PhD Candidates

	Ms Salsabil Abdalbaki (Complex Systems & Computational Social Sciences) Research Interests: Data science; social network analysis; text mining; water resources management; Egypt; MENA region Thesis Title: Dynamic Topic Modelling and Network Analysis for Water Resources Management in the Nile River Email: (opens in a new window)salsabil.abdalbaki@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Johan A Elkink
	Mr Justin Allen (Global Human Development) Research Interests: Stakeholder engagement; citizen participation; community-based participatory research; and co-production across the public policy cycle; How public service skilling programs impact realization of co-created SDG outcomes. Thesis Title: Co-creating Sustainability in Bhutan: Experimental Civil Servant Upskilling to Identify and Implement Citizen-centric Solutions Email: (opens in a new window)justin.allen@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Prof Patrick Paul Walsh (SPIRe) Co-Supervisor: Prof Ciara Whelan (Economics)
	Ms Heba Elsahn (Politics & International Relations) Research Interests: power dynamics; international development; humanitarian aid; food security; MENA region Thesis Title: The Politics of Food Aid in the Middle East Email: (opens in a new window)heba.elsahn@ucdconnect.ie Primary Supervisor: Dr Vincent Durac Co-Supervisor: Dr Caitriona Dowd
	Ms Sarah King (Quantitative & Computational Social Science) Research interests: Quantitative text analysis; research methods; public policy; higher education policy; representation; responsiveness; legislative behaviour Thesis Title: The Politicization and Agenda-Setting Dynamics of Higher Education Funding Reform: A Comparative Perspective Email: (opens in a new window)sarah.king4@ucdconnect.ie(opens in a new window) Supervisor: Dr Stefan Müller
	Ms Shannon Kobran (Global Human Development) Research interests: Education for sustainable development; tertiary education; public policy; interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches Thesis Title: Enabling lifelong learning for a just transition: A study of public policy approaches to advancing adult learning and professional upskilling for sustainable development Email: (opens in a new window)shannon.kobran@ucdconnect.ie(opens in a new window) Supervisor: Dr Yoo Sun Jung
	Ms Linette Lim (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Authoritarian politics; media governance; propaganda and censorship in Asia; Chinese nationalism; mixed methods; quantitative text analysis Thesis Title: Invoking the Foreign Enemy: How China's Media Governance Entrenches Authoritarian Resilience Email: (opens in a new window)linette.lim@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Alexander Dukalskis
	Mr James MacCarthy Morrogh (Politics & International Relations) Thesis title: Foreign policy, fundamentalism and American public opinion: the impact of evangelicals and Christian belief Email: (opens in a new window)james.maccarthymorrogh@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr James Cross
	Mr Lorcan McLaren (Quantitative & Computational Social Science) Research interests: Quantitative text analysis; political communication; climate politics; environmental psychology; EU politics; network analysis Thesis Title: Taking the green pill: Moral language, emotion, and persuasion in the climate crisis Email: (opens in a new window)lorcan.mclaren@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr James Cross
	Mr Kevin McParland (Politics & International Relations) Research Interests: South Asian politics; education and development; globalisation and development Thesis Title: No country is an island: a comparative analysis of Sri Lanka's alliances with India and China, 2005-2015 Email: (opens in a new window)kevin.mcparland@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Andy Storey
	Mr Lucas de Melo Prado (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Political theory; political discourse; discourse analysis; social justice; equality studies; democracy. Thesis Title: The Worst-Off and the Legitimation of Social Inequalities: Contemporary Electoral Discourses Across Varieties of Capitalism Email: (opens in a new window)lucas.(opens in a new window)demeloprado@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Joseph Lacey
	Ms Lakshmi Menon (Quantitative & Computational Social Science) Research interests: Multinational enterprises; International economics; NLP; Data science; Statistical modelling; Political economics; Public policy; Economic Inequality and Democracy; Tax policy Thesis Title: Democracy Challenged - How Corporate Tax Avoidance Fuels the Wealth Inequalities that Undermine Democracy. Email: (opens in a new window)lakshmi.menon@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Aidan Regan
	Ms Louise Monger (Global Human Development) Research interests: Human Resource Management; Sustainability Studies; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Performance Management. Thesis Title: Professionalization of the Field of Sustainability in South East Asia Email: (opens in a new window)louise.monger@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Prof Patrick Paul Walsh (SPIRe) Co-Supervisor: Prof Ciara Whelan (Economics)
	Ms Paula Montano (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: EU politics; political communication; political rhetoric; public opinion; quantitative text analysis Thesis Title: How do national and European elites frame integration? Extracting political elite discourse and measuring its influence in attitudes towards integration. Email: (opens in a new window)gina.montanoparrales@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr James Cross
	Mr Jihed Ncib (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Political representation; public opinion; public policy; legislative behaviour; quantitative text analysis Thesis Title: Dynamic representation and issue responsiveness: measuring the impact of institutional and contextual factors on individual legislators’ responsiveness using text analysis Email: (opens in a new window)jihed.ncib@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Stefan Müller
	Mr Ciarán Ó Brian (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Political theory; political ecology; Marxism; critical theory; normative political theory (theories of rights & justice); anarchism; anticolonial and decolonial theory; green political theory Thesis Title: Climate Borders - Climate Induced Displacement, the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, and Fortress Europe Email: (opens in a new window)ciaran.obrien3@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Alexa Zellentin
	Ms Sadhbh O'Neill (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Normative political theory; the political and social theory of Jurgen Habermas; climate justice; democratic theory Thesis title: Deliberative democracy and climate change: an evaluation of the quality of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary discourse in the public sphere Email: (opens in a new window)sadhbh.o-neill@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Alexa Zellentin Co-Supervisor: Dr Tobias Theiler
	Ms Neha Parikh (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: Universal Health Coverage; health system reform; health equity; global health policy; mixed methods research; program evaluation and implementation research; political economy & governance of health. Thesis title: Plugging the Gap: How can India ensure equitable health coverage for its ‘Missing Middle’? Email: (opens in a new window)neha.parikh@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Krishna Vadlamannati
	Ms Mafalda Patacão Zúquete (Quantitative and Computational Social Sciences) Research interests: political communication; televised debates; mixed computational methods; Portuguese politics Thesis title: Issues, emotions, and competition: televised debates in Portugal Email: (opens in a new window)mafalda.patacaozuquete@ucdconnect.ie Primary Supervisor: Dr Stefan Müller Co-Supervisor: Dr Joseph Lacey
	Ms Sofia Quaglia (Quantitative & Computational Social Sciences) Research interests: Quantitative Social Sciences; Computational Ethics, Machine Learning; International Conflict; Muslim Resistance Movements; Conflict Analysis Thesis title: Developing Tools for Cognitive Mapping Analysis of Arabic Interviews with Actors in Muslim Resistance Movements Email: (opens in a new window)sofia.quaglia@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Stephanie Dornschneider-Elkink
	Mr Jambo Ramadhani (Politics & International Relations) Research Interests: Climate Change; Natural Resources; Social Inclusion; Public Policy; Leadership; Diplomacy; and Sustainable Development Thesis Title: A Framework for Decentralised Climate Financing in Tanzania Email: (opens in a new window)jambo.ramadhani@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr. Krishna Vadlamannati
	Ms Smrutimayee Sarangi (Quantitative & Computational Social Science) Research interests: Public policy; gender; public health; inequality; maternal health; quantitative research methods; mixed methods; health economics Thesis Title: Inequality in Maternal Health Care and the Offsetting Influences of Patriarchy and Community: A Study of India’s Indigenous Communities Email: (opens in a new window)smrutimayee.sarangi@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Prof Supriya Garikipati
	Mr Carl Smith (Politics & International Relations) Thesis title: China's Belt and Road Initiative in developing countries Email: (opens in a new window)carl.smith@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Krishna Vadlamannati
	Mr Benjamin Swift (Politics & International Relations) Thesis title: On Republican Intergovernmentalism, Procedural Legitimacy and Inter-Governmental Decision-Making in the European Union Email: (opens in a new window)benjamin.swift@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Joseph Lacey
	Mr Conor Twomey (Politics & International Relations) Research interests: comparative political economy of growth models, wealth and income inequality, and political communication. Thesis Title: The role of the media in generating popular support for austerity in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis. Email: (opens in a new window)conor.twomey@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Aidan Regan
	Mr Jorge Tamames (Politics & International Relations) Thesis title: Populism as Countermovement: Left and right insurgencies in Western Europe Email: (opens in a new window)jorge.tamames@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Aidan Regan
	Mr Dino Wildi (Politics & International Relations) Thesis Title: How does European integration interact with right-wing populism in various countries, and which factors affect this interaction? Email: (opens in a new window)dino.wildi@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Thomas Däubler
	Mr Linus Zechlin (Quantitative & Computational Social Science) Research interests: Corporate Tax Avoidance; International Political Economy; Inequality Economics; Complex System Economics Thesis Title: Democracy Challenged - The implications of corporate tax avoidance for wealth inequality and democratic institutions Email: (opens in a new window)linus.zechlin@ucdconnect.ie Supervisor: Dr Aidan Regan