Media transnationalism in Ireland: an examination of Polish media practices

A divergent range of Polish-language and Polish-oriented media has developed in Ireland since May 2004. These media, and the practices that produce and engage with them, cannot adequately be analysed within conventional categories such as ‘ethnic minority media’. Drawing on qualitative work conducted with Polish journalists and media workers, this article examines Polish media as an emerging transnational field, shaped by a reflexive awareness of the extent of transnational media flows within Polish social networks. It suggests that this field can be approached, and further research based, on concepts of immanent transnationalism, multi-modal address and multicultural reflexivity. Given the incipient condition of transnational media research in Ireland, the article draws on current debates in diasporic and transnational media research to argue that future research should transcend the reductive tendencies of ‘methodological multiculturalism’, and attend to the ways in which transnational practices negotiate situated political discourses concerning migration

Mediating Catholicism – Religious Identities, Polish Migrants and the Catholic Church in Ireland

This thesis investigates the experience of Polish migrants in Ireland and how, if at all, spirituality or the church figure in terms of social and spiritual support. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with Polish migrants and clergy, participant observation and documentary materials and guided by theories of religion as resource, achieved identity, and transnational entity, I identify four major empirical findings. First, religion is not a significant factor motivating the migration of Polish migrants to Ireland and instead economic and social factors predominate. Second, there is considerable variation in migrants’ religious beliefs and practices, ranging from migrants who strongly identify with Catholicism to migrants who dis-identify with Catholic identity. Third, some Polish migrants rely on the church for various resources while others do not, depending on factors such as social networks, transnational ties and religious identity. I find that religion matters more as a marker of ethnic identity and social service resource than spirituality. In addition, the Polish chaplaincy draws on transnational resources to help some migrants maintain their religious identity and connection to Poland. Migrants, in turn, mobilise transnational networks to further support the preservation of ties to their homeland. Theoretically, this thesis gives weight to the perspective that religion and religious institutions operate transnationally, yet migrants’ relationship with religion is constantly negotiated and adapted depending on their time and context specific situations, some migrants ‘opt in or out’ of religion when ‘necessary’

The Rhythm of Our Lives: Popular Music and Cultural Memory in the Age of the Internet and Retro Culture

This thesis examines how popular music listening facilitates cultural memory through retro culture and the affordances of the internet and mobile listening technologies. The theoretical framework is comprised of a blend of approaches, namely, Hesmondhalgh’s (2005) ‘none of the above’ thesis, Mannheim’s (1928) concept of the ‘generation unit’, Williams’ (1961) ‘structures of feeling’, the concept of hauntology and a soft technological determinism. This framework is used to interpret the empirical data emerging from thirty-eight semi-structured interviews conducted with a cross-generational sample of male and female fans of older popular music aged between eighteen to sixty-two years of age and based in the greater Dublin area. Using theoretical and empirical evidence, then, the thesis argues that while popular music is continually associated with youth culture in academia, there is a developing trend of retro culture and nostalgia in recent years that demands more attention. It is found that the specific generation unit of younger fans in this study listen primarily to rock and indie music of the mid-to-late twentieth century and possess memories of and nostalgia for these particular genres and decades in their quest for authenticity and the desire to connect through music to a generation and time period that is not theirs. This is found to be the result of cultural developments such as changing generational relationships, the continued production and consumption of popular music by older generations, the structure of feeling shared by the generation unit, new means of retrieval, storage and distribution and also the revival of older formats. In short, the findings show that cultural and technological trends enmesh to influence the ways in which musical tastes and memories are constructed. There has been some work completed on this topic by journalists but little in terms of academic work and so my original contribution to existing knowledge arises from my analysis of the concept of retro culture through a theoretical and empirical study of music listeners

The Antinomies of Autonomy: The Social Structures of Stressors in Ireland and Denmark

Autonomy is a core aspect of the labour process, working conditions, and the relationship between working conditions and well-being. Developments in techno-economic capacities, networked production, occupational structures, and organisational flexibility, have altered the dynamics of autonomy. High levels of work autonomy can now present counter-intuitive demands and contradictions which challenge the experience of self-regulation, discretion, and freedom at work - the Antinomies of Autonomy. In negotiating the decisive and interlinked post-industrial work bargains of effort, boundaries, and employment, different antinomies emerge which can present unique forms of stressors. The interrelated dynamics of the autonomy and antinomies within these post-industrial work bargains present difficulties for models linking working conditions and well-being outcomes (Bakker and Demerouti 2007, Karasek 1979, Siegrist 1996). The key mechanisms shaping the impact of work on psychological well-being go beyond the individual and a work 'place'. The thesis thus presents a sociological framework centred on a stressor (Wheaton 1999) - capability (Sen 1999, Hobson 2014) pathway. Employing a comparative case study method, the research draws from in-depth semi-structured interviews with IT workers in Ireland (n=17) and Denmark (n=14) to explore the antinomies, strategies and stressors of autonomous working lives and how they are shaped by different institutional contexts. The interviews involved psychosocial work environment and job related feelings surveys, alongside more detailed discussions of work and employment conditions in IT. The survey data shows an association between high autonomy and high demands for the Irish interviewees but not the Danish, and a surprising lack of feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and calmness at work. The qualitative analysis identifies three mutually reinforcing antinomies of autonomy - interdependence, boundarylessness, and fusion - occurring within the labour process, working conditions, and the employment relationship respectively. The strategies and stressors emerging from these conditions are based on the 'capability sets' available within each institutional context. The analysis shows how Danish interviewees drew on more collective and institutional resources and norms in developing working life strategies. The Irish interviewees described strategies sourced and sustained mainly at the individual level. The thesis illustrates the complex interplay of post-industrial work bargains, the antinomies of autonomy, institutional capabilities, and the social structure of stressors of working life