Staff
Mary Shepard Spaeth
BA Creative Writing – Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas USA
MA English Literature – Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas USA
MSc International Child Studies – Linköping University, Linköping Sweden
MPhil Business – University of the West of Scotland
Certificate in English as a Second Language/Foreign Language – Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana USA
PhD Researcher
Email: mary.spaeth@uws.ac.uk
Tel: +44141848 4141
Room: G213
Forever engaged in and with conflicts of head and heart, Mary Spaeth is a pragmatic existentialist whose research interests encompass aspects of both the psychological and sociological conundrums of identity as it may or may not be revealed through languages. Her current PhD research explores the social construction(s) of identity of female entrepreneurs in the creative industries–extending research done in Australia and in the UK which looks at women in the architectural profession. Implications for the research are likely relevant to HRM/employability, entrepreneurship and creative industry studies, organizational management, and social/educational policy. Supervising her research are Dr. Katarzyna Kosmala and co-supervisor, Professor Sam McKinstry.
The daughter of a military physician, Mary grew up in the United States, North Africa, Okinawa, and Sweden. As an undergraduate, she studied French language and culture at the Institute Catholique in Paris. In the United States, Mary has taught at Southern Methodist and Loyola Universities as a full time lecturer in English, and as adjunct professor in Marketing Communications at National Louis University in Chicago. She has taught entrepreneurship as adjunct faculty at Linköping University and at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, and at UWS. Her “pracademic” specializations include market communications, business writing, translations, entrepreneurship, technology commercialisation, FDI, and international market strategy. She served as director of marketing for the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park, Executive Vice President of ANGLE Technology, and as the executive director of the East Sweden Development Agency. Mary has started and managed three companies, including an advertising agency in Chicago and a technology commercialization management firm in Sweden. She serves as a board director for the Swedish Fulbright Commission.
An international student, Mary has enjoyed living in Scotland and commutes often to and from Sweden where her partner, Peter keeps the home hearth warm; her grown children live in the US.
When she completes her studies at UWS, Mary’s extracurricular interests in film, theater, writing and music will resume. She continues to manage tap dancing once a week.
Recent presentations/papers:
- Kosmala, K. and Spaeth, M. (2010) “Three Narratives, three stories, three generations: the journeys of women in architecture. Insights from Scotland” (Gender, Work and Organization Conference 6th Biennial International Disciplinary Conference, 21-23 June 2010, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
- Spaeth, M. and Kosmala, K. (2010) “Emerging architects, emerging identities: the meaning of work course” (3rd International Conference “New Work, New Employment, New Careers”- Careers and HRM: strategies, policies, practices -- 21-22 May 2010 – Bordeaux Management School (BEM), Talence, France.
- Spaeth M. and Kosmala, K. (2009) “Theorizing work course: insights into the constructed identities of emerging architects.” British Academy of Management Conference (BAM), Brighton, UK (Sep 09)
- Spaeth M. (2009) “Enabling enterprise and employability among workers in the creative industries: what’s identity got to do with it?” Joint GENOS/CeeDR Seminar lecture, Middlesex University, 25 March 2009
- 5-7 November 2008 “Sustaining the Career Path: Enterprise in the Creative Industries” Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE), International Conference –, Belfast, IR
- “How Science and Technology Parks Support Business Incubation in Emerging Economies” XXV IASP World Conference on Science & Technology Parks,Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept 14-17, 2008
- November 2007 – Brighton, UK, 9th Annual UK Business Incubation conference, Panel Discussion on Business Incubation Objectives
