National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Special Issue: The Future of Systematic Theology
No full textOn 8–9 June 2023, there was an international symposium exploring the theme ‘The Future of Systematic Theology’, which was hosted in Maynooth by St Patrick’s Pontifical University. A talented group of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant theologians were invited to present their latest research in Systematic Theology. Speakers were assigned to panels that explored respectively: (1) The Future of Theology in the University, (2) The Future of Theology and Metaphysics, (3) The Future of Theological Anthropology, and (4) The Future of Historical Theology. An international group of scholars presented papers that addressed a diverse range of topics, such as: challenges and pathways for academic theology, the enduring relevance of the writings of Simon Weil, Maurice Blondel, and William Desmond, the dogmatic principle of John Henry Newman, contemporary topics in theological anthropology, and the enduring relevance of Søren Kierkegaard’s theology. The editorial board of The Irish Theological Quarterly graciously has received representative contributions from each panel to provide readers with a sense of the academic quality and level of engagement of current debates
Using the surface scattering mechanism from dual-pol SAR data to estimate topsoil particle-sizefractions
No full textData extracted from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) have been widely employed to estimate soil properties.
However, these studies are typically constrained to bare soil conditions, as soil information retrieval in vegetated
areas remains challenging. Polarimetric decomposition has emerged as a potentially useful method to separate
the scattering contributions of different targets (e.g. canopy/leaves and the underlying soil), which is of significance for areas that are near-permanently covered in low-lying vegetation (e.g. grass) like Ireland – the study area for this investigation. Here, we test the surface scattering mechanism, derived from H-alpha dual-pol decomposition, together with other covariates, to estimate percentages of sand, silt, and clay, over vegetated terrain, using Sentinel 1 data (dual-pol C-band SAR). The statistical modelling approaches evaluated – linear
regression (LRM) and tree-based regression models (machine learning) – explicitly consider the compositional nature of soil texture. When compared to the models fitted without surface scattering data, results showed that the inclusion of the surface scattering data improved estimates of silt and clay, with the compositional linear regression model, and estimates of sand and silt fractions with different tree-based models. While not without limitations, our study demonstrated that the polarimetric decomposition method, which is typically used for classification and segmentation purposes, could also be used for soil property estimation, broadening the application of this technique in microwave remote sensing studies
Collateral Damage: the Body and the Environment in post-2003 Iraqi fiction
No full textThis research maps an aesthetic turn/or shift in Iraqi fiction that occurred after the 2003 US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime. I class this as an experimental turn in the aesthetics of the Iraqi novel that builds on the social realism more prevalent in the pre-2003 Iraqi novel. Post-2003 fiction shares similarities with pre-2003 fiction in that it has been produced either during, or in the aftermath, of a long duration of coloniality/neocoloniality, and is oftentimes inflected, thematically, with the physical environment. Post-2003 Iraqi fiction builds on its pre-2003 forebears in its other-than-realist dislocations of pre-2003 Iraqi social realism, where narratives that are seemingly grounded within realism are punctuated with speculative tropes, as in Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, or with a fragmented narrative punctuated with moments of unreality, as in The Corpse Washer, by Sinan Antoon. These texts share similarities in their preoccupation with the environment and the body; “the body” in this instance signifies the corporeal body/body politic or national body/and the text as a body. In this context, the thesis reads the engagement with Iraq’s natural resources–trees, water and oil–in the two texts in terms of aesthetic and formal techniques of representing violence that impacts the body and the environment in interconnected ways
The dangers of masculine technological optimism: Why feminist, antiracist values are essential for social justice, economic justice, and climate justice
No full textResponding to the climate crisis requires social and economic innovation—because climate change is a symptom of patriarchal capitalist systems that are concentrating—rather than distributing—wealth and power. Despite the need for social and economic innovation, technological innovation continues to be prioritized in climate policy and climate investments. This paper reviews the dangers of technological optimism in climate policy by exploring its links to patriarchal systems and masculinity. The disproportionate focus on science and technology emerges from and reinforces “climate isolationism,” a term that I use to refer to the common framing of climate change as an isolated discrete, scientific problem in need of technological solutions. This framing stems from assumptions of patriarchal white-male conceptions of privilege and power that evolve from a colonizing and controlling mindset. Masculine technological optimism is dangerous because it is exclusive, it minimizes the need for social change and social innovation, and it is ineffective in catalyzing inclusive societal transformation. This paper argues that embracing feminist, antiracist values is necessary for transformative climate policies, economic justice, and climate justice
International consensus statement on the design, delivery and evaluation of sport-based interventions aimed at promoting social, psychological and physical well-being in prison
No full textObjective To develop an international consensus statement to advise on designing, delivering and evaluating sport-based interventions (SBIs) aimed at promoting social, psychological and physical well-being in prison.
Design Modified Delphi using two rounds of survey questionnaires and two consensus workshops.
Participants A multidisciplinary panel of more than 40 experts from 15 international jurisdictions was formed, including representation from the following groups and stakeholders: professionals working in the justice system; officials from sport federations and organisations; academics with research experience of prisons, secure forensic mental health settings and SBIs; and policy-makers in criminal justice and sport.
Results A core research team and advisory board developed the initial rationale, statement and survey. This survey produced qualitative data which was analysed thematically. The findings were presented at an in-person workshop. Panellists discussed the findings, and, using a modified nominal group technique, reached a consensus on objectives to be included in a revised statement. The core research team and advisory board revised the statement and recirculated it with a second survey. Findings from the second survey were discussed at a second, virtual, workshop. The core research team and advisory board further revised the consensus statement and recirculated it asking panellists for further comments. This iterative process resulted in seven final statement items; all participants have confirmed that they agreed with the content, objectives and recommendations of the final statement.
Conclusions The statement can be used to assist those that design, deliver and evaluate SBIs by providing guidance on: (1) minimum levels of competence for those designing and delivering SBIs; (2) the design and delivery of inclusive programmes prioritising disadvantaged groups; and (3) evaluation measures which are carefully calibrated both to capture proposed programme outcomes and to advance an understanding of the systems, processes and experiences of sport engagement in prison
Between Disability and Culture: The Search for a legal taxonomy of sign languages in the European Union.
No full textSince the 1960s sign languages have been identified as natural
human languages and conceived of as a key feature of Deaf culture and
identity. Eschewing the notion of disability, deaf advocacy organisations
have connected the use of sign language to linguistic and cultural rights.
Despite the clear preference of deaf advocates, the legal protection of
sign languages remains uneven and somewhat difficult to grasp, being
situated at the intersection of disability rights and linguistic rights. Few
attempts have been made to identify the extent to which sign languages
are recognised and enshrined within domestic legal systems. This article
aims to propose a novel taxonomy that focuses on the normative
conceptualisation of sign language and deaf people in national
legislation. Based on a comparative analysis and focusing on European
Union Member States, it identifies three main approaches: an explicit
‘minority’ approach—ie the express recognition of deaf persons as a
linguistic minority; a more nuanced ‘cultural approach’—which
acknowledges sign language as autonomous language and provides for
promotional measures; and a ‘disability’ approach—which mandates
and/or promotes the use of sign language primarily as an accessibility
measure
Engaged Witnessing: An Ethical Framework for Teaching the Holocaust.
No full textThis study explores three Holocaust curriculums; Anne Frank’s diary, Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus to determine how or to what extent engaged witnessing may be achieved. I define engaged witnessing as addressing the gap between empathy and action and signifying the inspiration of an empathetic response that requires responsibility and can motivate action. I also explore what possibilities and/or limitations the texts offer as curriculum. The study is taking place in the context of a near future where there will no longer be Holocaust survivors and eye-witnesses in the world to bear witness to its horrors. That testimonial voice therefore must be discovered in other forms and through other mediums. The concepts of alterity, responsibility, witnessing, and response are used to create an ethical framework guiding the reading of these texts. My method draws on William Pinar’s notion of currere, which is an understanding of curriculum as autobiography, and as both researcher and reader I carry out a self-reflective exploration of the texts, not only arguing for engaged witnessing in the classroom but simultaneously discovering my own witnessing voice in the process
Irish News Media’s Preferential Treatment of Religious Actors in Relation to Crime and Harm
No full textNews media plays a dual role in society of both informant and influence, with a shifting overlap
based upon internal and external factors. Simultaneously, powerful parties within society can
often exert influence over media, news inclusive - raising a question of how this relationship
may in turn affect news portrayals of actors within these parties. This research project set out
to examine Irish newspaper articles to deduce whether a primary ‘powerful party’ throughout
Ireland’s history, the Christian order, and its branches, held sway over the portrayals of order
members accused or charged of committing harm.
Through a content analysis of one hundred news articles over a sixty-year period, with an even
focus split between members of a Christian order and non-members, it was determined that
Irish news media did show bias in favour of order members through several means such as
inclusion of information, tone and language, amongst others. the significance of this finding is
discussed within its own context and in the wider contexts of media and power within society,
with considerations of cyclical inequality, labelling, norms, and wider social structures,
alongside the plausibility of change in society’s approach to news media, as this study’s results
highlight an issue which is only exacerbated by the modern-day relationship between powerful
actors and media
Warrior Networks: Elite Soldiers and their Transition to Civilian Life.
No full textThe aim of this research is to explore the transition of Special Forces soldiers from
elite military units to civilian life. There is a large social-scientific literature on
transition, which emphasises adjustment challenges and negative outcomes for
mental health and violence. But what factors determine successful transition? A
number of recent studies conclude that successful transition is a matter of “cultural
competences,” but the term culture is deployed without analytical precision.
Moreover, other social-scientific studies worry about the excessive power of
“culture” in the form of informal networks and guilds, which may well be the
source of the competences that lead to success. The scholarly discussion about
transition from military to civilian life, then, is dominated by anthropological
concerns and disciplinary concepts – most obviously culture and its synonyms –
but no reference is made to anthropological theory or to ethnographic research.
This research is an anthropological exploration of the cultural space
between the military and civil society. It is grounded in an ethnographic study that
tracks the transition of individuals from a comparative sample of key military
units. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the focus is on military-civil fields,
on habitus, and on capital, in order to develop a more nuanced, anthropological
understanding of “cultural competence”. The project also makes an empirical
contribution by focusing on the understudied world of elite Special Forces. As yet,
there has been no in-depth study of the transition of soldiers from this elite and
high-stakes world to civilian roles. Over the lifetime of this project, I will follow
the transition of individuals from several units, focusing on field, habitus and
capital, to provide an anthropological perspective on military-civil transitio
Stories in the Border Country. An autoethnographic exploration of narrative identity and re-storying.
No full textTaking the ontological position that we are storied beings, living storied lives, I tell the story of my visit to border country, a metaphorical place of transformation and opportunity. In an autoethnographical exploration of narrative identity, I use the metaphors of the border country and changing track, in varying turns, a place removed, on the edge, exposed, liminal, transitional, exclusionary, or a place of opportunity, to read the compass, re-direct, re-centre, and re-story. This is a reflexive journey where I am open to being, and am, surprised by the stories told and what the stories tell me