Recovery from brain injury: Finding the missing bits of the puzzle

Background: One basic problem found during rehabilitation is that people with brain injuries lack awareness of their difficulties. Research into this phenomenon has often disregarded the voices of those affected by the trauma and do not give an insider's perspective on the process through which a person with a brain injury develops awareness of their difficulties.

'Whatever You Say, Say Nothing' : Researching Memory & Identity in Mid-Ulster, 1945-1969

The influence of collective memory on political identity in Ireland has been well documented. It has particular force in Northern Ireland where there is fundamental disagreement about how and why the conflict erupted and how it should be resolved. This article outlines some of the issues encountered by an ‘insider’ when attempting to record and analyse the conflicting memories of a range of Protestants and Catholics who grew up in Mid-Ulster in the decades preceding the Troubles. In particular, it considers the challenges and opportunities presented by a two-pronged approach to oral history: using testimony as evidence about historical experience in the past and as evidence about historical memory – both collective and individual – in the present.

Getting Away With It:Corruption, Moral Indignation and the Limits of Legal Accountability

In this paper we address the idea of ‘legal but corrupt’ through a discussion of two cases: abuse scandals in the Irish Catholic Church and the financial services industry in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. We identify two important dynamics that generated the scandals: that they were driven by strong and stable groups existing within a peculiar kind of ‘accountability space’ that we describe as ‘monastic’ and that those groups persisted with tacit or explicit support from the state. ‘Legal but corrupt’ is, we argue, a matter of insider incomprehension sustained by the ceding of sovereignty over some aspect of social or economic life.

Gaining ethical approvals to undertake sexual health research with young people in the UK: Applying a 'Children's Rights Based Approach'

This paper (co-written with Dr Maria Lohan, Dr Carmel Kelly & Professor Laura Lundy) will describe the ethical review process to undertake health research in the UK, and explain an approach that can help researchers deal with ethical and methodological dilemmas in their research. Ethical review is necessary to ensure researchers and participants are protected, yet the requirement to ‘pass’ numerous committees may be challenging particularly for health researchers who work with vulnerable groups and sensitive topics. The inclusion of these groups/topics is crucial if health researchers are to understand health disparities and implement appropriate interventions with health benefits for vulnerable populations. It is proposed that to overcome ethical and methodological challenges and pitfalls, researchers must implement strategies that advocate for, and increase the participation of, vulnerable populations in health research. A ‘children’s rights based approach’ using participatory methodology will be described that draws on the jurisprudence of international law, (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989) and provides a framework that may empower ethics committees to carry out their function confidently. The role of the researcher, framed within the context of doctoral level study, will be reviewed in terms of the investment required and benefits of utilising this approach. It will be argued that adopting this approach with vulnerable groups, not only guarantees their meaningful participation in the research process and permits their voices to be heard, but also offers ethics committees an internationally agreed upon legal framework, ratified by their governing States, from which to fulfil their obligations and resolve their ethical dilemmas. Increasing the representation and participation of vulnerable groups in health research can inform the development of health policy and practice based on ‘insider knowledge’ that better engages with and more adequately reflects their specific needs. This is likely to yield numerous health, social and economic benefits for all of society through the delivery of more equitable, effective and sustainable services.