Research profile for Michele O’Hara

Qualifications

• BA English and Psychology
• LL.B.  Legal Aid and Forensic Medicine
• PGDip Business Management and Administration
• MBA Strategic Marketing
• HDip Ed (Mentoring and Counselling)

Research Interests

• Responsibility of brand and business in context of social impact
• Shared value creation as an extension of sustainability and corporate governance
• The power balance in education between investors, fee-payers, learners and educators
• Ethical brand and business practice
• The inclusion of gender-based violence policy as a business imperative
• Respect for self and others in educational and business practice

Biography

A diverse background in the social sciences, law, business and education developed as a response to the systemic interaction between different entities, individuals and concepts within diverse cultural and environmental landscapes. As an activist for humanitarianism, social inclusion and ethical business practice, I have been involved in many practical research projects in these fields. I have only recently been engaged in academic research as my approach has previously been practical and industry/organisation focused.

Being actively engaged in the creation of shared value, where businesses commit to the generation of profit whilst serving a purpose mindful of social impact, inclusion and societal upliftment has required that I design and critique research projects for corporate and societal entities, necessitating both pragmatic and interpretivist approaches. My interest lies primarily in the qualitative field of insight generation.

Projects in education have been driven primarily by an interest in ethical practice and the development of learners as responsible and independent individuals, mindful of the human and environmental context within which they are developing, and for which they will take responsibility as they enter the world of accountability, self-actualisation and work.