Profile
Liam Wignall
After spending the morning filling out my profile, I am getting a well earned cup of tea.
My CV
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Education:
My primary school was St. Margarets primary school. My secondary school and sixth form was Fazakerley High School. Both of these schools were in Liverpool. I then moved 3 hours north to Sunderland (near Newcastle) and studied psychology at the University of Sunderland. I stayed at the university and studied for a PhD (which means I am Dr Wignall).
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Qualifications:
I have GCSEs in English language, English literature, Maths, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Food Technology, Sport and French.
I did an A-level in Sport, French and Psychology.
I have a degree in Psychology and a PhD in Media and Cultural Studies. -
Work History:
My first job was in a local sweet shop age 15, helping out a family friend. I got a proper job at 16 working in a music arena serving food and drink to people who were seeing concerts (Beyonce was one of the biggest people who played there while I was working!) We also got free hot dogs at the end of the night if there were any left.
I was also a youth worker for 6 years, working in Old Swan Youth Club in Liverpool. This was one of the best jobs I ever had and I met some friends for life. My work involved thinking up fun activities for young people aged between 5-15 years old. We also took part in residentials (when you stay over in different places) and got to explore the countryside, including seeing how a farm works.
When I was at university, I worked at a local pub at the same time as studying. I wanted to make sure I had enough money to pay for bills, but also pay for trips to the theme park, the cinema, and concerts, as well as money for new clothes.
I’ve also been a research assistant for loads of different people on lots of different projects! I have looked at the behaviour of people when they attend festivals, looked at how people use the internet to explore their sexuality, how people take part in role play behaviours and how people use the social media. -
Current Job:
I am currently a lecturer in psychology at Bournemouth University.
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About Me:
I’m Liam! I look at how people use social networking sites and social media more generally. Fan of Pokémon, RuPaul’s Drag Race, coffee, clothes and exercise.
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Read more
I live in Brighton on the south-coast and work at Bournemouth University (which means a 2 hour 30 minute train ride to work!) I’m originally from Liverpool and I studied at the University of Sunderland, so I have been all over England. One of my favourite things to do is walk along the beach at night with a hot chocolate and big coat in winter, and hear all the sounds of the waves. I’m a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Anime and Heathstone (odd mix), and listen to lots of different types of music. I’m also into keeping fit and eating healthy, which normally means a lot of cooking at home.
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My Typical Day:
I normally get the office about 9am. I check my diary for what I have to do today, answer emails from colleagues and get a coffee. Some days I will get to interview people and ask them all about how they use social media. Other days I will get to stand in front of 300 students and tell them about what my research has found.
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Read more
I start everyday with breakfast (most important meal of the day). I normally get to the office for 9am to prepare for the day. I normally have lots of emails from work colleagues who have questions about my teaching, meetings or just to say hello!
Once I’ve checked them all, I will prepare for teaching university students. I teach about lots of different things related to social psychology – I’m currently teaching on a unit called “The Psychology of Social Media and Video Games” about how people use different social media accounts. Sometimes one person can have lots of different accounts for different things!
After teaching, I get to do the fun stuff – listen and read interview data. This is data I have collected over long periods of time interviewing people about how they interact online and how they use social media accounts. I am a qualitative researcher (which basically means my data is words rather than numbers), so I get to read through lots of different interviews and try to identify what the main things being discussed are. I then write it up so other people can read what I find.
At the end of the day I try to go the gym and do some running. This is a great way to relieve any stress of the working day and also just relax for the evening. It also helps me to sleep at night!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would spend the money on workshop day for some local schools to explore the psychology of the internet!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Friendly, funny, fabulous.
What did you want to be after you left school?
A teacher
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes - I am always late for things!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I've got "Panic at the disco" on repeat currently.
What's your favourite food?
Quorn.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
For Hogwarts to be real (and I attend teach there); to fly anywhere in the world; to have a never ending supply of baked beans.
Tell us a joke.
What do you get if you put a cow on a washing machine? Milkshake!
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