Research Newsletter - Issue 112: Spotlight
Opportunities in the media - a focus on The Conversation
March 2026
Disseminating research through publicity in the media is a key part of many research projects and can lead to recognition as an expert and more frequent media opportunities. Alongside RTÉ Brainstorm, The Conversation can offer a way for academics to place timely research at the centre of unfolding stories, or to offer their expertise in commenting on a topic or issue in their given field. The University has been a partner of The Conversation for almost three years, and at the end of last year articles written by DCU academics received half a million views in a single month. To demonstrate the range of opportunities to write about research, this month’s Research Spotlight looks at the University’s output on The Conversation in March.
Humanities & Social Sciences
Marking the centenary of A.A. Milne's beloved classic Winnie-the-Poo, Dr Lucy Stone from the School of English has written a charming and thought-provoking piece about the book's connection used in supporting mental wellbeing. Dr Stone traces the use of books in hospital libraries to ease the suffering of soldiers returning from WWI from the book’s publication in 1926 to its place on hospital reading programmes for children in the present day. Last Friday, Dr Stone hosted Reading Well, an event exploring how titles in the DCU Children's Books Ireland Collection represent illness and disability and their potential use in education and healthcare settings in the O’Reilly Library.
Dr Donal Mulligan
Generative AI has arrived in family homes whether parents are ready or not, and a DCU researcher has offered a timely and practical guide to navigating it. The key opening move, writes Donal Mulligan from the School of Communications, is not to tell a child they shouldn't use generative AI — which risks secrecy — but rather to ask them to demonstrate the tools they're already familiar with. The piece draws on resources for schools on generative AI developed by Dr Mulligan.
PhD candidate and Visiting Fellow at DCU Amin Naeni has written a stark analysis of Iran's ongoing wartime internet shutdown and its devastating consequences for ordinary civilians. In several cases the Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings through social media ahead of attacks — warnings that Iranian citizens cannot receive due to the internet shutdown. Iran also lacks a functioning air-raid warning system leaving civilians with no real-time information about whether they should evacuate or shelter in place.
PhD candidate Laura O'Flanagan from DCU's School of English contributed a review of historical drama The Tasters. The film is inspired by the testimony of Margot Wölk, who came forward in 2012 to describe having been forced to taste Adolf Hitler's meals for poison during the Second World War. In The Conversation, O'Flanagan praises the film as quietly devastating, exploring the fragile humanity that persists even within an oppressive system. Laura’s PhD is on the subject of eco-feminism in Disney films.
Science and Health
Dr Kate Irving
Dr Kate Irving (School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health) and Dr Cathy Fowley’s ( Intergenerational Learning Programme) piece describes their DCU-led project, Keepsake Chronicles, in which they run storytelling groups for people living with dementia in the community. Participants are invited to bring a meaningful object to anchor their story, on the basis that physical objects can cue sensory and autobiographical memory in ways that abstract questions often cannot.
Their words are then transcribed and shaped into micro-narratives or poems using only the language spoken by the person living with dementia. The resulting stories and photographs are collected into a book and returned to each participant.
With spring approaching, Prof. Christine Loscher from the School of Biotechnology has published a helpful explainer on managing hay fever before symptoms take hold. While most people only reach for antihistamines once symptoms have already started, research suggests beginning to use them as pollen counts start to rise — even before full-blown symptoms appear — and using them daily regardless of the pollen count, is a more effective strategy.
Engineering & Computing
Dr James Carton and Dr Conor Boland
Dr Conor Boland (School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering) has written about an innovative research project that takes a direct approach to one of recycling's biggest challenges. Rather than assuming perfect sorting, the research starts from the reality that waste streams are mixed, inconsistent and often dirty — and designs chemistry that can tolerate that.
Using nanomaterial-based catalysts to drive a process called depolymerisation, the technique breaks plastics back into their molecular building blocks, selectively targeting specific plastics even in mixed or impure streams. Dr Boland has recently secured funding for this project in collaboration with Dr James Carton.
Business School
Dr Vincent Tawiah has written about China's role in Africa, drawing on his new co-authored research tracking 28 African nations over two decades. China-Africa trade has grown from US$10 billion in 2000 to $348 billion in 2025, but the research found that the environmental and developmental impact of that investment is not fixed — it hinges entirely on whether African states have the institutional capacity to manage extraction responsibly. Countries with robust governance, like Botswana and Mauritius, fared well; those with weak oversight did not.
Off the back of her book which was launched last week, Professor Maura McAdam has written about her research into women entrepreneurs. Her article offers practical and reassuring advice for introverts navigating professional life.
Dr Maura McAdam
The piece pushes back against the assumption that extroverts have an inherent networking advantage, arguing that introversion is not shyness or a lack of confidence, but about how a person processes energy and information — and that many introverts are deep thinkers, strong listeners and thoughtful communicators whose qualities can help build meaningful professional relationships.
Institute of Education
Dr Sinan Aşçı from the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre has examined Ireland's proposal to introduce age restrictions on social media use for under-16s and whether it will help with Ireland’s status as a home to tech companies. The proposal sits within the government's new National Digital and AI Strategy 2030, which frames online safety and age verification as part of Ireland's broader ambition to position itself as a European digital regulatory hub — with a "digital wallet" age-verification system among the proposed measures.
Academic staff across the five faculties pitch successfully to The Conversation each month, either directly through their website or by approaching the University communications team for assistance. The communications team can also advise about upcoming information sessions. The outlet is free to read and content is free to republish under a Creative Commons licence, with articles also regularly syndicated by PA Media and Reuters news agencies to other media. For those looking to build up experience in engaging with the media, or those looking to promote a particular project, The Conversation can be a valuable opportunity.