Patient satisfaction with realtime teledermatology in Northern Ireland

Teledermatology consultations were organized between two health centers and two hospitals in Northern Ireland using low-cost videoconferencing equipment. A prospective study of patient satisfaction was carried out. Following each teleconsultation, patients were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their satisfaction with the service. Over 22 months, 334 patients were seen by a dermatologist over the video-link, and 292 patients (87%) completed the 16-item questionnaire. Patients reported universal satisfaction with the technical aspects of teledermatology. The quality of both the audio and the display was highly acceptable to patients. Personal experiences of the teledermatology consultation were also favourable: 85% felt comfortable using the video-link. The benefits of teledermatology were generally recognized: 88% of patients thought that a teleconsultation could save time. Patients found the teledermatology consultation to be as acceptable as the conventional dermatology consultation. These findings suggest overall patient satisfaction with realtime teledermatology.

Segregation Preferences of Urban and Rural 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland

Sectarian violence in the Northern Ireland is often perceived to be mostly confined to cities. The aim of this paper is to explore statistically what factors contribute to segregation preferences among young people living in rural and urban areas, using the 2005–2009 Young Life and Times (YLT) survey – an annual attitudes survey of 16-year-olds. The findings show that religious and national identities are the strongest predictors of segregation preferences among 16-year-olds, regardless of where they live and what background they have. Those living in rural areas of Northern Ireland are more supportive of residential, workplace and educational segregation than those living in more urban areas. This research highlights the need for government policy to take rurality into account. Nevertheless, some variables significantly determine segregation preferences regardless of where respondents live, such as attendance of segregated schools, being female, or strength of national and religious identity. Consequently, policy initiatives should continue to address the effect of segregation, especially in relation to education, and future research exploring social class and gender is recommended. In conclusion, the perception of the violent ‘urban spaces’ and the ‘peaceful countryside’ has to be challenged.

The use of Ecological and Carbon Footprint Analysis in regional policy making: application and insights using the REAP model

This paper builds on and extends previous research to contribute to ongoing discussion on the use of resource and carbon accounting tools in regional policy making. The Northern Visions project has produced the first evidence-based footpath setting out the actions that need to be taken to achieve the step changes in the Ecological and Carbon Footprint of Northern Ireland. A range of policies and strategies were evaluated using the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme. The analysis provided the first regional evidence base that current sustainable development policy commitments would not lead to the necessary reductions in either the Ecological Footprint or carbon dioxide emissions. Building on previous applications of Ecological Footprint analysis in regional policy making, the research has demonstrated that there is a valuable role for Ecological and Carbon Footprint Analysis in policy appraisal. The use of Ecological and Carbon Footprint Analysis in regional policy making has been evaluated and recommendations made on ongoing methodological development. The authors hope that the research can provide insights for the ongoing use Ecological and Carbon Footprint Analysis in regional policy making and help set out the priorities for research to support this important policy area

A new landscape of arts-based buildings and comparative cultural policies on the island of Ireland: the curse of Jocasta's necklace

Much current cultural policy research focuses on activity traditionally viewed as arts practice: visual arts, music, literature and dance. Architecture’s role in the discussion of cultural policy is, however, less certain and thus less frequently interrogated. The study presented here both addresses this dearth of in-depth research while also contributing to the interdisciplinary discussion of cultural policy in wider terms. In seeking to better understand how architectural culture is regulated and administered in a specific case study, it unpacks how the complicated relationships of nominal and explicit policies on both sides of the Irish/Northern Irish border contributed to the significant expansion of arts-based buildings 1995-2008. It contrasts political and cultural motivations behind these projects during a period of significant economic growth, investment and inward immigration. Data has been gathered from both official published policies as well as interviews with elite actors in the decision-making field and architects who produced the buildings of interest in both countries. With the sizeable number of arts-based buildings now completed in both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, one must wonder if this necklace of buildings is, like Jocasta’s, a thing of both beauty and redolent with a potential future curse. It is the goal of this project to contribute to the larger applied and critical discussion of these issues and to engage with future policy design, administration and, certainly, evaluation.

Social work education and political conflict: preparing students to address the needs of victims and survivors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland

This paper reports on the evaluation of a European PEACE III sponsored teaching and learning project that was designed to enable social work students to better understand the needs of victims and survivors of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The paper begins with an introduction to policy, practice and educational contexts before reviewing the literature on social work, conflict and trauma. It also summarises key, innovative pedagogical approaches used in the teaching, including the use of ground rules, teaching teams consisting of lecturer and service user dyads, learning exercises and case studies. The paper then explains the evaluation methodology. This involved two surveys which returned 144 student and 34 practice teacher questionnaires. The findings revealed that
students were generally committed to this form of teaching and engagement with victims and survivors of the conflict, although some students reported that their attitudes towards this subject had were not changed. Some students also discussed how the conflict had affected their lives and the lives of families and friends; it is argued that such biographical details are crucial in developing new pedagogical approaches in this area.
Practice teachers who supervised some of these students on placement reported general levels of satisfaction with preparedness to work with conflict related situations but were less convinced that organisations were so committed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the study limitations and a recommendation for more robust methods of teaching and evaluation in this area of social work education and practice.

Addressing the technical and market challenges to high wind power integration in Ireland

Over the last decade there has been a rapid global increase in wind power stimulated by energy and climate policies. However, as wind power is inherently variable and stochastic over a range of time scales, additional system balancing is required to ensure system reliability and stability. This paper reviews the technical, policy and market challenges to achieving ambitious wind power penetration targets in Ireland’s All-Island Grid and examines a number of measures proposed to address these challenges. Current government policy in Ireland is to address these challenges with additional grid reinforcement, interconnection and open-cycle gas plant. More recently smart grid combined with demand side management and electric vehicles have also been presented as options to mitigate the variability of wind power. In addition, the transmission system operators have developed wind farm specific grid codes requiring improved turbine controls and wind power forecasting techniques.

Celtic nationalism and supranationalism: comparing Scottish and Northern Ireland party responses to Europe

This article explores how stateless nationalist parties in the ‘Celtic periphery’ of Scotland and Northern Ireland have used Europe to advance their territorial projects. Despite vastly different historical, political and social contexts, the Scottish National Party and Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party have both advanced a pro-European, social democratic discourse that emphasises the importance of Europe as a framework for constitutional reform and shared sovereignty. However, in recent years the parties have diverged on Europe. While the SDLP has continued its principled commitment to further integration, the SNP has articulated an increased criticism of the supranational project. This divergence in party attitudes reveals the extent to which the pro-European dimension of Celtic nationalism is ideological or opportunistic.

Politics, policy preferences and the evolution of Irish bureaucracy:A framework for analysis

Analysis of the Irish state's administrative system is an unaccountably neglected area of systematic academic inquiry. This is all the more difficult to account for in view of the dynamic relationship between government actors and the public bureaucracy in realizing political goals. This paper identifies some distinguishing institutional features and dominant trends in Irish politico-administrative governance, and suggests avenues for future inquiry. The paper begins with an examination of the literature on administrative system change, with a focus on the New Public Management literature. Following this, the Irish case is profiled, identifying the evolution of ministerial departments and of state agencies by successive Irish governments, including patterns of agency creation and termination over time. Particular attention is given to the period 1989-2010, which has been one of quite rapid and complex organizational change within the state's bureaucratic apparatus. © 2012 Political Studies Association of Ireland.

Educational assessment policy and practice - a matter of ethics

Long-standing concerns within the field of educational assessment consider the impact of assessment policy and practice as matters of equity, inequality and social justice.Yet educational assessment policy and practice continues to have powerful social consequences for key users such as children and young people.This paper re-positions these consequences as a matter of ethics.It uses the work of Messick to frame how ethical matters extend beyond test instruments into the realm of uses and impact. A case study of the 11+ school transfer system in Northern Ireland is presented to illustrate ethical dilemmas emerging as a consequence of actions and decisions of using assessment systems for particular purposes.In looking forward to how we might attend to ethical matters in assessment policy and practice, a consideration of a children’s rights approach is outlined that may provide a moral and legal framework for action.

Governing Ireland:From Cabinet Government to Delegated Governance

The structures of Irish government were once considered reliably stable, professional and efficient. The economic crash of 2008 swept away all such sureties. How did we fail to foresee the challenges and avert a crisis that has undermined the state in every respect? Initial explanations have focused on the absence of robust mechanisms to challenge policy, a lack of imagination and expertise in policy design, and inadequacies in policy implementation and evaluation. Others still have pointed to the inability of traditional structures of decision-making and oversight to manage the multidimensional nature of modern policy problems, as well as an increasingly complex administrative system.

This new book offers a fresh and sustained scrutiny of the Irish system of national government. It examines the cabinet, the departments of Finance and the Taoiseach, ministerial relationships with civil servants, the growth and decline of agencies, the executive's relationship with Dáil Éireann and other monitoring agencies, the impact of the European Union, the courts, the media and social partnership. Distinguished academics are brought together in this volume to reassess Irish governance structures in the context of much greater diversity in policy processes and delegation in government. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in how the Irish state is governed, including practitioners and students of Irish politics.

The Houses of the Oireachtas:Parliament in Ireland

The Irish parliament - the Oireachtas - is nearing the centenary year of its foundation, making it one of the oldest continuously surviving parliaments in the world. As the most important national institution in the state, it plays an essential role in giving voice to a diversity of views and opinions, providing stable governments, approving law and national budgets and upholding democratic values. For much of its existence, however, and most pointedly in the context of recent banking and economic crises, it has been subject to criticism concerning its ability to adequately hold the executive to account, to act as a coherent policy-making forum, to meet the challenges arising from European Union membership, to embrace wide-ranging reforms and to develop with purpose and ambition.

This comprehensive new volume considers all aspects of the Houses of the Oireachtas - including their evolution, composition, organisation, financing, administration and reform. Contributors include academics, administrators and sitting and former parliamentarians. Contemporary challenges brought about by transformations in media style, increased inter-parliamentarism and the changing character of politics are also addressed. The book questions a number of assumptions about parliament and its work, including the efficacy of the legislative and budgetary processes, the nature of executive-legislative relations and the perceived encroachment of the courts on the legislature. Combined, this wide-ranging and detailed study fills a long-standing void, and provides essential reading not alone for those interested in Irish politics and government, but also for students and scholars of legislative studies.

Preparing the ground for marine spatial planning in Ireland

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advocated as a means of managing human uses of the sea in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of the ecological goods and services of the marine environment. The adoption of a system of MSP is seen as urgent in the face of ever-increasing demands on marine resources. This is particularly so in Ireland with its extensive seas, belatedly being recognised as a significant development resource. MSP is promoted by the European Commission (EC) in a recent Green Paper to which Member States of the Union, including Ireland, generally have responded positively. Arising from this consultative process, the EC has published the 'Blue Book' that commits support for MSP. It has also issued guidelines for an integrated approach to maritime policy. The recently adopted EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive strengthens the case for implementing MSP as it requires each Member State to develop a strategy for its marine resources. There is evidence that a diverse range of stakeholders at national and local levels in Ireland are positively disposed toward MSP but no practical manifestation of the concept is in place, though some preparatory work is underway to facilitate its likely implementation into the future. © 2010 WIT Press.

Marine spatial planning from the perspective of a small seaside community in Ireland

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advocated as a means of managing human uses of the sea in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of the ecological goods and services of the marine environment. Support for the process is evident at international and national levels but the degree to which it is acceptable to local level stakeholders is not clear. An Daingean (formely Dingle) is a small sea-oriented town situated on the southwest coast of Ireland in which marine-based tourism and other relatively new uses of the sea are pursued along side traditional fishing activities. Stakeholders in An Daingean are found to be positively disposed to a local process of MSP that incorporates meaningful local involvement.

Can we meet targets for biofuels and renewable energy in transport given the constraints imposed by policy in agriculture and energy?

The deployment of biofuels is significantly affected by policy in energy and agriculture. In the energy arena, concerns regarding the sustainability of biofuel systems and their impact on food prices led to a set of sustainability criteria in EU Directive 2009/28/EC on Renewable Energy. In addition, the 10% biofuels target by 2020 was replaced with a 10% renewable energy in transport target. This allows the share of renewable electricity used by electric vehicles to contribute to the mix in achieving the 2020 target. Furthermore, only biofuel systems that effect a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared with the fuel they replace are allowed to contribute to meeting the target. In the agricultural arena, cross-compliance (which is part of EU Common Agricultural Policy) dictates the allowable ratio of grassland to total agricultural land, and has a significant impact on which biofuels may be supported. This paper outlines the impact of these policy areas and their implications for the production and use of biofuels in terms of the 2020 target for 10% renewable transport energy, focusing on Ireland. The policies effectively impose constraints on many conventional energy crop biofuels and reinforce the merits of using biomethane, a gaseous biofuel. The analysis shows that Ireland can potentially satisfy 15% of renewable energy in transport by 2020 (allowing for double credit for biofuels from residues and ligno-cellulosic materials, as per Directive 2009/28/EC) through the use of indigenous biofuels: grass biomethane, waste and residue derived biofuels, electric vehicles and rapeseed biodiesel. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.