Meet the Team

Associate Professor Theodoros Papadopoulos

School of Natural Sciences

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as the fastest-advancing solar technology to date, as they may lead to a new generation of consumer devices that could be printed or processed on large areas at low cost. Our objective is to use nanoscale modelling to predict novel lead-free organometallic halide perovskites with favourable band gaps and effective energy-level alignment at the materials interfaces of the device. Improved materials properties promise to deliver increased photoconversion efficiency and may provide a step further towards a sustainable energy future.

Project funding: Royal Society under grant IEC\R3\183088, and Cirrus National Tier-2 HPC Service, under EPSRC grant EP/P020267/1

Collaborators: Prof Guang-Yu Guo, Physics Department, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Dr Maria Vasilopoulou, Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Demokritos National Lab, Athens, Greece.

Dr Dami Akosile

Humanities, Cultures and Environment

This project delves into the intricacies of commuting and its correlation with travel satisfaction, subjective and overall well-being in Cardiff, UK. The ultimate aim is to devise a comprehensive framework that can enhance the well-being of commuters in the region. The study discovered that various factors, such as commute time, distance, mode, attitudes, socio-demographic characteristics, and neighbourhood quality, play a pivotal role in determining travel satisfaction and overall well-being. This research provided a deeper understanding of how these factors interact, and proffered some effective measures to improve the commuting experience for individuals living within the study area.

Collaborators: Dr Dimitris Potoglou (Cardiff University)

Dr Van Thi Nguyen

Marketing, Tourism and Destinations, Chester Business School

The project aims to measure the labour and capital productivity of FB businesses on a sectoral or national scale in Vietnam. It is at the pre-fieldwork stage. It plans to engage 600 to 1200 FB businesses in Vietnam to participate in the survey. This is the pioneer project that measures the productivity of the FB sector of Vietnam alone, given that the productivity of the FB businesses have never been measured. The current measures are at the Wholesale and retail trade, hotels, and restaurants industry of which the FB industry is part of.

The expected deliveries of this project include the FB productivity report for the RAV, three key workshops on the labour, capital and operational productivity for the FB businesses in Vietnam (with 2 workshops completed), various training seminars for the project staff and FB businesses, and an academic paper. This will also provide some inputs to the next project on best productivity practices with successful FB cases.

Collaborators: The Restaurant Association of Vietnam (RAV)

Professor Deborah Wynne

Communications, Screen and Performance

This project forms a chapter in an edited volume, The Edinburgh Companion to the Brontës and the Arts (co-edited with Amber Regis). The book (contracted with Edinburgh University Press) contains contributions from international experts on the Brontës, including curators and arts practitioners. A key section of the book focuses on the Brontë family’s engagement with the natural world in their writings and artworks.

Collaborators: Dr Amber K. Regis, School of English, University of Sheffield

Prof. Morven G. McEachern

Marketing, Tourism & Destinations, Chester Business School

My research examines the intersections between austerity, sustainability and consumption, primarily within the context of food/food systems but also within apparel markets. The culmination of two projects around austerity, food insecurity and sustainable consumption behaviours have culminated in the following outcomes.

Project funding: British Academy/Leverhulme SRG

Collaborators: Prof. Deirdre O’Loughlin, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick. Prof. Caroline Moraes, Bristol Management School, University of Bristol

Outcomes:

O'Loughlin, D., McEachern, M.G., Szmigin, I., Karantinou, K., Barbosa, B. Lamprinakos, G. and Fernández-moya, E.M. (2023). The Influential Role of Austerity in Normalising Sustainable Consumption. Chapter 10, pp.159-173. In: Carrigan, M., Wells, V. and Papadas, K.A.(Eds) Research Handbook on Ethical Consumption: Contemporary Research in Responsible and Sustainable Consumer Behaviour. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, UK. ISBN: 978 1 80220 201 4.

O'Loughlin, D., McEachern, M.G. Szmigin, I., Karantinou, K., Barbosa, B. Lamprinakos, G. and Fernández-moya, E.M. (Forthcoming). Theorising Resilience in Times of Austerity. In Moraes, C., McEachern, M.G. and O'Loughlin, D., (Eds). Researching Poverty and Austerity: Theoretical Approaches, Methodologies and Policy Applications. Chapter 2. Routledge. London.

Moraes, C., McEachern, M. G., Gibbons, A. and Scullion, L. (2021) Understanding lived experiences of food poverty through a paraliminality lens, Sociology. 55(6), 1169-1190.

Szmigin, I., O'Loughlin, D., McEachern, M.G., Karantinou, K., Barbosa, B., Lamprinakos, G. and Fernández-moya, E.M. (2020) Keep Calm and Carry On: European Consumers and their Persistent Resilience in the Face of Austerity, European Journal of Marketing. 54(8), 1883-1907.

McEachern, M.G., Middleton, D. and Cassidy, T. (2020) Encouraging sustainable behavior change via a social practice approach: A focus on apparel consumption practices. Journal of Consumer Policy. 43(2), 397-418.

McEachern, M.G. (2020). Food Marketing Ethics. In Eagle, L., Dahl, S., De Pelsmacker, P. and Taylor, R. (Eds). The SAGE Handbook of Marketing Ethics. Chapter 26, pp. 354-363. SAGE Publications. London.