Betsy Barkas has joined the School as a research assistant working on the Chief Scientist Office funded project Scotland in Lockdown, focusing on the impacts of Covid-19 suppression measures on people who are in prison or under criminal justice supervision. She is also a PhD student researching the news reporting of deaths in custody. 

Ruth Friskney has joined as a Research Associate. Her research focuses on the relationships between individuals and institutions, often linking to her previous experience in policy work around justice and gender-based violence. She received her PhD in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, investigating how the police apologise in responding to public complaints. Alongside her role at the University of Glasgow, Ruth also works part-time at the University of Stirling on Constructions of children and parents during the reform of family law in Scotland, a project looking at discourses around domestic abuse and families during the parliamentary process of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.

Gavin Hawkton's research project, 'Media, Public Discourse and the Miners' Strike 1984-85' investigates news media coverage of the year-long strike. It is a project that questions how hegemonic narratives were created and sustained across a range of news media and the implications of this upon both the outcome and the public's understanding of the strike. His research interests include counter hegemony, oral history, media and policy making.

Claire Grace Kish has joined the School as a Research Assistant working on the Wellcome Trust funded, ‘Translations and transformations in patienthood: cancer in the post-genomics era’ study. She will be involved in the collection and analysis of media and social media discourses around cancer patient access to medicines, specifically in relation to Covid19. Claire is a current University of Glasgow PhD student and her ESRC funded project explores female journalists’ experiences of online harassment. This study aims to understand the personal and professional impacts of experiencing online harassment and the role of media organisations in helping mitigate these to inform debates around the harms employees experience when working online. 

First published: 20 November 2020

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