The Orange and the Green: National and Religious Identity of Young Adults in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has traditionally housed a discordant mix of those that identify as Irish Catholic and those that consider themselves British Protestant. After a thirty-year period of political and ethnic violence known as the Troubles, these two groups came to peace terms in 1998. Yet, a sense of distinction between Irish Catholics and British Protestants remains in this society today. Research indicates that identity is changing in Northern Ireland in both kind and numbers, and individuals now form identity in a climate vastly different than that of their parents. While there is a wealth of research on the general population and youth in Northern Ireland, little qualitative focus has been given to young adults in the region, particularly in religion. My primary research questions are, 1) How do young adults in Northern Ireland identify religiously and nationally? and 2) How do they form this identity?. Using a social identity perspective, sixteen qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted in Belfast, Northern Ireland with those ages 18-35. Structured questions were asked to all participants, designed to elicit narratives about the nature and formation of national and religious identities. Results indicate that while these two identities were previously nearly synonymous, young adults in Northern Ireland today disassociate with a religious identity yet retain a national identity. Furthermore, young adults categorize society by level of tolerance, and form national and religious identity from parental influence and geographic upbringing. Through this research, I hope to present a more accurate portrayal of the current religious and national climate in Northern Ireland and the evolution of identity for young adults in this area.Arts and Sciences International Research GrantArts and Sciences Undergraduate Research ScholarshipURO Undergraduate Education Summer Research FellowshipNo embargoAcademic Major: PsychologyAcademic Major: Sociolog

Trusting the Internet: New Approaches to Credibility Tools

Part of the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and CredibilityThis chapter argues that digital media create a paradox whereby information consumers are simultaneously expected to be more independent in their information use and evaluation but also increasingly dependent on digital information and tools. It also discusses how digital media separate credibility from authority and argues that this necessitates a different approach to credibility assessment. The author then explores opportunities to leverage the special characteristics of digital media to create new methods and tools for credibility assessment

The Digital Reference Research Agenda

This article presents a research agenda for the study of digital reference. The agenda stems from a research symposium held at Harvard in August 2002. The agenda defines digital reference as “the use of human intermediation to answer questions in a digital environment.” The agenda also proposes the central research question in digital reference - “How can human expertise be effectively and efficiently incorporated into information systems to answer user questions?” The definition and question are used to outline a research agenda centered on how the exploration of digital reference relates to other fields of inquiryInformatio

Institutions and labour market outcomes in the EU - A Social Model Employment Efficiency and Income Distribution Index

Labour market performance as measured by employment rates and inequality of income distribution show significant differences among EU countries. In 2014 the variation in employment rates was between 48.8% in Greece and 74.4% in Sweden. Inequality in income distribution as measured by S80/S20 income quintile share ratio ranges in 2013 from 3.4 in Czech Republic to 6.6 in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece and has risen especially in Southeast European countries during the last years. To some extent, labour market and social institutions may account for these differences. Implemented social models in Europe differ from each other by different combinations of policies and institutions showing the dimensions of social models. We use these dimensions to develop two indices which capture the employment and income distribution efficiency of social models i.e. shows how institutions impact on employment and income distribution. Both indices can be used to rank and compare the institutional quality of social models across EU countries