Thinking about prevention through the lens of “everyday spaces”

At the beginning of her academic life, Angelina Brotherhood was an urban sociologist, and this perspective still informs her work as a prevention researcher. In this blog, she presents emerging findings from her doctoral research and a possible dilemma she might soon face. Intrigued? Read on.

My doctoral research focuses on how people think about spaces in their everyday life, and how those ways of thinking relate to their substance use in those spaces. To generate data, I conducted interviews with 24 female students aged 18-26 years at the University of Vienna who reported alcohol and/or cigarette use in the last 3 months, but no use of illicit substances in the last 12 months. Continue reading

How to chair a scientific conference session (and not look like a fool!)

Chairing a conference session at a scientific conference can be a daunting task, especially if it’s your first time! As we are approaching the 8th EUSPR Conference and Members’ Meeting, taking place in Vienna, Austria from 20th to 22nd September 2017, we thought it might be useful to highlight seven “top tips” for chairing scientific sessions based on our own experiences.

1. Come prepared

This is an obvious one, but what exactly should you prepare for your role as chair? Continue reading

Representing the voice of early-career preventionists: introducing the new Lead of the EUSPR Early Careers Forum

In today’s blog post, we introduce Samuel Tomczyk, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Greifswald, who will be the new Lead of the Early Careers Forum (ECF) of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR), starting in September 2017. We also say good-bye to the outgoing Lead and initiator of the Forum, Angelina Brotherhood, doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna. Through a written interview, they both reflect on their careers so far and their role within the ECF.

How did you start working in prevention research?

Samuel: Well, having finished my master’s degree in psychology, I was interested in continuing the academic track. Continue reading

Why you should care about reflexivity in prevention research

In today’s post, Angelina Brotherhood, doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, invites us to reflect on ‘why’ we conduct our research and how our own values and beliefs influence our research. She argues that being clear on research purpose and underlying values is especially important in fields such as prevention research.

As a full-time doctoral student, one of my favourite things is having the opportunity to think, read, listen, and talk about things that are not strictly project-related. Though I might receive my degree sooner if I focussed solely on ‘getting the job done’, I take the view that the doctorate is not just about completing a research project. Ultimately the doctorate (and the early career phase generally) should be about determining what kind of professional you want to be, right?

Sometimes it is worth going a bit slower but having time to breathe and look around (picture © Mike Brotherhood, used with permission)

Sometimes it is worth going a bit slower but having time to breathe and look around
(picture © Mike Brotherhood, used with permission)

In this post, I summarise where my thinking has led me thus far. I highlight some questions that I found useful and illustrate how answering them has helped me in my research. Continue reading