Becci Pearce
My academic career began when I undertook a BA Honours degree in sociology in 2006 at Manchester Metropolitan University. This programme offered a range of both pragmatic and theoretical areas of study including, ‘sociological psychology’; ‘the sociology of work and organisations’ and ‘sociological theory’. My undergraduate degree was heavily guided by sociological research methods in that several units focused solely upon research, design and a diverse range of methodological perspectives. I progressed onto a Master of Arts sociology programme at the University of Manchester, where I conducted numerous ethnographic studies on human interaction; normative behaviour in public settings and ways in which technology may be best utilized within organisations. Both my undergraduate and MA dissertations focussed on the ways in which a small mail order organisation accomplished its work, with the latter focusing more on the technological systems involved.
My interest in technology and organisations stems from my employment within the mail order company. I became very interested in the way the department processes customer’s orders as they often involve overcomplicated and somewhat problematic elements. I am particularly interested in how various programs are used in conjunction and how the mail order employee’s overcome both potential and apparent problems. My PHD focuses on the use of technology within the NHS and how medical practitioners store, manage and access patient information. I am interested in how current technical programs suit the needs of medical practitioners and how they may be adapted in order to be more effective. In addition, I value the significance of organisation within the NHS and particularly ‘how’ practitioners work collaboratively on a day-to-day basis. I am keen to learn about actual practices as opposed to idealistic assumptions and how practitioners may have been trained to accomplish their work. I am also interested in the use of technology in organisations in general.
Hi, I enjoyed reading your post. I received my undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma in Psychology and have recently been accepted into the MA in Sociology and Global Change Program at MMU. I was wanting to know a little more about the school and the area since I haven’t been there yet to check it out. I’ll assume that it fulfilled your needs academically to go on and pursue a PHD. I too enjoy learning about the actual practices or duties of a job instead of making assumptions. Any information you have about the school and program in general would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
Hi Brent, I really enjoyed my undergraduate degree at MMU. I always found the vast majority of staff to be helpful and supportive, especially Julie Scott-Jones who was my dissertation supervisor. I can’t tell you much about the MA programmes that they do as I undertook mine down the road at the University of Manchester, however they have a great sociology team so you should be fine. If you need any local information when you get here the student advice centre is quite helpful or just drop me an email and I will try to help. Cheers, Becci