"On our way": identities and representations of African women seeking asylum in Ireland

This thesis provides the first explicit Postcolonial study of asylum in the Irish context that integrates Black Feminist analyses of intersectional identity with Postcolonial Feminist theories of representation. African women seeking asylum in the Republic of Ireland were key political instruments used by the state to re-draw racial lines. The study examines how, for a group of African women “On their Way” through asylum, identity and representation work hand in hand to force identities, subaltern spaces and bodies to occupy them. Rich biographical data is gathered through mixed art and drama methods over two intensive participatory research projects conducted in a small Irish city. Data analysis critically examines the poetics (practices that signify) and politics (the powers that govern these practices) and affective economies of global and local NGO visual representations, exposing how they consume, fragment, and appropriate African women’s identities and bodies. Though hypervisible, the women themselves “cannot speak”. The women in the study reported feeling “tired” and “used”. Asking “What work are they doing as they do asylum?” the study finds that black female identities and bodies are forced to perform political, cultural, emotional and material labour on their way through this context of Irish asylum. The author argues that Postcolonial Asylum is a performative encounter that re-scripts colonial race/class/gender discourse through a humanitarian alibi to naturalize European/white supremacy, reinscribe patriarchal power and justify racialised incarceration of bodies seeking asylum in the North. This study takes an interdisciplinary approach that centralizes Black and Postcolonial Feminist theory and innovates Participatory Art-Based Action methodology. Black and Postcolonial feminisms can recognize, theorize and replenish black female political and intellectual agency. Participatory Action research, if grounded in Black feminist epistemology and ethics, can allow participants to “speak back” to what is already said about them in spaces of convivial self-representation.

The life history and ecology of black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe 1839) in the north-east Atlantic

The black scabbardfish is a deep water species that supports commercial fisheries across a large area of the NE Atlantic shelf. The life history of black scabbardfish is poorly understood and a major unresolved issue is population structure. In this study it was used a combination of methodologies to get further knowledge in the life history and population structure of A. carbo over its wide distribution range in the Northeast Atlantic. The new knowledge acquired during this study, will increase our ability to better manage this species in the NE Atlantic. It has been postulated that fish caught to the west of the British Isles are pre-adults that migrate further south (to Madeira) for spawning, implying a single panmictic population. In this study, specimens of Aphanopus carbo were sampled between September 2008 and May 2010 from two different areas: NW Scotland (French trawlers and deep water surveys) and Madeira Islands (longliners commercial landings). Geographical differences in reproductive state of scabbardfish were evident, supportive of a north-south migration theory. In the northern area, all specimens found were immature, while in Madeira all maturity stages were observed. In Madeira, spawning occurred during the fourth quarter, with peak maturity in October (males) and in November (females). The age of this species has proven difficult and has led to different and contradictory age and growth estimates. For this study, we used two reading interpretations to determine age and estimate the growth parameters. To the west of the British Isles, specimens reached a lower maximum age and had a higher growth rate than those caught off Madeira. These differences are consistent with the theory of a single population of black scabbardfish in the NE Atlantic, highly segregate, with smaller, immature and younger fish caught to the west of the British Isles and bigger and mature caught in Madeira Islands. The feeding ecology showed strong evidence that the diet of black scabbardfish is associated with the spawning migration of blue whiting, which may support a northerly feeding migration theory for black scabbardfish. The stable isotope analyses in the muscle of black scabbardfish identified that black scabbardfish feeds on species with epipelagic and benthopelagic affinities. Comparison with stable isotope analysis in Madeira samples indicated that black scabbardfish feed at a similar trophic level and has the same trophic niche width in both areas, assuming similar baseline isotope compositions. Otolith stable isotopes (oxygen - δ18O and nitrogen - δ15N) analyses were used as a tool to clarify migratory behaviour. Otolith isotope ratios can provide insight into whether adults caught around Madeira fed in an isotopically depleted northerly ecosystem (NW Scotland) during their pre-adult period and then migrate towards south to spawn. Overall, the results support a south-north migration of pre adult fish from spawning areas around Madeira and a north-south migration from the west of Scotland to the spawning areas. Given its life cycle there is an urgent need that the management process recognizes the existence of a continuous widely distributed stock of black scabbardfish between the west of the British Isles and Madeira. The results highlight large scale dispersal in this species which needs to be treated as a highly migratory species and be managed as a single population.

People and place in the new frontier: an examination of Han and Uyghur ethnic identities

This thesis demonstrates how Han and Uyghur ethnic identities are constructed in urban Xinjiang, how they have evolved over time and how both identities gain their meaning largely from a process of interaction with the ‘other’. It shows that the boundaries that exist between Uyghur and Han hugely influence the identity content of both. Based on over 120 interviews carried out over 3 years, it brings a clear analytical framework and conceptual clarity to the questions of how ethnic identities are constructed and maintained in Xinjiang

Place, teenagers and urban identities: Growing up in the revanchist city

The recreational lives of teenagers in Ireland has been the subject of much debate in recent years. The subject has received much attention from academics, particularly in the UK and the US. In Ireland there is a dearth of research on, and a poor understanding of teenagers recreational lives. Additionally much of the research from the UK and the US to date has been focused on teenagers’ use of the street for recreation, arguing that teenagers are increasingly pushed out of public space. The research frequently emphasises teenagers’ resistance against adult hegemony. This thesis explores the recreational geographies of teenagers living in two socially and economically distinct neighbourhoods in Cork. It seeks to fill in gaps in knowledge of teenagers recreational lives in Ireland and contribute to geographical wisdom on teenagers’ geographies. Using a mixed method approach and a variety of thinking tools this research shows that teenagers living in Cork are growing up in a revanchist society. The thesis demonstrates how teenagers’ recreational practices are currently being configured in Irish society, unfolding strategies of dominance and affection which construct and regulate the recreational lives of teenagers. The effects of revanchism on teenagers’ experiences of outdoor space for recreation are also pursued. Furthermore the socio-spatial contingencies of teenagers’ recreational lives and revanchism are probed throughout the thesis, but in greater depth in the final chapters. The work also addresses an under-researched aspect of young people’s recreational - relationships with pets. Lastly, the subject of teenagers’ right to urban space is critically analysed.