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This article explores how two rural arts festivals, one in the town of Boyle (Boyle Arts Festival), in Western Ireland and the other in the municipality of Mantyharju, (Salmela Festival) Eastern Finland, contribute to the development of their respective localities and communities via two different models of festival implementation. Both festivals have a major focus on visual art along with other events such as music and enjoy strong reputations for promoting quality artistic experiences. Drawing on the concepts of cultural capital, resilience and resourcefulness, the article investigates how the arts can work in providing wide‐ranging possibilities for engaging with local development activities and shaping local development agendas in diverse and changing rural contexts. The research is based on semi‐structured interviews with 15 festival contributors and individuals in institutional support roles. It finds that an emphasis on community‐focused, quality of life priorities that is a feature of the Boyle festival increasingly presents challenges to sourcing funding, and that an entrepreneurial approach applied in the case of the Salmela festival, while economically successful, does not provide the same scope for community participation. Both approaches have implications for the ways the festivals impact on local development processes.

This paper uses Q methodology to analyse multiple environmentalities underlying professionals’ legitimacy discourses on implementation of contested peatlands regulation under the European Habitats Directive. This approach advances the literature on multiple environmentalities by providing a lens on the enactment of power-knowledge relations between stakeholders in collaborative environmental governance. The empirical results illustrate the significance of power-knowledge in the dominant discourse coalition emphasising a sovereign-neoliberal environmentality in a one-size-fits-all approach to compensation. This paper also provides insights into the strategic alliance reinforcing technocratic rationalities and agricultural priorities at a key stage in the policy process. An emergent, albeit marginalised, ‘truth environmentality’ underlying a pragmatic, site-specific approach to implementation is also evident. Policy outcomes illustrate the abandonment of sovereign environmentality over highly contested areas, and the reconstruction of scientific legitimacy and norms under Article 6 of the Habitat Directive, to converge with broader neoliberal socio-economic priorities and cost-effectiveness. The analysis reveals how power-knowledge interactions within and between socio-economic and environmental-ecological sectors contribute to policy discourses and to conflict on implementation. The research also reveals the power of the State to steer collaborative governance towards contradictory outcomes, relative to the environmentalities expressed by professional actors, a position which potentially undermines the cultivation of pro-environmental values at local level.

Rivers play an important role in the overall transport of microplastic pollution (1 μm to 5 mm), with fluvial dynamics expected to influence biotic interactions, particularly for fish. So far, there have been few assessments of microplastics in freshwater salmonids. The prevalence (i.e. percentage occurrence) and burden (i.e. abundance per fish) of microplastics were assessed in the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) and stomach contents (SCs) of 58 brown trout Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758 sampled at six sites along the River Slaney catchment in south-east Ireland. Sites were divided into two classifications (high and low exposure) based on proximity to microplastic pollution sources, comprising three sites each. Analysis of biological traits (e.g. fish length) and diet was performed on the same fish to determine possible factors explaining microplastic burden. Microplastics were found in 72% of fish having been recovered from 66% of GITs (1.88 ± 1.53 MPs fish⁻1) and 28% of SCs (1.31 ± 0.48 MPs fish⁻1). Fibres were the dominant particle type recovered from GITs (67%) and SCs (57%) followed by fragments. No difference in median microplastic burden was observed between fish collected in high and low exposure sites. Microplastic burden was unrelated to fish fork length, while microplastic size distribution (100 ≤ 350 μm, 350 μm to ≤ 5 mm) was unrelated to S. trutta age class estimates. Furthermore, microplastic burden was not explained by dietary intake. Though further research is necessary, this study showed the presence of microplastics in wild S. trutta collected from an Irish riverine system, which could have further implications for top-level consumers that feed on the species, including humans. Further analysis is required to determine possible trophic linkages for the species, with respect to microplastics, and to assess the suitability of S. trutta for monitoring microplastics in river systems. yes

The prevalence of microplastic (MP), typically characterised as polymeric materials of particle (1 µm - 5 mm) are an increasing concern in our marine and freshwater systems. International research efforts have mainly focused on the abundance, characteristics and implications of plastic pollution in marine settings, with the transport and fate of plastics in terrestrial and freshwater systems being less well understood. The pathway from land to sea is significant in the Irish context given the widespread use of MP rich biosolids for soil conditioning in agricultural lands. Biosolids represent the treated sewage sludge produced in the wastewater treatment process, ~80% of which nationally is used in land treatment. Given the combined nature (storm and foul water conveyed and treated together) of the drainage network in many parts of Ireland, coupled with evidence that 90% of MPs in influent waters are retained in these sewage sludges, the application of sludges to agricultural lands represents a considerable MP input on these land systems. MPs can potentially be moved or transported from these terrestrial systems through atmospheric escape, and in hydrological pathways through the soil matrix and/ or in direct overland runoff.Here we report on an experimental investigation exploring the transport potential of biosolid MPs through infiltration and percolation processes in agricultural fields. A drainage experiment was initially undertaken in loosely packed vertical sand columns. Polymers of different type (PVC, PET and LDPE), size (

Freshwater systems provide key pathways for microplastic (MP) pollution, and although existing studies have demonstrated the susceptibility of freshwater biota to ingestion, translocation, and trophic transfer, specific challenges pertaining to methodological standardization remain largely unresolved, particularly with respect to isolating, characterizing, and assessing MPs. Here, a critical review is performed outlining the challenges and limitations currently faced by freshwater MP researchers, which may well apply across the MP research spectrum. Recommendations are provided for methodological standardization, particularly in MP characterization, quality assurance, and quality control (QA/QC) procedures as well as reporting. Considerations for the assessment of MPs in freshwater biota as a means of improving comparisons between studies are discussed. Technological advancements, including the improvement of laboratory infrastructure for identifying MPs within the smaller size range as well as methodological standardization are essential in providing policy makers with tools and measures necessary to determine the distribution of MPs within freshwater ecosystems, while also allowing for comparability and providing compliance for future monitoring requirements.

1. Since the collapse of the Ostrea edulis stock in the mid-1800s the oyster has struggled to re-establish itself in self-sustaining assemblages in Europe.2. It is now widely recognized that O. edulis is an integral component of a healthy biologically functional benthic environment and, as such, the restoration of wild stocks has become a matter of urgency.3. A major limiting factor in O. edulis stock recovery is the availability of suitable substrate material for oyster larvae settlement.4. This research re-examined the larval settlement potential of several naturally occurring in-situ shell materials (e.g. Mytilus edulis, Modiolus modiolus, O. edulis), with the aim of determining which shell material is the most appropriate for large-scale restoration projects.5. A positive correlation between available shell material and settlement was determined, and analysis using permanova did not identify an attachment preference by O. edulis to any particular shell type.6. The findings suggest that if restoration efforts were coordinated with applied hydrodynamic and habitat suitability modelling, in conjunction with naturally occurring shell substrate concentrations, a cost-effective recovery for O. edulis assemblages in the wild could be achieved.

Our goal here is to consider how the rise of the creative economy in the west of Ireland can be situated in broader trends of industrial and economic change. This work is based on a number of EU fu...

Exploring how values are assigned to cultural ecosystem services of peatlands, this paper draws on a process perspective that incorporates relational and pragmatist approaches to conceptualising value. These approaches emphasise how value is established through cultural practices and everyday lived experiences of communities who are interacting with landscapes in dynamic and novel ways. The research proposes a framework for valuing temporal dimensions of cultural ecosystem services to incorporate the dynamic and evolving nature of people’s relationships with natural environments. Using a mixed methods approach, this research reveals how participants assigned value through active processes of remembering the past, engaging and interacting with peatlands in the present, and restoring value for the future through community conservation activities. These experiences influence the formation of memories, identities, values, and emotional connections to places, and thus help in understanding people’s motivations to protect the natural environment. Research evidence is drawn from three Irish peatland case study sites which are recognised for their scientific and community value. The results demonstrate the importance of peatlands for local communities: as carriers of personal and collective memories and histories; as social spaces for health and well-being; and as learning contexts for building social and ecological capacities. Recommendations are made to support inclusion of local, contextual knowledge and cultural and temporal value dimensions of landscapes. This approach represents a broader range of values, recognising new associations between people and peatlands, and supporting communities negotiating the transition to more sustainable futures.

peer-reviewed Farm succession and inheritance is increasingly considered a complex phenomenon which not only affects core dimensions of farm family life but also the agricultural sector more widely. Intergenerational farm transfer in particular is increasingly viewed as fundamental to the sustainability and development of global agriculture. In the majority of EU countries, the average age of farmers is increasing, while the number of farmers under 40 years of age is decreasing. There is growing concern that this demographic trend may have negative impacts on the agricultural industry because it is younger and not older farmers who are associated with more efficient and effective production practices. The question of what motivates decisions to transfer farms is a complex one, and research to date has not apparently enlightened agricultural policy to the extent that current trends towards an ageing farm population are being managed. This research aims to investigate economic and financial aspects of the policy drivers of farm succession and inheritance in Ireland to understand what it is about the policy environment that is failing to stimulate higher levels of farm transfer. It draws on the Teagasc National Farm Survey data which provides Irish data to the Farm Accountancy Data Network in the European Commission. A hypothetical microsimulation model is used to investigate economic factors of farm transfers, with scenarios created to test these factors and their impacts on the transfer process. The Net Present Value (NPV) of income streams for farmers and their successors are calculated to assess which scenarios have the highest/lowest financial effects. The findings illustrate a range of possible scenarios for farm succession/inheritance, with some results indicating that under current policy retaining a farm until death may be more economically beneficial to a farmer than transferring land before death. Royal Dublin Society Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme

In this paper Q Methodology and environmentality are utilized to dissect multi-subjectivities on local environmental knowledge underlying peatland conservation through the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive in Ireland. The results offer insights into the cultivation of moral responsibility for nature regulation and its legitimacy at ground level. Alignments and gaps between local cultural and ecological knowledge and the science and governance of peatlands are revealed across three discourses. Legitimacy of regulation of domestic turf cutting is found to be undermined by deeply-held postcolonial subjectivities on property rights and governance in addition to perceived government failure to regulate ongoing harvesting on non-SAC (Special Areas of Conservation) peatlands. The science-first and exclusionary approach adopted by conservation authorities in its approach to designation has served to undermine trust in the science underlying peatland regulation and in the national agency for nature conservation. Recent moves integrating bottom-up practices and local knowledge into relocation policy through adaptive governance reveal a more positive attitude to conservation management but also foster ambivalence towards the conservation potential of non-SAC peatlands. Overall, the research exposes how local environmental subjectivities respond to perceived inequities and inconsistencies in peatlands regulation.

This paper explores rural-based artists' experiences of achieving sustainable livelihoods in rural localities as part of emerging discussions about the significance of culture and the cultural economy for rural development and sustainability. It applies Throsby's (1992) categorization of artists based on their employment conditions: a) initial creative artists, i.e. writers, visual artists, craftspeople, composers, and b) performing artists (actors, dancers, musicians) (p.201 202). Based on semi-structured interviews with artists in Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and drawing on relational understandings of rurality, it examines how livelihood precariousness in the rural is shaped by a) dominant creative economy policy and institutional narratives that promote the rural creative economy as a development opportunity for the rural; b) challenges to artists' professional identities and their efforts to resisting exploitation and devaluation of their creative labour; c) the ways in which local rural communities themselves recognize and support artists' skills and labour as a social, cultural and economic resource that contributes to rural sustainability. peer-reviewed 2020-04-13

This paper examines the importance of national-level institutional arrangements for promoting the EU’s Protected Geographic Indication scheme (PGI). Taking the example of Ireland, for which PGI designations remain comparatively low, it explores whether the approach to providing institutional supports to the PGI scheme is influenced by top-down technocratic governance structures that pertain to food safety and quality certification that encompass the broader operating environment for food production in Ireland. Although the regulation of food safety and quality certification are distinct remits to the administration of the PGI scheme, in the Irish context the same institutional bodies are involved in governance of both. Using a discourse analysis interpretative framework, this paper draws on interviews with Irish producer group members and institutional representatives to examine how governance of the PGI scheme reflects management perspectives and practices more in keeping with a regulatory environment for food safety and quality than with development of place-based food product links. It suggests that incentives to avail of the PGI scheme as a means of realising value-added for producers are not well established because they require the development of more subjective, context-dependent processes and practices linked to geographical place and place identity. These are not easily accommodated under current institutional arrangements that also incorporate food safety and quality remits because these are in turn strongly established through nationally and internationally recognised systems of regulation and benchmarking. The findings point to the benefits to be gained from a more layered governance structure for PGI; devolving operation of the scheme to relevant regional and local development organisations that possess the expertise and relevant local knowledge to (a) incentivise the formation of producer groups, and (b) prioritise mentoring and support for PGI concept development as a clearer reflection of bottom-up rural sustainability policy.

This pilot study explored the effects of a mindfulness meditation intervention on nurses’ perceived stress and compassion. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used. Nurses ( n = 90) working at three university teaching hospitals completed the Perceived Stress Scale and Compassion Scale at the beginning of the training and 64 completed the scales at the end of the training. The 64 matched data sets were analysed using the t -test, chi-square test and analysis of variance. The findings indicated that the nurses’ perceived stress was significantly reduced after the intervention. Notably, compassion scores were increased after the intervention, and this finding was significant for nurses working at one of the hospitals. There were no significant differences between results from a 6-week and an 8-week mindfulness intervention. The results suggest that mindfulness meditation training can impact positively on nurses’ perceived stress and also enhance nurses’ compassion. Mindfulness may well be a suitable self-care, stress-management intervention that can effectively teach nurses coping skills to assist them in managing the daily stressors inherent in their home and work life.

Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are receptors for the cumulative loading of microplastics (MPs) derived from industry, landfill, domestic waste water and storm water. The partitioning of MPs through the settlement processes of waste water treatment results in the majority becoming entrained in the sewage sludge. This study characterised MPs in sludge samples from seven WWTPs in Ireland, which use anaerobic digestion (AD), thermal drying (TD), or lime stabilisation (LS) treatment processes. Abundances ranged from 4,196 to 15,385 particles kg-1 (dry weight). Results of a general linear mixed model (GLMM) showed significantly higher abundances of MPs in smaller size classes in the LS samples, suggesting that the treatment process of LS shear MP particles. In contrast, lower abundances of MPs found in the AD samples suggest that this process may reduce MP abundances. Surface morphologies examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed characteristics of melting and blistering of TD MPs and shredding and flaking of LS MPs. This study highlights the potential for sewage sludge treatment processes to affect the risk of MP pollution prior to land spreading and may have implications for legislation governing the application of biosolids to agricultural land. We acknowledge the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland for funding this research. peer-reviewed 2017-12-12

The spatial dimensions of many social, economic and environmental challenges facing 21st century societies can be addressed through the idea of landscape. The European Landscape Convention – ELC ( Council of Europe, 2000 – Article 1a) views landscape as representing not simply the environment, but the world “as perceived by people”. As a concept, landscape is increasingly understood as uniting the physical, mental, natural and cultural dimensions of human existence; good quality landscapes are thus integral to our well-being. The problems and challenges facing our landscapes require greater understanding of how they function and change, as well as their meanings and values. Scholars working in the area of landscape research have increasingly advocated the need to enhance integrative approaches between the natural, human and applied sciences. However, drawing together the collective insights from across the sciences presents a range of conceptual and methodological issues. The question of scale as it pertains to different scientific realms is a key example of this kind of challenge to integrative approaches. The multi-scale nature of the social, environmental and economic challenges embedded in the landscape demands that scholars address these key issues of scale in their research. The aim of this paper is to review how the concept of scale has been interpreted and applied within the arena of landscape research, focussing specifically on three of the principal disciplinary contributors – ecology/landscape ecology, geography and spatial planning. The objective of this discussion is to synthesise scalar issues that feature within and across these perspectives, to better understand how they impact on the way landscape is conceptualised and thus produced through academic and related policy discourses. It seeks out points of tension as well as convergence when dealing with scale. It reflects on academic, policy and practice-related concerns that would form part of longer-term holistic strategies for landscape protection, planning and management in line with those being advocated by the ELC.