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Balanced Development Theme : Panels & Papers

B-D Panel #1 : Spatial Trends and Dynamics - Regional, Urban and Rural

Dr. Proinnsias Breathnach, NIRSA/Dept of Geography NUI Maynooth
Des McCafferty, NIRSA/Dept of Geography Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
Brendan O'Keeffe, NIRSA/Dept of Geography, Mary Immaculate College Limerick

Title: Territorial structures for effective urban/regional governance in Ireland

Abstract: The publication and implementation of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) have raised the question of the need for a regional tier in Ireland’s governance structure. Effective development of the gateway cities which form the core element of the NSS cannot simply be left to voluntaristic co-operation between local authorities, central state agencies and the various local and regional actors whose participation is essential if the strategy is to succeed. There is a need, therefore, for overarching governance structures with sufficient power and authority to effectively coordinate and marshal the functions and objectives of these elements in the interests of gateway development. Furthermore, the regions with respect to which the gateway cities act as gateways require clear definition. Regions based on aggregations of contiguous county and city councils are inadequate for this purpose since the territories administered by these councils are of little relevance to the real geography of the Irish space economy as defined by flows of people, money, goods, services and information which, to a considerable extent, are articulated around the gateway cities in their roles as regional service centres.
In this context, for new structures of territorial governance are needed, based on the hierarchical spatial organisation of these flows. This paper reports the findings of a set of case studies which seek to define the functional bases of urban centres at different levels in the Irish urban hierarchy and the functional hinterlands of these centres. A key premise of the paper is that governance structures should be based on territorial entities which combine urban centres and their functional hinterlands. Such entities would facilitate a coordinated approach to planning based on the integrated economic and social units which urban centres and their hinterlands represent. They would also obviate the destructive waste of resources currently resulting from territorial boundary disputes between urban and adjoining county councils. However, effective territorial governance is not just a matter of territorial definition but also requires a recasting of the territorial divison of functions and powers in Ireland. The paper concludes with some consideration of this issue.

A. Stewart Fotheringham, Martin Charlton, Ali Robinson, Annette Egan [ NUIM ]

Title: Analysing Urban Dynamics through GeoDirectory

Abstract: Largely as a consequence of the Celtic Tiger boom, Ireland has experienced some dramatic changes to its urban environment. One problem in monitoring such change is the lack of a suitable up-to-date database which can be used to monitor the spatial extent of urban dynamics. This paper will report on the results of using GeoDirectory for this purpose. geoDirectory is a joint venture between An Post and OSi to create a geocoded address database of every address point in Ireland. The database is updated every quarter and separates commercial and residential addresses. Additions and deletions from the database at each quarter thus provide a useful means of capturing the growth (and in some cases, loss) of residential properties. Because each property is geocoded, the new buildings can be mapped to show their spatial extent. We will demonstrate this for urban growth around Dublin for 15 time periods between 2004 and 2008. Patterns of urban growth will be examined in the context of existing urban developments and infrastructure.

Michael Murray [ QUB ]

Title: Regulatory planning for economic development in the countryside

Abstract: Within contemporary rural Ireland the planning and development debate has been cast as mainly the challenges associated with single dwellings in the countryside. There has been little research on the interaction of the regulatory planning regime with economic development projects in the countryside. This paper will report the findings that have emerged from a pilot study in rural Northern Ireland on how planning has dealt with this form of development. The data combine quantitative and qualitative elements and represent the first attempt in the region to provide a critical commentary on this dimension of policy content and delivery.

B-D Panel #2 : Re-Visioning the Rural: Communities, Development and Social Capital

Michael Kenny [ NUIM ]

Title: Rural Visioning

Abstract: Rural areas in Ireland have sustained an ongoing decline and out migration since the famine. Ireland has seen an outflow of young and educated people to urban locations and abroad. This trend was stalled for a short period over the last decade when country-loving city workers contributed to the perri-ruralisation with one off-houses. Schools, football teams, and rural life recovered in a less traditional form. But remote rural locations still haemorrhaged people and socio-economic viability, the hinterlands of ‘hubs’ and ‘gateways’ (referred to the National Spatial Strategy) rejuvenated as predominantly dormitory locations.
The already evident challenge of energy and food costs, and recession is challenging the rural revival. The cumulative decline in the number of farm families has concentrated land ownership and a move to extensification has reduced the viability of the services are traditionally provided goods to the farm gate. The decline of "fall back" employment for young lower socio-economic rural people may result in accelerated ageing of the demographic profile of rural areas. The nature of viable rural life will be a significant issue for debate in the foreseeable future.
Concurrently the new National Rural Development Programme, 2008 to 2013, is offering funding of almost half-a-billion Euro to rural communities through the rural development programme. This is a trebling of funding compared to the last programme. The program would managed by existing rural development agencies within the newly ‘cohesed’ county based local development partnership structures. There will be more staff, expertise, and funding to stimulate the development of rural areas. But there will also be increasing restrictions as to how that funding can be utilised.
So we have an unusual tension. Growing socio-economic threats at a time of increased resources to stimulate local development. As with all forces it can construct, or it can destruct.
The author has extensive engagement with socio-economic agencies of rural development through the design and delivery of the Bachelor of Science degree in rural development by distance learning (BSc) delivered collectively by the four NUI universities. The author has engagement also with a range of rural based partnerships, rural based local authorities and rural based non-governmental organisations. The author has recently participated in a survey of knowledge and skill needs for rural community development through the Carnegie Trust UK involving Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, and Southern Ireland.
The author suggests that we are at a critical time to frame the debate on the future of rural areas. The author suggests that how we frame this debate will have sustained impact on urban development, rural sustainability, and the environment. However, the author also suggests that how we frame this debate, and the arising vision, will have sustained impact on education, community and our relationship with the wider world, particularly the developing countries.
The author will explore these challenges and suggest that the time is opportune for a new vision for rural development.

Dr. Ruth McAreavey [ QUB ]

Title: Sustainable tourism: a paradigm for sustainable rural communities?

Abstract: Tourism has been identified as one of the fastest growing global industries. Destination areas are facing increasing pressures as increased tourist numbers have a negative impact on the environment. This leads to all kinds of political and social demands as local communities grapple with acceptable levels and types of tourism activities. Meanwhile sustainable tourism has been cited as a desirable contributor to rural development as rural areas pursue an agenda of multi-functionality in the wake of ongoing agricultural transition.
Ireland is in a position of meeting the needs of a growing portion of tourists in pursuit of exotic or different destinations. While tourists have been travelling to this country in reasonable numbers for many years, rural Ireland still has the potential to offer something different because of its distinct culture, history, ethnic and geographic characteristics.
Sustainable tourism can be understood to contribute to sustainable development more generally. The sustainable development concept may be applied to tourism in order to set out a framework from which ‘acceptable’ levels of tourism may be determined. This paper examines the notion of sustainability from a rural tourism perspective. It considers the value of the sustainability approach to tourism and in so doing it critically reviews the contested nature of sustainable tourism. Using a case study of the Mourne National Park, the extent to which a sustainable development approach can usefully be applied to rural tourism is examined. The paper considers the power differentials between the various stakeholders and concludes by considering implications for these stakeholders in rural tourism, with particular reference to the notion of sustaining rural communities.

Caroline Creamer, Chris VanEgeraat, Brendan O'Keeffe, Neale Blair and John Driscoll [ NUIM ]

Title: Stuck behind a tractor! The "Celtic Tiger" and its slow chug towards the Border

Abstract: The landscape of Europe is shaped and strongly influenced by jurisdictional borders and their associated challenges and opportunities. In the Irish Border region, there is both a border separating the two jurisdictions and the challenge of securing positive growth in frontier villages and towns affected by depressed economic conditions. In the past decade, EU, British and Irish policy is pointing towards the need for greater research into local economic development and complementary functional areas, with the emphasis being on sustaining rural communities by harnessing their potentiality. In the context of the Irish Border, it was deemed that one of the most effective ways of doing this was working on a cross-border basis to address the long-standing fractures in social networks and natural trading hinterlands.
One would expect that the fortunes of border towns and villages would have improved over this period - particularly given its coincidence with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. However, the border area continues to be characterised by underlying structural problems: peripherality from Dublin and Belfast; a lack of joined up action and spatial planning; an infrastructure deficit; the decline of traditional economic activities; and high unemployment/under-employment.
This research, carried out under the auspices of the International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) and focusing on five ‘clusters’ of cross-border towns and villages, has found that within smaller settlements there is a stronger emphasis on community infrastructure and social capital than in larger towns. The short-term nature of funding programmes and resulting cross-border projects has hampered border settlements in terms of taking a long-term perspective on their sustainable development. Going forward, the research highlights a series of potential local and central government policy interventions in support of cross-border collaboration, and emphasises the requirement for comprehensive stakeholder participation in order to secure positive and sustainable development in the Border region.
Authors: Caroline Creamer (ICLRD and NUIM), Neale Blair (ICLRD and UU), Brendan O'Keeffe (ICLRD and MIC), Chris Van Egeraat (ICLRD and NUIM), John Driscoll (ICLRD and Institute for International Urban Development, Cambridge, Mass.)

Alice McDonnell, Fintan McCabe, Michael Kenny [ NUIM ]

Title: Distance Learning Rural Development Degree: Selective Impacts

Abstract: The four National University of Ireland Universities have offered a diploma in rural development to adults experienced in, or concerned about rural development since 1996. The diploma initiative arose from a government report on the needs for education and training for the development of rural areas. The universities acted upon the Creedon Report (1993) and offered a 60 credit two-year distance learning diploma in 11 separate themed modules. Over 400 people have completed this diploma since 1996 and have gone on to impact on their local communities, develop careers, develop enterprises, and impact on rural development policy.
By 2004 the universities were able to launch a follow on degree. This degree completed by distance learning in two years, (following the diploma) has graduated almost 80 people in the last four years.
This paper draws on research completed by two graduates of this degree. These graduates, with support from a summer research programme within NUI Maynooth, sought to qualitatively and quantitatively enumerate the impact of the degree on the professional and non-professional lives of the people who completed this course. Taking a sample the researchers designed and administered questionnaires and convened focus groups.
The outcomes show a significant impact of this education. The respondents enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of this type of education for mature students and for rural development education. They also report career progression, community impact, and greater involvement in aspects of development among the graduates. The outcome of this research shows that this type of education has significant impact on personal confidence, competence in developing innovative solutions to need, and a greater capacity to participate.
Presently there are significant challenges to development. These challenges are exacerbated in remoter rural areas. They are especially challenging to those who do not have the skills and the knowledge to engage with a post-modern economy. The outcome of this research is important as a contribution to our planning for how we can educate into disadvantaged communities rather than taking the most ambitious people out of their communities for education.

B-D Panel #3 : Ireland's Development Model in/and the Wider World: Post-Celtic Tiger Perspectives

Neil Robinson and Maura Adshead [ UL ]

Title: Towards a political economy of "post-celtic tiger" Ireland

Abstract: This paper attempts to place the Irish experience of late development in comparative perspective. In doing this it seeks to isolate what legacies Ireland’s developmental path as a ‘Celtic Tiger’ has for today’s Ireland.
Late developing states traditionally manage the tasks of catching up economically via increased state management of the economy to direct resources from consumption to investment, and by developing institutions to foster growth that elsewhere develop organically. Ireland’s late path to prosperity differed to this typical pattern because of the stability of the state and because of the need to develop international economic liberalization as a precondition for growth because of the small size of the Irish economy and the geographic dispersal of its population. The role of traditional developmental state was also displaced in Ireland’s case on to the European Union, which channelled investment into infrastructural projects without the need for the Irish state to curtail consumption to finance developments to underpin general economic growth. International economic liberalization and the Irish state’s ability to avoid having to take action to divert resources from consumption to investment helped to generate the property boom on the one hand and at same time meant that the state’s role as a provider of welfare could remain relatively static as it did not increase its general level of welfare spending. This has had several affects. First, Ireland has remained dependent on foreign direct investment since it has not developed a national savings base having locked its wealth, and a large part of future savings, into property. Second, investment in property and the unplanned nature of development free of infrastructural development (roads, public transport systems) have made Ireland dependent on private transport and saddled it with high housing costs to make it a high cost economy. Third, Ireland is squeezed between getting on with delayed infrastructural developments (which are demanded by large and diverse constituencies) or dealing with the legacies of under investment in welfare that have created a large recurrent cost of financing a social strata that has remained detached from national prosperity. How Ireland will deal with these problems will determine its ability to ease the transition from high to moderate (at best) growth.

Alistair Fraser and Mary Gilmartin [ NUIM ]

Title: Celtic Tigers in South Africa

Abstract: This paper explores some of the dimensions and dynamics of Irish investment and Irish aid in South Africa. We are interested in the dual presence of the Irish in South Africa; that is, the juxtaposition of predatory or exploitative investors alongside charitable, developmentalist players in the aid sector. We first take note of a relatively long and diverse set of historical relations between the two countries before, second, examining some of the more recent relations developing currently. We specifically call attention to property investment in the Western Cape, Niall Mellon's Township Trust in Cape Town, and Irish aid's role in delivering services in Limpopo province. Finally, using theories and insights from literatures on post-colonialism and post-development and with reference to our empirical materials, we introduce our conceptual framework for understanding the internationalization of the post-Celtic Tiger condition.

Anthony Cawley and Cliona Barnes [ UL ]

Title: Whose development? Framing of Ireland’s aid commitments by official sources and the media during the Celtic Tiger

Abstract: The September 2006 publication of the government’s White Paper on Irish Aid was presented as a statement of Ireland’s new position in and increased responsibilities to the international community. The economic success of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ had endowed the State not only with the means but also with the obligation to strengthen its aid commitments to developing nations. The White Paper identified nine programme countries in Africa and Asia that would receive the bulk of the aid, which by 2012 would have risen to an annual commitment of €1.5bn. Minister of State Conor Lenihan spoke of an ambitious plan, adding, "This is the first time in our island history that we have both the money and the expertise to make a real difference."
However, making a "real difference" to developing nations was not central to how the White Paper was framed by official sources (government spokespeople and press releases) or subsequent media coverage. Central to the framing of the White Paper was Ireland’s changing status - economically (new found ability and status to pay), socially (in the values of what it meant to be Irish in the newly-rich State), and internationally (how Ireland could provide a bridge between developed and developing nations).
The paper re-assesses the framing and media coverage of the White Paper in light of the recent economic downturn. It questions some of the assumptions made by official sources about the social and economic values of ‘Celtic Tiger’ Ireland and analyses how these assumptions were carried with scant critical reflection in the majority of media coverage. In doing so, the paper raises questions about the relationship between ‘official’ sources of information and the media in framing matters of public debate. The paper argues that the White Paper - and its aid commitment of €1.5bn a year - was presented to the Irish public without sufficient context or depth of explanation with which to measure the true value of Ireland’s development activities or aid commitments.
Finally, the paper asks how Ireland’s White Paper aid commitments will hold up in light of the recent economic downturn? It reflects on how media coverage (with the exception of The Irish Times and RTÉ) sidelined the issue of how the government reneged on prior aid commitments when a similar downturn hit the economy in 2000 and 2001. The paper also poses a future research question: in the post-Celtic Tiger era, will Ireland’s ambitious aid commitments be re-framed from ‘status’ and ‘obligation’ to ‘cost’ or ‘burden’?
The paper draws on research commissioned by Connect World and conducted collaboratively between DCU and DIT.

Sustaining Communities Theme : Panels & Papers

S-C Panel #1 : Changing Modes of Citizenship and Participation

Prof. Mark Boyle [ NUIM ]

Title: Ireland's global sense of place: Critical Reflections on Global Ethics Projects

Abstract: Following fifteen years of unprecedented economic growth the Irish Republic is awakening to a new post Celtic Tiger Dawn. The economic miracle is beginning to fret and self reflection has sharpened. One of the fruits of this transition has been a growing interest in Ireland's global sense of place, not just in terms of its role in the international division of labour, circuits of capital flow, networks of finance capital and so on but in terms of its fundamental responsibilities in the new interdependent world in which it occupies.
This critical self awareness is in turn taking place against the backdrop of global instabilities and geopolitical tensions marked not by clashes of ideology but faith and religion. Marked most clearly by the complex interweaving of neoliberal and neoconservative thinking, religion is increasingly becoming implicated in combustible imperial excursions and anti-western movements.
But religion displays a diversity of traditions and within Christinaity neoconservativism is in no senses hegemonic. Recently, the notion of the ‘global ethic’ has erupted as a serious area of academic debate within Christian theology and praxes referring to ‘a minimal basic consensus relating to binding values, irrevocable standards and moral attitudes, which can be affirmed by all religions despite their undeniable dogmatic or theological differences and which can also be supported by non-believers’.
The purpose of this paper is to critically interrogate the contribution which Irish Catholic based global ethic projects might make to defining a new global sense of place for the country. The paper will present a reading of the life and work of arguably the greatest Christian theologian of the twentieth century Hans Kung, focussing upon his radical and revolutionary commitment to building bridges between Christianity and the other world religions including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and his establishment of a Global Ethic Foundation in Tubingen.
It will be argued that whilst Christocentric global ethic projects are ultimately a situated product underpinning and embodying western conceptions of global justice they reach their greatest potential when they push the limits of western epistemology.

Martin Power [ UL ]

Title: Everyone else is doing it so why can’t we? Maximising welfare recipients’ participation in the "Knowledge Economy"

Abstract: Why do sections of Irish society still face restrictions in their ability to access the ‘Knowledge Economy’? This paper critically examines the Back To Education Allowance (BTEA) in promoting social inclusion through participation in 3rd level education for welfare recipients in Ireland. The paper is based on empirical data from focus group and in-depth qualitative interviews with 3rd level students on the BTEA & key informants. The paper adopts a strong ‘structural’ position, situating the source of social exclusion in the structured inequality of the labour market and the State, which disadvantages particular groups in society (Morris 1994, p.80). Consequently, in order to address social exclusion we cannot simply promote policy, which adopts a weak ‘cultural’ position (Morris 1994, p.80), ultimately blaming the excluded for their own misfortune.
Access to education and employment and social inclusion are inextricably linked (Chard & Couch 1998, p.608). Therefore, while the financing of the welfare state has become a problem for Neoliberals, I argue there is a pressing need for policy, which supports the access of welfare recipients to 3rd level education, so that welfare recipients can obtain jobs of a sufficient standard to allow them to move away from welfare on a more permanent basis. To this end the provision of welfare to education programmes, which have been restricted in the post welfare state era, are of paramount importance.
I argue that welfare recipients are still seen as ‘Undeserving’ (MacGregor 1999, p.110), offering a justification of the short-term approach taken to the BTEA. In an era of unprecedented growth in Ireland, the first signs of a fiscal crisis saw cuts made to welfare programmes in 2003/2004. The paper examines the resultant changes made to the BTEA. I utilize Mutch’s (2006) adaptation of Bourdieu’s field theory to form a theoretical understanding of how and why these restrictive changes to the BTEA occurred. I argue that these changes, and in particular the severe restriction imposed on the postgraduate option of the BTEA, have had a detrimental impact on both participants and potential applicants. I argue that this particular restriction reflects the Neoliberal ideology of personal responsibility where individuals are now responsible for, and expected to invest in their own economic welfare, through continuous education. Consequently BTEA participants perceive that post-grad qualifications are becoming the property of the middle classes and the onset of degree inflation will ensure that the best employment will remain in the hands of those who can afford to obtain the highest educational qualifications. The restrictions on the postgraduate option of the BTEA can only hasten that outcome. Accordingly this paper argues that the current provision of lifelong learning appears to be to the benefit of a functionalist society, may actually be a mechanism through which society’s inequalities are reproduced, and accordingly cannot deal with the ‘structural’ understanding of social exclusion for any great number of citizens.

Ronan Foley [ NUIM ]

Title: Volunteering in Ireland: Geographies to Challenge Policies

Abstract: Given recent economic forecasts on the slowing down of the Celtic Tiger, it is an opportune time to look at its potential societal legacy. Given the considerable amounts of wealth generated by the economic boom, it is also timely to ask what legacies may exist in terms of sustaining and sustainable communities. This paper looks at the new geographies of volunteering, as mapped in the 2006 Census, to explore what impacts the Celtic Tiger has had in this arena. A number of important questions are associated with this investigation. Given the long history of research on social capital, can new data help us to understand the spatial as well as social and economic impacts? Are the levels and types of volunteering spatially patterned? Can explanatory relationships be postulated linking volunteering, place, community and society? The 2006 Census data was analysed in two forms, statistical and cartographic. Statistical results were summarised against potential explanatory factors including gender, age, SEG, social class as well as caring, deprivation, housing and family formation. There were a number of definitional and conceptual problems with some of the classifications used but the data is still the first full and detailed national survey of volunteering. Cartographic results suggested that there was a broad geography, which can be traced to the impact of the CT. In particular a case could be made for the relationships between suburban commuting around Dublin and low levels of volunteering. In contrast rates of volunteering were highest in rural areas of the West and South. But there were also variable geographies for different forms of volunteering, which depended on the spatial scale used. Statistical associations were also linked to the scale of the analysis but broadly suggested that the strongest relationships were linked to gender, age, life and family stages and income. Finally some conclusions explored what the evidence meant more widely and how it could be used to challenge and comment on the impact of the Celtic Tiger. In a country that increasingly fails to value care (in all its forms) and valorises more direct and often spurious economic measures such as GDP, a research agenda, which fully explores the nature of volunteering in Ireland can be kick started by the mapping of its geographies (Folbre, 2001). Theoretically the role of structure and agency is played out whereby voluntary individual and familial understandings of community and civil society have in turn been arguably assimilated into structured neo-liberal assumptions around the role of social capital. Finally the part that geographers can play in understanding and explaining spatial variations in voluntarism are part of a new direction, which has rich potential for inter-disciplinary work into the future (Milligan and Conradson, 2006).

S-C Panel #2 : Re-Interrogating the Irish Social Model

Rob Kitchin and Mark Boyle [ NUIM ]

Title: Between Boston and Berlin: Encounters between European Social Welfare and American Neoliberalism

Abstract: This paper tracks the genesis and metamorphosis of ‘actually existing neo-liberal state programmes’ in Ireland. Our concern is with the ways in which emerging forms of European neoliberal experimentation are often represented as a hybrid emergence from encounters between exported ‘American Neoliberalism’ on the one hand and the lingering vestiges of the European Social Welfare model on the other. Against this backdrop, the Republic of Ireland is often studied as the paradigmatic example of the fusions which can result, and indeed Ireland has been popularly represented as ‘between Boston and Berlin’ not least by the Irish government who first coined this term in 2000. But how useful is it to locate the Irish state and its attendant Celtic Tiger economy, as somewhere ‘between Boston and Berlin’. How typical is Ireland of the neoliberalisation of state forms in the rest of Europe? What other ‘betweens’ might European and Irish neoliberal reforms best be captured through?

Kieran Keohane and Carmen Kuhling [ UCC & UL ]

Title: From ‘sick man of Europe’ to the sickness infecting the EU: how the Irish social model threatens the foundations of European Civilization

Abstract: The paper outlines how the fiscal strategy underpinning the so-called ‘Irish social model’ (transfer of the revenue from business onto individual consumers, and the minimization of corporate taxation) systematically impoverishes Irish and especially EU public finances, and more importantly, is a form of ‘social dumping’ in which Ireland leads the EU a race to the bottom, undermining the social model upon which the idea of the EU is founded, leading to schizmogenesis and competitive social fragmentation.

Gemma Carney [ NUIG ]

Title: After the Celtic Tiger: Can Social Partnership Innovate to Cater for an Ageing Population?

Abstract: Distance from the labour market, the digital divide and the loss of independence associated with ageing are internationally recognised as structural barriers to social and political engagement for older people (Walker in Baars et al., 2006; 60). Conversely, the Irish model of social partnership has been heralded as a highly successful means of achieving socially inclusive economic growth. Of particular note is the inclusion of community and voluntary organisations as a third pillar, joining employers and trade unions as the stakeholders of social partnership. More recently, the ‘life cycle’ approach (NESC, 2005) recognises older people, children, people with a disability and people of working age as distinctive strands within the social partnership model. However, critics of Irish social partnership argue that the conciliatory nature of deliberative bargaining within the partnership model diminishes the role of the social partners, and particularly the third sector, as robust and independent critics of government and other institutions of the State (Murphy and Teague, 2004; 32). Moreover, the consolidation (and some would argue stagnation), of recent social partnership agreements suggest an increasing pressure on the social partners to be innovative and entrepreneurial if any re-alignment of socio-economic relations is to be achieved.
This paper investigates the potential of the tri-partite structure of social partnership to provide opportunities for the third pillar to be innovative and/or entrepreneurial in the pursuit of social inclusion and equality. Specifically, it asks whether such a ‘post-corporatist method of economic and social governance’ (Murphy and Teague, 2004; 1) can foster social entrepreneurship amongst older people as a growing, distinct and structurally disadvantaged sector of the Irish population.

S-C Panel #3 : Post-Pub and/or Public Cultures? : Reshaping Politics and Everyday Life

Dr. Adrian Kavanagh [ NUIM ]

Title: Celtic Tiger Ireland and its Electoral Landscape

Abstract: At the start of the Celtic Tiger period, participation levels in Irish elections had been in decline for over a decade while instability marked the political scene, with regular changes in government. The prosperity of the Celtic Tiger period was believed to further exarcerbate these trends, resulting in even lower turnout levels due to the growing disengagement of a contented electorate and a more fractured political landscape and the end of ‘Civil War’ politics with increasing support levels for smaller, more ideological, parties and independent candidates. However, this has not transpired in the recent general, local and referendum elections. This paper will explore this topic from a geographical perspective, applying the place-based theoretical approaches of Agnew (1987, 2002) and Johnston and Pattie (2006) to the Irish context. Various ‘myths’ that have emerged in relation to Irish electoral behaviour during the Celtic Tiger era, such as those to do with the political leanings of ‘breakfast roll man’, will be critically analysed in the light of highly detailed spatial data, drawn from the 2007 General Election and the 2004 local and European elections.

Kieran Bonner [ Univ. of Waterloo ]

Title: "Time, Ladies and Gents, please": Closing the door on Irish Pubs

Abstract: Since 2004, over 1000 pubs throughout the Republic of Ireland have closed. Pub culture, especially in rural Ireland, is dying, say many publicans. Yet alcohol consumption in Ireland has increased. Using the culture of cities approach developed in previous papers on Dublin, this paper explores the meaning of these changes for Dublin and Irish Culture. It will draw on previous studies of Irish drinking culture and Irish pub culture and place them in dialectical relation to the development of a ‘globalized Ireland’.

Anne Holohan, Carla deTona and Andrew Whelan [ TCD ]

Title: Negotiating Access to Irish State and Society: The Role of Internet Cafés in Dublin

Abstract: Internet Cafes are ubiquitous in Dublin City. They are mostly run by non-Irish nationals and are most frequented by non-Irish nationals. What role do they play in facilitating access not only to immediate technological resources, but also access to information and social capital that shapes their experiences of entering (or staying at the edges) of Irish society?

S-C Panel #4 : Gendered Negotiations: Reshaping Identities in a (post-) Celtic Tiger Era

Linda Connolly [ UCC ]

Title: Gender, The "Ideal" Body And Self Image In The Celtic Tiger Era

Abstract: Drawing on key debates in the arena of the sociology of the body, this paper will develop a theoretical analysis and interpretation of dominant cultural narratives concerning women’s bodies and ideal ‘femininity’, in contemporary Ireland. The transformation of women’s self-image and bodies in Ireland as a symptom of the Celtic Tiger has been discussed in popular discourse but has received little analysis in Sociology. David McWilliams in ‘the Generation Game’, for example, referred to characters like ‘Botox Betty’ and ‘the Yummy Mummy’ as symptomatic of the Tiger economy and its cultural effect. One of the major growth industries in the period covering the Celtic Tiger and its aftermath is in fact elective cosmetic surgery and Irish women are known to be engaging extensively in cosmetic surgery ‘tourism’ (involving travel for surgeries like facelifts, liposuction, nosejobs etc). In general, the increased spending power of Irish women on fashion (in retail outlets in New York, for instance) and self-image is notable. In particular, extreme thinness and the reversal of ageing/eternal youth are notable concerns in popular discourses of the ideal female body in western societies. In the Irish case, this is all occurring in a context where women’s bodies were heavily censored and restricted in the not too distant Catholic past.
A number of critical questions will be explored in this paper, in an open manner, including: to what extent does the potentially restrictive/oppressive way popular culture defines women’s bodies actually affect women’s lives in Irish society? In terms of the subject matter of this paper, was Foucault (1979: 136) right when he argued that the outcome of disciplinary power in society is the docile body, a body "that may be subjected, used, transformed and, improved"? Do we really live in a culture in Ireland now that now requires women to purchase femininity and cultural acceptance through submission to cosmetic surgeons and knives? To what extent can (or should) a political response that subverts these processes be developed? Finally, the paper hopes to demonstrate the important role Sociology/Sociologists can (and indeed should) play in critiquing trends like this in contemporary Ireland, which are of deep importance in terms of understanding the nature of modernity in the post Celtic Tiger era.

Dr. Clare Roche [ UCC ]

Title: Talking the Tiger: young Irish women negotiate social change

Abstract: This paper examines young women’s relationships to social change in Ireland in light of debates concerning the Celtic Tiger and social inclusion/exclusion. Based on a qualitative study conducted with 50 settled and traveller young women in Cork I consider: the ways in which public discourses about changing society and inclusion work to construct both particular young women selves and the boundaries of Irish identity; how neo-liberal values such as individualisation, ambition and success provide the backdrop to young women’s aspirations; and the ways in which relationships to change are gendered, classed and racialised.
(This study was supported by Marie Curie Individual Fellowship funding)

Denis Linehan [ UCC ]

Title: On The Road: thinking relationally about boys, cars and transgression in contemporary Ireland

Abstract: Issues around driving mark a strong intergenerational fault line in ‘post celtic tiger’ Ireland and provide profound insights into the nature of contemporary change. Based on interviews and focus groups conducted with young men engaged in car-modification culture, otherwise known as ‘boy racers’, this paper aims to show how driving and car modification is a spatial practice that gains its significance through the space of transgression in which its enacted and in the continuing consequences these practices have on the construction of masculinist understandings of the city and the countryside. At the same time, these mobilities are structured by wider relations of power, such as the unequal social dividends of the Celtic Tigers, and the diverging experience of living in a neo-liberal state. In order to situate the practice of driving within these structures, this paper will argue that Ireland is marked by a pattern of shifting ‘regimes of driving’, and that these spatialized norms of driving affect the meaning and enactment of young men driving choices. This concept is particularly useful to draw out the ways in which driving, despite providing an opportunity for identity formation may actually illustrate the limits to social mobility in the context of contemporary Irish society. The focus group and interview analysis illustrates these points and demonstrates how young men’s views on consumption, environment and politics provide a basis for their attitudes towards driving, mobility and space. The author suggests that among the participants, two main trends in young mens understandings related to driving can be observed: one towards the ‘privatization’ of social live and another towards the public contestation of formal anti-driving regimes. In this way, this study aims to link driving, as a socio-spatial practice, to the local, and changing gendered production of identity as it is shaped in an increasingly neo-liberal Irish state.

S-C Panel #5 : Dealing with Diversity and Disability

Brenda Gannon and Kieran Walsh [ NUIG ]

Title: Neighbourhood Context, Disability Onset and Old Age

Abstract: With the growing emphasis on the role of the community in older adult care, there is a need to understand the associations between neighbourhood context and disability onset among older people. Using 7 waves of panel data from the Living in Ireland Survey (1995-2001), this paper explores subjective neighbourhood characteristics and neighbourhood social participation associations with disability onset among older Irish adults. The sample includes 2,694 older people, with 7,681 observations between 1995 and 2001. Disability onset is defined as not having disability for one year followed by disability for at least one year. Analyses consists of three logistic regression models; each controlling for individual characteristics. Model 1 - the neighbourhood characteristics of environment problems and neighbourhood social problems are associated with disability onset. Model 2 - neighbourhood social participation (club membership and talk to neighbours) is associated with disability onset. Model 3 - neighbourhood social participation does not buffer against the negative effects of neighbourhood characteristics in old age disability onset. This study contributes to international knowledge in three ways: (1) it expands the limited literature on neighbourhoods and late life disability onset - especially with respect to the use of a long panel of data and the European context (2) it presents a previously undocumented relationship between older adult social participation in neighbourhoods and disability onset and (3) it explores unknown associations between neighbourhood social participation and neighbourhood context with respect to late life disability.

Tara Farrell [ DCU ]

Title: Managing diveristy in the new intercultural workplace

Abstract: This paper reports on a pilot study carried out in a multinational service organisation. The study focused on the views of line managers as they manage an increasingly diverse workforce in Ireland. This exploratory study finds its relevance in the fact that the Irish workforce has never been more diverse than it is today - the CSO reports that over 10% of the Irish workforce are migrant workers. Consequently, there are many new challenges for employers in terms of managing diversity within the workplace. The findings of the study indicate that the pressures faced by line managers in their daily activities means that they cannot actively manage diversity, but instead find themselves simply responding reactively to the demands of the intercultural environment. A crucial factor in the daily pressures faced by line managers was the issue of language diversity; the time factor of dealing with the language issue and the accompanying problems of linguistic diversity in workteams often results in frustration and significantly influences the management approach adopted by line managers. The study found that managers are adopting an assimilation approach whereby all employees are considered equal, despite the fact that linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as attitudes of customers, would indicate otherwise. Differences also emerged between Irish and non-Irish managers in terms of attitudes towards managing a diverse workforce.

Catherine Browne [ UL ]

Title: Living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): the case of Ireland

Abstract: Brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Every year in Ireland, approximately 10,000 people sustain a traumatic brain injury. Road traffic accident, assault, falls and sporting injuries are the main causes; eighty percent of victims are male and 7 out of 10 are aged less than 25 years at the time of injury.
International studies of head injuries suggest that many survivors of moderate to severe head injury suffer significant and persistent disability (Thornhill et al. 2000). The loss to society and to the economy when a whole cohort of young people is placed in a dependent role has not been adequately recognised by policy makers. Family members are commonly expected to take on caring roles well outside their expertise or ability. Studies of the long-term social and economic consequences for survivors of TBI in Ireland are few. However, the common experience for people with TBI is social rejection, isolation, poverty, being ‘written off’, inappropriate and inadequate accommodation options, a lack of advocacy, a lack of rehabilitation, medical and professional dominance, lack of agency and negative public attitudes about brain injury (Sherry, 2007). The European Social Inclusion Report (2001) also notes that disabled people are more likely to be in poverty, more likely to be unemployed (and long-term unemployed) and less likely to have medium- and higher educational qualifications.
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) (2007) on Community Integration of Persons with TBI includes the mission that all persons with TBI, including traditionally underserved populations, have access to information, resources, and services that maximize participation in their communities and that treating professionals have the necessary information to meet the needs of persons with TBI.
I argue that survivors of traumatic brain injury in Ireland are experiencing greatly inadequate supports and services, specific to their needs. The National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dublin, has a total of 123 beds, serving a population of over 4 million people. It is not a facility dedicated solely to the rehabilitation of brain injury; rather it is required to treat people with a variety of physical injuries, such as spinal cord damage. Only one in four people awaiting neuro-rehabilitation will succeed in gaining a place at this facility. Post-rehabilitation services aimed at reintegrating survivors in the community (education and vocational training, social supports etc), are practically non existent. Essential services provided by the NGO’s - Headway, Peter Bradley Foundation and BRI, are mostly funded by charitable donations. This is problematic in itself because it reinforces the common belief that disability is a personal tragedy. The ‘unfortunate victims’ are ‘presented as needing pity, charity and sympathy’ (Sherry, 2007:3).

Knowledge Societies Theme : Panels & Papers

K-S Panel ~ A1: New Information Systems - Key Techno-Structures for the Knowledge Society

Anna Karpinska, Tom Acton, Willie Golden [ NUIG ]

Title: Information Systems Evolving: The changing nature of decision making

Abstract: Information Systems (IS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) are important to organisations in a knowledge-based economy. However, the field of IS is dispersed. Using a lens of IS theory and background, this paper addresses the following questions: What exactly are IS and DSS, what are their key characteristics, how are the related, and what is their relevance?
The paper presents an overview of important articles in the Information Systems field. We shed light on how Information Systems theories have evolved and changed, and the key impetus for these changes in evolving knowledge-based economies. We relate the IS field to DSS, and discuss the importance of DSS for organisations. Further, we identify key research problems in DSS facing organisations.

Theodore Lynn [ DCU ]

Title: Educating the Celtic Cubs: A Survey of Student Technology Practices and Needs

Abstract: Global leaders agree that each person should have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to understand, participate actively in, and benefit fully from, the Information Society and the knowledge economy. And while in the post-Celtic tiger Ireland, information and communications technology is now a seemingly ubiquitous commodity whose use and ownership is becoming the norm rather than an exception, the prioritization of funding for the integration and use by learners and educators alike is the subject of much debate. Universities have a significant role to play in this debate and as institutions must reflect and adapt to how the needs of all students are met as well as Irish society in general. Central to any institutional decision is a clear understanding of the needs and desires of the student community. This paper outlines the findings of research undertaken by DCU Business School’s Centre for Learning, Innovation and Knowledge and Arizona State University’s Applied Learning Technology Institute on the needs and practices of students in Dublin City University.

Maciej Dabrowski and Thomas Acton [ NUIG ]

Title: Information Systems in the era of Knowledge-based economy and online communities

Abstract: Dramatic advances in Information Technology and increasing user involvement have high impact on the model of use of the Internet - the biggest and widely available information source. Together with evolving organizational structures, these processes heavily influence not only the types of information systems (IS) being developed but also the understanding of the IS concept as well. The analysis of the literature in the field shows that this thesis is supported by the evolution of information systems taxonomies.
Effective management and use of information is not only one of the key aspects of a successful growth of modern companies, but also a part of the social evolution of the contemporary communities. We believe that both the Semantic Web and the Social Networking have high impact on evolution of the Internet, and thus on the IS research. Emergence of many social networking sites and a new level of user involvement introduced new market opportunities and forced practitioners and researchers to revise existing models.
The main contribution of this paper is a summary of the work on categorization of Information Systems that have been done in the past 50 years. We present an assessment of information systems taxonomies and discuss the impact of cutting edge information technologies on the current research on Information Systems. Finally, we give an overview of the main characteristics of the Semantic Web and the Web 2.0 in the context of the IS research.

K-S Panel ~ A2: Creating and Communicating Knowledge and Technology Transfer

Sandra Lorenz-O'Sullivan and Angela Chambers [ UL ]

Title: Knowledge transfer and engagement in arts, humanities and the social sciences: a case study

Abstract: As universities and other higher education institutions are publicly funded knowledge organisations, the process of transferring that knowledge to academic and non-academic users is of major importance. As the authors of an Australian report (2006) note, the subject is complex, with even the terminology and definition of the area varying from one organisation to another. They prefer the term ‘engagement’, suggesting interaction rather than a one-way process, and they define knowledge transfer as follows:
Knowledge transfer is the process of engaging, for mutual benefit, with business, government or the community to generate, acquire, apply and make accessible the knowledge needed to enhance material, human, social and environmental wellbeing.
This paper aims to investigate the current state of knowledge transfer (KT) activities in arts, humanities and the social sciences in one Irish university.
After a brief account of current definitions of knowledge transfer and engagement, and of the findings of reports commissioned in Europe and Australia, the paper reports on the first stage of a project in the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), based in the University of Limerick (UL). The project involves three stages: an audit of current KT activities, an analysis of the needs of academics in this area, and the development of a strategy to meet these needs. The audit was initially carried out in UL in May 2008, and the questionnaire has been made available to other ISSP partners. The paper reports on the KT activities currently undertaken by UL staff, the institutional support available, and the barriers which hinder developments in this area.
Knowledge Transfer and Australian Universities and Publicly Funded Research Agencies. Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Technology, 2006.
http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/research_sector/policies_issues_reviews/key_issues/commercialisation/knowledge_transfer.htm

Dr. Christine Domegan, Dr. Kevin Davison [ NUIG ]

Title: Science Communication and Outreach Activities in Ireland through Social Marketing: Supporting the Knowledge Economy Through Innovative and Interdisciplanary Approaches

Abstract: Science communication and outreach activities engage diverse audiences to increase public awareness of, support for, and participation in science. They also influence school subject, degree, and career choices in the sciences. Such activities often aim to have children; teachers and parents experience science in a fun, hands-on exciting way and to stimulate their interest and participation in science as career options and research avenues. These activities infuse a greater understanding of science in public discourse and as a foundation of knowledge. As such, scientific initiatives are established to drive our knowledge-based societies and represent a major investment of resources. (Beetlestone et al., 1998; McCauley et al., 2006; Edwards 2004 and Gover’Science Seminar, 2006). Behind this worldwide science movement, is the belief that there is a seamless link between science interest, enthusiasm, science literacy levels, science careers, innovation and economic and social prosperity (Layton et al., 1993; Beetlestone et al., 1998).
It is widely recognised, however, that advertising and communication alone have not resulted in the much sought after science behavioural changes, i.e., increase in science literacy and science graduates, deemed desirable and beneficial for the continued growth of a healthy economy and a knowledge society (Evans and Durant, 1995; DETE, 2006; Rose Report, 2007). Therefore, critical to the success of Ireland’s economic development and improved standard of living, there is a need for innovative and interdisciplinary, outreach and communication strategies and theories.
Arising from exploratory data from observations and in-depth interviews, and an all-island survey of science communication and outreach providers, practioners and policy makers in Ireland, this paper argues for the application of social marketing and socio-educational theories to the specific needs of the Irish context. Social marketing has been instrumental in affecting voluntary behavioural change for the greater good of the individual and society in areas as diverse as drink driving, environmental management, cancer prevention, smoking cessation, recycling, global warming, obesity, the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, leprosy and malaria. Social Marketing therefore offers new ways to address the aversion to "becoming a scientist" (Matthews, 2007) and the concern for low science enrollments at second and third level education. Further, the application of sociological and pedagogical theories may shed light on new ways to rethink how science is taught and experienced as a social act. Infusing such interdisciplinary theories into outreach activities has the potential to create a life-long engagement with science across a greater percentage of the Irish population.
Thus, in tackling the challenge of mobilising diverse outreach stakeholders from government and state bodies to schools, teachers, NGO’s, industry, and the general public, social marketing and socio-educational theories reveal an understanding of, and innovation indicators for a complex social and economic system, supporting change and the growth of a knowledge society on the island of Ireland.
References
Beetlestone, J.G., Johnson, C.H., Quin, M. and White, H. ‘The Science Centre Movement: contexts, practice, next challenges’, Public Understanding of Science, 1998; 7: 5-26.
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, 2006-2013, Dublin, Ireland, 2006.
Edwards, C. ‘Evaluating European Public Awareness of Science Initiatives, A Review of the Literature’, Science Communication, 2004; 25 (March): 260-271.
Evans, G. and Durant, J. ‘The Relationship between Knowledge and Attitudes in the Public Understanding of Science in Britain’, Public Understanding of Science, 1995; 4: 57-74.
Gover’Science Seminar 2005 Outcome. From Science and Society to Science in Society, Towards a Framework for Co-operative Research, EC, Brussels, 2006.
Layton, D., Jenkins, E., Macgill, S. and Davey, A. Inarticulate Science? Perspectives on the Public Understanding of Science and Some Implications for Science Education, Studies in Education Ltd, UK, 1993.
Matthews, Philip The Relevance of Science Education in Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, 2007. Dublin, Ireland.
McCauley, V., Davison, K. and Sullivan, K. ‘Innovative Initiatives: Targeting the Declining Science Enrolments in Ireland’, Victoria University of Wellington: New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 2005: 187-206.

Finian Buckley, Jason Flynn, Kathy Monks, Teresa Hogan, Angelos Alexopoulos [ DCU ]

Title: Doctoral Competencies and Graduate Research Education: Focus and Fit with the Knowledge Economy?

Abstract: The Irish Government’s decision to concentrate on the development of a fourth level that is accompanied by a structured graduate training programme will change dramatically the nature and experience of doctoral education. This paper reports on the preliminary findings of research that is investigating the impact of graduate research education on the skills and abilities of doctoral graduates.
The paper begins by considering the evidence on the types of skills and abilities that are needed by doctoral students. In particular, the paper examines whether doctoral competencies can be differentiated from general undergraduate/postgraduate-level competencies and whether employers value the skills and abilities that doctoral graduates bring to work organisations. Surprisingly, given the cost of fourth level education, there is a dearth of existing work regarding graduate and doctoral students’ experiences (Cryer, 1997). In addition, where lists of doctoral competencies are proposed, there is little evidence of a theoretical or empirical basis for the choice of these competencies and the lists appear to have emerged through a process of speculation, or the prior experience of students and faculty, rather than through any coherent analysis. Many commentators (Allen, 2002; Park, 2005; Mitchell, 2007) consider that PhD and other doctoral programmes must adapt and become more flexible, as students’ requirements and preferences change and that the personal skills and attributes that a doctoral student possesses are as important as any specialist knowledge or skills.
The paper suggests that current conceptualisations of doctoral competencies are inadequate and puts forward a model to reframe the way in which these competencies are understood and labelled. The paper has implications for the education and training of doctoral students and for the graduate research education programmes (GREPS) that are emerging as part of the focus on fourth level education.

K-S Panel ~ A3: Beyond the Spreadsheet : New Visualisation Tools for Decision-Making and Learning

Thomas Acton, Willie Golden, Hans van der Heijden [NUIG & Univ. of Surrey]

Title: Presenting the unpresentable: how to display data for decision-making

Abstract: A concern with computer systems is how best to present onscreen data. This can be particularly problematic for large quantities of data and in contexts of organisational and managerial decision making. Another concern is how users can interact with, navigate and filter displayed data. These issues are encompassed by the usability of the user interface to information systems. With the ubiquity of computing resources in the 21st century, data are gathered by organisations in vast quantities, stored and queried for organisational ends. However there are questions regarding the usability of such data, and their value to managers faced with decisions at operational, tactical and strategic levels. Solutions to increase the usability of graphical user interfaces, to the display of information on computer screens, and to address the increased effort associated with the usage of large amounts of data need to be addressed. Where an information system uses and displays large amounts of data on computer screens, such as spreadsheet applications or database- or web-based searches, there can be compromises in ease of use, usefulness, and perceptions towards the ‘friendliness’ of the data as workable and appropriate for certain tasks. Sometimes it can be better to display data in aggregate form, in tables or as charts, and with drill-down or exploratory opportunities for various purposes; on the other hand for some decision making scenarios it can be better to present and visualise data in their entirety, and can sometimes involve various kinds of visualisation aids and display formats. Indeed, in decision-making usage scenarios usability- or user performance shortcomings of various kinds of informational display formats may be influenced by the type and usage of such formats and display approaches, and compensated by software functionality that provides decision task support. If such shortcomings can be addressed and compensated, perhaps through support systems targeting improved performance or usability in terms of the usage of information systems for decision-making tasks, or through approaches to matching display formats with task, then the usefulness and user perceptions towards the suitability and usability of data for critical or important organisational and managerial function may be positively impacted. This paper discusses various approaches to data display and presentation on information systems, and presents an assessment of the suitability of presentation type for certain managerial decision-making tasks.

Ultan Sharkey [ NUIG ]

Title: Decisive and Incisive – The Path of DSS

Abstract: Since the 1960’s Management Information Systems (MIS) have become increasingly relied upon and sought after to support business processes. In particular, those classed as decision support systems have gained increasing relevance as larger amounts of data have been generated and stored within systems. Decisions may be made using the whole or a large part of the organisational dataset because of the transfer of data processing from people to processors. Relieving people of this manual processing, these systems encourage time to be spent on tasks more suitable to human processing and less suited to computerised processing. Internet availability and usage has driven a knowledge and comfort level with abstractions in systems and a refocusing of systems designers on usability. Organisations are increasingly requiring freedom of access to their organisational systems while absent or distant from wired offices in line with the expectations brought about by internetworked technologies and the idea of a knowledge based society. This paper follows the discourse of Decision Support Systems from the MIS literature through the challenges and opportunities for organisational mobility enabled by networked technologies, communication mechanisms and peoples’ increased proficiency with abstractions in system interfaces.

John Smyth, Dr. Thomas Acton [ NUIG ]

Title: Information Visualization on Small Form Facto Devices

Abstract: Over the last twenty years the speed, power and capacity of computers has advanced massively. Computer displays and human computer interfaces techniques have improved to the point where techniques only available on very expensive and specialized hardware are now possible on a laptop or even on some handheld devices.
Over the same period there have been enormous advances in the tools and techniques available to manipulate and use data to aid decision making. Probably the single most important application in this regard is the spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets have changed immeasurably from a humble 52 columns by 255 rows Visicalc to full blown data analysis engines complete with powerful support for graphing and visualizing data.
The new buzzword is Business Intelligence with its data cubes, data mining and scorecards. However a lot of the techniques in use for Visualizing and presenting the data are still essentially static and comprise tables or graphs or traffic light style graphics.
This paper will examine other more interactive techniques for Visualizing and manipulating data sets and presenting information. The paper explores techniques which involve animating the display of information and which might be suitable for use on small form factor devices. The paper looks the possibilities offered by by the latest generation touch screens to make these techniques more useful or usable on small devices.
It is intended to identify candidate techniques which could be adapted to use on handheld devices and augmented with gesture interfaces. This would lead on to an examination how these techniques would scale down to use on portable devices and whether they could be made useful compared to implementations on normal computers.

K-S Panel ~ A4: Localising the Triple Helix Model : University Technology Transfer

Ciara Fitzgerald and James Cunningham [ NUIG ]

Title: Technology Transfer Offices: Current Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: In an increasingly globalised world, it is accepted that high levels of investment in research and innovation are essential. The role of the Technology Transfer Office in third level institutions is recognized as a gateway for companies by facilitating access to the expertise and resources of universities in order to maximize research and development opportunities. In ICT terms a gateway acts as a portal between two programs allowing them to share information and bypass certain protocols on a host computer. In similar vein, technology transfer is the process of transferring scientific findings from one organization to another for the purpose of further development and commercialization (AUTM 2008). There has been a significant increase in the Research and Development Performance in the Higher Education Sector where the R&D performance exceeded €600 million for the first time - a growth rate of over 7% p.a. since 2004. (Forfás, August 2007). The role of a technology transfer office is a vital element in the innovation process at national and regional levels as it drives to create strong links with the private sector and enhance company competitiveness. This paper analyzes how these strong links are forged between diverse stakeholders by exploring the relationship activities and commercialization from a third level perspective.
While most existing research focuses on the effects of university - industry relationship by using economic specific variables based on patent and licensing value or firm innovativeness, the strategy and management processes underpinning these relationships within Technology Transfer Offices and its stakeholders remain under-researched. This is particularly the case in an Irish context. On the basis of the existing body of research, this paper will assess the capability and capacity issues of third level institutions with respect to the exploration, exploitation and deployment of intellectual property through various transfer mechanisms as well as the strategy and management practices that underpin successful intellectual property exploitation in a third level context. In addition, the paper will examine the barriers and obstacles to technology transfer and commercialization in Ireland as well as stakeholder issues. In conclusion, this paper will examine previous empirical evidence to determine how technology transfer offices create value for universities.

Angelos Alexopoulos, Aamir Chughtai, Jason Flynn, Quan Zhou [ DCU ]

Title: University Research Centres: Agents of Innovation In The Knowledge Society?

Abstract: This paper considers the role that university research centres (URCs) play in the promotion of innovation in a knowledge society. Underpinned by a view of URCs as collaborative communities (Heckscher & Adler, 2006; Boardman & Corley, 2008), the paper adopts a multi-level analytical perspective with the aim to provide a coherent understanding of key psychosocial and organisational antecedents of product and process innovation. In particular, insights are provided from three separate, yet interrelated, levels: micro, meso, and macro. At a micro level, the impact that intra- and inter-team processes have on URC innovation is evaluated. Of particular importance is the role of interpersonal trust in fostering individuals’ innovative behaviour. At a meso level, the impact of leadership and management processes is considered. Emphasis here is placed on identifying ways through which human resource management practices support the creation of collaborative social relationships conducive to knowledge exchange. At a macro level, the challenges inherent in the commercialisation of innovation are examined. Central to this is the need to understand the multiplex relationships URCs develop with industry and government partners. At each level of analysis, the review focuses on the transfer of knowledge and the types of relationships that help or hinder the knowledge transfer process. The exploration of innovation in this way enables insights to be obtained into the barriers to and enhancers of the innovation process.

Quan Zhou and Teresa Hogan [ DCU ]

Title: Modelling university research centre in the Triple Helix framework: the case of Ireland

Abstract: The triple-helix model is a model for analysing innovation in a knowledge-based economy. It considers the university-industry-government relationship as one of relatively equal, yet interdependent, institutional spheres which overlap, sometimes take the role of the others. (Leydesdorff, 2000; Etzkowitz, 2002). The university research centre receives funding from external source (both public and private) and carries out mission-oriented research as well as teaching duties in the university (Stahler and Tash, 1994). In this way the university research centre plays a significant role in enhancing regional knowledge production and interlinks the university, government and industry. However, no research has yet explored the role that university research centres play in this university-industry-government relationship. To address this gap, we propose a model in which the university research centre stands in the intersection of the university-industry-government relationship. Three bi-lateral and co-evolving relationships are identified and will be analysed in detail under the Triple Helix framework.
This paper also examines Irish science and technology policies from the perspective of the Triple Helix thesis. The Irish government is committed to building a knowledge and innovation-based economy. In the new National Development Plan (2007-2013), the government has committed €20 billion investment under the Entreprise, Science and Innovation priority. Specific programmes (such as Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions [PRTLI] operated by Higher Education Authority [HEA] and Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology [CSET] operated by Science Foundation Ireland [SFI]) have been established to enhance Ireland's innovation capability and international competitiveness. We will analyse the impact of these policies on university research centres' innovation performance.
This paper will make a unique contribution to the Triple Helix and innovation literature, by modeling the university research centres into the Triple Helix framework. This paper will also make a contribution to the understanding of Irish innovation policy. It will help policy makers, universities and private companies gain a better understanding of their mutual relationships, as well as opportunities and benefits available through collaboration and interaction in the centres' research projects. The paper will also help both public and private funding agencies to understand their roles and positions in funding university research, and vice versa. University research centres can revisit their research strategies and projects to attract different source of funding.
Keywords: Triple Helix, innovation policy, university research centre
References:
Etzkowitz, H. (2002) The Triple Helix of University - Industry - Government Implications for Policy and Evaluation, Working Paper. Science Policy Institute.
Leydesdorff, L. (2000) The Triple Helix: An Evolutionary Model of Innovations, Research Policy, 29: 243-255.
NDP (2006) Ireland's National Development Plan 2007-2013 Transforming Ireland.
Stahler, G. J. and Tash, W. R. (1994) Centers and Institutes in the Research University: Issues, Problems and Prospects, Journal of Higher Education, 65.

K-S Panel ~ B1: Innovation, Industrial Linkages/Networking in the Knowledge Economy

Chris van Egeraat [ NUIM ]

Title: Process R&D in the Irish pharmaceutical industry: the changing role of multinational subsidiaries in global networks

Abstract: This paper analyses the changing role of Ireland in the global process R&D networks of pharmaceutical companies. The paper is based on data collected in a mail survey of 76 pharmaceutical establishments and face-to-face interviews in 13 companies. The presentation outlines the various stages of the process development cycle and assesses the changing involvement of the multinational subsidiaries in Ireland. The discussion of the changes employs a theoretical framework of multinational subsidiary evolution that emphasises the systemic nature between three drivers: the internal environment, the external environment and the subsidiary driver.
Keywords: process R&D, global production networks, multinational subsidiary evolution, pharmaceutical industry, Ireland

Teresa Hogan and Colm O'Gorman [ DCU ]

Title: The New Economy in Ireland: A Study Of The Impact of the ICT Producing Sector In Ireland

LITERATURE/RESEARCH QUESTION
A major concern for governments in developed economies has been ‘how to seize the benefits of information and communications technology (ICT) for economic growth and development (OECD, 2004:3). It is widely recognised that productivity increases in the ICT producing sector have made a significant contribution to economic growth in some economies, in particular the US economy over the period 1995-2000 (USA Department of Commerce, 2000; 2004). The ‘spillover’ from a strong ICT producing sector on other sectors of the economy may also have an impact on economy growth. Extant research on knowledge spillovers and on the diffusion of innovation suggests that geographical proximity is an important factor in facilitating the diffusion of new technologies. Furthermore, evidence from the OECD suggests that in more recent years productivity improvements from ICT are stronger in what they refer to as ICT using sectors (OECD, 2004). Therefore, an important factor in economic growth in recent decades in some economies has been both the direct impact of the ICT producing sector and the spillover effect into ICT using sectors that have adopted new ICT technologies.
In this paper we explore how, the MNE dominated ICT producing sector in Ireland contributed to economic performance during recent decades. During the 1990s Ireland was characterised by a strong ICT producing sector, driven predominately by foreign owned MNEs. This strong ICT producing sector may have impacted on the economy more generally as ICT was diffused across the economy, leading to improved economic performance not just in the ICT producing sector but also in sectors that make extensive use of ICT, such as financial services, wholesale and retailing, etc. However, whether such benefits occurred in Ireland is unclear. Prior literature has highlighted the relatively weak linkages and spillover effects from foreign owned firms in Ireland.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
We will present a single case study of Ireland for the period 1990 to 2005. Ireland offers a ‘natural experiment’ for exploring the impact of the ICT producing sector on improved productivity and economic performance in the economy more generally. The case is structured around the hypothesis that an ICT producing sector can induce improved productivity performances in other sectors of the economy. In collecting data on Ireland we focus on the following questions: (i) What was the contribution of the ICT producing sector to economic performance in Ireland? (ii) What was the contribution of ICT using sectors to economic performance? (iii) Did the ICT producing sector impact both the MNE and Irish-owned ICT using sectors? and (iv) Can these ‘spillover effects’ be seen in the emergence of entrepreneurial activity in ICT using sectors?
We use secondary data from the Central Statistics Ireland to examine economic activity in ICT producing and ICT using sectors in Ireland. We use survey data drawn from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) population samples for 2003-2007 in Ireland to estimate the level of entrepreneurial activity in ICT using sectors in Ireland.

REFERENCES
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004) The Economic Impact of ICT: Measurement, Evidence and Implications. Paris OECD
Reynolds, P., N. Bosma, E. Aution, S. Hunt, N. de Bono, I. Servais, P. Lopez Garacia and N. Chin (2005) "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Data Collection Design and Implementation 1998-2003", Small Business Economics, 24 (3): 205-231.
US Department of Commerce (2004) The Digital Economy 2003
US Department of Commerce (1998) The Emerging Digital Economy

Sergio Sparviero [ DCU ]

Title: The Evolutionary History of Web Design

Abstract: This essay addresses two related topics. The first topic is a novel multidisciplinary approach for understanding media change and explain the dynamics of the media sector, which draws from different schools of thought including institutional and evolutionary economics, complex evolving systems, service innovations and cultural/media studies. Essentially, following this approach we propose to understand the world wide web as a system, to identify modules (the sub-units of the systems) and to describe change as the shifting relationships between these modules. Moreover, we explain the advantages of following a methodology typical of institutional/evolutionary economic analysis, i.e. to analyze change through an history friendly approach and by using key concepts such as technological trajectories and regulatory regimes.
The second topic is the presentation of a web site and collaborative tool that can be used to provide an account of the evolution of web design following the approach just described. The modules we identify are: the design tools, the (formally) standardized technologies; other technologies, languages and de facto standards; Internet browsers; other ICTs and web applications, and regulations changes to the ownerships and industry structure. The purpose is to understand and explain innovation in web design as the result of changes in the technological trajectories of each of these modules and as the result of the influence that they exert over each other.
One of the main purpose and advantage of this type of tool is the idea of attracting the collaboration of different types of contributors including academics, software developers and web designers.

K-S Panel ~ B2: The KbE as Elastic Concept – from Policies to Knowledge-Intensive Firms, Citizenship and Culture

Paschal Preston [ DCU ]

Title:‘A Long and Winding Road’ - career of the knowledge society/economy concept and its relevance to ‘post-Celtic Tiger’ Ireland

Abstract: This paper will consider aspects of the long and winding career of the ‘knowledge society’ and related concepts. It will start by examining the emergence, meanings and role of various conceptualisations of the knowledge or information society/economy in the metropolitan countries, including seminal works from the middle decades of the twentieth century. It will then move on to examine how the concept of knowledge society has taken on some very specific meanings in more recent times. The paper will then consider how the concept has been appropriated in recent policy discourses. The concluding section will consider some implications of the knowledge economy/society concept in the context of ‘post-Celtic-Tiger’ Ireland.

Kathy Monks, Finian Buckley, Teresa Hogan, Angelos Alexopoulos [ DCU ]

Title: Knowledge Intensive Firms (KIFs) in the Knowledge Economy: From Molecules to Anti-Matter

Abstract: The Government decision to designate Ireland as a key player in the emerging knowledge economy has widespread implications for all types of institutions and individuals. This paper concentrates on the implications for researchers of the challenges of undertaking research within knowledge intensive firms (KIFs). The focus of this analysis is the research programme on KIFs that is underway in the Learning Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre (LInK) as part of the Knowledge Society/Innovation stream of research within the ISSP Platform. The paper considers first of all how the concept of KIFs is defined and explored within the literature and applies this analysis to the types of organisations that are the focus of the research agenda. While the research programme initially focused on university research centres, opportunities for collaboration afforded through new partnerships have extended the research into two new environments. A partnership with the UK through an IRCHSS/ESRC scheme brings the research into the pharmaceutical and software industries while the extension of an existing European consortium brings the research programme to the study of teams involved in the construction of a particle physics collider in the worldwide ATLAS project. The challenges of these new environments for researchers who have previously confined to more traditional types of organisations is considered.
Second, the paper explores how the concepts of knowledge creation, sharing and exchange are defined and operationalised within these firms. While the management of knowledge was previously seen as simply the remit of the IT department, it is now accepted that many factors affect the propensity of individuals to exchange knowledge and that an understanding these factors is key to understanding the processes of innovation and firm performance (eg Collins and Smith, 2006; Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). Such research also requires a cross-disciplinary approach with perspectives drawn from psychology, human resource management and economics utilised in the current programme. This cross-disciplinary perspective is accompanied by a multi-level analysis of the micro, meso and macro processes that take place within these firms. By adopting an integrated perspective, the research agenda opens up new opportunities but again creates challenges as the traditional format of focusing on one level of analysis no longer proves useful.

G. Honor Fagan [ NUIM ]

Title: Citizen or Consumer? E-Governance and the Construction of the Citizen in the Knowledge Society

Abstract: The changes that are having the most impact on our social, economic and political lives are those that characterise us as networked information society. Governments, aware of the shift to computerised global networks as the leading organisational form of capitalist development (see Castells, 1996 and Sassen, 1998) find themselves operating in a ‘digitally renewed economy’ (Hobsbawm, 2003). With governments in general fostering the information society in the age of a global network powered economy, with a view to keeping their economies competitive, the benefits to themselves of increasing their use of ICTs has not been missed. E-Government, as an objective, is being driven at multi-scalar levels of government, from the global to the local. E-Government involves using the power of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to assist in improving the accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of public services.
This paper examines the European social and political context of the introduction of digital technologies into modes of governance in the island of Ireland in order to throw light on both these tendencies. It posits the reversal of the old adage ‘old wine in new bottles’, suggesting that there may be possibilities for transformation of power relations in the form and content of what might constitute participation in a context of e-governance. However, the key argument made is that any analysis of the ‘new’ must be carried out with reference to the social and political contexts that mark its emergence.
That access has been improved has been directly contested by research on e-inclusion, which has disclosed the ‘digital divide’. Whether ICTs can improve the quality of access to government is also increasingly topical and under research at the moment. The notion that ICTs could, even if they do not as yet, provide tools and frameworks for increasing access and improving the quality of access to government is, however, increasingly under debate. ICTs could provide tools that better integrate the citizen into the governing networks through aiding improved consultation and participation of citizens in government but likewise they could reproduce and consolidate the existing interpellation of citizen as consumer in the knowledge society. This paper explores, in concrete empirical terms, the drive in governance processes towards consultation on policy making and the use of e-consultation tools on the island of Ireland as a form of participation.
This paper proposes to primarily make an empirical contribution to the study of the construction of the citizen as consumer in the context of the consultation process. It investigates differences in attitudes to, and expectations of, consultation processes. Differences and similarities emerge between those held by government, both at local and central level, and those held by people in the community and voluntary sector. It identifies the perspective of government bodies on consultation initiatives. It narrates the experience of non-governmental organisations that have engaged with consultation processes and their evaluation of those processes. In this regard it explores the varying expressions of citizenship, service provision or consumer discourses. It analyses the perceived benefits of consultation specifically with reference to whether practices are perceived by government and citizens as being about participation, service delivery, knowledge-transfer or developing citizenry and it considers the use of ICT’s in those consultation processes, and the interest in, and hopes held, for the use of digitally enhanced consultations, in this the age of e-government.
Public consultation is used extensively both north and south of the border at local and national government level. Given that it is the only form of participation that is a legal requirement of policy making, this comes as no surprise. The data referred to in this paper emerged from a two-year research programme on consultation (including e-consultation) processes during a single year throughout Northern and Southern Ireland. Our methodology involved surveying all central/regional government departments and we had a 100% response rate as all eventually completed surveys. 42 out of 60 local authorities, north and south completed our survey and 81 respondents from the community and voluntary sectors completed surveys. In addition to this survey based research we carried out focus groups over a two-year period with key players in each sector. We interviewed, worked with, and observed 3 trial partners organising consultation processes where anonymous participants engaged with the consultation process in such modes as: story-tellers on active citizenship (wheel.e-consultation.org); story-tellers and artists on diversity (diversity.e-consultation.org); and voters and survey respondents on north/south educational exchange programmes.

K-S Panel ~ B3: Nomadic Work/Lives in the Knowledge Economy

Breda Gray [ UL ]

Title: The gender of work-life in the knowledge economy

Luigina Ciolfi [ UL ]

Title: Interactions or Nomadic interactions? Understanding situated use of technology in mobile settings

Anthony D'Andrea [ UL ]

Title: Towards a theory of neo-nomadism and how this might apply to the knowledge economy

N.B. This abstract is for a panel of THREE papers. Breda Gray, Luigina Ciolfi and Anthony, D'Andrea [ UL ]
Abstract Title: Nomadic work/lives in the knowledge economy
The past decade has seen the development of new conceptual approaches to the study of the relationship between work, life and the knowledge economy. Some of these approaches focus on a shift from work practices structured by time and space (often 9-5 in the workplace/office), and clear demarcations between paid work and non-paid work life, public and private, to more flexible, multi-located nomadic work practices that blur the boundaries between work and life. This panel of papers will examine three key conceptual issues (technological affordances; nomadism; and gender) in the study of how lived experiences of paid work and other aspects of life may be impacted by the particular dynamics of the knowledge economy.

K-S Panel ~ B4: Beyond Technology : Trust, Teamwork and the Subtleties of Socio-Technical Change

Stefano De Paoli and Aphra Kerr [ NUIM ]

Title: Understanding Trust and Risk in Online Environments

Abstract: Much of the current writing and research into trust and the internet proposes that we can construct technological solutions to increase trust in online environments. Current policy initiatives, like the recent Internet Advisory Board campaign in Ireland related to responsible and safe behaviour on social networking sites, propose that individuals must protect themselves in online environments. We argue in this paper that both these initiatives tend to ignore a whole range of user practices which threaten to undermine our trust and use of the internet more than spam and illegal content. Such practices include the behaviour of both commercial and public service operators who routinely and implicitly datamine their users, track user behaviour for copyright and IP infringements, filter out ‘dangerous’ information or ‘misplace’ whole databases of non-encrypted information on citizens. As Ireland becomes a post-construction economy it is apparent that only certain users and certain user practices get socially constructed as ‘harmful’ and ‘risky’, while others do not.
In this paper we lay some theoretical foundations for examining governance, users and trust in online environments. Trust has been a central concern in the social sciences since, at least, the pioneering work of Georg Simmel’s ‘The Philosophy of Money’, in which the author described trust as fundamental for the integration of the society. Later on other major sociologists - like Niklas Luhmann and Anthony Giddens - , have attended to the problem of trust, clearly relating the concept to the issue of ‘risk in modern societies’. The development of the Internet has raised new and stimulating questions related to the role of trust, in particular because of the perceived differences between off-line and on-line settings, but also in relation to current attempts to reduce risk via technological solutions. We see the current focus on technological security solutions and monitoring end user behaviour as major issues for the future of the internet and the degree to which the internet will be a ‘open or a closed’ network.

Aamir Ali Chughtai and Finian Buckley [ DCU ]

Title: Team Performance, Innovative Behaviour and Knowledge Creation within Research Teams – The Role of Work Engagement

Abstract: The concept of work engagement has in recent times acquired growing importance because of its positive influence on important organizational outcomes such as commitment, job satisfaction, turnover, health and well being and most importantly performance (Schaufeli and Salanova, 2007). Work engagement is defined as a ‘positive, fulfilling work related state of mind that is characterised by vigour, dedication and absorption’ (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma and Bakker, 2002: 74). The current paper therefore endeavours to explore the significant effects of work engagement on three outcome variables, namely, self reported team performance, innovative work behaviour and knowledge creation. The sample for this study consisted of 88 research scientists drawn from a large university research centre operating in Ireland. We used multiple regression analyses to test our research hypotheses. The results of this study revealed that high levels of work engagement resulted in improved team performance, a higher motivation to engage in innovative behaviour and greater knowledge creation within the research teams. These findings seem to suggest that work engagement can play a pivotal role in enhancing the performance and efficiency of university research centres. Thus, it is imperative that the administrators within these research centres do their utmost to create conditions which would help to promote work engagement among research scientists.

References
Schaufeli, W.B. and Salanova, M. (2007) ‘Work engagement: An emerging psychological concept and its implications for organizations’ in Gilliland, S.W., Steiner, D.D. and Skarlicki, D.P. (eds) Research in social issues in management, Information Age Publishers, Greenwich, CT. pp.135-177.
Schaufeli, W.B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez-Roma, V. and Bakker, A.B. (2002) ‘The measurement of burnout and engagement: A confirmatory factor analytic approach’, Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol.3: pp.71-92.

Trish Morgan and Claire English [ DCU ]

Title: Upwardly Mobile: Celtic Tiger Ireland and mobile technology, an investigation into the technology/society relationship

Abstract: In December 2005 The Irish Commission for Communications Regulation declared that mobile phone penetration in Ireland had reached one hundred percent, a fitting exemplar of the technical utopianism of Ireland in the Celtic Tiger years. On the surface this appears as a triumph of technology in society. At this juncture, when all media outlets point towards a slowdown and perhaps an end to the boom times for the Irish economy, we wish to explore the dialectic relationship between Irish society and the adoption of mobile phone technology, and the transformations brought about by this relationship.
Marketeers tell us that through this technology we are all closely connected, but what is the truth behind this spin? Thanks to a report completed in 2006 by Dr Anthony Cawley and Dr Deirdre Hynes for the SIM research centre in DCU, we have valuable empirical data about mobile phone usage amongst Irish teenagers. By analysing this data and applying theoretical frameworks gleaned from technology, sociology and communications studies, we hope to provide a deeper insight into the technology/society and technology/audience relationships. These frameworks could also provide an insight into how the media and political spheres frame the complex relationship between society, technology and audience within this demographic.

ISSP-08 Top page

Programme summary

Papers & Sessions

Call for papers

DCU's role in the ISSP

ISSP-08 Conference @ DCU, 11-12 September 2008