Contemporary Irish theatre,the new Playboy controversy,and the economic crisis

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the economic crisis on contemporary Irish theatre. More specifically, I contend that the legal controversy surrounding Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle’s second production of Playboy of the Western World: A New Version in 2008 provides a case study of how professional theatre productions that dramatised stories of immigrant empowerment during the Irish economic boom were profoundly inhibited by the bust that followed. Their collaborative version of the new Playboy was widely regarded as Ireland’s most successful intercultural play and a commercial success when it was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in 2007. The subsequent breakdown in their relationship and ensuing legal dispute is more symptomatic of Celtic Tiger Ireland in economic collapse, I suggest, than the content of the play itself, or most other productions mounted in the period. I argue that this dispute did not simply reflect but also reinforced the social effects of the economic crisis, through its prolonged litigation, enormous expense, and especially the missed opportunity that it represented to position the multicultural and migrant themed Playboy within the Irish theatrical mainstream. More broadly, I suggest that the economic crisis has been marked by the disappearance of immigrants from the professional Irish stage, a void which was only partially filled by community theatre productions. A case in point is Adigun and Arambe’s most recent adaptation of Jimmy Murphy’s The Kings of the Kilburn High Road in The Paddies of Parnell Street (2013), a play which I positively appraise as an example of successful “intercultural re-appropriation”.     

准确把握科学发展观精神实质谋求经济社会新发展--中共青海省委党校"全面贯彻落实科学发展观"研讨会综述

中共青海省委党校近期举行了“全面贯彻落实科学发展观”研讨会,本文为这次研讨会综述。文章主要归纳了三个方面的内容:关于科学发展观与邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想的内在联系和有机统一;关于青海新阶段的主题;关于切实抓好未来五年青海经济发展的几个重大问题。     

Determinants of regional resilience to economic crisis: a European perspective

The impact of the economic crisis has been highly asymmetric across the European regions. The objective of this paper is to investigate the determinants of resilience to economic crisis across European regions. Regional economic resilience was assessed based on employment changes during 2008–2013, while socioeconomic determinants were analysed pre-crisis (2002–2007). A highly heterogeneous pattern of resilience was observed within countries, while significant differences were also revealed between the continental northern-central regions and the southern periphery. A multilevel logistic regression model indicated the magnitude of country-effects on the performance of regional employment during crisis periods. Both EU-referenced and country-referenced regional resilience identified the positive effect of accessibility and the negative effect of a large manufacturing sector in the ability of regions to withstand recessionary shocks. Education and economic development level positively affected the resilience of both large and small regional European economies. Investing in education enhances the spatial homogeneity across Europe in terms of its ability to react to economic shocks. The results reveal the importance of narrowing disparities among regions and formulating targeted and differentiated regional development policies at country level, taking into consideration the size of the economy of the regions.     

Immigration,the Celtic Tiger and the economic crisis

Abstract

This article addresses the puzzle of why Ireland has proved so open to immigration. It compares responses to immigrants in the Republic of Ireland during the Celtic Tiger era and during the post-2008 economic crisis and finds no evidence of a political backlash during the latter period even though opinion polls suggest that opposition to immigration had increased and other evidence suggested that there had been an increase in racist incidents within Irish society. Nor did the resumption of large-scale emigration trigger political hostility to immigrants. The outcome of the 2004 Referendum on Citizenship, which removed a constitutional right to Irish citizenship to the Irish-born children of immigrants, suggested that that nationalism still matters hugely and a latent tendency towards ethnic chauvinism amongst the host population. Yet, a decade after the 2004 Referendum it looked as if the old mono-ethnic sense conception of the Irish nation had been disrupted, at least a little bit.     

Agency and resilience in the time of regional economic crisis

Using a comparative case study on the closure of the research and development facilities of a pharmaceutical company in two regions in Sweden, this paper investigates the emergence of regional economic resilience from an agency perspective. Findings include a networked region engendering agency from non-state actors whilst substantial state intervention is needed to facilitate agency from a less networked region. The paper finds broad confirmation that interactions of actors are due to how a region is organized and the contingencies of its institutional context. Collective agency depends on the ability of actors to align interests and coalesce agendas which, as shown by the two cases, can be based on shared regional affinity as in the case of Södertälje or innovation strategies as in the case of Lund. Regional economic crises bring forth conditions and impetus for temporary modes of cooperation that mobilize resources to launch adaptive resilience strategies. Conflicts in resource distributions or operational complexity make developing agency-based resilience challenging. Emergent regional outcomes from agency-based resilience from these two cases exhibit adaptation with the potential for adaptability in Lund, and adaptability with degrees of adaptation in Södertälje.     

Related variety and economic development: a literature review

Since the introduction of the related variety concept in 2007, a number of studies have been undertaken to analyse its effect on economic development. Our review of 21 studies makes clear that most studies find support for the initial hypothesis that related variety supports employment growth, though some studies suggest that the growth effects of related variety may be specific to knowledge-intensive sectors only. From the review, we list a number of further research questions regarding methodology, the role of unrelated variety, different forms of relatedness and the effect of related variety on knowledge production and entrepreneurship.     

Migration and tertiary educated youth: a reflexive view of mobility decision-making in an economic crisis context

Despite the popularity of student and graduate migration as research topics, mobility decision-making among tertiary educated youth is relatively neglected, resulting in under-appreciation of the complexity of this process. This article seeks to overcome this shortcoming through taking a reflexive view, recognising the significance of personal considerations alongside economic motives as potential mobility drivers. Evidence is drawn from a survey of 400 undergraduates aged 25 and under conducted in Dublin during 2014, with results illustrating anticipated destinations, durations of stays abroad and the bearing of the economic crisis. Using logistic regression, the influence of a range of subjective level factors is explored in relation to different mobility choices. This analysis leads towards a concluding summary that posits a reflexive view on student and graduate mobility decision-making, illustrated with qualitative case study evidence.     

辽宁省少数民族地区经济发展论述

本文分析了辽宁省少数民族地区经济发展缓慢的原因,提出了促进辽宁省少数民族地区经济发展的一些建议.     

Technology transfer agencies and regional economic development

Many regions in Western Europe have set up technology transfer agencies in order to support endogenous potential by encouraging the diffusion of new technologies from universities and large firms to small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). However, many studies have shown that business partners such as customers and suppliers are the most important partners for the stimulation of the innovativeness of SMEs. Universities and transfer agencies are given a very low rank in these studies. These results have led to doubts about the usefulness of these institutions for regional economic development. In order to increase transparency, streamlining of the agencies involved is necessary so that there are fewer actors and more cooperation between them. To be able to reach technology‐following SMEs, at least one transfer organization in every region should employ senior engineers with extensive business experience to visit firms frequently (proactive) to help them come up with some technological issues (demand‐oriented). These agencies need long‐term financial backing so as to provide free advice to technology‐following SMEs.     

Inward investment and economic development in Poland

This paper summarizes results of a research project funded by the Overseas Development Administration of the UK Government. Its aims were to explore the nature and extent of foreign direct investment in Poland, and to assess the extent of integration of such investment with the indigenous economy. The research involved interviews with Polish government ministries, banks, development agencies, inward investors and indigenous firms. It concludes that there are numerous financial and technical obstacles to indigenous business development. The majority of inward investors aim to serve the Polish and other Central and Eastern European markets rather than simply selling cheaply produced products to the West. Moreover, most have already developed significant local sourcing from Polish suppliers.     

西部民族经济跨越式发展的途径

跨越式发展是一个过程,是经济发展质量和水平的整体跃升。正确理解跨越式发展的思想理论,对中国西部民族地区经济发展具有重要的理论和现实指导意义。     

Collections of industrial and product design: a pathway for improved economic development connections among cultural institutions

This research investigates US cultural institutions housing collections of industrial and product design (IPD) and explores how IPD are collected, curated, and exhibited to uncover the barriers and opportunities that exist in connecting these collections to economic development. Based on key person interviews with nine institutions, this inquiry finds the collections generally are not externally integrated as a local or regional economic development asset. The full depths of these collections are somewhat concealed within the institutions because of their curation across departments or through a broader Decorative Arts lens. Using a framework of arts and culture research and development, this article argues that IPD collections represent an opportunity for greater engagement of cultural institutions in culturally oriented economic development strategies that pair their expertise and assets with those of the private sector.     

Making progress in global health: the need for new paradigms

This article takes the state of health in the world today as the starting point for a backward look at the trajectory that has led to our current position and speculation about prospects for improved global health in the future. Our model of social development and its dominant value system, which has promoted scientific progress but has also brought about great social, economic and health instability, is interrogated. This leads to questions such as what it means to be healthy and what the practice of medicine is about. Three potential scenarios for global health in the future are outlined. It is suggested that deep introspection about our current value system is required to achieve a paradigm shift that could reverse current trends and lead both to improvements in health globally and to less human insecurity. The authors conclude that while we have the material resources to achieve ambitious goals we may lack the moral and political will to do so. An expanded discourse on ethics and human rights—as well as on the limits of what is politically possible— may provide the impetus to drive change towards an improved global economic system and better health globally.     

An Innovation-based industrial strategy for the new German Lander

This paper argues that firms in the new German Lander must rapidly adopt an industrial innovation strategy if they are to complete in the Single European Market and regain lost markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The new Lander have experienced a major de-industrialization and relatively slow new firm formation. As most existing firms lack innovative potential, progress calls for public support. This paper outlines the necessary elements of a development strategy aimed at boosting innovation in former East Germany.     

Looking for solutions in the Canadian North: modern treaties as a new strategy

Modern land claim agreements (MLCAs) are having an impact on Aboriginal economic and social development. This economic impact stems from the substantial land and cash received through the surrender of land rights. The creation of an economic structure that allows the recipients to manage their land and business is another important component of modern land claim agreements. In this paper, we compare economic development of Aboriginal peoples living in three different areas of the Canadian North, namely, the Western Arctic, the Central Arctic and Northern Quebec, over a ten year period. Even in this short‐term period, we argue that those in the Western Arctic and Northern Quebec who had their agreements signed much earlier would have seen a more rapid and persistent advancement in their economic development than those in the Central Arctic (Kitikmeot and Keewatin census regions) whose claims were settled in 1993 as part of the larger Tungavik Federation of Nunavut Final Agreement. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and data from the 1981, 1986 and 1991 Canadian censuses, we have undertaken a longitudinal analysis for each region. The results support our hypothesis. Les accords sur litiges fonciers (ALFs) ont une incidence sur le développement économique et social des aborigènes. Cette incidence économique provient de l'acquis considérable de terres et d'argent reçus suite à l'abandon des droits fonciers. La création d'une structure économique qui permet aux bénéficiaires de gérer leurs terres et leurs affaires est une autre composante importante des accords sur les litiges fonciers. Cet compare le développement économique des populations autochtones dans trois régions différentes du Nord du Canada, à savoir l'Arctique occidental, l'Arctique central et le nord du Québec, sur une période de dix ans. Nous soutenons que, même sur cette période courte, les populations autochtones de l'Arctique occidental et du nord du Québec dont les accords avaient été signés plus tôt ont dû bénéfier d'un progrès plus rapide et soutenu que les populations autochtones de l'Arctique central (les zones de recensement de Kitikmeot et Keewatin) dont les litiges ont été réglés en 1993 dans le cadre de l'ensemble des accords finaux de la Fédération Tungavik du Nunavut. Recourant à l'analyse en composante principale (ACP) et des données des recensements canadiens de 1981, 1986 et 1991, nous avons entrepris une analyse longitudinale pour chaque région. Les résultats confirment notre hypothèse.