Collaborative research projects
Cork City Air Quality Partnership
Nov 2020 – Ongoing. I am a key partner in a partnership established with the Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry (CRAC lab) at the Environmental Research Institute (ERI, UCC), Cork City Council and Cork Healthy Cities, which aims to work towards the promotion of awareness and behavioural change for better air quality in Cork city. As part of this collaboration I co-led two projects looking at public attitudes towards air quality and communication interventions based on monitoring systems, with two policy reports produced and one peer-reviewed publication currently in press. The partnership has been actively involved in public engagement and outreach activities in the local community on the topic of air quality and behavior.
Community connections and conservation
Since April 2022, I am co-PI in a project aimed at exploring the efficacy of UCC as outdoor classroom for promoting biodiversity and climate awareness in local primary school children. The project is in collaboration with UCC School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and was funded by UCC Green Campus Living Lab Programme.
Happy Places for All
Feb 2020 – Ongoing. This interdisciplinary cross-national project aims to enhance our understanding of how the built environment contributes to wellbeing, particularly in vulnerable populations. I am co-leading the project with Dr. Sara Biscaya, Lecturer in Architecture University of Salford, and Dr. Sina Shahab, Lecturer in Planning and Environmental Policy at Cardiff University. We are currently working on a systematic review of the perceived impact of transformations in urban planning and design on wellbeing in vulnerable populations; the protocol is registered in Prospero. Co-editors of Sustainability MDPI special issue “Planning and Design Interventions for Improving the Well-Being of Vulnerable Groups”. The collaboration has received funding support from the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Network Seed Funding.
KinShip
In January 2022, I became part of the working group for KinShip Project, funded by the Creative Ireland Climate Action Fund. The aim of this project is to engage the public on climate action through a community creative action programme at Tramore Valley Park, Cork City.
Agency and Ageing in Rural Ireland
Between 2020 and 2022, I was a Collaborator in an Irish Research Council New Foundations project led by School of Applied Social Studies, UCC, in collaboration with Age Action. The project used a participatory approach to investigate older people’s living circumstances and housing decision-making in rural Ireland.
Douglas Shopping Centre Fire Study
Dec 2019 – Ongoing. Drawing from theories of place attachment and place loss, I am leading this cross-departmental collaborative project investigates the experiences and impact of a major fire that caused the closure of a local shopping centre in Douglas, Cork City (Ireland). The project sees the collaboration from researchers at the School of Applied Psychology and the School of Applied Social Studies, UCC. Data collection of the first wave (after the fire and before re-opening) was completed in June 2020, with data analysis ongoing. The second wave of data collection will take place after the centre reopening (expected November 2020). The project has been partly supported by Seed Funding from the School of Applied Psychology, UCC.
Pedestrian Cork Survey
January-July 2020. As a member of the Pedestrian Cork community group, I have led the co-development of a survey to explore experiences of walkability of outdoor spaces in Cork City and County. The findings inform the group’s advocacy activities and have been adopted by Cork City Council as informing document for the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.
OutLET (“Outdoor Lived Environment as Brain Training”)
Apr 2016 – July 2020. As a member of the ACME lab (https://www.acmelab.science/) at UCC, I have co-led a multidisciplinary mixed-methods project exploring how the built environment can support cognitive wellbeing in older age. The project sees the collaboration of researchers from Environmental Psychology, Cognitive Sciences and Social Studies at UCC. Methods include walk-along interviews, focus groups, survey and experimental design to capture the multidimensional nature of the environmental impact on cognition.
Health x Nature
I am a collaborator in an interdisciplinary cross-national project between the School of Applied Psychology, UCC and the School of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire (UK) to develop a multidisciplinary approach to green spaces and health with the aim to better understand the dynamics driving the health/nature relationship.
ACME Lab
Jun 2017 – Ongoing. I am a Co-PI of the Ageing, Cognition, Multisensory perception and Environments (ACME) research Lab (PIs: Dr. Annalisa Setti and Dr. Jason Chan), School of Applied Psychology, UCC. Ongoing projects: Brain impact of nature (wearable EEG); community impact on cognitive wellbeing.
Research Supervision
Postgraduate supervision
2022-2023
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Anna Finnegan | Young people’s perceptions of the climate crisis in Ireland (co-supervised with Dr. James Richardson UCC School of BEES) |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Regina O’Loughlin | The cognitive effects of real vs. virtual nature exposure: An experimental study |
| Interdisciplinary M.Res. | Lydia Elliott | Community Connections and Conservation |
| Ph.D. by Research (Co-supervisor) | Topaz Shrestha | Nature-based solutions for wellbeing |
2021-2022
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Applied Psychology | Laura Somers | Secondary trauma and wellbeing in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health | Patrick Clancy | Burnout in healthcare workers working with intellectual disabilities |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Jennifer Costello | Workplace online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Hope Obediah | Work-related stress and contextual performance in employees working remotely |
| Ph.D. by Research (Co-supervisor) | Topaz Shrestha | Nature-based solutions for wellbeing |
2020-2021
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology | Maria Bulz | Workspace biophilic design, employee productivity, and the mediating role of employee satisfaction |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology | Jennifer Rawle | Factors of emotional exhaustion among primary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Colm Scully | Changes to commuting and employees experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Sarah Jane O’Mahoney | The impact of working from home on communication and social interaction in the workplace |
| M.Sc. Public Health (co-supervisor) | Hannah Nash | Sea swimming and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic |
2019-2020
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health | Darragh Long | Impact of Work Environment on Stress Related Health in Irish Homeless Shelter Staff |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Nicole Lee | Gratitude as a predictor of pro-environmental behaviour? A survey investigation considering the role of environmental values and nature connectedness [published] |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Topaz Shrestha | Natural or Urban Campus Walks and Vitality in University Students: Exploratory Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study [published] |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Sin Yee Kerk | Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – A qualitative research of the experience of international employees in Ireland and reflections on the role of coaching |
| M.A. Work and Organisational Psychology | Paul Murtagh | Workplace biophilic design and employees’ wellbeing |
Undergraduate supervision
2021-2022
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Aisling Tobin | Environmental optimism, self-efficacy and wellbeing among students |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Lydia Lehane | Experiences with classism, social self-efficacy and wellbeing among student |
2020-2021
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Rachel Atkins | Understanding the Experiences of COVID-19 Spatial and Social Restrictions Among Young People with Physical Disabilities [preprint] |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Abigale Owens | A qualitative exploration of the psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on Irish university students [preprint] |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Sophie Cronin | Online learning, self-efficacy and online engagement among university students |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Caoimhe Twomey | Spatial inequities and mental wellbeing associated with COVID-19 for older people |
2019-2020
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology (visiting student) | Alina Venjakob | Multilingualism and cognitive empathy |
Previous years
| 2018-19 | M.Sc. in Advanced Healthcare Studies, UL, 1 student, primary supervisor M.Sc. in Occupational Therapy, UL, 1 student, co-supervisor |
| 2015-16 | M.Sc. in Applied Psychology, UCC, 2 students (Cognitive Psychology), co-supervisor |
Marica Cassarino, Ph.D. 