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Citizen and organization participation in public policy formulation is now part of the mainstream. It is against that context that this paper examines the contribution of an inclusive, participatory planning process to the preparation of a new regional strategic framework for Northern Ireland. The discussion includes questionnaire data from those attending a public examination into the regional strategy. The wider value of this Northern Ireland experience for an appreciation of participatory planning as dialogue is addressed, along with the assistance given to democratic renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the discursive difficulties facing the advocates of a peace journalism that is proactive and oriented towards "win-win" solutions. The article focuses on a case study involving a nationalist and a unionist newspaper in Northern Ireland which joined together in a "peace journalism" initiative. This concerned a controversial Orange Order parade that takes place each year in the town of Portadown. The paper draws on this example to discuss some of the discursive shortcomings of a conciliation frame and the discursive attractions of a conflict frame. The case study illustrates how rhetorical and narrative structures shape and constrain the way in which newspapers report conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Devolution within the UK has produced new systems of governance within Scotland and Wales and restored to Northern Ireland local accountability following three decades of direct administration. The paper reviews the different status of Northern Ireland to provide both an understanding of the context in which planning has been set and the new structures that are taking shape. Particular focus is placed upon the ambitious mechanisms underlying the Agreement between the political parties in the province. The paper discusses how planning issues and responsibilities have moved from one highly centralized government department pre-devolution to effectively three new departments thereby providing a test not only of joined-up governance but of the ability of the new devolved structures to work effectively. Challenges posed by the different competencies are debated and emerging issues are discussed in terms of coherent planning at regional, subregional and local levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a perspective on women's resistance in Northern Ireland by focussing on their experiences of house raids. In light of a growing literature on women in conflict with the state, it argues that women have become increasingly politicised and organised in their resistance to repeated incursions into the home by the security forces which have ruptured traditional boundaries around relations of motherhood, home maker and sexual privacy. Based on a qualitative study of one hundred women in Northern Ireland, this paper suggests the coercive agents of the state have played a significant role in both the individual and collective resistance of women. Paradoxically, it seems, the security forces have become agents of change whereby the exposition and violation of the home has been one of the forces which has nurtured and defined women's political consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper adds to the emergent literature on Internet research ethics by exploring the ethical implications of researching the use of Facebook to organize the union flag protests in Northern Ireland in January 2013. These protests were viewed as a ‘lightning rod’ for loyalist dissatisfaction with the peace process, as well as a manifestation of their increasing alienation from their unionist political representatives. The covert observation of the Loyalist Peaceful Protest Updater (LPPU) page in January 2013 found some evidence to support the suggestion that social media had become a ‘sectarian battleground’ during the flag protests. This created an ethical dilemma in terms of what level of anonymity should be afforded to those who posted such content on the page. While there was no requirement to ‘please’ unaware participants, the researcher was wary of inadvertently contributing to the online shaming of loyalists by groups such as Loyalists Against Democracy. Therefore, it was decided to only use direct quotes from public figures, such as the leaders of the flag protest movement, who would presumably have no expectation that their comments would remain private. The narratives of the ‘rank and file’ protesters were conveyed through the use of direct quotes that could not be traced back to their authors and the paraphrasing of their comments. In light of the limitations of alternative strategies such as fabrication and word clouds, this was the most appropriate way to illustrate the themes from the LPPU without distorting the voices of these users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A growing number of studies are focusing on the ‘fit’ between the higher education student and the educational institution. These studies show that a lack of fit between the two generates anxiety, ultimately acting as a barrier to student learning. Research involving 23 higher education students attending a dual-sector further and higher education college in Northern Ireland was conducted in order to examine ‘this fit’. It was assumed that this fit should be greatest in a local institute serving the needs of its local population. Findings however highlight that the expectation of what a student is and should be by an institute is not in tandem to the life the student lives. Study participants cited an institute lacking in understanding; an institutional habitus that does little to make this a space that supports the learning needs of students. While this lack of understanding has been found in traditional higher education institutions, it is most surprising to find that it exists in a dual-sector organisation. The paper concludes that those who deliver higher education in this space must understand and respond to the modern-day student, before success of this initiative can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a contractual approach to coping with difficult situations of intractable conflict where ordinary citizens are at the center of the struggle. The contractualist peacemaker challenge is to convert conflicting parties into a peacemaking community committed to resolving the conflict by peaceful means. Three main elements are necessary to transform conflicting groups into a peacemaking community: common interest: strong desire to resolve the conflict by peaceful means; rules: commitment to democratic principles of dialogue; and peacemaking institutions: an organizational device that operates and maintains peacemaking communities. A peacemaking institution that has the potential to create momentum for the establishment of a peacemaking community is a major public negotiating congress. An ideal congress invites delegations from all walks of life to negotiate solutions to the conflict. This vision is based on the multi-party talks of the 1990s that helped to create a major change in two difficult situations of intractable conflict: the ‘troubles' in Northern Ireland and the battle against the Apartheid system in South Africa. This paper explores possibilities to establish a major Israeli–Palestinian public negotiating congress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schooling for Northern Ireland children has over decades been in denominationally separate schools, until an integrated system was instigated by concerned parents in the late 1970s amidst growing political violence. By educating together Catholic and Protestant pupils and those of other religions or none, the hope was to contribute to peace in a conflict-prone society. The first integrated schools were planned and government funded. Then, in the early 1990s, some segregated schools sought to transform to integrated status through a detailed, formal process. In individual, face-to-face interviews, 11- and 16-year old pupils (n = 20), representing both school sectors and both the main cultural backgrounds, described their experiences of learning side by side for the first time with peers of a different tradition. Both younger and older pupils could discern the differences between their previous (segregated) and current (integrated) settings, saw the benefits of accepting and acceptance, and perceived sameness as well as difference. They could appreciate the global perspective, understood the purpose of outward, visible changes such as emblems and school displays, and welcomed curriculum change, particularly in Physical Education. Pupils understood the value of having difficult conversations without acrimony at the same time as learning about and respecting others' viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of community audits in plan formulation. Empirically, it evaluates the development of the strategy to implement the European Union's URBAN Initiative in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The core method used to determine the content of the plan was a series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with community groups, tenant associations and voluntary organisations. The paper reviews the approach within the context of normative debates on the need for 'listening' strategies within land-use planning. It concludes by highlighting the importance of qualitative methodologies in opening consultative dialogue and discussion with deprived urban communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents comments on the data that has been collected about the inequality prevalent in Northern Ireland. Some interesting hypotheses and suggestions concerning the socioeconomic characteristics of Protestants and Catholics in the Province and the processes of educational, occupational and income attainment for each religious group has been discussed. The British census does not provide data for Northern Ireland broken down by religion but Northern Ireland has conducted its own population census since its creation through the Government of Ireland Act in 1920. Those actively engaged in examining issues of equality of opportunity in the Northern Ireland labor market are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to examine the nature and impact of the social, economic, and political changes which have undoubtedly taken place since 1971. These changes have not only been generated by civil disturbance but also by such factors as the redevelopment and suburbanization which have greatly altered the social geography of Belfast, Northern Ireland, the rapid growth in opportunities to participate in higher education and the processes of deindustrialization which are producing unemployment rates in Northern Ireland unmatched since the 1930s.

Presents the results of a study which evaluated tutor and student conceptions of undergraduate research project work following the distribution of questionnaires to members of academic staff and honor students at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Types of projects offered to undergraduate students; Perceived purpose of the honors project.

The article looks at the industrial training proposals of the Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development. The department has put forward proposals for a single training organization to embrace the training functions of existing organizations. Its main features would be market led orientation, concentration on those skills which are most in demand as identified by the best available labor market and supply information and a brief to develop an adaptable flexible workforce from school leavers through to new technology. The Northern Ireland Training Authority and eight industrial training boards are responsible for industrial training. Both the authority and the boards have a tripartite structure, with members drawn from employer, employee and educational organizations. However, research has shown that neither body has much influence on such issues as the amount of trainee allowances, or the length and level of training provided under the youth training program. Similar criticisms were made of the Manpower Services Commission before it was superseded by the Training Commission. There are several reasons why the Department of Economic Development is proposing a body similar to the Training Commission. These included lack of leadership, lack of coordination, lack of marketing, lack of information about skill needs, slow adoption of new training techniques, little emphasis on new technology, lack of communication between training and industrial development agencies and underutilization of educational institutions. The consultative paper does not spell out a precise role for representatives of employers and employees in the new training organization. The assumption must be that the Northern Ireland branches of the Confederation of British Industry and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will continue to nominate representatives. Research has shown, however, that these bodies play only a limited role beyond seeking and transmitting nominations.

Investigates the effect of the introduction of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) on student performance at advanced level chemistry in Northern Ireland. Comparison of the overall performance and detailed analysis in relation to specific content areas and scientific skills; Influence of the introduction of assessment of coursework.

This paper presents results from the Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) science surveys which relate directly to Northern Ireland and shows that both the performance on the APU tests and uptake of science subjects for 15-year-old pupils from Northern Ireland was worse than those of their English contemporaries. These differences were present throughout the ability range for boys and are extremely large for those pupils studying less than eight O-levels (i.e. mainly those pupils attending secondary intermediate schools in Northern Ireland). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the knowledge, understanding and opinions of the Protestant/Unionist borderland communities in Northern Ireland towards economic and social rights (ESR). The article seeks to establish whether economic and social rights have transformative potential for protecting and promoting their rights in the first instance and for building and sustaining peace within their communities. Based upon new primary data gathered from a small-scale empirical study, the article explores local grassroots experiences of ESR. It also examines the particularities of the post-conflict legacy in the borderlands and its impact upon attitudes to human rights and the peace process. The central contention is that despite the historical and political problematic perceptions of human rights for many in the Protestant/Unionist population of the borderlands, evidence shows there are opportunities to engage such communities with ESR in a meaningful and positive way. By vernacularizing economic and social rights, they can be made meaningful and useful to these communities, both for protecting and promoting their ESR and as a tool for peacebuilding within Northern Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on using improvisation approaches in teaching sound art, in socially-engaged art projects, and in tertiary classrooms. The author argues for an approach she calls 'resonant pedagogy' where improvisation is present in both the pedagogical design and in the content of the classes, allowing teachers/facilitators and students/participants to work together across the different disciplines that coalesce in the practice of sound art. A resonant, improvisatory approach also recognises and responds to the backgrounds, experiences, abilities, environments, and cultures of those present. Using examples from training in community settings in Australia, Northern Ireland, and Canada, and classes at the University of Regina, she suggests that incorporating improvisation might be one way to push back against the binary of 'inclusion' and 'exclusion'. In such a binary, power seems to rest with those doing the 'including'. Instead, she suggests teachers make room for unique cultural formations to thrive, in a climate marked by resonating differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the distance-to-crime approach to the case of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and shooting attacks conducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Northern Ireland conflict, 1970–1998. The aim is to (a) measure the typical 'distance to crime' (b) detect whether a distance-decay effect is noticeable and (c) investigate whether there is a discernible difference in the distance traveled depending upon individual offender characteristics or aspects of how the offence was committed. In particular, it highlights that many of the same dynamics that influence offender decision making within the volume crime world, also apply within the terrorism realm. Five findings stand out in particular. First, a distance decay effect is identifiable. Second, younger offenders travel significantly smaller distances. Third, complex attacks typically involve greater distances. Fourth, our results show the ability of leading decision-makers within PIRA to impact upon the day-to-day operations of the field operatives. Together the results reinforce the argument that when we focus on terrorism from a preventative angle, we should focus on their behaviors: what they do rather than remain preoccupied with concerns about who they are and/or what they might be like. Collectively the results also highlight the fact that for a finer-grained understanding of terrorist behavior we need to disaggregate on a number of levels: within the cadre of operatives, across terrorist attacks, across targets and within conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its humble beginnings as a ritual instrument, the bodhrán or Irish frame drum has developed into a globally recognised percussion instrument that is found in diverse contexts. This research is about the sophisticated, technical development of this instrument by the drum maker Seamus O'Kane during the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The brilliant organological experiments and innovations of O'Kane, altered the bodhrán's design contributing to a rapid expansion of new performance practices and increased interest in the drum. One of O'Kane's signature innovations was the use of skins from the unionist lambeg drum. O'Kane had to precariously negotiate paramilitary politics and drum making in Northern Ireland in order to produce a superior instrument. This paper explores the complex, intertwined nature of Irish political dissidence in County Derry during the Troubles in relation to far-reaching developments in bodhrán drum making. O'Kane's bodhráns, which he continues to make in his County Derry-based workshop, draw from both Irish republican and unionist drum making traditions. This blending of traditions has enabled him to produce an innovative, tunable drum representative of the shared musical cultures of Northern Ireland within a violent, politically divided milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contextualises the Further Education (FE) sector in Northern Ireland (NI). It outlines the specific political, social and economic influences that have shaped its position as a major but understated educational provider in what remains a highly divided educational system that is slowly transitioning in a post-conflict environment. Key policy frameworks underpinning sectoral development are described, showing how many policy initiatives have been both 'borrowed' from the English context and adapted to local need. The article proceeds to highlight a number of curricular and institutional innovations that have contributed to the development of a small-scale, but distinctive educational, social and economic model. The piece concludes by suggesting that the NI FE experience has the potential to contribute not only to its own specific conditions but, through its 'policy and practice' adaptations', to positively influence FE policy and practice in other parts of the United Kingdom (UK) that require interventions around skills development economic growth and social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence indicates that ongoing and future climate change impacts, such as enhanced coastal erosion driven by intensified storms and sea-level rise, will be destructive or problematic for coastal archaeological heritage. Approaches to this problem range from broad-scale GIS-based vulnerability assessments to site-scale monitoring and survey. In all cases, the approach chosen should be based on the best-available data on the local historic environment and pattern of coastal change. Therefore, this paper will demonstrate how such data can be successively acquired and enhanced using an integrated approach that builds on and refines a previously conducted broadscale vulnerability assessment. This approach was adopted in the study region (Northern Ireland) owing to a lack of coherent and upto-date information on shoreline change. This approach incorporated the GIS-based Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to quantify and analyze local shoreline change. DSAS is a software extension for ESRI ArcGIS which allows calculation of rate-of-change statistics using past shorelines identified from georeferenced historic maps and vertical aerial imagery. Additionally, a field survey was conducted to assess the condition of recorded sites, and identify unrecorded ones. Results revealed a more complex pattern of shoreline change in the study area (Magilligan Foreland, Lough Foyle) than previously anticipated, with zones of significant erosion interspersed with areas of stability or advance. Fifty-one new sites ranging from the prehistoric period to the Second World War were also identified. The new information was used to develop a priority classification based on site significance, condition and risk level which improved significantly on the uniform classification of the original broad-scale assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negativity towards ethnic minorities is a serious problem in Northern Ireland. Its history of the Troubles around religious identities makes Northern Ireland a special case in Europe. This paper examines negativity towards Muslims, Eastern Europeans and immigrants in Northern Ireland using data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey and the British Social Attitudes Survey. The results from regressions show that anti-immigrant negativity is no more prevalent in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK. However, levels of negativity towards Muslims and Eastern Europeans are significantly higher than in Great Britain and have increased in recent years, particularly among young adults aged 18-24 years, although older cohorts are more intolerant on average. Our regression analyses found strong positive relationships between anti-immigrant negativity, sectarianism and perceived neighbourhood segregation. Higher education, contacts with minority members and (religiously) mixed schooling are negatively related to negativity towards immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northern Ireland health service faces major restructuring at a time of extreme fiscal austerity. This paper assesses the capacity of the service's administration to meet this challenge, focusing on past distribution of resources across programmes of care. The central finding is that resources generally appear to be distributed on a pro rata basis with little evidence of strategic direction. Within a context of generally poor performance against previous targets, and low productivity compared to England, the outlook for major restructuring is not sanguine. That the administrative structure is embedded in a political framework that favours consensus over leadership is a further cause for concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making use of archival sources, this article reconstructs the decision-making process behind the addition of an Irish language question to the 1991 Northern Ireland census. It highlights a distinctive feature of the case: whereas such decisions usually result from state-society interactions, the question was rather suggested by the Irish government, using the role granted to it by the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement to act as a kin state to promote the cultural interests of nationalists in Northern Ireland. Officials in Belfast were initially reluctant to accede to this request, though feared refusal might result in a repeat of nationalist boycotts of previous censuses. Ultimately, the precedent set by language questions employed in Wales and Scotland made exclusion hard to justify and officials reluctantly agreed to the question, coming to see the precedent as a useful argument with which to fend off potential unionist opposition, which they feared might have resulted in a rival boycott. The inclusion of the question has subsequently had significant consequences for political claims-making about the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between people and space is a hugely complex one; the intertwined nature of how people interactwithcertain spaces and with each otherwithincertain spaces both informs and is informed by the physical environment itself, historic and contemporary spatial practice, and the discourses about these spaces. In many cities, policies are developed and initiatives put in place to govern these complex relationships in a number of ways: access can be restricted to particular places at particular times to ensure safety; places where people gather can be monitored; the built environment can encourage different types of spatial practice and interaction between people. In Northern Ireland, ‘shared spaces’, or those spaces people from different ethno-national backgrounds can use, are the subject of intense attention from policymakers. This paper explores how policy is governing shared space, with a particular focus on how the term ‘shared space’ and the connotations of this term are used as a policy concept to legitimise how Belfast city centre is managed as a space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a number of recently declassified documents from the 1970s and 1980s to show that the security agencies in Northern Ireland played a key role in shaping the redevelopment of the city of Belfast, which extends some way beyond that which had hitherto been considered to be the case. With the aim of creating a cordon sanitaire around the main areas of conflict, the planning system was successfully harnessed to achieve the key military objective of spatially isolating major areas of the north and west of the city. In this respect, the planning system very successfully achieved the objectives that were set for it by the security agencies. However, the legacy of this approach is that there are now large sections of the city isolated from the economic and social mainstream of post-conflict Belfast. This paper argues that what is now required is a reconfiguration of the planning system within the city, embracing the notion of reflexive regulatory aspects of equality law, which can ensure that the planning system within the city is steered in a different direction from one based on exclusion and segregation, to one that embraces cohesion and integration. Only when this is achieved it is argued, can the objectives of the 1998 peace agreement be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sectarian violence in the Northern Ireland is often perceived to be mostly confined to cities. The aim of this paper is to explore statistically what factors contribute to segregation preferences among young people living in rural and urban areas, using the 2005–2009 Young Life and Times (YLT) survey – an annual attitudes survey of 16-year-olds. The findings show that religious and national identities are the strongest predictors of segregation preferences among 16-year-olds, regardless of where they live and what background they have. Those living in rural areas of Northern Ireland are more supportive of residential, workplace and educational segregation than those living in more urban areas. This research highlights the need for government policy to take rurality into account. Nevertheless, some variables significantly determine segregation preferences regardless of where respondents live, such as attendance of segregated schools, being female, or strength of national and religious identity. Consequently, policy initiatives should continue to address the effect of segregation, especially in relation to education, and future research exploring social class and gender is recommended. In conclusion, the perception of the violent ‘urban spaces’ and the ‘peaceful countryside’ has to be challenged. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The sustainability of cross-border peacebuilding initiatives is increasingly pertinent in a context of reduced public funding (national and European), yet the potential contribution to be made to this from private sector cooperation remains under-explored. This paper brings together quantitative data on cross-border trade with qualitative evidence from business leaders in the Irish border region in order to examine the nature of cross-border cooperation within the private sector and its possible connections to peacebuilding. This evidence is analysed in the light of three theses: spillover, contact and business-based peacebuilding. The first part of this paper assesses the conditions for cross-border business cooperation in Ireland, including funding support for economic development, European integration, and (post-Agreement) institutional change. The second part examines the particular contributions made by the private sector to peace, centring upon consciously non-political motivations (such as pragmatism and profit), networking and leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including paramilitary punishments in Belfast, Northern Ireland, construction of the Irish as a suspect community in Great Britain during 1970s and 1980s, and manifestations of political violence.

This paper examines the impact on woodlands associated with burnt mound use from floodplain sediments and peats, using a combination of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, micro- and macro-charcoal and worked wood for the first time. We present this data from a multi-period burnt mound complex, dating from the Late Neolithic to the Medieval period, at Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to reconstruct vegetation changes from the Neolithic onwards and establish the significance of these changes, in particular on woodlands whilst the burnt mounds were in use. The findings from the macroscopic charcoal suggests the most abundant trees were commonly, but not exclusively, exploited. Local woodland was seemingly unaffected by use of burnt mounds during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age based on pollen evidence. A sustained increase in microscopic charcoal coincides with a permanent decrease in alder-carr woodland during a period of near continuous burnt mound use between 1725 and 530 BC, and a second phase of high microscopic charcoal values, c. AD 880, corresponds to the end of the penultimate phase of burnt mound use. Evidence from the worked wood suggests that some form of woodland management was used for hazel from the Neolithic onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) has enormous implications for Northern Ireland. All sides to the Brexit negotiations quickly agreed that it was vitally important to protect the peace process and to uphold the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement. However, the question of how this was to be done soon became a point over which there were very apparent differences between the two sides; such differences are manifest within Northern Ireland in differing political views regarding European integration and national sovereignty. This paper explores the effects of EU membership on the peace process and the Agreement in light of the Brexit process. It provides an overview of the difficulties and frictions in finding a common approach from Northern Ireland to the EU and explains how this is manifest in the response to the Brexit referendum of June 2016. It concludes by considering some of the ways in which the Agreement itself offers means of navigating some of the more thorny issues arising as a result of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proscription orders in UK legislation against terrorist groups have proliferated since 9/11. Added to the dozen or so Northern Ireland terrorist groups, around 70 international groups and one domestic neo-Nazi group have joined the list. Since that time, only two organisations have been deproscribed, and the UK government has resisted the periodic revision of listings and changes to the procedures for challenge and removal. The paper will consider the effectiveness and fairness of UK law in regard to the persistence of proscription, having regard to policy, legal, and practical frameworks and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the political theories of recognition to assess the online political activism which constitutes the informal, political participation of working-class Loyalists in post-ceasefire Northern Ireland. The satirisation of the flag protesters and loyalists more broadly stimulated a competition of narratives regarding the capacity of loyalism and its contributions to a post-conflict social setting. The impact of satire on marginalised groups creates new spaces for those groups to offer alternative perspectives and to resist negative stereotyping from without. In response to the ritual derision which loyalists faced following the flag protests, some engaged in the production of grassroots media which attempted to transform the recognition relations of the group. In examining the relationships between groups in contested societies, particularly those emerging from conflict, theories of respect and esteem offer innovate insights into the role of status and social equality. The deliberative and moral capacities of ‘others’ can be undermined in processes of stereotyping and intra-group esteem generation is a counter to such slights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Northern Ireland has a deeply divided education system with demarcation most notable along ethno/religious and social class lines. The former is largely attributable to the historical organisation of the schools estate based on religion, and the latter is associated with a system of academic selection that filters children into grammar and non-selective post-primary schools according to their performance in tests taken during the final year of primary school. Academic selection, and the grammar school system that underpins it, has come under some considerable scrutiny, with much of the research evidence pointing to a negative relationship between the selective system and equality of opportunity in education. The suitability of this system in a transitioning society that has become more ethnically diverse in post-conflict years has, however, received less attention. Drawing on social cohesion theory, we reflect on the grammar school system to argue that the cross-community class interests animating it not only perpetuate inequalities within respective communities but may also present a significant barrier to peacebuilding efforts in education, and ultimately impede progress towards a more socially cohesive society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policing in Northern Ireland has gone through a process of reform and governance change in reaction to the peace process and the requirement to shift from a police force, largely engaged in conflict-centred policing, to a policing service dedicated to civil policing and normalisation. During the past decade, Northern Ireland has witnessed a significant decline in recorded sectarian crime. This decline in ethnic conflict has been accompanied by a growth in support for the police, especially within the Catholic community. However, information pertaining to support for public policing is determined at national level and we know little about how residents of sites of previously high levels of political and sectarian conflict feel about policing reform and delivery. In this paper we show that the perception of sectarian crime is much greater than recorded sectarian crime. Moreover, the perception of sectarian crime is a significant predictor of negative attitudes regarding police performance. The paper offers a unique quantitative insight into perceptions of sectarian crime and posits a predicament that is not discussed or debated with regard to the delivery of community policing. The evidence presented offers a benchmark upon which such a debate could occur. We argue that knowledge of sectarian hate crime should not be centred at the national level, but at the more discrete scale of neighbourhood. Perceptions, whether linked to reality, signal or prejudice, can at times destabilise the peace-building process, yet are rarely attended to or discussed. Knowing the difference between recorded and perceived crime as either sectarian exaggeration or actuality would aid localised police-community interaction. Here we provide a statistical basis to stimulate such enquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why is there so little graffiti in Northern Ireland compared to cities in North America and Europe – including Great Britain, to which it is constitutionally connected, and Ireland, with which it is geographically connected? This question is particularly perplexing given the highly developed political mural tradition on both sides of the sectarian divide in the North, and the almost 15 years that have passed since the signing of the Peace Agreement ending some three decades of militarized conflict. This paper explores the connections between the absence of graffiti, and the street-level structures and processes of reconciliation or conflict – with a specific focus on the geopolitics of paramilitary control within communities throughout Northern Ireland. The contributions of the paper are three-fold: (1) it highlights the importance of graffiti as a (usually neglected) lens for assessing the degree to which the expected benefits of a peace agreement are experienced at the street level; (2) it addresses the methodological challenge of how to examine something that is not there (specifically, it studies the absence of graffiti in Northern Ireland by comparing it to the logic, mechanics and meanings of graffiti elsewhere); and (3) it questions the well-marketed representation of Northern Ireland as a unqualified case of successful post-agreement peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusion is increasingly understood as an educational reform that responds to the diversity of all learners, challenging the marginalisation, exclusion and underachievement which may result from all forms of ‘difference’. Leadership for inclusion is conceptualised here as driving a constant struggle to create shared meanings of inclusion and to build collaborative practice, an effort that needs to be rooted in critical practice lest it risks replicating existing patterns of disadvantage. In response to calls for further research that challenge how school leaders conceptualise inclusion and for research that investigates how leaders enact their understandings of inclusion, this paper aims to increase our understanding of the extent to which leadership vision can map onto a school’s culture and of the organisational conditions in schools that drive responses to diversity. We investigate the enactment of leadership for inclusion in the troubled context of Northern Ireland by looking at two schools that primarily aim to integrate Catholic and Protestant children but which are also sites for a range of other dimensions of student ‘difference’ to come together. Whilst the two schools express differing visions of the integration of Catholics and Protestants, leadership vision of inclusion is enacted by members of the school community with a consensus around this vision brought about by formal and informal aspects of school culture. Multiple and intersecting spheres of difference stimulate a concerted educational response in both schools, but integration remains the primary focus. In this divided society, religious diversity poses a significant challenge to inclusion and further support is required from leaders to enable teachers to break through cultural restraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service user and carer involvement in social work education is now well established since its inception as a compulsory requirement in the social work curriculum in the United Kingdom in 2003. Since then, there have been many examples of how such involvement has been approached by education providers. Nevertheless, one of the key obstacles and challenges in this field continues to centre on the need to achieve non-tokenistic user involvement which cements the engagement of service users and carers at the heart of social work education. This paper describes one such initiative where service user and carer colleagues in a university in Northern Ireland have been actively involved in the assessment of first year social work students' preparation for their first period of practice learning. The paper presents the background to this initiative explaining how the project unfolded; the detailed preparations that were involved and the evidence gathered from evaluations undertaken with the students, service users and carers, and academic colleagues who were all involved. We believe that the findings from this project can contribute to the advancement of existing knowledge in the field in exploring and recommending creative methodologies for user involvement in social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores traces of conflict in the arboreal landscape of Belfast, Northern Ireland, through three case studies that emphasize the difficulties for trees to serve neutral purposes in a contested city. These examples illuminate the diverse cultural, political, and physical dimensions of a divided society in its fraught transition towards lasting peace. By focusing on contested narratives of history, heritage, identity, and belonging, the paper examines how the urban forest has been harnessed to serve various political projects as it inscribes and mediates the public legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland. This paper concludes by reflecting on the role of trees in the complex, shifting processes of peacebuilding in a city struggling to emerge from violent conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential of international actors to contribute to conflict resolution by analysing the evolving role of the European Union (EU) in embedding Northern Ireland's peace process. Scrutiny of the EU's approach to conflict resolution in Northern Ireland offers useful insights into the scope and potential of soft power for facilitating behavioural change from governmental to grass-roots levels. This paper traces the development of the EU's approach to conflict resolution in Northern Ireland from one concentrated on encouraging state-level agreement, to nurturing peace through multilevel funding, through now to consolidating the peace by facilitating regional-level empowerment. The core argument is that, in sum, the most critical element of the EU's contribution to peace in Northern Ireland has been, quite simply, that of enduring commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper examines the school-based element of initial teacher education (ITE) and the ways in which it contributes to the professional learning of student teachers in Finland (University of Helsinki) and Northern Ireland (University of Ulster). In particular it seeks to assess the potential of Training Schools for Northern Ireland. Universities in Finland that provide teacher education have at least one designated training school in which all student teachers have the opportunity to undertake a practicum. The Finnish model was selected for comparison because of the country’s consistently excellent results in the OECD’s Programmes for International Student Assessment which is undoubtedly due, in part, to the quality of the teachers. Teaching/training schools have featured prominently in recent reviews of teacher education in England and Scotland and, while not specifically mentioned in the Northern Ireland (NI) review document, the overall concept could enrich the school-based element of ITE in NI, using existing collaborative networks of schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Policy copying or transfer has been identified as a significant feature of the operation of devolution in Scotland and Wales. Little attention has been paid to policy copying in relation to the system of devolution in Northern Ireland, particularly since 1999. One of the most important areas of change and policy implementation has been public sector reform. This paper examines the three main areas of public sector reform: the civil service, local government and the large quango/public bodies sector. Northern Ireland is compared to England, Scotland and Wales to identify examples of policy copying in changes to public sector governance. Following this analysis a number of factors which have determined the extent of policy copying are discussed. These include; a weak policy-making capacity, the dominance of managerialist and technocratic approaches, priority for cost-cutting measures and a lack of consensus on reform among the political parties along with the operation of veto mechanisms. The paper concludes by noting that Northern Ireland has not adopted some of the policies and changes introduced in Scotland and Wales in relation to the public sector even though these may have improved the operation of devolved governance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is a relatively new measure and to date has been validated in student samples in England and Scotland, and in population samples in Scotland. No data exist on the psychometric properties of the WEMWBS when used within a general population in Northern Ireland, a region that might be expected to differ in health and well-being given its troubled history. This paper represents the first attempt to assess mental well-being in Northern Ireland using this new questionnaire. Data came from the 2009/2010 Continuous Household Survey and analyses are based on the responses of 3355 people aged 16 years and over who completed the full WEMWBS. The results suggest that the data collected using the WEMWBS among a large-scale random sample of adults in Northern Ireland are comparable to those produced for adults in other parts of the UK. The findings from this study are important as any measure of mental well-being purported to have been validated for the UK needs to include Northern Ireland, given that region's recent history in terms of the civil conflict and its potential impact on the health and well-being of its population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teacher education has been the subject of a seven-year review culminating with the issuing of a consultation document Teacher education in a climate of change: The way forward (Department for Employment and Learning and Department for Education 2010). Issues of rationalisation, demographic trends, the over-provision of teachers and the cost of initial teacher education inter alia dominated the agenda. Purpose: The paper seeks to assess the ways in which the current economic climate, student tuition fees, reduced income from government and the declining demographic situation will affect recruitment, on the profile of applicants to teacher education, on widening access and participation, and on models of teacher education. As the environment becomes increasingly globally competitive, issues surrounding the nature, quality, cost and content of programmes will be analysed. Sources of evidence: Data that informs the paper derive from multiple sources including education policy documents, review and strategy documents, research reports and relevant research literature. It will be complemented by the author's knowledge and experience as a teacher, teacher educator and international researcher, and sustained contributor to the formulation, implementation and evaluation of teacher education policy in NI. Main argument: With the predicted reduction in expenditure for higher education in NI likely to be considerable over the next four years, substantial cuts in teacher education are inevitable. At a time when participation rates for under-represented groups are being encouraged, higher student fees and reduced quotas will impede the goal of achieving a more equitable teaching workforce. Rather than concentrating on the uncertainties that characterise the current economic climate, it will be important not to focus exclusively on survival and sustainability but on longer-term opportunities for transforming and re-conceptualising teacher education. Conclusions: All of the current national teacher education review documents in England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland highlight the need to improve teacher education. Irrespective of the constraining global financial situation, a career-long model for teachers' professional learning is overdue. It is possible, even in financially challenging circumstances, to realise the opportunities for creative change to ensure that teacher education maintains its high standards and reputation. Enhanced resourcing by itself does not necessarily guarantee enhanced provision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the findings from research conducted with older people in Northern Ireland which investigated whether their needs for legal information and advice were being met. One of the unique aspects of the research involved investigating the potential of the internet as a possible source for advising older people in relation to legal problems. The findings suggest that online legal information may frequently assist older people in identifying potential answers to their legal questions, but may not be an adequate substitute for personal communication and advice. The research also highlights the need for professionals to work together to meet the needs of older persons for legal advice and to safeguard their interests. Such ‘joined up’ approaches are particularly important, for example at the point of dementia diagnosis, where information sharing between health and social care professionals may significantly promote the legal and welfare interests of older people at a vulnerable point in their lives. This paper therefore turns to work by university-based legal clinics in the United States, such as the Elder Law Clinic at Pennsylvania State University, where social work or healthcare professionals, lawyers and law students collaborate to support older people in their search for resolution of legal problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the planning reforms in the institutional and organizational arrangements as well as the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. It says that the land-use planning represents re-democratization of local communities and localities in Northern Ireland. It states the importance of land-use planning system for the sustainable development and promotion or improvement of well-being.

Governments when faced with countering terrorism have a number of options at their disposal. One such option is the collection of intelligence, and human intelligence can provide valuable information on terrorist groups and their activities. ‘Tout’, ‘informer’, ‘informant’, ‘source’, ‘agent’, ‘grass’, ‘mole’ and ‘nark’ are some of the labels used to describe what law enforcement terms a Covert Human Intelligence Source. They are in fact individuals who provide information as part of a covert or secret arrangement. Informants, for that will be the descriptive term used for the purpose of this paper, are an interesting phenomenon in themselves, but even more so when considering their use in the context of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Informants undoubtedly played a role in countering terrorism during the period but remain the subject of controversy and fascination. Their presence served to provide intelligence, to disrupt activity and cause paranoia within terrorist ranks. This paper examines the rationale for their deployment, their utilization in Northern Ireland and the recruitment processes engaged in by the security forces. There will also be a discussion of the ethical and legal dilemmas faced by law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies engaged in their use. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For many years Northern Ireland has been a divided society where members of the two main religious groups, Catholics and Protestants, have limited opportunities to interact due to segregation in their social lives. Attempts have been made to encourage religious mixing through integration in schools, housing, and workplaces predicated on the theory that bringing people together can improve community relations and remove prejudices – known as the ‘contact hypothesis’. However, little is known about those who enter into mixed-religion partnerships often against the wishes of their families and communities. This paper examines the characteristics and attitudes of mixed-religion couples and suggests that they differ in their socio-demographic characteristics and in their attitudes from those who marry within their own religion. These findings add to the weight of evidence from other countries in conflict suggesting that intermarriage has a role to play in contributing to less sectarian views and improved community relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper illuminates the role of political language in a peace process through analysing the discourse used by political parties in Northern Ireland. What matters, it seems, is not whether party discourses converge or diverge but rather how, and in what ways, they do so. In the case of Northern Ireland, there remains strong divergence between discourses regarding the ethos of unionist and nationalist parties. As a consequence, core definitions of identity, culture, norms and principle remain common grounds for competition within nationalism and unionism. There has, however, been a significant shift towards convergence between unionist and nationalist parties in their discourses on power and governance, specifically among the now predominant (hardline) and the smaller (moderate) parties. The argument thus elaborated is that political transition from conflict need not necessarily entail the creation of a “shared discourse” between all parties. Indeed, points of divergence between parties’ discourses of power and ethos are as important for a healthy post-conflict democratic environment as the elements of convergence between them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While formal truth recovery processes have been commonplace in many transitional societies, the question of whether Northern Ireland should have an official examination of its past has been contested. Some of the most vociferous opposition to a truth mechanism has been from unionist and loyalist political parties and associations. The Consultative Group on the Past's recommendation for the establishment of a ‘Legacy Commission’ – a bespoke truth recovery body for Northern Ireland – has hence become the most recent focus for their concerns. Based upon extensive and original qualitative interviews with elite level political and civil society representatives, this paper analyses and explores unionists' and loyalists' opposition to and reluctance to engage in the truth recovery debate. This paper argues that their oppositional discourses to truth recovery are grounded in prevailing ideological beliefs and perceptions. The longevity of these factors poses significant questions for the future development of the truth recovery debate in Northern Ireland and the place of unionists and loyalists within it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]