NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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The role of the media in the mainstreaming of the far right
No full textViktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, recently “sparked outrage” for declaring that Hungarians are not “a mixed race” and do not want “to become a mixed race”.
1 In a letter of resignation, one of his long-time advisers, Zsuzsa Hegedüs, told him in no uncertain terms that he had crossed a line, saying what was once “anti-migrant and
anti-Europeanism” had now turned into “a pure Nazi speech worthy of Goebbels”.
2 At a time when the resurgence of far-right politics has become commonly acknowledged as one of the key challenges facing democracies, it may feel reassuring to see prominent figures taking a stand. Yet often, when reactions to, and discussion of, the far-right take an adversarial approach,
they tend to portray the threat as exceptional, as a shocking digression from our mainstream norms. Note how Hegedüs appeared comfortable with Orban’s conscious and sustained slide towards far-right politics for years,
until the little veneer of respectability was lost and it was no longer possible to deny his far-right status – in this case, comparable to the Nazis no less
Time After Time: Attachment Orientations and Impression Formation in Initial and Longer-Term Team Interactions
No full textIf securely attached individuals typically exhibit more desirable attributes, can insecure
individuals be perceived positively when working in teams despite their interpersonal
disadvantages? In an exploratory study, using both a vignette based experimental
research design (n = 636) and a round-robin study of professionals working on a team
task for nine consecutive weeks (k = 648), we examined the evolving impressions
of insecurely attached individuals over time. We find that while anxiously attached
individuals are perceived more positively in initial interactions, this initial positive effect
for anxious attachment disappeared over time as individuals within teams gained
more relational knowledge about their team members. We also found a stable and
negative effect of avoidant attachment. We discuss possible reasons for the temporal
underpinnings of this effect and compare our findings to previous literature
Is it too late now to say we’re sorry? Examining anxiety contagion and crisis communication strategies using machine learning
No full textIn this paper, we explore the role of perceived emotions and crisis communication strategies
via organizational computer-mediated communication in predicting public anxiety, the
default crisis emotion. We use a machine-learning approach to detect and predict anxiety
scores in organizational crisis announcements on social media and the public’s responses
to these posts. We also control for emotional and language tones in organizational crisis
responses using a separate machine learning algorithm. Perceived organizational anxiety
positively influences public anxiety, confirming the occurrence of emotional contagion from
the organization to the public. Crisis response strategies moderated this relationship, so that
responsibility acknowledgment lowered public anxiety the most. We argue that by accounting for emotions expressed in organizational crisis responses, organizations may be able to
better predict and manage public emotions
‘You can't eat data’?: Moving beyond the misconfigured innovations of smart farming
No full textThis paper presents a critical examination of smart farming. I follow other critical analyses in recognizing the
centrality of innovation processes in generating smart farming products, services, arrangements, and problematic
outcomes. I subsequently use insights from critical human geography scholarship on the significance of understanding topological transformations to move beyond interpretations that identify only a narrow range of smart
farming problems, such as a lack of coordination or limited uptake by farmers. Instead, I examine a broader set of
challenges produced by smart farming developments. The overriding concern, I argue, is that smart farming
unfolds via the production of numerous ‘misconfigured innovations.’ Using insights from literature on responsible research and innovation I then probe the stakes of looking beyond the misconfigured innovations of smart
farming and discuss how new technologies might come to play a role in producing emancipatory smart farming. I
pay attention to research on the ‘internet of people,’ which paints a stark new picture of social life generally, and
in particular how rural life might be computed and calculated according to new conceptualizations of sociality
and spatiality
Finding the Gap: Immigrant Integration Outcomes and Settlement Service Provision in the Republic of Ireland
No full textImmigrant integration is increasingly assessed through integration outcomes, which assess the degree of convergence of the experiences of immigrants and non-immigrants
within a country. Integration processes – for example, settlement services in key areas such as employment, education and social inclusion – help to enhance integration
outcomes. In this paper, we use the example of the Republic of Ireland to show that the relationship between desired integration outcomes and the provision of settlement
services needs considerably more attention. We present immigrant integration outcomes for specific regions and groups of immigrants derived from existing large scale data sets. We then use publicly available data on existing settlement services to assess the extent to which settlement services address key areas of immigrant integration outcomes. We demonstrate that there are considerable gaps in the provision of appropriate settlement services that could support the enhancement of key integration outcomes, such as the quality of work, language proficiency and housing. If immigrant integration outcomes are to be improved, the relationship between outcomes and settlement service provision has to be better coordinated and targeted to address the structural barriers faced by particular groups of immigrants and by immigrants living in particular regions
Long‐term trends in extreme precipitation indices in Ireland
No full textKnowledge of long-term changes in climate extremes is vital to better understand climate variability and place present day extreme events in historical context. Analysis of trends in extreme precipitation in Ireland have largely
been limited to the second half of the 20th century due to lack of data availability in digital format. Using recently digitized data, this study provides the first assessment of long-term changes in extreme daily precipitation observed
at 30 locations across Ireland. Quality control of rescued data is carried out before selected long-term stations are tested for homogeneity using the RHtests software. Details of detected breakpoints and the application of adjustments to daily values are discussed. Eleven extreme precipitation indices are calculated on an annual basis and analysed to determine spatial and temporal trends in the frequency, intensity and magnitude of observed precipitation. The persistence of trends for varying record lengths and for two fixed periods (1910–2019 and 1940–2019) of analysis is assessed for all stations and indices. Results show
increases in precipitation intensity, especially notable in the east and southeast of the island. Our findings also show that the contribution of heavy and extreme precipitation events to annual totals is increasing, while there was no
persistent trends in annual totals or consecutive wet or dry days
Fairness and Inclusion for Users of Surface Transport—An Exploratory Thematic Study for Irish Users
No full textThis paper explores the conditions of public transport with respect to user accessibility, design of infrastructure, and safety from a gendered perspective. Our investigation aims to understand the factors that direct a citizen’s choice of whether or not to use public transport. Our discussion is focused on gender disparities among user experiences, so we confine our focus to that of women’s perspectives and their experiences with public transport use. A framework for our discussion was formed with consideration of the theoretical aspects of fairness, justice, and gender in transport, as well as user statistics. We identified several spaces where public transport policy planning and implementation may be improved in order to balance gender disparity of access, safety, and security across the gender divide. (We acknowledge that both distinct and interchangeable definitions of safety and security exist. In this work, we err to the latter, while also recognising from user-based qualitative data that safety concerns are not limited to infrastructure, but also relate to other unwanted sources of physical, mental, or emotional harm experienced within the transport system.) Primary among these was the necessity of both the acknowledgment and appreciation of the issues disproportionately experienced by women. A one-size-fits-all approach was found to ill-recognise the societal minutiae of constant caring responsibilities, income limitations, ability/disability, or the effects of past negative experiences faced by women. We conclude that improvements may be achieved by targeting and meeting actual, not just perceived need
Freshwater Wild Swimming, Health and Well-Being: Understanding the Importance of Place and Risk
No full textSpending time in or around bodies of water or ‘blue spaces’ can benefit human health and well-being. A growing body of evidence suggests immersion in blue space, e.g., participating in ‘wild’ swimming, can be particularly beneficial for both physical and mental health. To date, wild swimming and health research has primarily focused on the experience of individuals who swim in the sea. Empirical studies of the health-promoting potential of swimming in freshwater environments, such as lochs and lakes, are lacking, despite the popularity of this practice in many countries and the vastly different physical and hydrological properties of freshwater and coastal environments. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between loch (lake) swimming and health and well-being for adults living in Scotland and determine the importance of perceptions of place and risk in this relationship. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve wild swimmers who regularly swim in lochs in Scotland. Interview data were analysed thematically using Nvivo. The findings suggest loch swimming has a variety of health and well-being benefits that can be categorised over three domains of health: physical, mental and social. Of these domains, mental health benefits e.g., mindfulness promotion, resilience building and increasing one’s ability to listen to their body, were particularly prominent. Our findings also highlight important physical and hydrological characteristics of loch environments, e.g., calm water conditions (relative to the sea), which contribute to positive wild swimming experiences. Finally, the perceived risks of loch swimming and mitigation strategies for these risks are established. Collectively, our findings further support the notion that wild swimming is a unique health-promoting practice. Our findings also highlight differences (in terms of experience and perceived risk) between swimming in freshwater and coastal environments, which can inform public health and water management policy
‘Going the Extra Mile’: Dimensions, Dilemmas and Directions for the Future
No full textThis chapter explores the influence of Bourdieusian habitus on teachers’ attitudes towards, and engagement with, parents in designated disadvantaged schools in Ireland. Semi-structured life history interviews were conducted with 24 teachers drawn from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Reflective of the generative quality of their habitus, the working class teachers’ engagement with ‘risky’, democratic and reciprocal relationships with parents is evidential of their collective acceptance of personal responsibility for the well-being and education of ‘students like them’. In contrast, the more structuring and limiting qualities and influences of the middle class group’s habitus were at play in some participants’ engagement with institutionally embedded discourses of parental deficiency. The findings raise concerns about unequal power dynamics within the social field of the school and the limiting influence they can have on teacher–parent relationships
Changing Climate; Changing Life—Climate Change and Indigenous Intangible Cultural Heritage
No full textClimate change has already had a significant impact on both tangible and intangible
cultural heritage globally. Climate change-induced impacts on tangible cultural heritage include
historic buildings being damaged by increasing sea levels, and harm caused to coral reefs as a
result of increased water temperatures to give just two examples. In the sphere of intangible cultural
heritage, climate change can lead communities to abandon their environment and related customs and
practices, influencing how they live, eat, work, socialize and worship. Given the spiritual connection
between Indigenous Peoples and their land and nature they are disproportionately affected by
climate change. This loss is inter-generational, as Indigenous practices and customs disappear when
communities are forced to leave their traditional homes and lifestyles. This article seeks to assess
how the international legal framework can potentially address the impact of climate change on
Indigenous intangible heritage. It also review recent efforts by UNESCO to address climate change
and its impacts on cultural heritage