Capturing the consumption of distance? A practice-theoretical investigation of everyday travel

This article contributes to current debates on (un)sustainable mobility by re-conceptualising everyday travel as a set of consumption practices. Treating physical mobility as consumption of distance' with considerable social, ecological and economic consequences, the article's theoretical focus moves beyond conventional approaches that have hitherto dominated transport research and policy in Europe and beyond. In addition, it demonstrates how a carefully operationalised practice-theoretical approach can shed new light on the social and material contingency of human (travel) behaviour. By transforming qualitative evidence from Ireland into an innovative typology of commuting practices, this article captures the importance of intermeshing social and material contexts for people's everyday consumption of distance. Overall, we seek to add to the already significant body of literature that evaluates the suitability of practice-theoretical core concepts to the empirical study of everyday life

Curbing The Consumption of Distance? A practice-theoretical investigation of an employer-based mobility management initiative to promote more sustainable commuting

A central feature of modern life is the desire and the need to be mobile. The increasing availability of cars during the twentieth century facilitated the rise in individualised, motorised travel in many countries, including Ireland. While car-based mobility bestows many benefits on society, its resource-intensity causes serious social and environmental problems that require urgent attention from researchers and policy-makers. The transport sector represents a prime target for sustainable development initiatives worldwide. This thesis makes an original contribution to current debates on sustainable transport by re-conceptualising corporeal mobility as "consumption of distance". It thereby adopts a practice-theoretical perspective which recognises the social and material embeddedness of (un)sustainable travel practices. By doing so, it challenges individualistic explanations of human travel behaviour that have dominated transport research and policy in the past. At the same time, it expands upon contemporary practice theories by explicating the material and adding an empirically-grounded conceptualisation of change. In addition, the author offers a unique scheme for operationalising and researching the consumption of distance. Reducing people's over-reliance on the car remains a major policy challenge in Ireland and globally. Based on an in-depth investigation of current travel patterns and their social, infrastructural and institutional contexts, this study offers baseline data for Ireland and a suite of policy-relevant propositions for the promotion of less resource-intensive alternatives to car-based commuting. Combining innovative conceptual work with multi-method empirical research, the study develops an original typology of commuting practices and assesses the effectiveness of mobility management initiatives designed specifically for a large employer in the West of Ireland. Here, the study reveals the potential of meso-level organisations to champion sustainable commuting practices locally. Overall, the practice-theoretical focus of this study elucidates the need for integrated, cross-sectoral policies that challenge the dominance of the car and account for the interconnectedness of social practices

Management reforms in international organizations : a comparative analysis of influencing factors on organizational change of the European Commission

This present comparative analysis addresses the question: which influencing factors affect the successful or failed implementation of administrative reforms in the European Commission? For this purpose, I conducted a historical comparison of the Commission s reform attempts between 1952 and 2004.Facing a lack of theoretical understanding of managerial reforms at the international level, this study aims at contributing to uncover theoretical explanations of administrative reforms in international organizations which the European Commission is a case of. Thus, this study gives an overview of theoretical accounts representing possible paths for studying the research object.The reviewed theoretical background includes three threads of literature: managerial reform in international organizations, public sector reform and change management in the private sector.Following an exploratory logic, a factorial scheme of 15 potential influencing factors is developed on the basis of these theoretical accounts. This analytical frame places interactions of key actors center stage and applies this approach to analyzing seven successful and three failed reform initiatives. Three out of the seven modernization initiatives have note been researcheduntil this study. To answer the research question, the individual cases of modernization were compared and their success or failure was linked to influencing factors. Thereby, seven factors were identified as factors directly affecting the success or failure of formal implementation.Formulating theoretical assumptions on these 'success factors' of managerial reforms marks an important step toward theorizing managerial reforms in the European Commission and other international organizations

Transport policy and governance in turbulent times: Evidence from Ireland

This paper investigates transport policy in the Republic of Ireland before, during and after the ‘Celtic Tiger’ era (1995-2007), to capture how the prevailing governance system responded to rapid economic, political, and social changes. We argue that a detailed record of changes in Irish transport policy and governance during these turbulent times can offer lessons that are relevant to sustainable transport efforts internationally. Focusing on the development, introduction and subsequent implementation of two transport policy milestones, this paper considers political and institutional conditions that paved the way for both a high-cost approach to transport infrastructure development prior to the financial crisis in 2008 and the subsequent shift in policy discourse towards ‘smarter’ more sustainable travel following the rapid deterioration of public finances in the late 2000s. It then asks what changes (if any) are needed to current political-institutional structures to ensure future implementation of these declaratory commitments to sustainable transport. The concluding section explores whether it would be possible, or indeed desirable, to put current transport policy responses to the economic crisis on a more permanent footing, with a view to advancing the sustainable transport agenda, and uncovers opportunities to promote and implement sustainability initiatives in times of financial restraints.EPA Ireland (2008-SD-LS-1-S1)2018-12-0

StemBANCC: Governing access to material and data in a large stem cell research consortium.

This paper makes the case for implementing an internal governance framework for sharing materials and data in stem cell research consortia. A governance framework can facilitate a transparent and accountable system while building trust among partner institutions. However, avoiding excessive bureaucracy is essential. The development and implementation of a governance framework for materials and data access in the Stem cells for Biological Assays of Novel drugs and prediCtive toxiCology (StemBANCC) consortium is presented as a practical example. The StemBANCC project is a multi-partner European research consortium, which aims to build a resource of 1,500 well characterised induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines for in vitro disease modelling and toxicology studies. The project governance framework was developed in two stages. A small working group identified key components of a framework and translated the project legal agreements into a draft policy document. The second phase allowed input from all consortium partners to shape the iterative development of a final policy document that could be agreed by all parties. Careful time management strategies were needed to manage the duration of this component. This part of the process also served as an exploratory space where different options could be proposed, potential gaps in planning identified, and project co-ordination activities specified

Advances on the Inductive Plasma Thruster Design for an Atmosphere-Breathing EP System

Challenging space mission scenarios include those in very low Earth orbits, where the atmosphere creates significant drag to the S/C and forces their orbit to an early decay. For drag compensation, propulsion systems are needed, requiring propellant to be carried on-board. An atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system (ABEP) ingests the residual atmosphere through an intake and uses it as propellant for an electric thruster. Theoretically applicable to any planet with atmosphere, the system might allow drag compensation for an unlimited time without carrying propellant. A new range of altitudes for continuous operation would become accessible, enabling new scientific missions while reducing the required effort for the launcher by achieving these low orbits. Preliminary studies have shown that the collectible propellant flow for an ion thruster (in LEO) might not be enough, and that electrode erosion due to aggressive gases, such as atomic oxygen, will limit the thruster's lifetime. In this paper we present the advances on the design of an inductive plasma thruster (IPT) for the ABEP. The IPT is based on a small-scale inductively heated plasma generator IPG6-S. IPG have the advantage of being electrodeless, and have already shown high electric-to-thermal coupling efficiencies using O2 and CO2 as propellant. IPG6-S requires a scaling of the discharge channel to meet with power requirement and expected collected mass flows, as well as optimisation of the accelerating stage, to provide the required thrust to the spacecraft. Tests have been performed to verify some of the parameters and are as well presented within this paper