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Emily Alder
Lecturer in Literature and Culture at Edinburgh Napier University
Professional Background
Emily Alder is an esteemed Lecturer in Literature and Culture at Edinburgh Napier University, where she passionately engages students in exploring the profound intersections of literature and culture. Her role also extends to being an Associate Lecturer with the Open University in Scotland, where she tutors courses such as EA300, focusing on Children's Literature, and AA316, which centers around the intriguing narratives of The Nineteenth Century Novel. Over her two-decade-long career in higher education, Emily has cultivated a rich tapestry of experiences that shape her teaching philosophy and academic pursuits.
Since entering the field of higher education in 2001, Emily has amassed a wealth of experience not only in teaching but also in faculty administration and academic development. Her career arc includes a significant tenure between 2009 and 2012 at the Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Articulation Hub, where she provided essential student support and facilitated academic skills development, primarily aimed at students transitioning from colleges to university. This role underscored her commitment to enhancing student experience and learning outcomes, particularly for those from diverse educational backgrounds.
Education and Achievements
Emily's academic journey began with a BA (Hons) in English literature from Newcastle University, where she laid the foundation for her love of literary studies. Following her undergraduate training, she pursued a PhD in English literature at Edinburgh Napier University, where she delved deeply into complex literary themes and narratives. This rigorous academic training is complemented by her PG Cert in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, also awarded by Edinburgh Napier University, which equipped her with the pedagogical skills necessary to foster engaging and effective learning environments.
Throughout her academic career, Emily has focused on research that illuminates the connections between literature and science, particularly within the context of nineteenth-century literature. Her interests extend to the Gothic genre, fantastic literature, and science fiction, alongside their contemporary iterations. Such a focus not only enriches her research portfolio but also enhances her teaching, allowing her to bring contemporary relevance to historical texts.
Specialist Skills
Emily's specialties encompass a blend of skills that are vital for today’s academic landscape. Her expertise in writing and editing is complemented by her hands-on experience in university teaching, which she leverages to create meaningful learning experiences for her students. Additionally, her background in academic skills development positions her as a resource for students seeking to enhance their academic prowess.
Her research interests bridge the gap between the past and present, exploring themes in Gothic, weird, and science fiction literature while examining how these genres resonate in contemporary culture. Emily’s wide-ranging knowledge empowers her to contribute significantly to scholarly conversations in literature and culture studies.
Achievements
- Lecturer in Literature and Culture: Emily's current position at Edinburgh Napier University reflects her dedication to literary education and her extensive expertise.
- Researcher in English Literature: Specializing in nineteenth-century literature, Emily has engaged in research that places her at the intersection of literature and science, contributing valuable insights to the academic community.
- Academic Support and Development: Her time at the Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Articulation Hub was marked by her significant contributions to student support services, which empowered many students in their academic journeys.
- Diverse Teaching Experience: In addition to her lecturing roles, Emily has served in various teaching and administrative capacities, including as a Summer School Tutor and part-time Lecturer, enriching her understanding of teaching methodologies and student engagement.
Conclusion
In summary, Emily Alder stands out as a committed educator and researcher, whose extensive background in literature, teaching, and academic development has made her a valuable member of the academic community. Her focus on nineteenth-century literature, the Gothic genre, and the connections between literature and science, coupled with her dedication to student support, reflect her passion for not only fostering academic excellence but also inspiring the next generation of literary scholars. As she continues to engage with students through her teaching and research, Emily remains a pivotal figure in the vibrant world of literature and culture studies.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.