Lismore Historical Society visitor centre - Lismore Argyll

2005-6 Input into content and design of the Lismore Historical Society Museum displays

Assessing Historical and Current Threats to Common Frog (Rana Temporaria) Populations in Ireland

Ponds are an ephemeral feature of the landscape but their large-scale loss can have profound implications for biodiversity and the persistence of amphibian populations. We quantified rates of pond loss throughout Ireland over a period of approximately 125 yr. Environmental parameters and perceived risk factors associated with the current occurrence and density of the Common Frog, Rana temporaria, were also analyzed. The numbers of farmland ponds declined by 54% between 1887–1913 and 2005–11, with most ponds and the greatest losses
in the East, coincident with agricultural intensification and human habitation. The decline of pond numbers was significant but, at approximately 0.5% per annum, was substantially less than losses recorded in other European countries. Losses were coincident with major changes to the agricultural landscape including extensive land drainage. However, losses of pond and natural wetland habitats throughout Ireland may have been partially or wholly mitigated by a synchronous expansion of artificial field margin ditches associated with drainage projects during the mid-20th Century. The ecology of the Common Frog in Ireland was similar to its ecology elsewhere and it appears largely unaffected by pollution and disturbance. Consequently, the conservation status of the frog in Ireland was judged ‘‘favorable’’ and should remain so for the foreseeable future.

Invisible Targets, Strengthened Morale: Static Camouflage as a ‘Weapon of the Weak’

In the natural world, camouflage is habitually deployed by 'vulnerable' creatures to deceive predators. Such protective strategies have been culturally, socially and technologically translated into human societies, whereby camouflage has been used to mask intentions, actions, feelings and valuable objects or spaces. Through the material presence of such techniques, everyday spaces can become inscribed as places of sanctuary. Focusing on British civil camouflage work of the 1930s and 1940s, this paper explores the historical, cultural and political connotations of camouflage and how the attainment of invisibility, as a 'weapon of the weak', can both physically and affectively protect urban populations. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Religion and the risk of suicide: longitudinal study of over 1 million people

Background: Durkheim’s seminal historical study demonstrated that religious affiliation reduces suicide risk, but it is unclear whether this protective effect persists in modern, more secular societies.

Aims: To examine suicide risk according to Christian religious affiliation and by inference to examine underlying mechanisms for suicide risk. If church attendance is important, risk should be lowest for Roman Catholics and highest for those with no religion; if religiosity is important, then ‘conservative’ Christians should fare best.

Method: A 9-year study followed 1 106 104 people aged 16–74 years at the 2001 UK census, using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for census-based cohort attributes.

Results: In fully adjusted models analysing 1119 cases of suicide, Roman Catholics, Protestants and those professing no religion recorded similar risks. The risk associated with conservative Christians was lower than that for Catholics (HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.52–0.97).

Conclusions: The relationship between religious affiliation and suicide established by Durkheim may not pertain in societies where suicide rates are highest at younger ages. Risks are similar for those with and without a religious affiliation, and Catholics (who traditionally are characterised by higher levels of church attendance) do not demonstrate lower risk of suicide. However, religious affiliation is a poor measure of religiosity, except for a small group of conservative Christians, although their lower risk of suicide may be attributable to factors such as lower risk behaviour and alcohol consumption.

Historical lies and fictional truth, the literary right fighting (for) the truth after WWII

War and Memory Research Seminar
QUB, Belfast, December 2009

Finding Your Feet in the Field: Critical Reflections of Early Career Researchers on Field Research in Transitional Societies

Fieldwork that takes place in conflict or transitional regions is becoming increasingly popular amongst early-career and more seasoned researchers, but is an area that retains an air of mystery and remains an exotic form of knowledge gathering. There exists a paucity of personal reflection on the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork in conflicted or transitional regions and a limited amount of insight into the practical steps taken in advance of and when immersed in the field. Such reticence to share honest fieldwork experiences, particularly the more challenging research that takes place in conflict or transitional settings aids in creating a culture of silence. This paper attempts to counteract this silence by drawing on the challenges experienced by two early career researchers conducting fieldwork in Uganda and Palestine, focusing on the practical steps taken in advance of entering the field, and the challenges faced whilst engaged in fieldwork. Specific challenges are highlighted throughout, including: physical access to areas in conflict; engaging with reluctant research participants; the emotional impact of fieldwork on the researcher; maintaining confidentiality; researching with vulnerable victims; and ensuring appropriate knowledge exchange between researchers and participants. The paper concludes by emphasising the requirement for greater reflection on the inherently personal challenges associated with conducting fieldwork in conflicted or transitional settings and highlights the view that fieldwork is a privileged position that carries great responsibilities which must be upheld to ensure the sustainability of future research. This paper hopes to contribute to the wider debate on conducting fieldwork and the challenges associated with working in conflicted or transitional regions.

Do fertility transitions influence infant mortality declines? Evidence from early modern Germany

The timing and sequencing of fertility transitions and early-life mortality declines in historical Western societies indicate that reductions in sibship (number of siblings) may have contributed to improvements in infant health. Surprisingly, however, this demographic relationship has received little attention in empirical research. We outline the difficulties associated with establishing the effect of sibship on infant mortality and discuss the inherent bias associated with conventional empirical approaches. We offer a solution that permits an empirical test of this relationship while accounting for reverse causality and potential omitted variable bias. Our approach is illustrated by evaluating the causal impact of family size on infant mortality using genealogical data from 13 German parishes spanning the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Overall, our findings do not support the hypothesis that declining fertility led to increased infant survival probabilities in historical populations.