This week is Graduation Week, where we officially celebrate all of the achievements and hard work of our students during their time here at Staffordshire University. To mark the celebrations, here is some of the work our soon-to-be graduates produced for their final year project, and presented at GradEX, in June.
GradEX is the annual showcase of final year student work – a graduate exhibition. It involves students presenting their research in a poster and explaining their work to judges, who are professionals within the subject fields. Students are then awarded prizes for first, second and third place within their subject areas.
Sociology, Criminology and Terrorism
Nat Campbell – Deviant Desires: What is the Root Cause of Sex Trafficking
Charlotte Rigby – Politically Imperfect: A Critical Discussion Regarding Female Representation, Participation and Experiences in Ccontemporary British Politics
“Participating in Gradex was definitely a worthwhile experience. Presenting my final dissertation research project was such a proud moment and being able to network and chat with professionals about my research was great. The next step for me is to go onto further study and complete a Masters degree in September, then hopefully go onto a career in research!”
– Scarlet Hunt
Scarlet Hunt – “100 Likes or 100 Insecurities?” A research Project Looking into Social Media and its Impact Upon Young People’s Mental Well-Being
Rosie Brindle-Wilkinson – “Could Be a Damn Sight Better”: How Can People with a History of Substance Use Be Better Supported into Employment?
Is the current UK Government Doing Enough to Tackle Youth Crime in England and Wales?
Sarah Johnson – My Community Matters: Drug ‘Epidemic’ or Media Mayhem?
First Place: Danielle Langford
Second Place: Scarlet Hunt
Third Place: Sarah Johnson
Policing and Criminal Investigation and Law
Brang Aung – Legal Aid: Access to Justice
Leilani Davies – Understanding the Scale of Sexual Assault and Rape on University Campuses
Steven Simon – What Factors or Circumstances Influence a Victim of Assault Not to Proceed with Their Case within Staffordshire and do Victim Personal Statements Influence Their Decision?
Jess Thompson – The Public Perceptions of the Police Use of Force During Stop and Search
Rebecca Thomas – Does DIAL Recognise Stalking Behaviour and is it Appropriate for Police Use?
“I feel that GradEX was an invaluable experience that has allowed me to articulate my dissertation research project and has granted me the opportunity to reflect with professionals about the learning processes that took place.
I thoroughly enjoyed the networking opportunity and the ability to explore the great work of my peers. Turning 10,000 words into a poster was a difficult task but allowed me to sum up the research simply for easy explanation, that I can then also use in a workplace situation when applying for relevant jobs.”
~ Sarah Johnson
Emma Hodgkinson – Understanding Coercive Control: The Public’s Perceptive
Megan Clarke – Victim Satisfaction: Influencing Change Within Staffordshire Police
Benjamin Rowley – Research to Review the Effectiveness of UK Policy and Policing Procedure to Identify and Protect Victims of Modern Slavery Working in the Hand Car Wash Industry
Adam Thorley – Protecting Those That Protect Us: A Review of the Psychological Impact of Being a Police Officer and the Support System Available to Them
Jordan Dulson – To Explore the Media’s Portrayal of Characteristics Involved in Knife Crime
Oliver Watson – How Does the Use of Stop and Search Powers Influence the Levels of knife Crime in Staffordshire
Lucy Hardaker – Research to Identify the Cause of Knife Crime in West Yorkshire and the Effectiveness of Their Policing Response
Paige Topham – What is Being Done in the UK to Reduce and Deter Online Grooming Through Education?
Oliver Taylor – How Existing Technology and Future Advancements Will Affect Staffordshire Police Demand
Will Sephton – An Exploratory Study into the Factors Surrounding ‘Public Space Violence’
Alexandra Mozley – The reality Versus the Public Perception of the Role of a Police Community Support Officer
Policing and Criminal Investigation
First Place: Megan Clarke
Second Place: Steven Simon
Third Place: Oliver Watson
Forensic Investigation and Forensic Science
Lucy Cheshire – An Investigation into the Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Blood Alcohol Concentration
Verity Neale – The Effect Different Weapons Have on Bloodstains at Crime Scenes
Michaela Reeves – An Interpretation of the Chemical Changes in Soil During the Decomposition Process to Devise a Strategy to Determine the Post Mortem Interval
Sarah Felton – Quantifying Crime Scene Blood Spillage: A Proof of Concept Evaluation of Relationships Between Volume, Area and Surface Absorption
Kirstin Gent – The Effect of Submersion on Textile Damage Upon Various Fabric Types within Different Water Environments
Mollie Barker – The Creation of an Assessment Tool for Heat Damage to Textiles
“Entering GradEX was the penultimate part of my student experience. For about 18 months I had worked on ‘Deviant Desires’ and it was the best opportunity to exhibit my work. Having developed a passion for researching about sexual exploitation and violence and current legislations, this project enabled me to put my own analysis on what the root cause of sex trafficking is.
I would encourage any student to enter GradEX , not only is it an opportunity to meet with experts in the field, it is the perfect opportunity to show the world how proud you are of this one piece of work that has overtaken your life. It is your moment to shine. Definitely a #ProudToBeStaffs moment.” – Nat Campbell
Kirsty Chevannes – Evaluation of Methods used within Forensic Anthropology in Comparison to Digital Methods
The Effect on the Angle of Impact From the Addition of Substances to Blood
Jade Neal – The Use of Accelerants and Their Effects in the Burn Patterns Produced on Carpet
Lucy Colley – The Use of Non-Destructive Methods to Detect and Measure GSR Spread for the Estimation of Firing Distance at Close Range
Katie Evers – A Prediction of Textile Damage from Acid Attacks to Aid in the Reconstruction of Events
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Abbey Sullivan – The Impact of Different Fabric Types and Composition on Bloodstains Both Prior and Post Laundering
Aimee Girdham – Designing and Performing Verification Study in Fingermark Development and Recovery for Staffordshire Police ISO Accreditation
Rodgers Nyika – The Effects of Temperature ont he Development of Fingermarks
Rebecca Johnston – The Migration of Volatile Organic Compounds through Various Polymer Membranes in Relation to Analysis of Arson Related Materials
Mauricio Chase – The Development and Evaluation of Fingermarks on Firearms From Areas Frequently Handled
Jessica Woodman – An Investigation into Whether the Partial Drying of Blood Drops can Aid in the Determination of Sequence of Events of a Crime
Stacey White – Tertiary Transfer and Persistence of Seminal Evidence in Child Sexual Abuse
Matthew Ballam-Davies – The Determination of Pedestrian Throw Types Using Small-Scale Reconstruction
Harriet Rushton – An Improved Procedure for Trace Evidence Recovery from Wounds
Lauren Bird – The Evaluation of Different Photogrammetry Software, Based on The Accuracy of Visual Representation; When Used for Crime Scene Documentation
Shivani Padhiar – The Effects of Corrosive Chemicals Commonly Used Within Acid Attacks on Blood and Identifying if the Contaminated Blood is Still Detectable Using the KM and LMG Test
Suzy Hladik – The Best Practice of Visualising Fingerprints on Eggs and Eggshells Regarding Wildlife Crime
Forensic Science
First Place: Rebecca Johnston
Second Place: Mauricio Chase
Third Place: Stacey White
Forensic Investigation
First Place: Katie Evers
Second Place: Lucy Cheshire
Third Place: Sarah Felton
Congratulations to all students who took part and to all 2019 Graduands!