Gender, Power and Property: “In my own right”

working paperWomen on farms in Ireland are a subject of feminist analysis for five decades. Salient themes are the constraints of patriarchal agriculture (O'Hara 1997; Shortall, 2004), the invisibility of women's farm work (Viney 1968; O’Hara 1998), gender inequalities in ownership of farm assets (Watson et al. 2009) and increasing professionalisation of farmwomen outside of agriculture (Kelly and Shortall 2002; Hanrahan 2007). Most women enter farming through marriage and family ties. Land ownership is identified by Shortall (2004) as the critical factor underpinning male domination of the occupational category ‘farmer’ and considerable power differentials between men and women in family farming. This is an area that requires further investigation. Our analysis, framed by theoretical models of feminisation and empowerment, explores cases where male farm property ownership in Ireland is disrupted in conventional and non-conventional agricultural settings. Do these cases provide evidence of new opportunities for women to become farm property owners, and in what contexts? What consequences do these opportunities have for farmwomen’s empowerment and agency? How does women’s farm property ownership disturb rural gender relations in the context of the family farm?Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

Writing your thesis.

Introduction, Post-positivist approaches to research, Sourcing information for your thesis

Constructing Your Thesis

This chapter explores a number of questions most commonly asked by students as they embark on writing a thesis: •What is a thesis? •How is a thesis structured? •How do I select a thesis topic? •How do I formulate a research question or hypothesis? •How can I be sure I take an objective angle in writing my thesis? •How do I start my thesis? •What is theory? •What can I expect from my supervisor? •What will I learn from writing a thesis

Creating new knowledge

Those involved in any learning situation whether as educators or as students, come to their tasks enmeshed in the contexts which form part of their wider environment. Hence they are both knowingly and unknowingly influenced by the web of conflicts, dilemmas and power differentials which are part of their system of origin. In this chapter we, the authors, recall an experience of a course where the four key players - the students, their lecturers and their respective organisations - did not share the same learning goals. The chapter examines from our perspective, the impact these differences had on classroom dynamics and highlights the need to take account of the prevailing values and circumstances in the broader environments that impinge on adult students and on their educators. Our exploration of the experience incorporated three distinct but interconnected processes. We sought (i) to construct a narrative of events; (ii) to reveal the non-conscious processes through which we filtered our experiences; and (iii) to attend to the systemic dynamics that formed the framework for interaction among the different players involved. We recognise that our reality is no more privileged than that of any of the other parties (Usher and Edwards, 1994) and therefore we recounted the events more as witnesses than as holders of the ultimate truth of what happened. Our goal was to record only our 'truth' at a particular time, recognising that this has probably changed and evolved over the years since the course was delivered, and that it is but one of a range of possible perspectives (Kenny and Gardner, 1989). We have afforded ourselves this position of 'knowing subjects' in order to further our own learning and in so doing to create useful knowledge for use in the future. We are also aware that the meanings and understandings generated by our enquiry, cannot be divorced from our subjectivity. Our approach to the topic is not that of impartial investigators. On the contrary we were active participants in the events and undertook this reflective process with the express purpose of learning how to do our job better

Consumer Understanding of Nutritional Supplements: An Irish Context

Nutritional Supplements have been available in Ireland for over thirty years. Originally available in health food stores only, supplements now have several distribution channels including pharmacy, practitioner, and online. Recommendations for consumption can come from many sources including general physicians, alternative practitioners, dieticians and nutritionists. The demand for Nutritional Supplements has increased over the years, and the industry has expanded exponentially. Nutritional Supplements provide an important opportunity to optimize illness prevention. As scientists and health professionals start to understand the value of Nutritional Supplements in terms of the prevention and treatment of disease, consumers follow suit. Market growth of Nutritional Supplements is reliant both on market positioning and the distribution strategies and channels chosen by the industry. The success or failure is dependent on how effectively and efficiently their products are sold through marketing channel members (e.g., agents, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers). An examination of the distribution channel most appropriate to the purchase of Nutritional Supplements, and advice on their consumption has never been investigated in Ireland to date; hence, this research will be applicable to those involved in this specific industry. A mixed method research approach was undertaken in this study to enable a thorough overview of the industry as it currently stands in Ireland. This research examines the quality of education of those who are distributing, retailing and/or recommending Nutritional Supplements. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with twelve participants working within the Nutritional Supplement sector. This research also examines the thoughts of the consumer, relative to preferred distribution channels and who they deem most appropriate as advisors of Nutritional Supplements in Ireland. This was executed through a quantitative process and the consumer data was collated via an online survey. A key finding of this study is that those who are considered best qualified for consultation (general practitioner, dietician and pharmacist), are actually not qualified enough to distribute Nutritional Supplement advice. Health food stores are the preferred distribution channel by consumers; however, Health store workers are not recognised as the most trustworthy for advice. This research will benefit those involved in the manufacture and distribution of Nutritional Supplements in Ireland

Linking Teams With Technology: Integrating Databases in Experiential Exercises in an Introductory Business Course

The arrival of the “virtual generation” on campus has shifted the pedagogy in most business courses. Students in this generation not only are adept in navigating an array of mobile devices, but also have distinct preferences for courses that enable them to leverage their technology skills. Despite their affinity for technology, many of these students may not be as aware of the nuances related to digital content and often rely upon familiar but less relevant online resources to support course projects. This article presents several experiential exercises developed to enable students to leverage technology via database hyperlinks in an introductory business course. Each experiential exercise and related hyperlink was designed to support interdisciplinary discussion related to various components of a business plan in the introductory course. Factors that impact student use of databases, as well as contextual issues that support databases in this interdisciplinary course, are also reviewed

Testosterone Therapy and Cardiovascular Risk

Endogenous testosterone levels are inversely associated with cardiovascular risk in older men and men with cardiovascular disease. Current data on cardiovascular outcomes of testosterone therapy include only observational studies and adverse event monitoring in short-term trials that were not designed to measure cardiovascular outcomes. These studies have yielded conflicting results, and some have raised concerns that testosterone therapy may increase cardiovascular risk. A well-designed, adequately powered, prospective trial will ultimately be required to clarify whether testosterone therapy impacts cardiovascular outcomes. This review describes the findings and limitations of recent studies of cardiovascular risk in older men on testosterone therapy and discusses some of the mechanisms through which testosterone may modify cardiovascular risk

The inner workings of working memory: Preliminary data from unimpaired populations

Wright et al. (2007) tested Persons With Aphasia (PWA) using three N-Back tasks featuring different types of linguistic information – phonological, semantic, and syntactic -- to determine whether Verbal Working Memory (VWM) is a single, united resource.  The current study tested two groups of cognitively normal individuals with the same tasks, as well as an additional vision-focused task, to expand on this previous research and provide a baseline for future studies of WM in PWA.  Results indicated no effects of aging outside of Reaction Times, and significant differences in performance across all types of information except phonological and visual cues