About
Arjun is a final-year PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy, and Criminology at the University of Southampton. His interdisciplinary research examines consumer psychology, luxury fashion, and the illegal wildlife trade, with a particular focus on demand reduction strategies for exotic skins. Beyond his academic work, he has experience in wildlife conservation, policy analysis, and sustainability research
You can update this in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading and then ‘Curriculum and research description’, select ‘Add profile information’. In the dropdown menu, select - ‘About’.
Write about yourself in the third person. Aim for 100 to 150 words covering the main points about who you are and what you currently do. Clear, simple language is best. You can include specialist or technical terms.
You’ll be able to add details about your research, publications, career and academic history to other sections of your staff profile.
Research
Research interests
- Consumer Attitudes and Behaviours
- The Illegal Wildlife Trade
- Animal Welfare and Species Justice
- Ethical Luxury Fashion
Current research
Arjun’s research focuses on consumer demand for luxury fashion products derived from wild animals, particularly those sourced from the illegal wildlife trade. His work examines the attitudes, behaviours, psychological traits, and decision-making processes of consumers who purchase exotic skins, made from crocodiles, alligators, snakes, and lizards.
By integrating quantitative and qualitative methods, Arjun explores how techniques of neutralisation, narcissism, empathy, and consumer awareness of biodiversity loss shape purchasing intentions. His research also intersects with policy analysis, investigating regulatory responses to the illegal reptile trade and assessing the effectiveness of demand-reduction strategies within the luxury fashion industry.
Beyond consumer psychology and conservation criminology, Arjun is interested in the broader implications of generative artificial intelligence in higher education, as well as participatory decision-making in environmental governance. His interdisciplinary expertise spans luxury brand sustainability, wildlife trade policy, and emerging technologies, contributing to a deeper understanding of human behaviour in complex socio-environmental contexts.
You can update the information for this section in Pure (opens in a new tab).
Research groups
Any research groups you belong to will automatically appear on your profile. Speak to your line manager if these are incorrect. Please do not raise a ticket in Ask HR.
Research interests
Add up to 5 research interests. The first 3 will appear in your staff profile next to your name. The full list will appear on your research page. Keep these brief and focus on the keywords people may use when searching for your work. Use a different line for each one.
In Pure (opens in a new tab), select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading 'Curriculum and research description', select 'Add profile information'. In the dropdown menu, select 'Research interests: use separate lines'.
Current research
Update this in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’ and then ‘Curriculum and research description - Current research’.
Describe your current research in 100 to 200 words. Write in the third person. Include broad key terms to help people discover your work, for example, “sustainability” or “fashion textiles”.
Research projects
Research Council funded projects will automatically appear here. The active project name is taken from the finance system.
Publications
Public outputs that list you as an author will appear here, once they’re validated by the ePrints Team. If you’re missing any outputs that you’ve added to Pure, they may be waiting for validation.
Supervision
A list of your current and past PhD students.
This section will only display on your public profile if content has been added.
Contact your Faculty Operating Service team to update PhD students you supervise and any you’ve previously supervised. Making this information available will help potential PhD applicants to find you.
Teaching
Arjun has taught across multiple disciplines, demonstrating in the Departments of Political Science and International Relations, Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology, Biology, and Social Statistics & Demography.
He has delivered guest lectures on a range of topics, including:
- The Climate Crisis: A Threat to Democracy (Politics)
- Challenges for Wildlife Conservation (Marine Conservation & Policy)
- Animal Welfare and Luxury Fashion (Winchester School of Art)
With an academic background spanning Psychology, Environmental Studies, Geography, Biology, and Public Policy, Arjun is comfortable teaching across both the Social Sciences and Life Sciences. His interdisciplinary expertise allows him to engage students in discussions on conservation, sustainability, consumer behaviour, politics, and policy-making.
You can update your teaching description in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading and then ‘Curriculum and research description’ , select ‘Add profile information’. In the dropdown menu, select – ‘Teaching Interests’. Describe your teaching interests and your current responsibilities. Aim for 200 words maximum.
Courses and modules
Contact the Curriculum and Quality Assurance (CQA) team for your faculty to update this section.
External roles and responsibilities
These are the public-facing activities you’d like people to know about.
This section will only display on your public profile if you’ve added content.
You can update your external roles and responsibilities in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘+ Add content’ and then ‘Activity’, your ‘Personal’ tab and then ‘Activities’. Choose which activities you want to show on your public profile.
You can hide activities from your public profile. Set the visibility as 'Backend' to only show this information within Pure, or 'Confidential' to make it visible only to you.
Biography
Arjun holds a BA in Psychology and Environmental Studies from The George Washington University (2013) and an MA in Public Policy alongside an MSc in Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, College Park (2017).
Before joining the University of Southampton, Arjun played a key role in establishing the first conservation breeding program for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. As an employee of the Wildlife Institute of India, he collaborated closely with the Indian government to develop strategies for species recovery.
His early experiences in wildlife conservation include working as a Zoo Keeper Aide at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where he specialised in the husbandry and management of large bird species, including bustards, emus, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwis. He has also contributed to the work of organisations such as The Jane Goodall Institute and The Humane Society of the United States.
Arjun’s research interests span consumer demand for wild animal products, wildlife trade policy, luxury fashion sustainability, and the intersection of emerging technologies with conservation and higher education. His passion lies in advancing animal welfare and contributing to policy that safeguards species worldwide.
Outside of research, Arjun enjoys writing, painting, and spending time in nature.
You can update your biography section in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select your ‘Personal’ tab then ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading, and ‘Curriculum and research description’, select ‘Add profile information’. In the dropdown menu, select - ‘Biography’. Aim for no more than 400 words.
This section will only appear if you enter the information into Pure (opens in a new tab).
Prizes
You can update this section in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘+Add content’ and then ‘Prize’. using the ‘Prizes’ section.
You can choose to hide prizes from your public profile. Set the visibility as ‘Backend’ to only show this information within Pure, or ‘Confidential’ to make it visible only to you.