Dr Ruth Lane - Researcher Profile

Biography

Ruth's research and teaching interests are in the area of environmental governance, and the social and cultural dimensions of land use change and environmental sustainability. She is currently researching issues of household sustainability in an urban context but has also worked on land use and environmental change in rural Australia.

Ruth's current research engages with the idea of ecological modernisation as a strategy for achieving more sustainable use of material resources. As part of this, she has investigated the potential to increase reuse and recycling of domestic goods through 1) household practices and informal networks operating at the scale of households and neighbourhoods and 2) formal policy initiatives around waste management and product stewardship. Her research on the reuse of household goods in Melbourne and Sheffield, (UK) contributes to new thinking about consumption, waste and sustainable cities. It involves collaborations with Dr Matt Watson at the Univ of Sheffield and Prof Ralph Horne at the Centre for Design at RMIT University. It forms part of an emerging network of researchers across Australia working on cultural dimensions of household sustainability and adaptation to climate change, which is captured in the edited volume, 'Material Geographies and Household Sustainability' (Lane and Gorman-Murray 2011). 

Qualifications

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Institution: University of Wollongong

Year awarded: 2003

MA GEOGRAPHY

Institution: Australian National University

Year awarded: 1996

GRADUATE DIPLOMA OF MUSEUM STUDIES

Institution: University of Sydney

Year awarded: 1985

HONOURS ZOOLOGY

Institution: University of Queensland

Year awarded: 1984

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

Institution: University of Queensland

Year awarded: 1982

Publications

Book Chapters

Lane, R., Gorman-Murray, A., 2011, Conclusion: tackling the 'missing scale' in environmental policy, in Material Geographies of Household Sustainability, eds Ruth Lane and Andrew Gorman-Murray, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Farnham Surrey England, pp. 217-224.

Lane, R., Gorman-Murray, A., 2011, Introduction, in Material Geographies of Household Sustainability, eds Ruth Lane and Andrew Gorman-Murray, Ashgate, Farnham Surrey England, pp. 1-16.

Watson, M., Lane, R., 2011, Mapping geographies of reuse in Sheffield and Melbourne, in Material Geographies of Household Sustainability, eds Ruth Lane and Andrew Gorman-Murray, Ashgate, Farnham Surrey England, pp. 133-155.

Horne, R., Maller, C., Lane, R., 2011, Remaking home: the reuse of goods and materials in Australian households, in Material Geographies of Household Sustainability, eds Ruth Lane and Andrew Gorman-Murray, Ashgate, Farnham Surrey England, pp. 89-111.

Lane, R., Wills, J., Vanclay, F., 2008, Museum outreach programs promoting a sense of place, in Making Sense of Place: Exploring Concepts and Expressions of Place through Different Senses and Lenses, eds F. Vanclay, M. Higgins and A. Blackshaw, National Museum of Australia, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 279-287.

Journal Articles

Lane, R., Watson, M., 2012, Stewardship of things: the radical potential of product stewardship for re-framing responsibilities and relationships to products and materials, Geoforum; journal of physical, human, and regional geosciences [P], vol 43, Pergamon, UK, pp. 1254-1265.

Lane, R., 2011, The waste commons in an emerging resource recovery waste regime: Contesting property and value in Melbourne's hard rubbish collections, Geographical Research [E], vol 49, issue 4, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Australia, pp. 395-407.

Lane, R., Horne, R., Bicknell, J., 2009, Routes of reuse of second-hand goods in Melbourne households, Australian Geographer [P], vol 40, issue 2, Routledge, Australia, pp. 151-168.

Farmar-Bower, Q., Lane, R., 2009, Understanding farmers' strategic decision-making processes and the implications for biodiversity conservation policy, Journal of Environmental Management [P], vol 90, issue 2, Academic Press, United Kingdom, pp. 1135-1144.

Lane, R., Wills, J., Vanclay, F., Lucas, D., 2008, Vernacular heritage and evolving environmental policy in Australia: Lessons from the Murray-Darling Outreach Project, Geoforum; journal of physical, human, and regional geosciences [P], vol 39, issue 3, Pergamon, United Kingdom, pp. 1308-1320.

Thomas, I., Lane, R., Ribon-Tobon, L., May, C., 2007, Careers in the Environment in Australia: results of a survey of environmental jobs, Environmental Education Research [P], vol 13, issue 1, Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 97-117.

Waitt, G., Lane, R., 2007, Four-wheel drivescapes: embodied understandings of the Kimberley, Journal of Rural Studies [P], vol 23, issue 2, Pergamon, United Kingdom, pp. 156-169.

Lane, R., Waitt, G., 2007, Inalienable places. Self-drive Tourists in Northwest Australia, Annals of Tourism Research [P], vol 34, issue 1, Pergamon, United Kingdom, pp. 105-121.

Lane, R., Vanclay, F., Wills, J., Lucas, D., 2007, Museum outreach programs to promote community engagement in local environmental issues, Australian Journal of Public Administration [P], vol 66, issue 2, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Australia, pp. 159-174.

Harrington, C., Lane, R., Mercer, D., 2006, Learning conservation: the role of conservation covenants in landscape redesign at Project Hindmarsh, Victoria, Australian Geographer [P], vol 37, issue 2, Routledge, Australia, pp. 187-209.

Lane, R., Lucas, D., Vanclay, F., Henry, S., Coates, I., 2005, 'Committing to place' at the local scale: the potential of youth education programs for promoting community participation in regional natural resource management, Australian Geographer [P], vol 36, issue 3, Routledge - Taylor & Francis, Australia, pp. 351-367.

Conference Proceedings

Vanclay, F., Lane, R., Lucas, D., Wills, J., Henry, S., 2006, Committing to Place: museum outreach as NRM extension, Practice change for sustainable communities: Exploring footprints, pathways and possibiliites: APEN 2006 International Conference, The Regional Institute Ltd, Online, pp. 1-4. View Publication

Other

Lane, R., 2010, Governmentality and conservation, Encyclopedia of Geography, vol encyclopedia, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks California US.