Edith Busteed

Bio

I have completed the Bachelor of Social Science degree in University College Cork. As an undergraduate student at UCC, I received a Quercus College Scholarship for my academic achievements in 2019 and 2020. I completed my final year research project on the relationship between gender and environmental attitudes and behaviour, for which I was awarded ‘Best Final Year Sociology Dissertation’ 2021. 

Proposal

This research shall explore gender relations in youth environmental activism, such as gender differences in participation, leadership, identity, climate concern, climate responsibility, climate justice related knowledge and education etc. This research shall be based in Ireland and focus on gender differences in youth environmental movements such as Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion, as well as college environmental societies. The main aim of this research is to understand the experiences of youth involved in environmental activism through a gendered lens, using the research methods of ethnographic observation and interviews to explore the impact that gender inequality and stereotyping can have on climate action in Ireland.  This research is of importance as it highlights potential gender differences within environmental activism which must be researched, analysed, and widely understood to create the societal and cultural shift needed to protect the planet. Research that explores gender differences in environmental activism can help recognize the potential unequal gendered experiences of those involved in these grassroots movements, in ways that can positively inform future approaches to climate policy, research, and practice. 

Aoife Dare

Bio

Aoife Dare is a Doctorate of Social Science student in the School of Applied Social Studies. Aoife has a BA in Modern Foreign Languages from the University of Leeds, an MA in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex, and a PGDip in Youth Work from UCC. She has worked with young people experiencing forced migration for over 13 years, in Thailand, Myanmar and Ireland. Her work has spanned formal and non-formal education, training, facilitation, research, youth work, advocacy and policy. She is currently the Youth and Education Officer at the Irish Refugee Council where she helps to implement creative youth work projects and manage the education programme.

Abstract

This study is about the policy and practice of ‘age assessments’, which are carried out by the Irish state when the age of a young person seeking international protection is in question. The main objective of the study is to critically analyse the age assessment process from a variety of perspectives, including people who work with or support ‘age-disputed’ young people, the young people themselves and representatives from organisations involved in advocating for refugee and/or children’s rights. A further objective of the study is to deconstruct the ‘age assessment’ policy using a poststructuralist/postcolonial lens. A final objective is to deepen our understanding of how policy and practice can be challenged, or refused, in an ethical way, and to consider the role of research in this process. Through providing a thorough and in-depth critical analysis of the policy and practice of age assessments, this research will assist policy makers and practitioners to gain a better understanding of and insight into the age assessment process in Ireland and the impact this process has on young people. This knowledge will support better legal, social and policy interventions on this issue. The study will also reflect on how we theorise and advocate for change, and the role of research in this process. In doing so, the study will argue for a more ethical approach to advocacy, research and practice.

Sara Kelleher

Bio 

Sara Kelleher is a Social Work Ph.D. student in the School of Applied Social Studies at University College Cork. After receiving her Master of Social Work (MSW) from New York University, Sara earned her clinical social work license in the U.S. specializing in mental health and worked in the field for thirteen years. She is interested in the effects repeated exposure to trauma can have on those in helping professions, and in studying effective ways to support these workers. Her current research focuses on Secondary Traumatic Stress among Irish mental health social workers and testing interventions that may prevent or mitigate its effects. Sara is registered with CORU. 

Proposal 

Mental health providers who treat victims of trauma are frequently exposed to intense and powerful accounts of traumatic experiences. There is a growing awareness that such repeated vicarious exposure to trauma may lead providers to develop a cluster of psychological symptoms commonly referred to as Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). STS can cause a variety of short- and long-term disorders in providers, impacting worker well-being and increasing the likelihood that providers will leave the field prematurely. Social workers involved in front-line mental health care are particularly vulnerable to developing STS. For my Ph.D. project, I will conduct a critical, comprehensive review of existing literature on STS theory, research and interventions, examining our current understanding of the nature and causes of STS and exploring how organizational and individual factors may influence practitioners’ vulnerability to developing STS and their resilience in recovery. My research will also explore factors that insulate practitioners from developing STS and possible prevention interventions. This study of Irish mental health social workers and STS will measure the prevalence of STS and its impact upon this group, including potential predictors and protective factors. Finally, guided by the results of the literature review, I will choose and test an intervention that may prevent or mitigate the effects of STS. 

Jonathan Lerner

Bio

I have worked in the field of Intellectual Disability for over 15 years; across a range of frontline, Management and Senior Management Roles within Irish Section 38 Disability Providers. Currently, I work in a Senior Management Quality & Development post within the Brothers of Charity Services Ireland- Southern Region.

As an avid believer in lifelong learning and an advocate for quality improvement, I have continued to enhance my education across my career. To date I have achieved a BA in Psychology, a MA by Research, a PG Diploma in Positive Approaches to Challenging Behaviour and a Higher Certificate in Applied Management for Human Services.

Research Topic

The title of my research is: Preserving Quality of Life for Irish Adults with Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disabilities during and Post COVID 19 Using a Participatory Action Research Approach: A Longitudinal Review of Experiences throughout Crisis and Recovery.  

This Employment Based PHD programme enables a unique opportunity to overlap my primary working role and strategic interest with an extremely topical academic focus; which can significantly build my expertise in rights based theory and allow for shared learning across the Intellectual Disability (ID) sector (leading to quality enhancement for those availing of services). The unprecedented phenomenon of Covid 19 has sparked a rich platform to collect data on the experiences of intellectually disabled people; as great momentum prior to the pandemic has been driving a rights based approach marked by normalised community engagement, as is the vision of a social model. All of which has been challenged by public health restrictions aimed at supressing the virus.   As such, my proposed longitudinal research aims to explore the current, medium and longer-term impacts of COVID 19 on the quality of life of mild to moderate adults with ID availing of services from Disability Providers in the Republic of Ireland.

Arhonda Lynch

Bio 

Arhonda Lynch is PhD canditate of the School of Applied Social Studies University College Cork. As a graduate of the MA in Women’s Studies at University College Cork, Arhonda has conducted research on the barriers to support services for women who use drugs. Arhonda’s research interests include the intersections of gender and drug-use/ addiction, structural inequalities and social class. Arhonda previously studied International Development and Human Rights at UCC and has extensive experience in family support work and community development in various roles. Arhonda is passionate about advocating for social inclusion, social justice, and the importance of prevention and early intervention work. Arhonda is currently working as a Community Support Worker in the Northwest of Cork City. 

Scholarship Award

School of Applied Social Studies PhD Scholarship

About my research 

My research project critically analyses responses to - and the treatment of - women experiencing addiction, through a feminist lens.  The conceptualisation of womanhood, motherhood and the often patriarchal responses to women who experience addiction is the central focus of my project. 

What the scholarship has meant for me

My third-level educational journey began as a mature student. Receiving the School of Applied Social Studies PhD Scholarship has allowed me to continue this journey at Doctoral level while also conducting research that I am passionate about. This has been a great honour and privilege. 

Donna O'Leary

Bio

I am a researcher in Child Protection and Welfare in Tusla Child and Family Agency, based in Cork. I work across disciplines on projects related to child abuse, child welfare and responses by state agencies. My interests lie in risk assessment and decision-making, children in care, and connections between structural conditions, policy contexts, and service provision.

Before working in this field, I worked in community organisations in the USA and the European Commission’s intercultural European Voluntary Service programme for young people here in Ireland.

I hold an MBS (Health Services Management) from UCC, a Higher Diploma in Public Affairs from the College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium, and a B.SC from UCC.

My PhD “Who gets ongoing services and why? An exploration of assessment, judgments and decision making during Initial Assessments in Child Protection and Welfare Social Work in Ireland” was supervised by Professor Emeritus Alastair Christie at the School of Applied Social Studies and Professor Ivan J. Perry at the School of Public Health. Dr Ali Khashan was my statistics advisor. 

In 2014 with support from Prof Alastair Christie Applied Social Studies and Dr Allen White, CACSS I successfully competed for an IRC scholarship under the Employment Based Postgraduate Programme. This novel programme enabled me to pursue research in Tusla, with the support of my employers and in collaboration with the Schools of Applied Social Studies and the School of Public Health while maintaining my employment. This was particularly important because it provided a unique position from which to develop this organisationally situated research.

In addition to covering university fees and providing income over three years, the scholarship included a stipend for books and travel which funded participation in national and international conferences. While enriching the research and the PhD process, participating in these conferences provided opportunities to foster enduring collaborative networks with colleagues in Ireland and across the globe working in the field of child protection.

Recent publications:

O'Leary, D. and Lyons, O. (2023) Exploring the potential of administrative data for understanding and advancing child protection and family support policy, practice and research in Ireland, Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies: Vol. 22: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijass/vol22/iss1/5 

O'Leary, D. (2022). Who gets ongoing service and why? An exploration of assessment, judgments and decision making during Initial Assessments in Child Protection and Welfare Social Work in Ireland. (PhD), National University of Ireland, University College Cork, Cork. https://cora.ucc.ie/items/76c80a03-9d1b-48f8-b5a2-683cad7f7d65

O’Leary, D.  (2022) Who Gets Child Protection and Welfare Services and Why?. The Boolean: Snapshots of Doctoral Research at University College Cork, 15-19.  Link: https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/boolean/issue/current

O’Leary, D. and Lyons, O. (2021) Examining the Prospects for Developing a National Child Maltreatment Surveillance System in Ireland. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 5(1), 81-102. Link: https://rdcu.be/cBiWQ 

Charlotte Waltz

Bio

I have a longstanding engagement with ethnographic research on abortion in Ireland, and I first conducted fieldwork in Cork in 2017 for my MSc in Cultural Anthropology at Utrecht University. My work investigates reproductive justice, abortion politics and moral governance. In my PhD research, I investigate transformations in the moral governance of abortion in Ireland. My thesis foregrounds embodied experiences with abortion care, analyses pre-Repeal abortion governance (from 1983 to 2018) through a reproductive justice framework and presents ethnographic fiction as a new way of understanding contemporary abortion care in Ireland. Currently, I am working on issues of social justice and intersectionality in public health governance in the Netherlands.

Scholarship Award

• (Dutch: VSBFonds)
• (Dutch: Cultuurfonds)
• CACSSS Excellence Scholarship
• Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship

The scholarships that I have been awarded have made it possible for me to conduct my research, and to live and work in Cork. They have been invaluable for my research, and I think both awards are also a testament to the importance of feminist research on governance, care, and reproductive justice.

Recent Appointment

Postdoctoral researcher in Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center, The Netherlands