Civic Republicanism and Green Political Theory

Republicanism and in particular the civic republican tradition is not often one that one finds in discusions and debates within green political theory. It is interesting to note the relative lack of engagement between republican political theory and green political theory, unlike for example the research one can find on the relationship between green politics/political theory and liberalism, socialism and feminism. This is remarkable, given, as I hope to establish in this paper, the large areas of overlap between both, and in particular the compatibility of republican ideas and positions with key priciples and objectives of green theory, paricularly in relation to active citizenship, the centrality of recognising vulnerability and a commitment to liberty (as non-domination) and pluralism as key components of the transition to a more sustainable society.

‘Towards a Concrete Utopian Model of Green Political Economy’

Much of the thinking about the appropriate ‘political economy’ to underpin sustainable development has been either utopian (as in some ‘green’ political views) or ‘business as usual’ approaches. This article suggests that ‘ecological modernisation’ is the dominant conceptualisation of ‘sustainable development’ within the UK and other ‘developed’ Northern polities and most corporate/business interests, and illustrates this by looking at some key ‘sustainable development’ policy documents from the UK Government. While critical of the reformist ‘policy telos’ of ecological modernisation, supporters of a more radical version of sustainable development need to also be aware of the strategic opportunities of this policy discourse. In particular, the article suggests that the discourse of ‘economic security’, which can be attached to a radicalised notion of ecological modernisation, ought to be used as a way of articulating a radical, robust and principled understanding of sustainable development, which offers a normatively compelling and policy-relevant path to outlining aspects of a ‘green political economy’ to underpin sustainable development.

Internet banking and Irish credit unions

The purpose of this paper is to examine IT adoption by Irish credit unions. Using probabilistic models, we explore one aspect of IT, that of internet banking technology, and assess the degree to which characteristics specific to the credit union and to its potential membership base influence adoption. Our
analysis suggests that asset size, organisational structure being a member of the Irish League of Credit Unions and the loan to asset ratio are all important credit union specific drivers of internet banking adoption. We also find that characteristics of the area from where the credit union captures its members are important. Factors such as the percentage of the population that is employed, the proportion of the population in the age bracket 35 to 44, the proportion of the population that have access to broadband and the level of familiarity with a local ATM facility are all identified as influencing the probability of adopting internet banking.

An Analysis of the Effect of Electric Vehicle Charging on the Operation of the Single Electricity Market

To meet European Union renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets the Irish government set a target in 2008 that 10% of all vehicles in the transport fleet be powered by electricity by 2020. Similar electric vehicle targets have been introduced in other countries. However, reducing energy consumption and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in transport is a considerable challenge due to heavy reliance on fossil fuels. In fact, transport in the Republic of Ireland in 2009 accounted for 29% of non-emissions trading scheme greenhouse gas emissions, 32% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, 21% of total greenhouse gas emissions and approximately 50% of energy-related non-emission trading scheme greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper the effect of electric vehicle charging on the operation of the single wholesale electricity market for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is analysed. The energy consumed, greenhouse gas emissions generated and changes to the wholesale price of electricity under peak and off-peak charging scenarios are quantified and discussed. Results from the study show that off-peak charging is more beneficial than peak charging.

A New Model for Automated Examination Timetabling

Automated examination timetabling has been addressed by a wide variety of methodologies and techniques over the last ten years or so. Many of the methods in this broad range of approaches have been evaluated on a collection of benchmark instances provided at the University of Toronto in 1996. Whilst the existence of these datasets has provided an invaluable resource for research into examination timetabling, the instances have significant limitations in terms of their relevance to real-world examination timetabling in modern universities. This paper presents a detailed model which draws upon experiences of implementing examination timetabling systems in universities in Europe, Australasia and America. This model represents the problem that was presented in the 2nd International Timetabling Competition (ITC2007). In presenting this detailed new model, this paper describes the examination timetabling track introduced as part of the competition. In addition to the model, the datasets used in the competition are also based on current real-world instances introduced by EventMAP Limited. It is hoped that the interest generated as part of the competition will lead to the development, investigation and application of a host of novel and exciting techniques to address this important real-world search domain. Moreover, the motivating goal of this paper is to close the currently existing gap between theory and practice in examination timetabling by presenting the research community with a rigorous model which represents the complexity of the real-world situation. In this paper we describe the model and its motivations, followed by a full formal definition.

Determination of thyreostat residues from bovine matrices using high-performance liquid chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methodologies were evaluated for the detection and quantification of thyreostatic drug residues in cattle serum and thyroid tissue. The paper details a protocol, using a simple ethyl acetate extraction for the determination of thiouracil, tapazole, methyl thiouracil, propyl thiouracil and phenyl thiouracil in thyroid tissue. Using two sequential HPLC injections, and quantitative analysis, in two steps, all five thyreostats were detectable at concentrations greater than 2.45-4.52 ng/g. Modifications to a published method for detection of thyreostatic residues in serum involving the addition of mercaptoethanol and a freezing step are described. The modifications improved sensitivity and allowed detection of the five thyreostats at levels greater than 16.98-35.25 ng/ml. Young bulls were treated with thyreostats to demonstrate the validity of the methodologies described. Administered thyreostats were not absorbed equally by the test animals and the compounds were not all detected in the serum samples removed at 7 days following drug withdrawal. These experiments indicate the necessity to be able to detect thyreostat residues in a variety of matrices. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Design considerations for the autism spectrum disorder-friendly Key Stage 1 classroom

There is a growing consensus that an appropriate classroom environment will aid the performance of the pupil with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are, however, very few design guidelines available when considering ASD and the school environment. Such guidelines that do exist tend only to be in general terms. Therefore, this article seeks to highlight design considerations specifically for the ASD-friendly Key Stage 1 (age five to eight) classroom. It will first highlight some of the challenges for those with autism spectrum disorder in a school environment and the triad of challenges faced by architects and designers when considering ASD-friendly classroom design. It will then go on to describe the findings and results of a two-year study carried out in conjunction with the ASD teaching staff of Northern Ireland's Southern Education and Library Board. These consist of 16 specific design considerations for the Key Stage 1 ASD-friendly classroom applicable to all classrooms for pupils between five and eight years of age.