-
About
Dr Benjamin Costello
BA (Hons), MA, PhD, FRSA, FHEA, FInstLM
#qm_1Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Vice-Chair of BARN, Trustee of Redditch Nightstop, and Chair of Birmingham 277th Scout Group.
An experienced researcher, teacher, and consultant in applied ethics, mental health, applied health research, and online offending.
Currently engaged in qualitative and mixed-methods research in technology-assisted and online child sexual abuse, mental health, FGM, and theory-based research in applied ethics (particularly prevention and early intervention).
Preferred pronouns: he/his -
Experience
Research Posts
Research Fellow (Forensic Psychology)
School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
November 2020 – Present
Research Fellow (Twin Pregnancy)
Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham
August 2020 – October 2020
Research Fellow (Female Genital Mutilation, FGM)
Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham
April 2019 – September 2020
Research Fellow (Advocacy)
Health Services Management Centre, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
June 2020 – August 2020
Research Fellow (Mental Health)
Health Services Management Centre, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
October 2018 – March 2019
Research Fellow (Corpus Linguistics)
School of English, Drama, and American and Canadian Studies, College or Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
October 2018 – January 2019
Research Associate (Mental Health) and Advisor to the Mental Health Policy Commission
School of Social Policy, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
September 2016 – July 2018
Research Assistant (Philosophy)
Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
November 2013 – October 2014
Teaching Posts
Academic Writing Tutor
Academic Writing Advisory Service, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
February 2015 – May 2020
Teaching Associate (Learning and Teaching in Higher Education)
Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi), University of Birmingham
September 2019 – April 2020
Academic Skills Advisor
Academic Skills Centre, University of Birmingham
October 2017 – March 2020
Teaching Associate (Philosophy)
Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
October 2014 – March 2019
Subject Workshop Instructor (Philosophy and Mental Health)
Outreach and Recruitment, University of Birmingham
January 2014 – October 2019
Academic-Related Posts
Student Experience Officer
Birmingham Law School, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
March 2016 – June 2016 (Secondment)
Project Co-ordinator
Bank of Assessed Work, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
November 2014 – July 2016
Self-Employment
Copyeditor and Proofreader (trading as GoProofread)
Academic and Research Consultant (including SME on technology-assisted CSA)
Voluntary Posts
Governor
Cofton Primary School, Birmingham
March 2021 – Present
Chair
277th Birmingham (Beacon) Scout Group
January 2021 – Present
Director/Safeguarding and Wellbeing Trustee
Redditch Nightstop
July 2019 – Present
Journal Copy Editor
Evental Aesthetics
April 2019 – Present
Director/Trustee and Vice-Chair
Bromsgrove and Redditch Network (BARN)
February 2019 – Present
For details and to view my full employment history, visit LinkedIn.
-
Education
University of Birmingham
Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, Philosophy
Awarded in 2019
Thesis Title: Moral Sequencing and Intervening to Prevent Harm
Supervisors: Professor Lisa Bortolotti and Dr Iain Law
Examiners: Dr Jonathan Parry and Dr Patrick Tomlin
University of Southampton
Master of Arts, MA, Philosophy
Merit, awarded in 2013Bachelor of Arts, BA (Hons), Philosophy
First Class with Honours, awarded in 2012 -
Research
Main research areas include:
- Applied ethics
- Technology-assisted and online child sexual abuse
- Mental health & well-being
- Applied health research
- Qualitative and mixed-methods research
- Female genital mutilation
-
Publications
Commission Reports
- Burstow, P., Newbigging, K., Tew, J., and Costello, B. (2018). Investing in a Resilient Generation: Keys to a Mentally Prosperous Nation. Birmingham: University of Birmingham. Available at: www.birmingham.ac.uk/mhpc
Journal Articles
- Jones, L., Danks, E., Costello, B., Jolly, L., Cross-Sudworth, F., Latthe, P., Fassam-Wright, M., Clarke, J., Byrne, A. and Taylor, J. (forthcoming) 'Female genital mutilation: a qualitative study exploring survivors’ and healthcare professionals’ views on the timing of deinfibulation surgery (FGM Sister Study)'. Health Technology Assessment.
- Newbigging, K., Rees, J. Ince, R., Mohan, J., Joseph, D., Ashman, M., Norden, B., Dare, C., Bourke, S., and Costello, B. (2020). 'The contribution of the voluntary sector to mental health crisis care in England: a mixed methods study'. Health Services and Delivery Research, 8(29). DOI: 10.3310/hsdr08290
- Jones, L., Danks, E., Clarke, J., Alidu, L., Costello, B., Jolly, K., Byrne, A., Fassam-Wright, M., Latthe, P., and Taylor, J. (2019). 'Exploring the views of female genital mutilation survivors, their male partners and healthcare professionals on the timing of deinfibulation surgery and NHS FGM care provision (the FGM Sister Study): protocol for a qualitative study'. BMJ Open, 9(10): e034140. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034140
- 2 papers currently under review and 6 papers in preparation
Online Articles
- Jones, L., Costello, B., Danks, E., and Cross-Sudworth, F. (2020). 'Female genital mutilation (FGM): an increasingly important healthcare challenge in the UK'. The Birmingham Brief. Available at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2020/02/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-an-increasingly-important-healthcare-challenge-in-the-uk.aspx
- Burstow, P. and Costello, B. (2016). 'A New Paradigm for Mental Health'. Birmingham Perspective. Available at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/mental-health-awareness-day-2016.aspx
-
Grants & Funding
Successful funding includes:
- Newbigging, K. and Costello, B. ‘Enabling disabled people to have a voice in their care and to receive support during COVID-19’. ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Urgency Fund, £6,868 value, awarded in June 2020
- Costello, B. and Duggal, S. ‘Improving belonging and inclusion for University of Birmingham BAME students: identifying barriers and inequalities using Experience-Based Co-Design to improve the education pathway’. University of Birmingham Education Enhancement Fund, application EEFP253, £13,193 value, awarded in January 2020
- Costello, B. and Thompson, P. ‘Employing corpus analysis and qualitative data analysis tools to better understand and act on free-text comments from student feedback: a mixed-methods study’. University of Birmingham Education Enhancement Fund, application EEFP265, £10,804 value, awarded in December 2019
- Costello, B. and Allen, P. University of Birmingham Postgraduate Research Support Fund, £1,200 value, awarded in March 2014
-
mic Talks
Talks
Invited to give talks, lectures, and workshops at the University of Birmingham for outreach events, widening participation events, campus visits, residential summer schools, TeachFirst events, public talks, and other events.
Talks have included:- 'Investing in a Resilient Generation'
- 'How Can We Tell If Someone Is Mentally Ill? A Philosophical Approach to Psychiatry'
- 'Mental Illness, Involuntary Hospitalisation, and Nosological Uncertainty'
- 'Finding Normality in Mental Illness'
Please see my CV for the full list of talks.
Conference Presentations
- Costello, B., Burrell, A., and Woodhams, J. (2022). A Descriptive Analysis of the Online Behaviour of Users of Dark Web Fora Used for Child Sexual Abuse. Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP) 2022 Conference: Policing in a Changing Society, Quebec City, Canada, 21-24/09/2022
- Burrell, A., Costello, B., and Woodhams, J. (2022). Linking the Multiple Identities of Dark Web Users Using Online Behaviour. Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP) 2022 Conference: Policing in a Changing Society, Quebec City, Canada, 21-24/09/2022
- Costello, B., Woodhams, J., and Burrell, A. (2022). A Review of the Literature on Linking Sexual Offences in the Physical World. Lab for Interpersonal Violence and Aggression (LIVA) meeting, University of Birmingham, 24/06/2022
- Woodhams, J., Burrell, A., and Costello, B. (2022). Linking Multiple Usernames of Online Sexual Offenders. 2022 Centre for Crime, Justice, and Policing (CCJP) Conference, University of Birmingham, 08-09/06/2022
- Glaas, S., Costello, B., and Thompson, P. (2021). Facilitating a partnership learning community: A novel analytical protocol for understanding free-text feedback comments from students. 2021 Advance HE Assessment and Feedback Symposium: Putting the Student at the Heart of Assessment and Feedback: Equality, Diversity and Partnership, Online, 04-05/11/2021
- Jones L.L., Costello, B., Danks, E., Cross-Sudworth, F., Fassam-Wright, M., Latthe, P, Byrne, A., Jolly, K., and Taylor, J. (2020). Exploring views and experiences of the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) on the sexual and reproductive health of survivors, male partners and healthcare professionals across the UK: part of the FGM Sister Study. Annual Scientific Meeting 2020, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), 20-21/04/2020 [cancelled due to COVID-19]
- Costello, B. and Danks, E. (2019). The FGM Sister Study. North West Central Social Care Conference, Tally-Ho! Birmingham, 03/07/2019
- Costello, B. Distinguishing personae from traits. Philosophy Research Seminar, University of Birmingham, 15/10/2014
Conference Posters
- Costello, B., Burrell, A., Woodhams, J., Kloess, J., Gutiérrez Muñoz, C., Hobson, W., Thomas, K., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Morton, R., Grant, T., and Alrajeh, D. (2022). How do users of dark web fora used for child sexual abuse behave? Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics Showcase Symposium, Aston University, 06/07/2022
- Costello, B., Glaas, S., and Thompson, P. (2022). A novel analytical protocol for understanding free-text feedback comments from students. ‘Education for Sustainable Futures: A showcase of HEFi’s Education Enhancement Projects 2019-22’ at the Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi) Festival 2022, University of Birmingham, 04/07/2022
- Costello, B., Burrell, A., Woodhams, J., Kloess, J., Gutiérrez Muñoz, C., Hobson, W., Thomas, K., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Morton, R., Grant, T., and Alrajeh, D. (2022). How do users of dark web fora used for child sexual abuse behave? Celebrating Research and Impact Event, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, 28-29/06/2022
- Costello, B. and Taylor, N. (2019). Exploiting Technologies to Improve the Module Evaluation Questionnaire (MEQ) Feedback-Loop. Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi) Conference 2019, University of Birmingham, 20-21/06/2019
- Costello, B. (2019). Moral Sequencing and Intervening to Prevent Harm. Research Poster Conference 2019, University of Birmingham, 19/06/2019
- Costello, B. and Finan, L. (2015). Advocating Active Learning: Developments in the College of Arts and Law Bank of Assessed Work. 12th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Birmingham, 23/06/2015
-
Fellowships & Memberships
Learned Societies, Professional Institutions, and Professional Associations
- Fellow (FRSA), The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)
- Fellow (FHEA), Higher Education Academy (HEA)
- Fellow (FInstLM), The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)
- Member, Q (The Health Foundation)
- Member, The British Philosophical Association (BPA)
- Member, The Royal Institute of Philosophy (RIP)
- Member, International Association for Youth Mental Health (IAYMH)
-
Skills
- Qualitative Research
- Teaching
- Outreach and Public Engagement
- Proofreading and Copyediting
- Advising and Consultancy
- Content Creation
Please click the button below to submit your message.
This is an automated email to acknowledge the message you submitted via www.benjamin-costello.com
A copy of your message is displayed at the end of this email. I aim to respond to messages within 24 hours.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to contact me by email at benj@mincostello.com
Best wishes,
Ben
——————————
Name: [Name]
Email: [Email]
Related To: [RelatedTo]
Original Message:
[Message-Academic][Message-Personal][Message-Business][Message-Other]
Email: [Email]
Related To: [RelatedTo]
Message:
[Message-Academic][Message-Personal][Message-Business][Message-Other]
Your message has been sent.
To send another message, please refresh the page.
© Benjamin Costello
All rights reserved. Images belong to their respective owners.
Privacy & Cookies
To be uploaded soon.
Please contact me for a copy.
Computer: This will download my vCard.