Masters

Tuning In: Key Audience Issues for Public Service Broadcaster, RTE Radio ! (1995-2012)

Patrick Hannon (Thesis) — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:48:28 PDT

This thesis explores listener loyalty to public radio in Ireland where radio listenership is one of the highest in Europe. Critical to this study is exploring the notion and understanding – from the listeners’ perspective – of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB), in particular, the complexities of the concept as it is understood and operated by RTE Radio 1. A qualitative inquiry with twenty-three participants representing the audience and RTE management was carried out. Underpinned with an extensive quantitative inquiry to map the listening audience in the Dublin market place, the project sets out to answer four key research questions. What are the underlying trends for listening to Irish public service radio? How does Irish public radio attain and hold listener loyalty? What do listeners perceive as the value of public service radio? And, do core opinions and perceptions on public service broadcasting change over time? While acknowledging the differences in scale, the thesis draws upon comparisons of the PSB model as it pertains to BBC network radio. The study’s findings provide new insights into the listener’s relationship with radio – its programmes and its presenters. It concludes with a series of suggestions to re-invigorate the concept of PSB concept on behalf of the licence fee payers in Ireland.

The Transition to Adulthood and Independence: A Study of Young People Leaving Residential Care

Mary Kilkenny — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 02:38:54 PST

The transition to adulthood is difficult for most young people. It is a time when young people make important decisions about their lives including their future education, career and living arrangements. Most young people have strong family and social networks to support them in these decisions. However, young people leaving residential care are often expected to make this transition abruptly and at a young age with no family or social networks to support them. The leaving and aftercare supports provided by the State are often not sufficient to provide for the needs of these young people leaving them at risk of homelessness, substance abuse, low levels of educational attainment and unemployment. In order to gain a better understanding of the experiences of care leavers this study explores the journey of twenty young people who had travelled into, through and from the residential care system. In doing so, the differences and similarities of the participant’s pre-care and in-care experiences were explored as well as the difficulties and challenges they faced throughout their journey, along with the experiences that shaped and informed their transition to adulthood and independence. The study identified three distinct transitions from residential care, those that had travelled a smooth transition, those that had experienced an unstable transition but whose circumstances improved over time and those whose transition was volatile or considerably more problematic and who are still mired in precarious social circumstances. The transitions highlight the diversity of the participants’ experiences in such a way that emphasize more clearly the supports that enable some participants to transition successfully and the barriers that lead others towards social exclusion. The findings indicate that the participants’ outcomes upon leaving residential care were ultimately dependent on the level of preparation given prior to leaving residential care, the level of the young person’s involvement in the leaving care process, the type of post-care housing/accommodation offered and the availability or absence of resources and supports post residential care. What is important about this research is the detailed and reflective accounts provided by young people, which give human resonance to the care leavers’ experiences.

Transferring Knowledge and LIfe Experience Between Generations: the Potential of Community Based Intergenerational Projects

Cathrina Murphy (Thesis) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:57:50 PDT

In recent decades we have seen a trend towards greater age segregation in society. Changes in society such as family functions being assumed by age-specific institutions, changing family structures, the emergence of the beanpole family, increased longevity, increased geographical mobility, migration patterns and a shift from an industrial to a knowledge society are associated with a degree of disconnection among the generations. There is some research evidence to suggest that intergenerational projects can help reconnect the generations allowing for the transfer of knowledge and life experience and creating a greater understanding and tolerance between the generations. Although, small-scale intergenerational projects have been set up in recent years in schools, youth centres, and care settings in Ireland, information on intergenerational practice is scarce. Projects are diverse and often once-off, involving different groups of participants in different types of settings and with a range of aims. While projects are generally believed to have positive benefits for all participants, there is a gap in our knowledge about what these projects actually achieve, the nature of collective learning that may occur, and their capacity to transfer wisdom from older people to younger people. The aim of this study is to address a deficit in our knowledge about the nature and benefits of intergenerational projects and to suggest how intergenerational learning can be further developed as a resource in Irish society. As this was an unchartered field of study, creativity in data collection was required and multiple methods of data collection were employed, best described as a bricolage. The study was conducted in five phases. The first phase consisted of background research on intergenerational practice. Phase two involved a survey to organisations in rural and urban settings to identify the range and type of intergenerational projects. Phases three to five involved a study of three selected sites, two educational sites and one community site: DIT’s Intergenerational Nutrition Project, ‘Log on, Learn’ and the community of Rathville in Dublin’s north inner city. Evidence from this study suggests that a number of key elements pertaining to the organisation and logistics of intergenerational projects are necessary as they impact on the experience and outcomes for participants. The findings highlights the many benefits of intergenerational projects with regard to challenging negative stereotypes, encouraging participation in other educational and community activities, providing opportunities for participants, particularly older people, to transfer knowledge and skills and to be a positive influence over others and the potential for increased community tolerance, harmony and participation.

ICTs in Education: an Evaluation of the Dublin Inner City Schools' Computerization (DISC) and HP Managed Learning Environment (MLE) Projects

Elizabeth Quinn (Thesis) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 04:40:15 PDT

The Dublin Inner-City Schools Computerization (DISC) Projects initiative was established with the aim of achieving equality of access, opportunity and training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in thirty-eight inner-city schools and innovative use of ICT in the classroom. This report seeks to evaluate the project to include the ICT projects Initiative and a pilot Managed Learning Environment (MLE) called LearningNI (LNI) currently being run by C2k in Northern Ireland (NI). This report finds that while the DISC project overall has been broadly welcomed by many schools, some schools are not engaging with the programme and the objective of integrating ICT into the curriculum has still not been met. The ICT Projects Initiative has been enthusiastically embraced by some schools but it needs to be more curriculum-relevant in order to achieve ICT integration. The MLE had some success but issues of internet connectivity; bandwidth; and school participation need to be addressed. The DISC initiative has now ceased and been replaced by Computers in Learning Communities (CLiC). Suggestions made for the future of DISC/CLiC (CLiC 2011) include reducing the number of schools involved; developing an MLE to support, train and encourage participating teachers; facilitating increased technical support to schools similar to C2k in NI; increased liaison with the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to develop curriculum-relevant software; and a re-launch of the DISC/CLiC programme. This report uses Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a theoretical framework for research design and analysis.

Early Childhood Staff's Understandings and Practices of Parent Involvement in Private Early Childhood Services: an Exploratory Study

Maria McDermott (Thesis) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:37:34 PST

In modem Western society growing numbers of parents are employed in the labour market and while they work, parents and early years practitioners (EYPs) share responsibility for raising children. Attention to the quality of children's and families' experiences in these settings is increasing rapidly (Walsh, 2003; OECD, 2006). Parent involvement, has been identified as an indicator of quality, and the benefits that accrue from this involvement for children, parents and EYPs have been widely reported. Most parents are interested and want to be involved in their children's development, learning and education but how EYPs view parent involvement is an important factor in encouraging or discouraging their involvement. This exploratory study aimed to investigate EYPs' views on parent involvement. An additional aim was to identify the types and levels of involvement practised and to explore EYPs' views about what was needed to implement parent involvement. A link has established between highly trained, experienced personnel and parent involvement (Ginsberg & Hermann- Ginsberg, 2005) and this study also aimed to establish the qualifications, training and experience of the EYPs surveyed. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model was used as a theoretical framework as it demonstrates how influences not directly connected to children, such as interactions between parents and EYPs, may positively or negatively affect their development. The study was conducted in two stages, non-participant observations and data was gathered by means of a self-administered postal survey. Generally, positive views about parent involvement were expressed, and while parents were involved in joint decision-making about individual children, they were not involved as full partners as described by Pugh & De'Ath (1987). Many of the practitioners confirmed they held qualifications but there was a wide diversity in the type and level of these qualifications. In addition, a minority had training to involve parents. Evidence from the data would lead to the conclusion that EYPs had a traditional understanding of parent involvement and were unaware of what working in partnership entailed.

The Press and Democracy Building: Journalism Education and Training in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe during Transition

Michael Foley (Thesis) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:56:56 PST

Media assistance to the former communist countries of Eastern Europe from 1989 became an important part of the transformation of that part of Europe from a socialist command economy to a democratic, liberal market economy. The media was seen as an important ideological weapon of the previous regimes and so was to be transformed in order to change society. The exact amount of media aid is unknown, so much of it was hidden under such headings as aid to civil society and democracy building, but it is known to account for hundreds of millions of euro. Most was spent on specific training of working journalists, some was used to establish codes of conduct, or help legislators frame media laws. Some funding was used as loans to help establish new media enterprises. Mostly the model used was a training one, and the training was often given by working journalists, with a very specific view of their own profession and its importance to democracy. Usually the trainers had no knowledge of local languages, culture or its media. They believed they were tasked with bringing to Eastern Europe Western-style journalism, usually that associated with the English language presumption of impartiality and objectivity, usually personified as the New York Times and the BBC. One of the first projects to include the old journalism faculties in the staterun universities was a project aimed at professionalising the media in 4 Bulgaria, which was established as part of Bulgaria’s pre European Union entry programme. That project is at the centre of this thesis as an important case study, both as an example of how media development has worked and how it might develop. This thesis set out to establish whether working with the faculties that had been central to the old system of journalism education, and ignored by the new training, was a valuable and workable alternative to the training model which was being questioned by many involved in journalism and media training. The thesis offers an analysis of journalism and journalism education and training, places media development aid in its context, and analyses specifically the Bulgarian project, and its links with the university. It concludes that working with the existing faculties allows cultural mediation for Western aid and also works to help universities themselves to modernise.

Notions of a Learning Society and Learning Partnership Vehicles: The Island's Project, a Case Study

Fergus Murphy (Thesis) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:02:56 PDT

This case study focuses on the Partnership Vehicle that was jointly developed by the School of Art, Design and Printing at the DIT, and the Sherkin Island Development Society in the period 1998 to 2004, in order to construct and deliver a pilot Fine Art programme on Sherkin Island in West Cork. The pilot programme was delivered on Sherkin from 2000 to 2003, and subsequently, based on the pilot, the School of Art, Design and Printing developed a prototype Fine Art degree aimed at isolated communities. This course is currently being delivered on Sherkin. A third level-community partnership seems an ideal mechanism for furthering academic, local-community and indeed, society’s educational aims and goals. However, in order to function at a meaningful level the partners need to display a high degree of flexibility and understanding of each other’s needs (and limitations) in order to move toward their goals. In order to describe and understand this process and the journey undertaken by the partnership, I therefore elected to study it against a backdrop of learning society models, with a particular focus on notions of partnership between academic and local-communities, as a means of widening participation. This process has enabled me to develop an understanding of the underlying motives of the partners in general, and key figures within the partnership in particular. As such, a key facet of this case study has been the opportunity to consider a partnership vehicle and ethos that developed between two communities prior to, and subsequently, in parallel with, higher echelon (e.g. institutional, governmental) strategies aimed at furthering certain lifelong learning and learning society agendas.

The Melodies of Francis Poulenc: a Selective Musico-literary Study

Elizabeth Nolan (Thesis) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:42:57 PST

This dissertation examines the melodies, or art songs, of the twentieth-century French composer Francis Poulenc in relation to the artistic milieu of his time. The study focuses on prosody and the key role of wordsetting in Poulenc’s compositional technique, with particular reference to the composer’s settings of contemporary poets. The dissertation’s central section comprises a musico-literary analysis of four representative song cycles by Poulenc, set to verses by poets with whom he experienced a particular creative affinity: Guillaume Appollinaire, Max Jacob, Louise de Vilmorin and Paul Eluard. The choice of works has not been determined according to chronological criteriae: instead the cycles variously demonstrate stylistic and thematic aspects of Poulenc’s musical style and its adaptation to the demands of each textual setting in order to create a synthesis of word and music. Each analysis contains a brief summary of the life and work of the selected poet, so as to provide a fuller understanding of Poulenc’s artistic expression. Interpretative concerns in the performance of Poulenc’s melodies, and in particular his professional partnership with the baritone Pierre Bernac, are also considered. The dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first (Chapter 1) gives a summary of the development of the melodie, artistic trends in France during the first years of the twentieth century, and biographical sketch of Poulenc’s life and composing style. The second section (Chapters 2- 5) comprises and examination of four song cycles by Poulenc, with texts by Apollinaire, Jacob, Eluard and de Vilmorin respectively- Calligrammes (1948), Parisiana (1954), Le travail de peintre (1956) and Trois poemes de Louise de Vilmorin (1937)/

From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Televised Sport in Western Europe in the New Millennium

John Moran (Thesis) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:34:14 PST

This thesis seeks to explore the critical importance which televised sport will play within the paradigm of the continuing evolution of broadcasting in Western Europe. The arguments and issues which arise are situated within the context of cut-throat competition for sports rights between traditional terrestrial broadcasters and pay TV organisations in what is increasingly becoming a fragmented television market-place. The thesis which utilises developments in the United Kingdom and Ireland as its model plots the technical, financial and institutional issues which have surfaced regarding televised sport over the past sixty years. As such, the motivations behind the purchase of sports rights, the strategy of targeting audiences, the growth of pay TV, the escalation of costs relating to sports rights acquisitions, and the role played by legislation in the television sport equation, all receive due attention. One of the primary objectives of the thesis is to explore empirically the transformation of television markets for sport. As such, weekly TV ratings have been employed so as to measure and articulate the extent to which programming output and audience patronage for sport on each available channel have changed in recent years. Armed with this information, the thesis concludes with a critique of televised sport in the digital age. As digital TV services unfold and established television markets experience further fragmentation, the strategies behind the roll-out of pay-per-view, the implications of continuing hyper-inflation in the market for sports rights and the legislative dilemmas which media regulators will increasingly face are all discussed and analysed in equal measure.

Exploring Training to Equip Early Years Professionals for Addressing the Issue of Diversity in their Work: a Qualitative Study of the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education at the Dublin Institute of Technology

Miranda Cooke (Thesis) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:34:12 PST

Development of a Workflow for the Comparison of Classification Techniques

Zanifa Omary (Thesis) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:10:32 PST

As the interest in machine learning and data mining springs up, the problem of how to assess learning algorithms and compare classifiers become more pressing. This has been associated with the lack of comprehensive and complete workflow depending on the project scale to provide guidance to its users. This means the success or failure of the project can be highly dependent on the person or team carrying it. The standard practice adopted by many researchers and experimenters has been to follow steps or phases from existing workflows such as CRISP-DM, KDD and SASSEMMA. However, as machine learning and data mining fields involve complex comparative experiments, there is a need of having complete workflow which when applied provides efficient and effective results. Though existing workflows offers many benefits, a successful comparative experiment requires more than outlined steps of workflows. Conclusions based on results drawn from a more complete workflow will yield more reliable results and experimenter can stand with confidence while comparing classifiers. This dissertation focuses on a range of issues from machine learning to statistics for the development of the classifier workflow. It represents in detail background materials which are the key to understanding how different experiments have to be carried out. It explains how different classification techniques work and their applications in different areas. It also explains how classification evaluations can be used in different domains. It also determines when an experimenter should use performance measures and how these measures correspond to performance estimators. Moreover, it explains how different settings can be obtained before committing to the experimentation step. Finally, a complete eight-phase classifier workflow which is platform independent will be provided. The workflow was then evaluated by expert users using close ended questionnaire.

Learning and Teaching Chinese Language and Culture in Dublin: Attitudes and Expectations

Yiling Liu (Thesis) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:12:56 PST

In response to a world-wide tide of Chinese language learning, educational institutions in Ireland have begun, in the last five years, to put in place degree courses and an increasing number of classes for the teaching of Chinese. It is helpful to understand the attitudes and expectations of students and teachers concerning the learning and teaching of Chinese language and culture in an Irish teaching environment. Language is part of a particular culture. The learning and acquisition of a target culture are as important as learning the language per se. In a non-target language environment, the learning and teaching of culture helps build comparisons and connections. A heightened understanding of culture is essential in furthering study, encouraging long-term learning and in resolving possible misunderstandings in language. Chinese language and culture have deep roots and a long history. Successful language learning evolves in tandem with cultural understanding. The teaching of Chinese characters is a part of the teaching of culture, because the written language not only carries many cultural elements, but also shows the logic and philosophy of the language through its characters. Moreover, Chinese educational concepts have a strong influence on the learning and teaching of the language. Questionnaires were devised and distributed to 130 students aged between 15 and 24. The purpose was to obtain fundamental information about the learning situation and to investigate students’ expectations of Chinese language learning and their attitudes and reactions to it. The aim was also to evaluate the likelihood of continued engagement in a learning process. The inclusion of students from different educational levels and cultural backgrounds exhibits the diversity of reactions to learning Chinese. Non Irish-born respondents show more positive attitudes, seem keener about learning than Irish-born respondents including those from a Chinese family background. As a counterpart to the questionnaire survey of students, qualitative interviews were conducted. Six Chinese-language teachers in Dublin were interviewed. They stressed the importance of maintaining and developing students’ learning interests. They also sought to encourage an active and committed involvement on the part of their students in cooperating with their teachers’ approaches. They believe it is important to develop positive attitudes towards learning the language and culture. Pedagogical proposals originating from the author’s own practice, especially at the beginner level, use Chinese culture to promote learning interests and long-term motivation. Further research is needed to fully develop the use of culture of TCFL pedagogy in a non-

Etha Barror: Profile of a Successful Choral Conductor

Niamh McDonagh (Thesis) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:11:04 PST

This study documents the musical career and teaching methodology of one of Ireland’s leading choral conductors, Ethna Barror (1915 - ) and explores the factors contributing to her success as a conductor, with particular reference to her choir, The Lindsay Singers. The study is informed by life history methodology, focusing on interviews with Barror which were conducted over an extended period of time. The research also includes interviews with some of Barror’s peers and choir members. This data is supported by documentary material relating to the Lindsay Singers performances, achievements and awards, and the repertoire they performed. The research is also informed by personal documents and correspondence provided by Barror. The study identifies Barror’s success in the field of choral conducting as a product of her musical abilities and her unique personality. It reveals how Barror’s methods and techniques evolved through her experience of conducting choirs, and as a result of her ongoing evaluation of her own performance and rehearsal activity. Barror herself points to factors which she considers have contributed to her success and these include: enthusiasm for her work, discipline, imagination, technique, musicality and flexibility in performance. She refers to rhythm, diction, blend, intonation and interpretation as some of the key elements contributing to the quality of her renowned choral sound. The comments of Barror’s peers and choir members highlight, not only her musical expertise and achievement, but also the personal and leadership qualities she brings to her work. The implications of the research outcomes for choral conductors and choral conductor education are explored, and suggestions made for further research.

John Wilkes and the Enlightenment

Stephen Carruthers (Thesis) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:00:56 PST

Based on the absence of a substantial political philosophy and a scandalous reputation, modern assessments of John Wilkes have tended to marginalise his role in the development of radical political ideas in England in the 1760s and 1770s. This evaluation is reassessed in the context of an analysis of Wilkes’s collaboration with Charles Churchill on the North Briton and his political writings of the period, in particular his Introduction to the History of England (1768). Furthermore, Wilkes enjoyed extensive and prolonged contact with the leading continental philosophers of the period, and in particular d’Holbach, Diderot, Suard, Helvétius, and Chastellux, which is reflected in their correspondence and political writings. Wilkes was a cosmopolitan figure whose political thought, while rooted in Lockean ideas, was convergent with that of contemporary philosophers and justify considering him as a principled defender, in his public life, of liberterian rather than libertine values.

A Study on the use of Ontologies to Represent Collective Knowledge

John McAuley (Thesis) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:15:04 PDT

The development of ontologies has become an area of considerable research interest over the past number of years. Domain ontologies are often developed to represent a shared understanding that in turn indicates cooperative effort by a user community. However, the structure and form that an ontology takes is predicated both on the approach of the developer and the cooperation of the user community. A shift has taken place in recent years from the use of highly specialised and expressive ontologies to simpler knowledge models, progressively developed by community contribution. It is within this context that this thesis investigates the use of ontologies as a means to representing collective knowledge. It investigates the impact of the community on the approach to and outcome of knowledge representation and compares the use of simple terminological ontologies with highly structured expressive ontologies in community-based narrative environments.

A Study of the Impact of the Child Care (Pre-school Services) Regulations (1996) on the Quality of Early Childhood Services in Ireland: the IEA Preprimay Project Revisited

Mary O'Kane (Thesis) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:25:41 PDT

In 1996, the first legislative control over early education services in Ireland came into place in the form of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations. The research hypothesis of this study was that the implementation of the Regulations had an impact on quality of early childhood care and education (ECCE) services in Ireland. It was also acknowledged at the outset that other related factors, such as increased level of investment and improved levels of training, may have affected quality of provision. Baseline data, gathered in 1994 and 1995 as part of the cross-national IEA Preprimary Project in which Ireland took part, was used to investigate the changes in quality. This allowed comparison of both structural and process elements in ECCE provision before the implementation of the Regulations, and six years after their implementation in 2002. The methodology of the present study involved revisiting a sub-sample of the original IEA Preprimary Project national sample, and undertaking structured observations and administering questionnaires to teachers and supervisors. The study also sought to investigate the attitudes of both Pre-school officers and Supervisors towards the regulations. A number of key issues emerged from the research. Firstly, improvements were found in the quality of the pre-school provision in the present study as compared to that of the original study although it is not clear the extent to which these improvements relate directly to the Regulations. The results also suggest that the need for pre-school training is becoming more widely accepted in the sector in Ireland. As predicted, increased awareness of training for ECCE professionals, and increased levels of funding appear also to have had an effect on quality. A third issue emerging from this study is the changing role of the pre-school teacher. The findings of this study also provided information regarding the nature of the relationship between structural and process variables in quality ECCE provision which was apparent in the findings. The study concludes with a number of recommendations.

The Impact of Structural and Process Elements of Pre-school and Primary School Environments on Children's Cognitive Development at Four Years of Age

Nodlaig Moore (Thesis) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:19:04 PDT

The structural and process elements of the early years classroom have contributed to much research in the area of early childhood education. Structural elements have been referred to as regulatable features that are “assumed to indirectly affect the child” (Burchinal, Roberts, Nabors & Bryant et al 1990). Process elements are directly related to children’s experiences and are “more difficult if not impossible to regulate” (Howes, Phillips & Whitebook 1992, p. 480). The structural elements of the early educational environments explained in this study include adult-child ratio, group size and teacher training. The process elements include preacademic activity, expressive activity and social contexts (i.e. adult and children present, only adult present and only children present) of children’s activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of selected structural and process elements on 4-year olds cognitive development in pre-schools and primary schools. This involved the secondary analysis of specific data collected in Phase 2 of the IEA Preprimary Project (Hayes, O’Flaherty with Kernan 1997). A sample of 361 children and their mothers (182 in primary schools and 179 in pre-schools) that participated in Phase 2 of the IEA Preprimary Project were included in this study. Forty-five pre-school teachers and 47 primary school teachers participated. From Phase 2 of the IEA Project and Child Observational schedule provided data on the adult-child ratio, group size and on all the process variables. The Family Background Interview revealed information on maternal education and the Provider Survey provided data on the level of teacher’s training. Children’s cognitive development was assessed using the IEA Cognitive development measure. Stepwise regression analyses showed that for the pre-school sample group size and mother’s education were significant predictors of children’s cognitive development. For the sample of primary school children the regression analyses revealed child’s age and adult-child ratio as significant predictors. The process variables were not found to be significant predictors of children’s cognitive development.

An Exploration of the Policy and Practice of Custodial Remands for Children Under 16 Years in Ireland

Sarah Anderson (Thesis) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:55:20 PDT

Juvenile justice in Ireland is at a time of transition. The recently enacted Children Act, 2001 is the first piece of legislative change in almost a century and once fully implemented will provide for much needed change. However, at the time of this study juvenile justice in Ireland was still legislated for by the Children Act, 1908 and there was increasing concern that the needs and rights of children in conflict with the law were not being met. There was very little in the way of empirical evidence however, to validate these claims. This study examines the entire population (N=68) of children on remand in Ireland during four time periods, and the results are presented in three sections. Section A provides a background profile of the population and illustrates the high levels of social, familial and educational disadvantage experienced by the young people. It also demonstrates the large extent to which these young people had already been in contact with various welfare and justice agencies prior to their period of remand. Section B specifically examines the period of detention on remand, and illustrates some of the problems faced by the young people including the large number of children detained for welfare reasons rather than their offending behaviour and excessive periods of time in detention due to a lack of appropriate facilities. This section also uses a flowchart of the juvenile justice systems to illustrate the position of each individual within it. Section C provides more detailed information relating to each child’s ‘remand episode’’ and uses the flowchart to illustrate the cycle of repeat remands and lengthy periods of detention. Finally this study discusses some of the findings in more detail including the relationship between school failure and crime, particular issues associated with female offenders, the number of welfare cases in the remand system and the deprivation of liberty and children’s rights.

Re-configuring the Apollo Missions: Lunar Photography, Battlefield and Wilderness

Feargal Fitzpatrick (Thesis) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:54:52 PDT

This thesis is a critical analysis of Full Moon-Apollo Mission Photographs of the Lunar Landscape by Michael Light. It demythologises the Apollo missions as they are presented in this collection of images. Through an examination of the critical and historical conditions underpinning the construction of the viewing subject in modernity, with particular reference to photographic images, this thesis identifies and analyses what is at stake and how the transaction that is looking and interpreting is negotiated. Light’s exhibition (also published in book form) is the product of his intervention (1996- 1999) in the photographic archive holding 32,000 images from NASA’s Apollo moon missions (1968-72) Chapter one provides a critical and historical overview of the conditions through which the construction of the viewing subject in modernity developed. Drawing on a number of scholars in visual cultural studies, art history and literary theory, it foregrounds the central arguments in the framing of contemporary philosophies of photography. Chapter 2 examines Full Moon in terms of the discursive connections between the space race and historically constituted lens cultures, the invocation of biblical metaphors and their manifestations in romantically inflected image making and the configuration of terrestrial and lunar desert motifs as peripheral contact zone in colonial expansionism. The thematics and critical concepts in Chapter 3 include the links between ‘Manifest Destiny’ and wilderness as physical and metaphysical device, gendered imaging and travel photography, historically situated lunar photography, and the inter-operation of federal photographic projects with public discourse as manifest in Life magazine in the 1960s.

ICTs as an Aid to Inclusivity? : Barriers to Benefits for Adult Learners in the Ennis Informatin Age Town

Anna Greenhalgh (Thesis) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:18:18 PDT

The subject of this thesis is the potential role of ICTs as a means of addressing social exclusion. ICTs have been recognised for their double-edged promise: while they may open opportunities in work, education and social practices, their benefits may be inaccessible to disadvantaged members of society. This subject is explored by means of a case study of adult learners who have been exposed to a ‘social experiment’ involving technological endowment of an Irish community: the Ennis Information Age Town project. This large-scale private sector initiative, which ran between 1997 and 2002, has the potential to inform future ICT projects regarding requirements of all community sectors: the following study focuses on experiences of adults with low levels of traditional education and income. Inclusion and ICTs are brought together in public discourses in the term ‘digital divide’. Chapter One considers the concept’s value along with public and private responses to it. The nature of ICTs inclusive potential is reviewed. The second chapter examines technology-community initiatives as an arena in which ICT exclusion may be addressed. Three other initiatives are outlined for contextualised discussion of the Ennis project. The case study is discussed in Chapter Three, in which sixteen VTOS students were subjects of qualitative research. In Chapter Four’s discussion it is found that ICTs provide benefits in educational endeavours, upskilling and maintaining social ties but have little influence on household activities or the size of social networks. Prominent factors moderating use are technical deterrents and the introduction of technologies relatively late in life. Although some respondents’ ICTs remained ‘unshaped’ through lack of use, many had developed a reflexive relationship with ICTs, whereby they appropriated parts of the technology according to specific needs; and most, with increasing familiarity, broadened their expectations of outcomes of ICT use. The final chapter draws from these findings a series of barriers that need to be addressed by future ICT projects. It concludes that ICTs play a modest though significant role in encouraging social inclusion; the fostering of use among disadvantaged groups requires access to up-to-date ICTs in a familiar, interactive and supported environment, but ultimately it requires a break from the conventions of the current human-computer interface.