The Language of Ecopoetry and the Transfer of Meaning

This article explores the properties of ecopoetry that have to do with the realisation that we are not merely external observers but active and intrinsic participants within the biosphere. The type of ecopoetics I am advocating takes a subjective stance to experience: it begins from within individual consciousness and is rooted in sensory perception. Reference to the world through this type of ecopoetry evokes a tone or mood, or “atmosphere” between environmental attributes and human experience that can solicit an emotional response. Ecopoetry can deliver meaning on a level beyond the direct connotations of the signs and symbols on the page. This has to do with “presence” as a phenomenological approach to the aesthetics of nature. Employing these concepts has the potential to bridge the gap between nature and politics, and influence attitudes towards living sustainably with the earth

The Building Society Mortgage Market in Ireland. Quarterly Economic Commentary Special Article, September 1980

This paper sets out an econometric model of the Irish building society mortgage market. It arises out of work being carried out on the housing market in Ireland. There have been a number of international studies which have tried to model housing and mortgage markets (see Muth, 1960; Whitehead, 1974; Hadjimatheou, 1976; Artis, Kiernan and Whitney, 1975; Smith, 1969; Arcelus and Metzler, 1973 and Swan, 1973). For Ireland, Nolan (1979) attempted to model the housing market while Hewitt and Thom (1979) estimated a quarterly model of Irish building society behaviour over the period 1970-77

Perceptions of the past in the post-Soviet space

Honing in on how citizens in the former Soviet Union find themselves in an information competition over their own past, this paper explores whether and why ordinary people’s perceptions of historical events and figures in their country’s past are in line with a Russian-promoted narrative that highlights World War II – known as the “Great Patriotic War” in Russia and some former Soviet states – as a glorious Soviet victory and Stalin as a great leader. We draw on comparative survey data across six states and one de facto state in 2019–2020 to examine whether geopolitical or cultural proximity to Russia is associated with a more favourable view on a Russian-promoted narrative about the past. We find that closer geopolitical proximity to Russia is associated with perceiving the past in line with the Russian-promoted narrative, though the findings are less consistent when it comes to measures for closer cultural proximity

Socioeconomic, psychological and demographic determinants of Australian baby boomers' financial planning for retirement

Aim: Research from around the Western World has shown that psychological, socioeconomic and demographic factors can influence levels of financial planning. This study aims to determine how these factors interrelate to predict planning outcomes. Method: Data from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study were used to examine the effects of multiple factors on financial planning for 709 employed Australians nearing retirement. Results: The results showed that higher income, future time perspective (FTP) and financial knowledge independently predicted levels of retirement planning. The effects of FTP and financial knowledge on financial planning were consistent across levels of socioeconomic status. Conclusions: While similar issues in financial planning appeared across socioeconomic status, a 'one size fits all' approach to retirement policy may not be effective. Instead, policy should be targeted towards the diverse needs of different groups. Raising public awareness of FTP and financial knowledge may provide a useful starting point

Whose Global law? Comparative, Regional and Cyber Approaches to Law-Making

The 2019 Global Law Research Dialogue Series convened by Elaine Fahey, Jed Odermatt and Elizabeth O’Loughlin was entitled ‘Whose Global Law? Comparative, Regional and Methodological Lenses’. The series focused on three elements: 1) comparative law approaches to the study of global law, 2) regional approaches to law-making, 2) cyber law-making and methodology, as topical case studies, political problems or eternal legal methodology issues warranting discussions and reflections. The thematic areas selected in 2019, including one case study (Cyber), were chosen for their capacity to generate deliberation as to the global and its complex intersection with inter alia public, private, regional, criminal law and international law – not a conclusive list. The distinctive views of comparative public law and public international law continue to be distinct and separate strands of research warranting further reflection. In keeping with the aims of the series, the 2019 instalment brought together an array of scholars from public and private law, governance, science and technology, political economy and practice to reflect upon our understanding of law beyond the Nation State

Convincing State-Builders? Disaggregating Internal Legitimacy in Abkhazia

De facto states, functional on the ground but unrecognized by most states, have long been black boxes for systematic empirical research. This study investigates de facto states’ internal legitimacy—people's confidence in the entity itself, the regime, and institutions. While internal legitimacy is important for any state, it is particularly important for de facto states, whose lack of external legitimacy has made internal legitimacy integral to their quest for recognition. We propose that the internal legitimacy of de facto states depends on how convincing they are to their “citizens” as state-builders. Using original data from a 2010 survey in Abkhazia, we examine this argument based on respondent perceptions of security, welfare, and democracy. Our findings suggest that internal legitimacy is shaped by the key Weberian state-building function of monopoly of the legitimate use of force, as well as these entities’ ability to fulfill other aspects of the social contract

Dynamics of state-building after war: External-internal relations in Eurasian de facto states

Post-war state-building is fraught with challenges as “war-makers” pivot to become “state-makers.” Citizen assessments of public good provision and physical security provide a measure of how state-building is perceived internally. State-building may also necessitate external dependence (Russia, for example, provides significant financial and military assistance to the post-Soviet de facto states), yet new state authorities want to be seen as more than puppets. We study the relationship between internal and external state-building dynamics in fostering citizen confidence in the post-war state. We use original population surveys to analyze public opinion and geographically disaggregated data on local violence from four post-Soviet de facto states—Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transdniestria—born of war. We examine the scalar relationships—from the individual embedded in the local context, to the regional (de facto territory) and supra-national (patron state and legitimacy in the international community)—that characterize them. We find that distrust of the patron state reduces trust in the de facto state president and translates into a lack of confidence in the prevailing order. As fears of conflict recurrence increase and disappointments about the economy worsen, these relationships are maintained across the pathways defined by the scale of patron trust-distrust

Economic Aspects of the Irish Exchange Control Regime. Quarterly Economic Commentary Special Article, April 1980

From the foundation of the State until March 1979, the Irish currency was maintained in a fixed one-to-one parity with the pound sterling. Aside from the 50% deposit requirement on capital inflows through the banking system imposed by the Central Bank in recent years, there were no significant restrictions on the movement of funds between Ireland and the sterling area. Capital movements between Ireland and non-sterling countries were subject to exchange control regulations broadly similar to the UK's own, although in practice they were administered in a somewhat more liberal fashion. The Irish controls could be seen as, in effect, part of the price of our membership of the sterling zone, since the UK's own controls would have been circumvented very readily if Ireland had presented an uncontrolled "window" to the rest of the world. So purchases of financial assets in non-sterling countries had to be financed through the dollar premium pool or through foreign currency loans

Processing and Transmission of Information

Contains reports on three research projects