Oxford Brookes Business School research student profiles

Thames Ditton, UK.

Ever since finishing my MSc in Coaching & Behavioural Change at Henley Business School in 2016, the idea of doing a doctorate at Oxford Brookes has been a tempting one. The course seems unique in providing the opportunity to deepen one’s academic understanding of coaching and mentoring, whilst also maintaining a professional practice at the same time.

I have been working independently for several years as an executive coach-mentor for leaders in charities, start-ups and larger corporates. The specific trigger for me engaging in the doctorate programme at this stage was the Covid crisis. Before the pandemic hit, charities had already been facing a wide range of strategic difficulties. The impact of austerity, funding pressures, declining public trust, digital disruption and Brexit were just a few of the issues they were typically dealing with. But Covid transformed the situation to create a perfect storm in which demands for service provision skyrocketed, funding collapsed and the usual ways of working became impractical. When you add on top the further challenges that have arisen more recently relating to diversity and inclusion, COP26 and the Ukraine war, we have certainly been living through exceptional times!

In the eye of this storm have been the CEOs of charities who have had to handle these extreme circumstances, often with little personal support. For this reason, I am intrigued to learn more about the role that coaching and mentoring can play in supporting people in this role. Research evidence suggests that coaching and mentoring is not widely used by charity leaders, partly because the disciplines are not well understood and partly because many CEOs feel a bit self-indulgent spending their time, and potentially also the charity’s money, on their own personal development. However, those that do benefit from this kind of help rate it as their most valuable form of personal and professional development.

My hope is that my research project will help to strengthen the knowledge base about the characteristics of coaching and mentoring for CEOs. In so doing, it will help to increase the awareness and understanding charity CEOs have of the potential support they have available to them. It will also help to better inform coaches and mentors about the key issues, needs and mindsets of their potential clients in this sector. Both groups could learn to build more productive coaching relationships by better understanding the ways of working together that deliver greatest value and impact.

Having been involved in the programme for a few months now, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a student again. I’m conscious that I’m probably one of the oldest students on campus – in fact, I’m probably older than most of the staff members too! But you’re never too old to learn something new and I’ve found the support and challenge from everyone involved in the Oxford Brookes community has been very inspiring.

The experience hasn’t always been easy. Getting my head around some of the philosophical aspects of the nature of knowledge has been a stretch, as has my return to the realm of statistical analysis for the first time since my A-levels! But I’m loving the intellectual challenges and I’ve already learned a huge amount about both charity leadership and the rigours of doctoral-level study.

I heard about Oxford Brookes University from my friend and was impressed with its academic infrastructure and student support.

Research funding and the research expertise of my supervisors attracted me to Oxford Brookes University.

I worked for 18 years as a development professional in various research-led consulting firms and non-governmental organisations. I worked as a consultant to various government, non-government organisations and corporate bodies in many states of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. My areas of consultancy include; agribusiness promotion, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) based enterprise development, women empowerment and livelihood promotion, education, rural marketing and vocational skills development. During this period, I published book chapters and articles in different international journals.

Since I had done my masters in the UK, I was quite aware of the research environment, so it was not that difficult to settle down. My supervisors and research group are a great source of support. Various research activities, seminars, training programmes and events organised by the Business School creates an atmosphere of academic culture which is very helpful. Regular supervision from my supervisors is the biggest asset of my PhD studentship. Library resources and other academic infrastructure help me immensely in my research work.

The title of my research is “Mining led Industrialisation and gender-based violence within indigenous communities of Odisha, India”. The overall aim of this research is to examine and understand the inter-relationship between mining led industrialisation and growth of violence among indigenous communities (particularly women) in India, through an eco-socialist and feminist theoretical framework, and empirical evidence.  

The path to development of Indian economy is perceived through large scale industrialisation. This approach, designed to eradicate poverty and debt, paradoxically targeted elite and urban sections of India with residual impact on rural and tribal population. The study focuses on the issues and transitions in gender relationships and gender roles of the tribal communities, particularly women, who are more vulnerable in the process of mining led industrialisation. The mining projects in the name of development are not only a threat to environment and livelihoods but also a predicament to the status of the tribal women.   

This research focuses on how the current industrialisation process not only has been violating all environmental and other regulations of the government in the form of deforestation, mining, displacement by its own institutional set ups, but it has also been contributing to strengthening patriarchal relations among the tribal communities; a phenomenon which is less noticed. This research will analyse the encounters and social structural changes through mining induced displacement where the position of women in tribal societies is threatened. Largely, due to the fact that employment in mining industry is predominantly male, tribal women are not only rendered unemployed, but they are also getting marginalised in the communities, losing access to livelihoods due to changes in the land use patterns, displacement and deforestation. This research intends to explore, understand and analyse the transformations within   indigenous societies caused by mining led industrialisation and the growth of a patriarchal culture of violence.   

The research is based on qualitative multi-method case study of the Sundargarh district of Odisha, India. Sundargarh is one of the districts with high concentration of tribal population and has attracted several mining industries like coal, iron ore, bauxite and manganese. Multi-method case study research, rooted in critical realist paradigm, has been adopted for this research. 

The interdisciplinary research environment at Oxford Brookes University helps me as a researcher. I have been able to learn about different research skills from my fellow researchers. I have been able to make friends from various countries, which helps cross-cultural learning and keeps me excited.  

British weather is the biggest challenge for me. Initially it did affect me a lot, but with time, I have been able to cope with it.   

The research training is beneficial for me since I am returning to academic research after a long gap. It brushes up on the skills required for academic research. It is well designed for a researcher and keeps a person updated on latest research methods and analysis techniques.

I wish to complete my PhD within stipulated time. I will continue to publish REFable articles in the ABS list of journals and teach in different areas of development economics by keeping social goals in mind.

I first joined Oxford Brookes as an MSc student.  

I did my Masters at Oxford Brookes, so it seemed reasonable to do my PhD here.

Before starting my PhD, I was working for the University of Oxford as a Senior HR Officer.

My supervisors, the disability team and my fellow students were all so supportive when I was not feeling well.

Gender has always been used as a common denominator in which women can find some common ground in order to counter their inequalities in leadership. This research, however, aims to explore and highlight the challenges that women who identify as BME face in their quest to progress and attain leadership roles in higher education institutions (HEIs). I will discuss the encounters (for example, stereotyping and prejudice) that these women face and specifically address the dimensions of gender, race, class and their impact on leadership. Crenshaw’s (1989) concept of intersectionality will be used to understand the way in which gender, race and class mediate and shape the experiences of these women in the workplace. The road to leadership demands an understanding of how multiple identities position women differently in HEIs. The research seeks to redress the reliance on one identity and argue that women have multiple identities and will be affected differently by these multiple identities.

In 1989, Crenshaw introduced the term to avoid the pitfalls inherent to identity politics. She argues, intersectionality ‘denote[s] the various way[s] in which race and gender interact to shape the multiple dimensions of black women’s employment experiences’ (Crenshaw 1989, 139). Thus, Crenshaw challenges individuals and institutions who essentialise identities. It is clear that intersectionality has given us something to think about despite the various debates and critiques that surround the framework

This research will be carried out in Higher Education Institutions and qualitative research methods will be used to explore the phenomenon under study by interviewing women who identify as black and ethnic minorities. I intend to explore the perceptions and the views of these women when it comes to their leadership opportunities in these institutions. Having worked in one myself, I would have to reflect and note down any biases I might have, but the semi-structured interviews with participants are meant to explore deeply on this topic. I will conclude by highlighting the findings and limitations, and what can be done to bring about social justice in underrepresented groups.

I hope to pursue a career in academia.

I first heard about Oxford Brookes University while applying for my undergraduate studies.  

My interest in macroeconomics grew as part of my development through undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Economics. Globalization is a huge part of macroeconomics. Furthermore, my supervisors are experts in my chosen topic and since I already developed a good connection with them, I decided to stay at Oxford Brookes University.

I studied BSc Economics, Finance and International Business and MSc International Business Economics, both at Oxford Brookes University.

Settling into the research environment at the start was a bit tricky for me. This was mostly because of the jump between being an MSc and a PhD student. There is more individual responsibility to being a PhD student. However, my supervisors are very supportive and it is easy to communicate with them regarding any problems that occur. The Research Degrees Team is very welcoming, have good facilities, and offer training programmes that help to build personal skills.

My research project regards globalization, economic growth and inequality as three variables linked to one discussion. The geographical context of my research is global.

A literature review on globalization, economic growth and inequality provides mixed results, with some studies indicating that globalization has a positive effect on economic growth, while others suggest that globalization has a negative effect on inequality at the national and international level. Income inequality has also been found to hinder economic growth particularly in developing countries, while the opposite was found for developed countries.

The majority of studies in today’s empirical literature focus on two aspects: globalization and economic growth, or globalization and inequality. There is a gap in the literature that joins these three aspects together. Furthermore, most of the existing literature focuses on the economic aspects to indicators such as inequality by using income measures. My study will use the latest data to connect all three indicators of globalization, economic growth and inequality together. 

The sample size of my study will be a large panel of over 100 countries during the period 2000-2017. To form my new social inequality index, I will use the Principal Component Analysis method. The study consists of secondary data from the World Bank. The panel tests will include panel unit root tests, panel cointegration, panel regressions (mean group and pooled mean group), and panel Granger causality tests. As part of the running of tests, globalization, economic growth and inequality will be one global study but I will also assess the results regionally (Asia, Europe, Africa, Central America, etc.) and in groups of developing, developed and underdeveloped countries (following the income classification provided by the WB-WDI). 

The findings will be used to create policy recommendations and will be of great interest to academics and policymakers worldwide.  

Being a research student is unique because it enables you to research whatever topic you want. It also gives you the independence regarding managing your own work.

Macroeconomics has always been my interest and globalization fits perfectly. I also enjoy dealing with numbers and large sets of data in econometrics, and studying in general. Being a PhD student while also having friends studying at undergraduate or postgraduate levels gives me a sense of responsibility. By drawing on my prior academic experience, I can help them mentally to resolve any problems that they have. It makes me happy knowing that they look up to me as a mentor.                  

The research training offered by Oxford Brookes is excellent. Workshops including “Introduction to teaching and learning in higher education”, “Doctoral 20/20 Seminars”, “Preparing for your literature review” and “Applied Financial Econometrics” helped me to prepare and write my research. My supervisors are also very helpful in using their expertise to assist me where necessary.

I heard about Oxford Brookes University because of Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox, and the Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring programme itself by reputation. My first impressions? Great building, and great tutors and supervisors.

The world-class reputation of the institution and Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox.  

Coaching and consultancy.          

The Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring is an excellent way to enter into the research environment through structured challenges which build towards registration, ethics and beyond.

The aim of this study is to explore the concept of ‘emotional labour’ in coaching and to evaluate its role for coaches. Emotional labour is the management of feelings in the workplace in order to meet the expectations of others such as supervisors, customers or clients. This concept was highlighted first by Hochschild in the early 1980s in service workers, and since then has been researched in many areas such as the caring professions, in clinical contexts, and in mental health care. It is noted to have a number of impacts in these contexts which potentially influence well-being. This concept, and its potential effects, has not been researched in coaching, however.

This study intends to contribute to the literature in the emotional labour field, as well as to add to the literature in the coaching field around potential outcomes for coaches. The case is not well explored for what happens for coaches in coaching – their outcomes and their experiences of coaching. It is noteworthy that well-being of clients is an often-cited benefit of being coached, but coach well-being does not receive similar scholarly attention.

Study participants will be required to recount experiences of emotional labour in their coaching work. Supervisors of coaching - those who work with coaches to provide support in areas of good practice, learning, and restorative elements - will also be asked to recount experiences of their own coaching practice and will be able to bring their experiences of coaching supervision in the area of emotional labour. Participants will be asked to respond to a model of emotional labour which is created by the researcher in response to the literature in the field, as well as from the researchers’ personal coaching experiences.

The significance of this project is in its exploration of the previously unexplored area of emotional labour in coaching and its potential impacts on the coach. This may have relevance for coach-care, the supervision of coaches, the training of coaches, and potentially on the field of research in emotional labour. The work seeks to inform how emotional labour in coaching can be managed and supported given the proliferation of work in many other contexts but not yet in this specific context of coaching.

I enjoy the intellectual challenge, the prospect of generating new knowledge, the chance to research something of importance to me, and the support of thought leaders in my area.

My experience of the programme and preparation has been excellent. I have really valued it and see it as a privilege. I like the community of fellow researchers and the tutors and supervisors are just brilliant – anyone who can get me through Advanced Quantitative Analysis deserves some sort of accolade. Being supervised by skilled academics, and those with a huge reputation in the field, is a fabulous experience.

In addition, the programme design just ‘holds you by the hand’ and walks you through what is needed. This does not mean that there are not massive challenges and daunting activities, but the challenges come along with all the support needed.

Just to keep breathing and see what the tide brings in.

I found out about Oxford Brookes University through a Google search when I was looking to apply for a research degree programme at a university which offered Digital Marketing.

After my masters’ degree, I was looking for universities to apply to for a doctoral degree which was credible and highly reputed. I conducted sufficient research and shortlisted universities which are highly ranked across a span of different research projects especially within the Marketing subject area. This is when I came across Oxford Brookes University. I was clear that I wanted to be a part of a university which provided a high-quality student experience and would prepare me for a career in academia. I was impressed with the research student profiles across the University and at the Faculty level which was very diverse. I found various interesting active research projects about digital marketing strategies. Most importantly, my potential supervisors’ (who are also my current supervisors, Dr Sarah Quinton and Prof Janine Dermody) research profiles; their research interests and experience attracted me to join Oxford Brookes University. Additionally, Oxford is a beautiful place to live with a strong student community presence around the city.

Before commencing my PhD journey at Oxford Brookes University, I completed a Masters’ by research (MRes) at the University of Exeter.                

Prior to starting my journey in the United Kingdom, I worked as a Lecturer at Reva First Grade College and Brindavan College in India, and as an Activation Officer at Nestle India Ltd.

It was very easy for me to settle into the research environment as I had just completed my masters’ degree and produced a dissertation on consumers’ stance towards mobile games as a communication medium, a case study of Indian gamers. The PhD programme at the Business School is well structured (registration, ethics approval, transfer, and the final submission) and communicated very clearly in the induction session, which is helping me to focus and plan my work to achieve the set milestones. Both my supervisors are very supportive in various stages of the PhD programme and for the deadlines that I need to adhere to. At the beginning, the library training was particularly useful for me to know from where and how to get access to the resources available for my research. The University also offers support by providing various research training and networking events.

The purpose of my research is to investigate the effectiveness of product placement through recall and recognition in mobile games as experienced by Indian female consumers.  In the last few years, with progress in technology, the ways of advertising are changing as advertisers look for new avenues of reaching the target consumers. Product placement is a creative and productive tool in the promotion mix which combines the advertisement with the entertainment, blurring the advertised content. Creating awareness using product placement strategy has been the main goal of advertisers. Although movies and television programmes have been popular choices for product placement because of its wide reach, over the past few years, it has expanded to other forms of media like video games, computer games and games played on social networking platforms.                  

A mobile phone is the easiest form of entertainment whilst on the move. Mobile games are an interactive and engaging platform, it provides a way for gamers to interact with the products placed in the game than just being mere passive viewers of advertisements. Many video games are now moving to the mobile platform to increase their audience reach. Digital games are traditionally associated with men. But with the increased use of mobile devices, games have also attracted a lot of women consumers. Mehta (2016) highlights that Indian women are outplaying men in mobile games. Men and women approach and interpret advertisements with different motives and perspectives. The growing number of women playing mobile games, the increase in disposable family income, and their response to media can have a positive impact for gaming companies in India, attracting advertisers to reach these women gamers. Thus, the underpinning idea of this study is to conduct gender-specific research examining the effectiveness of product placement through recall and recognition in an interactive and engaging platform like mobile games. Furthermore, this research will be conducted in a naturalistic environment to explore the opportunities and limitations with product-placement strategy in a hand-held environment.                

My project will employ a mixed methods research approach, where the participants will be asked to play a game on their smartphones and answer a questionnaire after playing the game. Additionally, in order to understand the perspectives of the participants about the game and their experiences of the product placement concept in detail, semi-structured interviews will be conducted. This research will develop a product placement framework. 

I enjoy being a research student primarily because it gives me an opportunity to explore my research topic in detail with a new perspective; to read different theories and other researchers’ insights about the topic and at the same time see the practical implementation. Although it is a journey of my choice, there are times when I am muddled and look for guidance. My supervisors have always been supportive and guiding me at all stages. I am always supercharged after meetings with my supervisors who constantly encourage me to work hard and produce quality work within the agreed deadlines.                

The challenging aspect so far in my PhD journey is to maintain consistency with my work. ‘Being efficient and systematic’ has been my mantra until now; to constantly discipline myself and plan my day-to-day activities. I strongly believe that it is important to break long-term goals into working short-term goals and each time I accomplish a goal I list it and reward myself! I feel with these little rewards, along with the list of accomplishments, motivates me to work hard in the long run.

The training events at Oxford Brookes University are plentiful and communicated in advance. The Graduate College Training Programme including time management, tackling the writing stage, media training workshop and data management and storage have helped me to learn strategies for careful planning    and execution, and has allowed me to be productive throughout my PhD journey. I find the career and personality development training to be very engaging and covers a span of training programmes from how to write a job application, how to get a job and the interview skills required for researchers in academia. Courses also focus on non-academic jobs; enhancing personal effectiveness as a researcher through the MBTI framework, for example, has been beneficial for me, as I am aware of the opportunities that I can look for and how to apply. Seminars from the Oxford Brookes Business School such as the 20-20 seminars every semester, International Research Conference and Biennial Doctoral Event provides an opportunity to interact with guest speakers and different PhD students and listen to a range of research methods, the data collection process, and the challenges. I have attended many seminars and training from the very beginning of my PhD journey and will continue to attend, this is helping me to enhance my skills set and learn new concepts which are valuable as an early career researcher.

After completing my PhD, I aspire to continue my career in academia as a priority. However, if I become aware of some interesting market research work in any company, I am open to that as well.  

I first heard about Oxford Brookes University while studying a bachelor’s degree in Business at Mahidol University International College, an international partner institution of Oxford Brookes University. I have been familiar with the name of Oxford Brookes University through recommendations from my supervisors and friends who were exchange students here. I decided to pursue my master’s degree here and completed it in 2012. Having had a great experience whilst studying for my master’s, I decided to continue with PhD study here.

As I completed my master’s degree here at Oxford Brookes University, I became confident that the University is able to provide me both academic and non-academic resources for my research including talented researchers, lecturers and staff, a well-formed research community and good study environment. I also feel like home here in Oxford.        

I completed my master’s degree in 2013 and started my PhD in 2015. I took a gap year in 2014; I was travelling and reflecting on myself. It was a year that I was finding myself and since pursuing a PhD has always been a significant goal for me, I spent a good few months writing a research proposal and applied for it here.

It was not hard getting settled into the research environment, thanks to courses and seminars provided by the University which allowed me to meet researchers from other faculties and departments. These seminars and courses were not only aimed at helping to gain a PhD; they were also designed to help you to prepare for after graduation. These courses have helped me with confidence in studying and continuing my career outside the University.

I have always been passionate about cosmetics and I spend a lot of time on social media. I realised that there are days I haven’t turned on my TV because I spent my time on social media instead. I have spent time on social media researching for cosmetics and watched reviews online for many hours a day, every day. Also I’ve followed beauty bloggers’ recommendations and reviews and bought whatever they mentioned. It has got me to the point that I started to question myself ‘Why do I believe people I haven’t met before and why do I trust them?’ Additionally my mum asked me randomly ‘why are teenagers these days so good at applying cosmetics?’ When she was a teenager, there wasn’t a strong need for cosmetics and she didn’t even know how to apply it. This question has inspired me to start my research.            

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the role of social media in understanding the consumption of cosmetic products in Thailand. The number of social media users (SMUs) is increasing rapidly. Existing SMU typologies such as that formulated by Kozinet (1999) use two criteria: the degree of consumption activity and the intensity of relationships with other members of the community. His study suggests that these two variables enable four distinct types of communities – Tourists, Minglers, Devotees, and Insiders – whose intensity of relationship and consumption activity ranges from low for Tourists to high for Insiders. This research specifically examines the consumer behaviour of these four types of SMUs in Thailand.            

Even though there has been a rapid growth in the number of SMUs, and consumers’ motivations have been studied (Baker and White, 2010; Park, Kee and Valenzuela, 2009; Raacke and Bond-Raacke, 2008; Shao, 2009), research on the consumption behaviour of SMUs in relation to cosmetic products is limited, and the factors that make social media channels, such as YouTube, popular remain unknown (Hennig-Thurau, Houston and Walsh, 2006). Importantly, social media’s arrival has created a shift. It has turned the private and limited realm of skills and behaviour of cosmetic users into an open, shared and community-based realm. This study also extends the knowledge of consumer behaviour on social media in the marketing literature. Ultimately, this research aims to develop an evidence-based framework of the influence of social media on social media users’ cosmetic consumption behaviour in Thailand.            

Being a research student is a great opportunity to research a topic I am passionate about; to gain a deeper understanding and contribute to knowledge in the field of study. I believe that the PhD journey is not easy and people who are there to guide me along the way are significantly important. I always keep this in mind; I am not alone on this journey. Talking to family and friends, going out with friends or even baking are great helps when facing hard times.            

Undoubtedly, challenges are always there at every step of the journey. One of toughest challenges so far for me was time management. My PhD journey entirely depends on how well and efficient I can balance study and life. A strategy that works for me is to have a daily schedule and to set my own deadlines. I like the feeling of accomplishment so I create a daily plan and try my best to get it done. Of course, no pain no gain, and I set a reward for myself if I accomplish my plan.             

I have attended almost every seminar and training course provided at Oxford Brookes University and always a have take-home knowledge after the sessions. The most important thing is that Oxford Brookes University has provided academic and beyond-academic training courses for research students. There are training courses that help students with their research and also those training courses to help students to be prepared for after graduation. Academic training courses, such as ‘Tackling the writing up stage of the research degree’, have given me knowledge that I could apply to my research. Also beyond-academic training courses such as ‘How to Get a Job: Successful Applications and Interviews for Researchers’, have provided me with confidence and a foundation to be prepared for a career in the future.

After finishing my PhD, I plan to apply for jobs outside academia to gain experience in the beauty industry before pursuing a teaching career. As my research is practical and dynamic, getting into the beauty industry and applying what I have learnt and gained from this research into the business world will enable me to have complete aspects of industry and theories in order to widen teaching contexts for students in the future.

I decided to do my PhD at Brookes because I had heard excellent things about the supervisory team, and felt I would be both comfortable and confident here.

Before coming to Oxford Brookes, I was working as a Project Manager while completing my second master’s degree, in Sustainable Tourism Management.

Oxford is a familiar city to me as I studied English as a foreign language here back in 2005. The University resources are excellent - the library being one of them.

My research focuses on exploring the mechanisms through which trust is built and maintained in indigenous tourism planning and development. There has been a wide range of literature on tourism planning and development regarding indigenous/local communities. Scholars have advocated participatory planning techniques, community involvement and community-based approaches. However, there are difficulties in translating the theory into practice, especially in countries with differing political and cultural regimes. The anticipated economic and social benefits of tourism development do not always meet the expectations of local and/or indigenous communities. Some tourism developers tend to adopt a top-down approach, which tends to fail and trigger conflicts because of the lack of tourism knowledge and passive participation of communities in tourism destinations. The consequence of failures and unmet expectations has provoked a loss/crisis of trust in community tourism planning. Yet, little attention has been devoted to the concept of trust as a key component of tourism planning and development.  

This research is relevant to the context of indigenous tourism planning and development because recent studies have argued that trust is a necessary pre-condition for cooperation, reducing conflicts and promoting effective collaboration and partnerships. Trust can be built and sustained via ongoing dialogue between tourism and other community actors. Tourism development requires the involvement of all stakeholders, whereby relationships are based on commitment which is established through trust. Tourism destinations have to rely on cooperation which entails mutual trust and understanding reinforced by efficient and frequent communication.  

Hence, an exploration of the mechanisms of building and maintaining trust in indigenous tourism planning and development is overdue. The case study of this research is the Pataxó indigenous community of Jaqueira, situated in the city of Porto Seguro in the South of Bahia in Brazil. This ethnic group is claimed to have made first contact with Portuguese explorers in 1500.  For five centuries, the Pataxó ethnic group has been fighting for land and identity rights. After achieving land rights in 1998, the Pataxó community of Jaqueira tourism project was created. Engaged in ecotourism for sustainable development, this community started to receive visitors in 1999. Amongst the 19 scattered communities in the municipality of Porto Seguro, the Jaqueira community was the pioneer in tourism development and the first community to offer organised tours of indigenous people’s lives with the collaboration of a local tour operator.  

Studies of Pataxó involvement in tourism planning and development to date have focused on authenticity and acculturation, cultural revival and preservation of traditional elements. These sources have shed light on the historical context and demonstrate the urgent need for further exploration of indigenous tourism in Brazil. Importantly, they have not considered the concept of trust. The Jaqueira community has been selected as the case study and this investigation will fill the existing gap in knowledge about the role of trust through the use of qualitative approaches.     

My research aim is to explore the mechanism through which trust is built and maintained in indigenous tourism development. The objectives are as follows: 

1-   To critically review and analyse the literature on trust as a general concept in order to reveal its relevance for tourism planning and development.

2-    To critically review and analyse the literature on indigenous tourism and the Pataxó indigenous community. 

3-   To collect historical records concerning the Pataxó community from which to assess the process of the development of trust.

4-    To identify the different aspects of trust within the Pataxó community and between the community and key tourism players. 

5-   To assess the processes through which trust is created and maintained within and among the Pataxó community, local tour operators and the local council/tourism board.

6-    To identify and evaluate the mechanisms of change in trust relationships that have occurred as part of indigenous tourism planning and development within the Pataxó community of Jaqueira in Brazil.  

In order to achieve these research objectives, an ethnographic approach was employed to collect the primary data, which consisted of a six-month field work visit during 2016-2017. In previous studies, qualitative methods have been crucial for conducting research focused on the topic of trust and imperative for analysing trust creation and maintenance processes. These methods are predominantly compatible for understanding the process and narrative account of trust and especially in the context of tourism planning and development.     

Since joining Oxford Brookes, I have learned a great deal from my supervisors. Time management, dedication and motivation were my priority. I did not have any major challenges and my field work with the Pataxó community of Jaqueira was a life-changing personal and professional experience, since I had the opportunity to interact with community members.  

All training sessions I have attended have been imperative. For example, the training sections on coding, theme development, data analysis and writing up your research have all been very useful.

Since January 2018, I have had the opportunity to work as an Associate Lecturer. I would love to share my knowledge with students as a future Senior Lecturer or Post-Doctoral Researcher.

I first heard about Oxford Brookes from the Oxford Brookes University website, before starting my master’s degree here. I completed a Master’s in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Oxford Brookes Business School in 2015.

I have been running our family business in tourism and hospitality since 1996. Our business comprises two travel agencies, one small boutique hotel, and one transportation company. This has led me to work with the Indonesian government through several organisations that I represent such as ASITA (The Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies) and IWAPI (The Association of Indonesian Business Women). As such, I have contributed to the planning and product development programmes, joined focus group discussions, and participated in international training and conferences worldwide. My experience in tourism has also provided many experiences of working with local community programmes, especially those that seek to improve the empowerment of women in tourism. I have also delivered a number of workshops for SMEs in tourism sectors.

I have found I am surrounded by people that have excellent experience in research, as well as great facilities provided by the University. The University provides events related to my research and career development, and I am given numerous opportunities to talk about my research at conferences and seminars.

My research aims to examine the 2014 Indonesian Village Law and its influence on the nexus of power in rural tourism destinations. The focus of the research will be on the planning and decision-making process at the village level. Decentralisation is defined as the transfer of authority and power, responsibility and resources, from central government to a lower level of government. Decentralisation has been suggested by a number of scholars as critical to securing sustainable tourism development.  It is a democratic process, requiring bottom-up planning and decision making in less developed countries. Many authors have focused extensively on the dynamics of community based planning when seeking to implement sustainable tourism in communities. For the most part, however, they have not explored the connection and interaction between the local community and local government within a decentralised system. The level of authority provided to the community, the legitimacy of policy decision making within the community, and the resources to deliver tourism policies have also not been studied within decentralised tourism policy mechanisms.      

The primary focus of this research is on the ‘mechanic’ of gaining participation from local community members. There are widely differing views about what constitutes effective community participation and many researchers have not explored the connection and interaction between the local community and local government within decentralised systems.   

Indonesia started the process of policy decentralisation in 2001. The Indonesian Government chose not to follow the models implemented in other countries, where authority was transferred from a central government institution to regional levels of government. Instead, it chose to use decentralisation as a means to give greater authority, political and financial resources directly to regions and municipalities, thereby bypassing the provincial government structure. To this end, in 2014, the Indonesian Government enacted Law no 6/2014 (Village Law) on village governance and finance. This Law makes provision for the establishment of village governance committees and allocates funding to these committees from central government. As a result of the Law, all of the 74,754 villages in Indonesia have both the authority and resources to govern their own affairs and develop their area    based on their individual preferences. Under the provisions of this Law, therefore, those villages which have tourism potential have the opportunity and means to develop tourism facilities using the resources and powers provided to them.  

To ensure that increased decentralisation leads to increased democratisation, the Village Law recognises that village governance should be accountable to villagers by providing a framework for citizen participation in the planning and monitoring of local policies. Using a qualitative method, this research will define the factors that enhance citizen participation in the village, particularly in tourism development. The primary data has been gathered in two rural tourism destinations in Indonesia, which have been selected according to their tourism development trajectory stage. This research will analyse the advantages and disadvantages, the implications and the process of policy formulation that can emerge from the implementation of the policy for tourism rural community's engagement in Indonesia, as well as contributing to theory by delimiting the essential pre-requisites to support rural tourism communities in maximising the benefits from policy decentralisation.  

I enjoy being a research student as it gives me an opportunity to explore, in detail, a research topic I am passionate about.

Oxford Brookes University provides a wide range of research student training which has helped me to face many different challenges during my research programme.

After completing my PhD, I would like to work to help our communities develop their tourism potential, and expand my business in the tourism industry in Indonesia