1,720,989 research outputs found
The politics of hazard: imminent critique and deconstruction of ecological modernisation in Ireland
No full textThis dissertation sets out to provide immanent critique and deconstruction of ecological modernisation or ecomodernism.It does so, from a critical social theory approach, in order to correctly address the essential issues at the heart of the environmental crisis that ecomodernism purports to address. This critical approach argues that the solution to the environmental crisis can only be concretely achieved by recognising its root cause as being foremost the issue of material interaction between classes in society, and not simply between society and nature in any structurally meaningful way. Based on a metaphysic of false dualism, ecological modernisation attributes a materiality of exchange value relations to issues of society, while simultaneously offering a non- material ontology to issues of nature. Thus ecomodernism serves asymmetrical relations of power whereby, as a polysemic policy discourse, it serves the material interests of those who have the power to impose abstract interpretations on the materiality of actual phenomena. The research of this dissertation is conducted by the critical evaluation of the empirical data from two exemplary Irish case studies. Discovery of the causal processes of the various public issues in the case studies and thereafter the revelation of the meaning structures under- pinning such causal processes, is a theoretically- driven task requiring analysis of those social practices found in the cognitive, cultural and structural constitutions respectively of actors, mediations and systems.Therefore, the imminent critique of the case study paradigms serves as a research strategy for comprehending Ireland’s nature- society relations as influenced essentially by a systems (techno- corporatist) ecomodernist discourse. Moreover, the deconstruction of this systems ideological discourse serves not only to demonstrate how weak ecomodernism practically undermines its declared ecological objectives, but also indicates how such objectives intervene as systemic contradictions at the cultural heart of Ireland’s late modernisation
Collective responsibility in the risk society: health as a catalyst for socio-technological innovation, ecological citizenship and sustainability
Full text linkIn 1987 the Brundtland Report defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This widely employed definition has successfully promoted a sustainable approach to social and environmental policies and human rights across countries which have signed up to it. While climate change discourses have prompted discussions about of the future trajectory of human society, this thesis argues that the concept of sustainability has failed to be anchored conceptually to the everyday practices of global citizens. These discourses have encouraged social and technological innovations which focus on meeting these risks. There remain, however, significant inequalities among the world’s citizens in their capacity to access resources and their capacity mitigate climate risks. this thesis explores the risk factors which climate change poses, the sustainability discourses which have emerged from these debates, and their role in promoting an equitable, open, transparent and accessible form of cosmopolitan ecological citizenship. This is examined through desk research exploring policy and legislation, a review of case studies including social and technological innovators working in the field of sustainability, and primary qualitative research. I propose a model of ecological citizenship based on the premise that climate change poses risks to the physical, social and psychological health and wellbeing of the individual and communities, and that these risks are universal. This I label the Biopsychosocial Model of Ecological Citizenship, or BiMEC for short. I argue that these risks represent breaches of fundamental rights to health. Further, upholding the right to health is a collective responsibility for all human beings and these collective responses to these risks emerge in the form of social and technological innovations which address them. Finally, I argue that they are realisable through equal access to these fundamental rights
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A multi-stakeholder approach to the socio-technical transition to a low-carbon society
No full textIn order to respond to the range of environmental challenges faced in contemporary society, new collaborative governance relationships between state, community, civil society and third sector organisations must be developed. This thesis investigates the merging of top-down and bottom-up approaches to sustainability transitions taking a transdisciplinary, action-orientated approach through partnership with an active regional sustainability transition project (Dingle Peninsula 2030). The research involves both a regional case study and the national institutional context, supported by an analysis of research practice. It is grounded primarily in the discipline of sociology, but also involves a novel collaboration with energy engineering and draws upon the analytical tool of the MLP to highlight the importance of participatory collaboration in meeting the societal challenges posed by climate change. The thesis title, “A multi-stakeholder approach to the socio-technical transition to a low-carbon society”, emphasises the collaborative nature of the regional project.
There are three core research questions guiding this research project. Firstly, how can a mixed-method approach support an action research investigation of sustainability transitions? On from this, how can we understand the diffusion of sustainability in an ongoing regional transition project using the multi-level perspective? Finally, how can transdisciplinary research and community engagement assist in merging top-down and bottom-up approaches to transitions? The thesis develops five key research aspects to address these questions. The first uses a participatory mapping exercise to undertake qualitative social network analysis at the grassroots level, to interpret the regional project from a bottom-up perspective in its infancy. The second focuses specifically on the collaborative governance structure, involving the four transition project partners. Thirdly, the thesis traces and explores the diffusion of sustainability across the peninsula and further afield considering the emergence of Dingle Peninsula 2030. The penultimate research aspect moves to the national level, investigating community engagement practices within public bodies in Ireland for the delivery of climate infrastructure. Finally, the thesis analyses the experience of transdisciplinary research approaches, working with community and civil society stakeholders. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for further research, for action research practice and for policy.
In this body of work, several key findings are developed. A mixed-method approach to action research has been highlighted as a means through which optimum participation can be developed. The need for a structured approach to community engagement in public bodies, and an academic context to support transdisciplinarity, have been outlined as ways to facilitate the merging of top-down and bottom-up approaches to socio-technical transitions. Finally, the role of collaborative, multi-stakeholder transition projects in bringing about the diffusion of sustainability has been illustrated as a means through which to enable societal action on climate change
Using digital storytelling with Irish farmers as an arts-based methodology to understand sustainability
Full text linkThe thesis investigates the ways in which sustainability is understood by farmers in a part of Southern Ireland. The central innovative methodology adopted for this study is the use of digital storytelling as an arts-based methodology for data collection.
The concept of caring and connectedness, particularly to nature, to family and to a continuity between generations are the key themes of the stories, along with farmers viewing themselves as stewards of the countryside and being custodians of the land. The focus on the economic aspects of sustainability (cost factors, both from an expense and a savings perspectives), although included in the stories, does not come across as one of the key themes.
The second strand of the research proceeded to undertake a profile of a wider group of farmers in order to infer the results of the story-makers to a wider group. The profile shows a high degree of similarity between the story-makers and the wider group of farmers.
A third strand of the study asked farmers what needs to happen for farmers to adopt environmentally friendly practices. The findings show that farmers need a better understanding of good environmental practices and its benefits, more advanced practices need to be costed and the rewards for implementing them explained fully so farmers can adopt them quicker. But farmers do not believe that changes should come at a cost to them as they believe that with the current price of milk and the hours that they work, that they are already not adequately rewarded.
The fourth and final part of the study, showed the digital stories to a wider group of farmers and the findings of the research show that farmers are positively disposed towards the digital stories as a method of communication. Importantly, the majority found the stories to have a positive influence on their attitude to making environmental change. The main reasons for their willingness to implement pro-environmental practices related to the cost benefits of implementing change and identifying with the storyteller (being able to relate to the storyteller and to his farming circumstances).
The thesis finds that conducting research using arts-based methodologies, can produce extremely valuable insights into how people experience the world and what they place importance upon and that the first person narrative, which is often emotional, can have an impact on viewers, in terms of their engagement to the themes of the stories and their readiness to adopt changing practices. This research bears true of the literature review in which peer to peer communication, bottom-up, visual and emotional material can connect strongly with the audience. It also highlights how communication technologies can be used as facilitating tools for participation and engagement. It is hoped that this research reveals farmers’ deeper understandings of sustainability and that it further adds to the lack of research on the construction of environmental communication in new media and the importance of how environmental communication is framed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
