Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating, Sharing And Reusing Learning Objects To Enhance Information Literacy, Philip Russell, Gerard Ryder, Gillian Kerins, Margaret Phelan

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From June 2010 until the present, a suite of online reusable learning objects (RLOs) has been created by staff at the Technological University Dublin (ITT Dublin) library covering a range of information literacy (IL) competencies. These RLOs have helped to facilitate student transition from second to third level, advance IL and enrich the student learning experience. The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of these RLOs and how the resources have been shared, reused and repurposed to enhance IL progression. A review of recent literature explores some of the key issues around the creation of digital learning …

How Foreign Firms Transformed Ireland’S Domestic Economy, Paul Donnelly

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Today, Ireland is host to 1,033 multinational corporations. They directly employ 152,785 and account for 70 per cent or €122.5bn of exports. It’s a story that has its roots in the 1940s.

Pathologies In International Policy Transfer: The Case Of The Oecd Tax Transparency Initiative, Richard Eccleston, Richard Woodward

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The importance of international organizations to the development and diffusion of international policy norms is widely recognized but is increasingly tempered by an appreciation of the pathologies of policy transfer. Using a case study of the OECD’s campaign to promote transparency in global tax affairs, this paper identifies a new and relatively distinctive form of dysfunctional policy transfer. Specifically it argues that international organizations face bureaucratic incentives to promote weak or lowest common denominator standards in order to maximize their prospects of brokering successful international agreements. However the paper also notes that while international organizations may have a short-term interest …

Enhancing The Academic And Social Learning Of Irish Undergraduates Through Emotional And Social Skills Development., Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

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This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which …

The New Ruins Of North Cyprus, Jim Roche

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This article is a critical commentary on the speculative physical development that occurred in North Cyprus in the period following the defeat of the Kofi Annan Plan (2004) for a political settlement for the islanders.

The rejection of the Annan V Plan by Greek Cypriot voters, and its acceptance by Turkish Cypriots, was interpreted and manipulated by certain political forces and vested interests in the TRNC as a carte blanche to ‘improve’ by development, property with Greek Cypriot title deeds. After the failed referendum the physical development of North Cyprus escalated at a gigantic rate. According to one ex-patriot: “In …

Rapid Change Without Transformation: The Dominance Of A National Policy Paradigm Over International Influences On Ecec Development In Ireland 1995-2012, Noirin Hayes, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Toby Wolfe

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The rapidity of change in Irish early childhood policy over the last 20 years is clear to observers (OECD 2004). What may be debated is how significant the changes are. In this paper, we analyse changes in early childhood education and care policy in Ireland since 1995, using Hall’s (1993) typology of policy change to help understand how policies and institutions could change so much in appearance without changing their fundamental features or underlying philosophy. We demonstrate that, despite extensive change, a traditional policy paradigm has held constant, where the State’s role in direct service delivery remains limited, the State …

Towards A Structured Approach To Reading Historic Cookbooks, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

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This article discusses the methodology Barbara Ketchum Wheaton uses in her Reading historic Cookbook Seminars in Harvard and elsewhere and discusses from a participants perspective the strenghts of using this methodology to unlock hidden secrets of historic cookbooks.

Bricks & Mortar: Tax Policy Swings To Those Who Rent Homes, Tom Dunne

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A major change in Ireland in recent years has been the rapid fall in home ownership, down from 75pc of households in 2006 to 70pc at present.

This brings Ireland more into line with home ownership rates in the US and UK, lower than those of southern Europe but higher than the prosperous economies of northern Europe where long-term renting is very common.

In the public mind, however, this lower level of owner occupancy is seen as temporary and symptomatic of a distressed economy where buyers have difficulty obtaining mortgages and in any event are content to stand off a …

Rationalizing Creativity—Rationalizing Public Service: Is Scheduling Management Fit For The Digital Era?, Ann-Marie Murray

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In public broadcast organizations across Europe, scheduling has been transformed from a marginal, administrative activity to a highly strategic management tool (Hellman, 1999; Hujanen, 2002; Meier, 2003;Ytreberg, 2000) Ellis (2000)described it as “the locus of power in television,” organizing production and managing budgets (p. 26). The role of scheduling in public broadcast organizations today reflects the demands of increasing competition and political pressure for efficiency and accountability. However, new challenges have emerged in the transition from public service broadcasting to public service media (PSM). PSM providers must redefine their mission for the digital era and find …

Prison Policy In Times Of Austerity: Lessons From Ireland, Mary Rogan

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The catastrophic collapse in the once booming Irish economy has led to swingeing budgets, huge falls in property prices, rising unemployment, cut backs in public services, and the ignominy of a bailout financed by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank. As has been the case for all aspects of public expenditure, prison policy-makers are now regularly using the language of efficiency and value for money when discussing plans for Ireland’s prisons. The state’s current economic woes are having some interesting effects on the direction of prison policy. Plans are afoot to reduce the prison …

Identifying Subjective Statements In News Titles Using A Personal Sense Annotation Framework, Polina Panicheva, John Cardiff, Paolo Rosso

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Subjective language contains information about private states. The goal of subjective language identification is to determine that a private state is expressed, without considering its polarity or specific emotion. A component of word meaning, “Personal Sense,” has clear potential in the field of subjective language identification, as it reflects a meaning of words in terms of unique personal experience and carries personal characteristics. In this paper we investigate how Personal Sense can be harnessed for the purpose of identifying subjectivity in news titles. In the process, we develop a new Personal Sense annotation framework for annotating and classifying subjectivity, polarity, …

Link Levy To Services- Not Urban Middle Class Assets, Tom Dunne

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Paying any tax is an unwelcome burden, but in Ireland many have a particular aversion to taxes on their homes. We are not alone in this. Elsewhere, taxes on homes are also unpopular; witness the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation which forced the California state government to cut property taxes. Nevertheless, residential property taxes remain an almost universal feature of developed countries because of compelling economic arguments for them. Also, local property taxes are regarded as the best means of funding local government.

Rarely, it seems to me, is there such a distance between what the public wants and …

‘Moving In’: Difficulties And Support In The Transition To Higher Education For In-Service Social Care Students, Fiona Mcsweeney

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This paper reports on the difficulties and supports experienced by social care practitioners within the educational institution during their transition to higher education. A life transition such as entering higher education causes stress for individuals and social support is essential in successfully dealing with this stress (Anderson et al., 2012). Fifteen social care practitioners were interviewed twice during and once at the end of their first academic year in college. Findings indicate that participants were reluctant to approach staff for help despite anxiety about classes and assignments. Discussion and debate in class helped learning and contributed to feelings of being …

Bullying In A New Ground: Cyberbullying Among 9-16 Year Olds In Ireland, Thuy Dinh, Brian O'Neill

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This paper builds on the data collected in Ireland by the cross-national EU Kids Online II project- a large 25 country survey which investigated children’s experiences of the internet, focusing on issues of use, activities, risks, and safetyi . This article explores incidences, forms and consequences of cyberbullying among Irish children, as well as discussing possible prevention and intervention strategies.

Sheridan's Promising Tale Is Half Told, Ian Kilroy

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Review of 'Break a Leg', the memoir by Irish theatre artist Peter Sheridan. First published in the Sunday Business Post Magazine.

Who Cares?:Practical Ethics And The Problem Of Underage Users On Social Networking Sites, Brian O'Neill

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Internet companies place a high priority on the safety of their services and on their corporate responsibility towards protection of all users, especially younger ones. However, such efforts are undermined by the large numbers of children who circumvent age restrictions and lie about their age to gain access to such platforms. This paper deals with the ethical issues that arise in this not-so-hypothetical situation. Who, for instance, bears responsibility for children’s welfare in this context? Are parents/carers ethically culpable in failing to be sufficiently vigilant or even facilitating their children’s social media use? Do industry providers do enough to enforce …

Children, Violence, Community And The Physical Environment: Foreword To The Special Issue, Kevin Lalor

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No abstract provided.

Re-Theorizing The “Structure–Agency” Relationship: Figurational Theory, Organizational Change And The Gaelic Athletic Association, John Connolly, Paddy Dolan

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This article illustrates how the figurational sociology associated with Norbert Elias provides an alternative theoretical framework for explaining the relationship between, ‘individualorganization- society’ and organizational change, and in so doing transverses what is conceived as a false dichotomy between structure and agency. Through an historical case study of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, the ‘individual-organization-society’ relationship is conceptualized as overlapping figurations and organizational change is explained as figurational dynamics—the shifting social interdependencies between the individuals and groups comprising an organization, between that organization and other organizations, between social groups on a higher level of integration and competition. In tandem …

The Field In Ireland In 2014, Tom Dunne

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Repossessions are an important part of recovery in the housing market

Early Literacy And Numeracy Matters, Geraldine French

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No abstract provided.

Integrated Scenarios For Energy: A Methodology For The Short Term, Tadhg O'Mahony

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Quantitative point forecasts of energy and emissions have experienced difficulty with responding to uncertainty. Accuracy issues arise even in the short term with consequences for policy. The technique of scenario analysis is increasingly applied in scientific inquiry on the long term but it also has utility in the short term. This paper presents a discussion of the use of forecasts for prediction and proposes integrated or ´hybrid´ exploratory qualitative and quantitative scenarios in its stead. Various methodological issues are explored towards formulation of a scenario development process. Integrated scenarios structure thinking on the future, bound uncertainty, document important assumptions, aid …

The Evolution Of Media Development: The Media Development Model In A Changing World, Daire Higgins

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The origins of Media Development can be found in Post WW2 Europe and the industry grew as a more significant aspect of international aid work in the 1980s and the 1990s, following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the former Soviet Union. It was hoped that exporting the concept of a free and independent press would foster democracy in post-communist and transitional countries. While it is debated on how successful these projects were, questions are now being asked about the relevance of media development model itself, the liberal press ideology behind the training projects and what …

Risks And Safety On The Internet: Comparing Brazilian And European Children, Alexander Barbosa, Brian O'Neill, Cristina Ponte, Simões Simões, Tatiana Jereissati

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A child’s home and school are the most frequently reported locations of internet use in Brazil: 60% of Brazilian children aged 9 to 16 who used the internet claimed to access it from home, and 42% from school, whereas in Europe this proportion is 87% for home access and 63% for schools.

However, when it comes to accessing the network from publicly sponsored internet access centres such as Local Area Network (LAN) Houses or cybercafés, the value in Brazil is considerably higher when compared to Europe, 35% against 12% respectively. Access from public libraries is far more popular in Europe …

Emotions, Violence And Social Belonging: An Eliasian Analysis Of Sports Spectatorship, Paddy Dolan, John Connolly

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This paper examines the development of different forms of spectator violence in terms of the socio-temporal structure of situational dynamics at Gaelic football matches in Ireland. The nature of violent encounters has shifted from a collective form based on local solidarity and a reciprocal code of honour, through a transitional collective form based on deferred emotional satisfaction and group pride, towards increasing individualization of spectator violence. This occurs due to the shifting objects of emotional involvement. As the functional specialization of the various roles in the game is partially accepted by spectators, the referee becomes the target of anger. Violence …

Customer Decision-Making Processes And Motives For Self-Service Technology Usage In Multi-Channel Hospitality Environments, Petranka Kelly, Jennifer Lawlor, Michael Mulvey

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The contemporary hospitality service industry is changing with the introduction of new self-service technologies (SSTs) and their rapid adoption by customers. Examples of SSTs include hotel reservation websites, self check-in kiosks and mobile telephone service applications. The introduction of these electronic channels for communication with customers offers further opportunities for customer relationship management if customers choose to interact with them. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to understand the customer decision-making processes and underlying motivations for SST usage in multi-channel hospitality service environments. The data collection method employed was short qualitative interviews with 133 passengers at the departure area …

Decomposition Of Ireland’S Carbon Emissions From 1990-2010: An Extended Kaya Identity, Tadhg O'Mahony

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In recent decades, Ireland has been an important example of a development pathway where rapid economic growth was accompanied by rising energy demand and increasing carbon emissions. Understanding the driving forces of carbon emissions is necessary for policy formulation and decomposition analysis is widely used for this purpose. This study uses an extended Kaya identity as the scheme and applies the log mean Divisia index (LMDI I) as the decomposition technique. Change in carbon emissions is decomposed from 1990 – 2010 and includes a measure of the effect of renewable energy penetration. Results illustrate that scale effects of affluence and …

Integrated Scenarios Of Energy-Related Co2 Emissions In Ireland: A Multi-Sectoral Analysis To 2020, Tadhg O'Mahony, Peng Zhou, John Sweeney

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This paper presents future scenarios of Irish energy-related CO₂ emissions to 2020, using a combination of multi-sectoral decomposition analysis with scenario analysis. Alternative development paths, driving forces and sectoral contributions in different scenarios have been explored. The scenarios are quantified by using decomposition analysis as a Divisia Index SCenario GENerator (DISCGEN). The driving forces of population, economic and social development, energy resources and technology and governance and policies are discussed. A set of four integrated or ‘hybrid’ qualitative and quantitative baseline emission scenarios are developed. It is found that sectoral contributions and emissions in each scenario vary significantly. The …