Cornish Geothermal: Hello from Dr Nicola Langdon

Dydh da! Ow hanow yw Nicola and I’m a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Law, Criminology and Government with a background in International Relations. I have always been interested in issues of social justice, sustainability, as well as the power of language, which has led to a continued research focus on the relationship between the media, public and policy spheres. In 2018 I was awarded my PhD, with a thesis that examined the UK media’s moral framing of conflict and intervention. On completion of my PhD I worked as a researcher with the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Unit, working to improve the recognition and response of frontline policing to instances of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK.

I am currently working with the Sustainable Earth Institute on the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project (UDDGP), which looks at the public perception and acceptance of a geothermal power project in Cornwall. Being interested in sustainability research and the power of language – and being Cornish – I was immediately drawn to the role! My research focusses on the role of the media as both information source, and interactive space. I am interested in how the media encourages us to think about geothermal power in particular ways by ‘framing’ the issue through the use of linguistic tools like, repetition, stereotyping, catch-phrases, emotional language, metaphor or analogy, and the presence or exclusion of particular information. These frames can be thought of as ‘windows on the social world’ through which we encounter different perspectives on geothermal energy. Outside of academia, my loves include art- particularly textiles and embroidery, my rescue cat Loxley, and getting out of the city and into the countryside for walks in the woods or along the coast.

Dr Nicola Langdon
Research Assistant in Media Framing of Deep Geothermal Energy
School of Law, Criminology and Government (Faculty of Business), Sustainable Earth Institute

The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project is a partnership of organisations exploring if geothermal power is a viable energy resource for the UK. It is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall Council.