Podcast with Chris Gilligan and Bryan Fanning

In this new episode of the School of Sociology podcast, our student (Mark Doyle) and faculty (Thomas Grund, Gerry Boucher) talk with Dr. Chris Gilligan from the University of the West of Scotland and Prof. Bryan Fanning from University College Dublin about Brexit, migration, racism and Grandmaster Flash.

IRC scholarship for Grainne McKeever

Our current PhD student Grainne McKeever received a prestigious Government of Ireland PhD scholarship. Her thesis is titled "From student to citizen: The role of post primary schooling in the political socialisation of Irish citizens". Grainne is supervised by Associate Professor Kieran Allen. Congratulations to both!

Below is a poster that describes Grainne's research project:

Congratulations to Donal Reddington for passing PhD viva

Huge congrats to our doctoral student Donal Reddington for passing his viva. Donal's thesis is titled "Governance of Transboundary Co-operation: A Case Study of Tourism Ireland" and he was supervised by Iarfhlaith Watson (UCD Sociology) and James Connington (IPA). Below is a summary of his project.

"Tourism Ireland is a body established under the Good Friday Agreement to market the island of Ireland as a visitor destination in overseas markets. It is accountable to Ministers from Ireland and Northern Ireland sitting jointly at the North South Ministerial Council. At administrative level the body reports separately to the Departments with policy responsibility for tourism in Ireland and Northern Ireland. These overlapping accountability frameworks are in contest, leading to conflicting objectives and obligations.

This research examines the background to the formation of Tourism Ireland, its existing accountability framework, and the issues that arise with regard to the diverging views of the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland on the most appropriate direction of the body. The research employs theories of sovereignty, confederalism, nationalism and functionalism to determine how the accountability framework could be optimised while respecting the diverse perspectives of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

It finds that complex matrix accountability frameworks that mix confederal and state-level accountability are not the most suitable approach for the oversight of transboundary bodies. A single accountability path to a joint council at political level and a joint executive at official level may represent a more suitable alternative framework, with the policy departments in the two jurisdictions having a consultative role in terms of communicating their policy objectives to the joint executive. Individual jurisdictions’ power of veto over joint decisions would be curtailed through the establishment of a mechanism to resolve contentious issues.

Tourism promotion in particular is closely associated with a state’s efforts to create a positive image of itself among other states: therefore measures which limit the ability of individual states to market themselves as visitor destinations are likely to be a source of tension unless the measure can be shown to be pareto-improving for all the participating states."

New Masters programme in Social Data Analytics

Do you want to work for Google, Facebook or another company that deals with big data about individuals, social networks or social groups? At the School of Sociology (UCD) we are offering a new MSc degree in Social Data Analytics, which provides excellent employment opportunities for social media companies, but also for traditional sectors where the analysis of social and consumer data is ever more important. In the degree, strong analytical and programming skills are combined with solid training in sociology.

For more information about this new and exciting one-year Masters programme in Social Data Analytics offered by our School see here.

Congratulations to Carol Ellis for passing PhD viva

Our current student Carol Ellis has passed her PhD viva last week. Congratulations! The thesis is titled "A sociological exploration of systemic lupus erythermatosus in Ireland" and was supervised by Dr. Paul Stokes.


Below is an abstract of Carol's PhD dissertation:

"Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE/lupus) is a trending chronic illness. Prior to this research, there has been no sociological exploration of lupus in Ireland. SLE is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women during their child-bearing years. The study provides insight into the subjective experience of the individual with lupus analysing how this chronic illness impacts their identity. To address this, the background literature explores identity and stigmatisation. From the commencement of symptoms, learning to live with a chronic illness involves the adoption of the crisis model or the negotiation model. Two principles emerged as the main factors in influencing which model individuals with lupus chose, the doctor-patient relationship and health education. These two factors were linked to management techniques. Individuals have to cope with the psychosocial problems generated by chronic disease and must manage daily living according to their financial and social conditions.

Emergent Social Determinants of Health (ESDH) is a proposed concept for scenarios when an individual may not have been affected by inequities before their disease emerged, but inequities have since developed and impacted life quality. The illness experience can be transforming because life becomes characterised by change. Self-management refers to the skills and behaviours a person needs to maintain functioning in the context of their lives. These skills and behaviours enable the individual to deal with what chronic illness entails; symptoms, treatment, physical and social consequences, and lifestyle changes.

SLE is a complex chronic illness chosen for this research due to the ambiguity surrounding it mainly as a result of lack of social awareness and the arduous diagnosis process. The negotiation of identity is an area to be explored analysing the process of ‘coming out’ with SLE focusing on the perception of the illness itself. The article outlines overcoming barriers and developing and implementing strategies to result in the individual becoming part of the social whole. The thesis notes that the Irish State needs to recognise the benefits of and introduce self-management programmes, but first, it is essential that the State prioritise maintaining the individuals’ standard of living and identity during the illness by the person learning to adapt and acculture to their new identity by addressing ESDH. Overall, the thesis notes that education is a necessity for optimal disease control."

Rest Here: Master's student opens art installation at UCD

Our current Master's student Michael McLoughlin and former artist in residence at UCD opens the new art installation 'REST HERE' at the UCD Sutherland School of Law on May 24 at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend the reception to celebrate this unique art installation, but we ask that you RSVP to Danny Moran: danny.moran@ucd.ie, by May 19 to confirm your attendance.

Artist Michael McLoughlin developed this unique installation from the song of the Common Swift, a bird which annually travels from the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East to Ireland. This piece was originally inspired as a reflection and celebration of the increasing diversity amongst students and staff. As the work developed, the parallels between the story of the swifts’ journey, and those of people taking flight from the Middle East and North Africa in search of refuge deepened, adding extra resonance to the installation. See further details at http://mmcloughlin.org/index.php/rest-here/. 

Summer School for 5th year students on 6 June

Seize the opportunity to experience university life with UCD’s Summer School for secondary school students in September 2017. The one-day Summer School will introduce you to the innovative new BSc in Social Sciences degree and introduce you to some of the exciting career opportunities available for social sciences graduates. At the introductory session, you can find out more about the subjects and new pathways available. The School of Sociology will run an interactive session during this summer school.

The Summer School is for students who are interested in studying the BSc Social Sciences degree and are going into 6th year or Year 13 (A Level) in September 2017. The UCD Social Sciences Summer School costs €35 and includes a sandwich lunch and tea/coffee. A reduced rate of €15 is available for applicants whose families are in receipt of job-seekers or disability payments. If you wish to avail of this discount rate please email Kathy.L.Murphy@ucd.ie before booking your course.

More information see here

UCD sociologists presenting at Sociological Association of Ireland 2017 conference in Belfast

Gerry Boucher, Iarfhlaith Watson, Eoin Flaherty, Aogan Mulcahy, Sara O'Sullivan, Rajee Kanagavel, Mathew Creighton, Phil Ryan and Ciara Pritschet all presented their research at the 2017 SAI (Sociological Association of Ireland) conference in Belfast.

Dr. Grund wins College-level teaching award!

Congratulations to our colleague Dr. Thomas Grund (UCD Sociology) for winning a College-level teaching award. The panel noted in particular:

"Dr. Grund's clear expertise and excellence in the provision of digital supports for teaching and evidence of its impact through successfully obtaining SPARC funding and positive student feedback. The panel also noted that enrolling in a programme of study to improve his visual skills clearly demonstrates a high level of commitment to further developing his teaching."

At the undergraduate level, Thomas teaches "SOC10070 Sociological Analysis and Research Design" and "SOC20230 Analytical Sociology". To find more about his courses see here. 

Furthermore, Dr. Grund will be recommended to be considered for a University-level teaching award. Congrats Thomas!

The myth of violent past

In this blog entry, Prof. Malešević UCD Sociology), author of "The Rise of Organised Brutality. CUP", gives an outlook on his latest book and explores how organised violence is on the rise and why it has increased throughout the course of human history.

http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2017/04/the-myth-of-violent-past/