The Applied Research and Theory Journal at DBS

Senior Editors: David Rinehart and Amy Fitzpatrick

Amy Hayes

The shift Emergency Remote Learning has had on Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This research aimed to assess the impact, if any, the shift to Emergency Remote Learning has had on Open Educational Resources by determining if the perceptions expressed by academic teaching staff in this study align with or differ from those captured in studies prior to Covid-19. Key factors from the literature that result in barriers to Open Educational Resources are awareness, or lack thereof; discoverability, accessibility and sustainability issues; and copyright complexities. This research surveyed 105 participants from 16 institutions across Ireland using a mixed methods approach of both quantitative and qualitative questions. The results of this research have found that the shift to Emergency Remote Learning has done little to eradicate the perceived barriers to Open Educational Resources, rather it has elicited new concerns regarding the effects of open education on traditional teaching methods and student engagement. Common practical problems addressed include overworked teaching staff whose priority is teaching, not creating, and misconceptions of the positive implications of open education. While a national policy would allow for autonomy in individual institutions to shape a course best suited for their mission and strategy, the results from this study suggest that hands-on and practical support, training, and guidance are being asked for at an institutional level.

Michele Varini

FutuReal: Old and new inequalities in the future fashion

Abstract

Fashion and technological progress have always been two linked fields. It is well known that fashion has played a powerful role in its history in determining physical stereotypes and gender imaginaries: its role in the formation of imaginaries, the co-production of self-awareness, and the formation and construction of bodies has long been studied. In addition, another fundamental role of fashion has always been to mark class differences, as ostentatious consumption, as a “desiderata” that only a privileged few could access. This work questions the issues of material inequalities and of body representation where the digital increasingly challenges the boundary between materiality and non-materiality, canon and new models. Virtual play environments stand, from this point of view, as the most frontier fields, because on the one hand, they are increasingly the object of interest by fashion brands, and on the other hand, they are open to the possibility of creation by users. The research question is to see if the dynamics of construction of imaginaries, definition of stereotypes, of aesthetic beauty, instances of gender, etc. attributed to fashion by the existing literature are also replicated in the digital context, or whether these dynamics are changing with and because of the action of this new type of fruition of the fashion product, both as a "material object" and as a "cultural object". To do so, this research employs netnography and visual ethnography, which were used to construct and analyze a data set composed of advertisements and images of video game characters with three peculiarities: 1. the possibility of being played online in multiplayer mode; 2. the popularity of the selected platform; 3. the presence of anthropomorphic characters. Gaming platforms that match these three characteristics are: 1. League of Legends; 2. Fortnite; 3. Apex Legends; 3. Overwatch; 4. Valorant; 5. PUGB.

Michele Varini & Chiara Pagliuca

Existence/REsistance: Labor and consumption in Fair Trade Proximity Shops in Italy

Abstract

This paper analyzes the changes that have affected the work, motivations and consumption practices within the Fair Trade Proximity Shops in Italy (ComES). Looking at the Fair Trade Shops, we can grasp elements of continuity/discontinuity between what we might call the "first wave" of Fair Trade activism - aimed at a "third-worldist" perspective - and more recent trends involving sustainability, the local and a "hedonistic" dimension of consumption. In this contribution we want to present the imaginary and symbolic changes not only through consumers' purchasing choices and the presence of new products, but also with respect to distance/closeness, with respect to "historical" and "new" employees/volunteers, as in these places of consumption such actors express values, political/ideological issues, requiring collaboration between producers and consumers. ComES Shops have historically been linked to colonial goods (coffee, chocolate, bananas) and arts/textile crafts. Today, more and more of the Shops offer productions that respond to an increased focus on environmental sustainability and "fresh" and local foods and materials. In recent years the Shops have faced additional challenges, such as the expansion of Fair Trade product offerings by large retailers, and changes related to Covid-19. The present study was constructed on the basis of semi-structured interviews, ethnographic diaries, and netnographies conducted on websites and social network profiles of Shops in five regions of Northern Italy. The data were produced between 2020-2023 as part of the research "Conscious Consumption and Consumption Motivations," promoted by the Fair Trade Shops and ModaCult Research Center (Unicatt, Milan). The research involved the active participation of volunteers from the Shops themselves, trained in social research, to be able to collect data firsthand, with a dual intent: to provide training to the civil service volunteers, and to access the field through the eyes of those privileged witnesses.

Dr. Andrew Browne and Dr. David Williams

A cross-discipline systematic investigation into the potential causes and contributing factors to cases of Academic Impropriety (AI) across QQI validated programmes

Kate Wright

Chatbot vs Email Reminders: Enhancing Engagement with Online Lessons

Abstract

Chatbot vs Email Reminders: Enhancing Engagement with Online Lessons This research project aimed to investigate which intervention method - mail reminders or a chatbot communication via SMS - would be more effective in encouraging students to attend their live online lessons. The study split test groups into three categories: those that received an email, those that received an SMS communication via a chatbot, and a control group that received nothing. The students who received a communication were sent pre-reminders to attend their sessions and a follow-up after the session. These communications were personalised based on whether the student attended the session or not. For those who engaged with the chatbot but failed to attend sessions, this provided insight into why they did not attend. There were limitations to the pilot study, such as a larger control group needed to balance the intervention group, the inclusion of some B2C students who may have more pressure to attend from their employers, and the ability for students to opt-in or out of the pilot mid-course, which could skew the results. From the data collected, the themes that emerged suggest that the chatbot was the most effective intervention method, with feedback suggesting that it was also the preferred method. The presentation will cover the process followed to conduct the pilot study with a cohort of students, followed by a review of the feedback and results. Life can often get in the way, and as a student, it's not always practical to attend all lessons. While there may be some circumstances out of our control, lack of motivation is a common reason for non-attendance. The findings from this study could have significant implications for educators and institutions looking to improve student engagement with online lessons.

Tatiana Quaglio

The Role of Social Support and Coping Strategies in the Acculturation of Brazilians in Ireland

Abstract

The present study investigated how coping self-efficacy skills, perceived social support and loneliness influence acculturative stress and life satisfaction among Brazilian migrants living in Ireland. It was conducted using correlational analysis as a quantitative study, using an online survey and collected a sample of 96 participants. Acculturative stress and life satisfaction were examined as the main dependent variables, with secondary variables on loneliness, multidimensional perceived social support and coping self-efficacy skills. Time living in Ireland was significantly correlated to acculturation stress and life satisfaction. Different forms of social support and integration had significant relationships to acculturative stress, life satisfaction and coping self-efficacy. While perceived loneliness did not differ between migrants who moved to Ireland alone or accompanied, it was found to have a significant relationship to coping self-efficacy skills. The present study had the ability to invite participants to reflect on their mental health, social connectedness, loneliness, ability to cope with stress and challenges of being a migrant. Among other limitations, as a study in English, it was found to have a language barrier since the target population was from a different mother-tongue. The sample size and representation of non-Irish population within a specific ethnic group are also considered limitations in this study. Despite its weaknesses, it provides valuable insights to understand the various factors that can influence migrants to achieve well-being while living in Ireland, shedding light on potential avenues by which further research in how to provide better conditions and support migrants in Ireland, and the important factors to help them cope with a diversity of stressors while the country benefits from their labour and commercial contributions. It is hoped that the current study can help stimulate further research efforts to fully account for the mental health of migrants living in Ireland.

Emma Dwan and Bhuvan Israni

Assessing employee perceptions’ of workplace diversity and its’ subsequent influence on Job Satisfaction, Organisational Commitment, and Empowerment in Ireland

Abstract

With globalisation influencing labour markets and corporate social responsibility practices, it is has become imperative that workplaces are reflective of the society they exist within (Syed & Ozbilgin, 2019). According to a recent survey, the workforce in Ireland is currently made up of 18.5% non-Irish nationals, 16% people with a disability and 43% female (ESRI, 2022). However, only 12% of people surveyed felt their organisation was a true reflection of todays’ society (Hays, 2021). The aim of this research is to explore how perceptions of diversity and inclusion in the workplace influence the constructs of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and individual empowerment.

Dr. Barnaby Taylor, Conor Murphy, David Mackey, and Reuben Bloom Teskey

Learning Matters is a practice-based, research-led initiative developed by four creatives working in Dublin Business School. This is a collaborative initiative engaging with existing research brands and projects (voicesonfilm and SAH Journal) but also drawing on new energies and emerging creative communities within DBS and beyond

Dr. Assem Abdelhak

An Image Classification for Delivery-by-Drone Securely Dropping

Abstract

Drone-based autonomous package delivery is a hot topic for research and business development. The evaluation of safe dropping-off and delivery zones, however, hasn't gotten much attention. Safe delivering depends on the dropping zone being a secure location, to begin with, and being so throughout the dropping procedure. Using a single inbuilt camera, this study suggests a quick and easy classifier to evaluate the safety of a chosen dropping zone prior to and during the dropping process. According to our knowledge, this classifier is the very first to handle the issue of safety evaluation at the site of drone delivery. The suggested classifier offers precision and a recall of 97% in our test situations, according to experimental findings using drone-shot films.

Vanessa Stafford

Your lesson as a Netflix show? Combining Narrative learning theory with traditional TV show narrative techniques

Abstract

Storytelling is a ubiquitous, culturally constructed communication norm, which is deeply embedded in everyday human experience. Storytelling is omnipresent in our downtime, through news and entertainment, such as movies, comics, and TV shows, which all rely on storytelling to inform and entertain. Jerome Bruner, an American psychologist, and educational theorist, brought to the world of learning science a new paradigm for how humans learn: Narrative theory. Narrative theory holds that this familiarity of using stories allows us to interpret information and make sense of it for deeper understanding. It therefore makes Narrative theory a logical teaching tool. Research is clear that using storytelling in teaching and learning contexts enhances motivation to study, lesson engagement, longer term knowledge recall, and deeper learning. As such, narrative theory has been used as an inclusive and accessible syllabus design technique in higher education across many fields of study for decades. However, whilst a literature review of the use of narrative theory within higher education syllabus design shows that storytelling through case studies, gamification, self-reflection, and student discussion are commonplace. And whilst ample literature on the teaching of narrative specifically for film, TV, and novels is also easily accessible, no specific study demonstrating how the two might be combined can be found. How can syllabus design and the narrative construction of a TV Show work together to help inspire a syllabus writer or lesson planner through a radical shift in design thinking? What if a new syllabus design framework of utilising the narrative components of a TV Show could help to embed storytelling into the very bones of a lesson? This presentation will draw upon the existing case studies of traditionally embedded narrative, plus the author's own experience in embedding narrative theory into syllabi, to present an entirely new way of thinking about syllabus design. The author hopes that this new design thinking framework will add a fresh and fun alternative to existing syllabus design methodology. Those who are inspired to trial the framework in an upcoming teaching lesson plan or a new subject design will either discover that it helped them to embed narrative in an enjoyable and effective way, or that it didn't - either way, it will make a great story.

Dr. Rita Day

Finding Your Perfect Placement

Abstract

Conducting applied research in an industry setting is similar in many ways to a traditional research project and DBS MSc in Digital Marketing and Analytics and MSc in Supply Chain Management offer an elective option which follows a similar trajectory to a traditional dissertation or applied research project albeit with certain key differences. The research topic must be directly applicable to practical and tangible organisational and workplace issues. With the support of a placement coordinator and research supervisor, DBS has successfully managed two cohorts of students on placement. The results to date are very positive and show a correlation between placement and employability. There is value and relevance for the company and for the employee or student it greatly helps with their graduate attributes and skills development.

Dr. Tony Murphy

Launch of DBS Research Grants Research to Strategise: Data collection and analysis to inform a Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy

Arts and Humanities: Leonardo Oliveira

Question and answer session with Leonardo Oliveira for the short film "Behind My Drag Queen"

Matthew Nolan

Joyce, Ulysses, and the creative unconscious

Dr. Michael Kane

Seeing beyond the Anthropocene with Joyce and Beckett

Abstract

This paper explores the contemporary relevance of how the natural environment is presented in extracts of works by James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. Both Joyce’s and Beckett’s distinct ways of looking at the world, and human beings’ relations with it, could be said to anticipate aspects of contemporary perspectives on the environment informed by a heightened critical awareness of the effects of the ’Anthropocene’ and of the need to reorient a whole culture in a more environmentally sustainable way. How did Joyce and Beckett ‘hold their mirrors up to nature’? Are their reflections perhaps still surprisingly relevant in a time of ecological crisis?

Keywords: James Joyce; Samuel Beckett; Anthropocene; Posthuman; Nature

Dr. Barnaby Taylor

Break something, and write about the pieces: Why don't Classrooms look like Coffee Shops? Post-pandemic Assessment Practice, Creativity, Student Expectation and Leadership in Contemporary Learning Lacunae

Abstract

In February 2022 The World Economic Forum outlined four trends that will shape the future of higher education; a shift from learning from ‘anywhere’ to ‘everywhere’; teaching skills that remain relevant in a changing world; using formative assessment instead of high-stake exams; and replacing lectures with active learning. With these trends in mind, and especially motivated by the WEF’s assertion that ‘lectures are an efficient way of teaching and an ineffective way of learning’, the basis of this proposal is a report from the field, outlining the recent experiences of a module delivered in 2022. The module was designed and developed with the following principles in mind;

♣ COVID19 has broken higher education and traditional teaching activities are no longer viable.

♣ PowerPoint is a platform for intellectual paralysis, especially when used via Zoom.

♣ UX is now the classroom’s true north and any activity not pointed in that direction devalues the learning experience. The module motivated its users by posing a series of questions:

♣ Why don’t classrooms look like coffee shops?

♣ Why doesn’t Moodle look like Animal Crossing?

♣ Is Microsoft Office really the best platform for assessment response?

The class was then challenged to create a response to the following problem: ‘Drawing on your own experience, propose a product, service or other form of innovation which you believe will contribute to the changing face of higher education.’ This proposal will tell the story of this module and its delivery. It will outline the key issues that were raised, highlighting what worked and what didn’t. This proposal will also outline the range of responses received to the problem.

Charles Alves de Castro

Personality Traits and Susceptibility to Social Media

Dr. John Hyland

Gender bias in online teaching: Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Student evaluations are used in part to evaluate the performance of lecturers and can influence decisions on academic standing (e.g., appraisals, opportunity for promotion). Previous research has suggested that certain lecturer characteristics (e.g., age, gender) can affect such evaluations. For example, female lecturers systematically receive an on average lower evaluation ratings compared to male lecturers. These evaluations usually include several factors related to teaching, such as teaching conditions and teaching material. However, many argue that questions on the quality of teaching should only measure each lecturer’s competence and performance. The outcome of student evaluations of the lecturer should thus not be influenced by the lecturer’s group membership, if belonging to the specific group in question does not influence the lecturer’s teaching competence (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). The goal of ‘Phase 1’ of the current study was to investigate gender bias specifically, as well as other factors which may influence this effect (e.g., the topic being taught). A sample of 121 participants (63 completed, F= 49, Mean Age= 34) took part in a true experimental between-groups study where they were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, a male or female lecturer teaching either a short educational science or theoretical physics online lesson. Preliminary results suggest no difference between condition (Gender and teaching subject) on the overall evaluation of the lesson, while controlling for the age of the participant. Similarly, no differences across condition were observed when ‘presentation’ quality, ‘lecturer’ quality, or quality of ‘materials’ were specifically focused on. Data will be further discussed with reference to theory and practice as well as limitations and directions for future research.

Dr. Vincent Hunt

Revisiting The Theory of Growth of the Firm in the context of Innovation as a Competitive Force

Abstract

Penrose (1995, [1959]) posits that innovation is the firm’s ‘protection’ in the face of competition. "For many, if not most firms, the more effective long-run protection both against direct competition as well as against the indirect competition of new products will lie in the firm’s ability to anticipate, or at least to match, threatening innovations in processes, products, and marketing techniques." (Penrose, 1995, [1959]:113). Firms that can innovate effectively and stay ahead of the curve in terms of new products, processes, and marketing techniques are more likely to maintain their market position and fend off competition from both existing and new competitors. By anticipating or matching the innovations of their competitors, firms can also avoid being left behind as the market evolves and customer preferences change. For many, if not most firms, the more effective long-run protection both against direct competition as well as against the indirect competition of new products will lie in the firm’s ability to anticipate, or at least to match, threatening innovations in processes, products, and marketing techniques. Kingston (2003) describes innovation as “the creative impulse in human progress” and describes categories of creativity in the context of change ‘achieved’.

Dr. Terri Hoare

Graph learning approaches to extract actionable insights from patient journeys

Dr. Edmund Shanahan

On becoming a leading Legal Hub in Europe: what can Dublin learn from Singapore?

Abstract

For four years a government-wide marketing strategy has been in place, in the wake of Brexit, to promote Dublin as an international hub for litigation, arbitration and general legal advice.. Much of it has been inspired by developments in the financial, legal and related sectors in Singapore. The motivation for this research is related to the following: to begin with, there has been very little research done on the uncertainty caused by the British withdrawal from the EU for parties to intentional contracts.This uncertainty may cause such parties to consider a different choice of law. All of this has enormous practical implications. The research objectives of this study entail a careful reconsideration of the three main elements of the Dublin Legal Hub Strategy with a view to their enhancement. The elements are these: the drive to promote Irish law as an optimal contractual form for international business; the drive to prompt international players to use Irish lawyers as advisors in transactions and the drive to prompt international players to use Irish dispute resolution mechanisms for business disputes...This scholarly reconsideration is apposite as thinking related to the strategy is not as developed by the relevant parties as it might be. The proposed study will be qualitative in nature and will employ a comparative law methodology. The results have yet to ascertained. The study should serve to enhance thinking on these matters and help to promote employment in the legal services sector in Ireland.