Dr Melanie Lovatt

Senior Lecturer

Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology RG Bomont Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Dr Melanie Lovatt

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http://www.stir.ac.uk/people/melanielovatt1

About me

I joined the University of Stirling as a lecturer in sociology in August 2016. Prior to this I was at the University of Sheffield, where I completed a PhD in the Department of Sociological Studies and worked as a research associate. I have an MA in folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a BA in history from the University of York. 

Research (6)

I have three main research interests (which often overlap):

Ageing, the life course and time: Sociology of ageing; critical gerontology; cultural gerontology; time - particularly future perceptions of time in older age; fictional representatives of ageing and the life course.

Sociology of health and illness: Experiences of health and illness; lay epidemiology - particularly in the context of risk and public health; alcohol; death and dying; relationships in the context of health and illness; how illness is experienced and constructed differently at different stages of the life course. 

Home, relationships and families: Particularly in the context of older age, health and illness, death and dying. 

Methods and approaches: I predominantly use qualitative methods, although I have worked on mixed methods projects.  Material and sensory approaches. I am also interested in narrative approaches. 

I am interested in supervising doctoral students on any of the above or related topics and would welcome speculative enquiries.

Projects

Waste/Land/Futures: intergenerational relations in places of abandonment and renewal across Europe.
PI: Dr Melanie Lovatt
Funded by: Volkswagen Stiftung
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BSG Small Event
PI: Dr Melanie Lovatt
Funded by: British Society of Gerontology
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Designing homes for healthy cognitive ageing: co-production for impact and scale (DesHCA)
PI: Professor Alison Bowes
Funded by: Economic and Social Research Council
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Reimagining the Future in Older Age
PI: Dr Melanie Lovatt
Funded by: Economic and Social Research Council
–

Mercator Fellowship with the Doing Transitions research group
PI: Dr Melanie Lovatt
Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
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Living Right Up To The End
PI: Professor Liz Forbat
Funded by: Strathcarron Hospice
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Outputs (24)

Outputs

Research Report

Housing and Ageing: Linking future strategy to future delivery for Scotland, Wales and England 2030

McCall V, Phillips J, Lovatt M, Robertson J, Rutherford A, Woolrytch R, Sixsmith J, Macintyre Z, Porteus J, Ziegler F & Eadie J (2019) Housing and Ageing: Linking future strategy to future delivery for Scotland, Wales and England 2030. Scottish Universities Insight Institute and Social Policy Association. https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/Scotland2030/HousingOlderPeople.aspx

Commentary

Digital phenotyping and sociological perspectives in a Brave New World

Lovatt M & Holmes J (2017) Digital phenotyping and sociological perspectives in a Brave New World. Commentary on: Skinner A., Attwood A., Baddeley R., Evans-Reeves K., Bauld L., Munafò M. Digital phenotyping and the development and delivery of health guidelines and behaviour change interventions. Addiction 2017; https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13746. Lovatt M., Eadie D., Meier P. S., Li J., Bauld L., Hastings G. et al. Lay epidemiology and the interpretation of low-risk drinking guidelines by adults in the United Kingdom. Addiction 2015; 110: 1912–1919.. Addiction, 112 (7), pp. 1286-1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13805

Research Report

A new approach to measuring drinking cultures in Britain

Holmes J, Lovatt M, Ally AK, Brennan A & Meier P (2016) A new approach to measuring drinking cultures in Britain. Alcohol Research UK. Alcohol Insights, 133. University of Sheffield. http://alcoholresearchuk.org/downloads/finalReports/FinalReport_0133.pdf

Article

The provision of emotional labour by health care assistants caring for dying cancer patients in the community: a qualitative study into the experiences of health care assistants and bereaved carers

Lovatt M, Nanton V, Roberts J, Ingleton C, Noble B, Pitt E, Seers K & Munday D (2015) The provision of emotional labour by health care assistants caring for dying cancer patients in the community: a qualitative study into the experiences of health care assistants and bereaved carers. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52 (1), pp. 271-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.10.013

Teaching

I coordinate the first year undergraduate module SPCU911 Social Differentiation and the honours module SPCU9JK Ageing, Society and Social Policy. 

I also teach on the undergraduate modules SPCU912 Social Problems, SPCU9C5 Research Process 1 (Qualitative Methods) and the masters module ASRP002 Research Design and Process.

Research programmes

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