Associate Prof Christopher House BSc (Hons), PGCE (FE), MA, MPhil, FRGS, SFHEA

Faculty

• School representative on Faculty Induction committee 2014-
• School www coordinator 2014-
• School Assessment Coordinator 2014-

University

• Trinity Student Researcher Editorial Board 2011-
• Research and Teaching Nexus Committee (UW) 2012-
• Chair, secretary and member of validations
• Extenuating Circumstances Panel 2013-
• LTE Strategy Team Champion: Sustainability Conscious Learning 2014-
• Technology Enhanced Learning Research Group 2014-
• Learning, Teaching and Enhancement Committee 2014-
• Unfair Practice Committee 2014-

As a senior lecturer I have been teaching, publishing and providing pedagogical leadership in the School since 1997.   

I have been a member of Faculty Board, Secretary/Chair of Faculty Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee (LTAC), and Faculty representative on the University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee (ULTAC). I have deputised at various internal and external committees for senior management.   Also, I have chaired examination and validation boards which demonstrate Faculty level independent guidance and diplomacy.

In addition, I have been Programme Director for 9 years of the successful MSc Environmental Conservation and Management which required me to manage, lead, coordinate and monitor quality assurance within the programme. 

While Faculty Research facilitator I arranged various STEM liaison meetings with Professor Rod Thomas of the University of Wales, research funding opportunities, coordinated research dissemination, presented the Faculties PhD research methods programme and encouraged non active research staff to engage with research informed teaching.  My roles in leading teaching and research meant I have been in a unique position to bridge the gap between teaching and research within the Faculty and beyond. 

Additionally, I have initiated and organised local school engagement within the department to encourage community participation with the University and to demonstrate the department’s research expertise.  This involved presentations of research to six form schools west Wales with over 200 pupils attending individual presentations.

• IFCCCA (climate change in coastal areas). Collaboration and delivery committee/mentor. British Council Funded workshop
• Member of British Conference on Undergraduate Research Steering Group 
• Research and Teaching Nexus Action Set Committee, HEA/ University of Wales 
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
• RGS/Institute of British Geographers, Coastal and Marine Working Group 
• RGS/Institute of British Geographers, Planning and Environmental Research Group Committee
• Editorial Board, The Student Researcher Journal (UWTSD)
• Member of Mediterranean Coastal Federation
• COZIP (An Intensive Programme in European Integrated Coastal Zone Management).
• Naurcrates Conservation
• Member of NATUR Education and Training Providers Consultation Committee
• Founder Member of NATUR the Welsh Institute of Countryside and Conservation Management.

I jointly (with Professor Michael Phillips) initiated the University’s Natural Environment provision which was at the cutting edge of HEI environmental provision in terms of the move towards environmental degrees that focused on the multiplicity of sustainability and its associated employability needs.

This commenced with the development of the BA/BSc Environmental Conservation, the first BA/BSc provision in the University and the first of its kind in Wales. Its development was supported by all local authorities from Pembrokeshire to Cardiff; conservation interest groups including Groundwork Trust, the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire National Parks and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast; companies including British Steel, Associated British Ports and Dwr Cymru as well as the Environment Agency, CCW and the newly created Natural Resources Wales.

Many employers, organisations and external examiners have praised the curriculum, highlighting its innovation and relevance to many professional spheres. I am a senior supervisor and module coordinator for the research methods provision. 

Final year student dissertations have regularly been the subject of academic papers and have furthered their studies with successful Masters and PhDs.  

Many graduates of these degrees now hold management positions in various organisations and we have built a successful alumnus in the field.  Engagement with these organisations has allowed me to develop ‘live projects, assessments and visits’ which has been commended externally. 

I successfully managed the MSc Environmental Conservation and Management, which is externally recognised as a high quality programme and has traditionally been the largest MSc programme in the University. Student dissertations have produced many journal and international conference publications. Graduates of this MSc are employed in many organisations and others have successfully completed PhD studies at various universities.  Under my guidance the programme has received two periods of EU funding for students to gain their postgraduate qualifications with full fees, bursaries and work placements supplied (2001-2005 & 2007-2014). 

I have been Invited and presented at various pedagogically dedicated conferences from which I have disseminated my practice and research to international and national communities.  For example, I was invited to the International conference on ICM Education and Training Education/Training and Implementation conference in Akyaka, Turkey.  Another example was the recent coordination of three UWTSD staff to write and present our pedagogical research at the Research Teaching Practice in Wales conference.  The conference included delegates from throughout the UK and UWTSD contributions included: the use of Facebook in student research projects, the integration of guest lecturers into HEI provision and how to improve the student understanding of the science policy interface.  Our presentations were at the cutting edge of this research field and gained considerable interest from delegates.  

I initiated and developed various modules and activities which have been externally commended. These have often been adopted within the University and in other HEIs.  These include: integrating study skills into core subject modules, development of a twenty credit Work based learning module, introducing an undergraduate web based journal and editorial board module, various innovative feedback mechanisms, use of Survey Monkey in research projects across the Faculty, use of TED-Ed software.  I have also mentored colleagues on, undergraduate and postgraduate Programme Directorships, Annual Programme Reports, how to write validation documents, use of VLEs, innovative feedback and have externally supervised University lecturers on their Postgraduate Certificate (Developing Professional Practice in Higher Education).

I have been central to the School’s research development and international collaboration policy over the last decade.  In particular:

I have generated over 30 international journal and conference papers which consider coastal management in response to anthropogenic policy decisions and pedagogical advancements in relation to Higher Education practice. 

This includes the contemporaneous interest in the relationship between science and education, coastal policy implementation, designation of coherent marine nature reserves, beach priority management, ecological footprints and the use of Facebook’s survey monkey in student research projects. 

Currently I have papers being reviewed for the international journals Coastal Management and Biological Conservation and two other papers are nearing submission.  My published contributions significant to the advancement of knowledge include:

The development of an original implementation model for Integrated Coastal Zone Management which is applied to the policy process to reduce the problems associated with implementation deficits.  The model was has been internationally to the Mediterranean Protocol and was used in a major international conference attended by policy makers, practitioners and academics. 

Furthermore the model evolved and was applied beyond coastal management and within an EU context and has since been published under single authorship in the Journal of Coastal Conservation.

Beach user’s priorities and how this can be used within tourism management has made a significant contribution to this area of research and has been applied to practice.  An article in Tourism Management has been cited over 25 times in international journals and the findings have been used to justify strategic tourism policy. 

Research into how the nexus between sound science and considered educational practices can be integrated.  The work has been cited six times internationally because of its contribution to the internalising of research into the policy process.  Furthermore, the work presented an original Technology Enhanced Dissemination model which has been applied to Black Sea and Mediterranean case studies.  Reviewers highlighted how this research is an important area within and beyond the articles subject area.

Demonstration of the importance of learning disabilities groups within Integrated Coastal Zone Management.  No previous research had considered this group within coastal management and the use of an innovative methodology, photovoice, has been introduced to the subject area so that research into the requirements of such groups can be further established.  This research is embedded in a legal and ethical requirement for the subject and its practitioners, to address the needs of this demographic group.  The article has been reviewed by the Journal Coastal Management and is presently being edited for publication.

Inventive application of ecological footprint research into micro events that demonstrated the combined impact of small scale charitable events is greater than macro events.  This had implications for small scale event organisation, application and monitoring.  An additional journal publication, contributed to the extensive footprint literature by discovering that the accepted theory that socio-economic status is of direct importance to sustainability levels, also applies at an intra-regional level which had significant consequences for sustainability considerations.  Officials from the Senedd were especially interested in these findings and its consequences for differentiated sustainability policy in Wales.

Marine reserve networks in Wales, their efficiency and ecological validity.  Although there are examples in the literature of research into efficacy the methods presented in this work have been applied internationally in marine reserve networks to improve opportunity costs and create ecologically coherent networks.

Additional national and international research topics including; scenic assessment and wind farm designation which was of interest to the renewable energy debate, beach recreation and intensity assessments in Europe, function analysis within coastal management and sea level trends in the Bristol Channel.  These research projects have also been disseminated through journal publications, conference proceedings and international presentations.

I have been involved in collaborations on various coastal management and pedagogical research areas with many organisations including the University College Cork, University of the Azores, Middle East Technical University (Turkey), Akdeniz University (Turkey), University of Wales, Southampton Solent University, Bangor University, University of Gloucestershire, JISC, Natur, Mediterranean Coastal Foundation, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Naurcrates conservation and University of Malta.

I have been an invited member, session chair and selected for publication through conference proceedings at various conferences.   Including Medcoast Foundation International conferences in Ankara, Turkey, Sochi, Russia, Akyaka, Turkey, Alexandria, Egypt.  During these conferences I have developed an extensive Mediterranean and Black Sea network of academics and coastal managers through which I have facilitated research and disseminated worthy coastal research.

Other organised conferences that I have contributed to have been: Several of the prestigious EUROCOAST Littoral conferences, various Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers conferences including an International Conference in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Centre, and the Tourism & Cultural Change international conference.

Organised and executed a fully funded three month research project from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It involved organising meetings with all the constituent Universities of the academy, interviewing local and national politicians with the aim of developing a framework to facilitate the communication between academia and the political fraternity to improve regional development in Hungary.

I have initiated and coordinated work with the Romanian Academy to develop an understanding of the role of regional development funding and how it could help Romania in relation to EU membership.

I Signed Cooperation Protocol between Department of Biology, University of Azores and School of Built and Natural Environment, SMU, at Sao Miguel. 

I am a Founder Member of NATUR and its Executive committee, the Welsh Institute of Countryside and Conservation Management.  This has involved helping set up a Wales ‘professional guild’ supported by CCW which is designed to standardise countryside management recognition and training provision  throughout Wales and provide a statement of ‘our’ distinctive needs in countryside management.

Other examples of peer recognition include:

• IFCCCA (climate change in coastal areas).  Collaboration and delivery committee/mentor.  British Council Funded workshop, University of Sergio Arboleda, Santa Maria, Columbia. 
• Active member and contributor in the Italian based Naurcrates Conservation NGO which provides coastal conservation support in South East Asia and within the Mediterranean.
• Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB): KEF funded Coastal construction in a changing climate, principal presenter.
• Invited to the EU Funded launch of Corpoint project (Coastal Research throughout north Western Europe).
• I have refereed journal conferences and articles.
• Co-edited successful MSc student research proposal to Defra and Chartered Institute of Wastes Management.
• Invited co-author on a report on training needs of construction industry firms by the consortia for Industrial Training and Knowledge Exploitation fund
• I received funding from JISC/RSC to research into the use of speech recognition software and use of mobile phones for student feedback.
• Member of the Wales research-Teaching nexus committee
• PhD supervisor and official advisor
• RGS / Institute of British Geographers, coastal and Marine working Group Committee member
• RGS / Institute of British Geographers, Planning and environmental Research Group committee member
• External examiner at Plymouth University

External validator on various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across the UK.

ARTICLES UNDER PEER REVIEW

Griffiths, D., House, C., Thomas, T. An assessment of areal and transect-based historic shoreline changes in the context of coastal planning.  Journal of Coastal Research: Planning and Management.

IN PRESS

Stevens, C., & House, C. (2017) Integrating the technology-enhanced learning nexus into practice:  A UWTSD case study. Wales Journal of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Vol. 1 (1) pp

PUBLISHED

International Refereed Journals/Chapters

House, C., Jordan, N. L., Butt, T. E., Kwan, K. and Alam, A., (2018) Perception versus Skepticism – An environmental communication issue and climate change.  Chapter in Leal Filho. W. (Ed) Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research. Springer, New York.

Wakeford, J., House, C., Butt, T. E., Paul, P., Beal, C. D., (2018) Flood Vulnerability and the Three Dimensions of Sustainability Philosophy – An innovative concept design for rapid assessment. Chapter in Leal Filho. W. (Ed) Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research. Springer, New York.

Getvoldsen, K. S., Butt, T. E., House, C., & Ferreira, F., (2018) Sustainable Development and Climate Change. Chapter in Leal Filho. W. (Ed) Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research. Springer, New York.

House, C., Redmond, D., Phillips, M.R. (2017) An assessment of the efficiency and ecological representativity of existing marine reserve networks. Ocean and Coastal Management. Vol.149, pp 217-230.

House, C., Samways, J., & Williams, A.T. (2015) Designing coastal management strategies for populations with distinct needs: The case of learning disabilities. Coastal Management Vol. 43(6), pp. 589-608.

Morgan, A., Dix, A., Phillips, M.R. & House, C. (2014) Blue sky thinking meets green field usability: Can mobile internet software engineering bridge the rural divide? Local Economy Vol. 29, pp. 750-761.

House, C. (2016) Centripetal Versus Centrifugal Forces in University Research and Teaching.  Keynote presentation at the Annual Bradford University Sector Conference, Staff Student Research: ‘In the service of scholarship’.

IFCCCA (2014) (climate change in coastal areas).  Collaboration and delivery committee/mentor.  British Council Funded workshop, University of Sergio Arboleda, Santa Maria, Columbia.  15^th -22^nd November 2014.

House, C., Williams, A.T..  & Samways, J., (2014) Coastal management and personnel with learning difficulties, Convegno di lancio progetto, EU Funded, IPERLA, Bibbonia, March 2014, Italy.

House, C., Bunting, G. & Hole, S. (2013) Status quo vadis? An assessment of the relationship between science, education and policy implementation. Paper presented at Research-Teaching Practice in Wales Conference  organised by The Research-Teaching Nexus Action Set / HEA, 9th and 10th September, Gregynog Hall.

Bunting, G. & House, C. (2013) Bridging the theory practice gap.  How to effectively integrate guest /visiting lecturers into HEI provision. Paper presented at Research-Teaching Practice in Wales Conference  organised by The Research-Teaching Nexus Action Set / HEA, 9th and 10th September, Gregynog Hall.

Hole, S., House, C. & Bunting, G. (2013) It’s time to ‘Face’ the truth. Is Facebook’s Survey Monkey a legitimate research and pedagogical tool? Paper presented at Research-Teaching Practice in Wales Conference  organised by The Research-Teaching Nexus Action Set / HEA, 9th and 10th September, Gregynog Hall.

House, C. & Phillips, M.R. (2012) Integrating the science education nexus into coastal governance: a Mediterranean and Black Sea case study. Marine Policy Vol. 36 (2), pp.495-501.

House, C., Williams, J.L., Cullis, M.J. & Phillips, M.R. (2011) Coastal sustainability: a comparative socio-economic lifestyle assessment, South Wales, UK. Journal of Coastal Research. SI 57: pp. 1233-1237.

Redmond, D.C. & House, C. (2011) A method for incorporating existing ad hoc marine reserves into efficient, ecologically coherent reserve networks. Second International Marine Conference Congress hosted by Society for Conservation Biology14-18th May Victoria, BC, Canada.

House, C. (2011) The use of audio speech recognition software in student feedback. Paper presented at JISC/RSC conference: Future directions: Feeding forward, enhancing learning and teaching through technology, 12th April University of Glamorgan, UK.

House, C. (2010) A Model for the Implementation of ICM in the Mediterranean Journal of Coastal Conservation Vol.14 No. 4 pp.273-284

Phillips, M.R. & House, C. (2009) An evaluation of priorities for beach tourism: Case study from South Wales, UK. Tourism Management Vol. 30 (2) pp.176-183

House, C. & Phillips, M.R. (2009) Scientia Potentia Est. The Centrality Of Science And Education In Implementing ICZM, Paper presented at Ninth International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, Sochi, Russia

House, C. & Samways, J. (2009) The application of photovoice in assessing the needs of groups with learning and intellectual disabilities in coastal locations.  The case of Gower, South Wales International Conference arranged by the Centre for Tourism & Cultural Change, Resorting to the Coast: Tourism, Heritage and Cultures of the Seaside, Blackpool, UK, June 2009, conference proceedings, pp. 1-15.

Phillips, M. R., Abraham, E. J., Williams, A. T. & House, C. (2008) Function analysis as a coastal management tool: The South Wales coastline, UK Journal of Coastal Conservation: Planning and Management Vol. 11 pp.159-170

Williams, A.T., Phillips, M.R. Ergin, A. & House, C. (2008) Beach  recreation and intensity of use EUROCOAST Littoral Annual Conference, Venice

House, C. Phillips, M.R. & Beynon, P. (2008) What kind of footprint do we want to leave on ‘our beach’?  An assessment of environmental strategic coastal management of public events. Mediterranean Coastal Foundation, Second International Conference on the State of the Art of ICM in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: Education/ Training and Implementation, Akyaka, Turkey, 2008

House, C. & Beynon, P.  (2008) Sustainable coastal  management.  An assessment of a micro charitable event in Mumbles, South Wales. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2008.  Abstracts and Programme Book. Royal Geographical Society. Electronic Publishing CD-ROM.

House, C. & Rimmer, K.  (2008) Aesthetic assessment and public participation in the designation of wind farm sites.  The case of Coed Morganwwg, South Wales., RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2008.  Abstracts and Programme Book. Royal Geographical Society. Electronic Publishing CD-ROM.

Moran, A., Cullis, M. & House, C. (2008) The perceived training needs of small construction industry firms in south-west Wales: A small scale survey March, 2008, Consortia for Industrial Training & Knowledge Exploitation Fund

House, C. (2008) How can we construct sustainable coastlines?  CIOB – KEF Research Seminar 29th January 2008, Cadogan Conference Centre, Electronic publishing, presentations on CIOB/RICS website

House, C. & Phillips, M. R. (2007) Islands of Theory in a Sea of Practice. Implementation Theory and Coastal Management. In: Ozhan, E. (ed) Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment. MEDCOAST 07. Vol. 1. Middle East Technical University, Ankara.  105-116

House, C. & Samways, J. (2007) Re-defining disability needs for coastal zone management: A case study of Gower  RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2007.  Abstracts and Programme Book. Royal Geographical Society. Electronic Publishing CD-ROM.

House, C. (2007) Status quo vadis. A theoretical assessment of EU coastal zone management implementation RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2007.  Abstracts and Programme Book. Royal Geographical Society. Electronic Publishing CD-ROM.

Phillips, M.R., Roberts, R.T. & House C. (2006) An evaluation of priorities for surfing amenity on South Wales beaches, UK. In: Tubielewicz, A. (ed) Coastal Areas Socio-economic Value, Tourism and Recreation. EUROCOAST - Littoral 2006, Gdansk. 113-120.

Fletcher, S., Pike, K., Gallagher, A., Johnson, D., Williams, A. T., Muhammetoglu, H., Ortacesme, V., Sayan, S., Muhammetoglu A., Demircan, N., Cummins, V., O’Donnell, V., Gault, J., Phillips, M. R., House, C., May, E. A. & Ergin, A. (2006) COZIP: An Intensive Programme in European Integrated Coastal Zone Management. In: Forkiewicz, M. (ed) Integrated Coastal Zone Management – Theory and Practice.  EUROCOAST - Littoral 2006, Gdansk. 60-66.

Phillips, M.R. & House, C. (2006) A comparative study of the causes and effects of erosion along the Antalya (Turkey) and South Wales (UK) coastlines. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2006. Abstracts and Programme Book. Royal Geographical Society. Electronic Publishing CD-ROM.

Gallagher, A., Fletcher, S., Johnson, D., Williams, A. T., Muhammetoglu, H., Ortacesme, V., Sayan, S., Muhammetoglu, A., Demircan, N., Cummins, V., O’Donnell, V., Gault, J., Phillips, M. R., House, C., May, E. A. & Ergin, A. (2005) COZIP: An Intensive Programme in European Integrated Coastal Zone Management. In: Ozhan, E. (ed) Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment. MEDCOAST 05. Vol. 1. Middle East Technical University, Ankara.  9-20.

Phillips, M. R., Williams, A. T., House, C. & Collins, G. (2005) An analysis of sea level trends in the Bristol Channel/Severn Estuary, Wales, UK. In: Ozhan, E. (ed) Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment. MEDCOAST 05. Vol. 2. Middle East Technical University, Ankara.  1267-1276.