Sarah Curristan

Biography

Sarah Curristan has a background in psychology and cognitive science. She has previously been involved in several research projects in the area of European security under the FP7 and Horizon 2020 European funding frameworks. These projects include: an examination of online mobile communications and social media solutions for crisis and emergency management (iSAR+, SOTERIA); the creation of new technology solutions for intelligence sharing and the mitigation of the threat posed by homemade explosives (HOMER); and the delivery of game-based training for soft skills aimed at personnel deployed to international peacekeeping missions (GAP). Her role within these projects was to carry out organizational fieldwork, requirements gathering, HCI analysis, and perform broader system evaluation for the effectiveness and acceptability of new technologies for security.

Currently, Sarah is working on the PRILA project funded by the European Research Council. This project seeks to examine how accountability is upheld in the prison context, and the lived experience of these mechanisms in practice. In particular, her research will focus on the experiences of governors, senior management, and senior administration. This research will be conducted with a view to understanding how accountability mechanisms are regarded and understood by staff, how they affect the perceived legitimacy of the organization, and how they could be best instantiated to support prison work. This work will involve an in-depth mixed-methods study of the Irish system which will then serve as the basis for comparison with other European models of accountability.

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Research Interests

• Penal Reform
• Criminology
• Security & Society
• Morality & Ethics
• Organisational Culture
• Design, Creativity & Innovation

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Education Details

• Ph.D. Candidate, School of Law, Trinity College (2017 – present)
• M.A Cognitive Science, University College Dublin (2013 – 2014).
• B.A Psychology, Trinity College (2008 – 2012).

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Employment Details

• Centre for Innovative Human Systems, Trinity College (2014 - 2017)
• Research Assistant, University College Dublin (2014)
• Research Assistant, Trinity College Dublin (2013)
• Research Assistant, Dublin City University (2012 - 2013)

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Publications

Journal Articles:

Lambe, K., O’Reilly, G., Kelly, B.D., and Curristan, S. (2016). Dual-process cognitive interventions to enhance diagnostic reasoning: A systematic review. British Medical Journal: Quality and Safety.

Book Chapters

Ross, D., Cooke, M., and Curristan, S. (2016). Organisational Guidelines. In S. Schmidt and D. Knuth (Eds.) iSAR+: New Media in Crisis Solutions (p. 165-187). Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science Publishers.

Presentations

Curristan, S. (December 2016). HOMER: A Concept of Operations. South East European Region Stakeholder Event. Thessaloniki, Greece.

Curristan, S. (October 2016). HOMER: A Concept of Operations. UK Home Office, Centre for Applied Science & Technology, St. Alban’s, United Kingdom.

Curristan, S. (May, 2016). A Bayesian Approach to Homemade Explosive Threat Assessment. HEMUS 2016 Conference, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Reports to European Commission

GAP, Gaming for Peace. Deliverable 3.1: Regional Stakeholder Reports. 2017.

HOMER, Homemade Explosive and Recipe Characterisation. Deliverable 6.4: Assessment of Impact and Measurement on Human, Operational, and Organisational Processes. 2016.

HOMER, Homemade Explosive and Recipe Characterisation. Deliverable 4.3: Techno-Operational and Evolving Threat Report: The HOMER CONOPS. 2016. [Lead Author]

HOMER, Homemade Explosive and Recipe Characterisation. Deliverable 2.3: Assessment of the Evolving Threat from Homemade Explosives. 2016. [Lead Author]

HOMER, Homemade Explosive and Recipe Characterisation. Deliverable 2.2: Homemade Explosive Handbook. 2015. [Lead Author]

HOMER, Homemade Explosive and Recipe Characterisation. Deliverable 2.1: Homemade Explosive Data Structure: Data Map of Content Categories. 2015.

iSAR+ Online Mobile Communications for Crisis Response and Search and Rescue. Deliverable 2.241: Integrated iSAR+ Recommendations: Basic and Enhanced Prototype. 2015. [Lead Author]

iSAR+ Online Mobile Communications for Crisis Response and Search and Rescue. Deliverable 3.331: Organisational Recommendations for iSAR+: Basic and Enhanced Prototype. 2015.

iSAR+ Online Mobile Communications for Crisis Response and Search and Rescue. Deliverable 4.431: Human Factors Analysis of iSAR+ Platform. 2015. [Lead Author]

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