Em P Ian Donald BA; MSc; PhD; CPsychol; AFBPsS

I have research interests in Social, Organizational and Environmental Psychology with a broad social science background. I have worked extensively on cross- disciplinary research with engineers, computer scientists, biologists, vets and medics. My main areas of expertise are in identifying the factors underlying human behaviour, behaviour change, attitudes and attitude measurement. My research has been conducted in a variety of significant substantive areas of societal importance. This has included working with vets examining farmers’ behaviour and attitudes in relation to bovine TB. In particular this work looked at the relationship between policy and regulation and behaviour. I have recently published a major DfT supported study of transport mode choice, modelling the role of habit in relation to attitudes and behaviour. I currently have a significant interest in the social and psychological drivers underlying Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). I was a member of the ESRC’s 2014 working group on AMR, which led to the publication, Anti-Microbial Resistance: Setting the Social Science Agenda. I was the ESRC’s consultant in producing the research priorities for Theme 4 of the cross-council AMR research initiative. I authored the ESRC 2015 publication, Anti-Microbial Resistance: Behaviour within and Beyond the Healthcare Setting. I am a member of the NERC assessment panel for stage one of theme 3 applications. I was also a member of Nesta’s advisory group for the Longitude Prize 2014 on Antibiotic Resistance. In December 2015 I took part in international workshops on AMR sponsored by the Uk research councils an the Natural Science Foundation of China. The workshops took place in Shanghai with the aim of developing priorities of the Newton Fund and the NSFC.

I have conducted extensive funded research in industry looking at attitudes and safety as well as occupational stress. This follows on from international research I carried out in Hong Kong and China looking at worker stress.

I have been involved in extensive collaborations within the University, nationally and internationally. I would welcome future possibilities - I particularly like working in areas where it is not at all obvious that psychology has something to contribute. It almost always turns out that it has.
I am happy to consider PhD proposals from students. Recent students have examined issues such as domestic violence, volume crime, elder homicide, stress, environmental cues and arson, organizational risk culture, safety performance in industry, attitudes towards illicit drug use, and employee stress. My students have a very strong track record of successful completion of PhDs within deadline.