The awards have been made to Northumbria academics working in the disciplines of Sociology, Criminology, International Politics and Law, reinforcing Northumbria’s reputation as a research-rich University.

This year’s success includes the first grant of its type to the Law School, for research on Environmental Justice. The grant was awarded to Dr Gita Gill, Reader in Law, to examine the case work of the recently established Indian National Green Tribunal [NGT]. The project focuses on NGT as one element of a reformist approach to environmental governance and explores its working and effectiveness.

Dr Ruth Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, and Professor Mike Rowe, Head of Department – Social Sciences and Languages, have received support to explore the online victimisation of women. Once heralded as a haven for free speech and democratic dialogue, recent events have revealed that the online world suffers the same gender inequalities as the offline world. The proposed research will focus on women’s experiences of victimisation and identify ways in which the online community can resist such problems.

In Criminology, Senior Lecturer Dr Tanya Wyatt and Dr Pam Davies, Programme Director, will be conducting research into invisible crimes and victimisations, looking at the nature and extent of sexual violence in the British Army. Through interviews with British Army staff and a survey of army personnel, this research will ultimately propose policy interventions to reduce the sexual victimisation occurring in the military.

Dr Tom Vickers, Lecturer in Social Sciences and Dr John Clayton, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography will be exploring the position and experiences of ‘new migrants’ in the North East England workforce during a time of austerity. The research will be conducted in partnership with voluntary sector organisations and will be translated into languages commonly spoken by migrants in the region, increasing the potential for its use in advocacy and consciousness raising.

Dr Kirsten Haack, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, will undertake research in Tanzania to investigate gender institutions and the lived experiences (biographies) of former United Nations executive heads Asha-Rose Migiro and Anna Tibaijuka. The project will explore how these two women became eligible candidates for UN office, and how they mediate local and global gender norms to act for women while at the UN and in their current political roles.

Professor Ian Postlethwaite, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Northumbria University, said: “Quality research underpins everything we do at Northumbria. The ability to create new knowledge is the prime driver for academic quality and it provides our students with a learning and teaching experience that is contemporary, relevant and cutting edge. It also provides businesses and other stakeholder groups with an excellent resource to shape the way in which they operate.

“Securing five awards from the British Academy reinforces our reputation for quality research, helping Northumbria to make a significant contribution to the world in which we study, work and live.”