Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode26/

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Leanne Sobel is a strategic designer, educator, and researcher. She is currently the director of strategic design at Snowmelt and an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. Leanne brings a wealth of experience to her practice, having worked on public and private sector projects over her 20 + year career including working in diverse domains such as design education, experiential design, place-based strategy, innovation, management consulting, organisational strategy and design thinking.

Leanne holds a Bachelor of Design from Swinburne University, Master of Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and a PhD of Management from UTS in which she investigated the role of design in strategy. Leanne is an experienced training facilitator of executive education specialising in strategic design, strategy, complexity, and organisational change. She teaches in the UTS Executive MBA and has extensive experience in design-led workshop facilitation for strategy, organisational challenges, and innovation initiatives. She is also a member of the UTS Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience, UTS Change for Good, and the UTS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Collaborative.

Leanne is the first repeat guest I’ve had on The Knowledge Mill and, more importantly, is a close friend and valued colleague of mine. Since she was featured in the second episode of the podcast - a conversation we recorded in November 2022 - she has completed her PhD and moved into her current roles with Snowmelt and UTS. To get a recording done before her PhD was conferred, we actually sat down to speak earlier in 2025 and I’ve held onto that recording so this episode could be the finale for 2025. The two years between drinks proved a valuable opportunity for both of us to reflect on how some things - like studies, projects, and jobs - change while other things - like friendships - hold steady.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on May 2, 2025.

Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode25/

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Corey Cutrupi is part-time educator, part-time exercise scientist, researcher and full-time sport enthusiast. Currently, his research has taken him on a quest to better understand how organisations can effectively leverage major events in women’s football to create sustainable growth in Australian women’s football. The centrepiece of this study was the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, hosted in Australia and New Zealand. While it was no secret how the bandwagon of women’s football was full as a result of this event, Corey is on the pursuit to identify what strategies are most effective in making sure that bandwagon remains at capacity.

Previously, Corey has worked at Tennis Australia, Football NSW, and has had various roles in health and sport following a sport and exercise science degree. Today, he teaches in the undergraduate and postgraduate Sport Management streams in the UTS Business School as he looks to conclude his PhD. Still finding time to work in the corporate health space, Corey enjoys the balance of combining his passions into a dynamic working week. Ultimately, sport is Corey’s biggest passion, and when he isn’t playing sport (likely due to his knack for an injury), he is living and breathing it as an educator, spectator and behind the scenes.

Corey and I first met each other in 2019 when I was coordinating one of the subjects he took as part of his Masters course at UTS. At the time, I was at the same stage in my PhD that he is now at in his own PhD. Life goes around in funny circles this way. Corey and I have no difficulties talking about sport and the lives we both lead around it, but this time we decided to turn on the microphones. While we did manage to keep the focus on Corey’s PhD, we also unpacked a number of critical issues in the sport world – i.e., the things that keep us both engaged in this field of research and teaching.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at the University of Technology Sydney on November 21, 2025.

Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode24/

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Lauren Wood is a researcher and educator exploring how wearable sensors and artificial intelligence can help us better understand human movement. With an interdisciplinary background spanning sport science, engineering education, and design, Lauren is passionate about shaping the future of sport and health technology through design thinking and data analytics.

Lauren has collaborated with elite sporting organisations as a research assistant to integrate digital tools into high-performance environments to improve usability and support holistic wellbeing from grassroots to the elite level. She also teaches engineering design and innovation at UNSW Sydney, leading student teams in human-centred design, prototyping, and technology development. Lauren aims to always take a systems approach that connects the athlete, coach, and researcher to make wearable data meaningful, ethical, and actionable

Lauren is currently completing a PhD at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where she focuses on detecting subtle running gait asymmetries using wearable inertial sensors and machine-learning models. Her work brings together biomechanics, data science, and design to translate complex sensor data into practical insights for athlete wellbeing, rehabilitation, and performance.

Lauren and I came into this conversation knowing we shared a mutual interest in design, but we’re also both very interested in wearable tech. As a result, this conversation takes a few novel turns, including a discussion of how Lauren has had to teach herself coding even while undertaking her PhD - something I think will fascinate you as much as it did me.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Moore Park Campus of the University of Technology Sydney on July 17, 2025.

Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode23/

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Emma Petancevski is a researcher, educator and sport scientist investigating how augmented feedback can enhance motor skill learning and performance in sport. With a background in sport and exercise science and experience across elite rugby league environments, Emma integrates applied performance insights with academic research to improve athlete development and coaching practices. She has led sport science programs for professional teams in the NRLW and Women’s Indigenous All Stars, and currently works as a research assistant on a project examining the return-to-sport decision-making process among stakeholders following athlete injury. Her work is driven by a commitment to aligning scientific evidence with the practical demands of high-performance sport, ensuring that research outcomes are both relevant and impactful for athletes and practitioners.

Emma is currently completing a PhD at the University of Technology Sydney where she explores how augmented feedback influences motor skill acquisition, with a focus on producing research that is rigorous, transparent, and reproducible. She is passionate about generating research that is not only methodologically robust, but also directly applicable to real-world sporting environments, empowering coaches and practitioners to make informed decisions that enhance athlete learning and performance.

Emma and I met for the first time just before recording this episode, but immediately fell into an easy conversation. Her enthusiasm for her work and doctoral project will be apparent to all listeners and might perhaps serve as inspiration for those of you trying to balance work and study.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Moore Park Campus of the University of Technology Sydney on July 17, 2025.

Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode22/

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Tijana Sharp is an Associate Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science. She is a UTS Sport and Exercise program alumna, having completed B Sport and Exercise Science and B Sport and Exercise Science (Hons), and is currently completing her PhD. Her current research focuses on the health and fitness outcomes of combined high-intensity aerobic and resistance training.

Tijana practices as Accredited Exercise Scientist (ESSA) at an exercise physiology and pilates clinic where she has worked with a team of allied health professionals to develop and implement a range of rehabilitation programs for various pathologies and concerns. She also has a strong passion for professional development for allied health professionals and is a co-founder of The Active Education Program, which offers educative courses specific to pilates based exercise interventions.

This episode is a fun milestone for the podcast, as it marks the first time I’ve spoken to a former student of mine. Tijana and I first met when she undertook the subject Sport and Society in the first year of her undergraduate studies. As I’ve just outlined, she’s kept herself busy in the time since! It’s always a great pleasure for me to see my students succeed, and getting up to speed on Tijana’s work was no exception.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Moore Park Campus of the University of Technology Sydney on July 17, 2025.

Show Notes: https://www.theknowledgemill.com/episode21/

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Xianxian Jiang is a PhD candidate in Management at the University of Queensland Business School. Her research investigates the process of coordinating for distributed innovation in innovation ecosystems, which represent a unique collaborative context in many technological and professional fields. She is specifically interested in how inter-organisational and interdisciplinary actors and their work for innovation are organised in such contexts.

Empirically, Xianxian has primarily been focusing on complex innovation processes in the healthcare sector with a backdrop of digital technologies (e.g., AI) and digital infrastructure building. Prior to her current academic career, Xianxian was a research development and innovation partnership manager in the medical imaging industry and higher education for over a decade.

Xianxian and I met on a warm Queensland afternoon, so the windows to her office were open throughout our conversation. The effect of this is one of what you might call ‘campus ambience’ that would have been hard for us to create on purpose. A happy accident, then, and one that adds another layer of calm to a winding and free-flowing conversation that I’m sure will draw you in as it drew me in on the day.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded at the University of Queensland in Brisbane on June 12, 2025.

Show Notes: https://theknowledgemill.com/episode20

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Amanda Van de Paverd is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Queensland, building on an extensive career as a consultant and with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Amanda’s research explores the practice of maverickism, applied at the organisational level to improve innovation, learning, and adaptability in public sector organisations. She has completed her final review and just a few weeks ago submitted her thesis for examination.

During her tenure with the RAAF, Amanda specialised in personnel management, organisational design, and workforce optimisation. Her exemplary service included operational duties, earning her a commendation for her significant contributions to the International Campaign Against Terror. Beyond her PhD research, Amanda has publications in Defence industry outlets such as The Forge and the Propel Her Australia series. Since transitioning from full-time military service, Amanda has worked as a Management Consultant, focusing on leadership, change management, and organisational design. She has successfully led reviews, large-scale projects, and cultural change initiatives across diverse sectors, including NGOs, government, health, energy, and resources.

Amanda is a proud mother of two daughters, who inspire her continuous pursuit of knowledge and professional growth. Currently, Amanda serves on the Board of Directors at Family Services Australia (NFP), where she chairs the Human Resources and Governance (HRG) Committee. She is also a Director at Prax Studio, overseeing business operations and management.

My conversation with Amanda folded over onto itself a couple of times in ways I think listeners will find very satisfying. Her journey to and through her PhD candidature will serve as a valuable reminder that being purpose-driven in your life and work will take you further than maybe you think you can go.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded at the University of Queensland in Brisbane on June 12, 2025.

Show Notes: https://theknowledgemill.com/episode19

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Afrouz Shoghi is an Organisational Psychologist with over 15 years of leadership and practitioner experience across a wide range of departments and organisations within the health, social services, and education sectors. In particular, Afrouz has led various early childhood education and development strategies across Australia and has overseen and managed research, policy, and programs aimed at enabling workforce, community, and systemic change to promote the importance of early childhood development.

Building on this experience and her own personal experience navigating early motherhood and work, Afrouz is currently finalising her PhD investigating the real lives of professional working mothers with young children. Integrating the principles of Psychology, Social Science and Business, Afrouz’s PhD is aimed at understanding the realities of professional working mothers’ lives from a socio-ecological perspective - where the role of work, family, and community resources are explored in their impact on individual psychological well-being and workplace, community, and family outcomes.

While finalising her PhD research, Afrouz is also now translating her research and her extensive work experience, in designing a social impact venture aimed at supporting working mothers navigating work, career, and family in the early years of parenting. This new venture, workHers, is currently in the co-design phase with various stakeholders and local partners and advocates.

Overall, Afrouz’s personal passion and professional intent is to unlock system capabilities to better support working mothers, and to also empower working mothers to best manage their roles at work and in life. Now raising two young daughters, aged seven and six, Afrouz’s ambition is to continue to facilitate and inform research to understand and better respond to the modern needs of working families, as well as to build communities and resources to support working families navigating work and life during the early years of parenthood.

Afrouz and I found a lot of common ground in this conversation, as we are both navigating the dual worlds of parenthood and academia. Anybody out there who is considering starting a PhD will come away from this conversation with a handful of great places to start, as Afrouz and I pulled at many threads while unpacking her research.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Nathan Campus of Griffith University in Brisbane on June 9, 2025.

Show Notes: https://theknowledgemill.com/episode18

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Victoria Lister is a researcher in the Griffith Business School, workplace coach, consultant, and business owner-operator. Her PhD research investigates how the medical profession and its senior actors shape junior doctors' silences about their working conditions. This work has led her to realise that a similar phenomenon is impacting the productivity and wellbeing of doctoral students and early career academics. As a result, Victoria has also conducted research on this topic and has two more projects in the pipeline.

To empower junior doctors and academics to find ways to resolve or speak up about their challenges, Victoria trained as a workplace coach and is currently researching and delivering a ‘coaching for communication’ intervention for emergency medicine clinicians. She also works on other research projects in the emergency medicine context - on clinician-coaches and their coaching experiences, leadership challenges and leader identity formation.

Prior to her PhD, Victoria was a management, governance, and marketing consultant working with small-to-medium enterprises in the nonprofit sector. More recently, she has consulted on a healthcare workforce wellbeing initiative and a cultural change program designed to address bullying, harassment and discrimination in medicine. Victoria also operates a micro-business she founded in 2015, producing women’s under and outerwear for retail online.

Victoria and I had a far-reaching conversation about challenges that are faced in all fields of work and study, but especially those that are idiosyncratic to healthcare and our common field of academia. You’ll hear us try to maintain optimism and buoyancy as we unpack these issues. Ultimately, I think we arrive in a hopeful place and I hope you enjoy listening to it unfold.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Nathan Campus of Griffith University in Brisbane on June 9, 2025.

Show Notes: https://theknowledgemill.com/episode17

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Mahdis Smith is an AI Adoption Strategist and doctoral candidate specialising in the organisational applications of AI. Her research investigates how AI technologies influence the sense of autonomy in task completion and decision-making within organisations. With a strong focus on maintaining critical thinking while driving innovation, her work explores the adoption journey of GenAI and AI-assisted digital clones among leaders and knowledge workers in Australia.

Drawing on a background in consultancy, Mahdis brings a multidisciplinary approach to understanding complex organisational dynamics. Her career spans roles in research, education, industry, and consultancy, with experience facilitating workshops and collaborating in projects within the public and private sectors.

At the time of our conversation, Mahdis was preparing for her PhD thesis submission at Griffith University. As AI is a hot topic for discussion in academia and other fields, we found ourselves unpacking her research from unexpected but interesting angles. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on the Nathan Campus of Griffith University in Brisbane on June 9, 2025.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm016

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Iresha Donmanige is a researcher, educator, and psychologist whose work focuses on identity, intersectionality, and career progression - particularly among women academics in STEM. With a background in organisational psychology, management, and education, her career spans academic teaching, programme coordination, and research. Iresha is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Wollongong in Australia, investigating the career progression of women academics in Australian STEM academia.

Previously, Iresha held academic and leadership roles at institutions such as the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the Colombo Institute of Research and Psychology. She has taught and coordinated programmes affiliated with Coventry University and Liverpool John Moores University - both in the UK - and has supervised theses at the undergraduate level and conducted corporate training workshops on mental health and stress management. Her research has been presented at global conferences, including the Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ), the British Academy of Management (BAM), the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM). Her publications focus on identity, diversity, and careers related to vocational psychology. Combining her research expertise with extensive teaching and leadership experience, Iresha brings a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach to her work.

The day Iresha and I met to record this episode was a scorcher - 40 degrees Celsius and humid. Consequently, we elected to record this episode outside. Over the hour that we spoke, the weather gradually turned from hot and humid to cool (read: not as hot) and rainy - a change which can be heard in the shifting wind that provides the audio backdrop of this episode. For anybody who has, as I have, watched a summer storm blow in, the sounds will be strangely familiar. It's an added dimension that could not have been scripted.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm015

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Charvi’s journey reflects her values of Communication, Humanity, Academia, Research, Vision, and Innovation – as embodied in the spelling of her name: CHARVI. She is driven by a deep curiosity about human behavior and a desire to contribute meaningfully to society. Her journey began early on, nurtured by her experiences as a child artist. Performing arts instilled in her the importance of communication, empathy, and understanding human emotions and interactions, laying the foundation for her fascination with human behavior and its complexities.

This fascination ultimately led her to pursue a career in Human Resources Management, where she could explore the intersection of individuals and organizations. Driven by a desire to contribute to knowledge creation and make a lasting impact, Charvi is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at India’s oldest and leading human resource management business school, XLRI - Xavier School of Management. While her doctoral research focuses on the evolving landscape of HRM, with a particular emphasis on the impact of artificial intelligence technology, skill development, and wellbeing, her research interests also extend to diversity and inclusion, International HRM, digital transformation of HR practices, and others. Her thesis - entitled "AI and Human Interplay: Exploring the Impact of Technology on Skills and Well-being" - investigates the complex relationship between technology and the human experience in the workplace. This research, conducted under the guidance of esteemed faculty at XLRI, aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of this critical area within the field of HRM.

Charvi and I first connected via the 2024 Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, a.k.a. ANZAM. She was gracious enough to visit me in my office at UTS to record an episode but when I went to check the recording file, I discovered it was completely corrupted and made us both sound like unintelligible robots.

My worst nightmare had come to pass: the recording was completely unusable. Fortunately, Charvi was still in town and willing to try again. Because we’d had a ‘dry run’, our conversation flowed very naturally and, to our surprise, went in largely different directions than the first one. As she relays in this episode, her recent experience presenting research at the ANZAM conference provided her with valuable insights and further motivated her commitment to contributing to the academic community. Toward the end of our conversation, she lays out her idea for a ‘loop’ of theory and practice development that I think all listeners will find particularly compelling.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on December 23, 2024, following on from the 37th ANZAM Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm014

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This is a unique episode of The Knowledge Mill. On the sonic side of things, Alice was game for something I’ve always wanted to try: recording an episode outdoors. As you will hear, the cicadas on the University of Wollongong campus provide a very pleasant ambient backdrop. We also took an atypical approach to the conversation itself. Rather than focusing on Alice’s ongoing PhD research, we instead delved into the overall PhD experience in an effort to uncover and share insights and reflections on what many PhD students probably need to hear, but rarely do.

Consequently, you’ll hear Alice and I share personal lessons and reflect upon challenges, yes, but also the importance of fostering kindness and community in academia. We discuss common experiences in the hope that it will remind any PhD researchers listening that they are not alone in their journey, and that their community can be found along the way. Overall, this episode sees us reflecting on the vulnerabilities, triumphs, and personal growth that come with the PhD path.

Alice Rickert is a psychologist and head of the research project addressing the Impact of HR-Analytics on Responsible Leadership at the University of St. Gallen. As a psychologist, her earlier career included roles in organisational development, HR, and leadership training, particularly in the not-for-profit sector. Blending her expertise in organisational psychology and new technologies, her research focuses on the evolving dynamics of leadership in the age of AI.

Alice is also a speaker and lecturer at various universities, colleges, and foundations and has held several elected positions at the University of St. Gallen and the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, including serving as Vice President of the Doctoral Network Association (DocNet). Currently, she is a visiting researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 5, 2024 on the campus of the University of Wollongong during the 37th Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, a.k.a. ANZAM.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm0013

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Elena Piere is a PhD candidate within the Food Waste Innovation team in the Food Science Department at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Elena's research is funded by a research grant from the Ministry for the Environment and centers on developing, trialing, and evaluating the impact of a behavior change intervention toolkit - co-designed with industry stakeholders - to enable practical and lasting change in the aged care sector.

Elena has a background in sustainable business. She has worked on food waste and sustainability projects in both academic and industry settings, including conducting waste audits and advising on waste reduction strategies for organisations. Beyond her research, Elena has experience in teaching, research, and governance roles, including serving as a postgraduate representative on the Otago University Net Carbon Zero Governance Board. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and real-world application, ensuring that sustainability solutions are both evidence-based and actionable.

As we walked to the room where we recorded this episode, Elena and I immediately found ourselves headlong into very interesting chats about aspects of the PhD Life that made me wish we already had microphones in our faces. Which is to say, conversation came easy to us. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 3, 2024 on the campus of the University of Wollongong during the 37th Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management a.k.a. ANZAM.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm012

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Candice Wray is a Clinical Psychologist who graduated with a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. She has worked with a wide array of people including children with special needs, adolescents with behavioural challenges, and adults seeking to cope with everyday challenges. Candice is a Jamaican native who, in line with her passion of serving others and a quest for self-development, has embarked on a journey leading her to new horizons in the field of human resource management. This redirection of her career ultimately led her to Taiwan, where she is currently pursuing a PhD in Human Resource Management at National Sun Yat-sen University. Her research interests include organizational behaviours such as workaholism, proactive work behaviours and employee well-being.

Candice and I met for the first time even as we sat down to record this episode. Her experiences as an international student are a cornerstone of her ongoing research and came to be a very interesting part of a good-humoured conversation that I think you'll really enjoy.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 3, 2024 on the campus of the University of Wollongong during the 37th Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy Management a.k.a. ANZAM.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm011

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Mohsen Loghmani is a Work Design Consultant, Sports Management Researcher, and Educator. His work draws on top-down and bottom-up job design practices to increase the productivity of volunteers and professionals who work at various levels (i.e., community-based level to high-performance level). Mohsen graduated from the University of Guilan, Iran with a master's degree in Sport Management and joined the Department of Sport Management at Shafagh Institute of Higher Education in 2014 as an "Instructor". He taught Sports Management and Development related subject areas such as organizational theory, human resources management, organizational behaviour in sports, research methods in sports management, and seminars on undergraduate and postgraduate degree pathways. In July 2019, Mohsen moved to Griffith University as a "Visiting Scholar". After two years, in July 2021, he became a "Research Assistant" and "Sessional Tutor" at Griffith. At the same time, he started in the PhD program in Sport Management there. As his most important academic achievement, Mohsen, alongside Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou and Dr Jason Doyle, was awarded the 2023 SMAANZ Industry Engagement Grant to undertake research around volunteering in community sports clubs.

Outside of academia, Mohsen has worked in the sports industry within sports organizations and events. He was Head of the Sport and Recreational Department at Shafagh Institute of Higher Education, Iran between 2015 and 2019 and organized several coaching and refereeing courses and sports events for students. He was also appointed as "Voluntary Football Clubs Development Consultant" by Football Mazandaran, Babolsar, IRAN in November 2021. He is currently providing some advice to the president and executive board in terms of how to establish voluntary football clubs across suburbs in Babolsar County. On the other hand, Mohsen started his refereeing career in 2005 in Iran, and he became a Football Australia Referee in July 2019. He won the Referee Of The Year Award in 2021 from Football Gold Coast, Australia.

By the time we sat down to record this episode, Mohsen and I had enjoyed a number of conversations (in the absence of microphones) that always seemed to veer into the philosophical. We indulge in that tendency a bit here, as well, in pondering the future of our shared field of sport management, though the questions we try to answer have implications for researchers in all fields.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 1, 2023 on the campus of the University of Canberra during the 29th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm010

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As a public servant turned consultant, and now as an academic researcher, Dan Ferguson has been lucky enough to combine his education in sport science and urban planning to forge a decade long career within the government sector. Having worked in private consulting, two Victorian Councils, Victorian State Government, and a YMCA managed aquatic centre, he has a unique combination of experience in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. During this time he established a firm belief in #CollaborationOverCompetition. That's why he founded the boutique planning consultancy theCommunityCollaborative: to act as a vehicle to harness the collective power of industry – mainly servicing local government clients.

Dan is a keen supporter of industry and the broader sport and community sector. He is currently the Executive Officer of industry association Parks and Leisure Australia (Vic/Tas), as well as a member on the partnerships committee of the Australian Society for Physical Activity (ASPA). He has previously held the role of chairperson of the SouthPort Community Centre and has been involved in various other community organisations.

Dan has worked across diverse areas including sport, social development, and public health. However, the majority of his career has focused on creating healthy communities through the built environment - from negotiating multi-million-dollar stadium upgrade contracts on behalf of the State government, to planning where footpaths should go in a local park. This has led to Dan embarking on the PhD journey within Swinburne University’s Sport Innovation Research Group with a research focus on the provision of public infrastructure that supports physical activity.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 1, 2023 on the campus of the University of Canberra during the 29th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm9

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Olivia Bramley is a PhD Student at RMIT University and a member of the Sport Innovation Research Group, specializing in the area of Sport Ecology. Prior to undertaking her PhD, Olivia completed a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science with honours at Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

Olivia’s PhD studies explore the role of sport organisations to operate within the planetary boundaries, and to respond to climate change. Specifically, she aims to bring together and engage all stakeholders in sport to develop regenerative sport that is harmonious with the natural environment. Olivia’s current research interests centre around research that enhances the positives of sport. She has been involved with multiple research projects as a research assistant across a range of topics including sport performance, mental health in sport, and sport for development.

Outside of her academic career, Olivia is a full-time professional footballer, playing in the WSL2 Women’s Championship in England. Her signing with Durham FC occurred after we spoke, and so it’s fun to hear her discuss her hopes for her football career in this episode. Owing to her dual career, Olivia describes herself as being somewhere between surviving and thriving. Her journey is a unique one, but she notes that she is a true believer in creating your own path and owning all that goes with it.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on November 29th, 2023 on the campus of the University of Canberra during the 29th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm008

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Claudia Speidel is a marketing strategy consultant and educator. Through qualitative research methodologies, she draws on consumer insights to advise businesses in communication strategy, market positioning, and product development. She has extensive experience in cross-cultural communications throughout Europe and Australia, engaging with a wide range of industries including Fast Moving Consumer Goods, education, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. During her career, she participated in various multi-national communication campaigns and international product launches. Claudia has also worked as a business, marketing, and communication lecturer, developing and delivering subjects at a bachelor’s level.

Originally from Germany, Claudia has lived in six countries and travelled the world for her work and studies. Each country move introduced her to a new culture and language that was not her own and taught her about the challenges and intricacies involved in cross-cultural communications. She often witnessed cultural and linguistic misunderstandings and/or missed opportunities to engage a culturally diverse audience because the messages were not sufficiently nuanced to resonate with specific collective sentiments. It was these migrant experiences and her liminal position between cultures and worldviews that sparked her interest in cultural identities and their impact on attitudes, values, and behaviour which is the focus of her PhD research at the UTS School of Communications. Claudia is currently investigating the impact of the Australian Indian diaspora’s cultural identity on their perceptions and preferences in sustainability.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on October 5, 2023.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm007

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis is a marketing and communications coordinator for a non-profit organisation, author, ghostwriter and former journalist. She has previously worked as a TV reporter in the Philippines and a radio broadcaster with SBS in Sydney, where she still occasionally does voice-overs. Several of her stories have landed in The New York Times and Al Jazeera.

While working as a broadcast journalist in the Philippines, Kristyn covered bomb threats, rebel insurgencies, and political rivalries. She finished her masters degree in communication at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore under the ASEAN scholarship.

Kristyn self-published two children’s picture books prior to the release of her first young adult novel, The Girl Between Two Worlds, with Anvil Publishing in 2016. Her second book, The Girl Between Light and Dark, and third book, The Search for Adarna, were released by the same publisher in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Kristyn is represented by Annabel Barker Literary Agency. She started her Doctor of Philosophy candidature in 2021 with the University of Technology Sydney for Creative Writing under the Australian Research Training Program, focusing on cultural diversity in children’s literature in Australia.

Her thesis, The Missing Books in Children’s Literature in Australia: An Australian-Filipino Author’s Journey to Representation, is a creative and critical work that questions the limited opportunities given to children’s and young adult (CYA) authors from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in the traditional publishing industry in Australia. The thesis argues that CALD authors face barrier after barrier, first within their own personal circumstance, then from the wider community – as well as the barriers within traditional publishing houses. For CALD authors to have a chance of being represented in the CYA space, big changes are needed from the industry and its adjacent spaces.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on September 15, 2023.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm006

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A former classical musician, Atul Joshi is an arts and culture manager currently working for Bangarra Dance Theatre. In this capacity he has also worked for companies such as the State Theatre and State Opera of South Australia, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Bundanon Trust in senior management roles. He has also led government funding programs at the former Australia Council (now Creative Australia) and City of Sydney.

Born in Myanmar of Indian parents, Atul migrated to Australia as a child. Returning to his own creative life later in his career, he completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at UTS in 2020. Since then he has been shortlisted for the Saturday Paper’s 2020 Donald Horne and the Newcastle Writers' Festival 2022 Fresh Ink Prizes, had short fiction published in The Big Issue, Westerly, Island, Seizure and Ricepaper Magazine, non-fiction in the Portside Review, Peril Magazine, Sydney Review of Books and Benjamin Law’s Growing up Queer in Australia. His interest in the representation of queer lives and in the possibilities of creative non-fiction and auto/biography led him to commence a PhD in creative writing at UTS focusing on queer memoir and biography.

Atul and I share a passion for reading and writing, so our conversation came easily. I was especially intrigued by the manner in which his PhD project is being constructed around a creative component - quite different and, dare I say, a bit more intimate than completing a traditional thesis. I found it all very intriguing and I think you will, too.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on September 18, 2023.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm005

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Ashleigh Marshall is a sport administrator, sport event professional, and qualitative researcher. Ashleigh’s PhD research at the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University focuses on how national sporting organisations can maximise opportunities for elite women athletes who need to suddenly transition to a second career. She was awarded the Amy Gillett Foundation Research Scholarship to undertake this research.

Ashleigh has a passion for research that aims to benefit the sport industry, particularly in relation to opportunities for women and girls. She’s based in Brisbane, but enrolled in a university in Melbourne, so all aspects of her PhD have been completed online: coursework, meetings with supervisors and interviews with participants! In 2022 she won Victoria University’s “Visualise Your Thesis” competition; an international programme that challenges graduate researchers to present their research in a 60-second audio-visual explainer.

Ashleigh has worked at state and national sporting organisations in Australia as well as the federal agency for sport, the Australia Sports Commission. She completed her undergraduate studies - a Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) in Sports Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Movement Science - at the University of Queensland, but travelled to Greece for her master’s degree. There, she completed a Master of Science in Olympic Studies, Olympic Education, and the Management and Organisation of Olympic Events. This degree is organised and awarded jointly by the University of Peloponnese and the International Olympic Academy (IOA). The IOA premises are located in Ancient Olympia, just ‘down the road’ from the Ancient Olympic Stadium.

Ashleigh is passionate about women and girls’ participation in sport. She coaches both netball and badminton to girls aged 12-18, and teaches swimming to children aged from 3 onwards. She likes to keep physically active herself and swims 2km most days.

Ashleigh and I spoke after the final day of the 2022 Conference of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand - a.k.a., SMAANZ. We met for the first time only a few days before, and immediately discovered we were good at making each other laugh. Because I can't help myself, I've included an 'outtake' of these shenanigans at the start of the episode that will surely put a smile on your face. At the time of the podcast recording, Ashleigh was a second year PhD candidate. Presently, she’s a third year PhD candidate and is working toward submitting her thesis within the next six months.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 2, 2022 on the campus of Swinburne University of Technology during the 28th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm004

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Linden Moore's research sits at the intersection of women's sport and marketing. She's currently working on a funded PhD research project that looks at the role of individuals in community sport as ambassadors and their role in marketing sport - basketball in particular - to participants at the grassroots level. Her research was inspired by a passion for storytelling and a motivation to help tell the stories of female athletes from around the world.

Linden's background primarily sits in the marketing and communication fields. She's gained experience in both of these fields through internship opportunities whilst pursuing her B.A. in Journalism and PR at the University of Oregon, and Masters in Sports Business at New York University. Her previous experience includes serving as a Brands and Properties Intern for the Wasserman Media Group in New York City, where she helped create and execute marketing ideas as a member of the AT&T account for work with partners such as the WNBA and American Film Institute Festival. Her experience also includes marketing and communications for the TrackTown USA organisation in Eugene, Oregon, and as a member of a team of marketing consultants for Devin Booker of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. Outside of research she runs the @nz_nbl_girl brand, which is dedicated to promoting women's basketball in New Zealand and around the world. Linden aims to bring a mix of knowledge about marketing, research and storytelling combined with a global perspective to projects that she tackles.

Linden and I spoke after the first full day of the 2022 Conference of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand - a.k.a., SMAANZ. While we first made contact on Twitter (and wouldn't you know it, we discuss academic Twitter in this episode), we only met each other for the first time in person the previous day. We share an interest in women's sport and the promotion thereof, so the conversation came easily. I hope you enjoy it.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 1, 2022 on the campus of Swinburne University of Technology during the 28th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm3

Paul’s research project seeks to understand how women Australian Rules footballers affectively experience digital self-tracking, and what impacts these interactions have on the player’s construction of selfhood, identity-making, and body as athletes. With these insights he aims to develop a framework that empowers women footballers to maximise their performance through digital self-tracking, while promoting positive self-image and women athletes’ identity.

Paul obtained a Bachelor of Arts with Honours specialising in sociology from The Australian National University. Paul’s Honours project, in which he achieved First-Class Honours, investigated the compliance processes of employees who were digitally self-tracked in their workplace. As an undergraduate Paul was awarded a New Colombo Plan scholarship that allowed him to participate in an ethnographic field school in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). During the ethnographic field school in PNG Paul conducted fieldwork activities including interviews, survey taking, and social and participant observations focused on the social restrictions of cash cropping. Paul has also worked at Deakin and La Trobe Universities lecturing and tutoring first and second year undergraduate sociology and sports management units. Paul is also a board member for the Sports Innovation Research Group advisory board. A position he has held since May 2022.

Paul and I spoke after the first day of the 2022 Conference of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand – a.k.a., SMAANZ. I had only met Paul that same day, and yet we easily fell into a wide-ranging conversation about his academic journey and women’s sport. Two days later, Paul won the 2022 SMAANZ three-minute thesis award. Did our chat spur him to victory? Some things are not for us to know.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on November 30, 2022 on the campus of Swinburne University of Technology during the 28th Annual SMAANZ Conference.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm002

Leanne Sobel is a strategic designer, researcher and educator. Her work draws on design practices to investigate complex problems and deliver strategic outcomes. Leanne has a background in visual communication design and management. Her career spans design management, corporate strategy consulting, design education, and research roles. Leanne is currently undertaking a funded PhD research project at UTS – the University of Technology Sydney – investigating the role of design in strategy.

Previously, Leanne worked as a Senior Strategic Designer and Researcher at the Design Innovation Research Centre at UTS, having joined the team from her time working in Strategy Consulting at Deloitte. Over the course of her career, Leanne has worked on consultancy projects with both public and private sector clients, including the Department of Defence, Australian Human Rights Commission, icare, NBN, Legal Aid NSW, Westpac, Qantas and Telstra. Leanne brings her knowledge of design practice to consultancy engagements, along with her research and education background, and is an experienced workshop designer and facilitator.

Leanne and I have a common research interest in design and design thinking. Despite this, we did a fairly decent job of preventing this episode from turning into the design thinking hour, although… your mileage may vary. When we sat down late last year, Leanne was working toward her Stage Two Assessment. In the UTS Business School framework, Stage Two is typically a check of the candidate’s readiness to go into the field and collect data. However, and as she discusses here, Leanne had already begun her data collection and was, through her grounded theory approach, in search of data saturation. In the weeks following our conversation, Leanne successfully completed her Stage Two assessment and she is now working toward completion of her PhD.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on November 23, 2022.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm001

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I've known David for a few years now, as our PhD candidatures at UTS – the University of Technology Sydney – overlapped. Myself, David, and our mutual friend Lewis Whales – who you will hopefully hear from in another episode – would get together over coffee for weekly accountability meetings to keep each other honest. This continued even after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australian shores in March 2020… we just simply moved our meetings onto Zoom! Now that we’re back on campus, David and I continue to be good friends and colleagues.

The thing that made David unique among PhD researchers at the UTS Business School is the extensive professional experience that he brings to his candidature. Before embarking on his PhD journey, David held various roles in corporate leadership, developing and executing key strategic initiatives in both for- and non- profit organisations. In 25 years of this work, David’s career took him around the world to: the UK, Japan, Singapore and, of course, Australia.

As David recounts at the start of our conversation, it was this industry work that led him to researching curiosity and the role it plays in the strategic decision making of top management team executives. While curiosity is often viewed through a psychological lens, David considered curiosity as a social practice in his PhD research. This was a “turn” in his candidature that he discusses in this episode.

Ultimately, David’s research aimed to understand how curiosity as a social practice assists top management team executives in making strategic decisions, and in managing organizational ambidexterity. When we sat down to record this episode, David was finishing the minor revisions to his thesis that his examiners had requested. By the time you hear this episode, his PhD will have been conferred. So let me be the among the first to say: Congratulations, Dr Bickett!

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on November 23, 2022.