Dissemination and Outreach: Empirical Testing of Dissemination Strategies for a Project Using Smartphones to Promote Belonging in the Classroom
Augmented Social Play-belong is an EU Horizon-funded project which aims to develop a smartphone-enabled psychotherapeutic intervention. This intervention will increase young people's sense of belonging and their awareness of mental health issues, and can be implemented in classrooms across Europe. ASP-belong is a multi-national and multi-disciplinary effort, involving leaders in research and industry from Ireland, the UK, Austria, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Norway.
My team are responsible for the dissemination of the project, with a focus on combining classic dissemination strategies (e.g., academic publications, conferences) with stakeholder- and youth-focused ones (e.g., social media campaigns, policy briefs and collaborator networks). Moreover, we are collaborating with a fantastic group of adolescent co-researchers from the Irish Second-Level Students' Union to ensure that youth perspectives are a central focus of the project.
Augmented Social Play-belong is an EU Horizon-funded project which aims to develop a smartphone-enabled psychotherapeutic intervention. This intervention will increase young people's sense of belonging and their awareness of mental health issues, and can be implemented in classrooms across Europe. ASP-belong is a multi-national and multi-disciplinary effort, involving leaders in research and industry from Ireland, the UK, Austria, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Norway.
My team are responsible for the dissemination of the project, with a focus on combining classic dissemination strategies (e.g., academic publications, conferences) with stakeholder- and youth-focused ones (e.g., social media campaigns, policy briefs and collaborator networks). Moreover, we are collaborating with a fantastic group of adolescent co-researchers from the Irish Second-Level Students' Union to ensure that youth perspectives are a central focus of the project.
Children as agents of social change: Cross-cultural research in the Helping Kids! Lab
Prior to my PhD, I spent 2.5 years working as a research assistant in the Helping Kids! Lab in University College Dublin. During this time, I worked on a wide array of research projects focusing on how children can help to build more inclusive and peaceful societies.
Topics I focused on included:
Prior to my PhD, I spent 2.5 years working as a research assistant in the Helping Kids! Lab in University College Dublin. During this time, I worked on a wide array of research projects focusing on how children can help to build more inclusive and peaceful societies.
Topics I focused on included:
- Children's overarching, superordinate identities (e.g., national and European identities) and how they can create a sense of unity across group divides.
- The Developing Belief Network: a cross-cultural, longitudinal study exploring the development of children's religious beliefs, intergroup relations and scientific learning.
- Children's developing understanding of religion and how this affects their treatment of others.
- Children's awareness of the symbols associated with various ethnic groups in Ireland.
Social Inclusion in Ireland: Research for Policy
In 2023, I completed a three-month internship with Ireland's Think-Tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), a leading contributor to policy-relevant research in Ireland. This internship, primarily under the supervision of Dr. Sara Singleton, focused on the social inclusion of a variety of groups in Ireland.
I contributed extensively to grant applications, policy reports, qualitative and quantitative analyses, and public debates and events, across 14 projects. These projects investigated social inclusion in the domains of:
In 2023, I completed a three-month internship with Ireland's Think-Tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), a leading contributor to policy-relevant research in Ireland. This internship, primarily under the supervision of Dr. Sara Singleton, focused on the social inclusion of a variety of groups in Ireland.
I contributed extensively to grant applications, policy reports, qualitative and quantitative analyses, and public debates and events, across 14 projects. These projects investigated social inclusion in the domains of:
- Maternal health among migrants (in collaboration with Cairde).
- Integrating community perspectives into the transition to a more environmentally sustainable future.
- Youth mental health in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland.
- The effectiveness of DEIS schools.
- The effects of integrated schooling on peacebuilding and reconciliation in Northern Ireland (in collaboration with the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education).
The Role of Art in Shaping Attitudes and Reducing Prejudice
I graduated first in my class (Cum Laude/With Distinction) from my Master's in Cultural Psychology in the University of Amsterdam.
For my Master's Thesis, I worked on a project exploring whether viewing films about gay men reduced people's levels of prejudice towards them. This project used an experimental design to explore the role of art and media in shaping laypeople's beliefs and attitudes. This project was conducted under the supervision of Dr Eftychia Stamkou in the Amsterdam Arts and Social Sciences Lab, and I presented our study at the Psychological Society of Ireland's Annual Conference in November 2023.
I graduated first in my class (Cum Laude/With Distinction) from my Master's in Cultural Psychology in the University of Amsterdam.
For my Master's Thesis, I worked on a project exploring whether viewing films about gay men reduced people's levels of prejudice towards them. This project used an experimental design to explore the role of art and media in shaping laypeople's beliefs and attitudes. This project was conducted under the supervision of Dr Eftychia Stamkou in the Amsterdam Arts and Social Sciences Lab, and I presented our study at the Psychological Society of Ireland's Annual Conference in November 2023.
Public Perceptions of Individuals who Experience Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures
I graduated from University College Dublin with a first-class honours BSc in Psychology. My undergraduate thesis was a project collaborating with Dr Phillip Coey in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, under the supervision of Drs Cliódhna O'Connor and Paul D'Alton.
In an experimental design, we investigated whether different ways of telling people about the nature of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures had effects on people's levels of stigma towards individuals who experience these seizures. Our colleagues in Crumlin Hospital can use this evidence to inform how diagnoses of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are delivered.
I graduated from University College Dublin with a first-class honours BSc in Psychology. My undergraduate thesis was a project collaborating with Dr Phillip Coey in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, under the supervision of Drs Cliódhna O'Connor and Paul D'Alton.
In an experimental design, we investigated whether different ways of telling people about the nature of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures had effects on people's levels of stigma towards individuals who experience these seizures. Our colleagues in Crumlin Hospital can use this evidence to inform how diagnoses of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are delivered.
