Orla Parslow
PhD Representative
o.parslow@surrey.ac.uk
01483 686939

The aim of my research is to explore how having informal elder care responsibilities impacts upon the life experiences of lesbians. I am interested in discovering how elder caring impacts lesbian lives in relation to issues of outness; in particular how outness maybe lived out differently in differing contexts such as in the home environment. The research will also seek to examine how differing levels of elder caring may impact upon socialization within the lesbian community; and how elder caring may impact upon the personal relationships of both single and coupled lesbians.
My supervisor is Dr Peter Hegarty

Mousa Alrashidi
M.Alrashidi@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 3971

My research work has involved developing measures of Arabic reading comprehension and Arabic syntactic awareness as well as modifying (re-designing) additional measures related to phonological and morphological skills in Arabic. This has involved designing measures, piloting these measures and working out the reliability and efficiency of the measures. Such measures can now be used to assess theories of literacy development in Arabic - eg, they will allow us to assess psychological models of reading. They will also provide a practical application, in that they can support psychological assessment procedures - for example, in the identification of developmental learning disabilities. Therefore, I feel that this research will make a good contribution to the field of Arabic psychological measurement, as well as psychological theories and practice.

Allison Armstrong
A.Armstrong@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 9559

Part of the cause of the current ecological crisis is Western overconsumption, which is over-using resources and causing waste and excessive energy use.  Additionally, once basic needs are met, this overconsumption may not provide any increase in happiness or well-being, and may become a compulsive tendency.  One potential antidote, which may lead to personal contentment, and awareness about the compulsive behaviour is Mindfulness; an ability to be present-moment aware in a non-judgemental way.  My PhD is studying the process of mindfulness when applied to compulsive consumers.  So far my quantitative work has ascertained a negative association between compulsive consumption (and materialism) and mindfulness.  My qualitative work is ongoing, but will lead to an intervention study.

Ali al-Azzawi
a.al-azzawi@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 9559

My project is centred on the general topic of User Experience (UX), and the aim is to find a framework or model about the nature of user experience, and how it changes with use. Specifically, the four major studies within the project have been focused on portable media devices (MP3 players). The first study was designed to find the constructs that people use to make sense of MP3 players, and to find out the main groups of MP3, as perceived by users. These findings were then used to explore dynamics of UX during interaction, as well as long-term use. Kelly’s (1955) Personal Construct Theory has been used as a basis for this research project, including methods such as sorting tasks and interviews for collecting data. The data were analysed with variants of Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) based on Facet Theory principles and techniques, as well as standard statistical analysis, and content analysis of interview data.
This project is supervised by Prof. David Frohlich (DWRC) and Dr. Margaret Wilson (Psychology Department), and is sponsored by Openia.

Kerry Brown
k.brown@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 3977

I am a part time PhD student in the field of public health nutrition. My PhD explores child and adolescent dietary related attitudes and behaviours making reference to how health promotion strategies may best effect behaviour change in these important and vulnerable groups.
I began working as a researcher in 2004 when I joined Julie Barnett on the Safefood project at the University of Surrey (2004-2005) and have since worked for Roehampton University on a joint project with the University of Surrey and Jane Ogden (2005-2006) and spent 6 months working at Auckland University (2007). I rejoined the University of Surrey in 2008 and currently work with Monique Raats and Lada Timotijevic on the Eurreca project - an EU funded project looking at the process of micronutrient recommendation setting (www.eurreca.org/everyone).
Please see below links to PhD related publications:
The role of parental control practices in explaining children's diet and BMI
Appetite, Volume 50, Issues 2-3, March-May 2008, Pages 252-259 Kerry A. Brown, Jane Ogden, Claus Vögele, E. Leigh Gibson

Michael Burnett
MPhil/Phd (part time)

The importance of the situation in occupational assessment.
A recent reexamination of the 'exercise' effect in assessment centres emphasises that the 'traits' typically measured in occupational psychology do not adequately account for observed behaviour. In my research I am using structural equation models initially to model assessment centre results and to compare 'trait' and 'situation' effects. A low fidelity simulation which enables the structural components of 'trait' and 'situation' to be decomposed in a structural equation model has been developed. This will be used to examine how variations in the 'situation' faced by candidates undergoing assessment alter the information about that candidate's 'traits' and whether current concepts in applied measurement needs to change to do justice to a person's strengths and weaknesses for a job or role.

Moira Cachia
m.cachia@surrey.ac.uk

Having attained a Masters degree in Occupational Psychology at UniS, I have now moved on to focussing my PhD thesis on the employee’s perceived terms with the employer, termed as “psychological contract”.  This concept has become recognized as important in managing the employment relationship.  Modifications to the psychological contract have so far been attributed to organizational changes which affect the employment relationship.  However, the aim of my research is to better account for the interdependence between the employee’s identity and psychological contract formation and development.  I am therefore acknowledging psychological contracting as a dynamic process which requires consideration of the individual’s changing identity needs.
Supervisor: Dr Lynne Millward Purvis

Ally Clifford
A.M.Clifford@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 6938

My research interests include colour perception in infants and toddlers and neurological aspects of colour vision and colour categorisation. After working at the Surrey Baby Lab during my undergraduate placement year, I returned to Surrey to study for a PhD. During my time here I have set up an EEG lab within the department to enable me to investigate the origin and nature of perceptual colour categories using the event-related potential technique. I am currently writing my thesis and intend to continue with my research after finishing my PhD.

Louisa Grech
L.Grech@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 2884

The aim of my research consists of an examination of comprehension skills amongst the Maltese-English bilingual children who attend Government schools in Malta. Currently no standardized measures to assess comprehension and literacy exist in Malta. The key objectives of this research are twofold: primarily to identify the level of reading comprehension in both Maltese and English and secondly to understand what is predictive of Maltese comprehension.
I have been working in the field of learning difficulties for the past 11 years, particularly in the area of dyslexia. My future aspiration is to create measures that will help in identifying children who encounter difficulties of a dyslexic nature.

Katherine (Katie) Herron
k.herron@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 2889

I’m part of a team within the Department of Psychology headed by Prof. Annette Sterr, known as the Clinical Neuroscience Research Team. We are currently investigating a form of neurorehabilitation known as ‘Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy’ (CIT) which aims to facilitate motor movement in those who experience hemiparesis a result of stroke. My PhD research aims to investigate the role of sleep and daytime functioning in those participants undergoing CIT using sleep diary, actigraphy and EEG techniques. I am currently in my third year of study.

Amelia Hollywood
a.hollywood@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 6883

My research focuses on patients' experiences of taking orlistat.
Orlistat (Xenical) is one of the most commonly prescribed obesity medications which acts on the gastrointestinal system and works by reducing fat absorption. It helps block about one-third of the fat in the food eaten from being absorbed in the body and is eliminated in bowel movements. When orlistat is taken in conjunction with high fat foods there are unpleasant consequences including liquid stools, an urgency to go to the toilet and anal leakage, this is because the drug prevents the fat consumed from being absorbed by the body. Orlistat is therefore used as a weight loss tool.
I completed a long term follow up study of individuals who had been prescribed orlistat by their GP and registered on the MAP support program. The main focus of the research was to look at beliefs about obesity, motivations to lose weight and behaviour, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Supervisor:  Prof Jane Ogden

I am currently running EEG experiments to investigate which sensorimotor processes are affected by changes in blood glucose concentrations as a result of glucose administration. Behavioural studies have shown choice reaction times to be improved if blood glucose concentrations are elevated within the normal range experienced by healthy people. However, how glucose affects the brain to cause these behavioural affects is not precisely known. The aim of my PhD is to investigate this problem using EEG as a marker of different perceptual and motor preparation and execution processes, to see what kind of changes in brain function allow faster and/or more accurate sensorimotor function.
Supervisor:

Corinne Huntington
C.Huntington@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 6939

My research focuses on evaluating the impact of parenting programmes on encouraging positive parenting practices for children under five. Much of my research examines the co-parenting relationship from differing perspectives, including mothers, fathers and project workers to grasp programme effectiveness in catering for co-parenting and the potential scope for programmes to enhance co-parenting relationships further. Before beginning my PhD I worked with three to five year old children with difficulties and their families. This experience provided the inspiration for my current work, particularly through observing the parent-child dynamics in a real world setting and recognising first hand the importance of this relationship.
Supervisors: Prof Arlene Vetere and Dr Riccardo Draghi-Lorenz

Georgina Ingall
g.ingall@surrey.ac.uk

I have gained extensive experience with the NHS Smoking Cessation Service as a Specialist Pregnancy Stop Smoking Advisor. During my time in post I recognised that improvement of knowledge and understanding around pregnant women’s experiences of quitting still needed addressing. Therefore, the aim of my PhD research is to explore the psychological barriers women experience when trying to quit smoking during pregnancy. To explore this I have used a qualitative approach. I will be further developing my research to investigate the effects of the 12 week ultrasound scan on pregnant women’s attitudes towards smoking and to prospectively examine whether smoking attitudes in early pregnancy are predictive of quitting intentions.
Supervisor: Dr Mark Cropley

Linda Johnstone Sorensen
l.johnstonesorensen@surrey.ac.uk

My research investigates ways in which informational displays can be used to support situational awareness in teams. I am particularly interested in distributed situational awareness and information exchange in distributed systems. I am also interested in cognitive engineering and decision making. Before beginning my PhD I have worked with Human Factors and I hope to combine both academic pursuits with a commercial role in the future.
Supervisor: Dr Adrian Banks

Angelos Kassianos
a.kassianos@surrey.ac.uk

After diagnosis a feeling of loosing control is intense among cancer patients. My research work focuses on the impact of dietetic and nutritional changes on the psychological wellbeing and quality of life of men with prostate cancer. I intend to use both quantitative and qualitative analyses to inform future health care recommendations through a synthesis of current knowledge, and provision of robust new evidence. Results from the studies will inform us whether lifestyle and behavioral changes related to diet may benefit prostate cancer patients regain a sense of control over their lives and enhance their quality of life.  

Vicknaeshwari (Vicky) Marimuther
V.Marimuther@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 2884

My research focuses on brain injuries of British service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am interested in how the British government and military constructs brain injury in the military. As part of my PhD I would also be looking at soldiers' constructions of brain injury amongst service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Supervisors: Dr Dora Brown and Dr Adrian Coyle

Georgia Michalianou
Georgia.Michalianou@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 2884

I have previously worked at the University of Surrey as a research assistant on an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study on the relationship between long-term job strain and subjective and psycho-physiological recovery. The study also investigated how people ‘switch-off’ from work related thoughts and ‘unwind’ after work.
During my time working on the above project, I found that individuals’ work and lifestyle have important effects on their health. For that reason, the aim of my PhD research is to further investigate the factors linking work and health among white collar workers and how workers disengage from work related thoughts after work. My PhD research work has involved constructing a new measure consisting of a three-factor model of perseverative thinking about work, labeled "affective rumination, problem solving and detachment from work related thoughts". I have piloted this new tripartite measure and tested the reliability and validity of the measure by conducting three further studies examining the relationship between work related rumination on blood pressure, sleep, and eating disorders. My aim for this research is to make a valuable contribution to the fields of work stress, physiological recovery from work and health.
Supervisor: Dr Mark Cropley

Mazlina Muhamad
M.Muhamad@surrey.ac.uk

My study is focusing on leadership and psychometric. These two areas have been receiving growing interest in the academic and applied setting due to globalization and internalization of the world's economy. The first study is looking at identifying criterion of effective leadership and after having established this, I will do a criterion centric validation of psychometric tests in measuring the criterion of leadership that has been identified. This criterion centric approach to examine the validity of psychometric testing is still an emerging area within occupational psychology and previous research such as Bartram (2005) had demonstrated how this approach to validation which their study had involved differentiating performance in the criterion domain such as differentiating factors of job performance led to better articulated predictors of work-related behaviours. The envisaged outcomes of the study throughout the stages include exploration of the leadership model and psychometric tools with consideration of cross cultural aspects in relation to current literature on these matters and a criterion-centric approach to examine the validity of psychometric testing.

Ilia Papachristou
I.Papachristou@surrey.ac.uk

Over the past three years I have been working for the South London and Maudsley Hospital, with older people suffering from dementia.
This has led me to my current research project of investigating the nutritional up keep of people with dementia, the role food plays for them, their caregivers and the coping strategies employed in order to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.
Dementia is an important health and social care issue affecting many of people and their families later in life.
With my PHD I’m hoping to highlight and improve food-related quality of life, through care management.
A food related care intervention program for informal carers of people with dementia will also be developed and evaluated.

Marina Rachitskiy
m.rachitskiy@surrey.ac.uk
01483 68 6899

My main interests lie in the antisocial behaviour of youth and factors associated with that behaviour. I believe that focusing attention on antisocial youth is highly important in moderating adult antisocial behaviour and reducing the overall crime rate. Throughout my PhD I am investigating how experiences with authorities (parents, teachers, and police) affect adolescents’ display of aggressive behaviour and intentions to assist those authorities in investigations. The aim of this research is to investigate the underlying factors of non-compliance with social norms and future development of interventions to target those factors, thus, assisting adolescents in becoming contributing members of their community.

Abeeb Olufemi Salaam 
a.salamm@surrey.ac.uk

My research focuses on psychosocial risk factors, substance involvement and the trajectory of criminal offending in Nigeria. This study is informed by a lack of statistical evidence to establish the extent to which various risk factors could lead to substance misuse and offending behaviour among the offender population in Nigeria. In bridging this gap, two major groups were recruited for the study. These were youth gangs (area boys and yan-daba) and offenders in selected prisons across the country. We hope that the findings of this study may signal a critical need to develop effective policies relating to health, crime and drug prevention policies and programmes in Nigeria. However, before I travelled to Nigeria to collect the data to inform this study, I conducted a pilot study on the patterns of and motivation for drug and alcohol use among the Black African minorities in the United Kingdom.

Supervisors: Prof Jennifer Brown & Dr Lynsey Gozna

Marilyn Sher
msher@standrew.co.uk
m.drue@surrey.ac.uk
01604 768 594

I am a part-time PhD student and currently work as a Chartered Forensic Psychologist in a secure hospital for adolescent offenders. In contrast to my clinical work, the PhD I am undertaking aims to enhance the field of investigative psychology. My study aims to increase the evidence base on post killing behaviours (PKB) in order to develop profiles of offenders to assist the investigative process regarding homicides. Profiling is an increasingly expanding area in the field of investigative psychology, with more and more reliance on it to quickly and efficiently identify which suspect’s investigators should focus on. In addition, there is limited knowledge about post mortem mutilation (PMM) and the contribution of such motives to offending behaviour. PMM is rare, and its rarity makes it difficult to study. This is reflected in the paucity of research in this area. The current study therefore additionally proposes to examine in detail this aspect of PKB.
Supervisor: Prof Jennifer Brown

Clare Smith
c.smith@surrey.ac.uk

I am a speech and language therapist, and have been working with early years language development in the NHS for 9 years.  Most recently I have been involved in the development and evaluation of services that aim to prevent language delay caused by environmental factors.  My research focuses on investigating the effectiveness of a one-off health promotion service for language development.  A language promotion service will be given to the parents of babies, and their subsequent talk to their children will then be examined.  They will also be compared with parents who do not receive such a service.  The infants' language development will also be measured at intervals until the child is 2 years of age.  It is hoped that a service such as this, if effective, could help promote a child's language development and subsequent social, emotional and academic development. 
I am supervised by Dr Emma Williams and also Professor Karen Bryan from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

Seung Ho Youn
s.youn@surrey.ac.uk
01483 686890

I’m a PhD student researching symbolic heritage and the reconstruction of identity.  I studied heritage visitor behaviour for my Masters degree at the University of Surrey where I wrote my dissertation on the heritage visitors’ experiences at national heritage sites in the UK.  My PhD research aims to investigate how the demolition and reconstruction of South Korea's symbolic colonial heritage buildings affect the reconstruction of identity.  It is true that most people would agree on the positive impact of cultural heritage preservation.  However, some heritage, such as colonial buildings and monuments, has been deliberately destroyed in order to revise people’s memories where identity is endangered.  Given this fact, by focusing on the concepts of environmental psychology and social psychology, my research investigates both the empirical and theoretical relationship between symbolic colonial heritage and people’s identity, with an emphasis on the ways meaning change in a Korean context.  This will allow for an increased understanding of social debates about colonial heritage including contemporary conservation, competing values, meanings, and identity production.
Supervised by Prof David Uzzell