Dr Stefanie Doebler (QUB): This presentation discusses new research findings from a project that analyses effects of providing unpaid care to a family member or neighbour on the self-reported health and mental health of the care-giver. The results are based on robust statistical analyses of Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS)-data. The NILS is a Census-linked … Read more
Dr Catherine O’Rourke (Ulster): This presentation outlines research findings that aim to constructively contribute to the vexed and halting debate in Northern Ireland about dealing with the past. It seeks to usefully reframe the debate by explaining how gender should be understood as a structural factor of conflict and resolution. The presentation draws on the … Read more
Prof Kieran McEvoy and Dr Anna Bryson (QUB) – Within the academic literature, the concept of apology is diversely theorised and almost always focused on the state. Despite widespread acceptance that apologies are key to dealing with past wrongs, in practice there has been relatively little detailed empirical assessment of the views of apologisers, victims … Read more
Dr Lauren Dempster (QUB) – 2014’s Stormont House Agreement (SHA) states that the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) will build ‘on the precedent provided by the Independent Commission on the Location of Victims’ Remains’. This presentation explores how the Independent Commission for the Location of Victim Remains (ICLVR) mechanism works and why it provides … Read more
Dr Cheryl Lawther, Prof Kieran McEvoy and Dr Lauren Dempster (QUB) – This presentation presents the preliminary findings of an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project entitled ‘Voice, Agency and Blame: Victimhood and the Imagined Community in Northern Ireland’. The project is based on qualitative interviews over 2016/17, with over 70 victims and survivors, … Read more
Prof Monica McWilliams and Prof Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (Ulster): This presentation broadly addresses issues of gender equality in the context of the Northern Ireland transition. It underscores the necessity of advancing a broad equality agenda in post-conflict Northern Ireland, which mandates directly addressing gender-based violence. The speakers’ collective research consistently connects the economic and social … Read more
Prof Joan Ballantine, Prof Kathryn Haynes, Dr Melina Manochin and Mr Tony Wall (Ulster): The issue of gender equality at senior levels in the private and public sectors is receiving ever increasing worldwide attention. Reflecting this, substantial data exists for the private sector with research broadly indicating that progress towards achieving gender equality at senior … Read more
Dr Sharon Mallon (OU) and Dr Karen Galway (QUB): Bereavement is considered to be a common precursor of death by suicide. Studies suggest those bereaved by suicide may be particularly vulnerable to suicide themselves. Recently, there has been a steady rise in the number of deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland. As a result, an … Read more
Dr Aideen Maguire, Dr Mark McCann, Dr John Moriarty and Dr Dermot O’Reilly (QUB): Mental ill health is a major contributor to the burden of disease among the population. Associations have been found between gender, deprivation and bereavement and mental ill health; but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Emerging studies are using a … Read more
Dr Karl O’Connor (Ulster): If greater powers are to be devolved to our new super councils, what type of institutions will inherit these powers and how will these powers be used? Existing public administration research would lead to the expectation of greater bureaucrat involvement in the traditionally more mundane aspects of policy formulation, while in … Read more