Postgraduate Research Students

Name: Yvonne Cunningham
email: cunningham.yvonne@gmail.com

Supervisor: Dr Pádraig Murphy

Project Title: Television Science and the Scientific Citizen: a Study of Production, Content and Audience Reception

Summary of Research Topic:
The central questions which this research will attempt to answer are:

How is science broadcast on Irish television?
Why is science on Irish television like this?
How do the meanings that users make of science content on television contribute to their scientific citizenship?

Scientific citizenship - and television's contribution to it - is important because of the substantial place of science and technology in society and the continuing role of television as the primary source of information about science for most people.

This research uses the concept of ethno-epistemic assemblages to explore how television contributes to scientific citizenship. An ethno-epistemic assemblage is a collection of different ways of knowing from different sources, e.g. family, media, education, which is situated in local cultural conditions.
There are three elements in this project: production, content, and reception. Reception is the most important, as the heart of the research is to investigate ideas of scientific citizenship in audiences.
The production of science on television will be examined by carrying out semi-structured interviews with programme producers. The content will be examined by carrying out a content analysis on news bulletins and a discourse analysis on programmes from the BBC Horizon series and the Discovery Channel My Shocking Story series. The reception of science on television was examined qualitatively with focus groups.

Name: Sean Shanagher
email: sean.shanagher2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr Des McGuinness

Project Title: Recreational Dance in Ireland 1940-1960: Politics and Pleasures

Summary of Research Topic:

This project seeks to investigate the forms of recreational dance and associated music that were practiced in Ireland between 1940 and 1960. The popularity of jazz and 'modern dances' (foxtrot, quickstep) tells a story about Irish life, culture and society during these transitional years, and unpacks revealing 'hidden histories' related to gender, class and generation. A type of gap in the cultural historical record, and exclusion of particular cultural forms by a hegemonic, dominant memory, has been of interest.

Against a background of a nationalist cultural hegemony and economic isolationism, but also the rise of the culture industry in Ireland, these embodied practices speak of various types of politics and pleasures. The theories of Gramsci (1971), Bakhtin (1985), Bey (1985) and Turner (1969, 1974) have been used to conceptualise these changes. Methodology has centred on a reflexive ethnography, focusing especially on depth interviews, newspaper archives and census records.

Name: Pat Hong
email: chaoping.hong2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Dr Pat Brereton, Dr Pádraig Murphy

Project Title: Stakeholder Communication in Sustainable Development- A case study of the Irish Green Way

Summary of Research Topic:
Due to its ‘wicked’ nature, addressing multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary aspects in the paradigm of Sustainable Development requires contributions and collaborations of all stakeholders involved. It is argued in this study that an effective stakeholder communication model is essential to drive Sustainable Development.

In this study, the main research objectives are to investigate the discourses of Sustainable Development, the communication activities and processes of relevant stakeholders involved in Sustainable Development practices with an Irish context, and then propose an effective communication model. This study applies a mixed-method approach, triangulating qualitative research methods with quantitative methods. The literature review and the pilot study (which includes semi-structured interviews with Irish stakeholders and sampled data analysis) in Sustainable Development first highlight the core definitions and discussions of Sustainable Development issues. A conceptual and theoretical framework is then established from a combination of canonical theories and empirical results from the pilot study to describe the totality of stakeholder communication in Sustainable Development in the current Irish context. Last, Q-methodology, a research method that highlights the subjectivities of individual perceptions, is applied in an Irish case study The Green Way, to answer the main research questions with both qualitative and quantitative instruments.

The end result of this study illustrates and provides a holistic overview of Sustainable Development issues most relevant to Irish Green Corridor stakeholders. It also proposes a communication model which includes guidelines, strategies, and protocols for stakeholders to effectively communicate Sustainable Development issues.

Name: Brenda McNally
email: brenda.mcnally5@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Dr Pádraig Murphy, Dr Pat Brereton

Project Title: Climate Change, Sustainability and the Social Script: Mass communication and social participation in the transition to a low carbon society

This PhD project explores the impact of the rising climate change and environmental sustainability agenda on citizen engagement using a qualitative analysis of mass media(ted) communication about future climate sustainability in Ireland (2007-2012). The study analyses the proliferation of social actors now talking about engaging the public in climate change and environmental sustainability by asking what do these calls for greater public involvement amount to in practice and how does mass communication shape (potential) citizen engagement in the transition to a low carbon society?

The purpose of the research is to investigate the use and influence of mass communication about climate change and the transition to a low carbon society on meaning-making about and performance of (potential) citizen participation. The research responds to calls for more critical analysis of social participation, and in particular for research that questions the positive value assumptions associated with calls for public involvement by identifying whether the goal of public communication initiatives is ‘social acceptance or social participation’. To do so, the research analyses the key social actors on-line public communication campaigns as well as media representation and policy formation about climate change and the transition to a low-carbon future. This research is funded by the Daniel O’Hare Scholarship.

Name: Sheamus Sweeney
email: sheamus.sweeney4@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Prof Helena Sheehan

Project Title: From here to the rest of the world: crime, class, and capitalism in David Simon's Baltimore

An analysis and critique of Homicide: Life on the Street, The Corner and The Wire, three television dramas based in Baltimore, Maryland. A significant creative force in all three is David Simon, a former crime journalist. My approach is broadly marxist in orientation with a focus on the nature of the stories told in each series. In Homicide, the initial representations of police murder investigations broaden out later on into a more nuanced exploration of violent crime and its relationship to the drug trade. The Corner focuses on those at the receiving end of the anti-drug policing effort, exploring the lives of addicts and small-time dealers. The Wire combines both narrative perspectives and uses the dysfunctionality of the drug war as a means to represent the social order of late capitalism. I suggest that television drama can be used as a socio-political argument, but to do so is dependent on a coherent narrative that comprehends the wider societal metanarrative. My argument necessarily encompasses elements beyond textual analysis, such as the limitations of genre, and the political economy of drama production. Also of significant importance in this respect is the evolving worldview of David Simon himself, which I attempt to map throughout.

Name: Christopher Doughan
email: christopher.doughan3@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Mark O’Brien

Project Title: Journalism and the War of Independence in the Provincial Press

Summary of Research Topic:
This research examines in detail the coverage of the Anglo-Irish conflict between 1919 and 1921 in provincial newspapers, considering such issues as circulation, political bias and censorship. It also examines what the war meant for journalists and journalism by investigating how provincial newspapers and their editors and reporters addressed difficulties such as maintaining impartiality, pressure from both warring factions, and threats of closure by the authorities.

The study will additionally seek to establish the extent of divergence between individual titles in the manner in which they reported in the military conflict. Where relevant, the reasons for such divergence – political affiliation, proprietorial influence, threats and intimidation etc. – will be fully investigated. Finally this research seeks to discover whether the coverage of the War of Independence in the provincial press changed as violence increased and hostilities intensified and, if significant change took place, what factors brought about this change. Ultimately this thesis will outline for the first time, what the War of Independence meant for the provincial press and journalism in Ireland.

Name: Steve Conlon
email: steven.conlon2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Mark O’Brien

Project Title: The critical history of the Irish Student Movement

Summary of Research Topic:
This project critically examines the evolution and development of the Irish student movement and the contribution it has made to modern Ireland. It will examine the shifting attitudes and perceptions of students and asks what social cohesive value the movement has and what role it can play within the participatory democracy environment.
It will trace the roots of the student movement, but not just within the confines of the recognised national organisation (USI); it also looks at the establishment of grassroot and fringe student organisations throughout the identified period of traceable student organisation on the island of Ireland.
The project examines why students believed it was necessary to organise and demand representation. It examines its stance on issues such as the preservation of Georgian Dublin, apartheid, civil rights, contraception, divorce, and abortion. It ascertains what level of power the movement had in influencing public opinion and policy, and whether this influence translated into tangible benefits for the student body or society as a whole..

Name: Claire English
email: claire.english3@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Barbara O’Connor

Project Title: The role of media in Irish citizenship practices: A study into the use of online social media among 18 to 30 year olds

Summary of Research Topic:
The objective of this research is to gain an insight into the everyday use of online social media in Ireland, examining how 18 to 30 year olds utilise these sites to engage in practices of citizenship. Online social media have come into sharp focus within debates surrounding public engagement and citizenship as possible elixirs to the perceived democratic deficit in contemporary society.
Drawing on research carried out in the field of Audience Studies this work will examine how online social media are enmeshed into the overall media consumption practices of this group, providing an analysis of the use of these sites in the lives of this group of citizens.

Name: Gloria Macri
email: gloria.macri2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Barbara O’Connor

Project Title: Romanians in Ireland and their online diasporic identities

Summary of Research Topic:
My PhD thesis focuses on the study of migration, media and identity. Focusing on identity as a dynamic process, this research investigates the way members of the Romanian community in Ireland narrate and perform their diasporic identities.
Media are often attributed key roles in shaping, maintaining, reflecting and performing identities. This study places an emphasis on the role of media (as an integral part of the public sphere) in the process of identity construction. I have focused my attention on the online discussion Forum of the Romanian Community (Ireland).
This ethnographic study highlights the emergence of multiple and competing identity discourses online. Interesting findings emerge in relation to the many aspects of the "Us" vs. "Them" dichotomy, as Romanians in Ireland build their identification narratives in relation to being European, or Irish, diasporic etc. This project is funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences.

Name: Jeneen Naji
Email: jeneen.naji2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Bill Dorris

Project Title: Do Humans Dream of Electric Poetry
Poetry in the Electronic Age

Summary of Research Topic:
This research considers the recent development both in relation to poetry and to eMedia: The Translation of Poetry into ePoetry. To consider what has traditionally constituted poetry and ask the questions: How has such poetry traditionally been translated between various languages? What are the characteristics of the new language and technologies of eMedia, into which traditional poetry is now being translated? What are the characteristics of the poetry, which is now being written in this language, i.e. ePoetry? And what impact have the eMedia had on poetry and translation itself?

Name: Barbara Pięta
email: barbara.pieta2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Barbara O’Connor

Project Title: Representing Women: Discourses, Images,
and Realities in Irish Political Life

Summary of Research Topic:
This research is a part of an interdisciplinary project entitled Representing Women: Discourses, Images, and Realities in Irish Political Life, which sets out to investigate the factors contributing to the atypically low number of women in Dáil Éireann. The PhD in question aims to approach this topic from the media studies perspective. The main research objective is to examine the extent and nature of media coverage of women in Irish politics at local and national level with a view to establishing
(a) the key frames used for representing women in politics;
(b) whether, and to what extent, media coverage reflects political representation and;
(c) whether women are portrayed in the same or different way then men;
(d) the extent and nature of gender stereotyping in the representations.
A dual methodological approach is planned for the work package on media representations. A purposive sample of press and television representations will be selected and studied by means of
(a) quantitative content analysis techniques and
(b) qualitative techniques in the form of critical discourse analysis, as well a semiotic analysis of the visual images in both press and TV coverage.
Barbara is currently involved in the Representing Women Project

Name: Fergal Quinn
email: fergal.quinn6@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Steven Knowlton and Paschal Preston

Project Title: Models of media encouragement in the developing world:
How Cambodia offers an example and a warning

Summary of Research Topic:
The 2008 national elections in Cambodia offered a fourth chance to assess the progress of the international community’s rebuilding project that has been engaged in the country since the disastrous Khmer Rouge regime.
Chief among the findings of numerous international observers was that the media had failed to keep the electorate fully informed in a balanced and fair manner in the pre-election period.
My study explores how and why this could happen in a country in which the most modern thinking on media development theory has been in full effect for the past 20 years.

Name: Henry Silke
Email: henry.silke2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Farrel Corcoran

Project Title: Media and Political Power: the Role of the Independent News and Media Group in Representing Economic Crisis and Social Conflict in Ireland: 2008-2011.

Summary of Research Topic:
This project is concerned with the structure, content and political role of the Irish press during the current economic crisis. To do so the research will fuse the methodology of political economy (Castells 2009, Chakravartty and Schiller 2010, Fuchs 2009, Garnham 2004, McChesney 2007, Mosco 2009, Curran 2002) with that of critical content and discourse analysis (Fowler 1991, Garnham 2000, Hartley 1982, Philo 2007, Fairclough 2007, Richardson 2007). From political economy the project draws on theories of political structure, economic structure, power, ideology, and hegemony (Arrighi 2005, Wallerstein 1974a, Foucault 2000, Held 1989, Marx 2010, Miliband 1969, Lukes 1974, Althusser 1971, Eagleton 1991, Gramsci 1971/2003, Hall 1986). The study will develop a method of contextual discourse analysis drawing from Glasgow Media Group and Critical Discourse Analysis scholars. To explore the relationship between structure and content the study will perform a case study of the content of the Independent News and Media group. Independent News and Media is the dominant print media group in Ireland, its major shareholder Tony O’Reilly has extensive business interests, it is alleged by some that O’Reilly has used his media empire to leverage the state in favour of his interests, specifically in the granting of communication and hydrocarbon exploration licences (Connolly 2006, Cooper 2009).

Name: Morgan Stack
email: morgan.stack3@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Professor Farrel Corcoran

Project Title: Sourcing & Framing the War on Terror:
An Analysis of the Irish Times World News Section (2001-2008)

Summary of Research Topic:
The objectives of the project are twofold. The first is to analyse the sources of information that have been drawn upon and stipulated in the Irish Times World News section to create and sustain the narrative of the “War on Terror.” With regard to the role of news sources in the “War on Terror,” while the latter has been the subject of much academic analysis over the past few years, little or no attention has been paid in the literature to the reliance of news organisations on official of information rather than non-official sources. It is argued that due to the nature of the phenomenon governments, intelligence agencies, militaries and other official institutions often hold a monopoly on relevant information regarding terrorism and related phenomena. Thus, the first research question seeks to identify if coverage of this issue in the Irish Times reflects this monopoly and if so the extent to which it does so. The second objective is to situate these findings within the broader questions of the dominant news frames employed and the agenda setting effects that flow from employment of these news frames.

Name: Trish Morgan
email: trish.morgan@dcu.ie

Supervisor: Professor Paschal Preston

Project Title: Innovation in digital media art production in Ireland

Summary of Research Topic:
This research focuses on innovation in digital media production in the artistic sector. The research tracks innovation on three levels. The micro level explores issues such as individual creativity and innovation. The meso level examines how social and cultural interactions shape and influence the micro level, and is itself also shaped. The macro level investigates the political and economic factors shaping policy decisions on innovation, the creative industries and ultimately the ‘smart economy’.
In proposing this three-level approach, the aim is to provide a depth of understanding into the innovative and creative processes that policy drivers wish to encourage, while also taking into account the many-layered aspects to innovation.

Name: Melanie Stilz
email: melanie.stilz2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisors: Paschal Preston and Barbara O’Connor

Project Title: ICTs in Afghan Higher Education&

Summary of Research Topic:
I concentrate in my research on the process of negotiating ICT projects in Afghan higher education.
When working in Kabul, Herat and Mazaar-e Sharif between 2007 - today I had the chance to talk to different actors involved in this process, ranging from members of the World Bank, university presidents, administrative personnel of universities, representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education and most of all young professionals and students. The very different (technological) backgrounds and expectations of members of each of these groups, but also the differences in how decisions are made and how work is planned and conducted is what interests me most.

Name: Darryl Ashwin D’Souza
email: darryl.dsouza2@mail.dcu.ie

Supervisor: Dr. Miriam Judge

Project Title: The use of mobile phones by young people to exercise personal agency -a mixed methods study

Summary of Research Topic:
The objective of this study was to investigate if mobile phone users exercise higher agency in situations of daily life than non-users of mobile phones; to study the nature of personal agency that mobile phone enhances; to explore the effect of this on parent-child relationships, educational practices and cultural values; and to dilineate the boundaries that restrict mobile phone assisted personal agency.

Positioned in the background of the perceived breakdown of social structures around the world, and the widespread adoption of mobile phones in India, this study focuses on young people of middle class socio-economic category in Mumbai and analyzes the extent to which they are able to exercise personal agency (the ability to exert influence on their lives and surroundings) in the context of the traditional society of India. The young people considered fall between 15 to19 years.

This mixed methods study uses surveys, interviews and focus groups discussions. It consists of two phases. In the first phase a quantitative instrument (questionnaire) is developed to measure the difference in personal agency between mobile phones and between users and non-users. In the second phase, a triangulation phase, the data collection and analysis of the survey, interviews and focus group discussions are conducted concurrently. These data are then triangulated at the interpretation stage.