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Editor’s Introduction
No full textMapping an altered landscape, held at University College Dublin in June 2014, brought together a range of perspectives and stakeholders in the Irish cultural policy and arts management sector. This special issue of the Irish Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy aims to reflect this conference, and, insofar as is possible, to capture some of the key ideas and questions which were part of the day. While it does not reproduce the contributions of all of the invited speakers, six papers have been selected for publication. Given the wealth of experience and expertise of all speakers on the conference programme, the process of selection was not an easy one, and this essay, together with that written by conference organisers Pat Cooke and Kerry McCall, aims to reflect the greater diversity of voices and perspectives represented on the day
Wages and Ireland’s International Competitiveness
Get PDFAt the beginning of the crisis in 2008 it was a widely reported view that Ireland had become uncompetitive, leading to calls for wage cuts. Since then wage rates in the private sector have been largely stable. However, Ireland has shown a strong improvement in exports despite a difficult international trading situation. This presents a puzzle. If wages in Ireland were uncompetitive, how could Ireland improve its export position so rapidly, without a general fall in wages? Ireland can best be described as having moved from a position of “super-competitiveness” to “competitiveness”. During the construction boom, exports remained an important driver of growth. Since 2008, the fall in nominal unit labour costs is entirely due to a move away from the labour intensive construction sector. However, while labour costs have been stagnant in Ireland, they have increased amongst our trading partners
Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 & 9: Novel Biomarkers for Sepsis Severity?
Get PDFSepsis is a common clinical syndrome and a significant cause of death worldwide. The development of thrombocytopenia is a determinant prognostic factor in these patients. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and -9 are released from platelets during aggregation, and leukocytes during inflammation respectively. Upregulation of MMP-9 in plasma of septic patients has been demonstrated but little is known regarding MMP-2 levels. We aimed to identify if MMP-2 activity in the plasma and platelet membranes of septic patients correlated with increasing disease severity.
A platelet poor plasma fraction and a platelet pellet fraction were separated by differential centrifugation from blood samples of healthy controls (n=9), septic non-thrombocytopaenic (n=6) and septic thrombocytopaenic (n=3) patients. Following protein concentration standardisation, MMP -2 and -9 activity in each of the two donor fractions was determined using gelatin zymography and quantified by densitometry. MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity was upregulated in the plasma of septic patients compared to healthy controls as was MMP-9 activity in the platelet pellet of septic patient samples compared to healthy controls. There was a trend whereby MMP-2 activity was further upregulated in the thrombocytopaenic patients.We conclude that plasma MMP-2 activity may pro-vide a novel non-specific marker for increasing severity of systemic inflammation
Network Social Capital and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence For Ireland
Get PDFUsing data from the International Social Survey Programme 2008 this paper tests empirically the effects of network social capital on Irish employment outcomes, while attempting to account for possible endogeneity. We allow the effects of social networks to vary for different groups and across different localities. We find that an individual’s “weak ties” or acquaintances matter for employment outcomes, whereas their “strong ties”, for example, their friends and family, are less important. The effects, however, vary across age and location. We also find no evidence that the relationship between social participation and employment is endogenous. These findings are discussed with relevance for future research and policy
Clare Duignan
Get PDFClaire Duignan, formerly a senior executive with the Irish broadcasting service (RTE) and an experienced board member, spoke about the need for arts organisations to diversify their sources of funding in times of recession and lamented the absence of broadcasters from the wider debate about cultural policy
Thank you very much everyone and it’s very nice to be here this morning. I am afraid I am about to lower the tone and talk about money and finance. In particular, I want to talk about public funding for the arts and the cuts that everyone has been living with the last couple of years
Conference Programme
Get PDFThe Mapping an Altered Landscape: Cultural Policy and Management in Ireland conference took place on Wednesday 25th June 2014, 9-6pm, in the Fitzgerald Debating Chamber, University College, Dublin. The conference was designed as a series of short speaker presentations with significant time allocated for discussion and audience participation. There were 4 plenary sessions during the day that addressed issues of policy, structure and management practices and processes across the cultural field in Ireland, followed by a film screening. See also: www.culturalpolicyconference2014.ie. For further information or any of the transcripts detailed here, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
The Demand for League of Ireland Football
Get PDFThis paper provides some empirical insights on the determinants of spectator demand for League of Ireland football. Using data from three recent playing seasons, the estimated spectator demand relationship revealed important roles for recent team performance, fixture quality, seasonal and match outcome uncertainty, and a selection of opportunity (and other) cost measures. The estimates confirm the importance of fixture quality for spectator attendance and also reveal evidence of a short-run competitive imbalance within the domestic game. The analysis suggests that modest enhancements to attendance may be achieved through increasing fixture quality and reducing such imbalance. These enhancements are more likely to be secured through reducing rather than increasing the current number of teams in the league’s top tier
Should Psoriasis Patients be Screened for Heart Disease
Get PDFPsoriasis is a systemic, immune-mediated disorder that manifests as chronic skin and joint inflammation. While the prevalence of psoriasis worldwide is 2%, its prevalence in developed countries is on average about 4.6%. Psoriasis is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). For this literature review, Pubmed and Medline were used to source articles using the keywords ‘psoriasis’ and ‘cardiovascular disease’. The inclusion criteria were studies with sample sizes of 100 or more published in English from 2000 onwards. Out of 1,657 papers retrieved, 37 were deemed relevant. Of these, 36 papers contained evidence in support of screening for CVD while one paper had evidence against screening for CVD. Substantial evidence suggested a higher CVD prevalence in psoriasis patients compared to populations without psoriasis. Furthermore, the risk of develop- ing CVD correlated highly with increased psoriasis severity and duration in addition to other CVD risk factors. The pathophysiological link between psoriasis and CVD is a common immunological pro-inflammatory state. In conclusion, psoriasis is an independent risk factor for CVD, particularly in younger patients with severe psoriasis, and is associated with increased mortality. Further research is required to better understand the relationship between psoriasis, traditional risk factors and development of CVD
Targeted Drug Therapies for BRAF Mutated Tumors
No full textMutations in the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway are frequently present in human cancer. Following extracellular signaling, the G protein Ras becomes activated which further leads to activation of a member of the Raf kinase family. Subsequent activation of other cascade members, such as MEK (MAP/ERK kinase) and ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) eventually results in the activation of transcription factors, which regulate key cellular processes such as growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. The v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogenes homolog B1 (BRAF) is frequently mutated in a range of human cancers including melanoma, papillary thyroid carcinoma, and colorectal carcinoma. Consequently, BRAF has been identified as a therapeutic drug target with the development of BRAF inhibitors in recent years. Researchers are focusing on understanding the resistance mechanisms present in BRAF-mutated cancers and have identified combination therapy as a potential treatment option that may overcome resistance to BRAF inhibitors. In this review of the literature, the development of BRAF inhibitors and their clinical use is investigated. In addition, resistance to BRAF inhibitors and combination therapy are discussed