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Nuria Martinez

Research Interests:

I am interested in exploring the relations between social identities, rhetoric, collective action and social change in intergroup contexts.

Current Research Projects:

My current research is entitled ‘The Social Psychology behind the Catalan Independence Movement’. Rooted in the Social Identity Tradition, the main aim of this project is to add to the social psychological literature on intergroup relations by exploring the factors underpinning social change beliefs and reconciliatory attitudes in the context of Catalonia’s secessionist movement.

For more information about me, see my staff profile.

Klara Jurstakova

Research Interests:

My research interests generally include group processes and social identity, with particular focus on collective action, leadership, and mobilization rhetoric.

Current Research Projects:

My PhD research project is titled “Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia: Crowd mobilization in a repressive regime, and its long-term legacy”, supervised by Dr Evangelos Ntontis. The main aim of this project is to understand collective action during the Velvet Revolution (1989) in Czechoslovakia that led to the collapse of the ‘communist’ regime in Eastern and Central Europe.

I focus on different groups of people who shaped collective action and were influenced by participation in it. This involves leaders, direct participants, as well as those who did not directly participate but witnessed the changes in Czechoslovakia. I am also interested in the use of mobilization and countermobilization rhetoric of the leaders as well as state authorities, and how this influenced mobilization.

For more information about me see my profile.

Keli Jenner

Recent Publications:

Iredale, W., Jenner, K., Van Vugt, M., & Dempster, T. (2020). Giving guys get the girls: Men appear more desirable to the opposite sex when displaying costly donations to the homeless. MDPI: Social Sciences./p>

Jenner, K. & Iredale, W. (2019). Altruism and Watching Eyes. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2554-1.

For a full list of publications see my Staff Profile.

Research Interests:

My research interests lie in evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour, particularly sexual selection and signalling behaviour and its contemporary relevance.

Current Research Projects:

My current research is entitled “Altruism as showing off: A signalling perspective on promoting green and cooperative behaviours”.  The main aim of this research is to test whether signalling theory can be applied to promote altruistic behaviour (e.g., if and how signalling theory can be utilised to reduce energy waste and increase charitable donations) and exploring what the underlying signalling mechanism that allows for cooperative behavioural change is.

For more information about me see my profile.

Dr Liz Spruin

Recent Publications:

Spruin, E., Dempster, T., Islam, S., & Raybould, I. (in press). The effects of a therapy dog vs mindfulness vs a student advisor on student anxiety and well-being: A randomised control study.

Spruin, E., Dempster, T., & Mozova, K. (2020). Facility dogs as a tool for building rapport and credibility with child witnesses. International Journal of Law, Crime, and Justice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2020.100407.

Spruin, E., Mozova, K., Dempster, T., & Freeman, R. (2020). The use of facility dogs to bridge the justice gap for survivors of sexual offending. Social Sciences, 9(6), 96. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9060096.

Spruin, E., Mozova, K., Dempster, T., & Mitchell, S. (2019). Exploring the impact of specially trained dogs on the court experiences of sexual offence survivors in England and Wales: An exploratory case study. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-019-09419-1.

Spruin, E., Mozova, K., Franz, A., Mitchell, S., Ferdandez, A., Dempster, T., & Holt, N. (2019). The use of therapy dogs to support court users in the waiting room. International Criminal Justice Review, 29(3), 284-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567719827063.

Spruin, E., & Mozova, K. (2018). Dogs in the criminal justice system: consideration of facility and therapy dogs. Pet Behaviour Science, 5, 1-12.

Spruin, E., & Mozova, K. (2018). Specially trained dogs in the UK criminal justice system. Seen and Heard, 28, 63-67.

Islam, S., Spruin, E., & Fernandez, A. (2017). The benefits of therapy dogs on student wellbeing within a UK university. Psychology and Behavioural Science International Journal, 7(1), 555702. https://doi.org/10.19080/PBSIJ.2017.07.555702.

Spruin, E., & Mozava, K. (September, 2017) Using specially trained dogs in the Criminal Justice System. BPS Forensic Update, issue 125, 39-42.

Spruin, E., Wood, J., Gannon, T., & Tyler, N. (2017). Sexual offender’s experiences of polygraph testing: A thematic study in three probation trusts. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 3, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2017.1378025.

Spruin, E., & Coulston, B. (2017). The emotional experience of mentally disordered offenders: An exploratory study. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 17, 79-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228932.2014.965987.

Spruin, E., Abbott, N., & Holt, N. (2017). Examining the experiences of a short break scheme amongst adolescents with disabilities (service users) and their parents. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 64, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2017.1348599.

Spruin, E., Alleyne, E., Baker, R., Papadki, I., & Franz, A. (2017). Exploring the belief systems of domestic abuse victims: An exploratory study. Journal of Criminological Research, 3, 17-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-10-2016-0028.

Gannon, T.,… Spruin, E., Tyler, N., & Ciardha, C. (2015). Specialist group therapy for firesetting behaviour: Evidence of a treatment effect from a non-randomised pilot trial with male prisoners. Behavioural Research and Therapy, 73, 42-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.07.007.

Spruin, E., Alleyne, E., & Papadki, I. (2015). Domestic abuse victims perceptions of abuse and support: A narrative study. Journal of Criminal Research, Policy and Practice, 1, 19-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-10-2014-0002.

For a full list of publications see my Staff Profile.

Research Interests:

My current research focuses on the use of specially trained dogs in the criminal justice system, specifically looking at the support these dogs can provide witnesses and the challenges of such services, such as jury bias. The aim of this research is to investigate the benefits of using these dogs in supporting victims and witnesses of crime. We hope that building this type of evidence base will further open up these practices to countries such as the UK, where such practices are not currently established. 

Current Research Projects:

I am currently working on the following research projects:

  • The use of justice facility dogs in the UK. This is in collaboration with Katarina Mozova (see here for her profile) and Susanna Mitchell (see here for her profile).
  • The use of therapy dogs for student mental health.  This is collaboration with Tracey Wornast (see here for her profile).

To read more about my latest research and my work as Director of the Justice Facility Dogs International Lab, please see our Lab page, here.

Recent Research Grant Awards:

  • £60,000 via donation of a Facility Dog from Duo (https://duodogs.org/).
  • £600 from Nottinghamshire Police in March 2020 to fund the placement of our facility dog in their ABE interviews.  The aim of this project is to explore the benefits which facility dogs can provide victims and witnesses undergoing police interviews.
  •  £600 from Derbyshire Police in December 2019 to fund the placement of our facility dog in their ABE interviews.  The aim of this project is to explore the benefits which facility dogs can provide victims and witnesses undergoing police interviews.

Dr Anke Franz

Recent Publications:

Spruin, L., Mazova, K. Franz, A., Mitchell, S., Fernandez, A., Webster, T. & Holt, N. (2019). The use of therapy dogs to support court users in the waiting room. International Criminal Justice Review, 29(3), 284-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567719827063.

Spruin, L., Baker, R., Papadaki, I. Franz, A., & Alleyne, E. (2017). Exploring the belief systems of domestic abuse victims: An exploratory study. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 3, 17-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-10-2016-0028.

Franz, A., Worrell, M., & Vögele, C. (2015). Discourses of sexual relationships in a sample of German and British young people: A Q methodological study. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 18, 391-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2015.1089324.

For a full list of publications see my Staff Profile.

Research Interests:

I’m a critical and applied psychologist and I have a keen interest in research which benefits people and the community and which challenges predetermined social ideas and norms.  I am passionate about gendered, feminist and sexuality research, such as young people’s discourses around sexual experiences and the effects of pornography on young people. I also research animal welfare and dog ownership (e.g., the experience of dog ownership, identifying support or other needs of dog owners, dog adoption and relinquishment, community interventions to facilitate positive dog ownership, and research related to understandings of animal welfare and animal rights).

Current Research Projects:

The research projects I am currently involved in are:

  • Investigating the welfare of assistance dogs.  This is in collaboration with Dr Carol Trim (see here for her staff profile).
  • Investigating the experience of British Muslim women in the UK.  This is in collaboration with Dr Dennis Nigbur (see here for his staff profile).
  • A research project focusing on the rewilding of Choughs.  This is in collaboration with Dr Adriana Consorte-McCrea (see here for her staff profile) and Dr Alain Bainbridge (see here for his staff profile).

Developing Research Areas:

I am also currently developing research related to dog ownership and attachment to dogs, predominantly with regard to dog adoption, fostering, and rescuing. The aim is to explore ways of reducing animals in animal rescue centres and ensuring adopting and fostering a dog is a successful and positive experience.