NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Role and Findings of Arts-based Research in the DANCING Project. ‘…Usually in the world it is the other way around…’
No full textThis report outlines and discusses the arts-based research undertaken within the larger multi-method project ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New Paths (DANCING)’, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and based at Maynooth University (MU), Ireland.[1] DANCING has been running from 1 September 2020 and will be completed by 31 August 2025.
Notably, DANCING deploys arts-based research alongside socio-legal and doctrinal research to explore the right of persons with disabilities to take part in cultural life as an essential aspect of enhancing cultural diversity in the European Union (EU). Arts-based research (i.e. qualitative research that employs the premises, procedures, and principles of the arts) has been used in the DANCING project as a data collection method to understand barriers and facilitators to cultural participation. In particular, arts-based research has helped identify what features are experienced as exclusionary by people experiencing different types of disability, both as audience and as artists, and to advance the understanding of what facilitates cultural participation. Arts-based research has also been vital to gauge a deeper understanding of key concepts of disability law, such as accessibility. Further, it has provided an actual demonstration of the cultural diversity brought by and inherent to disability
Talking about relational youth work: why language matters
No full textThe literature on youth work emphasises the importance of
‘relationship’ to good practice, moreover, the characteristics of
the youth-work relationship have been posited as a defining
feature of youth work in the British-influenced tradition. Despite
this, little attention is paid to the choice of language used to
describe how professional youth workers relate to young people,
or how language choices reflect political framing of youth work
and of power relationships within their practice. Language choice
has implications for how youth workers perceive their
professional identity, for how accountability is construed, and for
inter-professional working. In this article we undertake a thematic
analysis to identify, analyse and critique various language
options, drawing on international literature, with an application
focus on Irish and Australian contexts. We address the question,
‘what language choices offer most precision and clarity about
youth work professional relationships in different contexts?’ We
identify three main ways the relationship between youth workers
and young people has been framed: as collaboration; as
transaction; or, as rights-based entitlement. We conclude with
discussion of how different relational language choices in youth
work should be selected to be congruent with the youth work
context, power relationships and purposes
Safe Virtual Space: taking a practice turn in psychological safety, towards systemically viable and sustainable disability supports.
No full textDigitisation presents opportunities and challenges for enhancing disability
services. The onset of COVID-19 prompted a rapid move to virtual service
provision. Many organisations encountered challenges with the digital
divide, governance, internet access, technological skills or hardware. This systems
research project explored the potential of virtual services as an alternative
service model by exploring how some services in Ireland set up ad-hoc
virtual supports, often despite poor digital literacy amongst staff and disabled
people. The research developed a focus on safe virtual spaces as an emergent
cross-cutting issue, supported through adaptive innovation.
Soft Systems Methodology was used to design the research as an iterative
process across three cycles. The first cycle consisted of interviews with
service providers and educators to understand experiences of taking services
online. Themes generated using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) suggested
that services acted as Complex Adaptive Systems. Notable findings
included the transformation of traditional power dynamics, enhanced personal
agency and psychological safety. The second cycle was designed as
a World Café. Findings indicated that staff practices created the conditions
for safe virtual environments where meaningful connections were possible.
The concept of psychological safety – risk-taking and candour without retribution
– was reframed as a practice-led, systemic construct to include embodied
presence and meaningful connection, leading to a sense of mattering
and belonging. The final study assessed the staff practices and systemic
conditions that support safe virtual spaces. A real-time online Delphi survey
was conducted with an international group of experts. The Viable Systems
Model (VSM) was used to structure questions and analysis. The results suggested that developing Safe Virtual Spaces requires integration with the identity
and strategic governance processes within organisations. The research
identifies a need for more attention to balancing current and future needs, as
the demand for virtual services is expected to increase. Seven principles to inform
the systemic design of safe virtual spaces are proposed. The research
concluded that a focus on developing staff practices alongside appropriate
governance is needed to create and sustain viable Safe Virtual Spaces,
where a felt sense of safety forms the purpose of the space, within the context
of service improvements that are more resilient to future volatility
Social Media, Newsworthiness, and Missing White Woman Syndrome: A Criminological Analysis
No full textMissing White Woman Syndrome has been widely acknowledged within traditional mainstream media, resulting in a heavy focus on missing white women and a simultaneous underrepresentation of missing women from minority ethnic communities. However, less is known about whether this has carried through to social media, wherein users play a key role in determining what becomes widespread news. This review seeks to examine this issue with reference to existing research. It begins by exploring the concept of newsworthiness and the ways in which social media influences the distribution of news. It will then review the concept of the ‘ideal victim’, and its continued association with ethnicity. Finally, the review will examine Missing White Woman Syndrome and the ways in which it has historically manifested within traditional media and continues to manifest on social media. The review will conclude with a discussion on findings and avenues for future research in Ireland and internationally
Minorities at War, Part 2: Minority Agency in Times of Conflict
No full textThis introduction provides an overview of the second part of thespecial issue titled “Minorities at War. Minority Agency in Timesof Conflict.” The articles in this issue underscore the role ofminority agency during times of conflict at the local, national, andregional levels. It examines how minorities self-organize inresponse to crises, the role of civic organizations and diasporas inproviding aid during wartime, and the impact of war on the creationand evolution of minority identities. Additionally, it explores theliving memories of past traumas among survivors and theirdescendants. The articles featured in this issue are based oncontributions originally presented at the BASEES Study Group forMinority History’s second official biennial symposium, “Minoritiesat War from Napoleon to Putin,” held at the New Europe College inBucharest, Romania, from 11-12 May 2023
Affective Attachments to Carbon within Youth Cultures
No full textThe abstract is included in the text
Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment 2023. Volume 1: Climate Science-Ireland in a changing World. Summary of Policymakers
No full textIreland’s Climate Change Assessment (ICCA) delivers a comprehensive, Ireland-focused, state of scientific knowledge report on our understanding of climate change, its impacts on Ireland, the options to respond to the challenges it poses,and the opportunities from transitions and transformations to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient and sustainable economyand society. This serves to complement and localise the global assessments undertaken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports (see www.ipcc.ch). The findings presented build upon these global assessments and add important local and national context.
Volume 1 focuses on the state of knowledge of the physical science basis of climate change, both globally and nationally. The volume contains information published from the IPCC AR6 WGI report, as well as material from the relevant Special Reports from the IPCC and various state agencies including EPA Ireland, Met Éireann and the Marine Institute. The volume updates and extends the analysis provided in the National State of Knowledge Reports on climate change (2012, 2017), and consolidates the current and ongoing research into climate change in Ireland, the observed changes in the climate system as well as future climate projections for Ireland
The purpose of primary physical education: The views of teacher educators
No full textThis paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal project investigating the perceived purposes that different stakeholders have for primary physical education (PE). In the study, the views of 19 teacher educators from seven countries across Europe were sought. While teacher educators may have some influence across the layers of an education system, little is known about this stakeholder group and their views about primary PE. Analysis of focus group conversations depicts that, while the teacher educators come from a wide range of contexts, their views on the purposes of primary PE were more similar than different. With primary PE in danger of disconnecting into different schools of thought, this finding is important because it suggests that more coherent and connected approaches have the potential to be developed. In line with most government policies from the seven countries, similarities focused on both an educational and outward-looking view of primary PE. Significantly, while the teacher educators recognised the key role of physical learning in primary PE, they also highlighted how children's social, emotional, and cognitive learning form part of an integrated view of primary PE. Teacher educators recognised the importance of primary PE expanding beyond the hall/gymnasium and into classroom, school, and community settings. However, some concerns were voiced about the influence of outsourcing and sport agendas that currently dominate. The views of these teacher educators offer a useful starting point for further investigation, particularly as they present the purposes of primary PE from both an integrated and educational perspective
The Relationship Between Maximum Lower Limb Strength & Power, and GPS Acceleration Speed in Elite U20 Gaelic Football Athletes
No full textPrevious research indicates positive relationships between high levels of lower limb strength and power, and acceleration sprint velocity in team sport athletes. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between lower limb absolute and relative strength, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, and Global Positioning System (GPS) recorded 20m acceleration sprint velocity in elite male U-20 Gaelic football athletes. Nineteen athletes (19.0 ± 0.5 years; 81.1 ± 5.5 kg; 182 ± 6.2 cm) from the same elite U-20 squad participated in this study during an in-season period. Subjects performed a >95% 1RM box squat, a 20m sprint test, and a CMJ test. Relative maximum lower limb strength (r = 0.54, 95% CI [0.11 to 0.8]; p < 0.05) and CMJ height (r = 0.66, 95% CI [0.29 to 0.86]; p < 0.001) showed strong correlations with 20m sprint velocity. A multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that lower limb maximum relative strength and CMJ height significantly predicted 20m sprint velocity (Adjusted R2 = 0.51, F (2, 16) = 6.29, p < 0.05). These findings provide evidence for the importance of elite under-age Gaelic football athletes acquiring high levels of lower limb strength and power characteristics to enhance acceleration sprint performance
HydroPredict: Ensemble River Flow Scenarios for Climate Change Adaptation
No full textHydroPredict aims to advance understanding of how climate change will affect river flows and drought events over the coming decades. Using the latest climate models and emissions storylines, the research assessed the impacts of climate change on flow conditions and droughts across 37 river catchments. Higher greenhouse gas emissions are associated with large reductions in average summer and annual low flows. For winter, increases in average flows are projected. If ambitious greenhouse gas reductions are achieved, more moderate reductions in summer and low flows are projected by the middle and end of the century. Changes in meteorological droughts in Ireland are driven by a transition to wetter winters and drier summers, together with increased evapotranspiration losses during summer and late spring months, leading to more frequent spring and summer droughts. The magnitude of future drought changes depends on future greenhouse gas emissions, with the most substantial changes found for higher emissions. Results arising from this project highlight the importance of temperature increases and larger evapotranspiration losses to future changes in droughts. The eastern and midland regions are expected to experience the greatest increases in drought magnitude, frequency and duration