Postscript

by lynseyblack

 

The Postgraduate Criminology Conference, the first of its kind in Ireland, was held on Friday last, 27 March. In the aftermath of the event here are some lessons learned: there’s a huge appetite for events of this kind within the postgraduate community in Ireland particularly; there are postgraduates working in similar areas who are unaware of each other; and, finally, the state of Irish criminological research gives plenty to be optimistic about! The palpable enthusiasm on the day was heartening; the conference hosted 9 panel sessions, and we know we could have had more. Each of the presentations and posters demonstrated new, original and necessary research. The connections made on the day went some way towards banishing the fear that we’re working away in isolation and ignorance of others who could enrich the postgraduate journey and make it more fun and more rewarding. The research presented on the day, in the papers and posters, drew from Masters students, PhD students and all those in-between and our presenters hailed from 15 institutions across Ireland and the UK.

Finally, we’d like to thank all those who took part, thank you so much for your interest! It is our hope that this momentum leads to the event becoming a regular fixture!

Let’s end with some photographs from the day…

 

Winner of the IPRT Postgraduate Prize

by lynseyblack

Christian Perrin, of Nottingham Trent University, was the winner of the Irish Penal Reform Trust Postgraduate Award for the most outstanding demonstration of criminological research. IPRT Executive Director Deirdre Malone was on hand to present Christian with the award following the roundtable event at Trinity College Dublin.

Christian’s paper, ‘The Impact of Peer Support Roles on Prisoners: Preliminary Findings’ suggested that taking on the role of peer support within prison can have profound internal attitudinal changes within prisoners which align with better reintegration outcomes.

Deirdre Malone, Executive Director of IPRT, presenting Christian Perrin with the IPRT Postgraduate Award.

Eamonn Carrabine and Claire Hamilton Announced as Speakers

by lynseyblack

We are excited to announce that Professor Eamonn Carrabine of the University of Essex and Dr Claire Hamilton of NUI Maynooth are the invited speakers in the evening roundtable event to be held in Trinity College Dublin which will be chaired by Ivana Bacik, Reid Professor of Criminology in the School of Law.

The roundtable event will be an opportunity to reflect on the postgraduate research showcased throughout the conference. Professor Carrabine and Dr Hamilton will also speak to the current challenges for academics engaging with theory and research in Ireland and abroad. They bring a wealth of experience drawn from their empirical and theoretical work. Eamonn Carrabine is currently working on a new book, ‘Crime and Social Theory’, which seeks to offer an interconnected perspective on how various social processes and theories combine to illuminate issues in criminology. Eamonn is also working towards a publication dealing with ‘The Iconography of Punishment’ focusing on the representation of punishment in the literary and visual arts. Claire Hamilton recently published ‘Reconceptualising Penalty’ which took a comparative look at punitiveness and political structures in Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand. She is currently writing-up work on a US/EU comparison of counter-terrorism, funded by a Fulbright/Schuman Award. Claire is also one of the editors of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology, the first criminological text-book of its kind in Ireland.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust Criminology Postgraduate Award will also be presented during this event by Executive Director Deirdre Malone. The roundtable event will be followed by a wine reception to mark the close of the conference.

Conference Programme and Abstracts

by colettembarry

The programme and the list of abstracts for the Postgraduate Criminology Conference is now available at the links below:

Postgraduate Criminology Conference Programme

Book of Abstracts

The conference will be held at DIT’s Grangegorman campus, with a roundtable event and wine reception to follow at the Graduates Memorial Building, Trinity College Dublin. Transport from DIT Grangegorman to Trinity College will be provided. Campus maps and public transport links to DIT Grangegorman can be found here.

 

Registration Closed

by lbrangan

The PG Criminology Conference Organisers are delighted to announce that the conference is now fully subscribed. Unfortunately this means that if you wish to attend you will need to contact us directly so that we can put you on the waiting list. If you are registered to attend but will no longer be able to make it please cancel your place on eventbrite or inform the organisers via e-mail.

Otherwise, see you all next month!

Dublin Information

by lynseyblack

Accommodation

The Generator Hostel, Smithfield Square, provides a location very close to DIT Grangegorman and a short Luas ride away from the city centre and Trinity College. The room rates are perfect for students on a budget, and the surroundings are terribly hip. The Hostel is served by the Red Luas Line, the stop is Smithfield. Plus it’s opposite The Lighthouse Cinema. Bonus.

Also in Smithfield Square, The Maldron Hotel provides basic hotel accommodation at a reasonable rate.

Transport

From Dublin Airport, Dublin Bus operates a regular bus service (the 747, geddit?), which runs from outside both Terminal 1 and 2. A return ticket is €10 and a single is €6. If you get off the bus at the Central Bus Station, or at a Red Luas line stop, you can take the Luas towards Smithfield Square (if you happen to be staying in The Generator Hostel or the Maldron). The Visitor Leap Card also includes the 747 Airport Bus (see below).

Air Coach also operate a service, from Dublin Airport to Dublin city centre.

If you plan to explore a little, a Visitor Leap Card can be useful. It works on buses and the Luas (think London, think Oyster card, only designed by Kermit the Frog). It costs €19.50, and is available from the Spar in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, as well as the Info Desk in Arrivals, valid for 72 hours.

If you’re arriving by train into Heuston Station, the Red Luas Line runs from just outside, travel towards The Point or Connolly on this route, and alight at Smithfield.

Eats

Around DIT Grangegorman:

Third Space (deliciously cool café) – My Meat Wagon (yes… lots of meat, BBQ-type place, frontier-style) – Oscars (really reasonable main courses, next to the Cinema) – and maybe you want some fancy dinner in Seven Social.

And for that thirst-quenching sup, Dice Bar provides salty snacks and frothy beers.

Around Trinity College Dublin:

Lemon (pancakes and melts). On Dawson Street, next to the saliva-worthy Hodges Figgis bookshop. To eat/peruse, go out the side gate of Trinity College, accessed through the Arts Block, and cross the road.

KC Peaches (you can fill your plate for a small fee). Nassau Street, out the side gate of Trinity College, through the Arts Block, and then cross the road and go left.

The Farm provides food that you can trust, tasty and ethically minded, good for a main meal, this is just opposite Lemon on Dawson Street.

Travelling Between DIT Grangegorman and Trinity College/City Centre

This map outlines the public transport options travelling to and from DIT Grangegorman. The conference is being held in St. Laurence’s Church, towards the south of the map, and from here to the Smithfield stop on the Red Luas Line is approximately a 5 minute walk. Take the Luas towards the city centre (towards The Point or Connolly), and get off at Abbey Street for Trinity College. Walk across O’Connell Bridge, up Westmoreland Street and Trinity College is right in front of you. If you continue around Trinity College, you’ll find yourself at the bottom of Grafton Street.

Do You Wanna Build a Poster?

by lynseyblack

What is the purpose of a poster?

Posters are an opportunity to present your work clearly and succinctly. Whether your work is qualitative or quantitative, and whether you are presenting a completed piece of research, tentative findings or a research plan, a poster provides an opportunity to convey ideas quickly to an audience.

The prospect of presenting research visually can be daunting; especially for researchers from a discipline which does not typically use this kind of tool (such as law for example). Whilst posters are commonly used in the sciences however, the aim of a poster is common across all disciplines – how to communicate key ideas.

What should I include?

Posters challenge a researcher to condense their ideas in a concise manner. You cannot afford to be long-winded as a) there is not enough space, and b) it will muddle the message you’re trying to send!

With this in mind, remember:

• What are the key elements of your work?
• Include in your poster design your name and affiliation!
• It can be helpful to divide the poster into sections to make the best use of space.
• Include your research question!
• Do not populate your poster with an abundance of text – what are the Headline Points!
• Posters should have a good mixture of text and graphics
• Questions – what am I trying to convey – how can I depict this visually?
• A short immediately conveyable title

How do I make this poster anyway?

The conference is looking for posters sized A1, approximately 59cm by 84cm. Be careful not to use too small a type-set – the poster should be legible BEFORE the viewer gets up close with a magnifying glass – 20 point and above. Also be sure your font is clear!

To print your work of art, find the nearest design and print shop, for example, in Dublin, Reads does this kind of work.

What tools do I use to design my poster? Apart from your innate artistic flair you mean? PowerPoint is one of the easiest tools. For some technical see the links here and here.

And what am I supposed to do with it once I arrive at the conference?

At registration, notify one of the conference helpers that you have submitted a poster. We will then display your poster in the conference venue for the duration of the day along with all the others. Throughout the coffee breaks and lunch break, delegates, including speakers and chairs, will have the opportunity to browse the posters and admire your work!

Plenary Speaker – Professor Ian O’Donnell

by lbrangan

The Postgraduate Criminology Conference, Dublin, is delighted to announce that Prof. Ian O’Donnell will be delivering the opening plenary.

Prof. O’Donnell is a prolific Criminologist, whose research and publications have explored penal politics, coercive confinement and historical issues of crime and justice. His most recent book, Prisoners, Solitude, and Time, examines: ‘two overlapping aspects of the prison experience that, despite their central importance, have not attracted the scholarly attention they deserve, this book assesses both the degree to which prisoners can withstand the rigours of solitude and how they experience the passing of time. In particular, it looks at how they deal with the potentially overwhelming prospect of a long, or even indefinite, period behind bars’.

Register Attendance

by lbrangan

The conference is now open for registration. Please register through Eventbrite here: Registration for Criminology Postgraduate Conference.

If you are interested in presenting a paper or poster then please follow the instructions regarding abstract submissions here.

The Criminology Postgraduate Conference is completely free and will provide an exciting opportunity to meet fellow researchers exploring criminological questions in Ireland and further afield. The conference will be held in DIT Grangegorman and will be followed by a wine reception in Trinity College (transport will be provided). To find out more about the conference check out our website.

Call for Papers

by lbrangan

Ireland’s inaugural Postgraduate Criminology Conference will be held on Friday 27 March 2015. The conference is being co-funded by DIT and the School of Law at Trinity College Dublin. This conference is open to all criminological and related researchers, and research does not need to be strictly or directly related to Ireland.

Papers are sought from all areas of Criminology and related areas, including:

• sociology of crime and deviance
• law and order politics
• historical studies of crime/deviance
• gender and justice
• police studies
• criminal justice
• criminal law
• human rights
• methodological/theoretical approaches

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Please submit an abstract of max. 300 words and 3-5 keywords (indicating the main research area in particular), and a short biographical note (approx. 100 words) to irishpgcrimconf2015@dit.ie Please include in your subject line ‘Abstract submission’.

The deadline for submitting abstracts for papers is now closed.

POSTER PRESENTATION

Submissions for the Poster Presentation are also welcome. Those wishing to submit a poster should provide a title and an abstract, of no more than 200 words, along with author information (name, affiliation). Your poster should provide a visual representation of your research, and can include elements such as theoretical approach and methods, data and findings. Posters should be A1. All posters will be displayed during the conference.

The deadline for submitting abstracts for posters has been extended to Friday 27 February for registered attendees only (at the moment the conference is fully subscribed).

CONFERENCE DETAILS

The conference will be held in St. Laurence’s Church in DIT’s Grangegorman campus, with a speaking event and evening reception to follow at Trinity College Dublin, transport will be provided.

Register for the conference HERE.

Details of speakers TBC.