Postgraduate Research Activities

Current research being undertaken by Van Mildert College postgraduates are featured below.

Martin Brader

Mr. Martin Brader

I am a PhD student in the Department of Geography and the current MCR President. My PhD research focuses on the postglacial relative sea-level (RSL) changes and deglaciation of northwest (NW) Iceland, with the principal aim of resolving the ice loading histories and crustal structure of the region. In order to achieve this, RSL curves will be generated along two perpendicular transects, allowing similarities and differences between RSL histories and glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA) within the region to be determined. It is therefore anticipated that the contrasting hypotheses of the Icelandic glaciation can be tested, which produce ice volume estimations that differ by an order of magnitude. Determining the glacial history of Iceland is of particular importance due to its position close to an area of deepwater formation in the North Atlantic, with meltwater from the Icelandic Ice Sheet having the potential to affect global thermohaline circulation and therefore global climate.

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Alex Brown

Mr. Alex Brown

I’m an ESRC-funded PhD student in the Department of History focusing upon the economic and social history of rural society in the late medieval and early modern periods. My thesis explores how rural society reacted to the recession of the fifteenth century and how this affected their ability to adapt to the different problems posed by inflation during the sixteenth century. This focuses upon the divergent development of the estates of Durham Cathedral Priory and the Bishops of Durham, and how this affected their relationship with their tenants. Upon submission of my thesis in September 2012, I will be continuing research at Durham into the estates of the Percy family under an EHS Postan Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

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Miss Carissa Bussard

I am a PhD student in the Department of English Studies focusing on eighteenth-century women novelists. In particular, my research concerns the way in which they transformed the romance genre from the scandalous French tradition to the emerging "novel" genre popularized by the likes of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding. I will argue this happened through the increasing frequency of using satire to question gender identity and female limitations, the use of dramatic conventions in the narrative form, and the formation of a female literary lineage. Looking at a broad range of material from 1700-1765, the six authors central to my research project are Eliza Haywood (both her early and late career), Delarivier Manley, Mary Davys, Jane Barker, Charlotte Lennox, and Sarah Fielding. While a few of these novelists are already significant figures in the world of eighteenth-century studies, all remain, in my opinion, greatly overlooked in the history of the novel's development. It is the aim of this project to expand upon previous critical studies and emphasize the importance of these early women writers in developing a female literary tradition that laid the foundations for later writers, such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.

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Guy Hutchinson

Mr. Guy Hutchinson

I am a PhD student with the School of Engineering, and part of the Durham Energy Institute Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy. I'm currently looking at how location in electrical distribution networks can be used to facilitate intelligent behaviour for the distributed control of Smart Grids. I am developing a multi-agent system to coordinate a variety of equipment at the domestic level (such as electric cars and solar panels) to show how this can be used to improve conditions in both simulated and physical electricity networks.

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Avni Kumar

Miss Avni Kumar

I am currently pursuing my MSc in Economics and Finance at the Durham Business School. My research is related to Environmental Economics, particularly assessing the extent of the impact of economic growth on carbon dioxide emission levels which I take as a proxy for environmental degradation, to see if economic prosperity is worth the risk of damage to the planet. I have chosen carbon dioxide levels as an indication of environmental degradation because the impact of such emissions is usually felt at a global scale and across generations giving them the nature of a public good. The cost of damage is usually an international externality (such as global warming) while the private benefit from reducing such a pollutant is very small. I use a panel dataset consisting of 98 countries around the world across a time period of 1971 to 2009 and perform regression analysis using Ordinary Least Squares, fixed effects and random effect models. Since carbon dioxide also plays an imperative role as a primary determinant of the greenhouse effect, its level and worldwide impact need to be accurately accessed.

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Shruti Raghuraman

Miss Shruti Raghuraman

I am studying for my MSc in Developmental Psychopathology and I’m currently researching the development of female body type preferences in Indian males under the supervision of Dr Lynda Boothroyd. Physical attractiveness as a psychological variable has a compelling influence on social behaviour and personality. It contributes to a better understanding of eating pathology, body image disorders and the various forms of stigmatization and prejudice faced as a result of one’s physical appearance. A cross-cultural approach is emphasized upon in order to understand how evolutionary and social learning processes contribute to the development of such preferences. I am approaching the study from a developmental angle by including a cross-sectional Indian male sample. This will help me understand when, over the course of development, these preferences first emerge and how they vary across different ages. I will also be comparing the results with existent data from a British sample in order to record any changes in perceptions of ideal body sizes as a direct result of westernization and globalization.

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Megan Wainwright

Miss Megan Wainwright

I am the Van Mildert College Trust Research Scholar (2009-2012) and have been carrying out qualitative research in the area of chronic illness and anthropology since 2006. My current PhD research investigates the cultural-politics of living with, and caring for, COPD in Uruguay. For more information and to view my list of publications please visit the following site: http://www.dur.ac.uk/anthropology/research/marg/marg_members/marg-profiles/?mode=staff&id=7022

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