Digital humanities and sociological critical thinking
Dating is different during a pandemic. How are people experiencing using digital tools to meet new people while COVID-19 is in the community?
Shifting intimacies
Dr Ally Gibson is leading a programme of research examining how people have experienced mobile dating and finding intimacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this, she is exploring how people use dating technologies and find opportunities to connect with each other online and offline, while navigating broader health concerns. Her work is funded by a Marsden Fast-Start grant.
Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology
School of Health
Digitising diagnosis
Annemarie Jutel is a critical diagnosis scholar. Her focus is on how diagnostic categories are shaped by social factors, and in turn, how these social factors shape the experience of health, illness and disease. Her specific interests include classification theory, medicalization, conflict of interest in diagnostic development (pharmaceutical industry), and diagnostic narratives. Her books include: Putting a Name to It: Diagnosis in Contemporary Society (JHUP), and Diagnosis: Truths and Tales (UTP). As a rural nurse, she also (carefully) uses diagnostic apps in her clinical practice.
Read more about Annemaries' work:
Lupton, D., & Jutel, A. (2015). 'It's like having a physician in your pocket!' A critical analysis of self-diagnosis smartphone apps. Social Science and Medicine, 133, 128-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.004
Jutel, A., & Lupton, D. (2015). Digitizing diagnosis: a review of mobile applications in the diagnostic process. Diagnosis, 2(2), 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2014-0068
Critical approaches to digital technologies and wellbeing
Dr Octavia Calder-Dawe is interested in how digital technologies – and social media in particular – are shaping the way we understand and pursue health and wellbeing.
Drawing on critical social and psychological theory, Octavia is currently leading externally funded research exploring how “think positive” messaging circulates and interpellates on Instagram. Recent collaborations include student projects exploring how digital wellbeing application Mentemia constructs mental health, and the psychosocial implications of online medical crowdfunding.
Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology
School of Health