EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
2020 – Present Ph.D Student of Art Design and Architecture (MADA) in the Emerging Technologies Lab at Monash University, Melbourne
2018 – 2019 M.A. in Anthropology (First Class Honours) University College Cork, Ireland
2015 – 2018 B.A in Criminology (First Class honours) University College Cork, Ireland
WORK EXPERIENCE
September 2021 – Present Member of ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S)
Duties: Responsible for making an intellectual contribution to ADM+S in the area of transport mobilities, and participating in research projects with the research team at the Monash University node of the centre.
February 2021 – Present Research Assistant with Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia
Duties: Ethnographic interviewing, participant observation, and translation of ethnographic materials.
July 2020 – August 2020 Research Assistant with Monash University & the City of Melbourne
Duties: Ethnographic interviewing, translation of ethnographic materials, and creation of materials (comic strips).
March 2019 – March 2020 Process Analyst at Footprint Insights
Duties: Role of cultural anthropologist on the team, ethnographic research, user experience research, office organisation, identification of problems, development and strategic planning, website design and management.
September 2019 – November 2019 Research Assistant
Duties: Helping to write and edit an European Research Council Grant, attending project meetings, preparing progress reports, and responding to emails relating to research.
September 2019 – November 2019 Teaching Assistant for Research Methods in Criminology
Duties: Teaching three classes a week, preparation of reading materials, in-class test and assignment, and facilitating group discussions.
January 2019 – March 2020 Section Editor for the Irish Journal of Anthropology
Duties: Management of the book review process, organising and reviewing work submitted by authors, management of incoming and outgoing books, postage, communication with fellow editors, and website management.
September 2018 – January 2019 Assistant Editor for the Irish Journal of Anthropology
Duties Executed: Reporting to the General Editor, assisting in the general running of the journal, the implementation of key strategies, website management.
September 2018 Co-organisation in the running of the Anthropological Association of Ireland Conference
Duties: Delegating tasks, problem solving, management of team, management of those in attendance, multi-tasking, and co-ordination of events.
September 2016 – May 2018 Fashion Editor for the UCC Express (University College Cork)
Duties: Responsible for the management of staff writers, setting deadlines, meeting deadlines, project management, coordinating with other section editors, and the design and implementation of new ideas.
TEACHING AND GUEST LECTURES
2021 (April 8th) University of Silesia in Katowice Guest Lecture at the Inter-Faculty Scientific Circle of Culture and Law of Chinese
Content: Lecture entitled Senses of Home in Beijing. This lecture offered a brief introduction to anthropology and ethnographic research, my ethnographic fieldwork in Beijing, and opened a discussion about unexpected findings in research.
2019 (September – November) University College Cork Research Methods in Criminology
Content: Constructing a literature review. Writing a Research Proposal. Quantitative research designs. Qualitative research methods. Ethnography. Content Analysis. Data Analysis.
RESEARCH
2021
I am currently working as a Research Assistant on a project in collaboration with the organisation Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia (MACA). MACA’s vision is for every child to have access to safe and equitable transport, regardless of circumstance. This study seeks to understand the experiences, perceptions and knowledge of parents/guardians about transport for children with disability and/or medical conditions, and will aid in the development of a nationally consistent single source of information resources for those involved in the safe transport of children with disability.
2019
I conducted fieldwork in China this summer examining movement in urban spaces which followed on from my earlier focus on how individuals interact within liminal spaces in architectural design.
2019
I engaged in a brief ethnographic research project into the development of ‘non-places’ and liminality within the college campus space, and how humans are involved in the development of such spaces.
2018
I produced a 10,000 word dissertation based within the cultural sociology/criminological sphere, undertaking a cyberethnography into the development of an online subculture; Virtual Edgework and Risk-Taking Behaviour: An Ethnographic Study into the Online Subculture of ‘Liftblr’.
AWARDS AND FUNDING
2021
Awarded $5,230 in funding from ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society to further support my PhD research.
2020
PhD Scholarship full fees and stipend for three and a half years.
2019
Secured a stipend of €1000 for field work in Beijing, China Summer.
Secured funding of €400 to attend the Economy & Society Summer School in Cork.
2018
Awarded the title of College Scholar for my undergraduate results in B.A Criminology.
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS ATTENDED & PRESENTED
2022
Presented at the Future Automated Mobilities Symposium: Towards Hope, Justice, and Care. Organised by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Automated Decision Making and Society, RMIT University, Melbourne 20 October
2021
Presented at Australian Anthropological Society Conference at the Panel “Becoming Anthropologists,” Online 30 November
Presented at Alliance for Praxis Research Spring Encounters Session: People-centred design, planning and architecture: mobilities, diversity, health, and wellbeing, Monash University 7 September.
2020
Attended PhD intensive in Design Ethnography, Monash University 12-16 October.
Attended Mobility Lab PhD Intensive, Monash University 29 September – 1 October.
2019
Presented at the workshop: Place, Migration, Imagination: Contemplating Mobility in Southwest China and Beyond , the co-authored paper with James Cuffe titled: ‘Envisaging Future Senses of Home and Belonging’, Nanjing University 8-10 November.
Attended Economy and Society Summer School, Blackwater Castle 13-17 May.
Attended Maynooth Annual Ethnography Winter School Maynooth University 28 January – 1 February.
2018
Attended Workshop on Publishing & Peer-Reviewing for Humanities & Social Sciences,
Queen’s University Belfast 14-15 March.
Attended Anthropology Association of Ireland Conference: Eco-cosmology, Sustainability and a Spirit of Resilience, University College Cork 21-22 September.
PUBLICATIONS
2020 The jacks are back: why it’s time for more public loos – By Iris Maher, Monash University and James Cuffe, UCC.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0618/1148197-public-toilets-ireland/
Iris Maher 