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A geographic information system (GIS) can be defined as a computer-based system that enables the collection, management, analysis, visualization, and sharing of spatial data. As this technology is a fundamental and fast-growing part of the global economy, there is a growing global demand for a skilled workforce that can use it to address an array of spatial issues. However, while there is potential to embed GIS as a commonplace tool in schools, doing so has been a perennial challenge, with an array of obstacles to overcome, and support for those "intrepid souls" who pioneer GIS use in schools is needed. Universities may have a part to play in this. This paper describes the authors' experiences of a multipartner approach whereby GIS students (undergraduates pursuing Geography and Environmental Science degrees who are enrolled for GIS classes), under the guidance of tutors, collaborate with preservice and in-service geography teachers to prepare and deliver GIS activities in classrooms.

Home-school transport is an expensive component within many education systems, and is particularly costly in countries where school choice is encouraged. Within divided societies like Northern Ireland, a combination of school choice, academic selection and a divided society results in educational divisions which pose an even larger problem for the provision of home-school travel. This paper uses a Geographical Information System to analyse and quantify the additional costs of home-school transport in Northern Ireland. The additional travel undertaken in a complex educational structure is calculated and the pressing economic and environmental costs are estimated, alongside the less easily quantified social impact. The impact is considerable on all of these measures, strengthening the case for a radical review of educational provision in Northern Ireland. Removing duplication and reducing unnecessary choice would produce a more efficient and less costly system of education, while also contributing to increased social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divided societies emerging from conflict are found around the globe, and these divisions can cause, and may be perpetuated by, disunity in educational provision. Establishing sound and equitable education is considered vital in promoting reconciliation in places with apparently intractable conflict. Northern Ireland was involved in ethno-sectarian violence for 30 years. Society there is still fundamentally divided and there is considerable duplication of services supplying the needs of each community. This is true also of education with multiple schools each catering for 'their own' population. Sometimes these can be too small to be sustainable and/or may be inefficient. In this research GIS analysis is used to identify 32 pairs of primary schools and their levels of sustainability are estimated, alongside some additional cost of the duplication, although this can be difficult to quantify. Bringing schools together in a society emerging from conflict will not be easy for communities. However, economic costs may drive difficult structural change. Perhaps an even more important driver, in addition to financial costs, is the less tangible but even more important costs to future social cohesion should separation continue.

Few studies in applied linguistics address the methodological and ethical issues encountered in studying asylum seekers and refugees. Moreover, more research is needed on the lived-experience of multilingualism and vulnerability to understand better the interrelations between multilingualism, vulnerability, and empowerment. Based on a study which combines Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with ethnographic approaches this paper explores the impact of multilingualism on the rehabilitation of survivors of torture and human rights violations. It provides researchers with reflections and insights on how to do effective research with vulnerable multilinguals and better understand the role language plays in contributing to lived-experiences of vulnerability. Pochi studi nella linguistica applicata affrontano le questioni metodologiche ed etiche incontrate durante la ricerca con i rifugiati. Inoltre, c'è bisogno di ricerche sull'esperienza vissuta del multilinguismo e della vulnerabilità per comprendere meglio le interrelazioni tra multilinguismo, vulnerabilità ed empowerment. Questo articolo si basa su uno studio che combina fenomenologia ed etnografia per esplorare il ruolo del multilinguismo nella riabilitazione dei sopravvissuti alla tortura e ad altre violazioni dei diritti umani. L'obiettivo è duplice: fornire ai ricercatori riflessioni su come condurre una ricerca più approfondita con individui multilingui vulnerabili e comprendere il ruolo della lingua nelle loro esperienze di vulnerabilità. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early years education is offered free to all three-year-olds in Northern Ireland, prior to starting primary school, and most parents take advantage of this offer for their children. An experience of early years education has been shown to considerably improve life chances and to be important in starting the process of building a shared society, particularly important in a divided society emerging from conflict such as Northern Ireland. This paper will examine the degree to which that provision is segregated using GIS analysis and explore the factors which influence those divisions within the wider context of a deeply segregated system of education. Pre-school education in Northern Ireland is found to be highly segregated by community background, and there is a tendency for pre-schools to be more segregated than the areas in which they are located. This may exacerbate existing divisions within education and adding a further year of segregated education may provide a further impediment to building a shared future for communities in Northern Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues are discussed regarding potential methodological problems in comparative cross-border analysis of economic policy issues.Census data from small areas of North and South Ireland is used to show such problems, which may include limited overlap between specific variables in national data sets and different national contexts for socioeconomic indicators. Possible solutions are discussed.

Aims and objectives: This qualitative study explores the experience of using a later-learned language, English (ELX), in the therapeutic journey of refugee survivors of sexuality persecution to enhance understanding of the role of language in their rehabilitation. Design/methodology/approach: This is a multiple case study of three refugees, persecuted in their home country because of their sexual orientation, who are regular attendees of a therapeutic community, Room to Heal, based in London. A qualitatively driven mixed-method research design using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and ethnography was employed. Data and analysis: Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with the first author. They consisted of questions about the relationship between the participants' languages, emotions and sense of self. Findings/conclusions: Participants shared common positive experiences characterised by feelings of the ELX being a liberating tool that empowered them and enabled them to bear witness to their trauma, express their same-sex love more easily and be more self-accepting, and contributed to the (re)invention and performance of a 'new' self. Originality: The originality resides first in the unique profile of the participants – victims of persecution because of their sexual orientation; second in the unique context – a therapeutic community supporting refugees; and third in the methodology – a qualitatively driven mixed-method design combining IPA and ethnography. Significance/implications: The findings support an embodied perspective of languages and highlight the need for therapists to be aware of multilingualism and its effects. The reduced emotional resonance of a later-learned language may offer its users a way to access trauma and build a new self within the therapeutic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines and reflects on the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices as a method to understand and analyse young people’s everyday movement in Northern Ireland, a divided society emerging from conflict. The paper also seeks to contribute to the extensive body of literature which already exists on young people’s geographies and movements within the Northern Ireland context. We highlight how the use of GPS together with more traditional methods gives us considerable insights of movements of young people in Northern Ireland and sheds light on the communal divisions in one town in Northern Ireland, Coleraine. We argue that the use of a GPS methodology significantly adds to the understanding of young people’s movements and geographies, particularly in a post-conflict context where notions of place and territory have particular significance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]