Welcome to my website! My name is Barbara, and I am a social scientist.
My research explores people’s quality of life and how it is shaped through everyday activities and experiences. I study these processes from both comparative and longitudinal perspectives.
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in the AGILE Work-Life Balance research project at Copenhagen Business School. In this project, I investigate (1) the role of leisure in work–life balance from people’s own perspective, (2) how leisure, paid work, and care work interact in everyday life, and (3) how different gender and welfare regimes shape these interactions. Together with my colleagues, I collect original data in four countries and also draw on existing datasets to answer these questions.
Previously, I contributed to the development of the mixed-methods and multi-topic Pathways to the Future panel study at the University of Vienna. Using these data, my doctoral research showed that leisure provides an important space for young people to develop agency and enhance their well-being. My findings also highlight the value of spending time not only in organized leisure time settings but also outdoors in nature. In addition, I examined how young people’s well-being develops alongside transitions within the education system.
I hold a PhD in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the University of Vienna, as well as a Bachelor’s degree from Bocconi University in Milan.
NEWS
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
Increasing fit or unfulfilled aspirations? The effects of educational changes on wellbeing among school leavers from middle schools in Vienna (with B. Schels, O. Valls Casas and J. Flecker).
31st Annual Transition in Youth (TIY) Workshop, University of Warsaw.
Leisure-time Places in Young People’s Everyday Lives: Validity and Reliability of a New Measurement Instrument for Survey Research.
16th Conference of the European Sociological Association, University of Porto.
Welche Bedeutung kommt der Freizeit im Alltag für das Wohlbefinden von Jugendlichen zu? Längsschnittanalysen eines quantitativen Panels in Wien.
Österreichische Jugendforschungstagung, Universität Innsbruck.
- show translation
How important is young people’s everyday leisure time for their wellbeing? Longitudinal analyses of a quantitative panel in Vienna.
Austrian Youth Research Conference, University of Innsbruck.
TEACHING
At the University of Vienna, I had the opportunity to gain teaching experience in the BA Sociology. I was primarily involved in practice-oriented courses, such as “Data collection and data analysis”, “Reading classics of sociology” and a research practice course. In addition, in the context of the project “Pathways to the Future” I also gained experience in blending research and teaching. I coordinated the data gathering process of the first and second qualitative wave, which were carried out in the context of one-year research laboratories in the MA Sociology programme.
FURTHER INTERESTS
In research projects that involve the collection of primary data, I am interested in working closely with the respective target groups. Among others, this comprises:
- creating context-sensitive data collection instruments, and
- encouraging people’s intrinsic motivation to participate.
In my leisure time, I enjoy swimming both in sport facilities and open water venues. Moreover, I have a passion for photography, especially analog photography.