Elizabeth Creak Associate Professor of Agricultural Innovation and Extension, University of Reading
I am a Geographer interested in:
- the use of technology in agriculture, including behaviour change and user-centred design
- the social and ethical impacts of new agricultural technology - e.g. privacy, employment, life on the farm, animal welfare, data ownership, mental health, succession
- knowledge exchange and extension, particularly in the area of agricultural technology
- evidence-informed policy-making and science communication
I am currently supervising PhD students on the following topics:
- Ethics of precision livestock technology e.g. animal welfare (Juliette Schillings)
- Inclusion of stakeholders in developing agri-tech future visions (Auvikki de Boon)
- Participation in farmer groups and impact on landscape-scale conservation (Cath Jackson, third supervisor)
- Funded PhD project on soil health and nutritional quality, including producer/consumer perceptions (second supervisor) - to be advertised
I welcome applications from prospective PhD students, particularly those wanting to use social science techniques in the context of farmer behaviour change, technology adoption, social/ethical impacts of agricultural technologies (futures work), or post-Brexit agricultural policy. I would also be happy to supervise students interested in evidence-based policy-making and science communication.
Please see https://academicoptimism.wordpress.com for more information. I am always happy to talk to the media on any of the subjects above, including agricultural technology and environmental policy-making (including climate change).
Current and recent research projects:
- Co-designing post-Brexit agricultural policy (ESRC, 2019-2021)
- Understanding farmer behaviour change (AHDB, 2019-2022)
- Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (Defra, 2014-2017)
- EU Biodiversity Observation Network (EU, 2015-2017)
- The Role of Research in the UK Parliament (ESRC/Houses of Parliament, 2017-2018)
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