In this, our first episode on ‘research design’ and ‘research designing’ I talk with Maya Gaul and Dunk Murphy from the Creative Futures Academy at UCD. Maya is completing a BA in Creative & Cultural Industries. Her final year project combines research with performance. The subject is Creative Community; an exploration of Irish Arts organisations and how they produce ‘belonging’. Maya talked about her plan for the production - to include elements of documentary, performance and interaction culminating in an event that digs into what arts and inclusion means for practitioners and audience.

Notes:

The Creative Futures Academy - https://creativefuturesacademy.ie

UCD’s BA Major In Creative & Cultural Industries -

https://www.ucd.ie/artshumanities/newsandevents/ucdlaunchesnewbaincreativeculturalindustries/

Acknowledgements

Music

Title: Departures

Artist: Portrayal

Source: https://bit.ly/2QkBzvI

License: CC BY 4.0

Cover Art

Title: In the Think Lab

Artist: Allen Higgins. Photo credits: Dunk Murphy. Used with permission.

Source: MayaGaul.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part, you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psilocybin, Heidegger and being-toward-death

Between 2020 and 2023 psychologist Marg Ross and psychiatrist Justin Dwyer, together with collaborators, ran the largest Australian randomised control of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of extreme death anxiety in terminally ill patients using psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) (Ross et al, 2025).

Over the past 15 months I have contributed to the analysis and reporting of qualitative interview data collected by these researchers before and after treatment. The therapy has been shown to be remarkably effective with 21 out of 28 patients who completed the full trial reporting sustained relief. Whereas before the treatment the patients had found themselves 'stuck' in an oppressive lingering present, after treatment they are able to 'step back into' a life that is in some ways fuller even than before the diagnosis (Dwyer et al, 2026).

In this reading group/seminar I will briefly present Heidegger's account in Division II of Being and Time of being-toward-death and its role in prompting a more authentic human existence and richer lived temporality. I will point out its striking similarity to the change phenomenon we observed in the qualitative analysis. I invite discussion of this observation, its implications, and suggestions. Note I will devote little time to describing the clinical trial so reading the accompanying paper (Dwyer et al, 2026) is advised.

Johno

Robert B. Johnston is a professor (emeritus) at University College Dublin, and a person in his own right.

Dwyer, J., Johnston, R. B., O'Callaghan, C., and Ross, M. 2026. "Stepping Back into Life: How Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy Transforms the Way of Life of the Terminally Ill," General Hospital Psychiatry (98), pp. 86-96.

doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.12.002

Acknowledgements

Music

Title: Justice Little League

Artist: Ema Grace

Source: https://bit.ly/2tJ6Bnd

License: CC BY 4.0

Artist notes: Ema Grace is an AI vocaloid produced by Ryoma MAEDA (@Ryoma_Maeda). Styled as virtual Singer&Idol 架空のバーチャルアイドル & シンガー、それがEma Grace.

Cover Art

Title: Inspired by zoom

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: CITO-podcast-Johno.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re talking with Fernandos Ongolly, to learn about home-grown innovations and digital startups from The Continent – in this case, Africa.

Our hosts are Selma Anya, Safa A. A. Emam, and Diana Achiro, students on the MSc Digital Innovation programme.

Fernandos has a PhD from UCD. He is the current “Proudly Made in Africa” Fellow in Business and Development at UCD College of Business, and the founder of – Non-EU Academics and Researchers Community in Ireland.

Our audience is the class of 2025 studying the Outsourcing and Offshoring module taught by Allen Higgins.

First, Fernandos, would you like to say a few words about your current role and a little about your journey?

· African nations might not be the first place that investors and business associate with “technology ambition”, can you set the context? [notes: technical infrastructure, physical infrastructure, population demographics, connectedness etc.]

· Talk about some success stories from Africa and the sectors they occur in? [notes: in FinTech, Education, AgriTech and eCommerce]

· What are the opportunities for outsourcing to Africa? [notes: BPO, content moderation and specialized services, much of today’s AI is/was trained by centers in Africa]

· For the startup environment, like Silicon Valley, where are the incubators, clusters, and centers of excellence? [notes: the three big regions East, West and South – Kenya; Nigeria; South Africa]

· Can you talk about the role culture plays. No doubt there are challenges but opportunities too? [notes: strong social ties, high-trust cultures, entrepreneurial attitude is prevalent – trading is a way of life]

· Questions from the hosts

· Questions from the audience.

Further reading and notes

Fernandos Ongolly on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandos-ongolly-phd-89927b32/

Proudly Made in Africa is a Trade Justice and Global Citizenship Education organization. For more see - https://www.proudlymadeinafrica.org

Also, the PMIA Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@proudlymadeinafrica

Acknowledgements

Music

Title: Faceplant with UK Garage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: a-Wed23Oct2024

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Includes samples from Ableton Live by Ableton AG and by KORG Inc.

Cover Art

Title: Guest and class

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: Pepperdine_Fernandos.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part, you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.