Biography

I am a professor in the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen and Director of the Centre for Global Development. I am also a member of the Centre for Civil Society and the Rule of Law and the New Europe Centre.

My main research interests are in gender,  wellbeing, quality of life and social quality, and social, economic and political transformations. I have carried out research in the UK, the European Union, the former Soviet Union, East Africa and the Middle East and North Africa. I am an author (with Claire Wallace and Melissa Taylor) of the best selling text An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives (3rd edition 2005), Routledge. My most recent books are (with Andrea Teti, Valeria Talbot and Paolo Maggiolini) Democratisation against Democracy: How the EU Fails the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillian, published in January 2020 and; (with Andrea Teti and Francesco Cavatorta) The Arab Uprisings in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia: Social, Economic and Political Transformations in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillian, published in January 2018. I have published more than 50 articles in peer review journals.  My work has been published in English, French, Italian, Swedish, Polish, Korean and Chinese. 

I am directing the Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People’s Quality of Life in Western Rwanda project funded under the Scottish Government's Scotland Rwanda Programme  (£1.2m, 2017-22). I am: a co-I on a project funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada, Providing Timely Evidence to Facilitate the Socio-Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic in Rwanda (2020-2023); on a UK R&I funded project on federalism in the Horn of Africa (2020-2023); and on an AHRC funded project Toward the Development of Post Covid-19 Gender Policy Measures to End Modern Slavery and Exploitation in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector.

External Memberships

Global Challenges Research Fund Strategic Advisory Group

British Sociological Association

Funding Board, National Institute for Health Research, Research for Innovation and Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) funding.

Prizes and Awards

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Research Overview

I am the Director of the Centre for Global Development and a member of the Centre for Civil Society and the Rule of Law.

My main research interests are gender and social quality and quality of life, and social, economic and political transformations. I have expertise in both qualitative and quantitative social research methods. I have researched in the UK and Europe, the former Soviet Union, East Africa and the Middle East and North Africa.

Current Research

I am directing the Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People’s Quality of Life in Western Rwanda. The project is funded under the Scottish Government's Scotland Rwanda Programme  (£1.2m, 2017-22). I am: a co-I on a project funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada, Providing Timely Evidence to Facilitate the Socio-Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic in Rwanda (2020-2023); on a UK R&I funded project on federalism in the Horn of Africa (2020-2023); on an AHRC funded project Toward the Development of Post Covid-19 Gender Policy Measures to End Modern Slavery and Exploitation in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector; on a project funded by the International Development Research Centre (2021-24) to 

Knowledge Exchange

I am a member of the National Institute for Health Research Community Engagement Advisory Group.

I publish articles in the Conversation and Open Democracy and regularly give presentations at the Festival of Social Sciences and May Fest. 

Collaborations

University of Addis Ababa

University of Global Health Equity

Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda

Funding and Grants

Principal Investigator: Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People’s Quality of Life in Western Rwanda project. Funded by the Scottish Government 2017-2022.

Co-Investigator: Providing Timely Evidence to Facilitate the Socio-Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in Rwanda project. Funded by the International Development Research Centre (Canadian Government) 2020-2023.

Co-Investigator: Toward the Development of post-Covid-19 Gender Policy Measures to End Modern Slavery and Exploitation in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council 2020-21.

Co-Investigator: Partnership Programme for Capacity Building Centre of Excellence in Good Governance. Funded by UK Research and Innovation 2020-23.

Principal Investigator: In Their Own Words:  The Democracy Tunisians Want. Funded by the Scottish Funding Council 2021.

Do-Investigator: Assess the Impact and Scalability of Participatory Programs on Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Care work among Women in Rwanda”: A Case  Study of Reseaux des Femmes Unpaid Care work Project in Rwanda (GRoW Project). Funded by the International Development Research Centre (Canadian Government) 2021-2024.

Teaching Responsibilities

I currently teach on the 6th Century Course:  Africa:  Sustainable Development for All. I also surpervise PhD students.