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Biography
I have been employed in the UK agricultural industry for over 45 years, undertaking professional exams (accounting), a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature and a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics on a distance learning basis whilst working.
My main research interests are how language is used to create inequality between different social groups and asking why the imbalance has been created and who benefits.
I am particularly interested in rural societies, including animals.
Expertise Summary
My roles have largely been related to arable farming, mostly on farm, but also within the allied industries of grain trading and cereal seed production. I have a small amount of livestock farming knowledge. My work on farms has included the administration of conservation and government grant schemes.
In academia, I have used corpus linguistics to assist qualitative discourse analysis.
Research Summary
The focus of my PhD research is to explore the representation in the UK media of women engaged in the UK agricultural industry. My work involves the use of corpus linguistics and critical discourse… read more
Current Research
The focus of my PhD research is to explore the representation in the UK media of women engaged in the UK agricultural industry. My work involves the use of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis and applies English research methods within the discipline of Cultural Geography.
Past Research
Whilst working on my PhD, I undertook the role of research assistant working on a paper with Sarah Jewitt, Sol Elliot, Emma Mc Claughlin and Matthew Smallman-Raynor (2025 forthcoming), exploring the connection of veterinary training and expertise to the treatment of birds with or with suspected avian influenza.
During this time, I was also involved with an avian influenza video produced by the team for amateur poultry keepers