Warmest congratulations to doctoral student and CMCHR member – Nuala Whelan – an Irish Research Council Employment Based Scholar – who was recently awarded her PhD. Nuala’s interdisciplinary research involved a joint collaboration between Ballymun Job Centre and Maynooth University’s Departments of Psychology and Sociology.
Her thesis entitled – “Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of new employment enhancement programmes in an Irish context: a focus on well-being and employability” – focused on employment support interventions for the long-term unemployed and their effectiveness with regard to promoting psychological well-being and employability. The research also investigated Ireland’s labour activation policy, Pathways to Work, and its effectiveness with regard to enhancing employment opportunities, building career efficacy and improving overall wellbeing.
The research was supervised by Professor Sinéad McGilloway (Director of the CMHCR) and Dr. Mary P. Murphy (Department of Sociology, Maynooth University).