We have a vibrant community of postgraduate research students across our three faculties. You can meet some of them below to capture an insight into their varied and diverse range of interests.
Advanced Phytoremediation using Soil Solarization enhanced with Biosurfactant as a Novel Approach for Sustainable Remediation of Contaminated Land in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
Anthony E Futughe is a proficient and dedicated individual to contaminated site remediation. He is currently exploring a novel technique that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost effective to clean-up impacted areas in the Niger Delta, which is the hub of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria. His research takes advantage of the sun in the subtropical region and native plants enhanced with biosurfactant for the clean-up of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated land as current remediation technologies are expensive, labour intensive or unsustainable. His research will contribute new knowledge, deeper understanding and open up new possibilities for sustainable remediation which is the focus of the 21st century.
Supervisory team: Dr Diane Purchase and Dr Huw Jones
Trauma and Memory in the Works of Kazuo Ishiguro
Tijana Matović is a postgraduate student with research focused on her proposed PhD thesis, Trauma and Memory in the Works of Kazuo Ishiguro. For the past four years, she has worked as a Teaching Assistant for English Literature and Culture at the Faculty of Philology and Arts, University of Kragujevac, Serbia. In her thesis she aims to apply the postulates of Trauma Theory and Memory Studies on Ishiguro's oeuvre, with a specific focus on the poststructuralist views of trauma and memory as they become integrated into contemporary literary and cultural theoretical frameworks.
Supervisory team: Dr Julia Borossa
Canine visitation therapy: the benefits of canine visitation therapy on wellbeing in Higher Education students
Given the high prevalence rate of mental health issues in higher education students, the current PhD aims to reach beyond current traditional practices to support students by exploring the use of canine visitation therapy (CVT) in enhancing emotional wellbeing. This series of studies therefore uses pre and post testing, in a controlled experimental design, to explore optimal conditions (e.g., duration of interaction, human:canine ratio) required for CVT to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety and depression, and enhancing wellbeing. The study also investigates the impact of moderating factors such as attachment and neoteny of the canine. Findings will contribute towards establishing a framework for effective CVT.
Supervisory team: Dr Gemma Reynolds and Dr Mark Coulson
A Descriptive, Practical, Hybrid Argumentation 
Model to Assist With the Formulation of Defensible Assessments in Uncertain Sense-Making Environments
Celeste Groenewald is a PhD student working under project VALCRI (Visual Analytics for Sense-Making in Criminal Intelligence Analysis), which has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013), European Commission Grant Agreement N° FP7-IP-608142, awarded to Prof. B.L. William Wong, Middlesex University and partners. Her research involves understanding how we could design software applications to support the creation of defensible assessments in uncertain sense-making environments, where information is often ambiguous or absent. Publications are available. Celeste is involved in Prof. Kurt Barling’s (School of Media and Performing Arts) project, which investigates the role of social media during the Grenfell Tower fire incident and the real effect social media has had on UK policy-making. Celeste is also involved in Assoc. Prof. Simon Attfield’s (School of Science and Technology) project, which assists the Pink Shoe Club with the design of an online, business-advice platform, where business advice is integrated along with the many different and complex aspects of a candidate’s personal life.
Supervisory team: Prof William Wong, Associate Prof Simon Attfield and Dr Peter Passmore
The impact of consumers’ transaction experience on the retailers’ transaction-specific brand equity– an analysis into consumers’ transaction experience with contactless technology, in the context of UK
The rapid development and adoption of technologies is changing the way of doing business significantly. The growing interest in electronic commerce to perform business transactions brought vital improvements, especially in contactless technologies. The organizations are now encouraging/adapting faster payment methods not only to satisfy customers with a positive experience, but also to serve more customers to earn themselves greater revenue and thus exploiting a win-win situation. On the other hand, customer experience has always been a central focus for all types of business; as experience is the only way how customers comes in contact with an organisation and gathers knowledge about the business- its products, offerings, services, facilities and the environment. Hence, taking into consideration the contactless technology and its effect on transaction experience, this paper studies customer experience from a different perspective that has never been studied before- transaction experience. Furthermore, this study aims to look into the possible antecedents of transaction-specific brand equity - thus, exploring the effect of a positive transaction experience on a transaction-specific brand equity.
Supervisory team: Prof T C Melewar, Dr Pantea Foroudi and Prof Charles Dennis
Understanding ‘vulnerability’ in the context of safeguarding and child protection: A Case Study in Health Visiting Service within an Inner London Borough
This qualitative research is undertaken by a professional with experience from nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Child abuse remains an emotive subject, and serious injury or death of a child brings strong emotions; and the feelings inevitably include a mixture of horror, anger, pity and sadness and the unavoidable question asked is: ‘why couldn’t professionals prevent this?’ The concept of changing ‘risk culture’ allows blame and criticisms often being adopted when ‘vulnerable’ child dies. This research examines how ‘risk culture’ permeates in the behaviours, decisions and relationship of health visitors with children and families in preventing abuse and neglect.
Supervisory team: Prof Michael Traynor and Dr Helen Hingley-Jones
Abolitionist Restorative Justice in the UK
The researcher is doing a PhD about restorative justice in the UK looked at from a lens of penal abolitionism. The main research question revolves around the extent to which there are abolitionist elements within the alternatives to custody available in the UK. Main participants in the primary research include practitioners of restorative justice as well academics and experts in the field. Government, probation offices and charity organisations working towards providing alternatives to imprisonment in the UK will make part of the interviewees.
Supervisory team: Professor Vincenzo Ruggiero, Dr Jenni Ward and Dr Santiago Amietta
An Exploration
of Strategies to Support Non-Specialist Mathematics and Statistics Learners in Higher Education
This doctorate intends to develop a few themes for exploration by looking at some major research questions. Past experiences (joy, excitement, apprehension, fear, anxiety) and personal expectations students have, that will help the researcher enhance his teaching skills and the students’ learning experience, in mathematics and statistics. Furthermore, the researcher is looking at appropriate actions he should undertake to assist non-specialist students in studying and enjoying mathematics/statistics modules.
Supervisory team: Dr Leena Robertson and Dr Gordon Weller
Towards the Reform
of 1961 Rome Convention: Regulating Unauthorised Use of Broadcast Signals
Suranga is an Attorney at Law and a Group Director of one of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka. His area of research is on unauthorised use of broadcast signals. He investigates the current problem of use of broadcast signals for commercial purposes and without permission, and proposes reforms based on improving the rights granted to broadcasters under the Rome Convention of 1961. His research examines relevant legal frameworks and international treaties relevant to broadcasting, the criticism prevailing on the draft treaty by WIPO. He argues a new or revised international treaty granting enhanced protection to broadcasting organisations to regulate retransmission, fixation, reproduction and communication to the public of their broadcasts are required in this digital era.
Supervisory team: Professor Alan Durant and Dr Joseph Corkin
Strategic aspects of remuneration
for service employees
The main problem in the choice of forms of remunerations for a specific team of employees is often contradictions between the employer's needs and the opportunities of influence, which the system used provides. Thus, there is a conflict between employer expectations (desired attitude to work) and the real attitude to work of employees. This imbalance leads to a deviation of actual results from the planned company, and distorts the performance of the organization. The cause of the described problem in most cases is the wrong choice of the remuneration system in the company. The purpose of the study is to develop the most simple and universal scheme of selection of a remuneration system in the service sector.
Supervisory team: Dr Claudio Morrison and Prof Richard Croucher
The evaluation of the impact of risk disclosure on the financial stability of banks: an empirical study of US banks
Ripon Mahmud started his MPhil/PhD in October 2016. He has also completed an MSc in International Accounting and Finance with distinction from University of East London. He has huge experience as a student consultant of postgraduate dissertations for a lot of students from several universities in the UK, along with project management experience. His research is mainly focused on Risk disclosure and Banks Financial stability. Along with his PhD research, he is currently working on two academic empirical papers which he aims to publish soon. Publication: Mahmud, R., Radic, N., Fiordelisi, F. and Badreddine, S. (2018), Risk disclosure and bank level Stability: An Empirical Study of EU and US banks (Forth coming).
Supervisory team: Dr Nemanja Radic and Dr Sina Badreddine
The Transition towards Becoming an Analytics-Driven Bank: An A
ction Research Investigation into the Users’ Perspective to the End of Enhancing the Adoption of Interactive Analysis Applications
Murat is currently the head of Business Analytics and Information Management Department at a mid-scale bank, which is also a member of a major international financial services group, in Turkey. He combines data analysis knowledge and skills with banking domain knowledge to help colleagues make better informed decisions through data analysis. As a professional-practice-based research in this context, this research is aimed at exploring the ways to successfully implement and maintain new-generation Business Analytics platforms for interactive analysis from a change management perspective, with a focus on the implementation and sustainability of the related organisational changes.
Supervisory team: Dr Nathalie van Meurs (academic advisor) and Prof Ifan Shepherd (programme director)
Active Older People Participating in Creative Dance – Challenging Percepti
ons
During March 2011-2016, the research, which began from the researcher’s personal interest, adapted to become an exploratory case-study with transdisciplinarity, interweaving topics from health and wellbeing, community development, ageing, social gerontology and dance studies. It includes qualitative interviews with older people who chose to dance and conversations with dance providers and decision-makers, data and evidence from academic literature and reports, autoethnography, and work-based evidence. Fifteen findings and ten recommendations emerge concerning lack of terminology, challenging ageism, older people’s dance becoming mainstream, age-friendly environments, intergenerational activities, and joined-up thinking needed across sectors to find solutions to meet 21st century challenges.
Supervisory team: Dr Barbara Workman, Prof Trish Hafford-Letchfield and Prof Carol Costley
Improving radiographers and patient interactions and communication in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory
Cabdi is a skilled and experienced radiography lecturer and advanced cardiac catheterization laboratory radiographer who is focused on excellent support to the academic staff and students. In 2016, Cabdi contributed and assisted his department to achieve successful academic and practice programmers. During the past six years, Cabdi has made a major involvement towards the cardiology department in Hammersmith Hospital, taking responsibility for working with colleagues towards integrating work process and training toward biplane cardiac medical imaging modalities. He is a reliable and confident team member willing to try out new ways of working in a changing work environment. His project proposes to investigate service-providers perspectives on the interactions and communications in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. This investigation will explore if the cardiac radiographers meet the needs of the service-users with attention being paid to communication and interactions in the cardiac catheterization radiography practices. ILP4060 project will interrogate if there are communication and interaction issues in the cardiology department as well as communication methods used by cardiac interventional radiographers. Cabdi's thesis will bring up resolutions and recommendations for those problems in the radiographer’s prospective. The findings of his MProf thesis will be tested and confirmed with the patients. This investigation will explore if the radiographer’s communication and interaction methods are meeting with the needs of the service-users with attention being paid to pre procedural and post procedural needs of service users. In this stage, he will examine if the communication and interaction methods of radiographers are beneficial to those it is designed to support and if we can do more to improve.
Supervisory team: Dr Catherine Kerr and Dr Gordon Weller
Enhancing environmental practices in Khoja faith communities: a collaborative inquiry
Makbul is a consultant on petroleum and mining and environment. He is inquiring into environmental practices in specific Muslim Khoja communities. The project seeks to enhance environmental practices in the faith communities through collaborative inquiry with small discussion groups. The groups will discuss the experiences of participants as individuals and community members concerning the environment, make a significant contribution to their understanding of the environment concerns and find practical ways of responding faith-fully to them. The project outcome will be a shared understanding of the Islamic faith position on safeguarding environment and guidelines to bring about change in environmental practices.
Supervisory team: Dr David Adams, Dr Nico Pizzolato (module leader) and Dr Stephen Peake (environment consultant)
Cultural Dimensions of Brand Equ
ity Formation: A Proposal for National Survey Research in Greek Insurance Companies
There are both chronological and thematic elements within it to demonstrate my learning over the past 20 years in management, marketing and selling at multinational companies such as: INTERAMERICAN, ALICO, TIM etc. Creating and managing brand image and equity is a critical part of any retail business’s overall marketing plan. Yet research is lacking that demonstrates clear correlations between cultural factors and branding images or brand equity formation in local markets. In other words, research is needed that examines the role of cultural factors in brand equity formation, especially as these affect Internet-based businesses ("e-tailing").
Supervisory team: Dr Elda Nikolou-Walker
The Aspiration Generation. The aspirations and implementation strategies of young Londoners at risk of educational underachievement
Magdolna Lőrinc’s doctoral research seeks to understand the role of aspirations and the necessary resources - cultural, social and economic capital, that young people need in order to develop effective educational and occupational strategies and implement them successfully. This longitudinal qualitative study explores the processes and mechanisms through which social inequalities manifest and reproduce during young people’s trajectories from education to employment, considering questions about equity in education, as well as personal and structural dimensions of social justice. The research has been completed as part of the large international project Reducing Early School Leaving in Europe (RESL.eu).
Supervisory team: Dr Alessio D'Angelo, Dr Leena Robertson and Prof Louise Ryan
Curriculum development and
delivery and the place of learning technologies in a context of changing academic identities
Kirsteen is a Lead Academic Developer based in the Centre for Learning & Teaching Enhancement. With her DProf study she is exploring the relationship between academics and academic developers and the ways in which they collaborate, taking into account changes to both roles in recent times. This study will also consider the impact of and support afforded by learning technologies to support the delivery of our programmes and student learning.
Supervisory team: Dr Leena Robertson and Dr Gordon Weller
Understanding and teaching idioms: arguments for assuming home cultural contexts in teaching materials
Salim’s research is associated with teaching and learning English as a second and foreign language. His research looks at different ways of processing idioms and tests and develops a new way of teaching idioms that accounts for home cultural assumptions in idiom comprehension considering key perspectives of culture and idiom meaning in Algerian higher education of English. The research also looks at the current teaching practice of English and idioms in Algeria and discusses aspects of linguistic imperialism in some of the teaching materials used in class. It raises implications about the use of ready-made teaching materials in class and the effects these materials have on teaching English in Algeria.
Supervisory team: Dr Anna Charalambidou and Prof Paul Cobley
