bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Science and the Two Relativisms
Authors: Boudon Raymond
Published: January 2017

Social science has in the past granted much credence to two forms of relativism: cognitive relativism and cultural relativism. These two forms constitute the major components of postmodernism. Why do we believe so easily the arguments put forward by both cognitive and cultural relativism? Suspect arguments are often hyperbolical versions of valid ideas. Cognitive relativism rests on the efforts made, from the work of the Vienna Circle to that of Popper, to identify general criteria by which to differentiate between science and non-science. It also rests on sound studies of the history of science by scholars such as Kuhn. Cognitive relativism is based on hyperbolical conclusions drawn from these two sources; we are not, however, obliged to accept these conclusions. Cultural relativism is legitimated most notably by theories elaborated by certain sociologists and anthropologists on the basis of sound ideas borrowed from Montaigne, Hume and Max Weber. Again, they have drawn hyperbolical conclusions from them that we are not compelled to accept. The influence of the theories that legitimate the two forms of relativism is also due to them having been launched on the ‘market of ideas' at an historical conjuncture when they were perceived by various publics as ‘useful’ (in Pareto's sense of the word).
Sociological Reflections on Governing Waste
Authors: Fagan G. Honor
Published: January 2017

The waste management issue in Ireland reached crisis proportions in the late 1990s. Reflecting on an all-Ireland empirical study of waste, this article develops a broader governance perspective and takes up the challenge of contributing to the sociology of waste. It situates waste in a ‘multiscalar’ perspective, viewing waste as a result of a complex global, national, local, and individual set of processes. It examines the dynamics involved in creating the conditions for the regulation and management of waste. It develops the notion of the ‘networked state’, and its implications for the processes of waste governance in Ireland. Finally, it focuses on the contestation of the Southern government's waste management plans and concludes that this is a positive effect of networking in a rapidly globalising Ireland.
Debating ‘Globalisation and its Discontents’
Authors: Munck Ronaldo
Published: January 2017

It is most welcome that Kieran Allen (2002) is seeking to open up the ‘great globalisation debate’ within Irish sociology. He outlines some of the key current issues and positions taken by well-known European social theorists such as Beck, Giddens, Bauman and Bourdieu. A clear stance in favour of Bourdieu is taken on the basis, it would seem, that he was engaged actively in the movement against neo-liberalism in France towards the end of his life. On the other hand, Giddens, in particular, is castigated for his role as intellectual to the court of New Labour in Britain1. Allen argues that sociologists cannot stand idly by as the anti-globalisation movement builds up steam. In fact, he draws a direct parallel with the 1969 split in the American Sociological Association over the Vietnam War that led to the formation of a Sociology Liberation Movement which rejected the mainstream proclamation of value-free neutrality. While we should welcome Irish sociology's overdue engagement with the globalisation paradigm, I wish to raise some problems with Allen's analysis and pursue some of the issues raised a bit further.
The Catholic Church and Married Women's Sexuality: Habitus Change in Late 20th Century Ireland
Authors: Hilliard Betty
Published: January 2017

This article is based on data taken from a larger study of family change in Ireland in which mothers of intact families were interviewed in 1975 and revisited in 2000. It charts a process of change in the relationship between these women and the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in relation to the areas of sexuality and the transmission of church teaching. Through the analysis of depth interviews a process of transformation is discerned which is illustrative of Beck's (1992) conceptualisation of individualisation and reflexive modernity.
Ruin and Romance: Heterosexual Discourses on Irish Popular Dance, 1920–1960
Authors: O'Connor Barbara
Published: January 2017

This article examines the ways in which dance embodies and expresses sexual discourses through an exploration of popular recreational dance in Ireland from 1920 to 1960 with particular emphasis on women. The author looks at the antipathy to ‘modern’ dancing by the State, Church and cultural groups during the 1920s and 1930s. This era was distinguished by a sexual discourse of ruin and sin and was part of the project of creating an ideal nation. It is argued that this period was followed by a more positive, though not unproblematic, discourse of romance from the 1940s onwards, which was associated with increasing consumption and urbanisation. In the concluding section differences and similarities between the two eras are suggested and brief comparison is made with sexual discourses of dance in the 1980s and 1990s.
Coming Out, Fitting in: The Personal Narratives of Some Irish Gay Men
Authors: Ryan Paul
Published: January 2017

Through the personal narratives of four gay men coming of age during the 1970s, this paper questions the relevance of the modernist ‘coming-out’ story in Ireland. This story, so prevalent in British and North American studies documenting the history of the gay and lesbian movement there has remained largely untold in Ireland. This paper reveals a uniquely Irish ‘coming-out’ experience shaped by the schools, families and communities in which the men lived and whose stories cannot be adequately explained within a modernisation perspective so frequently used to explain social change in Ireland.
A Bit of the ‘Other’: Media Representations of Young People's Sexuality
Authors: Devlin Maurice
Published: January 2017

Media representations of young people are an important part of society's ongoing discussion with itself about ‘the state of its youth’. This article sets out to explore how the Irish media address the issue of young people and sexuality. Adopting a broadly social constructionist perspective, it presents qualitative case studies of the verbal and visual content of selected feature items in the press and concludes that, at least where sexuality is at issue, young people are envisaged and presented as ‘Other’, as something puzzling and mysterious. The tabloid and broadsheet press employ similar sets of rhetorical devices to construct this representation and to ‘make a spectacle’ of the young, often with marked gender differences. There is a consistent ‘metaphor of discovery’: the ‘lifting of a lid’ on what young people are ‘getting up to’, unknown to their parents. There is a pervasive sense of alarm, dismay, of loss and even (ambivalently) of betrayal. It is suggested that in consistently treating young people as ‘Other’, as predominantly different and difficult, these media representations may themselves be helping to construct and sustain the ‘problem’ of intergenerational relations.
Demonic or Divine? Attitudes towards Sex and Sexuality among Galway University Students
Authors: Malesevic Vesna
Published: January 2017

This article identifies and interprets sexual attitudes among a sample of university students in Galway. Drawing on theoretical models developed by May and Inglis, the paper places the survey findings in the context of socio-cultural changes in Ireland. The author argues that the survey results reflect the division between religious conservatism and increasing secularisation. Although it seems initially that a majority of the Galway students subscribe to a liberal view of sexuality, analysis reveals a more complex picture. Factor analysis shows that attitudes range from religious traditionalism, monogamism, conservatism and patriarchal machismo to liberal hedonism, sex as pleasure and egalitarian open-mindedness.
Determinants of Sexual Behaviour
Authors: Lalor Kevin , O'Regan Cathal , Quinlan Siobhán
Published: January 2017

A sample of 247 college students were surveyed regarding their experiences of consensual sexual experiences below age 16; experiences of ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ relationships; experiences of lifetime sexual activity and sexual orientation. By age 16, 12 per cent of respondents have had intercourse. Males are one and half to two times more likely than females to report sexual experiences below age 16. Those with urban origins are significantly more likely to report having had sexual experiences before age 16 than those with rural origins. The period 18–20 is characterised by short term dating, leading to much longer lasting relationships in the 21+ age category. For 18–20 year olds, 50.5 per cent report having had sexual intercourse (57 per cent of males and 47.7 per cent of females). Respondents from Dublin city or county are more likely to report having had sexual intercourse than those from a rural/farm background (64 percent and 39 per cent respectively). A surprising trend was the apparently chaste nature of boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in the 18–20 age group. This study examined only sexual experiences. Further research is required to examine the relationship contexts of various sexual experiences.
Social Capital: Old Hat or New Insight?
Authors: Healy Tom
Published: January 2017

Following work by James Coleman and Pierre Bourdieu in the 1980s, social scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds have engaged in a debate about the meaning and application of social capital. Questions arise about the coherence, novelty and analytical purchase of the term: there is a risk of overstretching the concept to include too much. Moreover, empirical measures and proxy variables are only very approximately matched to the underlying concept(s). Some applications of the concept lump together different strands of social behaviour and attitude and treats these as universally equivalent or ‘outside’ specific cultures, institutional settings, historical contexts and power structures. It is suggested that these problems cannot be entirely resolved and have parallel examples in all areas of empirical research in the social sciences. However, suggestions are made for greater trans-disciplinary research, dialogue and connection to policy and community practice in an Irish context.

We can sum up our position as follows. Social capital has several adolescent characteristics: it is neither tidy nor mature; it can be abused, analytically and politically; its future is unpredictable; but it offers much promise.
Reign of Error; Or, the Case against Cognitive Cultural Relativism
Authors: Aya Rod
Published: January 2017

Many social theorists and philosophers now say truth is cultural convention and no culture is privileged, so the cognitive ideas different cultures maintain – say, magic and physics – are equally true. That is the bottom line of cognitive cultural relativism alias postmodernism, which pervades the social sciences and humanities. Cognitive cultural relativism should be distinguished from moral cultural relativism, which says there is no universal morality, only cultural values and norms – the latter is a tragedy, the former is a farce: it is a contradiction in logic, an absurdity as theory, and humbug as method. It insults the cultures it defers to and legitimates dogmatism, which motivates fanaticism; it invites – indeed, practically demands – what it pretends to combat.
Accounting for the Diversity of Policing in Ireland
Authors: Vaughan Barry
Published: January 2017

In the last five years, legitimate concerns have been aired over incidents of alleged misconduct by the Irish public police, An Garda Síochána. The case for external oversight of their actions and greater operational accountability has been pressed. However, this debate may be neglecting other crucial developments in the field of policing. These include the diversification of police strategies beyond that employed in ‘policing the streets' and the possible emergence of policing organisations which are not under the auspices of the state. This article examines whether a reconfiguration of policing in the Republic of Ireland may be underway, and what the implications might be for An Garda Síochána and the security of all citizens of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland's Rurban Horizon: New Identities from Home Development Markets in Rural Ireland
Authors: Collier Peter
Published: January 2017

Estyn Evans (1973) described the principal heritage of the Irish countryside as pastoral. This way of life evolved alongside different agrarian populations and field systems. Its history is characterised by the abundance of people and the scarcity of land. This heritage still traces its characteristics on contemporary rural morphologies. The traveller sees new houses on almost every by-road. It seems that the Irish prefer to live in small fields bordering roadways than in towns or cities. Traditionalists argue that this phenomenon, known popularly as ‘one-off’ housing, is part of the nation's pastoral heritage going back thousands of years. This paper shows that home development markets are layering new identities across rural spaces. It looks at rurbanisation as a phenomenon of Ireland's post-agricultural transformation, increased affluence and faster spatial mobility.
Protestant Disillusionment with the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement
Authors: Hayes Bernadette C. , McAllister Ian
Published: January 2017

The period since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement has witnessed a degree of electoral polarisation that dwarfs any previous period during the current Troubles in scale and intensity. This has been attributed to Protestant disillusionment with the Agreement and the political institutions it established. The results presented here using a wide range of public opinion polls support this view. Protestants are much more pessimistic of both current and future relations between the two communities than are Catholics. The increasingly negative view of Protestants, particularly in terms of future community relations, is reflected in declining support for the Agreement. Protestants who believe that relations between the two religious communities in five years time will be worse than they are now are significantly more likely to vote against the Agreement. This is the case even among previous Protestant supporters of the Agreement.
The Role of Education in Irish Public Service Broadcasting
Authors: Grummell Bernie
Published: January 2017

The media's contribution to the creation of a healthy public sphere and civil society is the focus of public debate, especially in the light of concerns about the impact on them of the economic and political spheres. The media's ideal contribution to the development of a democratic society has traditionally been framed within the structures of the public service model of broadcasting, where education plays a crucial role. This article traces the evolution of education in Irish broadcasting, exploring the consequences for Irish democracy and civil life. It outlines how education's potential contribution has continually been shaped by the institutional demands of the political and economic systems, including the cultural nationalist ethos of early radio broadcasting, its role in the modernisation of Irish society, and the growth of commercialism and pluralist approaches. These trends had a formative influence on education's role in Irish broadcasting, and consequently on the civic and democratic lives of Irish citizens.
Soap Opera, Commercialisation and the Proletarianisation of Cultural Production
Authors: Brennan Eddie
Published: January 2017

Irish television drama initially contained a number of prestigious producers and writers who could use their knowledge and reputation as forms of organisational power. Today, soap opera, the dominant genre, depends on quick turnovers, short-term contracts and teams of writers. It offers little hope of building prestige or recognition. This article looks inside the production of Fair City, Ireland's most popular soap opera. The show's success and survival depend on a level of rationalisation that is unprecedented in Irish television drama. This new form of organisation is a response to the pressures of an increasingly commercialised broadcasting environment. Constraints of time and finance have reduced the professional autonomy and creativity of Fair City's producers, writers and actors. This article offers the hypothesis that this is one example, among many, of how market influence may bring about a ‘proletarianisation’ of formerly autonomous and prestigious cultural work.
Has the Informalisation Process Changed Direction?: Manners and Emotions in a Dutch Advice Column 1978–98
Authors: Post Arjan
Published: January 2017

The broad social changes that came about in Western countries during the 1960s and 1970s can be briefly characterised as informalisation; during the 1980s and 1990s this gave rise to something of a moral panic in public opinion. In daily life today, many examples can be found of the ongoing ‘emancipation of emotions' on the one hand, and of a rising quest for law and order on the other. Is the interpretation of informalisation still adequate? To a large extent this interpretation was founded on Brinkgreve and Korzec's study of an advice column in the Dutch popular weekly Margriet between 1938 and 1978. This article is a follow-up to that earlier study. In the new material, focusing on sexes and generations, a shift towards reformalisation can be noticed. No longer are social and psychic boundaries being explored, but once more being emphasised. An increasing unease ever since the 1980s – related to economy, criminality, but also disillusion with emancipation – is accompanied by a stronger a sense of belonging and mutual consideration. The material does not, however, indicate a restoration but rather a change in social habitus: a shift from psychologisation towards sociologisation. In terms of Norbert Elias's concept of the We–I balance of individuals, this indicates a shift towards ‘we’.
Involvement and Detachment, from Principles to Practice: A Critical Reassessment of The Established and the Outsiders
Authors: Bloyce Daniel , Murphy Patrick
Published: January 2017

In this paper we revisit The Established and the Outsiders (Elias and Scotson 1965; second edition 1994). We argue that Elias was so intent upon demonstrating the heuristic value of his theory of established–outsider relations that he allowed these concerns to cloud his assessment of Scotson's data. We argue that the paradox is Elias had already developed more sophisticated and flexible tools for analysing the dynamic complexities of human figurations. Finally, we suggest that the problems Elias encountered in maintaining an effective degree of detachment in this study may lead to a wider appreciation of the difficulties facing anyone wishing to move from an understanding of the principles of the involvement-detachment thesis to their practical application.
‘Equal Rights for all Workers’: Irish Trade Unions and the Challenge of Labour Migration
Authors: Krings Torben
Published: January 2017

Labour migration to Ireland is a fairly recent phenomenon. It takes place largely in reponse to ‘Ireland's call’ for additional labour to sustain the economic boom. The inflow of migrant workers has significantly transformed the Irish workforce. This article examines how Irish trade unions respond to this challenge. In drawing on qualitative interviews mainly with trade union officials as well as documentary analysis, I show that unions promote a rights-based approach to immigration. This is done not only for ideological reasons (workers' solidarity and opposition to exploitation) but also self-interest. From a trade union perspective, migrants who enjoy the same rights as Irish workers and who become integrated in the workplace and wider society are less likely to undermine labour standards.
Zionism, Multiculturalism and the Construction of Irish-Jewish Identity
Authors: Landy David
Published: January 2017

This paper examines the construction of Irish-Jewish identity, through the prism of the Ireland–Israel soccer match in 2005. While, under the terms of ‘celebratory multiculturalism’ Irish Jews were able to use joke-work to bat away the implied loyalty test of ‘which side are you on’, the pro-Palestinian political mobilisation on the day of the match was more problematic. Within the narrative of Irish Zionism, these pro-Palestinian activities were linked to antisemitism, an interpretation which alienates Jews from those left-liberal elements in Irish society most open to a reading of Jewishness as part of a multicultural Ireland and re-inscribes Jews as ‘a people apart’.
Reflections on a Territorial Dispute: The ‘Shell to Sea’ Campaign in North Mayo
Authors: Leonard Liam
Published: January 2017

The continuing dispute surrounding the onshore gas pipeline in North Mayo is the latest in a series of populist territorial disputes involving infrastructural projects in rural Ireland. This article examines the mobilisation and framing processes of the Shell to Sea campaign, which opposed the gas pipeline due to the health and safety concerns of the local community. The campaign gained national recognition when five local farmers were jailed for their resistance to the project. The issue may yet be resolved through mediation, but a legacy of mistrust of multinationals and the state has been reinforced by these events. Here we examine the framing of these events in the context of longstanding concerns about resources which go back to the Kinsale Gas find in the 1970s.
Community and Inclusion: The Impact of New Communications Technologies
Authors: Komito Lee
Published: January 2017

Can new information and communications technologies increase citizen participation in civic life and promote community development? Worldwide studies of community information systems demonstrate that new technologies can enhance the effectiveness of activists. However, there has been little evidence that they bring in new participants. This article argues that e-government systems can, if properly designed and implemented, involve citizens who have not previously been active in local community life, and describes an Irish pilot project which has this capacity. The success of such systems depends not only on design issues, but also on the willingness of government to respond to the resulting policy inputs by citizens.
New Media Communities: Performing Identity in an Online Women's Magazine
Authors: O'Connor Barbara , Mackeogh Carol
Published: January 2017

This case study investigates the kind of women's world that is created on an online discussion board and the forms of identity and community construction that underpin this process. The main source of data is the discussion board itself with additional data from a group discussion and email correspondence. Two key processes are identified – bonding and boundaries – which permit the creation of a ‘women's world’. This site appears to provide an extremely open forum for the users to create a ‘female’ space that they find welcoming and supportive. The web is traditionally seen as a male preserve so that the appropriation of this space by these females (given that the board is unmoderated) is an initiative in itself. While the space they have created might be considered a ‘girlie’ space, the fact that they have chosen this tactic of a highly feminised identity (and that they celebrate ‘girlieness’) may be seen as empowering. Ultimately, we argue, the discussion board must be seen as a contradictory space since it operates within a commercial environment that encourages discourses of individualised consumption rather than collective togetherness.
Negotiating Boundaries or Drawing the Line? Transcending ‘Insider/Outsider’ Distinctions in Connemara
Authors: Moran Lisa
Published: January 2017

This paper examines insider/outsider distinctions in a rural community in Connemara and argues that they are rooted in locality and are based upon conflicting knowledge cultures. Such distinctions are both contextual and fluid as they encompass a range of cultural factors and find expression through particular conventions on language use and everyday behavioural strategies. The insider/outsider nexus is continually negotiated in this community, and individuals are recognised as possessing degrees of insider and/or outsider status depending upon which particular modes of behaviour or linguistic practices may be seen as acceptable by the wider community in particular social situations.

Qualitative data presented in this paper reveals that while some incomers to the region are viewed as ‘outsiders’ by more established members of the community, the degree to which this is the case frequently depends on whether they are perceived as sharing local people's ‘habitus’ prior to their entering the community. Instead of drawing strict lines of distinction between locals and incomers, both groups engage in regular ‘boundary-making’ by perpetuating locally-based practices and discourse structures, a process which verifies their sense of belonging and continually (re)defines and (re)constitutes the structures of discourse and action entered into in everyday life.
Adult and Community Education in Border Communities: The ‘Borderlands’ Case Study
Authors: Moreland Rosemary
Published: January 2017

Border communities suffer greater degrees of poverty and disadvantage than other areas, linked to their peripherality. In particular, where the border is contested, communities on either side are less likely to take advantage of facilities and opportunities across the border. Lifelong learning has recently been suggested as a means of attracting adult learners to return to education in order to tackle unemployment and socio-economic disadvantage. Through a case study approach, this paper examines the difficulties and possibilities of developing a cross-border community outreach education programme for adult learners, while also exploring the nature of borders and their impact on identities and communities at a time of change.
Historical sociology in the field: Teaching Irish identity through field experience
Authors: White Timothy J.
Published: January 2017

Teaching Irish Historical Sociology in the field offers unique opportunities for students to engage with sites critical to the historical development of Irish identity. For the past fourteen years, I have taught an Irish Historical Sociology course in Ireland designed to teach students the contested nature and layers of Irish identity based on the waves of migration that have come to Ireland throughout the centuries. The course begins by examining the earliest people to come to Ireland and then examines the impact of the Celtic Migrations, the introduction of Christianity, the Anglo-Norman invasion/settlement, the Plantation migration, the famine, the Irish revival in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as changes in demography, economy, and religion in the twentieth century. Through on-site lectures, talks, and experiences in music and dance, the environment, traditional crafts, folklore and heritage, local history, and sports students learn the various groups who came to the island over time and how these groups have shaped Irish identity.
The sociology classroom as a pedagogical site of discomfort: Difficult knowledge and the emotional dynamics of teaching and learning
Authors: Bryan Audrey
Published: January 2017

While recent years have witnessed a growing recognition of the importance of attending to the complex affective dimensions of teaching and learning, emotion remains under-researched and under-theorised as an aspect of education. This paper explores what it means to engage with emotionality in the classroom, particularly in terms of how difficult (sociological) knowledge is experienced, felt and understood by learners, i.e. how they are affected by knowledge that is historically or socially traumatic and hence difficult to bear. Drawing on qualitative data gathered as part of an action research project undertaken during a postgraduate course on globalisation, it offers insights into how course participants felt, experienced and engaged with difficult knowledge about their participation in harmful global economic institutions and practices. The paper concludes by considering some of the theoretical considerations and pedagogical conditions that are necessary if we are to engage learners with difficult (sociological) knowledge which asks them to contemplate how they are implicated in their learning.
Housework, the Household Economy and Economic Development in Ireland since the 1920s
Authors: Fahey Tony
Published: January 2017

This paper proposes a concept of the household economy which incorporates housework as a productive activity, and on the basis of that concept re-examines the thesis that the household economy declines during economic development. It looks in particular at Irish evidence for the period 1926–86, as well as at secondary evidence for international trends. The analysis suggests that, although certain segments of the household economy have declined, the services production element identified with modern housework remains a major user of labour and source of output and shows surprising durability as an economic form in the midst of major changes in the surrounding economic environment. The paper concludes with some general observations on the relationship between economic growth and changes in the pattern of productive activity in the household in Ireland in recent decades.
Contested Terrain: Differing Interpretations of Co. Wicklow's Landscape
Authors: Slater Eamonn
Published: January 2017

This paper looks at how Irish landscape was interpreted in the mid 1800s, when modern tourism in Ireland began. It attempts to discover the ideological structures present in this appreciation of Irish landscape, and it does so in relation with the Hall's description of Co. Wicklow landscape. It argues that there are two ‘socially constructed’ ways to read Irish landscape, the picturesque and the oral interpretations, which create senses of detachment and attachment respectively to the local terrain. It explores in this context how the picturesque corresponds to the way an outsider wishes to gaze upon a landscape, either as a colonialising landlord or as a tourist. Although the picturesque excludes human work from its vision, it was manufactured in the demesnes of the landlord class according to compositional techniques. But the ideological structure of the beautiful aspect of the picturesque excludes the native people who actually live in the landscape, because they are seen as a source of disharmony. The native gaze, on the contrary, creates a sense of attachment to the local place.
Sectarianism in the Workplace: The Case of the Derry Shirt Industry 1868–1968
Authors: Finlay Andrew
Published: January 2017

Sectarianism in the workplace and its effect on differentials in employment between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland has recently become a focus of debate amongst those concerned with promoting equality of opportunity. This article draws attention to an existing literature relevant to, but rarely acknowledged in, the debate. It identifies four main theories of workplace sectarianism implicit in the existing literature and tests them in relation to the pattern of sectarian conflict in the Derry shirt industry. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the foregoing analysis for further research on the relationship between workplace sectarianism and differentials in employment.
The Emergence of Fertility Control among Irish Travellers
Authors: Rigal Jocelyne
Published: January 2017

This paper examines the emergence of fertility control among Irish Travellers with a focus on its wider cultural and inter-personal implications. Relying on unstructured interviews and participant observation conducted among Traveller women, this emergence is located in the context of another development, the rise of an ideal family size. Traveller women's uptake of and attitudes towards contraception are analysed and their perceptions of their husbands' resistance to fertility control is documented. The findings highlight the role of gender in cultural change among travellers.
Civilisation and Decivilisation, Civil Society and Violence
Authors: Mennell Stephen
Published: January 2017

In the written version of his inaugural lecture as Professor of Sociology at University College, Dublin, the author emphasises that despite the direct or indirect connection of most sociological concerns with questions intrinsic to civil society, contemporary ‘meliorist’ sociology in the West takes the existence of a relatively peaceful civil society for granted. This assumption is anything but justified. Ironically, the birth of sociology itself was intricately bound up with the relatively extraordinary circumstances which have led to the emergence of orderly civil societies in some parts of the world. The author explores crucial preconditions for and aspects of civil society - in particular, habitus and the problem of violence. He situates this dual problematic within that of the development of multi-layered forms of globalisation, demonstrating both the power and the fragility of civil society. The indispensability of the processes concerned, as well as their proneness to interruption, lead the author to conclude that deepening their understanding of civil society is a task of such urgency that sociologists can no longer afford to neglect it.
Northern Nursing: The Limits of Idealism
Authors: Porter Sam
Published: January 2017

Occupational strategies that have been used by Western nursing entrepreneurs are divided into two broad categories: those aimed at achieving social closure and those aimed at replacing professional dominance by partnership with clients. Nursing in the north of Ireland is deeply involved in these attempts to alter the role and standing of nursing. However, it also demonstrates the limitations of idealism in nursing. The strategies of social closure and anti-professionalism are empirically examined in two particularly testing circumstances and found wanting. The technocentricity of intensive care and the concentration on control in psychiatric care both act to constrain possibilities of change. It is concluded that idealism in nursing is not sufficient to effect change; cognisance must also be taken of material circumstances.
‘Riding the Juggernaut’: Selectivity and Entrepreneurship in Ireland
Authors: Carr Patricia
Published: January 2017

The creation of a class of strong native entrepreneurs has long been an aim of Irish industrial policy. Social science discussion of strategies stimulating Irish enterprise have tended to emanate from two broad theoretical viewpoints, modernisation theory and dependency theory,f which hold opposing views on the role the Stale can play in the promotion of business and enterprise. Considerations of the relationship between the State and an indigenous class of entrepreneurs have tended to centre on notions of ‘modernising’ and the ‘modernisation’ of society. This article shifts the focus away from a concentration on modernising to a consideration of the nature of modernity. The tendency to equate modernisation and modernity is liable to conceal or misrepresent the activities of certain economic actors, in particular State personnel. Using elements of the institutional analysis of modernity developed by Giddens (1991), the article examines the ‘selectivity function’ of Irish State personnel and their relationship with potential Irish entrepreneurs. This selectivity function can be construed as an attempt to establish an expert system to enable State personnel to assert some control over the enterprise culture juggernaut.
The Codes and Conventions of Irish Current Affairs Television: A Production-Based Approach
Authors: Devereux Eoin
Published: January 2017

Taking the 1992 RTÉ Tuesday File documentary Are You Sitting Comfortably? as a case study, an ethnographic approach is used to examine the codes and conventions of Irish current affairs television. Against a background of the production pressures which surrounded the making of the documentary, the organisational context in which Are You Sitting Comfortably? was produced is considered, the perceptions those involved in the making of current affairs television have of audience interest in social problems are explored, and the manner the programme symbolises poverty and social exclusion is outlined. I conclude that Are You Sitting Comfortably? does not fit neatly into Kelly's (1984) model of Irish current affairs television, in that it is not made from a middle-ground perspective, does not use a regular presenter and sets out to emphasise the deep divisions in the Ireland of the early 1990s.
Understanding Continuities and Changes in Irish Marriage: Putting Women Centre Stage
Authors: O'Connor Pat
Published: January 2017

Contemporary changes and continuities in marriage and family life can be understood by focusing on women. Five main patterns may make sense of these phenomena: women's continued identification with and absorption within the family system; negotiation within marriage; a feminised conception of love; an attempt to transform the structural and cultural parameters of marriage and family life; and an uncoupling of the traditional sequence of marriage, sexual activity and procreation. These patterns are not mutually exclusive, but may be differentially adopted by women at different life-stages and from different social classes. It is argued that women are involved in these various responses in an attempt to deal with the reality of the institutional structure of marriage within a social and cultural context which is not always responsive to their needs and interests.
The Sociologist on Placement
Authors: McCullough Arthur , Johnston Fred , Newman Rhona
Published: January 2017

Over the last five years 175 students at the University of Ulster have done a final year sociology module on placement. The key to placement as a setting for sociologists is that a diversity of knowledge from theoretical sociology, classic writers, case studies and textbooks are all potentially relevant to it. It connects theory and practice and provides organisational experiences from which students can develop comparative and theoretical insights applied to their possible roles in society. It also provides practical and critical skills suited to future employment. Students see their academic and personal reputation directly at stake during placement and in most cases are eager to find their own places in order to work well in their local environment.
Topical Review: Neuronal Migration in Cortical Development
Authors: Kanatani Shigeaki , Tabata Hidenori , Nakajima Kazunori
Published: January 2017

Cortical formation in the developing brain is a highly complicated process involving neuronal production (through symmetric or asymmetric cell division) interaction of radial glia with neuronal migration, and multiple modes of neuronal migration. It has been convincingly demonstrated by numerous studies that radial glial cells are neural stem cells. However, the processes by which neurons arise from radial glia and migrate to their final destinations in vivo are not yet fully understood. Recent studies using time-lapse imaging of neuronal migration are giving investigators an increasingly more detailed understanding of the mitotic behavior of radial glia and the migrating behavior of their daughter cells. In this review, we describe recent progress in elucidating neuronal migration in brain formation and how neuronal migration is disturbed by mutations in genes that control this process. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:274—279).
Topical Review: Neuronal Migration Disorders, Genetics, and Epileptogenesis
Authors: Guerrini Renzo , Filippi Tiziana
Published: January 2017

Several malformation syndromes with abnormal cortical development have been recognized. Specific causative gene defects and characteristic electroclinical patterns have been identified for some. X-linked periventricular nodular heterotopia is mainly seen in female patients and is often associated with focal epilepsy. FLN1 mutations have been reported in all familial cases and in about 25% of sporadic patients. A rare recessive form of periventricular nodular heterotopia owing to ARGEF2 gene mutations has also been reported in children with microcephaly, severe delay, and early-onset seizures. Lissencephaly-pachygyria and subcortical band heterotopia represent a malformative spectrum resulting from mutations of either the LIS1 or the DCX ( XLIS) gene. LIS1 mutations cause a more severe malformation posteriorly. Most children have severe developmental delay and infantile spasms, but milder phenotypes are on record, including posterior subcortical band heterotopia owing to mosaic mutations of LIS1. DCX mutations usually cause anteriorly predominant lissencephaly in male patients and subcortical band heterotopia in female patients. Mutations of the coding region of DCX were found in all reported pedigrees and in about 50% of sporadic female patients with subcortical band heterotopia. Mutations of XLIS have also been found in male patients with anterior subcortical band heterotopia and in female patients with normal brain magnetic resonance imaging. The thickness of the band and the severity of pachygyria correlate with the likelihood of developing severe epilepsy. Autosomal recessive lissencephaly with cerebellar hypoplasia, accompanied by severe delay, hypotonia, and seizures, has been associated with mutations of the reelin ( RELN) gene. X-linked lissencephaly with corpus callosum agenesis and ambiguous genitalia in genotypic males is associated with mutations of the ARX gene. Affected boys have severe delay and infantile spasms with suppression-burst electroencephalograms. Early death is frequent. Carrier female patients can have isolated corpus callosum agenesis. Schizencephaly has a wide anatomoclinical spectrum, including focal epilepsy in most patients. Familial occurrence is rare. Initial reports of heterozygous mutations in the EMX2 gene have not been confirmed. Among several syndromes featuring polymicrogyria, bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria shows genetic heterogeneity, including linkage to chromosome Xq28 in some pedigrees, autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance in others, and an association with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion in some patients. About 65% of patients have severe epilepsy. Recessive bilateral frontoparietal polymicrogyria has been associated with mutations of the GPR56 gene. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:287—299).
Topical Review: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in Lissencephaly and Subcortical Band Heterotopia: The Key Questions Answered
Authors: Leventer Richard Jacob
Published: January 2017

Lissencephaly and subcortical band heterotopia are closely related cortical malformations and are true disorders of neuronal migration. The genetic basis of approximately 70% of classic lissencephaly and 80% of typical subcortical band heterotopia is known. Most are due to abnormalities within the LIS1 or DCX genes, with abnormalities ranging from single basepair substitutions to contiguous gene deletions. Understanding the genetic basis of these disorders has led to the elucidation of the molecular and developmental mechanisms that are adversely affected. There is a robust correlation between many of the clinical aspects of lissencephaly or subcortical band heterotopia and the type and location of mutations in the affected gene. Using this knowledge, the clinician can predict with some accuracy which gene is likely to be affected based on the clinical and imaging features. This review answers some of the key questions regarding the genotype-phenotype correlation for lissencephaly and subcortical band heterotopia. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:307—312).
Neurophysiologic Findings of Neuronal Migration Disorders: Intrinsic Epileptogenicity of Focal Cortical Dysplasia on Electroencephalography, Electrocorticography, and Magnetoencephalography
Authors: Otsubo Hiroshi , Iida Koji , Oishi Makoto , Okuda Chiyuki , Ochi Ayako , Pang Elizabeth , Weiss Shelly K. , Rutka James T. , Chuang Sylvester H. , Carter Snead O.
Published: January 2017

We define specific neurophysiologic characteristics for focal cortical dysplasia, a neuronal migration disorder. We reviewed data from published reports and our patients with focal cortical dysplasia. Our patients underwent preoperative scalp video-electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetoencephalography, and intraoperative or extraoperative electrocorticography monitoring. Scalp EEG showed trains of rhythmic epileptiform spike or sharp waves. Positive spikes correlated with early seizure onset, MRI lesion around the rolandic fissure, hemiparesis, and a less favorable outcome. Interictal electrocorticography showed continuous epileptogenic discharges: repetitive electrographic seizures and bursting discharges or continuous or quasicontinuous rhythmic spiking. Ictal electrocorticography showed paroxysmal fast and/or repetitive spiking. Magnetoencephalography showed clustered spike sources within and extending from the lesion. Cortical stimulation gave more frequent, lower-threshold afterdischarges and higher-threshold primary motor function. Focal cortical dysplasias are highly and intrinsically epileptogenic. For surgical seizure control, EEG, electrocorticography, and magnetoencephalography must delineate the intrinsic epileptogenic zone within and extending from the focal cortical dysplasia identified by MRI. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:357—363).
X-Linked Lissencephaly With Abnormal Genitalia as a Tangential Migration Disorder Causing Intractable Epilepsy: Proposal for a New Term, “Interneuronopathy”
Authors: Kato Mitsuhiro , Dobyns William B.
Published: January 2017

X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia is the first human disorder in which deficient tangential migration in the brain has been demonstrated. Male patients with X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia show intractable seizures, especially clonic convulsions or myoclonus from the first day of life, but neither infantile spasms nor hypsarrhythmia on electroencephalograms so far. Brain magnetic resonance imaging shows anterior pachygyria and posterior agyria with a mildly thick cortex, agenesis of the corpus callosum, and dysplastic basal ganglia. ARX, a paired-class homeobox gene with four polyalanine sequences, is a responsible gene for X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia. The brain of Arx knockout mice shows aberrant tangential migration and differentiation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons. In human X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia, a neuropathologic study has suggested a loss of interneurons. Meanwhile, polyalanine expansion of ARX causes symptomatic or nonsymptomatic West's syndrome and nonsyndromic mental retardation. The striking epileptogenicity of X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia and West's syndrome associated with ARX mutations is considered to be caused by a disorder of interneurons involving a tangential migration disorder. We propose “interneuronopathy” as a term for this. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:392—397).