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The role of the Irish Times opinion pages in the formulation of public opinion and shaping the political agenda in Ireland: A case study of the 2018 8th Amendment Referendum in Ireland.
No full textThe research question proposed is an analysis on ‘The role of the Irish Times opinion pages in the formulation of public opinion and shaping the political agenda in Ireland: A case study of the 2018 8th Amendment Referendum in Ireland.’ The opinion pages of print media have the ability to change minds and influence the political agenda. In an era where fake news and biased reporting is prevalent, the need for diverse viewpoints to be represented in a balanced manner in the opinion columns of national newspapers across the world is more urgent than ever. Representation within the powerful opinion columns is needed to encourage healthy discourse and democratic conversations and prevent individuals and politicians from being immersed in an echo chamber of their own opinion. It is widely recognised that newspapers, editors and journalists have a professional obligation to maintain a balance and impartiality in their publication. This thesis demonstrates the ability that the opinion pages have to change the mind of the reader and be a powerful actor in setting the political agenda by influencing the elite members in society. The nature of opinion pages in the Irish Times, in relation to the 2018 8th Amendment referendum in Ireland, is analysed. The 8th Amendment recognised the equal right to life of the unborn child and mother and, with exception to limited circumstances, prevented abortion services being available in Ireland. The referendum in May 2018 sought to remove this amendment and legislate for abortion in Ireland. A mixed method research approach was utilised in this study which included qualitative and quantitative analyses on the persuasion of the selected opinion pages. The findings showed that the Irish Times opinion pages published in relation to abortion and the 8th Amendment in Ireland during the month of May 2018, before the referendum took place, were dominated by the pro-repeal, ‘Yes’, side of the abortion debate. Out of the forty-nine Irish Times opinion pages studied, twenty-eight of the opinion pages proposed a repeal of the 8th Amendment in Ireland while twelve opinion pages argued in favour of keeping the 8th Amendment. In addition to this, six opinion pieces were neutral on the topic while three opinion pieces were excluded from the content analysis data set as they were irrelevant to the debate. This research illustrates the need for a more varied discourse within national media outlets in Ireland regarding topical social and political issues. The research exemplified the need to challenge the biases prevalent in the opinion pages of national and widely read newspapers in Ireland and demand more representation of differing viewpoints within the national media
The Impact of Social Media on the Collection and Distribution of News in Ireland
No full textThe advent of the internet and the smartphone have resulted in a paradigm shift in the way people communicate with each other and how they access and share news and information. The available data for Ireland shows that fewer people are getting their news from newspapers and TV since 2015. This downward trend shows no sign of changing. This dissertation analyses how an event was treated on the different media platforms of a number of Irish news publishers over a one month period in 2019. The purpose of the study is to develop a greater understanding of the impact of social media on the collection and distribution of news in an Irish context. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted in addition to an interview with a media professional from Kinzen to accomplish this. The research findings show that News publishers have a clear understanding of the altered social media landscape and have adapted by making use of new mobile technologies to deliver their news across many social platforms, all of which are available on smartphones. This is reflected by the significant increase in coverage on social media platforms. Only 15% of the article
Understanding Transfer Pricing and its role in Multinational Corporation subsidiary revenue and tax reporting: the changing behaviour of MNCs around tax planning
No full textThis research assesses the practice of Transfer Pricing and how Multinational companies use the method in relation to the subsidiary level profit and tax reporting. In addition, the study examines why the practice has been important for Multinationals historically while, in parallel, understanding the impact of the practice on the company itself in particular in respect of reputational damage for perceived tax avoidance. The study also looks at the potential for alternative approaches and how the OECD is bringing tighter control to practice via their BEPS programme. The research followed an Interpretivist philosophy and employs a qualitative methodology. The methodology is best described as a qualitative mixed method research approach using a combination of grounded theory and document analysis methodologies. Data is gathered via semi-structured one-on-one interviews with a range of tax expert stakeholders who themselves work in Multinational organisations; a secondary source of data is attained from existing publicly available articles and documents pertaining to high profile tax avoidance cases. The data gathered is analysed using a variant of a classical grounded theory qualitative data coding process to produce a set of results which take the form of a list of impact areas and establish patterns on how companies behave in relation to each impact area. The findings show that the tax environment is complex, has many stakeholder groups, has come under great scrutiny in recent times and has become a more regulatory landscape. The results from the interview phase of the research indicate that companies have shifted their emphasis from using transfer pricing and its tax structures as a tax avoidance strategy to ensuring that they are not only compliant with local regulations but also being seen to be paying a fair amount of tax from a public reputation protection perspective. This juxtaposes the data findings from the document analysis which highlights the aggressive tax strategies employed by well-known brands. This research does not attempt to draw theory from the data, but recommendations are given for further academic research and practice
Effects Of Stakeholder Management on the Sustainability of Small and Medium Scale Business.
No full textSustainability is imperative; an integral part of any organizational goal. However, there exist little convergence on how organizations become sustainable. Whereas, there are divergence opinions among researchers on ways sustainability is best developed and implemented within organizations. This study achieves its aims of providing insight into how sustainability emerges within small and medize business (SMB) with much focus on the influence of its stakeholder management. Business sustainability in this context explain the level and ability of small and medium scale organization’s continuity. That is, the capacity of an organization to continue operating in a sustainable manner over a long period of time. This research takes a view to such business sustainability to be dependent on the level of its stakeholder management. For this research, an integrated methodology was deployed to examine from a qualitative viewpoint the overall effects of stakeholder management on the sustainability of small and medium-sized organizations. Specifically, business owners/managers from five SMEs who possess exemplary sustainability standings were approached to share their views on stakeholder management contributions to the organization sustainability. The findings of these interactions revealed that different viewpoints toward sustainability existed at the different studied organizations with all focus on people and profit. Question such as what steps has your organization/business taken in the past to be where you are today? Elicited answers like; active engagement with stakeholders, consistent quality services, proper training of staff, meeting customers’ needs when they want it, open communication, affordable price etc
The changes of consumer behaviour toward the well-known global brands under the rapid growth of E-commerce in Southeast Asia (SEA)
No full textSoutheast Asia market is a potential market for the development of ecommerce companies and well-known global brands. The ecommerce sites in SEA countries are very dynamic and enthusiastic with many well-known global brands. Besides that, the consumer behaviour in this market is also very unique, it is affected by many different factors directly and indirectly day by day as culture, religion, language, social media. Therefore, this research focuses on defining the key factors which affect the changes of consumer behaviour toward the well-known global brands under the rapid growth of ecommerce in SEA countries. To answer this question, the author built the survey for both online and offline with the same questionnaire and the depth questionnaire for experts in ecommerce industry as the focus group, in order to recognize answering satisfaction and struggling between the answers. Online shoppers are the target participants for the survey, the well-known global brands and ecommerce companies can be successful if they offer the products with good prices, conveniences, flexible payment methods, good UX/UI, especially the unique selling proposition to reach out the consumer interests compared to their competitors. To summarize, the consumers in SEA countries are the smart consumption who are able to use the advancement of information technology to search the global brand products from different website and compare prices, offers before purchasing. The consumer behaviour is changed frequent due to the development of social media and fintech companies. However, they do not trust in the advertisement as before. Therefore, building the trust is necessary for both ecommerce sites and global brands if they plan to expand into this market. Moreover, the rise of youth population and middle class in this region also contributed for the successful of many ecommerce sites and global brands, as they are the main target audiences of those businesses by their unique characteristics
Power of the post: Instagram is the chosen social media platform for PR content of cosmetic companies.
No full textSocial media has changed the PR landscape from exclusively focusing on traditional media to developing a two-way ongoing conversation between a company and their consumers. As we live a lot of our lives online, many brands have capitalised on this communication revolution we are currently experiencing. Through both visual and textual PR content posted on social media platforms, companies create brand awareness and communicate directly with their consumers. This study investigates why Instagram has been the most successful social media platform for PR content in the context of cosmetic companies from a consumer’s perspective with a self administered online questionnaire. A second source of research is in the form of interviews with two PR executives who are currently working in consumer PR agencies to gather relevant information from industry experts. The final source of research is a content analysis of Instagram posts from three Irish cosmetic companies. It was found that the features on Instagram are the reason why it has emerged as the most suitable social media application for PR purposes. Throughout the research, the impact that visual content posted from Irish cosmetic companies has on perceptions of female beauty is considered
The Impact of Social Media on the Collection and Distribution of News in Ireland.
No full textThe advent of the internet and the smartphone have resulted in a paradigm shift in the way people communicate with each other and how they access and share news and information. The available data for Ireland shows that fewer people are getting their news from newspapers and TV since 2015. This downward trend shows no sign of changing. This dissertation analyses how an event was treated on the different media platforms of a number of Irish news publishers over a one month period in 2019. The purpose of the study is to develop a greater understanding of the impact of social media on the collection and distribution of news in an Irish context. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted in addition to an interview with a media professional from Kinzen to accomplish this. The research findings show that News publishers have a clear understanding of the altered social media landscape and have adapted by making use of new mobile technologies to deliver their news across many social platforms, all of which are available on smartphones. This is reflected by the significant increase in coverage on social media platforms. Only 15% of the articles reviewed could be seen to be content directly derived from social media sources
A Tale as Old as Time: a radio documentary on how Millennials understand romantic love
No full textThis radio documentary focuses on Generation Y’s (people born from 1980-2000, also called the Millennials) understanding of romantic love and how this shapes their adulthood. The documentary features different people from this age group, both male and female. Through their stories, the documentary outlines their hopes and fears regarding romantic love as well as the social pressure they find themselves under. Today’s society has various definitions of romantic love relationships and we can see that these characterisations of love change among cultures but also generations. One that distinguishes itself significantly from others in its view on love and relationship is the Millennials. Therefore, this thesis will examine how Millennials understand romantic love relationships and how they influence them in their adulthood. The main thrust of this thesis is the definition of love as well as its origins. Furthermore, this thesis presents the creative decision which have been made in order to produce the radio documentary A Tale as Old as Time. Findings from this thesis suggest that Millennials are choosing a different perspective on love compared to older generations. This is influenced not only by social media but also on their perception on marriage, social norms, commitment and religious fidelity. Contributors in the documentary all related to their upbringing, social and cultural influences, how they define romantic love relationships and how they learned to love
The Influence of Instagram on the Irish Fashion Industry.
No full textFashion and social media play a major role in society. Fashion houses and designers have existed since the 19th century, with trends, patterns and models changing every day. The first social media platform was created in 1997, followed by the first blog in 1999. Since the beginning of 2000, the digital age began to expand. Platforms such as MySpace, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are becoming an everyday norm in society. In the present day, both social media and the fashion industry are worldwide recognised platforms. Fashion and social media have now become intertwined, with social media shaping a huge impact on the fashion industry in terms of sales, marketing, P.R, blogging and retail. Throughout this study, the researcher will investigate the influence social media has on the fashion industry. As both are recognised platforms, the study will focus on the social media platform of Instagram created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger in 2010 and the Irish fashion industry in the present day. In order to identify the influence Instagram has on the fashion industry, the three themes of retail, blogging and P.R which shape the industry will be explored using the methods; interviews, a questionnaire and a content analysis of two Irish fashion magazines. Since the industry in Ireland is expanding every year with fashion bloggers, stylists, P.R’s and influencers, it was found throughout the study that social media plays a huge role in terms of sales growth, recognition, fame and wealth. Within this dissertation, the findings of the research on how Instagram is influencing the Irish fashion industry will be articulated
Barriers to effective supervisory oversight of work-based learners in the non-life insurance sector in Ireland.
No full textSupervision of new entrants in the the non-life insurance sector in Ireland is a mandated function stipulated by the Central Bank. Due to the growth in the industry, there is a requirement for 3,000 new entrants by 2020. The research aims to understand the barriers to effective supervisory oversight of work-based learners in the non-life insurance sector. Through a quantitative survey, the study identified a lack of understanding of the function, that the appointment of a supervisor is often based on compliance rather than a broader skillset to support the work-based learner. The key challenges impacting on effective supervision are time, confidence and a lack of pedagogical training. The study identified several anomalies around experience, gender and qualifications but ultimately, there is a need to move beyond a regulatory framework to a supervision framework incorporating skills and competencies drawn from international best practice