http://hdl.handle.net/10197/1796 2013-06-20T10:47:27Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4373 'All Changed, Changed Utterly'? Gender role attitudes and the feminisation of the Irish labour force O'Sullivan, Sara One of the most dramatic changes in Irish society over the past two decades has been the substantial increase in the number of women participating in the paid workforce, and the concomitant change in gender roles. This gives rise to the question of whether this change in behaviour is also associated with changes in gender role attitudes. This paper uses data from the 1988, 1994 and 2002 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) ‘Family and Changing Gender Roles’ module to examine changes in Irish gender role attitudes over this period. The analysis presented here demonstrates a decline in support for traditional gender roles over the period. A central issue explored is the relationship between attitudes and behaviour. Are increases in Irish women's labour force participation accompanied by a move away from traditional ideas about the gendered division of labour? Given the significance of ISSP as an important resource both for comparative and national level social science research, and especially given that the module is to be fielded again in 2013, the paper also critiques the wording of the questions in this survey, and the extent to which they accurately measure the complexities of gender role attitudes. 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4355 Urban regeneration and economic crisis: Past development and future challenges in Dublin, Ireland Moore, Niamh; Vinci, Ignazio This article analyses the general trends in urban development in Dublin, focuses in particular on a case study of the docklands area which provides empirical evidence of the city’s development trajectory, and discusses the key challenges that face future urban development in the city. 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4352 Big Data: Rewards and Risks for the Social Sciences Shankar, Kalpana; Wallis, Jillian Both applicants have been extensively involved in science data (Big Data, Small Data, and the transitions among them) and have conducted ethnographic and qualitative studies of data creation and use, but have recently shifted their interests and work to social science data. Although they have not formally worked together, they have worked on the same large science data project (Center for Embedded Networked Sensing at University of California, Los Angeles). More recent interactions and conversations have brought them together to share interests and concerns. To perhaps begin collaboration, they are interested in jointly applying for this workshop. In this paper, we briefly discuss three issues that are of interest to us in the realm of big data and the social sciences. Big Data: Rewards and Risks for the Social Sciences workshop, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 21 - 22 March 2013 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4350 Kinship Care : Stability, Disruption and the Place of Support Services O'Brien, Valerie 2013-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4349 Social Networking, Adoption and Search and Reunion O'Brien, Valerie Change is central to adoption practice and this paper sets out to discuss how social networking is impacting in the field of adoption, especially in the areas of search and reunion. As part of the discussion of this phenomena, certain aspects of Irish practice, some historical and some more contemporary are summarised briefly. This paper is based on a review of the limited literature, an examination of web based materials and interviews with a select group of adoption professionals. Through this exploration, the benefits, implications, challenges and opportunities for adoption practice are considered. 2013-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4347 Friends, strangers or countrymen? The ties between citizens as colleagues Honohan, Iseult Some analogies are better than others for understanding the ties and responsibilities between citizens of a state. Citizens are better understood as particular kinds of colleagues than as either strangers or members of close-knit communities such as family or friends. Colleagues are diverse, separate and relatively distant individuals whose involuntary interdependence as equals in a practice or institution creates common concerns; this entails special responsibilities of communication, consideration and trust, which are capable of extension beyond the immediate group. Citizens likewise are involuntarily interdependent in political practices, and have comparable concerns and obligations that are more substantial than liberal advocates of constitutional patriotism recommend. But these are distinct from and potentially more extensible than those between co-nationals sharing a common culture, which are proposed by nationalists and some communitarians. The relationship of citizens is a more valid ground for associative obligations than others apart from family and friends. 2001-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4346 Should Irish emigrants have votes? External voting in Ireland Honohan, Iseult Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe not to offer some form of suffrage to its citizens who live abroad permanently. In contrast, it has been a frontrunner in the trend towards providing more liberal voting regimes for resident noncitizens, as since 1963 it has allowed all resident for the previous six months to vote and stand in local elections. In this paper I consider the normative case for and against external voting, the current comparative context of its increasing provision among European countries, and the range of ways in which voting rights abroad combine with the extensibility of citizenship by descent abroad. Addressing the Irish case, I argue that there is no basis for a general right to vote for external citizens, but that, nonetheless, persisting connections and the rate of return migration give some reason to grant votes to first generation emigrants, if differently weighted from those of resident citizens. 2011-11-21T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4338 Health and Wealth on the Roller-Coaster: Ireland, 2003-2011 Madden, David (David Patrick) This paper reviews developments in income and health poverty in Ireland over the 2003-2011 period using data from the Survey of Income and Living Conditions (SILC). It also examines developments in the correlation between the two. Income poverty fell up to and including 2009, after which this trend is reversed. Health poverty shows less of a trend over the period though there is some evidence of a reduction in health inequality from 2006. Movements in bi-dimensional poverty are mostly driven by income poverty, but there is evidence of a reduction in the correlation between health and income poverty over the period. 2013-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4329 Courting, but not always serving: Perverted Burkeanism and the puzzle of Irish Parliamentary Cohesion Farrell, David M.; Mair, Peter; Ó Muineacháin, Séin; Wall, Matthew Paper originally prepared for Parties as Organizations and Parties as Systems, a workshop to mark the retirement of R. Kenneth Carty, UBC, Vancouver, May 19-21, 2011 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4326 Transitioning to resilience and sustainability in urban communities Collier, Marcus; Nedović-Budić, Zorica; Aerts, Jeroen; Connop, Stuart; Foley, Dermot; Foley, Karen; Newport, Darryl; McQuaid, Siobhán; Slaev, Aleksander; Verburg, Peter Adapting to the challenges of rapid urban growth and societal change will require mechanisms for efficient transitioning to an embedded resilience. This has become central to the exploration of methods for achieving truly sustainable urban growth. However, while transitioning and resilience are useful descriptors, they can be abstract or conflicting ideals and their meanings obscured by a lack of concrete examples, both being barriers to many planning objectives. In this paper, we hold a lens over key issues in transitioning to resilience in urban areas by outlining emerging challenges that may offer directions towards operationalising how cities might transition to a more resilient future, while ensuring that communities are at the center of the process. The emerging and challenging areas – geospatial ICT, green infrastructure planning, novel design using collaborative responses, climate planning, limiting urban sprawl and short-circuit economic approaches – are explored as viable facets for devising and sustaining urban transition strategies. We conclude with a discussion on the need for developing a synergistic approach in practice to facilitate transition. 2013-04-23T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4318 'Let's Look at it Objectively': Why Phenomenology Cannot Be Naturalized Moran, Dermot In recent years there have been attempts to integrate first-person phenomenology into naturalistic science. Traditionally, however, Husserlian phenomenology has been resolutely anti-naturalist. Husserl identified naturalism as the dominant tendency of twentieth-century science and philosophy and he regarded it as an essentially self-refuting doctrine. Naturalism is a point of view or attitude (a reification of the natural attitude into the naturalistic attitude) that does not know that it is an attitude. For phenomenology, naturalism is objectivism. But phenomenology maintains that objectivity is constituted through the intentional activity of cooperating subjects. Understanding the role of cooperating subjects in producing the experience of the one, shared, objective world keeps phenomenology committed to a resolutely anti-naturalist (or ‘transcendental’) philosophy. 2013-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4317 Mortgage-related issues in a crisis economy: evidence from rural households in Ireland Murphy, Enda; Scott, Mark J. The recent economic crisis has demonstrated the extent to which households are exposed to the financialisation of advanced economies. Much of the debate surrounding the reasons for the crisis has centred on the role of neoliberal policies and particularly lax mortgage lending practices among financial institutions. This paper explores how neoliberal ideas were applied to property and development during the Irish house-building boom. Drawing on questionnaire survey data across five case study locations, it examines the mortgage practices of rural households during the boom period and their existing conditions in the current burst. In addition, the impacts and consequences of the neoliberalisation of the rural mortgage market for rural households within the context of the failure of these policies, a major housing crash and a neoliberal policy fix based on severe austerity measures is examined. Our results point towards the extreme hardship and stress being felt by rural households and highlight, through the lens of rural housing, the extent to which the practices and consequences of neoliberal policy in the mortgage arena are varied spatially in rural areas. 2013-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4312 Whatever happened to the third paradigm? Exploring mixed methods research designs in sport and exercise psychology Moran, Aidan P.; Matthews, James; Kirby, Kate In the past, quantitative and qualitative approaches to research were portrayed as being incompatible, if not mutually exclusive. More recently, however, researchers have explored the possible complementarity of these approaches through mixed methods research (MMR) the so-called third research paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and implications of mixed methods designs for research in sport and exercise psychology. Having sketched the nature and origins of MMR, we highlight some advantages it offers to researchers in sport and exercise psychology. After that, we conclude by identifying some barriers to progress in using mixed methods research in this latter field. 2011-11-09T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4311 Mental imagery, action observation and skill learning Moran, Aidan P.; Campbell, Mark; Holmes, Paul; MacIntyre, Tadhg 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4310 Functional equivalence or behavioural matching? A critical reflection on 15 years of research using the PETTLEP model of motor imagery Wakefield, Caroline; Smith, Dave; Moran, Aidan P.; Holmes, Paul Motor imagery, or the mental rehearsal of actions in the absence of physical movement, is an increasingly popular construct in fields such as neuroscience, cognitive psychology and sport psychology. Unfortunately, few models of motor imagery have been postulated to date. Nevertheless, based on the hypothesis of functional equivalence between imagery, perception and motor execution, Holmes and Collins in 2001 developed the PETTLEP model of motor imagery in an effort to provide evidence-based guidelines for imagery practice in sport psychology. Given recent advances in theoretical understanding of functional equivalence, however, it is important to provide a contemporary critical reflection on motor imagery research conducted using this model. The present article addresses this objective. We begin by explaining the background to the development of the PETTLEP model. Next, we evaluate key issues and findings in PETTLEP-inspired research. Finally, we offer suggestions for, and new directions in, research in this field. 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4305 Teaching for better learning: a blended learning pilot project with first year geography undergraduates Moore, Niamh; Gilmartin, Mary Internationally, recognition is growing that the transition between post-primary and higher education is raising a number of challenges for both students and educators. Simultaneously with growing class sizes, resources have become more constrained and there is a new set of expectations from the “net generation” (Mohanna, 2007, p. 211) The use of e-learning in medical education, Postgraduate Medical Journal, 83, p. 211). Within this transforming context, modes of instruction that cater for different paces of learning and learning styles by combining traditional and electronic media have become increasingly important. This paper discusses the transformation of an introductory human geography module at University College Dublin using a blended learning approach that extends beyond the media used to incorporate all aspects of, and inputs into, the learning process. Our experience highlights how blended learning can aid the achievement of a range of objectives in relation to student engagement and the promotion of deeper learning. However, blended learning is not a quick-fix solution to all issues relating to new university students and our analysis draws out a more complex relationship than anticipated between blended learning and student retention that will require further examination. 2010-09-21T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4304 Mapping the journey towards self-authorship in Geography Moore, Niamh; Fournier, Eric J.; Hardwick, Susan W.; Healey, Mick; MacLachlan, John; Seemann, Jörn Learning is a developmental journey, and geography curriculum plays a key role in supporting student progression. In this article, we argue that the concept of ‘self-authorship’ is a useful guiding principle in supporting curriculum revision and reform. A series of international case studies illustrate how self-authorship can be enacted in different ways within geography curricula in a range of contexts. The role of a range of collaborators and the co-curriculum in supporting the student journey are highlighted. The article concludes by suggesting that the key strength of the concept is its non-prescriptive nature. 2011-05-16T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4300 Foster care and supported lodgings for separated asylum seeking young people in Ireland: the views of young people, carers and stakeholders Ní Raghallaigh, Muireann 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4295 The effects of avoidant instructions on golf putting proficiency and kinematics Toner, John; Moran, Aidan P.; Jackson, Robin Objectives. Although the effects of avoidant or negative instructions on skilled performance in sport has received little research attention, de la Pena, Murray, and Janelle (2008) reported recently that novice golfers who were instructed not to leave a putt short of a circle, overcompensated by leaving their putts significantly longer than at baseline, and vice versa. It is unclear, however, whether athletes' propensity to engage in over-compensatory behaviour is affected by their level of expertise. Design. To address this unresolved issue, the present study investigated the influence of avoidant instructions on golfers' putting stroke proficiency (i.e., as measured by an index of putting performance and the direction in which putts are missed) and on their putting stroke performance (as measured by motion analysis). Methods. 14 high-skilled and 14 low-skilled golfers were required to putt from a distance of 2.5 m on a sloped surface which caused the ball to move left-to-right as it approached the hole. All participants performed in a condition in which they were given no instructions and in a condition in which they were instructed not to miss a putt in a specific direction (i.e., left or right of the hole). Results. High-skilled golfers' overall putting proficiency was unaffected by avoidant instructions. In contrast, low-skilled golfers' performance was significantly degraded due to disruption of certain kinematic features of their putting stroke (e.g., putter path and forward-swing times). 2013-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4293 'The whole nation is listening to you': the presentation of the self on a tabloid talk radio show O'Sullivan, Sara This article focuses on callers' experiences of participating on a tabloid talk radio show. The performative dimension of calling was found to be central. This is an aspect of participation on talk radio shows that has been largely neglected by previous studies. Callers have concerns about how they manage their self-presentation on-air. They are aware of both the host and the listening audience, and try to control the impression they 'give off'. Callers to The Gerry Ryan Show are central players who, together with the host and the production team, contribute to the staging of debate in this on-air forum. Concerns about performance were found to be secondary for those who rang the show with a problem. These callers tended to prioritise instrumental goals such as problem-solving or support-seeking. 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4291 In Search of the Radio Audience O'Sullivan, Sara 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4290 Introduction: intersubjectivity and empathy Jensen, Rasmus Thybo; Moran, Dermot Editors Introduction to the Special Issue, Intersubjectivity and Empathy, of Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4289 Lay Understandings of Health: A Qualitative Study O'Sullivan, Sara; Stakelum, Anne 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4287 Utilitarianism and Secondary Principles Baker, John 1971-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4286 My World Survey : National Study of Youth Mental Health in Ireland Dooley, Barbara A.; Fitzgerald, Amanda 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4285 The Irish Experience Hardiman, Niamh 2013-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4276 Playing the Language Game Game Baker, John 1981-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4274 Thinking in action: Some insights from cognitive sport psychology Moran, Aidan P. Historically, cognitive researchers have largely ignored the domain of sport in their quest to understand how the mind works. This neglect is due, in part, to the limitations of the information processing paradigm that dominated cognitive psychology in its formative years. With the emergence of the embodiment approach to cognition, however, sport has become a dynamic natural laboratory in which to investigate the relationship between thinking and skilled action. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore some insights into the relationship between thinking and action that have emerged from recent research on exceptional performance states (e.g., ‘flow’ and ‘choking’) in athletes. The paper begins by explaining why cognitive psychologists’ traditional indifference to sport has been replaced by a more enthusiastic attitude in recent years. The next section provides some insights into the relationship between thinking and skilled action that have emerged from research on ‘flow’ (or peak performance) and ‘choking’ (or impaired performance) experiences in athletes. The third section of the paper explores some practical issues that arise when athletes seek to exert conscious control over their thoughts in competitive situations. The final part of the paper considers the implications of research on thinking in action in sport for practical attempts to improve thinking skills in domains such as business organizations and schools. 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4272 Mills Captivating Proof and the Foundations of Ethics Baker, John 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4270 Validation of a 28-item version of the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation in an Irish context: The SCORE-28 Cahill, Paul; O'Reilly, Ken; Carr, Alan; Dooley, Barbara A.; Stratton, Peter This paper describes the development, in an Irish context, of a 3-factor, 28-item version the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (SCORE) questionnaire for assessing progress in family therapy. The 40-item version of the SCORE was administered to over 700 Irish participants including non-clinical adolescents and young adults, families attending family therapy, and parents of young people with physical and intellectual disabilities and cystic fibrosis. For validation purposes, data were also collected using brief measures of family and personal adjustment. A 28-item version of the SCORE (the SCORE-28) containing three factor scales that assess family strengths, difficulties and communication was identified through exploratory principal components analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor structure of the SCORE-28 was stable. The SCORE-28 and its 3 factor scales were shown to have excellent internal consistency reliability, satisfactory test-retest reliability, and construct validity. The SCORE-28 scales correlated highly with the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device, and moderately with the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale, the Kansas Marital and Parenting Satisfaction Scales, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Mental Health Inventory – 5, and the total problems scale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Correlational analyses also showed the SCORE-28 scales were not strongly associated with demographic characteristics or social desirability response set. The SCORE-28 may routinely be administered to literate family members over 12 years before and after family therapy to evaluate therapy outcome. 2010-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4269 Great Leap, Great Famine Ó Gráda, Cormac The paper is an extended review of two recent books on the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61. 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4268 The Poverty Effects of a “Fat-Tax” in Ireland Madden, David (David Patrick) To combat growing levels of obesity, health related taxes have been suggested with taxes on foods high in fat or sugar. Such taxes have been criticised on the basis of their regressivity and potentially adverse impact upon poverty. This paper analyses the effect of such taxes on a range of poverty measures and also examines the effect of a revenue-neutral tax subsidy mix with a tax on unhealthy food combined with a subsidy on more healthy food. Using Irish expenditure data, the results indicate that taxes on high fat/sugar goods on their own will be regressive but that a tax-subsidy combination can be broadly neutral with respect to poverty. 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4267 Eating People is Wrong: Famine’s Darkest Secret? Ó Gráda, Cormac Cannibalism is one of our darkest secrets and taboos. It is the ultimate measure of the resilience or otherwise of civilizational processes to extreme conditions. How common was cannibalism in times of famine in the past? Both the nature of the evidence for famine cannibalism and the silences about it challenge the empirical historian to the limit. After a review of the global historiography, this paper attempts to assess the evidence for cannibalism during Ireland’s many famines, culminating in the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s. 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4265 Residential preferences of the 'creative class'? Lawton, Philip; Murphy, Enda; Redmond, Declan The desire for ‘vibrant’, ‘bohemian’ neighbourhoods forms a focal point of the amenity preferences of Richard Florida’s ‘creative class’ thesis. Here, a vibrant street culture, which includes cafes and restaurants spilling onto the pavement, is implied as being of key importance in the selection of a residential area for creative and knowledge workers. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper examines the residential preferences of the ‘creative class’ in Dublin, Ireland. The results illustrate the continued importance of classic factors in residential decision-making, including housing cost, accessibility and travel-time to place of employment. Moreover, the results also illustrate how changes in the life-cycle, including the decision to have a family, have a direct influence on residential location choice. While there is a tendency for younger workers to select the city centre, older workers predominantly opt to live in suburban areas with good transport connections to the city centre or their place of employment. 2013-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4264 Mixing Beginners and Native Speakers in Minority Language Immersion: Who is Immersing Whom? Hickey, Tina The mixing of L1 speakers with L2 learners occurs regularly in immersion situations where a minority language is the target language. This study looks at early immersion in Irish among children from diverse language backgrounds. It examines the children's frequency of target language use and the effect of the group's linguistic mix on that use. A sample of 60 children from different language backgrounds was drawn from pre-school classes with different compositions of children from Irish-only, Irish-English, and English-only homes. The results showed relatively low levels of target language use even by the native speakers. The linguistic composition of the group significantly affected the frequency of target language use by the L1 children and the children from bilingual homes but had less effect on the use by English speakers. The importance of addressing the needs of native speakers as well as those of beginners in such immersion situations is explored, and the implications for teacher training and teaching strategies are considered. 2001-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4262 Academic Outcome, Anxiety and Attitudes in Early and Late Immersion in Ireland Ó Muircheartaigh, Jonathan; Hickey, Tina Differences between early and late Irish-immersion secondary school students are examined, not only in terms of academic outcome and target language ability, but also in terms of attitudes to learning the target language. Participants included a gender-balanced group of 97 students in Irish-immersion in fourth year of secondary school (mean age 15.5 years). The students were categorised as either early immersion (had attended an Irish-medium primary school) or late immersion students (Irish as core subject only until secondary). Participants completed a C-test and a Student Questionnaire based on Gardner's (1985) Attitude and Motivational Test Battery (AMTB), which looked in particular at their class anxiety, motivation and parental support for learning Irish. State examination results (Junior Certificate) were also collected and compared for the early and late immersion students. No difference was found between the groups in terms of overall academic attainment in Mathematics and Irish scores in Junior Certificate results. However the late immersion students performed significantly less well than early immersion student on more subtle tests of Irish ability and scored significantly higher on classroom anxiety. The discussion considers these outcomes and suggestions are made for provision of a transitional programme for late immersion students to address differences in their language proficiency and anxiety levels. 2008-12-19T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4261 Potential for longevity of novel genetically modified herbicide-tolerant traits in the Irish landscape Collier, Marcus; Mullins, Ewen With the renewed interest in GM crop technology in Ireland, some concern has been raised in relation to the potential impact on biodiversity in the Irish agri-environment. This concern can focus on the potential for a transgenic trait to cross to wild relatives. A novel trait will be judged to have persisted in a wild population via the successful production of seeds, such that these seeds are viable and result in the establishment of a self-sustaining population. In the case of a herbicide tolerant (HT) trait, feral and volunteer populations can only remain viable if managed with applications of the herbicide that the trait is designed to resist. This surviving population of HT plants would then need to compete successfully with other wild plants in order to prevail in the landscape and persist over time. There are few agricultural crops that can manage this combination, but as oilseed rape plants are often noted along roadsides and hedgerows in Ireland, it is correct to assume that this crop has the ability to be a successful feral survivor. This paper presents the results of a thought experiment, derived exclusively using the academic literature, on the issue of longevity. This is done by taking four hypothetical case scenarios and examining the potential for a combination of events to take place for oilseed rape (Brassica napus), selected here because it has a high potential for 'escaping' via pollen- and/or seed-mediated gene flow. A lack of quantitative data on Irish farmland biodiversity hinders solid conclusions, but when management pressure is eased biodiversity stress is lessened. 2013-03-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4255 Making Sense of Mobile and Web Based Wellness Information Technology: A Cross Generational Study Kutz, Daniel O.; Shankar, Kalpana; Connelly, Kay Information and communication technologies (ICTs) that can harness the knowledge and support of other people and allow individuals to manage and understand their health and wellness can empower individuals to actively manage their health, change their behaviors, and learn more about health conditions [1,2]. Examples include general social networking platforms such as Facebook [3], online patient communities [4], smartphones [5] and exercise oriented video games [6]. These applications generate data about and for the individual, data that can influence their health-related decision-making and technology adoption. Individuals' preferences about using such applications, useful features, and related factors will be predicated upon their previous experiences with ICTs, similar systems and other contextualizing concerns, including what others think about them. The popularity and potential of user-targeted health applications for personal empowerment argues for research that can provide us with a deeper understanding of how people perceive such technologies and their interests and concerns about sharing health-related information.   2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4254 Confronting Institutional and Structural Inequities in Computing and Academia Shankar, Kalpana 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4253 An emerging paradigm: A strength-based approach to exploring mental imagery MacIntyre, Tadhg; Moran, Aidan P.; Collet, Christian; Guillot, Aymeric Mental imagery, or the ability to simulate in the mind information that is not currently perceived by the senses, has attracted considerable research interest in psychology since the early 1970's. Within the past two decades, research in this field—as in cognitive psychology more generally—has been dominated by neuroscientific methods that typically involve comparisons between imagery performance of participants from clinical populations with those who exhibit apparently normal cognitive functioning. Although this approach has been valuable in identifying key neural substrates of visual imagery, it has been less successful in understanding the possible mechanisms underlying another simulation process, namely, motor imagery or the mental rehearsal of actions without engaging in the actual movements involved. In order to address this oversight, a “strength-based” approach has been postulated which is concerned with understanding those on the high ability end of the imagery performance spectrum. Guided by the expert performance approach and principles of ecological validity, converging methods have the potential to enable imagery researchers to investigate the neural “signature” of elite performers, for example. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain the origin, nature, and implications of the strength-based approach to mental imagery. Following a brief explanation of the background to this latter approach, we highlight some important theoretical advances yielded by recent research on mental practice, mental travel, and meta-imagery processes in expert athletes and dancers. Next, we consider the methodological implications of using a strength-based approach to investigate imagery processes. The implications for the field of motor cognition are outlined and specific research questions, in dynamic imagery, imagery perspective, measurement, multi-sensory imagery, and metacognition that may benefit from this approach in the future are sketched briefly. 2013-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4252 Focus groups versus individual interviews with children : A comparison of data Heary, Caroline; Hennessy, Eilis In recent years there has been an increase in the use of qualitative data collection techniques in research with children. Among the most common of these methods are focus groups and individual interviews. While many authors claim that focus groups have advantages over individual interviews, these claims have not been tested empirically with children. The present study reports on the use of focus groups and interviews to collect qualitative data from 116 children in three age groups, with mean ages of 8.4, 11.5 and 14.3 years. The children were randomly allocated to participate in either focus groups or individual interviews where they were presented with identical material and questions relating to their beliefs about peers with psychological disorders. In line with previous research, the interviews produced significantly more relevant and unique ideas about the causes of these disorders than the focus groups, but the latter gave rise to greater elaboration of ideas. The participating children showed no significant difference in their preference for one method over the other. Thus, whether to choose individual interviews or focus groups is likely to depend on the nature of the research question in any given study. 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4243 Aging, Privacy, and Home-Based Computing: Developing a Design Framework Shankar, Kalpana; Camp, L. Jean; Connelly, Kay; Huber, Lesa Applications for "aging in place" focus on supporting elders and informing the caregiver but often at the risk of abrogating privacy. The authors developed and tested various prototypes to create a privacy framework for designing home-based computing for seniors. 2012-10-24T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4238 Self-reported and measured BMI in Ireland: should we adjust the obesity thresholds? Madden, David (David Patrick) Using the nationally representative Slan dataset of 2007 we analyse the relationship between self-reported and measured BMI. We find that self-reported BMI significantly underestimates obesity rates and suggest that the traditional threshold of 30 should be adjusted downwards. We outline a number of approaches to choose the optimal threshold and results suggest that the new obesity threshold for self-reported BMI could be as low as 26. 2013-02-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4230 The Politics of Tough Budgets – Fiscal Responses to Crisis in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Greece Hardiman, Niamh The global financial crisis opened large budget deficit and public debt problems in the countries of the Eurozone periphery - Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain. All have been required to adopt budget retrenchment measures, particulary so for the three once they entered EU-IMF loan programmes. This paper analyses the dynamics of fiscal responses to the crisis across the four cases, using the content of budget decisions and the profile of budgetary outcomes as the principal primary data. These countries provide interesting variation on several dimensions : in the origins of the crisis (with different mixes of public and private debt), in initial responses to crisis (prioritizing an expansionary or contractionary stance), in the composition of budget adjustment (revenue-raising or expenditure-cutting), and in the evolution of their budgetary stance over time. The paper uses the full resources of case study methods to examine the policy configurations that underpin commonality and variation, and to expose the elements involved in complex casual processes. This analytical strategy enables us to investigate the political economy conditions underpinning fiscal policy choices in hard times. Invited talk at The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Friday, April 27, 2012, Washington, DC 2012-04-27T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4229 Fiscal politics in time: pathways to fiscal consolidation, 1980-2012 Dellepiane, Sebastian; Hardiman, Niamh The comparative study of debt and fiscal consolidation has acquired a new focus in the wake of the global financial crisis. This leads us to re-evaluate the literature on fiscal consolidation that flourished during the 1980s and 1990s. The conventional approach segments episodes of fiscal change into discrete observations. We argue that this misses the dynamic features of government strategy, especially in the choices made between expenditure-based and revenue-based fiscal consolidation strategies. We propose a focus on pathways rather than episodes of adjustment, to recapture what Pierson terms 'politics in time'. A case-study approach facilitates analysis of complex causality that includes the structures of interest intermediation, the role of ideas in shaping the set of feasible policy choices, and the situation of national economies in the international political economy. We support our argument with qualitative data based on two case studies, Ireland and Greece, and with additional paired comparisons of Ireland with Britain, and Greece with Spain. 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4228 Gender and attitudes to women's employment: 1988-2002 O'Sullivan, Sara 2007-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4227 Talk Radio O'Sullivan, Sara 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4226 Pervasive Computing and an Aging Populace: Methodological Challenges for Understanding Privacy Implications Shankar, Kalpana Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the methodological challenges of investigating privacy and ubiquitous computing in the home, particularly among the healthy elderly. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on focus groups with 60 senior citizens either living independently or in an assisted living facility. Prototypes of home-based ubiquitous computing devices were created and deployed in a home-like living lab setting; elders were brought to the lab to interact with the prototypes, then brought together in focus groups to discuss their insights and concerns. Findings – Initial analyses suggest that extant metaphors of privacy may be inadequate for understanding pervasive computing in the home. Concepts of data, affective concerns, and the creation of appropriate prototypes for eliciting privacy are considered. Considerations for future studies of the elderly and privacy are made. Research limitations/implications – The homogeneity of the study population in terms of socioeconomic status, location, and community networks suggests that the study needs to be repeated with wider populations. Originality/value – Although a number of projects and studies have examined the usability of home-based ubiquitous computing and design for aging, there has been little integration of privacy and ethical concerns into general research discourse. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4224 The Politics of Tough Budgets: The Eurozone Periphery 2008-2011 Dellepiane, Sebastian; Hardiman, Niamh The global financial crisis opened large budget deficit and public debt problems in the countries of the Eurozone periphery –Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain. All have been required to adopt budget retrenchment measures, particularly so for the first three once they entered EU-­‐IMF loan programmes. This paper analyses the dynamics of fiscal responses to the crisis across the four cases, using the content of budget decisions and the profile of budgetary outcomes as the principal primary data. These countries provide interesting variation on several dimensions: in the origins of the crisis (with different mixes of public and private sector debt), in initial responses to the crisis (prioritizing an expansionary or a contractionary stance), in the composition of budget adjustment (revenue-­‐raising or expenditure-­‐cutting), and in the evolution of their budgetary stance over time. The paper uses the full resources of case study methods to examine the policy configurations that underpin commonality and variation, and to expose the elements involved in complex causal processes. This analytical strategy enables us to investigate the political economy conditions underpinning fiscal policy choices in hard times. 19th International Conference of Europeanists organized by the Council for European Studies, Boston MA, 22-24 March, 2012 2012-03-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4222 The politics of austerity in Ireland Hardiman, Niamh; Regan, Aidan Since the onset of the sovereign debt crisis, the crisis-stricken countries in Europe have been pushed to take drastic steps to consolidate their finances and reduce their budget deficits. Despite strong public opposition and largely damaging short-run effects, the countries have undertaken many of the internationally recommended/mandated reforms and spending cuts. In this Forum, authors from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal report on the fiscal consolidation achieved in their respective countries — and the sacrifices that have made it possible. Furthermore, the authors detail what remains to be done to resolve the crisis. 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z