The DARN study assessed the feasibility of ‘wearing’ the device within a sample of a homeless hostel population. The individuals wore it whilst in the homeless shelter (for participant protection), under the supervision of hostel staff. Focus groups were held with individuals in Maghaberry prison and Hydebank College to ascertain the views of those who are at risk of opioid overdose on return to the community.

This feasibility study aimed to:

• Test acceptability and practicality of wearing a device.
• Obtain an overview of workers’ experiences of the protocol in the hostel in a general overdose situation and their views on the service users wearing a device.
• Refine the wearables in view of the results from the co–production work with opioid users in prison and in a homeless hostel in Belfast.
• Assess whether the data recorded on the device can be successfully transferred to a server at University of Manchester.
• Create an algorithm of a pattern of behaviour that can be determined by respiratory rate and blood oxygen.

Preliminary results from interviews and focus group discussion indicate that the wearables were welcomed by service users. They felt that they should be discreet devices, smaller than the current prototype, that would not have a re-sale value. They also said that it was important to make clear to potential wearers that it is not a ‘tracking device’ and that GPS linked to emergency services is only activated if blood oxygen indicates a risk to life. A tailored education campaign should accompany the launch of the wearables in phase two of the project.

The study report, including analysis of the server data and the qualitative results, will be launched in January 2022.

Drugs and Alcohol Research Network website

The main part of the study involves interviews with 60 children (ages 9-13) and their parents/carers across six areas of Northern Ireland with different levels of diversity. The interviews explore topics including school choice and admissions, experiences of school life and parent-school engagement, the curriculum and support for multilingualism. The interviews with children utilise creative methods of map-making and collage to explore their thoughts and feelings regarding school. The study will also comprise analyses of government policy, school policy and educational data concerning minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland, and interviews with stakeholders including education officials, teachers, and statutory and voluntary sector organisations.

The research team’s work is being guided throughout by an advisory group of young people from minority ethnic backgrounds and representatives of organisations working with minority ethnic and migrant groups, who help to ensure the research is sensitive, inclusive and impactful.

This study will contribute significantly to our understanding of education among minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland, encompassing the diverse experiences of newcomer families and those from established minority communities. The outputs will include recommendations to enhance minority groups’ educational experiences and outcomes and to address inequalities and/or gaps in provision revealed by the research.

For more information about this study, contact Rebecca Loader  at r.loader@qub.ac.uk.

My research interests include disability and children living in or leaving care. I have led on studies in under-researched areas including the identities of cross-community children in care and the experiences of disabled young people leaving care. Undertaking research that impacts on policy and practice is very important to me. For example, my study on the experiences of disabled care leavers in Northern Ireland led to changes to statutory data collection processes and improvements in service interfaces for disabled care leavers.

I have a strong commitment to participatory research and have collaborated with disabled people and care experienced young people as co-researchers on various studies. I also enjoy engaging in international research and recently completed a study of leaving care in four African countries. Working with international colleagues helps connect our local research to global agendas and showcase SSESW research as world-leading.  

My passion for disability research continues and, as Director of our Disability Research Network (DRN), I provide a hub for cross-disciplinary researchers engaged in disability studies and work with external bodies to advance the co-production of research on issues affecting disabled people. I have worked on disability research projects addressing issues including: supported decision-making; transition to adulthood; justice for disabled people who experience sexual violence; and the wellbeing of disabled children. DRN is planning further engagement with disabled young people on our strategic research priorities.

I am also a busy mum of two boys, with interests in travel and running. I have been part of SSESW team relays at the Belfast marathon and, following virtual running challenges last year, I hope to return to more live running events this year.

Commenting on his new role, Shadd said: ‘The pandemic lockdowns have reminded us all how valuable academic societies can be in keeping researchers connected, developing new ideas, and, simply, giving meaning to the work we do. So, it is a real honour that the membership has entrusted me with this role at such a challenging moment for the field. Despite the name, the ASC has always been international in its outlook and the annual conference regularly attracts hundreds of researchers from across Europe and beyond. I hope to build much more on this, especially from places like Ireland and Northern Ireland where criminology is still a relatively new field.’

Criminology is exploding as an area of study, largely, Shadd says, ‘Because criminological research has never been more robust, visible or, frankly, more necessary than it is today.’

His most recent research is a largescale Economic and Social Research Council project exploring the impact of the COVID pandemic on the mental health of prisoners in England and Wales. It involves a partnership between School of SSESW criminologists and the User Voice charity in London.

Shadd commented: ‘The best scholarship is not done in isolation, it is built through community, and our academic societies, like the ASC, provide the forum for this connection. It is great to see work from Queen’s University’s School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at the very forefront of that network.’

SSESW colleagues Gemma Carney (Social Policy) and Paula Devine (ARK Co-Director) are collaborators in the Dementia in the Minds of Characters and Readers project. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the research investigates the potential for fiction to promote awareness and understanding around the lived experience of dementia. This interdisciplinary project is led by Jane Lugea (School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s), and includes Carolina Fernández-Quintanilla (University of Huddersfield) and author Jan Carson (winner of the EU Prize for Literature 2019).

The culmination of the project was the Dementia Fiction Festival on 15-16 September. It brought together a unique mix of academics, writers, organisations, carers and people living with dementia, to discuss how we write about dementia with honesty, imagination and integrity. As well as performances of new writing from authors, poets and playwrights, the festival featured workshops, panel discussions and keynote talks from researchers, creative writers, and people working with dementia. Key themes emerging from the presentations and discussion were ethics, diversity, empathy, personhood and care. Most important was the inclusion of people living with dementia. 

The Festival was a huge success, with over 200 people participating across the world. Many noted that it was open, honest and did not shy away from difficult issues. All sessions were held online, and are available at Dementia Fiction Festival 2021.

For more information on the project see Dementia in the Minds of Characters and Readers.

The Network was established to promote research collaboration across global social work colleagues. Members include academics and practitioners from Australia, Alabama, Georgia, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UK. Audrey will be co-leading the Network’s first research project exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the role of palliative care social workers in ten countries.

You can read more about Audrey's work on her Research Portal webpage.

On 5 November, the Centre launched It Didn’t End in 1998 a report that demonstrates how the legacies of the Troubles are transmitted to younger generations through families, communities and the media; and how some young people continue to feel the impacts of the Conflict first-hand through: negotiating divided space; growing up in families dealing with Troubles-related trauma; living in communities with ‘paramilitary’ coercion and abuse. The report is at It Didn’t End in 1998 and a recording of the launch is at Examining the Impacts of Conflict Legacy Across Generations.

Laura Lundy was an invited keynote at the 2021 European Conference on Educational Research hosted by the University of Geneva in September. Drawing on the conference themes of expectations, prescriptions and reconciliations, Laura offered reflections on the role of human rights law in educational research. A recording of her talk can be viewed at Human Rights Law: a framework for reconciling the competing interests of state, society and students?

Karen Winter (Social Work) worked with Alicia Toal, Chief Executive of Voice of Young People in Care, to host an online discussion with European colleagues on how young children can be supported to more actively participate in decisions regarding their care and welfare. The event included an overview of the PANDA Project, a European project that promotes the participation of young children (up to age 12) in decision making.

Centre for Children's Rights website

I liked that our class was just the right size to allow each student enough individual attention and space to seek support as per our learning needs. I was introduced to the Restorative Justice (RJ) model as a response to youth offending. It's something that inspired me to think differently about crime and criminal behaviour. I liked the online discussion forums as they helped improve my academic writing. I also enjoyed life as an international student, which for me meant working two jobs at a time both on and off campus, living an independent life (something I had not done before), making new friends and finding out more about my strengths and interests. Alongside my Master's, I completed a Level 2 in Youth Work through the Open College Network Northern Ireland. The Graduate School helped me meet students from across the world and provided a good physical and social space for my growth. I completed the Master Your Leadership programme, and was part of the peer-mentoring group for young people from St. Peter’s Immaculata Youth Centre, Belfast.

On completing my MSc in Youth Justice, I interned at Shift Youth + Community, a Christian charity in Reading, England, for 15 months. After returning to India in August 2020, I joined an organisation in Mumbai as a Youth Development Coordinator. Here, I work with at-risk children and youth in Child Care Institutions and upon their release as part of our Social Reintegration Program. At any given time, I would have a caseload of 40-45 young people. We begin with a Needs Assessment followed by developing an Individual Care Plan and provide a range of support such as basic documentation, education, employment, socio-emotional skills, housing, finances, and everything in between. Our work is based on restorative justice principles and practices and I’m grateful to be working in one of the few organisations in India which believes in this philosophy, and that I was introduced to it during my study at Queen’s.

The event was hosted by ARK, our social policy hub collaboration with Ulster University which provides robust and independent evidence to support critical policy debate and informed policy making.

School of SSESW researcher Colm Walsh (Criminology) presented at the event and co-authored the policy briefing on the trauma of violence and its impact on young people. The panel found that:

• Violence disproportionally affects young people and this is exacerbated in conflict settings, where they are exposed to a wider range of violence related harms. 
• There are policy obligations to reduce the harms caused by exposure to violence. This requires more concerted efforts to join up systems, generate violence related data, invest in academic/policy/practice partnerships, and create a repository of 'what works' evidence. 

Colm commented on the discussion: ‘The ARK roundtable event highlighted how exposed young people in Northern Ireland are to violence in the community, as well as the importance of academics working in partnership with policy makers and practitioners to improve outcomes for children and young people. There is great potential for materially reducing the harm that violence causes by embedding evidence in policy and practice.’

The summary of the discussion is available at Youth and Violence Roundtable and the policy paper is at The Trauma of Violence and its Impact on Young People in Northern Ireland.

Sultan Turkan is leading a project funded by the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). It uses a virtual simulated learning environment for pre-service teachers to engage English as an Additional Language learners in science classroom discussions. Sultan commented: ‘Despite COVID restrictions, the trainee teachers found common ground in their struggles to teach English as Additional Language (EAL) students. They reported positive experiences in using simulated teacher learning environments to learn microteaching skills to teach EALs.’

Mel Engman had her research on indigenous language recognised by a Spencer Foundation grant. This project aims to bridge the home-school language gap for English-dominant families whose children attend Irish Medium Education (IME) schools in Belfast. The team will work with families and teachers to better understand intergenerational learning possibilities. Families will document their attempts to bake together with grant-supplied Irish-language baking videos and materials. The multilingual research team will analyse home videos and interview data to develop IME pedagogies for learning inside and outside the classroom that better reflect the literacies of home.

Sin Wang Chong was appointed editor of the ‘Education and Language’ section of Elsevier’s Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, commissioning over 90 entries on language teaching and learning. Sin Wang was elected convenor of the Early Career Researcher network for the British Education Research Association. He and Sultan Turkan became Executive Committee Members of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) and are bringing the BAAL Annual Conference to Belfast in 2022.

The study – the first of its kind in Jersey – took place over 12 months, and used a mixed methods approach. Katrina Lloyd directed secondary analysis of quantitative data and Mary-Louise Corr mentored research fellow Amy Hanna in using ‘life history interviews’, an innovative child-rights-based method for collecting qualitative data. These social biographies and vignettes can be read in the report which presents the life stories of 21 young people aged between 9-18 who are growing up in Jersey.

Amy Hanna commented: ‘Life on the Rock is an innovative study which highlights how children’s experience of growing up in Jersey can be very different to how childhood in Jersey is normally understood among its adult population. The Centre's pioneering research methodology meant that children designed and directed the research process, as well as telling us their individual stories. Findings from the research will contribute to greater depth of discussion in Jersey about improving children's lives and research-informed decision making for children, and is a leading example of how to work with children and young people in research.’

Deborah McMillan, Children’s Commissioner for Jersey, called the research ‘a world class example of how to work with children’ and others in Jersey have described it as ‘incredibly powerful’. You can read the full report at Life on the Rock.

Pupil numbers in Spanish are growing in each of the three nations and Spanish is now the most popular A level language in England and Northern Ireland. French continues to hold the top spot in Wales.

Almost all participating schools told the researchers that staff and senior pupils are now more adept at working in a digital world. Moving forward, there is a need to harness the skills honed during the pandemic and explore the potential to blend technology with traditional face-to-face teaching. For example, could some A Level languages be delivered partly online across a group of schools? Whilst there is no substitute for face-to-face teaching, there is potential for online delivery to reignite languages at advanced level in those schools where they have disappeared, often due to budget pressures.

The data show that primary schools in England are collecting more robust information on pupil progress in languages. The development of a multilingual approach in primary schools in Wales with the new Curriculum for Wales from 2022 is a step in the right direction. Northern Ireland continues to be the only UK nation where pupils do not have the right to learn a language as part of the curriculum. In all UK nations, the post-pandemic world presents potential for a fresh start of the international dimension of school life: trips, exchanges, partner schools and the hosting of language assistants.

You can read Dr Ian Collen’s full Language Trends reports for each nation by visiting his research portal webpage.

Through the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, I was able to connect with people working in the Towers that day and with emergency responders. In February 2019, a group previously unknown to each other shared their very personal, moving and traumatic experiences of 9/11 with social work students from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work.

Having worked previously with Brendan McKeever, a user researcher, developing innovative teaching approaches involving service users, we had devised a method termed ‘the Conversation’ using pre-agreed questions as the basis for structured classroom dialogue on emotionally challenging topics. I used this technique with the participants who agreed to share aspects of their lived experiences of 9/11 with the NYU social work students.

Trust building was fundamental to this process and a vital part was creating a safe environment wherein the participants felt valued and respected. We met over a number of weeks and established how the programme would evolve. Every aspect was co-produced and together we agreed questions as a basis for the Conversation, which included: a synopsis of the person’s experiences on 9/11; how it impacts their life and identity today; the help they received; the skills the students need to focus on when helping individuals cope with trauma-related issues and, importantly, behaviours to avoid.

The 90-minute classes ran for three weeks with two or three group participants joining me each week. The students listened attentively and respectfully to the dialogue and each week there was total silence in the classroom, such was the emotional magnitude of the atmosphere.’

Students’ evaluations included: ‘This learning experience has dramatically changed my perspective on trauma. It was the first time that I was able to hear a story of a traumatic experience directly from the person. It was moving and educational to see their body language and nonverbal communication and behavior as they told their story.’  Another commented: ‘probably one of the most powerful learning experiences that I have had at NYU’.

Open to social care workers, social workers, allied health professionals, nurses and midwives, the three study phases saw more than 10,000 take part. The survey measures mental wellbeing, quality of working life, burnout and ways of coping. Open ended questions enable respondents to provide more detailed responses and focus groups are conducted at intervals to gather frontline workers’ and managers’ experiences.

The overarching themes that emerged in Phase 3 are similar to those identified in Phases 1 and 2: changing conditions, communication and connections, with an additional theme emerging around the boundary of home-work life.

More than half of the respondents (62.1%) felt overwhelmed by increased pressures. Social care workers and social workers were the most impacted occupational groups. Respondents reported services still affected by staff shortages, leading to increased workloads, burnout and negative impacts on health and wellbeing. Positive developments included greater flexibility about working from home and a better work-life balance. Statistical analyses revealed that mental wellbeing and quality of working life deteriorated from Phase 1 to Phase 3.

Based on the survey results the project team developed 15 Good Practice Recommendations on Changing Conditions, Connections and Communication. The recommendations are applicable on an individual, organisational and policy level to support the health and social care workforce.

The study is acknowledged internationally as among the most extensive studies of impact on health and social care workers. Results were published in the British Journal of Social Work, Epidemiologia, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and Health, and Social Care in the Community.

The the full report and recommendations are available on the Health and Social Care Workers’ Quality of Working and Coping website.

Since 2018, I have been principal investigator or co-investigator on 11 research projects, collaborating with researchers based in Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and the UK. Having recently joined Queen’s, I was invited to be a co-investigator on an interdisciplinary research project on assessment. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is a great opportunity to get to know colleagues across Queen’s University as it involves working with the School of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Pharmacy, and School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences.

I am Associate Editor of the journals Higher Education Research & Development and Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, and Editor of the ‘Education and Language’ section in Elsevier's Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics.

Having served as Northern Ireland Representative for the British Educational Research Association's (BERA) Early Career Researchers Network, I was elected as Convenor of the network in July 2021. In September 2021, I was elected as an Executive Committee Member of British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL). These roles give me excellent opportunities to advocate for supporting the work of early career researchers. To date, this has included setting up a dedicated Twitter account on journal peer review (@Scholarly_Peers), recording a podcast series, and giving invited talks and workshops for BERA and BAAL. I have been awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy recognising my contributions to supporting early career researchers.

Belmont and Queen’s have been engaged in successful partnership activities since 2016, ranging from student and staff mobility to joint-teaching initiatives and public engagement events. The new formal partnership will see Queen’s University welcome a cohort of students from Belmont in January 2022 for a semester of study, the University’s largest single Study Abroad intake from the USA.

Joe Duffy, pictured left with US Consul Paul Narain, Michael Alcorn (Queen’s) and Dr Mimi Barnard, Belmont University, is Academic Lead for the partnership with Belmont. He helped facilitate connections between Belmont staff and colleagues in SSESW and across Queen's and was one of the keynote speakers at aspecial event marking the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Social Sciences Coordinator for our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Lesley Emerson, welcomed Dr Lauren Lunsford to a PGCE class for an observation visit and, with SSESW colleague Catherine Storey, accompanied Lauren on a visit to Hazelwood College where they were hosted by principal Maire Thompson.

Joe Duffy commented: “I feel gratified on both a personal and professional level at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding signifying a pivotal point in our relationship with Belmont University which can now only go from strength to strength. I look forward to welcoming the first cohort of Belmont students to Queen’s in January 2022.”

Michael Alcorn, Dean of Internationalisation for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences stated: “This is one of our most energetic partnerships which has evolved quickly to encompass opportunities with multiple schools and disciplines across the two institutions. There is also potential reach out into local communities and emerging industries which help reinforce the Sister Cities relationship between Belfast and Nashville.”

Dr Leanne Henderson (Lecturer in Education Studies, pictured) is teaching on our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and International PGCE courses. Her teaching and research relate to young people’s educational experiences, particularly their trajectories through mainstream education. Leanne completed her PhD with us in 2018. She has worked as a French teacher at post-primary level. Before joining us, she was a postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University’s School of Arts, English and Languages, investigating Language Policy in the UK and factors influencing young people’s choices on modern language study.

Dr Caoimhe Ní Dhónaill (Lecturer in Sociology) is teaching on a range of Sociology modules and contributing to Approaches to Social Research. She completed her PhD in the School of SSESW, on a comparative analysis of how identity and social identity theory applied to ageing in Zambia and Northern Ireland. Her research interests lie in the fields of Identity and Social Identity. She has applied this framework to diverse topics, including Environmental Awareness and Public Behaviour, Sex Work, Domestic Abuse and Policing, Ageing and Disability.  

Dr Rin Ushiyama (Lecturer in Sociology) is a cultural and political sociologist of memory, interested in long-term societal effects of mass violence such as terrorism and war. He joins us from the University of Cambridge where he completed his PhD and held a postdoctoral fellowship, researching 'historical revisionism' among the Japanese far-right. He is interested more broadly in the sociology of East Asia and social theory. He will be developing his research around issues of post-conflict memory and reconciliation and contributing to teaching around these themes.

The analysis highlighted innovative responses, opportunities provided by remote working, increased partnership, and evidence of learning across time. It also revealed significant impacts on children’s services and on the health and wellbeing of statutory and voluntary sector staff. This raised concerns where gaps in service delivery remain and children’s rights may not have been safeguarded or effectively promoted. Impacts were not felt equally by all children, the pandemic amplifying existing vulnerabilities and exacerbating inequalities between groups of children. The impact and responses related to healthcare were disproportionately felt by children with disabilities and complex health needs; reliance on online delivery of education and health services exacerbated inequalities for children living in poverty, children with Special Educational Needs and newcomer children; the limited focus on providing alternatives to cultural activities was felt most acutely by migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children; and, information and guidance produced by statutory services tailored for children was most notably absent for children with disabilities and refugee/newcomer children.

The research informed a larger report by NICCY, which also drew on the findings from surveys led by SSESW colleagues Katrina Lloyd (the Kids Life and Times survey) and Dirk Schubotz (the Youth Life and Times survey). It concludes:

'there must be a focus on embedding a child rights culture within the fundamental workings of government and its agencies so that, whether we face another public emergency or not, we are tackling the deep inequalities that have been laid bare over the COVID-19 pandemic'.

This edited book collection offers insight into how digital platforms and their algorithms interact with belief systems to achieve deception, and how related vices such as lies, misinformation, disinformation and ignorance contribute to deception. This interdisciplinary collection explores how we can better understand and respond to these problematic practices.

The idea for the book emerged from previous work by Alison and Ibrar on digital literacy and epistemologies of ignorance, including a special issue on ‘Lies, bullshit and fake news’ which they edited in 2020 for the Springer journal Postdigital Science & Education.

With contributions to the new book from fields such law, philosophy, education, linguistics, media literacy, and more, it is a truly interdisciplinary achievement which the colleagues are very proud to see come together on this timely and important topic. 

In March this year, Ibrar Bhatt outlined the background to the book in a symposium organised through the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), where he brought the book’s contributors together to present on their chapters. You can watch his introduction at Ibrar’s Space.

More information about the book is available on the publisher’s webpage.

European Day of Languages is celebrated annually on 26 September. NICILT is responsible regionally for raising awareness of this event. In total, NICILT distributed 100 resource packs containing pencils, stickers and wristbands to schools across Northern Ireland.

As part of our “Languages for Employability” programme, NICILT will host two live webinars for fourteen-year-old pupils in Year 10. Each webinar will explore how learning a language at GCSE level helps pupils build their skillset, makes them more employable and adds value to both their personal and professional lives. Schools can register to take part via the NICILT website.

In February and March, NICILT will run four competitions for KS3 pupils. In February, Year 10 pupils will be invited to the QUB campus to take part in Francofest and Hispanofest. For these competitions, pupils will prepare role plays to market either a product or a region of the French or Spanish speaking world using their language skills. In March, NICILT will host spelling bees for pupils in their first year of study of German or Irish.

• The Critique of Religion
• Critical Theology
• Biblical Criticism
• Marxism and Religion
• Liberation Theology
• Psychoanalytic Approaches to the Study of Religion
• Critical Theory and Religion
• Post-structural Approaches to the Study of Religion
• Critical Religion
• Critical Ethnographies
• Post-colonialism, Race, and Religion
• Religion, Gender and Sexuality
• Religion and the Environment
• Religious and Political Conflict in Northern Ireland

The Call for Papers for the conference is open until 15 January 2022. Those interested in presenting at the conference are invited to submit session and paper proposals by that date. The abstract length is 150 words per paper. Proposals can be submitted to Véronique Altglas at v.altglas@qub.ac.uk or Warren S Goldstein at goldstein@criticaltheoryofreligion.org.

For more information about the conference please see Critical Theory of Religion.