The influence of neo-liberal assumptions on media treatment of political economy in Ireland

This thesis examines how neo-liberal assumptions frame the way in which matters of political economy are represented and discussed in Irish media The structure of the thesis is fourfold. The first part gives an overview of what is meant by neo-hberalism and drawing, in particular, on the work of neo-liberals Hayek and Friedman outlines its significance in terms of political economy, political practice and ideology. The second part presents an overview of analytical approaches to media analysis, and describes this study’s theoretical and methodological application of a sociologically engaged, critical discourse analysis framework. The third, and most substantive, part analyses, and compares, the print, radio and television content of different Irish media. This section examines print media coverage of two European Union summits, print media coverage of the launch of the National Development Plan and the Special Savings Incentive Scheme, editorial comment about the privatisation of Telecom Eireann, and radio and television discussion (from November 2001) about the “downturn” in the economy. Based on the empirical findings, part four offers a theoretically informed account of neo-liberal influence in an Irish media and socio-political context

Neoliberal Reason and the Displacement of Politics

Review of William Davies, The Limits of Neoliberalism. A rich and lucid account of the social conventions and discourses that underpin neoliberalism. Replete with lessons for the analysis of parliamentary politics and the university in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand. &nbsp

A ‘heart to heart’ on race relations: TVNZ’s State of the Nation as public sphere discourse

This article considers TVNZ's audience discussion programme, State of the Nation, as a moment of public sphere discourse. The programme's pre-broadcast branding and deliberate construction of a bicultural television space is examined, while particular attention is given to the hosts' framing of the discussion and the programme was a questionable public sphere contribution, partly because the structuring of the discussion reinforced the established polarities of the Aotearoa/New Zealand 'race relations' debate, over-privileged producer control at the expense of audience participation and was, more generally, indicative of the limits of TVNZ's post-Charter commitment to public service broadcasting.&nbsp

Beginnings

An introduction to the inaugural issue of Counterfutures. &nbsp

Autonomous Light Management in Flexible Photoelectrochromic Films Integrating High Performance Silicon Solar Microcells

Commercial smart window technologies for dynamic light and heat management in building and automotive environments traditionally rely on electrochromic (EC) materials powered by an external source. This design complicates building-scale installation requirements and substantially increases costs for applications in retrofit construction. Self-powered photoelectrochromic (PEC) windows are an intuitive alternative wherein a photovoltaic (PV) material is used to power the electrochromic device, which modulates the transmission of the incident solar flux. The PV component in this application must be sufficiently transparent and produce enough power to efficiently modulate the EC device transmission. Here, we propose Si solar microcells (μ-cells) that are i) small enough to be visually transparent to the eye, and ii) thin enough to enable flexible PEC devices. Visual transparency is achieved when Si μ-cells are arranged in high pitch (i.e. low-integration density) form factors while maintaining the advantages of a single-crystalline PV material (i.e., long lifetime and high performance). Additionally, the thin dimensions of these Si μ-cells enable fabrication on flexible substrates to realize these flexible PEC devices. The current work demonstrates this concept using WO₃ as the EC material and V₂O₅ as the ion storage layer, where each component is fabricated via sol-gel methods that afford improved prospects for scalability and tunability in comparison to thermal evaporation methods. The EC devices display fast switching times, as low as 8 seconds, with a modulation in transmission as high as 33%. Integration with two Si μ-cells in series (affording a 1.12 V output) demonstrates an integrated PEC module design with switching times of less than 3 minutes, and a modulation in transmission of 32% with an unprecedented EC:PV areal ratio

Autonomous Light Management in Flexible Photoelectrochromic Films Integrating High Performance Silicon Solar Microcells

Commercial smart window technologies for dynamic light and heat management in building and automotive environments traditionally rely on electrochromic (EC) materials powered by an external source. This design complicates building-scale installation requirements and substantially increases costs for applications in retrofit construction. Self-powered photoelectrochromic (PEC) windows are an intuitive alternative wherein a photovoltaic (PV) material is used to power the electrochromic device, which modulates the transmission of the incident solar flux. The PV component in this application must be sufficiently transparent and produce enough power to efficiently modulate the EC device transmission. Here, we propose Si solar microcells (μ-cells) that are i) small enough to be visually transparent to the eye, and ii) thin enough to enable flexible PEC devices. Visual transparency is achieved when Si μ-cells are arranged in high pitch (i.e. low-integration density) form factors while maintaining the advantages of a single-crystalline PV material (i.e., long lifetime and high performance). Additionally, the thin dimensions of these Si μ-cells enable fabrication on flexible substrates to realize these flexible PEC devices. The current work demonstrates this concept using WO₃ as the EC material and V₂O₅ as the ion storage layer, where each component is fabricated via sol-gel methods that afford improved prospects for scalability and tunability in comparison to thermal evaporation methods. The EC devices display fast switching times, as low as 8 seconds, with a modulation in transmission as high as 33%. Integration with two Si μ-cells in series (affording a 1.12 V output) demonstrates an integrated PEC module design with switching times of less than 3 minutes, and a modulation in transmission of 32% with an unprecedented EC:PV areal ratio

Social Dominance Orientation, Dispositional Empathy, and Need for Cognitive Closure Moderate the Impact of Empathy-Skills Training, but Not Patient Contact, on Medical Students' Negative Attitudes toward Higher-Weight Patients

Anti-fat bias in healthcare providers and medical students has serious implications for quality of care of higher-weight patients. Studies of interventions aimed at reducing anti-fat attitudes in medical students have generally been disappointing, with little enduring effect. It is possible that some students may be more receptive to prejudice-reducing influences than others, due to underlying differences in their personal characteristics. It is also possible that attitudes toward patients, specifically, may differ from anti-fat attitudes in general, and prejudice-reduction effectiveness on patient-specific attitudes has not yet been evaluated. The present study explored the effect on general and patient-specific anti-fat attitudes of (1) contact with higher-weight individuals prior to and during medical school; and (2) training designed to increase medical students' empathy toward patients by encouraging them to take the patient's perspective during clinical encounters. The moderating role of individual difference factors on effectiveness of contact and student-reported hours of empathy training on patient-specific attitudes was assessed. A total of 3,576 students enrolled across 49 US medical schools completed an online survey at the start of their first year of medical school and at the end of their fourth year. Favorable contact experience with higher-weight patients predicted improved attitudes toward heavier patients after 4 years of medical school, and appeared sufficient to partially offset the effects of dislike of higher-weight individuals at baseline. The impact of favorable contact on general anti-fat attitudes was less strong, highlighting the importance of using target-specific outcome measures. The positive effects of favorable contact on attitudes toward higher-weight patients did not differ based on students' baseline levels of social dominance orientation, dispositional empathy, or need for cognitive closure. In contrast, the effectiveness of training did vary by student characteristics, generally being more effective in students who were more egalitarian and empathic at baseline, with little effect, or even adverse effects in students low in these traits. Overall, however, perspective-taking training produced only small improvements in attitudes toward higher-weight patients

Transportation — A Vehicle or Roadblock to Cancer Care for VA Patients With Colorectal Cancer?

Patients must have transportation to the treatment site before they can access appropriate cancer care. This paper describes factors associated with patients experiencing transportation-related barriers to accessing cancer care