• the MA in Criminology

• the MA in Law

• the MA in Child, Family and Community Studies

• the International Masters in Early Childhood Education, co-delivered with Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (Norway) and the University of Malta (Malta).

The MA in Criminology and the MA in Law commenced in 2006 and the MA in Child, Family and Community Studies commenced in 2007. Each has quickly become established in its field as a popular, exciting and challenging course of study. The International Masters in Early Childhood Education (funded by the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Programme) has attracted student cohorts from all over the world and has provided a rich learning environment for students, who spend a semester each in Oslo, Dublin and Malta.

Contained herein are the abstracts of selected theses from the four programmes, some details on the researchers and information on where to find the full text of each thesis, many of which are available online at our Institute Repository, Arrow@DIT (http://arrow.dit.ie/). This is the second edition of our Booklet of Selected Theses series, and it celebrates graduates from 2010-2013. Having online access to full thesis text will be of considerable value to other researchers, to our current cohort of students and to prospective students on these MA programmes.

Each of these theses has been judged to be at a very high academic standard. Many shine a spotlight on little researched aspects of Irish society and provide empirical recommendations for policy makers and future researchers. We are hopeful that highlighting graduates’ research in this way may encourage them to further develop their work for publication in peer review journals.

We wish to congratulate our graduates on their achievements – the abstracts presented here are a small representation of the many long hours of work and study which produced the final theses. We wish them well in their future research and professional careers.

We would like to thank colleagues for help in producing this booklet. Joanne Boyle for typing, formatting and chasing up all the parts that make up this document; and Ralph Murphy for uploading the theses to Arrow.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the commitment and dedication to academic rigour of the thesis supervisors and all our colleagues who lecture on these programmes.

Dr Matt Bowden, Programme Chair, MA in Criminology
Dr Carmel Gallagher, Programme Chair, MA in Child, Family and Community Studies
Dr Kevin Lalor, Head of School of Social Sciences and Law

April 2013

In particular, it includes a critical review of the proposed legislative reforms in the area of legal capacity in a mental health context. In summary, the main reforms are contained within the Scheme of Mental Capacity Bill which was published in 2008 (hereinafter referred to as the “2008 Scheme”) and the recently published Advanced Healthcare Decisions Bill 2010 (hereinafter referred to as the “2010 Bill”) which specifically focuses on the contentious area of advanced decisions (also known as advance directives or advance care directives). Following on from this review, the thesis highlights comments on some of the potential human rights violations that could arise if the aforementioned 2008 Scheme and 2010 Bill were implemented into Irish law without making consequential amendments to the main existing legislation in Ireland governing capacity in a mental health context, namely the Mental Health Act, 2001.

Finally, this thesis seeks to identify and consolidate the implications these issues will have for the Irish Government with respect to its obligations under the CRPD. It also considers the implications the enactment of the aforementioned proposed legislation may have on the most vulnerable people in our society.

Firstly, it looks at the learning goals listed in Aistear and attempts to link them with the potential outcomes of children’s museum visits. The interviewees were asked to recognise and comment on learning experience that ECEC groups participate in during an outing to a museum. The study shows that a multitude of the Aistear learning goals can be obtained within a single trip to a museum.

Secondly, opportunities and challenges of children’s museum visits in Ireland are being looked at. The participants of the study were sharing their experience, both positive and discouraging, as well as they were attempting to objectively analyse current state of relations between the two sectors. Stereotypical thinking about the facilities available and museums’ age appropriateness proved to be present among some of the respondents. It has been concluded that more efficient communication need to be established between ECEC settings and Irish museums.

Finally, the study suggests after the interviewees several ways of increasing the quantity and improving the quality of ECEC museum visits. Recommendations for facilitating cooperation were given by representatives of both professions. They include both structural and policy changes as well as improvement of communication channels that may lead to a better understanding of the needs of young children across the two sectors.

The result of this study is intended to serve as a foundation for further research in the area of ECEC museum education in Ireland.

The study concludes by discussing relevant findings in which crime and addiction prevailed as inter connected relationship immersed within the homeless community. The researcher identified common barrier experience by homeless offenders in personal and social construct. Identity emerged as a common pattern for individuals residing in homelessness long-term and affected their capability of exiting. Coping mechanism employed by participant’s involved adopting to extraordinary situations and often used as a source of survival. However drug use became a common self medicating and evidently leading to offending behavior. These high risk solutions consequently resulted in more damaging behavior and subsequently incarceration.

This study set out to explore the views of six absent parents, with particular reference to the key factors that lead to the loss of contact with their child, their understanding as to why this happened and from their personal perspective what they though may help other parents in similar circumstances stay involved in their child's lives.

This paper set out to explore though qualitative, semi-structured interviews, the factors that influenced a small sample of non-resident parents‟ loss of contact with their children post family breakup (separation or divorce). Six participants were interviewed about their experiences of the loss of contact with their child. For five of the six parents in the study, there was clear evidence of a strong bond with their child prior to family break up. The factors that impacted upon the loss of contact with their child, arose under three headings,

(1) Personal issues of the non-resident parent,
(2) Inter-parental relationship pre-separation, and
(3) External Factors. Across the six case studies, common themes were identified, and conclusions drawn from these very personal stories.

The study has the potential to benefit non-resident parents and their children, and to prevent the loss of such key relationships, particularly for the developing child.

Findings indicate that there is considerable support for the institution of Jury Service. The majority of participants surveyed had a good knowledge of the basic elements of jury service and were willing to participate as a juror. Furthermore the majority of participants who had experience as a juror felt that this experience positively enhanced their perception of trial by jury and to a smaller extent the Irish criminal justice system. However two distinct areas are highlighted in the current research. Firstly, the majority of participants did not agree with the expansive category of excusals as of right in relation to jury service. Secondly, a distinct minority of participants showed concern in relation to employer’s reaction to employees being called for jury service and fear or intimidation from defendants and/or their families both of which would influence their decision to participate in jury service. This study makes valuable recommendations for future avenues of research which subsequently could have implications for future policy makers.

The research established that there were definite safety and security benefits to regenerating a deprived urban area, and this was confirmed from the perspective of both the suppliers and consumers of public safety. An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council are better able to provide clean, safe and secure environments for those working and living in Turristown as a result of specific physical and social changes made to the area. Furthermore, consumers of public safety also feel more secure and are less affected by crime. However, the study shows that harder situational crime prevention measures such as CCTV proliferation and newer, more secure buildings are not the only explanations for this phenomenon; increased footfall, natural surveillance, and improved community spirit all contribute to a feeling of safety and have an effect on the level of criminal opportunity in an area.

The regeneration project did cause some unforeseen issues, particularly in respect of empty tower blocks which became crime attractors, and from the increased availability of alcohol which occurred as a result of the establishment of a number of premises with off-sales facilities. Design issues also led to problems in maintaining the new housing developments and public areas from the perspective of Dublin City Council.

The partnership approach to urban regeneration appears to have been a success and has enriched inter-agency relations in the town, thus improving the ability of agencies to provide safety and security to local residents and to those working in the town. However, a number of concerns were raised in respect of the partnership process, particularly around the representation afforded to local residents and on some of the non-housing decisions made by the Turristown Regeneration Company which affected local residents acutely.

It is anticipated that this study will add depth to both situational crime prevention and community safety research already carried out in this jurisdiction. Furthermore, the research may inform policy relating to subsequent proposed regeneration programmes to be undertaken in this country and to the nature of inter-agency partnership schemes.

The research involved qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group interviews undertaken with a broad range of participants. In total 51 individuals took part in the study. The sample comprised two subgroups: family members (47) and professionals (4). The family member’s subgroup comprised mothers, fathers, siblings and extended family relatives of the drug user. The professional subgroup consisted of family support workers working within drug treatment and rehabilitation services as well as the co-ordinator of the National Family Support Network.

The findings reveal substance misuse has a profound effect on the family system that results in lifelong changes within the family. The negative effects of drug use permeate each member and every aspect of family life. The application of a family systems theory meant significant patterns of conflict, cut-off, and triangulation were found. Both groups prioritised the need for policy makers and services to focus on the needs of family members affected by a member’s substance misuse.

Recommendations made in this study include (1) that a large scale study be undertaken to include a greater diversity of family members (2) future research should include variation in family structures reflecting emerging cultural trends in Ireland and (3) an increased focus on the family within drug treatment service provision.

The research findings indicate that unemployment can affect an individual’s psychological well-being. Unemployment can leave some individuals with feelings of worthlessness, a lack of identity, lack of motivation, feelings of embarrassment and increased stress levels. However, the unemployed do not all share similar experiences of unemployment as noted in the findings and are not all unhappy with their unemployment situation.