Constructing the ‘Public Interest’: (De)legitimizing the Acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG

This article assesses how the ‘Public Interest’ was used to (de)legitimize the acquisition of a national airline. It does this by adopting a case study approach that analyses the acquisition of Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). This acquisition is part of a broader trend of international consolidation that the aviation industry has experienced in recent years. The article also critiques whether the ‘Public Interest’ was constructed on valid grounds. Its analysis found that the public interest was constructed as the continuance of routes between Irish airports and London Heathrow as a means for Ireland to maintain international connectivity. However, this article questions the validity of how the ‘Public Interest’ was constructed, suggesting that although the Public Interest does appear to be served by maintaining international connectivity, it is less clear whether connectivity with London Heathrow serves the interests of the public. Notwithstanding this critique, IAG was able to successfully use the maintenance of the Public Interest to successfully execute its acquisition of Aer Lingus

Young Men Consuming Newspaper Prostitution: a Discourse Analysis of Responses to Irish Newspaper Coverage of Prostitution

In this article we look at how young men consume coverage of prostitution in Irish newspapers. This is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, because the media, and newspapers in particular, seem to be an important source of information for people (Meade, 2008). This is especially true in the case of prostitution, as the only contact the citizenry generally have with sex-workers is through the media (Hallgrimsdottir, Phillips and Benoit, 2006). In many Western countries consuming media is one of the main activities that people, particularly young people, engage in and therefore is the prism through which they view the world (Cushion, 2009: 125). Sex and sexuality is a topic particularly worth exploration because of societal concerns about the role of media in influencing sexuality (McManus and Dorfman, 2005). The study of how the media handles sensitive topics concerned with problematic sexuality has received some attention (Brown, 2002; Stenvoll, 2002) and the issue of sexuality in Ireland has also been addressed (Ferriter, 2009; Inglis, 1998). However, the area of prostitution in Ireland, and its representation in the media, has received less attention. Additionally our utilisation of discourse analysis is unusual, as is the focus on men. We set out to understand some of the key discursive strategies used by young men in framing their discourse in response to newspaper coverage of prostitution

SUBMISSION TO THE FUTURE OF THE MEDIA COMMISSION

Dr. Brendan K. O’Rourke is a Senior Lecturer at Technological University Dublin, where he focuses on learning in the area of discourses of the economy, in particular examining enterprise, policy and public discourses on the economy. His scholarly work has been widely published as chapters in edited volumes, encyclopedia / handbook entries and in over 20 peer-reviewed academic journals such the Critical Discourse Studies, Politics and Social Semiotics. More information on his work is available on www.brendankorourke.com . Dr. Joseph K. FitzGerald lectures in international strategy at Technological University Dublin and has published on topics such as how young men consume the media and on how economics experts gain legitimacy in news interviews. Both authors are happy to acknowledge their authorship of this submission of their own views and for the above personal details to be publicly availabl

Watchdogs of the Economy: The Development of Irish Economics Profession’s Independent Voice

Histories of the development of professions show a profession’s relationship with the state as key to its authority. Yet professions, to gain technocratic authority, also strive to depoliticise their discourses to gain technocratic authority. This dilemmatic tension is particularly true for the economics profession. The historical development of the Irish economics provides an interesting case, where a complicated relationship with the state ultimately strengthened the profession within a society. An initial formalisation trajectory of Irish economics was thrown off course by the formation of an independent Irish state in the 1920s. This marked a period of isolation for the profession and saw it ostracised from government policy. Subsequent developments also saw the Irish economists’ position as critics of government policy rather than a core part of the state

Legitimising expertise: analysing the legitimation strategies used by economics experts in broadcast interviews

Few would doubt that economists have taken a prominent role as experts on policy issues [Maesse, J. 2015. Economic experts: A discursive political economy of economics. Journal of Multicultural Discourses 10, no.3: 279–305] and some contend that no other social science discipline has gained such prominence [Fourcade, M., E. Ollion, and Y. Algan. 2015. The superiority of economists. Journal of Economic Perspectives 29, no.1: 89–114]. This prominent societal role has long been evident and leans on their perceived objectivity with regard to the economy and policy advice. Yet, the Great Recession of 2008 put past understandings of the economy, and public confidence in economists, under significant strain [Colander, D., M. Goldberg, A. Haas, K. Juselius, T. Lux, and B. Sloth. 2009. The financial crisis and the systemic failure of the economics profession. Critical Review 21, no.2–3: 249–267]. Faced with this challenge of public confidence, the question of how economics experts, whose expertise on the economy was so dominant before the crisis, maintain their legitimacy in the face of this crisis is of interest. This paper draws on the work of Van Leeuwen [2007. Legitimation in discourse and communication. Discourse & Communication 1, no.1: 91–112] to analyse the legitimising strategies used by economics experts during radio interviews, and echoes the work of Maesse [2015. Economic experts: A discursive political economy of economics. Journal of Multicultural Discourses 10, no.3: 279–305] in arguing that economists benefit from the legitimacy of their profession that has been created in academia, but also acknowledging that economists still have to work for societal legitimacy

Secular Authority: Economists in Irish Public Discourse

This paper explores how the authority of Economics Experts has developed over time in Ireland. The identity of ‘expert’ serves as a powerful authority device for an individual’s discourse (Montgomery 2008). Although the definition of who is considered an expert has become broader and more inclusive (Collins and Evans 2007), the authority derived from the label of expert is usually reserved for Contributory Experts (Collins, Evans, and Weinel 2016). This authority has traditionally allowed such experts to engage with society from a position of authority and prestige that is not afforded to other societal actors. Such authority has been acknowledged of economists, whose discourse appears to have an assumed legitimacy (Maesse 2015). Theoretically, this research draws from a number of areas including work on the identity of experts in general (Montgomery, 2008) on economics experts in particular (Maesse, 2015), professionalization both generally (Macdonald, 1995) and of economics in particular (Fourcade, 2009). The Irish context is of interest more generally it was a prominent crisis, yet speedily recovering country in the Eurozone crisis, is a small peripheral state and is a site of confluence between Anglo-American and European influences. Its close relationships with both the UK and the United States are particular interesting for an examination of the relationships between national and international influences on economists in a society

AUSTERITY FOR ALL SEASONS: COMMUNICATING ON THE ECONOMY IN IRELAND

What is clear is that in Ireland it has been a good crisis for economists, in the sense that the status and power of the profession has increased, especially in public discourse and state bureaucracy. This is not to deny that the academic critique and public questioning of the status of economics, that has followed the failure of the profession internationally prior to the crisis. It would be interesting to see if the rise of economists status has taken place in other countries and if there is a pattern to the profession’s fortunes in its different fields across, for example core and peripheral countries, with some studies already providing some insights (FitzGerald & O’Rourke, 2018; Maesse, 2017). Of course not all economists are neoliberals, and distinguishing between different types of economists and their influence is important (Plehwe, Neujeffski & Krämer, 2018). Furthermore, as Rieder and Theine (2019) show the media does not treat all economists equally, and we need to better understand how such interactions in the media work to legitimate economic expertise (FitzGerald & O’Rourke, 2016)

Are Autistic Traits in Youth Meaningful? A Replication study in Non-referred Siblings of Youth with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: We previously described the high prevalence and burden of significant autistic traits (ATs) in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These traits are associated with significantly greater impairment in psychopathological, interpersonal, educational, and neuropsychological functioning. Because the sample consisted of referred ADHD youth, uncertainty remained regarding whether these findings are generalizable to non-referred populations of youths with and without ADHD. Objective: The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence and implications of ATs in a non-referred population of siblings of probands with and without ADHD. Method: Participants were non-referred siblings of probands with ADHD (N = 257) and control probands (N = 234) of longitudinal, case-control family studies conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital. Assessments included measures of psychiatric, psychosocial, educational, and cognitive functioning. The presence of significant ATs was operationalized using the Child Behavior Checklist AT profile, which consists of combined aggregate T-scores of ≥ 195 on the Withdrawn, Social, and Thought Problems subscales. Results: ATs were significantly more prevalent among the siblings of probands with ADHD as compared with siblings of control probands (6% vs. 1%; P = .02). Siblings of probands with ADHD with a positive AT profile (N = 15) were significantly more impaired than those without an AT profile (N = 242) with regard to psychopathological, interpersonal, educational, and neuropsychological functioning. Conclusions: The current study reports a higher-than-expected prevalence of ATs in a non-referred sample of siblings of youth with ADHD, which is consistent with previous findings regarding ATs in a referred sample of youth with ADHD. The presence of ATs is associated with higher levels of morbidity and dysfunction

Cysteinyl Leukotriene Levels in Esophageal Mucosal Biopsies of Children with Eosinophilic Inflammation: Are They All the Same?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75498/1/j.1572-0241.2006.00557.x.pd