Gareth Leech

Background

About Gareth Leech

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Waterford Crystal Factory closure and worker's protests 2009-2010 Using the empirical data I collected during this time, I managed to create a coherent ethnography and thus used it as the research basis of my final dissertation entitled:"Crystal Clarity-A Study of the Effects of Global Capitalism on the Working- Class Artisan Crafts-Person Focusing on the Waterford Crystal Factory Case-Study". During this time I managed to cross the protest lines and enter the building, something that was unheard of at the height of the conflict. During this research project I shared the same living space as the workers for several weeks and used participant observation techniques to attain knowledge and data. This research opportunity was a once in a lifetime prospect that had presented itself to me. Egyptian Revolution 2011 2011–2012 My study and research on this topic resulted in a Master's dissertation entitled: “Social Media:Revolution or Evolution? A Study in the Uses of Social Media in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution”. This work focused on the supposedly new techniques available to protesters during the revolution due to the innovation of technologies and their new found availability. While it focused on Egypt as a case study, the research and theories contained in it can be applied to other areas of the Arab Spring uprisings. Due to the amount of research done on this topic, which included learning a minimal amount of Egyptian Arabic and countless hours discerning the value of certain statistics and first hand accounts, I believe that the journey leading to this dissertation was more than worthwhile. Not only did it expand my horizons and understanding of another culture, one that is rather different than my native one, but it also allowed me to share these experiences with others in the hope that misunderstanding and ignorance on the subject could be quelled, and knowledge and reason could prevail.