Ruth joined the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department as a social scientist in 2017. Her research focuses on rural and island communities and what helps them to thrive - socially, economically and culturally. Ruth currently works on projects that aim to support a green and resilient recovery process, including coordinating action research-based case studies in rural and island communities across Scotland.
Ruth is a sociologist by background but enjoys working across disciplinary boundaries and in transdisciplinary teams to achieve real-world impacts. She uses a range of methods in doing so, including interviews, surveys and digital methods.
PhD supervision
Kirsten Gow [2] (due to submit in 2025)
Marcus Craigie (due to submit in 2025)
Ruth's PhD (University of Aberdeen, 2015) explored the nature of rural social relations in an increasingly digitalised world. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked at Robert Gordon University as a Research and Impact Officer, helping the university to widen access to students from diverse backgrounds. She was also involved in an AHRC-funded project, with the University of Manchester, about understanding everyday participation [10], particularly in rural and island societies.
Links:
[1] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5096-3054
[2] https://islandsresearcher.uk/
[3] https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-islands-plan-survey-final-report/
[4] https://islandsrevival.org/
[5] https://www.hutton.ac.uk/research/projects/demographic-change-remote-areas
[6] https://local-social-innovation.eu/
[7] https://sefari.scot/document/rural-and-island-communities-response-to-covid-19
[8] https://sefari.scot/document/the-ongoing-impacts-of-covid-19-in-scotland%E2%80%99s-rural-and-island-communities
[9] https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/37446
[10] https://www.everydayparticipation.org/