Dr Minghua Zhao

Minghua joined Greenwich Maritime Institute (GMI) in 2004 from the Seafarers International Research Centre, Cardiff University where she was the deputy director (1998–2004). Before that, Dr Zhao was with Women Studies Programme, University of Hawaii, USA (1997–98) and with Henan University in China (1985–90). At GMI, she leads the International Maritime Policy and MBA Maritime Management postgraduate programmes, supervises postgraduate students’ dissertations and teaches the following postgraduate courses:

• Methods, Problems and Issues in Maritime Policy
• Research Methods in Maritime Policy
• Case Studies in Maritime Policy

She also leads China Maritime Centre, a new research centre within GMI launched in July 2012 to promote, disseminate and study the role of China as a powerful maritime nation in the 21st century, http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/schools/gmi/services/maritime-centre

Supervision of research students is an important part of Minghua’s remit at GMI. The MPhil/PhD students currently under her supervision are working on a range of projects concerning maritime labour and port security issues in Malaysia, the development of vessels-based oil pollution and compensation regime in China, the growth of cruise shipping and its impact on the shore based tourism in Madera, ship recycling and its implications to workers and environment in China, Chinese seafarers rights, women and social cohesion in fisheries in Europe and so on.

 

Research/scholarly interest

Labour studies, especially issues concerning women workers or workers from developing countries. Her PhD thesis completed in University of Bristol (1996) was one of the then few thorough investigations that examined the impact and implications on workers of the enterprise reform in China’s state industrial establishments, using cotton mills in the textile industry as case studies. Since the late 1990s, Dr Zhao’s research interest has been focused on world shipping and, in recent years, this interest has been expanded also to cover gender issues in marine fisheries. The following are some sample research projects which she has led or played a key role in the last 12 years:

·         Women and Social Cohesion in European Fisheries, part of a €4.6 million EC-funded project ‘Geography of Inshore Fishing and Sustainability’, (2012-14).

·         Women’s roles and contributions in English Fishing (2010)

·         The evolution of women’s role and status in maritime activities in France, Spain and the UK (2008–11)

·         Women’s prospects in the service industry in the Chinese Triangle (2003–07)

·         Labour market segmentation in China’s shipping industry and Its implications for seafarers employed on foreign ships (2004–06)

·         Penetrating deep inland: ruralisation of the seafaring labour source for shipping capital in China (2003)

·         Seafarers Labour Market Survey in China (2000–02)

·         The role of sailing political commissars and seafarers’ welfare in the Chinese merchant fleet (2001–02)

·         Seafaring and Its effect on seafarers’ partners: cases study in China, India and the UK (2001)

·         Women seafarers on world cruise ships (1999–2001)

·         Women’s participation of seafaring in European fleets (1999).

 

Selected publications

Books

Urquhart, J. Acott, A. Zhao, M. Symes, D. (forthcoming), Issues in Sustainable Marine Fisheries Management, Springer, 2013.

Urquhart, J. Acott, A. Zhao, M. (2013), ed. Special Issue on Social and Cultural Impacts of Marine Fisheries (Marine Policy), Vol.37, January, pp.1-304.

Zhao, M. (2012), The Enterprise Reform in China and its Impact on Labour: Cases from State Cotton Mills, Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, ISBN 9787509717264, pp.1-576, in English and Chinese.

Zhao, M., Zhao, W., and Fan, L. ed. (2011) Chinese Trade Union Law and Labour Law: a Critical Reflection and Review. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.

Zhao, M., Harrod, D., and Hur, D. (2006) Chinese Seafarers on Foreign Ships: Employment and Welfare Issues. Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich.

Shen, G., Zhao, M., et al. (2005) Chinese Seafarers. Shanghai: Shanghai University Publishing House.

Zhao, M., and Maragtus, A. (2005) Chinese Seafarers and Filipino Seafarers: race to the top or race to the bottom? Modern Asian Studies. Cambridge University.

Zhao, M., Shi, X., and Feng, T. (2004) The Political Commissar and His Shipmates aboard Chinese Merchant Ships. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Documentation Publishing House.

Zhao, M. (contributing author) (2004) The Global Seafarer. Geneva: International Labour Organisation.

Zhao, M. (contributing author) (2003) Women Seafarers: Global Employment Policy and Practices. Geneva: International Labour Organisation.

 

Journal articles and book chapters

Zhao, M. Tyzack, M. Anderson, R. Onoakpovike, E. (forthcoming), ‘Women in English Fisheries’, chapter in Issues in Sustainable Marine Fisheries Management, Springer, ed. by Acott, T.  Urquhart, J.  Zhao, M. and Symes, 2013.

Urquhart, J. Acott, A. Zhao, M. (2013), ‘Introduction: Social and Cultural Impacts of Marine Fisheries’, in Marine Policy (Special Issue), Vol.37, January, pp.1-2.

Zhao, M., Tyzack, M. Anderson, R. Onoakpovike, E. (2013), ‘Women as Visible and Invisible Workers in Fisheries: a Case Study of Northern England’, Marine Policy (Special Issue), pp.69-76.

Tyzack, Zhao, Anderson, Onoakpovike, (2012), 'Women's Contribution to Fishing in the South and South West England', Annuaire de Droit Maritime et Oceanique, TOME XXX - 2012, ISSN: 1259-4962.

Donn, C., Zhao, M. (2011), ‘Freedom of Association: a Comparison of China and US Approaches to International Labour Organization Standards’, chapter in Zhao, M. et al, ed. Chinese Trade Union and Labour Law: A Critical Review and Reflection.

Zhao, M. (2008), ‘Recruitment of Chinese Seafarers for Foreign Ships: main actors, their roles and relationships’, Seafarers and Development Forum, Shenzhen, 16-19 April.

Zhao, M. (2006, ‘ Ships and Men – Labour on the Floating Motherland: Chinese seafarers on PRC Merchant Vessels’,  in: Jacob Eyeferth (ed.) How China Works: Perspectives on the 20th Century Industrial Workplace. Asia's Transformations Series.

 

Conferences

Zhao, M. (2012), ‘Women’s Role and Contribution in Fishing’, paper presented to world Congress of Mariculture and Fisheries, 19-22 September, Dalian, China.

Zhao, M. (2012), ‘Influence of Internationalisation of Shipping on the Identity and Locality of Ships and Seafarers on Chinese Owned Ships’, Seminar on Internationalisation of Shipping and Its Implications, The Norwegian Research Council, Agder University (UiA), 12th of April.  

Zhao, M. (2011), ‘Fragmentation of the Work Force and Its Impact on Workers: a case study in China’s marine fishing and fish processing industries’, International Conference on Labour Relations in China, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 23-25 August.

Zhao, M. (2010), ‘Women in English Fisheries’, Maritime Sociology - Chinese Sociology Congress 2010), 23-27 July, Haerbin.

 

Donn, C. Zhao, M. (2010), ‘Freedom Of Association: A Comparison of China and US Approaches to International Labour Organization Standards’, International Seminar on the Chinese Labour Law and the Trade Union Law, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 18-19 August.

 

Zhao, M. (2009), ‘Linkages to the Outside Word by Sea:  Ships, Seafarers and the Development of Entrepreneurship in the People’s Republic of China’, Workshop on Infrastructure in PRC, Fairbank Centre for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.

 

Zhao, M. (2008) Recruitment of Chinese seafarers for foreign ships: main actors, their roles and relationships. Seafarers and Development Forum, Shenzhen, 16–19 April.