Prof Cahal McLaughlin (QUB) Three official reports in Northern Ireland have each recommended storytelling as one of the methods to address the legacy of the past – Bloomfield (1998), Eames-Bradley (2007) and Hass (2014) reports. The proposal of an Oral History Archive in the Stormont House Agreement raises the possibility of similar benefits. The Executive … Read more
Dr Sharon Mallon (OU) The signing of the Good Friday agreement effectively brought an end to the widespread violence associated with the ‘Troubles’. However, communities within Northern Ireland continue to be blighted by an insidious form of violence in the form of punishment beatings and intimidation. Anecdotal evidence published in news media have linked cases … Read more
Ms Louise O’Boyle (Ulster) This presentation will discuss the findings from evidence-based research into the effectiveness of a partnership between Louise O’Boyle (Ulster University) and PIPS Charity North Belfast, over a series of collaborations between 2012-2016. The constituency of North Belfast is an area of multiple disadvantages and has the highest suicide rate in Northern … Read more
Dr Nat O’Connor (Ulster) Economic inequality is rising in the developed world and influential research has found major risks to economic growth and population health; including OECD reports, IMF working papers, Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century and the UK’s ‘Marmot Review’. Nobel economist Robert Shiller has called it “The most important problem that we are … Read more
Dr Lisa Bunting, Dr Gavin Davidson and Claire McCartan (QUB) Child welfare systems in the UK are under profound stress because of growing demand and the current squeeze of austerity; they are expensive but provide a crucial investment in our children’s future; and protecting children’s safety and development is a core function of the state. … Read more
Prof Keith Attenborough and Dr Shahram Taherzadeh (OU) Noise barriers are a common method of combating noise (mentioned under ‘environment’ in the KESS hot topics list) but they may be unsightly and tend to divide communities because any gaps affect their efficiency. The presentation will describe alternative methods based on the results of the Open University … Read more
Dr Linda McElduff (Ulster) Coastal communities on the island of Ireland face a range of structural and locational challenges, including changing environmental parameters and the risk of specific coastal hazards. Such challenges have clear implications for the planning and regeneration of coastal resorts, as well as integrated coastal management. Some coastal communities are seeking to … Read more
Dr Brídín Carroll (University College Dublin) This presentation reports on a current EU research project, TRANSMANGO, which focuses on the vulnerability and resilience of European food systems in the context of socioeconomic, behavioural, technological, institutional and agro-ecological change. TRANSMANGO addresses the effects of global drivers of change (climate, economic concentration and market structure, financial power, … Read more
Dr Wayne Foord (QUB) This presentation provides an introduction to scenario planning, its increasing application to food system planning, and reports on the QUB Nexus project. There is growing evidence that future food security, globally and regionally, is at risk due to climate change, environmental degradation and resource scarcity, including fossil energy scarcity. Scenario planning … Read more
Dr Gillian Prue, Dr Olinda Santin, Dr Lesley Anderson, Dr Donna Graham and Prof Mark Lawler (QUB) Prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers is an increasingly prominent public health issue. The current UK strategy of vaccinating girls alone does not provide males with adequate protection against HPV infection and HPV-related diseases, particularly men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). In … Read more