CUBS hosted the annual CUBS Postgraduate Research Symposium on 29 June, with PhD students presenting their research to fellow researchers and students in a collegial and supportive environment.
The symposium sessions - Sustainability; Health and Wellbeing; Employment and Work; IS Security & Ethical Business Decision-Making; and Social Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Firm Survival – reflect the breadth of research activity across CUBS.
Professor Stephen Roper, Warwick Business School to delivered a keynote address ‘From PhD to Impactful Publication Pipeline’. In a highly interactive session, CUBS PhD students were asked to consider the users of their research and how to build and communicate academic research to different users. Prof. Roper stressed the importance of thinking beyond the paper and being able to explain the key points in 20 words.
In a panel discussion ‘After the PhD: what next?’ CUBS Alumni and Faculty reflected on their post-doctoral career paths and provided insights on how to prepare for early career positions. It featured Dr Christopher Fawsitt, Research Scientist, Clifton Insights; Dr Aileen Murphy, Senior Lecturer, Economics, CUBS and Dr Fergal O’Connor, Lecturer in Finance & Economics, CUBS.
Dr Jane Bourke, Director of PGR, said: “The CUBS PGR Symposium was a thoroughly enjoyable day, from our very first session with Prof. Stephen Roper on pathways to impact. Throughout the day, I was really impressed by the high quality of the research presented by our PhD students, as well as their excellent presentation and communication skills. I was delighted to present two Dean’s Prizes for Best Paper to very deserving recipients Aine Gorman and Olivia O Leary.”
Aine Gorman
Aine is a 1st Yr PhD student in the Department of Economics and her research project involves an economic analysis of models of care to improve mobility, continence, and psychological wellbeing in individuals with neuro-physical disabilities within community-led organisations. This research is in association with the CRANN Centre, an Irish charity creating personalised solutions for children, adults and families living with neuro-physical disabilities (NPD), supporting them to achieve better physical and mental health outcomes. Such community health organisations need to ensure their viability and sustainability. Aine’s research measures the impact and contribution to society of such initiatives.
Olivia O’Leary
Olivia is a 4th Yr PhD student in the Department of Management & Marketing, investigating the formation of the psychological contract in family and non-family employees in family firms. The psychological contract is a cognitive schema incorporating individual beliefs shaped by the organisation regarding an exchange agreement between individuals and their organisation. Through family membership, a family employee's psychological contract creation can occur as early as childhood through exposure to the business, helping out, and early socialisation processes. In contrast, non-family employees experience psychological contract creation through organisational entry processes (e.g., recruitment, induction, onboarding). The formation of the psychological contract is critical in identifying how family and non-family employees navigate their employment relationships in family firms.
Olivia O’Leary and Aine Gorman