PhD Supervision
Areas of Supervision
General areas: economic geography, creative economy, urban geography, qualitative methods.
Specific topics: music, fashion, digital technologies, creativity and knowledge, creating distinction and value, consumption, intermediation/curation, entrepreneurship, labour, aesthetic labour, networking practices, locational choice.
Studentships for 2025-2026
*I am looking to recruit new PhD students for the topics below. If you are interested in these topics, or developing a topic related to my areas of supervision please email me: b.j.hracs@soton.ac.uk
Topic 1: Creative clusters in rural, coastal and post-industrial towns
Topic 3: Exploring the trans-local nature of cultural scenes
Topic 5: Understanding and Undermining Ultra-Fast Fashion
Topic 2: The Spatial Dynamics of Creative Work
Topic 4: Creative commons and craft communities
Topic 6: Digital Futures of Physical Retail
Current Students (5)
Charlotte Campbell (PhD) Title: 'Exploring the roles of physical and virtual space in trans-local cultural scene uniformity'
Hao-Che Pei (PhD) Title: ‘Young adult entrepreneurs providing personalised services within distinctive welfare regimes in the UK and Taiwan.’
Junwanguo Guo (PhD) Title: ‘Industrial cluster evolution in developing countries: A study of e-waste industrial clusters in China’
Xiao Hu (PhD) Title: ‘What Matters for Regional Manufacturing Resilience Amid Multi Shock Situations: A Global-Local Perspective.’
Haolin Liu (PhD) Title: ‘External linkages, knowledge communities and regional path creation in China.’
Completed (6)
Marion Payne Bird (PhD) Title: ‘Digital technology clusters and their built environments: an exploration of the significance of the local built environment for niche sector technology clusters’ (2022)
Timo Koren (PhD) Title: ‘Spatialising Genre: How Music Genres Shape Socio-Spatial Inequalities in Nightclub Production in Amsterdam’ (2021)
Peipei Chen (PhD) Title: ‘Urban–rural mobility, landscape, and displacement: Rural tourism makers in China.’ (2021)
Jack Webster (PhD) Title: ‘Taste in the Digital Age: Music Streaming Services and the Performance of Class Distinction.’ (2019)
Taylor Brydges (PhD) Title: ‘Made in Canada: The strategies, spaces and working lives of independent fashion designers in the Canadian fashion system.' (2017)
Jimi Nilsson (PhD) Title: ‘Creativity On Tour: The Temporal Dynamics of Work and Social Networks for Musicians in Sweden.’ (2014)
