RICHARD BENJAMIN TRUST
Research supported in 2010
From Sense of ‘Entitlement’ to ‘Disenchantment’? A Confrontation of Expectations of International Students and Policy Makers
Dr Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, Middlesex University
Each year, international students contribute £2.5 billion in tuition fees and an overall estimated contribution of £8.5 billion to the British economy. It is, therefore, of vital importance for the British university system and the economy to keep attracting and retaining international students in the context of increased competition in the international education market. Yet the current British government’s policy objective of reducing net migration to “the tens of thousands” looks to target international students as well as other groups of economic migrants. Against this socio-political backdrop, this qualitative study offers a timely and original contribution by exploring the missing link between policy makers’ stated policy goals and the lived experiences and expectations of international students, with wide implications for the attractiveness of the UK as a place to study and work."
Narcissistic Beliefs about Groups and Intergroup Hostility: Situations Increasing Collective Narcissism
Dr Agnieszka Golec. Middlesex University
Experimental studies explore the effects of personal and collective insecurity on narcissistic beliefs about an in-group. Collective narcissism is an emotional investment in exaggerated greatness of an in-group. Narcissistic idealization of the group is contingent on external validation and underlain by internal doubts. Measured as individual difference variable, it is related to sensitivity to group image threat and retaliatory intergroup hostility. The studies examine whether situationally increased collective narcissism leads to hostility under intergroup threat. Better understanding of the situations that influence narcissistic beliefs about a group can lead to the development of strategies to remediate escalation of intergroup tensions.
The Radicalisation of Marginalised Men
Dr Russell Luyt, University of Winchester
"The concept of radicalisation has received little attention from a psychological perspective. Existing explanations are largely reductionist and fail to locate the phenomenon in its broader socio-cultural context. This project seeks to develop a social psychological model of radicalisation partly based upon the notion of hegemonic masculinities and related critique. Empirical research exploring print media representation of Islamic men in the UK, as well as their personal accounts of everyday life, contributes toward theory development. This examines the complex interaction between multiple levels of analysis (e.g., global, societal, situational, and psychic) and also recognises the gendered nature of the phenomenon."
Facebook as a Means of Managing Stress Associated with Life Transitions. Can Social Networking Help New University Students?
Dr Chris Stiff, Keele University
When teenagers come to University for the first time, they may find this significant life transition extremely stressful. Moreover, as the new student’s local support network is no longer available due to their geographical displacement, stress and associated maladies may be exacerbated. Using a longitudinal survey design, this project aims to examine whether the use of Facebook can help ameliorate new students’ feelings of depression, and home-sickness by facilitating contact with their old friends, and helping to maintain a cohesion social network during stressful periods in their life.
Can Nintendo Wii be Used to Train Surgeons?
Dr Steven Yule, University of Aberdeen
Surgical simulators have been used for around 20 years and support training in new techniques, allowing surgical trainees and consultant surgeons to practice their skills in a low-stakes environment without risk to patients. Several practical challenges have emerged which have limited the use of these simulators for training. These may be resolved by understanding the underlying psychology of surgical performance in the operating theatre. The aim of this study is to investigate the merits of using the Nintendo Wii and different types of software to train the skills required by surgeons to conduct laparoscopic surgery.
Exploring Culture, Emotional Labour and Work-Life Outcomes in Indian Call Centres
Dr Sweta Rajan-Rankin, Brunel University
The global outsourcing of customer service operations (also called Business Process Outsourcing or ‘BPOs’) to developing country markets has created unique work environments for third world workers. In order to stay competitive, outsourced call centres provide 24 X 7 labour force availability of highly educated, English speaking, young workers at lower wages than western firms. Due to the transnational nature of outsourced call work, these customer service representatives (CSR’s) are given specialized training in communications, customer service skills as well as ‘cultural masking’ skills such as changing their accents, adopting western pseudonyms etc. These are referred to as “cultural immersion training processes”.
What is the ethos of cultural immersion training in Indian call centres? How do employees respond to the adoption of these prescribed western work roles as part of their professional identities? Do they experience conflict in adopting one cultural identity at work and another at home and in their personal lives or does it enrich their work and family lives in some way? These are some of the research questions that this study seeks to answer by an in-depth qualitative inquiry of two outsourced Indian call centre firms using semi-structured interviews and ‘photovoice’ techniques.
Understanding the Subjective Experiences of Overseas Nurses.
Dr Emee Vida Estacio' Keele University
Nursing recruitment and retention is an ongoing challenge for the NHS. One of the strategies used to alleviate this pressure is the recruitment of nurses from overseas. This research aims to explore the experiences of migrant nurses working in the UK to identify emerging issues and to inform potential action plans. It adopts a participatory action research approach (PAR) and will engage overseas nurses in diary‑writing to generate insights.
It is anticipated that the process will enable various stakeholders to voice their concerns and to promote good practice to help improve healthcare delivery and employee morale.
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