Dr Maxine Newlands (BA (Hons), MA, PhD, FHEA) is a political scientist with expertise in governance, policy, political ecology, science and environmental communication and citizen science. Max is a multidisciplinary social science scholar who advises government, and works with a range of industries on world leading projects. 

Interviews and commentary in the media (most recent) can be found at google news

Max is currently the lead/principle investigator on several Great Barrier Reef social science projects: 

• Queensland Department of Environment and Science - (Tender): Understanding the influence of media and community narratives on Great Barrier Reef water quality management
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority :Reef 2050 stakeholder network analysis
• Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia - Research Grant: How has journalistic practice shaped public knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef: A discourse analysis of the media clippings 2007-2018

Recently completed projects:

• A United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) report ways to build capacity for Reef restoration management
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – Review of stewardship
• NESP/ TropWATER study on tourism motivation for Reef restoration.
• Chief Investigator –Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) proof of concept phase] in Stakeholder Engagement and Regulation, for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (administered by Australian Institute of Marine Science)
• Chief Investigator- Regulatory and Permitting Planning for RRAP Program for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation - Reef Trust Partnership (administered by University of Queensland).
• Monograph Environmental Activism and the  Media: the Politics of Protest (Peter Lang Academic, NY)

Additionally, Maxine holds several leadership roles:

• Co-lead on the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program Regulatory program
• Government advisor on Great Barrier Reef human dimensions strategy and adaptive management practices.
• Australian Citizen Science Association management board member
• Research Associate at the University of Queensland's Centre for Policy Futures,
• JCU/TropWater member, 
• Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute.

Maxine currently supervises five fulltime postgraduate candidates. If you are interested in studying for a Master or PhD with Maxine, she specialises in the following areas: 

• Reefs, governance, and policy with a focus on Coral Reef Restoration
• Advocacy,global environmental governance and policy development
• Social media analysis and policy network analysis
• Political,Environmental and Science communication
• Politics of gender representation in the developing world with a focus on the Pacific region.

 

 

Teaching

• EV5966: Public Policy Tools - Ridge to Reef (Level 5; TSV)
• PL1001: The Political World: An Introduction to Political Science (Level 1; TSV)
• PL2006: Political Communication in the Global Environment (Level 2; TSV)
• PL3003: Democracy and the State (Level 3; TSV)
• PL4002: Theory and Method in Political Science (Level 4; CNS & TSV)
• PL5006: Political Communication; Ecology and Environmentalism (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Maxine was the Project Manager and lead investigator for the Townsville 150 Old and the News exhibition (Feb 2016 - Jan 2017) at the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

Research

• Maxine is interested in social media analysis, social netwrok analysis and discourse analysis. She has conducted consultation work for the Bureau of Meteorology on best practice for social media strategies. Please contact Maxine to discuss consultation works.
• Maxine's research focuses -Political Ecology -Political Communciation -Environmental journalism -environmental politics and governance - radical politics and protest movements ; and Media discourse and the Great Barrier Reef. - Gender disparity in the developing world. Maxine's methodological approaches centers on critical discourse analysis, discourse analysis, focus groups, content analysis and empirical research. Maxine's monograph 'Environmental Activism and the Media: the Politics of Protest' (Peter Lang Publishers, forthcoming)

Experience

• 2015 to 2022 - Research Fellow, Cairns Institute (Cairns, Qld.)
• 2016 to 2018 - Editor (Reviews), Journal of Environmental Education (Aus.)
• 2015 - Visiting Academic, National University of Samoa (Apia, Samoa)
• 2010 to 2014 - Fellow, London East Research Institue (London, UK)

Research Disciplines

• Political Science (1606)
• Environmental Science and Management (0502)
• Cultural Studies (2002)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Government and Politics (9402)
• Communication (9502)
• Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards (9607)

Awards

• 2017 - 3 Minute Thesis: Early Career Researcher. JCU/ DTES Runner up
• 2016 - TropEco Leadership & Governance - Highly Commended for EfECC Symposium.
• 2014 - TROPECO - Research Award Highly Commended for outstanding research activities that contributes to a more sustainable society and environment.
• 2014 - Overall Winner - TROPECO Excellence award for Outstanding contribution to sustainability at JCU and in the wider community
• 2016 to 2017 - Scholarship- Australian Higher Education Sector Leadership Colloquium; Australian School of Applied Management.
• 2016 - New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant ($110,000) over two years, working with colleagues in Samoa.
• 2014 - Winner: Division of Tropical Environment & Societies Three Minute Thesis Competition ECR category

Fellowships

• 2010 - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.
• 2018 to 2023 - Research Associate at the University of Queensland's Centre for Policy Futures
• 2015 to 2018 - Visiting Fellow, Media and Journalism, National University of Samoa
• 2010 to 2014 - London East Research Institute (LERI)

Memberships

• 2018 - International Political Science Association (IPSA)
• 2018 - Australian Coral Reef Society
• 2018 - Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) and APSA Environmental Politics and Policy Standing Research Group.
• 2018 - Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Fidelman P, McGrath C, Newlands M, Jago B, Dodds K and Hussey K (2019) Regulatory implications of coral reef restoration and adaptation under a changing climate. Environmental Science & Policy, 100, pp. 221-229, DOI:10.1016/j.envsci.2019.04.016.
• Larri L and Newlands M (2017) Knitting Nannas and Frackman: a gender analysis of Australian anti-coal seam gas documentaries and implications for environmental adult education. Journal of Environmental Education, 48 (1), Article: 6, pp. 35-45, DOI:10.1080/00958964.2016.1249325.
• Lloyd R, Newlands M and Petray T (2017) Coral Battleground? Re-examining the 'Save the Reef' campaign in 1960s Australia. Environmental Sociology, 3 (1), pp. 54-63, DOI:10.1080/23251042.2016.1259604.
• M'Balla-Ndi M and Newlands M (2016) Talanoa and Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action: journalistic practices in the tropical Pacific. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 15 (2), pp. 68-81.
• Lankester A, Bohensky E and Newlands M (2015) Media representations of risk: the reporting of dredge spoil disposal in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park at Abbot Point. Marine Policy, 60, pp. 149-161, DOI:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.06.009.
• Newlands M (2013) From hyperlink to ink: media tactics and protest strategies of the UK radical environmental activism movement. Crossing Conceptual Boundaries, V, pp. 45-51.
• Newlands M (2012) Green Britannia: deconstructing 'Team Green Britain' and the London 2012 Olympic Games. International Journal of Sport and Society, 1 (3), pp. 185-194.

Books

• Newlands M (2018) Environmental Activism and the Media: The Politics of Protest. Peter Lang

Book Chapters

• Newlands M (2020) Environmental journalism in the Asia and Pacific region. In: Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism. Routledge, New York, USA
• Newlands M (2020) Environmental journalism in Australia and New Zealand. In: Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism. Routledge, New York
• Newlands M (2013) Reclaiming the media: technology, tactics and subversion. In: Technology, Society and Inequality: new horizons and contested futures. Digital Formations, 87. Peter Lang Publishing, New York, USA, pp. 155-166
• Newlands M (2012) Carbon trading in the city of undoing. In: London After Recession: a fictitious capital?. Design and the Built Environment. Ashgate Publishing, Oxford, UK, pp. 199-212

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 53+ research outputs authored by Dr Maxine Newlands from 2008 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• When do Scientists become Advocates? The Blurred line between Science and Advocacy and the Role of Social Media (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Defining Nannagogy: Investigating Older Women’s Environmental Citizenship Learning through the Experiences of the Knitting Nannas Against Gas (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Detecting Bias, #fakenews and Infoganda in Digital Science Communication: Does Engagement with Scientific Misinformation Impact Environmental Policy? A Case Study of Great Barrier Reef Stakeholders (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Investigating corruption in Papua New Guinea through the patron-client structure: The citizens' perception (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Living Nature: Western Thinking and the Experience of Nature in the United States and in Australia in the 21st Century (PhD , Primary Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

• Newlands, M. (2017) T150 Old and the News Data on Regional Media Habits in North Queensland. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.