The Great Transition:Climate, disease and society in the late-medieval world

In the fourteenth century the Old World witnessed a series of profound and abrupt changes in the trajectory of long-established historical trends. Trans-continental networks of exchange fractured and an era of economic contraction and demographic decline dawned from which Latin Christendom would not begin to emerge until its voyages of discovery at the end of the fifteenth century. In a major new study of this 'Great Transition', assessment is made of the contributions of commercial recession, war, climate change,and eruption of the Black Death to a far-reaching reversal of fortunes which spared no part of Eurasia. A wealth of new historical, palaeoecological and biological evidence are synthesised, including estimates of national income, reconstructions of past climates. and genetic analysis of DNA extracted from the teeth of plague victims, to provide a fresh account of the creation, collapse and realignment of western Europe's late-medieval commercial economy.

Commentary on An Enquiry into the Nature and Origin of Literary Property (1762)

One of a number of published commentaries contributing to the mid-eighteenth century debate concerning the nature of literary property. The author of An Enquiry sought to repudiate the concept of a natural authorial property right existing at common law. In so doing, he specifically engaged with various aspects of William Warburton's earlier commentary (see: uk_1747), as well as presenting arguments that drew upon the nature of property in general, the differences between the right claimed by proponents of the common law right and other acknowledged incorporeal properties, the similarities between patents and copyright, the history of literary property, the experience of other jurisdictions (drawing upon Venice in particular), and the consequences that would follow from conceding the existence of a perpetual right both for authors in particular and society in general. This commentary, in turn, drew its own response in the guise of A Vindication of the Exclusive Rights of Authors, to their own work (1762).

Picking on vulnerable migrants: precarity and the mushroom industry in Northern Ireland

This article examines precarious employment in the context of the mushroom industry in Northern Ireland. Migrant workers engaged in mushroom picking were interviewed in the context of wider research investigating forced labour in Northern Ireland. The research found that, while the boundaries between exploitation and forced labour are complex and difficult to discern, there was some evidence of borderline forced labour, according to ILO definitions. However, workers found themselves on a ‘continuum of exploitation’, where initial engagement with the prospect of decent work was superseded by increasing endurance of exploitative practices, brought about by unequal power relationships with employers originating in immigration status. This is examined in the wider theoretical context of precarity, of which precarious employment comprises a part.

Football Talk: Sociological Reflections on the Dialectics of Language and Football

The paper examines the relationship between football and language from a sociological point of view. This has often been couched in negative terms but the paper argues that such a view distorts the majority of ‘Football Talk’. The discourse surrounding football within everyday interactions is often positive and integrative. ‘Football Talk’ acts as a lingua franca amongst football supporters. This language code is therefore both inclusive and exclusive.

Neoliberal Capitalism, Social Reproduction Crisis, Gender Implications and Forms of Resistance: The case of Greece

Neoliberal capitalism and its accompanied austerity measures has had a profound effect on social reproduction throughout Europe. Social reproduction, ie, the process that makes it possible for individuals, families, and society to reproduce itself – is in crisis. The concept of social reproduction utilized in this presentation is framed within the feminist and Marxist tradition. Historically, social reproduction was met through both waged and unwaged work with women playing a predominant role either as waged, predominantly public sector, workers (social workers, teachers, carers, nurses, etc) or as unpaid workers (unpaid carers: mothers, wives, etc.) but now both forms of work are destabilized and undermined. Thus, the crisis in social reproduction. Within this crisis women’s unequal position is further undermined but at the same time progressive women and men are organizing to present alternatives forms of social reproduction. This presentation by utilizing the case of Greece will first outline the neoliberal processes that have caused the crisis in social reproduction. Second, it will present the consequences of social reproduction by highlighting the gender implications. Third, it will discuss the reorganization of social reproduction which is taking place outside the logic of capitalist society and is manifested through the creation of solidarity health clinics and pharmacies, communal kitchens, creation of various forms of bartering etc. This presentation will argue that these forms present glimpses of another society , a society based on principles of solidarity and cooperation. A society worth fighting for. And finally the presentation will conclude by discussing at which level can this crisis be resolved and the role of the social work profession.

Measuring children’s experience of their right to participate in school and community: a rights-based approach

This paper discusses the development of a children’s rights-based measure of participation and the findings from its use in a survey of 10 to 11 year old children (n= 3773). The measure, which was developed in collaboration with a group of children, had a high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .89). Findings suggest that children’s positive experience of their participation rights is higher in school than in community, and higher for girls compared to boys. It is argued that involving children in the ‘measurement’ of their own lives has the potential to generate more authentic data on children’s lived experiences.

Mapping Ireland’s Energy Pathways: Characterizing and Catalyzing Transition

In 2015 Ireland has arguably begun to make its first bold steps in confronting the challenges of energy transition, with the objective of a “low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by the end of the
year 2050” expressed in the 2015 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill and the 2015 Energy Bill acknowledging that energy transformation relied on a new breed of ‘energy citizens’. These represent the first formal articulation of Ireland’s ambition to engage in a radical, long-term and far-reaching transition process, and raises a myriad of questions over how this can be operationalised, resourced and whether it can maintain political momentum. A range of perspectives on these issues is provided in the growing body of literature on transition theories (Rotmans et al 2001, Markard et al 2012) and the inter-disciplinary EPA-funded CC Transitions project, based at Queen’s University Belfast, represents an attempt to translate this into the context of Ireland’s institutions and technological profile. By relating this to international research on sustainability transitions, which conceptualises transitions as multi-level, multi-phase and multi-actor processes, this paper will explore the opportunities of alternative pathways that could take Ireland towards a more progressing, inclusive and effective low carbon future. Drawing on a number of case studies it will highlight some of the capacities for transition required in Irish society: where these exist, how they are being built or enabled, and the barriers to wider social change.