Digital Commons Network^™

Men And The Drug Buzz: Masculinity And Men’S Motivations For Illicit Recreational Drug Use, Clay Darcy

Articles

The purpose of this article is to explore the motivations behind some men’s recreational use of illicit drugs from a gender standpoint. The rationale for this analysis stems from men’s predominance as illicit drug users and their likelihood of experiencing problem drug use and becoming a part of an over-represented population in drug treatment services. Explanations for men’s problematic/addicted patterns of drug use often point to marginalisation, disadvantage, and/or men’s tendency towards problematic health behaviours. This article argues that men’s illicit recreational drug use is often glossed over as a gendered activity and receives less scrutiny than problematic/addicted patterns of …

The Battle For Commercial Hearts And Minds And The Internal Brand Within A Charity Shop Network In Ireland, Edmund O'Callaghan

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Charities are increasingly adopting commercial branding strategies to capture consumer hearts and minds for competitive gain, with little attention on the internal organisational battle for hearts and minds within a not-for-profit context. This paper explores the internal brand of a charity that currently operates 227 charity shops on the island of Ireland, using Hankinson’s 2004 framework that focuses on functional, symbolic, behavioural and experiential components. An exploratory case study was developed based on a survey of organisational members (n = 138), interviews with six regional shopmanagers, observation in retail stores and supplemented by organisation documentation. Findings indicate a clarity of …

Calculating Restaurant Failure Rates Using Longitudinal Census Data, J. J. Healy, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

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Failure rates in the restaurant industry are popularly perceived to be far higher than they actually are. This paper calculates failure rates in the Irish Food and Drinks Sector (IFDS), for the first time, using longitudinal census data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in Ireland, which follows the European statistical classification of economic activity (NACE). The results are compared with previously published literature on restaurant failure rates in the United States of America. This study also compares IFDS failure rates with other industry sectors in Ireland (construction, manufacturing). Drawing on Stinchcombe’s ’liability of newness’ theory, the informal fallacies theory …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Attitudes Of Rural And Urban Consumers Towards Cultured Meat, Elaine Shaw, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis on the attitudes of rural and urban Irish consumers towards cultured meat.

Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods exploratory sequential design was used. This involved collecting qualitative data first, through group interviews, and using the results of these to design the questionnaires for the quantitative data collection, which was analysed using SPSS 24.0 ®.

Findings – Urban consumers were more receptive towards cultured meat and more concerned about the environmental impact of current meat production practices. Rural consumers were more concerned about the possible damaging effect cultured meat …

A Multilayer Exponential Random Graph Modelling Approach For Weighted Networks, Alberto Caimo, Isabella Gollini

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A new modelling approach for the analysis of weighted networks with ordinal/polytomous dyadic values is introduced. Specifically, it is proposed to model the weighted network connectivity structure using a hierarchical multilayer exponential random graph model (ERGM) generative process where each network layer represents a different ordinal dyadic category. The network layers are assumed to be generated by an ERGM process conditional on their closest lower network layers. A crucial advantage of the proposed method is the possibility of adopting the binary network statistics specification to describe both the between-layer and across-layer network processes and thus facilitating the interpretation of the …

A New Era For Reuse Social Enterprises In Ireland? The Capacities Required For Achieving Sustainability, Gerard Doyle

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The conventional linear relationship between production and consumption is no longer sustainable. A key component of the transition towards a more sustainable society is the continuation in use of products for longer and the development of a repair and reuse culture. Reuse social enterprises contribute to addressing a range of environmental, economic and social issues facing urban areas. This paper is concerned with, firstly, the motivations for citizens to establish reuse social enterprises in Ireland. Secondly, the paper examines the factors that contribute to reuse social enterprises in Ireland becoming sustainable.

The research points to the necessity of reuse social …

Criminal Justice, Inc., John Rappaport

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No abstract provided.

On The Exactitude Of Big Data: La Bêtise And Artificial Intelligence, Noel Fitzpatrick, John D. Kelleher

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This article revisits the question of ‘la bêtise’ or stupidity in the era of Artificial Intelligence driven by Big Data, it extends on the questions posed by Gille Deleuze and more recently by Bernard Stiegler. However, the framework for revisiting the question of la bêtise will be through the lens of contemporary computer science, in particular the development of data science as a mode of analysis, sometimes, misinterpreted as a mode of intelligence. In particular, this article will argue that with the advent of forms of hype (sometimes referred to as the hype cycle) in relation to big data and …

Assessment For Project-Based Courses, James R. Fugate

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A project-based course is where students engage in a series of projects, which help lead students to a defined level of skill as specified in the course goals. Unlike a traditional lecture course where students are given examinations to assess the level of student knowledge and understanding, a project-based course may not include any formal examination. The assessment of student progress is often based on the quality of course projects. For this research, students in project-based courses were given a formal exam at the end of the course. The objective of the exam was to determine if there was a …

From Sagebrush Law To A Modern Profession, Kristina J. Running

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No abstract provided.

Using A Socioeconomic Segregation Burn-In Model To Initialise An Agent-Based Model For Infectious Diseases, Elizabeth Hunter, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher

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Socioeconomic status can have an important effect on health. In this paper we: (i) propose using house price data as a publicly available proxy for socioeconomic status to examine neighbourhood socioeconomic status at a more fine grained resolution than is available in Irish Central Statistics Office data; (ii) use a dissimilarity index to demonstrate and measure the existence of socioeconomic clustering at a neighbourhood level; (iii) demonstrate that using a standard ABM initialisation process based on CSO small area data results in ABMs systematically underestimating the socioeconomic clustering in Irish neighbourhoods; (iv) demonstrate that ABM models are better calibrated towards …

When Law Calls, Does Science Answer? A Survey Of Distinguished Scientists & Engineers, Shari Seidman Diamond, Richard O. Lempert

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Sound legal decision-making frequently requires the assistance of scientists and engineers. The survey we conducted with the cooperation of the American Academy examines the views of the legal system held by some of the nation’s most distinguished scientists and engineers, what motivates them to participate or to refuse to assist in lawsuits when asked, and their assessment of their experiences when they do participate. The survey reveals that a majority of the responding scientists and engineers will agree to participate when asked, and when they turn down requests, the most common reasons are lack of time and absence of relevant …

Introduction, Shari S. Diamond, Richard O. Lempert

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Experts bedeviled the legal system long before seventeenth-century Salem, when the town's good citizens relied on youthful accusers and witchcraft experts to identify the devil's servants in their midst. As in Salem, claims of expertise have often been questioned and objections raised about the bases of expert knowledge. Expertise, then and now, did not have to be based on science; but the importance of science and the testimony of scientific experts has since medieval times been woven into the fabric of the English jurisprudence that Americans inherited. In cases as long ago as 1299 we find examples of courts seeking …

From Maggie To May: Forty Years Of (De)Industrial Strategy, James Silverwood, Richard Woodward

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Upon becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May installed industrial strategy as one of the principal planks of her economic policy. May's embrace of industrial strategy, with its tacit acceptance of a positive role for the state in steering and coordinating economic activity, initially appears to be a decisive break with an era dating back to Margaret Thatcher, in which government intervention was regarded as heresy. Whilst there are doubtless novel features, this article argues that continuity is the overriding theme of May's industrial strategy. First, despite the reluctance to confess it, like every UK government over the past forty years, May …

Teaching And Learning Competencies Valued By Engineering Educators: A Pilot Study, Cormac H. Macmahon, Brian Bowe, Orla Mcconnell, Fiona Cranley

Articles

At the onset of this paper, it is important to provide context by highlighting two backdrop narratives, which have prompted and guided this research project:-(i) Since 2015, The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Ireland has undergone an extensive consultation process on professional development, resulting in a guiding document entitled the National Professional Development Framework (NPDF) for Staff Who Teach in Higher Education [1].(ii) The Technological University Alliance for Dublin has placed Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) on a merger trajectory towards technological university designation …

The Institutions Of Innocence Review: A Comparative Sociological Perspective, Jessica A. Roth

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The last three decades have seen the rise of an international innocence movement that has forced participants in diverse criminal justice systems to confront their systems’ fallibility, previously thought more theoretical than real. The public acknowledgment of that fallibility has led to the creation of new institutional mechanisms to re-examine old convictions. This short essay prepared for a symposium issue of the Rutgers University Law Review on the theory of criminal law reform compares the error correction institutions created in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, three English-speaking countries with common law roots and an adversarial structure, through …

Gender In The Context Of Same-Sex Divorce And Relationship Dissolution, Suzanne A. Kim, Edward D. Stein

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This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same-sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same-sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same-sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples’ intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same-sex relationships.

Doing A Doctorate In Business Administration: The Case For Critical Reflexivity., Catherine Farrell, Sarah Oerton, Eoin Plant

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This paper focuses upon the value of critical reflexivity in illuminating practice-based management inquiry. Drawing upon contributions to debates in the field, the paper demonstrates how critical reflexivity permits interrogation of the dynamic tensions associated with ‘real life’ practice and scholarly research on Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) programmes. It offers clearer understanding of the complex journeys undertaken, greater recognition of the organizational and cultural landscapes inhabited, and broadens concepts of how ‘success’ on DBA programmes may be evaluated. The paper further argues that critical reflexivity plays a key role in highlighting the various processes underlying the design, management and …

Implicit Bias's Failure, Samuel Bagenstos

Articles

The 2016 presidential election was a coming-out party of sorts for the concept of implicit bias-and not necessarily in a good way. In answering a question about race relations and the police during the vice-presidential debate, Mike Pence introduced the topic. Offering his explanation for why the Fraternal Order of Police had endorsed the Trump-Pence ticket, Pence said:

A Community-Building Framework For Collaborative Research Coordination Across The Education And Biology Research Disciplines, Nancy Pelaez, Trevor R. Anderson, Stephanie M. Gardner, Yue Yin, Joel K. Abraham, Edward L. Bartlett, Cara Gormally, Carol A. Hurney, Tammy M. Long, Dina L. Newman, Karen Sirum, Michael T. Stevens

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Since 2009, the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences has funded Research Coordination Networks (RCN) aimed at collaborative efforts to improve participation, learning, and assessment in undergraduate biology education (UBE). RCN-UBE projects focus on coordination and communication among scientists and educators who are fostering improved and innovative approaches to biology education. When faculty members collaborate with the overarching goal of advancing undergraduate biology education, there is a need to optimize collaboration between participants in order to deeply integrate the knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. In this essay we propose a novel guiding framework for bringing colleagues together to advance …

Picketing In The New Economy, Hiba Hafiz

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No abstract provided.

An Exploratory Study On The Northern Sea Route As An Alternative Shipping Passage, Helene Barenksten Solvang, Stavros Karamperidis, Nikolaos Valantasis Kanellos, Dong Wook Song

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This qualitative inductive research explores the potential benefits for the Scandinavian economy and ports through the implementation of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative for container shipping to the established Southern route through the Suez Canal. To extract expert’s opinions and address these objectives, we utilised in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews through purposive sampling in a single case study setting.

The analysis of the data demonstrates that the commercialisation of NSR can yield benefits for the Scandinavian economy (e.g. GDP increase, jobs creation) and reveals the benefits of Scandinavian ports (e.g. ECA’s, flexibility, hinterland, etc.) compared to other ports …

Events, Social Connections, Place Identities And Extended Families, Bernadette Quinn, Theresa Ryan

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The study reported here investigates the role that planned social gatherings play in shaping social connections, forging group identity and re-affirming connections with significant ‘home’ places within families where relationships extend across space. Empirically, it draws on a study of the Gathering, a 2013 national tourism initiative that encouraged people in Ireland to organise ‘gatherings’ to attract ‘home’ family members scattered across the globe. It reports data generated using mixed methods administered in two Irish counties. The findings demonstrate the profound meanings that the gatherings had for participating family members. The events served to strengthen existing family ties and to …

Liminal Entrepreneuring: The Creative Practices Of Nascent Necessity Entrepreneurs, Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo, Paul Donnelly, Lucia Sell-Trujillo, J. Miguel Imas

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This paper contributes to creative entrepreneurship studies through exploring ‘liminal entrepreneuring’, i.e., the organization-creation entrepreneurial practices and narratives of individuals living in precarious conditions. Drawing on a processual approach to entrepreneurship and Turner’s liminality concept, we study the transition from un(der)employment to entrepreneurship of 50 nascent necessity entrepreneurs (NNEs) in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The paper asks how these agents develop creative entrepreneuring practices in their efforts to overcome their condition of ‘necessity’. The analysis shows how, in their everyday liminal entrepreneuring, NNEs disassemble their identities and social positions, experiment with new relationships and alternative visions of themselves, …

Economic Analysis In Labor Regulation, Hiba Hafiz

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No abstract provided.

Gender Representation In Children’S Books: Case Of An Early Childhood Setting, Katarina Filipovic

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The purpose of this small-scale case study was to identify and analyze key patterns in terms of gender representation in children’s books in one early childhood setting. Furthermore, this case study sought to understand the perspectives of early childhood educators on gender representation in children’s books. The researcher employed multiple methods of data collection, including content analysis of 15 children’s books, as well as reflective journal writing and professional conversation between eight educators from one early childhood center in Dublin, Ireland. Content analysis of children’s books revealed distinct gender patterns that include underrepresentation of female characters and instances of gender …

''It’S A Win-Win Situation” – Intergenerational Learning In Preschool And Elder Care Settings: An Irish Perspective, Carmel Gallagher, Anne Fitzpatrick

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This paper explores the level and sustainability of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings in Ireland. The paper is based on a small-scale research study involving interviews with sta in ve organizations and builds on ndings from previous research conducted for the TOY project (http://www.toyproject.net). The paper examines the pedagogies involved as well as the community context of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings. The ndings highlight that sustainable intergenerational practice is facilitated by strong pedagogies that support active and relational learning across the life course and by being embedded in robust community networks.

Carefree Masculinities In Ireland: Gender Conservatism And Neo-Liberalism, Niall Hanlon

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No abstract provided.

Social Care Students’ Learning In The Practice Placement In Ireland, Fiona Mcsweeney, David Williams

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The practice placement is a central component of social care education, being seen as where students develop their practice skills, self-awareness and apply theoretical knowledge. This research reports on social care students’ experiences of their practice placements, in particular how learning was achieved and what helped learning. An interpretivist approach was used in line with the acceptance of the individuality of students’ experiences. A volunteer sample of seventeen students were interviewed individually at the end of their final year in college. The interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Four themes were identified: the need for a balance between autonomy and doing …

Memories Of Television In Ireland: Separating Media History From Nation State, Edward Brennan

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This article emerges from a broader project that explores the history of television in Ireland using audience life story interviews. It argues that a dominant narrative persists in the history of television in the Republic of Ireland. Based in institutional sources this narrative is ideologically narrow although it tells a story of cultural liberation. A key example of its ideological limitation lies in the way that Irish people’s experience of British television transmissions has been forgotten. The reason for this lies in historical methods rather than conscious bias. Nevertheless, historical methods themselves can promote limited visons of reality that promote …