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​Scholarship Recipients

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Tasha Broomhall MSc [Psych] is the founder/director of Blooming Minds, a leader in the provision of mental health and wellbeing programs to organisations and communities. Her PhD research explores the implementation of psychosocial safety regulations from the perspectives of workers and leaders, and underscores how this interacts with intersectionality and silence in organisations.

 

Abstract. With increasing global focus on psychosocial hazard management in workplaces, many jurisdictions have implemented regulations to specify and enforce organisations obligations to eliminate or mitigate psychosocial hazard exposure for workers. These are important initiatives given the significant physical and psychological health consequences that workers can experience when exposed to psychosocial hazards. This study aimed to understand what worker’s experiences of psychosocial safety at work are, and to identify if workers perceive that psychosocial safety at work is being addressed using a systematic approach in organisations. This study approached these aims through both self-determination theory and systems thinking theoretical perspectives, utilising reflexive thematic analysis.

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Joseph Potter Kia ora! My name is Joseph Potter. I whakapapa to Ngāti Koata and Rangitāne o Wairau in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), and Middlesbrough in England. I am a PhD student in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at Victoria University of Wellington NZ, exploring experiences of workplace bullying and reporting processes across NZ universities.

 

Abstract: 'Institutional Whispers: Workplace Bullying & Reporting in NZ Universities,' explores the experiences of staff and students who (1) have experienced workplace bullying within a NZ university and (2) navigated reporting processes. Using a critical qualitative methodology, I conducted unstructured interviews with 30 targets. Through reflexive thematic analysis, four key themes were identified: academic forms of bullying, fears of reporting, the silencing of complaints, and institutional resistance and solidarity. Together, the findings suggest that workplace bullying is a systemic issue across NZ universities, sustained by neoliberal academic structures that individualise harm and deflect institutional accountability.

 

Levina Reeves is a researcher and practitioner with more than 30 years of experience in adult education, inclusive programme design, workplace wellbeing, and leadership development. She holds a degree in Fine Art and an MA in Leadership and Workplace Health & Wellbeing, where her research focused on enhancing psychological wellbeing in institutional settings. Levina is currently undertaking a PhD in Education Leadership at the University of Limerick, examining workplace bullying in educational environments. Levina’s professional background spans social care, supported employment, autism-specialist mentoring, and national and international consultancy, including advisory work for the Ministry of Labour in Saudi Arabia. She is a published researcher, an advocate for universal design and inclusive practice, and serves on the board of the Muiríosa Foundation and as a national patient champion with the Irish Heart Foundation.

 

Abstract: Antecedence, Behaviour and Consequence Cycle of Workplace Bullying in Irish Further Education: An Auto-ethnography This early-stage presentation explores workplace bullying in Irish Further Education through an autoethnographic lens, using the Antecedent–Behaviour–Consequence (ABC) Cycle as a conceptual model. The research reveals how bullying is not a series of isolated incidents, but a looping organisational pattern shaped by cultural norms, fragmented governance, inconsistent HR processes, and silencing mechanisms. By mapping lived experience over ten years, the study exposes how institutional behaviours, delays, and power asymmetries reinforce harm. These insights form the foundation for emerging programme theories that will guide a realist review examining why bullying persists and what organisational conditions sustain it.

 

Charles Lwanga Moandiyiem Tabase, RN, MPhil, MA, BSc, is a doctoral student in Public Health at the University of Connecticut Health Center. His research interests include health policy, maternal health, mental health, disability studies, health equity and disparities, and occupational health. He has experience analyzing US national datasets to assess disparities in health outcomes. He is the co-founder of Aide à la vulnérabilité, a non-profit organization in Ghana that advances the well-being of vulnerable populations through advocacy, education, health screenings, needs assessments, and community projects. His current work focus is on workplace violence, organizational safety culture, psychosocial safety climate (PSC), mental health, and healthcare workforce development and retention, particularly among nurses. 

 

Abstract: A cross-sectional study that used online survey data from public healthcare facilities to examine how hospital safety culture and sexual harassment experiences influence turnover intention among 812 nurses in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The findings indicate that workplace sexual harassment and perceived suboptimal hospital safety culture were significantly associated with high turnover intentions with exposure to workplace sexual harassment being more significant for female workers while suboptimal hospital safety culture influenced a high turnover intentions among males. Years of nursing experience for both male and female nurses was linked to reduced turnover intentions. The findings highlight that psychosocial work-environmental factors, such as safety culture and workplace sexual harassment, are major and modifiable determinants of nursing workforce retention.

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Shelani Palihawadana (ශේලනි පලිහවඩන) is an Attorney-at-Law, she holds a Master’s in Human Rights in Human Development and Gender Justice from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is a feminist activist and an early career researcher focusing on GBV, Tech-facilitated GBV, disability rights and LGBTQIA rights. She is a pro-bono legal aid provider and a peer educator who've facilitated training on GBV awareness, reproductive autonomy and legal protections available for survivors for over 2,000 people from different communities across Sri lanka. She is also a member of the Gender Equality Committee of the Bar Association, Sri Lanka

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Abstract: Gendered Faultlines in Adopting Systemic Approaches to Combat Workplace Harassment in Sri Lanka’s Legal Profession. The legal profession in Sri Lanka is witnessing a growing number of women entering the profession with 67% of enrolments being women in 2023/24 (BASL, 2024). Despite these high numbers, the profession is still considered an ‘inhospitable environment’ for a woman. Anecdotal evidence and lived experience of the authors suggest that unsafe workplaces and inequitable practices to the detriment of women are among the major causes for this phenomenon. The authors seek answers to the following questions; a) What are the historical attempts taken up by the BASL to address workplace harassment? And, what was their nature? b) Why does the legal profession in Sri Lanka need a systemic approach to address / combat workplace harassment? c) In doing so, what are the gendered tensions / gaps and / or considerations that have to be specifically prioritized? We are adopting a qualitative approach to gather data for this study and aim to clearly establish the need for systemic approaches and to define any gendered gaps and / or considerations to be delved into in practical applications. This study is being conducted in the context of the appointment of the first Gender Equality committee of the BASL in its 51 year history. Findings of this study will provide a baseline for the committee to adopt a robust and an inclusive mechanism/s to combat workplace harassment (ex- an anti-harassment policy) within the legal profession of Sri Lanka. ​​