Dr. Pablo Gracia

Summary

The overall goal of DIGYMATEX is to provide evidence-based tools that will assist in understanding and measuring children's digital maturity. These tools are intended to be used e.g. by families, schools, and policy stakeholders. The first tool is the development of an innovative and market-ready instrument - the Digital Youth Maturity Index (DYMI) - as a cloud-based open-access tool in order to establish and implement a comprehensive understanding and taxonomy of children's digital maturity leading to the prediction and explanation of benefits and risks regarding children's ICT-related behaviour. The Digital Youth Maturity Index will act as a measurement tool for classification and segmentation of user groups as well as a behavioural prediction tool based on machinelearning techniques. The second tool is the development and application of the DiGYou-program - a technology-related solution and recommendation program, which is based on as well as supports the application of the DYMI. The two innovative tools will directly target the main impact goals associated with the call. With the Digital Youth Maturity Index (DMYI), the project will be able to develop and implement a comprehensive taxonomy, which will inform relevant stakeholders and practitioners on the long-term effects of ICT on child behaviour. Furthermore, with the DMYI in combination with the DigYou3-program, we will develop concrete solutions in order to contribute to a safer and more beneficial use of digital technologies by children and we will be able to formulate recommendations in support of national and European policies in the field. DYGIMATEX - builds on an inter-disciplinary, multimethod approach by integrating expertise, methods and knowledge from different research areas like business management, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, media and information systems, as well as industry partners (i.e., from IOT, food, telecommunication) and policy stakeholders (i.e., education, EU policy).

Funding Agency

European Commission

Programme

Horizon 2020 / -SC6- TRANSFORMATIONS-07-2019-RIA

Summary

One-parent families account for a growing share of Irish families with children (over 1 in 4 in the 2016 census). Lone parents and their children are at increased risk for poor mental health and psychological wellbeing compared to their peers in two-parent families. This represents a fundamental health inequality. Positive mental health and wellbeing are not only essential for good overall health but are also central to a good quality of life. To date, there is limited research on the links between family structure and mental health in Ireland, though international research suggests that chronic stress may be a key factor. This project is a collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and One Family, Ireland's leading organisation for people parenting alone and their children. It examines the factors that shape wellbeing in one-parent families in Ireland, including the role of chronic stress, and investigates ways to buffer lone parents and their children against the harmful effects of chronic stress on mental health and wellbeing. The research has two parts: (1) an in-depth statistical analysis of the factors that shape mental health and wellbeing using longitudinal data from a study of 18,000 Irish children and their families; and (2) an intervention promoting self-esteem, self efficacy, and social support among 60 lone parents to determine if this can buffer against poor mental health outcomes for them and their children. This project will produce new knowledge about wellbeing in one-parent families in Ireland and will facilitate the development of effective policies and services to promote positive mental health and wellbeing among this at-risk population. This contributes to the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of Good Health (SDG 3) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10).

Funding Agency

European Commission & Irish Research Council

Programme

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, CoFund/CAROLINE

Summary

Digitalisation has transformed our society, culture and economy (Castells, 2002) in a context of rising global inequalities (Piketty et al., 2018). Digitalisation has also transformed the domestic sphere, creating new forms of digital childhoods, with children's lives being increasingly affected by electronic devices (Mascheroni & Olaffson, 2016). While we know that child digital use brings risks (anxiety) and benefits (ICT skills) for their cognitive development, health status or socio-emotional well-being (Livingstone, 2018), how child digitalisation impacts the reproduction of social inequalities remains unclear. This project seeks to fill this key gap by studying how child digitalisation influences the reproduction of social inequalities in contemporary society. The main objective of the project is to provide new fresh evidence of how child digitalisation affects the transmission of social inequalities from parents to children in contemporary societies (Breen et al., 2018; Lareau, 2011). By employing a multi-methods approach, the project will investigate three research questions: (RQ1) How does digital socialisation affect social inequalities in child development?; (RQ 2): What is the role of digitalisation in the reproduction of social inequalities?; (RQ 3): Do digital parenting strategies contribute to (re)produce socioeconomic inequalities in contemporary societies?

Funding Agency

Trinity College Dublin

Programme

Arts and Social Sciences Benefactions Fund 2018-19

Summary

Contemporary society presents a strong persistence of social inequalities across generations. The reproduction of such inequalities is not only problematic to equalising children's opportunities. This reality also imposes serious barriers to the possibility of every child being able to fully contribute to our society and economy by adding his/her intrinsic human capital potential. The project establishes links between two main disciplines that often operate independently, namely the psychological literature on child development and the life-course social stratification literature. The funding from Enterprise Ireland will be used to exchange knowledge and innovative research ideas with international researchers, as well as developing a research pilot (together with a research assistant) to better understand the reproduction of social inequalities by studying children's daily activities in our digitalised societies, combining observational and experimental approaches.

Funding Agency

Enterprise Ireland

Summary

Children's family background is a determinant predictor of individuals' key life-course outcomes, such as schooling attainment, labour market trajectories, health status and income dynamics. Recent multi-disciplinary developments in the social sciences suggest a set of reasons why children from privileged social backgrounds are advantaged throughout the life course. This project seeks to contribute to the international literature on social inequalities and child development by studying children's daily activities and experiences from a longitudinal perspective. The project will adopt a life-course approach, using rich cohort longitudinal data, focusing on Ireland and related countries, to analyse intergenerational inequalities from infancy to late adolescence.

Funding Agency

Provost PhD Award Competition