IADT Perspectives II - An Anthology of IADT Research and Practices 2015

An Anthology of iadt Research and Practice 2015

Perspectives II

iadt Institute of Art, Design & Technology Perspectives II

Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland Tel: Facsimile: URL: arnaEmail: dearadh ag

+ 353 1 239 4000 + 353 1 239 4700 www.iadt.ie info@iadt.ie

The authors arnaŠdearadh ag (except where otherwise credited).

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No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised designed by in any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying or recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the authors. arnaImages dearadh byag authors except where otherwise stated. designed by

arnaCover dearadh agwork by Ian Mitton features

Inside front cover features work by Lynda Devenney

designed by

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

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Contents Foreword

Dr. Annie Doona, President, IADT

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A Typology of Social Networks Andrew Power

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Engaging Young Early School Leavers in Learning Online Marianne Checkley

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Engaging Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Aid: Collectable Trading Card Games Timothy McNichols 24 Rising Cultural Consumers and Diminishing Opportunities Kerry McCall

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Another Way: Exploring Changing Ideas in Film Studies using Corpus Analysis Helen Doherty

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The Sport Psychologist Tweeter: What information do ‘followers’ want?

Olivia Hurley

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Ghosts in the House: Patrick Pearse, History, and Theatre Elaine Sisson

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Exploring the possibility of art to enact other spaces Clodagh Emoe

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Antidisestablishmentarianism and the Diaries of Reverend Thomas Goff: the Carriglea connection.

David Doyle

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List of Contributors

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List of Contributors of Visual Images

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Funground by Cora Cummins

Set design Gradam Ceoil by Alan Farquharson

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

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Foreword It is with great pleasure that once again I am writing the foreword to another edition of Perspectives – an anthology of IADT Research and Practice. This is the second in the series initiated by the R&D Sub-committee of Academic Council back in 2012. It was motivated at that time by a desire to give greater prominence to the Research activity that goes on at IADT. This has even greater importance in 2015 as we begin to implement the IADT Strategic Plan 2014-2018. Many of the goals underpinning the Strategic Plan rely on building up our capacity to do research and to publicise the research that we do already. Perspectives aids greatly in that effort.

Producing a publication of this quality is a significant achievement and while this is nominally the work of the sub-committee, the key role is performed by the Editor. On this occasion we have been guided by the experienced hand of Dr. Elaine Sisson, many thanks to Elaine for her work on this edition.

This year we have contributions across a wide range of topics reflecting the breadth of disciplines at IADT and the collaboration between them. It is also very interesting to note that only one of our authors this year was published in the inaugural edition of Perspectives in 2014. This means that we have 8 authors who are new to Perspectives on this occasion and Perspectives has now published a total of almost 30 individual IADT authors at this stage.

For the first time this year we have included visual research and practice by staff members including stage design, prints, film stills, photographs, drawing and animation. This means that the number of staff contributing to the anthology is 23. This is a testament to the activity of our staff and provides a great seed corn for the growth in Research which we hope to achieve in the 2014-2018 Strategic Plan period.

So once again I encourage you all look at and read the work documented here and to engage in a conversation with the researchers and practitioners over coffee. Also don’t forget that it is not just our more academic work that we would like to celebrate here but rather all IADT research and practice. Maybe there is a linkage between your own interests and practice which could be married with the work of a colleague to provide that innovative idea that makes a huge difference to our knowledge and to our society.

Dr. Annie Doona President IADT

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iadt Perspectives II

Installation of THE MARKET, Belfast Exposed Gallery, 2013

By Mark Curran

Peter Evers, Selfmade 2, Virtual Photographs/Gelatine/Plaster/infrared scans.

Exhibited at PS2 Belfast “What cures the quiet unease” 12-28 March 2015.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2014-足15

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Liminal Space, Digital Video by Lynda Devenney

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Film still from Science & Magick, a stopmotion video promoting Irish animation made for The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland. Art direction, animation and composited by Eimhin McNamara, written and directed by Pรกdraig Fagan, PaperPanther Productions, 2015.

Film still, A Warning to All Kings, stopmotion animation directed and written by David Quin. Galway Film Fleadh and IndieCork Festival, 2014

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Set design for She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, directed by Conall Morrison, Abbey Theatre, Dec/Jan 2014-15. Photo courtesy of Ros Kavanagh.

by Liam Doona

Series of Egyptian style masks, commisioned for the opera Moses, directed by Martin Duncan, Theatre St. Gallen, Switzerland, 2013. By Ger Clancy

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Concept drawing and Film Still for The Meaning of Eggistence, dir Bruce Ryder, produced by Lenny Abrahamson, Animated Short, Frameworks, 2010.

By Laura Venables

Fusion Ignition, Laser Cut Lamp, stellated dodecahedron in paper. Commissioned by the National Museum of Ireand for the 21st Century Room, Collins Barracks, Winter, 2014.

Image courtesy of The National Museum of Ireland.

By Fiona Snow

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Ian Mitton, Beach Boy, ClichĂŠ Verre with dry plate, 2014

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A Typology of Social Networks

A Typology of Social Networks Andrew Power The purpose of this study is to examine how a group of young people are thinking about and using social networking technologies in an attempt to classify social networking services by type. Building on the work of Prensky (2001) who focused on the user and classified them into digital natives and immigrants, and White and Le Cornu (2011) who saw users of technology as visitors and residents, this study seeks not to classify the user, but to pick up on Le Cornu’s idea of place and classify the places they chose to visit. A typology of social networks is developed and focus groups used to test it. This is a new way of thinking about place and presence rather than activity and user type. The balance between a social network’s reach of connectivity and richness of content is shown to be the key, both to the popularity of a given social network and to the nature of its service. It is also suggested that, within the nomenclature developed, opportunities for development of new social media offerings are best targeted at boutique or niche markets.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction Social networking applications are proliferating, specialising and adapting as the number of users grows and the manner and frequency of interactions change. To better understand social networks some means of classification is required. Classification provides a descriptive function and allows us to recognise similarities. It allows a researcher to compare different types and study relationships between types. The value of a classification system is based on the selection of key variables (Bailey 1994, p.2). There are two basic approaches to classification. The first is a typology, which separates a given set of items into two or more dimensions. These dimensions represent concepts rather than empirical cases. The dimensions are based on the notion of an ideal type that deliberately accentuates certain characteristics (Weber, 1949).

A second approach to classification is taxonomy. Taxonomies are generally used to classify items on the basis of empirically observable and measurable characteristics (Bailey 1994, p.6) and are thus more typically associated with the biological rather than the social sciences (Sokal and Sneath, 1964 cited in Smith, 2002). Taxonomies are often hierarchical and evolutionary, so, in the biological sciences a taxonomy might build from family, to genus, to species.

An example of the use of a taxonomy outside the biological sciences is Bloom et al, (1956) who developed a taxonomy of cognitive objectives. Andrew Churches (2008) developed this work further into a taxonomic classification of Web2.0 tools and apps. However, it does not give us a framework to evaluate the usefulness of a particular application nor does it provide an indication of its likely appeal amongst users. In the view of the researcher, when evaluating social networks, a typology would be more effective.

An example of a typology in this field would be Prensky’s Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants (2001). This proposed that younger users of technology had grown up speaking its’ language and older users, who might learn the skills, would always have an accent and not be natural users. This became a popular system of classification despite some criticism that age was not really as big a factor as Prensky had assumed (Bennett et al 2008; Helsper and Eynon 2009).

A more recent typology developed by White and Le Cornu (2011) with their distinction between a Visitor and Resident provides a more nuanced approach, takes specific account of social network usage, and helpfully brings the concept of place and presence to the fore. Residents see themselves as living a life online and whose personae in pictures, messages, blogs, profiles and so on remain behind as an online presence even when they are not online.

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Issues related to online presence in different contexts are discussed elsewhere (Kirwan 2009; Power and Kirwan 2010; Power and Kirwan 2011).

Prensky’s typology of natives and immigrants was developed in 2001 before the arrival of social networks (MySpace was launched in 2003, Facebook in 2004, Bebo and YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006). Up until the arrival of social networks the internet was used primarily as a means of finding information. As White and Le Cornu (2011) point out, a key distinction between information gathering and social networking sites is that the latter invite people to project their personae online as a digital identity via text, image and video. White and Le Cornu’s (2011) typology makes the distinction between a visitor who visits the online space to perform tasks, and those residents who see themselves as having an online presence, regardless of whether they happened to be logged in at the time or not. This metaphor of ‘place’ is helpful in that, just as White and Le Cornu used it to classify users, it could also be used to describe the various types of places that exist online. In some respects, these are like the places where we meet offline to exchange news, purchase goods and services, gossip with friends, do business, seek entertainment; as such the analogy of a market square is a suitable one. Today’s consumer world has replaced the traditional market square with a range of retail outlets.

Retail outlets can be understood in different ways and seemed like a possible analogy for social networks.

Method Gubrium and Holstein (2002, p.9) claim we are now part of an ‘interview society’ and as Kvale (1996, p.1) states ‘If you want to know how people understand their world and their life, why not ask them?’ In order to prepare for a series of focus groups, a number of semi-structured interviews were held with a small group of students. The goal of these interviews was to gather information about their general understanding of, and engagement with, social networking technologies, to give participants the opportunity to discuss the key characteristics of social networks, and to contribute to the formulation of a typology for use in focus groups. The interviews were of approximately thirty minutes duration, recorded with the participant’s permission, and transcribed.

These texts then provided useful data from which to assist in the construction of questions for the focus group stage of the research.

Gillham (2000) makes the distinction between trialling and piloting. Trialling involves trying out different questions at an early stage in the process whereas piloting takes place at a more advanced stage in the interview

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A Typology of Social Networks

development process. This trialling gave the researcher a feel for the interviewing process, provided feedback on the type of questions which were productive and stimulated comments, and highlighted both the key questions, and those which were not providing useful data (Gillham 2000, p.22). During this phase the most appealing features of social networking sites were explored.

Ease of use, communication, and information sharing seemed important to some; other students supported the communication component of social networks but also recognised the importance of a wide adoption of a particular tool to make this feature useful. The ability to communicate from one to many; to form groups, and to enable group decision-making was cited by others. Students also cited the importance of fun as a key feature of social networking platforms. This factor is also referenced in Bennett (2008) in relation to the building of social networks for the political engagement of young people.

In assessing the potential candidates for the key dimensions of a typology of social networking sites, the possibilities included: stickiness (fun, addictive, my friends use it); simplicity (ease of use, no need to learn); benefit (what does it do?); and strength of communication options.

Taking into account the views of the students, and the possible dimensions suggested; the idea of contrasting ‘reach’ and ‘richness’ seemed to provide a solution. The key is connectivity: both the qualitative richness of the connectivity and the quantitative reach of connectedness.

Looking at some examples of popular social networks it was possible to contrast their relative reach and richness and map them on a typographic framework.

Using the metaphor of the internet as market square, and social networks as retail outlets, the reach and richness described above is analogous with size of customer base and range of products and services. Facebook, with high reach and richness, would be classified as a ‘mall’; email and messaging services, with high reach and low richness, as a ‘budget store’; Bebo, with high richness and low reach, a ‘boutique’; and Foursquare, with low reach and richness, as a ‘market stall’. This suggested typology was tested in focus groups to examine its validity.

The second stage of the research was with focus groups. A total of nine focus groups were held with students between the ages of 18 and 23, in four Irish third level colleges; The Institute of Art Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education, Dun Laoghaire Senior College, and the National University of Ireland, Galway. The discussion sought to explore the nature of social networks with reference to the typology. After four or five of the focus groups it was noticed that there was a diminishing return on new information.

There was a consistency in the responses from students in the four institutions in which focus groups were held.

After nine focus groups, no new information was being generated and it was judged by the researcher that no further focus groups would be held. Focus groups offer a number of advantages, providing a relaxed means of gathering rich data about how people talk about a topic, and how they respond to the views of others about the topic (Catterall and Maclaran 1997). They also provide an excellent means of determining attitudes.

(Jarrell 2000). Glesne and Peshkin (1992 cited in Lewis 1995) suggest that interviewing more than one person at a time sometimes proves very useful: some young people need company to be emboldened to talk, and some topics are better discussed by a small group of people who know each other. They are good for involving people who might be nervous of being the sole focus of a researcher’s attention (Barbour and Kitzinger 1999, p.10). Interestingly, given the subject matter of this research, Barbour and Kitzinger go on to say that focus groups enable researchers to examine people’s different perspectives as they operate within a social network. The focus group provided the opportunity for participants’ views to be challenged by peers, and differences in perspective uncovered. This led to a more accurate, or at least peer reviewed, gathering of the data.

The researcher worked over the period of 2010-2012; this meant that there was time for ideas and points of view to develop and change and for those changes to be noted.

Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004, p. 20) suggest that ‘extended fieldwork’ is one of the advantages of qualitative research in that researchers are responsive to changes occuring during the conduct of a study and promote the validity of qualitative research.

Results The questions were introduced and facilitated by the use of stimulus exercises. The first asked the participants to list the number of social networks they were familiar with.

The results of this can be seen in Figure 1. The degree of technological awareness was high but this was perceived by participants to be a baseline for technology usage rather than a particular aptitude. This is supported by the findings of Ofcom (2012) who report that 72% of 16-24 year olds say that technology has changed the way that they communicate.

Facebook was by far the most popular social network; every participant was an active Facebook user. This supports the findings of Lenhart et al (2010) who report that Facebook has taken over as the social network of choice with 73% of adult profile owners using Facebook. Other social networks

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such as Bebo and MySpace were well known but were not being used. If social networks that are well known, but no longer being used, are excluded, there is a marked distinction between what is seen as general or perhaps infrastructural social networks and those that serve a niche audience. Twitter was also used by almost all participants; there was a drop in overall usage to the huge number of specialist or niche social networks which participants used, depending on their interest area: music, art, games and so on. For example one, Metal Ireland, is dedicated to Irish fans of heavy metal rock music.

Figure 1: Social networks used by participants Facebook Twitter Bebo

MySpace Google+

YouTube LinkedIn MSN

Tumblr

SoundCloud Skype

G-mail Flickr

Boards.ie

Friendster

Instagram Yahoo

Pinterest

FourSquare

Deviant Art

Rotten Tomatoes LiveJasmine Omegle

Hotmail Ask.fm Badoo

Tagged iMesh

Gaia Online Vimeo

MixCloud

Breaking Tunes Gamespot

VampireFreaks

Weheartit.com Photobucket Viber Keek

Elftown Picasa hi5

StumpleUpon Metal Ireland

Drumming Ireland

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A Typology of Social Networks

It is clear amongst these users that the dominance of Facebook is matched by a large number of smaller ‘boutique’ social networks which cater for particular niche interests. In simple terms everyone is on Facebook but they may also have a particular interest in drumming or Irish heavy metal music or Japanese animation, for which there will be a specialised social network serving this interest group either locally or worldwide. The discussion then focused on to the attributes of a good social networking service (SNS). The functionality of social networks was described mainly in terms of communication and connectivity. Common issues were ease of use, the size of the user base, features and security. Of these perhaps the most important seemed to be the number of people already on the SNS. The ability to connect with the most individuals, or the reach of a social network, was seen as a crucial attribute. The second most important attribute seemed to be the richness of the features on a particular SNS. At this point the participants were introduced to the second stimulus exercise, derived from the suggested typology.

Participants were asked to place the social networks previously identified along with those identified as the top ten most popular social networks in Ireland at that time, on a grid and assess their relative reach and richness. The top ten social networks in Ireland were identified from Alexa, the web information company (www.alexa.com). The data was analysed and a scatter graph plotted for each of the twelve most popular social networks. A composite of results can be seen in Figure 2. The clustering of the various social networks is concentrated towards the top right of the graph. This is to be expected, as all these social networks strive to offer as much functionality to as many people as possible. The degree to which they are successful is apparent in their relative position. Using the nomenclature suggested by the typology, Facebook and YouTube are clearly analogous to malls, offering a huge range of content to a wide variety of users.

Google+ and Flickr offer a more boutique service providing a rich offering but to a limited customer base. MSN/Windows Live (originally The Microsoft Network) is the closest to a budget store version of a social network, a large customer base but perceived as lacking functionality. Relatively new social networks like Foursquare who are building their functionality and customer base are analogous to market stalls, limited in both reach and richness.

Figure 2: Scatter plot for social networks 10

Reach

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5

0

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Richness Facebook YouTube LinkedIn Twitter Boards.ie Flickr

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LiveJasmin Myspace Bebo Foursquare Google+ MSN

The social networks most used by the students were either, those described by the typology as malls, or those described as boutiques. It would appear as though the typical user has a presence on the major social networks (malls) for their general communication needs and then one or more special interest (boutique) social networks for their specific needs.

Discussion The evidence from the focus groups supported the view that the typology of social networks developed does accurately describe their principal attributes and can be used as a tool in the analysis of new networks. The focus groups demonstrated a high level of awareness and usage of social networking technologies amongst participants.

The students were highly engaged with technology, and the apparent baseline for connectivity and engagement was higher than expected. Accessibility to social networks via the mobile phone was the key to their widespread, and in some cases constant, use. Facebook was clearly the dominant social network and the apparent popularity of some others may even be overstated due to the continued existence of dormant accounts. Reach was seen as a crucial attribute and a significant obstacle to new SNS providers. The richness of features is an even more crucial element of a social network. The dominance of Facebook

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

was shown to be matched by a large number of smaller ‘boutique’ social networks which cater for particular niche interests. The development of further boutique networks, rich in functionality and targeted at specific markets, is not impeded by the pre-existing market dominance of the mall-type social networks like Facebook. Future competitors for these mall-type social networks are more likely to come from other market sectors when competitors can bring their existing customer base with them. The games industry, with its large pre-existing and interconnected network of players, may be a possible future player in the social networking market.

The two-way nature of social networking was a key feature mentioned by participants as a way of keeping in touch with others who are geographically distant, and amongst groups of friends who meet regularly. The ability to connect one-to-one, and also to work in and communicate in groups was seen as important.

It was felt by participants that Facebook was primarily for a younger audience and that Twitter was more likely to appeal to the slightly older user. Participants saw Twitter as a news service, more broadcast in nature than Facebook, but one that users can tailor, for example to select from whom they wish to receive news. It is also clear that the definition of news is understood in its broadest sense.

The participants were also aware of the negative side of widespread adoption of Facebook. Issues of privacy, market domination and data security were all raised.

Social networks were recognised as public spaces where participants acknowledge the need to be accountable for their actions. They felt the lack of anonymity on Facebook prevented them from engaging in any controversial topics for fear of being engaged in online flaming or argument. Their concern that such conversations were less likely to be limited to their friends, and might spill out into arguments across the web, was important to them. A growing awareness of its limitations, and growing acceptance amongst younger users of the transparency of their information online, has not lessened its appeal. It is clear that as a mechanism for developing social capital, networking, raising awareness and sharing information, it is a technology with a continuing potential for growth.

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A Typology of Social Networks

References: Bailey, K.D. (1994).

Typologies and Taxonomies: An Introduction to Classification Techniques.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Barbour, R., & Kitzinger, J. (Eds). (1999).

Developing Focus Group Research.

London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008).

The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775–786.

Bennett, W.L. (2008).

Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age.

In W.L. Bennett, (Ed.), Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth (pp. 1-24). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Bloom, B., Englehart, M., Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956).

Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals.

Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York and Toronto: Longmans, Green.

Catterall, M., & Maclaran, P. (1997).

Focus Group Data and Qualitative Analysis Programs: Coding the Moving Picture as Well as the Snapshots.

Sociological Research Online, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/2/1/6.html

Churches, A. (2008).

Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally.

Tech&Learning, 1 Apr. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8670

Gillham, B. (2000).

The Research Interview.

London and New York: Continuum.

Gubrium, J.F., & Holstein, J.A., (Eds.). (2002).

Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Methods.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Helsper, E.J., & Eynon, R. (2009).

Digital natives: Where is the evidence?

British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 503–520.

Jarrell, M. G. (2000).

Focusing on Focus Group Use in Educational Research.

Paper presented at the Mid-South Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED448167.pdf

Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004).

Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come.

Educational Researcher 33(7), 14-26.

Kirwan, G. (2009).

Presence and the Victims of Crime in Online Virtual Worlds.

Presented at Presence 2009, The 12th Annual International Workshop on Presence, November, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://astro.temple.edu/~tuc16417/papers/Kirwan.pdf

Kirwan, G. & Power A. (2011).

The Psychology of Cybercrime.

Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Kvale, S. (1996).

Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods.

London: Sage.

Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A. & Zickuhr, K. (2010).

Social Media and Young Adults’ in Teens, Social Networking, Mobile, Generations, Blogs, Web 2.0.

Retrieved from http://www.pewInternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Mediaand-Young-Adults.aspx

Lewis, M. (1995).

Focus group interviews in qualitative research: a review of the literature.

Action Research Electronic Reader. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu. au/schools/gcm/ar/arr/arow/rlewis.html#AppendixA

Ofcom (2012).

The Communications Market, July.

Retrieved from http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/ cmr12/UK_0.pdf

Power, A. & Kirwan, G. (2010).

Online Identities in Virtual Worlds.

In R. Donnelly, J. Harvey, & K.C. O’Rourke (Eds.), Critical Design and Effective Tools for E-Learning in Higher Education: Theory into Practice, (pp39-54). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Prensky, M. (2001).

Digital natives, digital immigrants.

On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky. com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20 Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Weber, M. (1949).

The Methodology of the Social Sciences.

New York: Free Press.

White, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2011).

Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement.

First Monday, 16(9), Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/ cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049

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Engaging Young Early School Leavers in Learning Online

Engaging Young Early School Leavers in Learning Online Marianne Checkley iScoil was developed in response to worrying statistics on school leaving in Ireland where ‘early school leaving’ is legally defined as non-participation in school before reaching the age of 16 years, or before completing 3 years of post-primary education, whichever is later (Department of Education and Science, 2000). Initially established in 2008 as a pilot project with notschool.net (Heppell, 1998), it has been adapted and further developed to meet the needs of young Irish early school leavers. iScoil works to provide a safe environment where young people can reengage with education. By assessing individual needs and interests, a personalized learning plan is drawn up for each student online, to work at his or her own pace supported by qualified teachers. Young people are referred by statutory agencies and can access the learning community from home or from a local centre depending on their circumstances and location. Each student works towards accreditation at FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council) Level 3, equivalent to the Junior Certificate on the National Framework of Qualifications. This study aims to establish if iScoil is meeting the needs of the target group and examine how the model of learning has developed and is delivered.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction to Early School Leaving A Department of Education report shows almost 4,500 children a year leave school between the first year and transition year of secondary education (DES, 2010). The consequences of this relate to a failure to access life chances and, often, to social exclusion. Disengaging at a young age from the education system increases the individual risk of unemployment and poverty by decreasing lifetime earnings and mental and physical wellbeing (Byrne, McCoy and Watson, 2009). The problem is not confined to Ireland: it is estimated that one out of every seven young Europeans leaves the education system without having the skills or qualifications seen as necessary to make a successful transition to the labour market, and for active participation in today’s knowledge-based economy (European Parliament, 2011).

On a wider economic and social level, innovation and growth rely on a skilled labour force, not only for high technology sectors, throughout the economy. Predictions of future skills needs in Europe suggest that in the near future only one in ten jobs will be within the skill-set of an early school leaver (European Parliament, 2011). Reducing the numbers of young people leaving school early is considered a key investment, not only in the prospects for individuals, but in the future prosperity of the EU in general.

One EU statistic is quite staggering: ‘to reduce the average European early school leaving rate by just 1 percentage point would provide the European economy each year with nearly half a million additional qualified potential young employees’ (European Commission, 2011).

In Ireland, the annual cost to the State in benefits, including lost tax revenue per male early school leaver, has been estimated at €29,300, even before costs associated with health or crime are considered (Smyth and McCoy, 2009).

Young people who drop out of school come from diverse backgrounds and the causes of early school leaving vary greatly from individual to individual. A recent EU report finds early school leaving typically caused by a cumulative process of disengagement due to personal, family, social, economic and educational reasons (European Parliament 2011). In Ireland, over the last ten years, many studies have referred to the social inequalities associated with early school leaving (Educational Research Centre, 2010). Children from poorer socio-economic contexts tend, on average, to have lower levels of literacy and numeracy and lower levels of engagement in school generally. For example, a 2006 census on the health impact of early school leaving in Limerick reported a rate 4% higher than the national average in areas considered socially and economically

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deprived (HIA on Early School Leaving, Absenteeism and Truancy, 2008).

Other influencing factors include the potential impact of schools, and take into account the perspective of the young person who is in the process of disengagement.

These variables are considered easier to change and may be influenced by students, parents, educators, policy makers and community members. They include school policies; school climate; disruptive behavior; absenteeism; parenting; sense of belonging in school; attitude towards school, and educational support in the home (EU, 2011; Lehr et al. 2003, Smyth & McCoy, 2009). Research into the complexity of early school leaving is continuing to uncover the perspective of the student: for example Downes (2011) highlights the absence of research on the importance of emotional dimensions contributing to the overall picture, and refers to a pedagogical wellbeing where mental health prevention promotion meets education reform.

Since the 1980s, when youth unemployment was running at 16%, the Department of Education and Skills have supported the development of a range of interventions aimed at increasing rates of school completion. The emphasis on prevention and retention for the Junior Cycle at secondlevel is reflected in the nature of responses like the School Completion Programme, the Home School Liaison Scheme and the Delivering Equality in Opportunity Scheme (DEIS).

Designed to meet the needs of young people already disengaged from the education system, iScoil incorporates the use of 21st Century educational tools with many of the features of good practice, outlined above, in the development of an inclusive learning community that aims to provide an alternative pathway to accreditation and progression.

Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century With current trends and developments in educational technology it would appear that there are now far more flexible and engaging resources available to reach and to meet the needs of all young learners. Studies show that it is the teaching approach: social constructivist, constructivist or traditional, that influences how teachers use ICT and digital media, and whether they use it to facilitate effective teaching, encourage students as active participants, or focus on the use of technology for its own sake (Bocconi, 2013; Herman, Dawson, Dee, Greene, Maynard and Darwin, 2008).

So while there is no doubt that the tools and learning platforms now exist to support learning, teaching and educational inclusion, research also suggests that practice

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Engaging Young Early School Leavers in Learning Online

is what ultimately matters (Elliot, 2010). For example, it is generally agreed that in order for a teacher to engage a young person in their own learning, the work they undertake needs to be relevant, meaningful and authentic.

Teachers are encouraged to create quality learning environments designed for students to experience, within the curriculum, ideas and problems that are real and worthy of exploration (Beetham, 2013; Willms et al, 2009). In this quest for learning to be student-centred, self-directed and self-regulated, McLoughlin and Lee conclude that this can be achieved by integrating social, interactive software into learning design, and therefore make a qualitative difference to students’ ownership of their own learning (McLoughlin and Lee, 2010). This ownership of learning and self-efficacy as a motivational factor (Bandura, 2006) in education is seen to lead to deeper learning that comes about when learners take responsibility for their own learning, and are challenged to develop alternative strategies (Beetham, 2013). This is a move away from design for instruction and towards design for learning (Harding and Ingraham, 2013) where agendas such as accessibility, inclusion and widening participation favour a design ethos that uses learner differences as a starting point, rather than a challenge or inconvenience (Dagger, Wade and Conlan; 2004).

Although it is emphasized that pedagogy should lead technology, it is also thought that, inevitably, the scope and style of pedagogy will change as technology changes: there is real complexity in designing the learning experience. More current research is focusing on how to achieve the kind of learning experience that engages and retains students. ‘Design for learning’ is a phrase emerging from rethinking ongoing pedagogical practices and is used to describe the process by which not only teachers, but all involved in the support of learning, arrive at a plan or structure for a learning environment (Beetham, 2013; Laurillard, 2012).

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies identifies eight encompassing and interconnected dimensions that work together to design creative learning and innovative pedagogies using ICT: Content and Curricula, Assessment, Learning Practices, Teaching Practices Organisation, Leadership and Values, Connectedness, and Infrastructure (Bocconi et al, 2012). Two European exemplars, the Monkseaton High School (UK) and the Hellerup School (Denmark) illustrate how the systemic approach, captured by the conceptualization from research, can be successfully applied in practice, to encourage innovation in pedagogical thinking and practices.

Transferring innovative classroom practice to the online learning environments is a developing discipline. Recent

studies in educational interventions using technology emphasise the ability of online learning environments to provide a highly individualised and differentiated learning experience (Archambault et al 2010, Waldeck, 2008). Holmes and Gardner (2010) suggest that e-learning opens up the realm of education to everyone, and most importantly, to those who would otherwise face disadvantage or simply lack of opportunity.

Some key potential factors for enabling the unlocking of existing barriers for some learners, include: inclusiveness of all kinds of learning; diversity of content; the capacity to provide individualised education programmes; an increasing sophistication in function complemented by increasing ease of use; and an ‘anytime anywhere’ flexibility. These are promising tools that may sit favourably within current innovative practice: for example, the eight dimensions of creative classrooms referred to above.

There are other considerations to be drawn from research, and virtual schools should not be mistaken as a panacea for addressing barriers to education.

In international studies of at-risk students in online learning environments, success may depend on student engagement being closely monitored by teachers providing appropriate feedback on the development of student learning skills (Barbour et al 2009; D’Arcy, 2012; Elliot, 2010). This research aims to examine the pedagogical and resourcing strategies used by iScoil that work together with the aim of creating a safe supportive online learning environment.

Methodology

To answer the research questions, a parallel and simultaneous design is used (Creswell, 2011) that mixes methodologies to yield data that informs both outcome and process aspects of the enquiry (Robson, 2011), as well as permitting triangulation of data. Sampling is drawn across three interdependent phases with outcomes from each phase informing sampling selection for the following phase.

Measures and Procedures: Focus group and semi-structured interviews were used to facilitate the collection of information from multiple sources in a relatively short period of time (Robson, 2011).

Discussions and interviews were recorded and analysed for relevance using a categorizing, coding, and identifying themes approach (Robson, 2011). In developing a framework to explore the different stakeholder experiences on iScoil the study draws upon two models from a constructivist perspective, the Community of Enquiry Model (CoI)

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

(Swan, Garrison & Richardson, 2009) and the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM) (Boling, Hough, Krinsky, Saleem & Stevens, 2012).

To explore a student’s path to successful completion of the learning outcomes, two authoring tools were selected to provide a close examination of the design of the module within an online learning environment, and to consider how different roles interact to support the learning process: The Pedagogical Pattern Collector and OpenGLM. Maintaining the integrity of a mixed methods approach in order to provide more depth and richness to the evidence, a matrix was drawn up using some of the minor themes drawn from the focus group as descriptors to provide a further source of quantitative data in relation to completion of modules.

Initial Findings and Discussion Student Profile The analysis of student profile data suggests that young people were initially referred to iScoil for six reasons: namely anxiety, behavioural issues, disaffection, illness, school refusal, and Asperger’s Syndrome. There is a distinction between reasons for referral for at-home learners, and blended centre learners where 23% of at-home learners were referred for anxiety, and 25% for school refusal, while 72% of learners in blended centres were referred for disaffection and only 3% for anxiety and school refusal.

The accreditation data for the academic year 2012-2013 cohort shows 58% of students completed at least one full Level 3 subject module. Progression routes for 28 students who left during the academic year 2012-2013, showed 25% returning to mainstream school, and 25% accepted onto a FÁS course. No progression route was identified for 3 of the 28 students.

Views from Students The following major themes were identified during data analysis: structure of the school day, pacing, teaching support and motivation to learn. The mainstream school day was described as long and confining without breaks; this was a major theme for young people in blended centres and those referred for disaffection. With regard to the pace of work, It was described in negative terms in relation to difficulties at school, but in positive terms in relation to the practice of student’s determining their own pace on iScoil. It was very clear that keeping up with others in the class was a difficulty for both groups.

There was no doubt about the young people’s motivation to learn when asked why they attended and did the work.

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Replies from four of the blended centre learners clearly stated their aim was to sit the Junior Certificate and perhaps progress further. One young person was eager to communicate that not attending school did not mean he was different from what may perceived as a normal teenager; however, the removal of the pressure to attend school was instrumental in allowing him to become more relaxed and fulfilled. In general, the themes reflected views from previous research on the reasons for disengagement from mainstream school, and on good practice for intervention programmes.

However there were some emerging themes. Some male students (blended and at-home) brought up their difficulties with writing and with using books, compared to their ease of use of the computer. Comments from students indicated this relationship: Very handy better than writing or books rather the computer [S3] I’m terrible at writing I’d rather the computer it’s handy [S5] Two at-home students referred to the pace of the classroom as being too slow, leaving them feeling unchallenged and isolated.

Curriculum Analysis The design of the two Specific Learning Outcomes in the online FETAC Level 3 Communications Course and FETAC Level 3 Mathematics course, were examined within the Pedagogical Pattern Collector framework. This provided a visual analytic representing the character of the learning experience from a theoretical perspective. For example, the outcome for Communications represents a total session time of 335 minutes, whereas Investigate totals 60 minutes (18%); Practice totals 120 minutes (36%); Produce totals 140 minutes (42%); and Read Watch Listen (RWL) totals 15 minutes (4%).

This is consistent with research on good practice in learning design that allows for active participation and problem solving, and limits the time spent reading or listening.

Guiding the Learning Tracing the learning path of two students through the same modules used in the curriculum analysis within the Open GLM tool provides a descriptive visual analytic of the supporting roles of mentors and subject specialists.

The teaching roles, both with distinct functions and relationships, guide the student in an adaptive and flexible process that prioritises communication and feedback.

Participants in the teacher focus group also emphasized the importance of communication between the roles and how

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Engaging Young Early School Leavers in Learning Online

they overlap to support student progression. Being able to adapt a student’s work to suit their needs and abilities was also identified as a key benefit to the overall strategy of engagement while the virtual learning environment allowed a platform for providing prompt, personalized feedback within a relevant individual curriculum. Some online teachers missed the face-to-face contact where they could gauge a young person’s mood, or if they had understood a concept. Building up a relationship with their students was identified as a challenge for teaching online.

Outcomes Matrix Using the same modules and learning outcomes from Communications and Mathematics Level 3 as above, the work of four students was placed in an outcomes matrix.

This process involved detailed analysis of the relevant work from the student, methods of feedback from subject specialist and mentor, communication between students and all teachers and any additional work submitted on the students’ own initiative. The findings here are consistent with the qualitative analysis of the focus groups reflecting the importance of interest-led activities and the facility to practice the skills required for less able students in an environment supported by positive feedback.

Conclusion Data gathered in this study to date, suggests that iScoil is successful in achieving its aims to engage young people in learning, building confidence and self-esteem, to offer accreditation opportunities and to support progression routes on to further education and employment. Key influences on impact emerging from the study are: ffThe importance of a flexible curriculum based around personalized learning with young people who are involved directly in decision making regarding their own learning plans. ffCurricula should be relevant and interest led. ffThe importance of timely, personalized and constructive feedback. ffThe safe learning environment facilitated by the iScoil VLE. ffCommunication between teaching roles within the learning model.

One of the benefits of a mixed model study, as the case here shows, is that the triangulation of different data sources serves to increase the reliability of the findings. Nevertheless the kind of difficulties evidenced in undertaking ‘real world’ research differences in confidence between focus group participants or social desirability effect, were no less encountered in this study. However, initial findings are promising, not least the impression that young people, previously disengaged from the education system, were showing increased self-confidence and a belief that they are achieving educationally and progressing in their lives.

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References: Archambault, L., D. Diamond, M. Coffey, D. Foures-Aalbu, J. Richardson, V. Zygouris- Coe, R. Brown, & C. Cavanaugh. (2010).

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Engaging Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Aid

Engaging Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Aid: Collectable Trading Card Games Timothy McNichols Proceedings of Chicago International Conference on Education, June 3-4, 2013 Best Paper Award (Honourable Mention) Collectible trading cards have been an extremely popular and enjoyable activity for generations. Recent social media applications have increased the accessibility and capability of digital collectible trading cards (DCTC) to act as teaching and learning aids. Traditional learning environments may be supported through online game-based learning involving multiplayer interactions. DCTC can be utilized to improve knowledge acquisition and enhance motivation through interactive gaming activities. Extant research has examined the use of card games in enhancing learning of mathematics (Rowe, 2001), science (Steinman and Blastos, 2002) and ecology (Turkay et al., 2012). However, very few studies have explored DCTC in a formal learning environment. To address this issue, school-based research was carried out amongst 13 to 15 years olds (n=59) to evaluate the effectiveness of DCTC as a learning aid for science material. The materials used consist of an on-line sticker book of 62 collectible trading cards based on the London Science Museum exhibits.

A comparative analysis involved an experimental condition and a control: (1.) collectible trading game to uncover the information: (2.) a slideshow covering the same images and text within a classroom. The analysis of the results showed that students significantly increased their science knowledge from pre-test to post-test in both the DCTC game and the control condition. Notably, the DCTC game revealed a significantly higher intrinsic motivation levels than the control group. This study provided recommendations for deploying DCTC as learning games beyond the classroom.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction Educators need to deploy new media applications in order to leverage the ever-increasing digital literacies of their students. A failure to create educational environments using new media may lead to disengagement from classroom activities, or missed opportunities to maximize student potential (Judson, 2010). One effective method is to use relevant engaging contexts for learning how to utilise digital game-based learning. Digital games are becoming more common in classrooms, a large scale survey of UK primary and secondary school teachers revealed 59% of teachers would consider using computer games in the classroom for learning purposes (Ipsos MORI, 2006). This study also found the most popular reason for using games in class was for engagement and motivational reasons.

A new type of collectible card games has emerged using online applications, called Digital Collectable Trading Cards (DCTC). These DCTC have the potential to enhance traditional learning environments through the capability of web-based games and multiplayer interactions. A study by Suh et al. (2010) found that learners in multiplayer online role-playing games outperformed learners in a traditional classroom. Recently, some educational institutions have started using popular trading card games to expand science or history topics. One example was the partnership between NASA and Pokémon. NASA’s Center for Distance Learning and the Pokémon Trading Card Game developed an in-school programme that incorporated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) themes into activity units for K-6 students. The specific activities programmes aimed to help students learn the science behind DNA and other topics (Land, Anderer, & Nelson, 2005). Few other studies have tested the effectiveness of DCTC within a school-learning context. Hence, this study investigates whether DCTC can improve science learning and motivation through online gaming activities.

Theoretical Framework Collectible card games have been used as game-based learning aids to introduce, reinforce or assimilate, subject knowledge in education. Previous research has studied the effectiveness of card games in enhancing learning of mathematics (Rowe, 2001), science (Steinman and Blastos, 2002) literacy (Byrne & Fielding-Barnsley, 1991) and ecology (Tukay et al., 2011). However, there are only a few studies that have tested collectible card games in formal learning environments. One such study, Steinman and Blastos (2002) developed a trading card game to teach about immune systems. This trading game used cards containing certain information on pathogens to be matched with specific

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cards containing an appropriate host defence. The authors found that the card game was effective to teach basic facts, more advanced concepts, and strategies about host defence to high school students.

Many studies have compared traditional classroom learning to game-based learning. Some recent studies have shown positive results for game-based learning. Miller et al. (2011) used a web-based forensic science game to teach content and motivate interest among secondary students. Tests indicated significant gains in content knowledge and the game’s usability ratings were a strong predictor of learning. Similarly, Huizenga, Admiraal, Akkerman and Dam (2009) found learners who played a history game were more engaged and gained more content knowledge. Liu and Chu (2010) revealed that learners who used the game demonstrated stronger motivation for attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction and indicated a positive relationship between learning outcomes and motivation.

Digital game-based learning has become a valuable instructional method in recent years due to its support of learning motivation. If learners experience greater presence in the game environment, they could be more motivated to complete their goals, pay attention to learning interactions, and engage deeply in the learning process (Rowe et al., 2011). Digital games can offer powerful environments for learning because they make it possible to create virtual interactions for contextual understanding, effective social practices and shared values. This can promote conceptual learning, problem solving skills and cooperation that enhances cognitive processing.

A plethora of research has shown that motivation plays an important role in influencing learning and academic achievement. When motivation is present, students approach challenging tasks more eagerly, persist in difficult situations, and take pleasure in their achievement (Lepper et al., 2005). Many studies have shown that school practices can affect students’ levels of motivation (Brewster & Fager, 2000). In particular, the instructional context can strongly affect students’ motivation. Instructional materials that are challenging, give students choices and promote perceived autonomy, and self-determination can positively affect motivation (Hidi & Harackiewicz 2000). For instance, Liu, Horton, Olmanson, and Toprac (2011) investigated the effects of a new media problem-based learning environment on science learning, motivation, and their relationship to each other. They reported that most learners were motivated to use a science game and significantly increased their post-test scores compared to pre-test scores after using the game. In terms of the relationship between motivation and learning, the researchers found a significant

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Engaging Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Aid

relationship between learners’ motivation scores and their science knowledge post-test scores.

Intrinsic motivation can be defined as the motivation to actively engage in learning activities out of curiosity, interest, enjoyment, or in order to achieve their own intellectual and personal goals (Brewster & Fager, 2000).

For this study, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Ryan, 1982) was used involving three subscales: (1) the intrinsic/ enjoyment subscale is considered the self-report measure of intrinsic motivation, which describes the enjoyment or interest in performing a task. When a student values a task for its own sake or is interested in it, that student is said to be intrinsically motivated; (2) the effort/importance subscale is used to measure the student’s perceived effort put into the task and perceived importance of carrying out the activity; (3) the value/usefulness subscale is used to measure perceived value or usefulness of the activity.

It is based on self-gratification theory (Ryan, 1982) where people internalize and become self-regulating with respect to activities that they experience as useful or valuable for themselves.

Figure 1: Science Museum Collectible Sticker Book

Methods To evaluate the effectiveness of DCTC as a learning aid for science material, a mixed methods design was employed with both quantitative and qualitative data. School-based research was carried out amongst 13 to 15 years olds (n=59) within a mixed, comprehensive secondary school. A gaming company (Lightkeeper Media Ltd.) partnered with the London Science Museum to create a digital sticker collection book. This web browser application used high quality images and text from the Science Museum exhibits to form 62 collectible trading cards (see Figure 1). In association with the science teacher, an appropriate gaming activity was devised to ensure appropriate learning task and science knowledge level. The object of the game was to build a card collection involving 6 pairs of cards (12 in total) and to describe the connection between cards (see Figure 2).

After pilot testing, an experimental study was devised of two groups: a control group in a non-gaming environment; and an experimental group in an online gaming environment. The control group received the exact text from 12 random cards using a slideshow presented by the classroom teacher. The experimental group was run online through an Internet browser in the school’s computer facility. Students were shown how to play the DCTC and assigned 12 random cards to collect and given the task to figure out the connection between each pair of cards.

Students were encouraged to collect their 12 cards through trading interactions with fellow classmates using the online

Figure 2: Science Museum Trading Card

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swapping mechanism. To complete the task, students needed to obtain both cards (for all 6 pairs) and complete a question which describes the link between each pair of cards.

To examine the effects of the trading card game on science learning, a pre-test questionnaire on the London Science exhibits was completed one week prior to the experiment.

After the experiment, a post-test questionnaire acted as a repeated measure. Participants also completed the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory involving a 7-point Likert scale based on the 3 subscales: intrinsic/ enjoyment; effort/importance; and value/usefulness. Then a usability survey was distributed to garner students’ feedback on game design and improvements. To conclude the experimental session, a focus group discussion generated feedback on the activity.

This qualitative data captured students’ DCTC motivation, importance, value and design improvements.

Findings This experimental study investigated the effects of a DCTC game on secondary students’ science learning and intrinsic motivation towards the activity. Data was analysed according to two conditions: the classroom control group (n=20) with an equal gender split; and trading card experimental group (n = 39) comprised of 22 (56.4%) female and 17 (43.6%) male.

A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare the learning in pre-test and post-test conditions in the classroom control group and the trading card experimental condition. For the experimental condition, there was a significant difference [t(38)=-8.02, p<.001] in the scores for pre-test scores (M= 1.37, SD=1.31) and post-test scores (M=6.00, SD=2.80). Within the classroom control condition, there was a significant difference [t(19)=-13.19, p<.001] in the scores for pre-test scores (M = 0.85, SD = 1.39) and posttest scores (M= 6.88, SD = 2.56). Hence, both conditions revealed strongly significant changes in learning as a result of the task activity (see Table 1).

Table 1: Science Test Results (pre- and post-test) Condition

Classroom (n=20)

Trading Card Game (n=39)

Pre-test

Post-test

Mean

.85

6.88

Std. Deviation

1.39

2.56

Mean

1.37

6.00

1.31

2.80

The analysis of the data revealed that the mean learning of the students was not significantly greater in the classroom control group than the trading card game group [t(30)=1.61, P=0.117]. The amount of learning from pre-test to post-test was not significantly different between the conditions.

However, as illustrated in Figure 3, the students in the classroom group displayed slightly higher learning (50%) than the trading card experimental group (39%).

Figure 3: Science Test Results (pre-and post-test) 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Classroom Trading Card Game Pre-test

Post-test

Learing

A second aim of this study was to examine the effect of the DCTC game on the intrinsic motivation of the students. The results of an analysis of variance showed a significant difference in interest/enjoyment [F(1, 57) = 51.993, p<0.001] between the students in the classroom and trading card game groups. As illustrated in Figure 4, students in the trading card experimental group had a substantially higher interest/enjoyment rating (81%) than the classroom group (49%).

Further results of the intrinsic motivation inventory subscale found a statistically significant difference in effort/importance [F(1, 57) = 9.065, P.=0.005] between the students in the classroom and trading card game groups. As shown in Figure 4, students in the trading card experimental group had a higher effort/importance rating (65%) than the classroom group (51%).

The value of the activity was measured using the intrinsic motivation inventory which found a statistically significant difference [F(1, 57) = 4.546, P.=0.04] in the classroom and trading card game groups. As illustrated in Figure 4, students in the trading card experimental group had a higher value/usefulness rating (66%) than the classroom group (52%). These findings support the hypothesis that students in the trading card game, on average, reported higher average intrinsic motivation.

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Engaging Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Aid

Figure 4: Intrinsic Motivation, Effort and Value Results (%) 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Interest/Motivation Classroom

Effort/Importance

Value/Usefulness

Trading Card Game

Significance of Work Our findings indicate a substantial increase in learning of the science material in both the DCTC game and classroom conditions. Although the learning was higher in the classroom condition, there was evidence of a significant improvement in learning based solely on an independent online gaming and collection task. This indicates that the traditional taught instruction was slightly more effective at learning the science concepts. The majority of students were more familiar with traditional style teaching in this educational setting. This adds support to research (e.g. Hays, 2005; Wainess, 2007) which argues game-based learning is most effective when digital games support traditional teaching materials rather than as standalone applications. Hence, many learning activities such as reinforcement and learning support of curriculum areas, as well as extension beyond curriculum concepts, could benefit from utilizing DCTC games.

An important discovery of this study was the significant intrinsic motivation as evidenced by the high interest/ enjoyment rates amongst the trading card group. This group displayed a substantially higher rate (80%) in terms of interest and enjoyment from the online activity. From the usability questionnaire, students were asked, “would you use the Science Museum trading cards again?” 73% answered “yes”. A follow on question, “why would they use the cards again?” discovered that the most popular comments cited ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ reasons.

Another significant result was the high ratings expressed on effort/importance from the students completing the

trading card activity. This was expressed by a majority who would prefer more DCTC games and activities incorporated into traditional lessons as part of the class.

Qualitative feedback uncovered strong interest in using DCTC games for other subjects such as mathematics, languages and history. Further investigation uncovered a significantly higher effort/importance rating for males in the experimental group compared to the control. This result may partially be attributed to more males having prior trading card experience or males’ physiological predisposition towards gaming (Hoeft et al., 2008). Further research is required to examine this phenomenon in depth.

Another interesting outcome of this study was the significantly higher value of activity rating given by the trading card group of students. This correlates with the interest/enjoyable and effort/importance subscales, thereby providing internal support for the intrinsic motivation analysis. Students expressed a desire to have the activity more geared towards a competitive game, perhaps having a leaderboard displaying players with most cards collected. Although not explicitly rewarded in this experiment, a majority of students expressed the inclination to beat other players as the main incentive for playing the game. Further research could investigate the extrinsic motivational aspects of digital collective trading card gaming, specifically the card value/reward structure and intra-group competitive influences.

As more digitally literate teachers become employed in educational systems, the deployment of digital gamebased learning will expand. Future educators need to consider social media digital games to provide context and support to create a motivating learning environment. The ubiquitous nature of online CTC makes for easy integration to create a new interactive learning environment to engage students. As a result, the ability of DCTC games to support and self-direct learning should be considered within a whole school approach. What is effectively a modern twist on a popular and enjoyable activity for generations, these games can provide an interactive, engaging context to support subject learning by improving intrinsic motivation.

The online sticker book and trading card infrastructure used in this experiment can be adapted through customization of the content to support online learning games within most subject areas.

Acknowledgements The author is thankful to Enterprise Ireland, Lightkeeper Media Ltd. and the London Science Museum for their support in this study.

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Rising Cultural Consumers and Diminishing Opportunities Kerry McCall Scholars highlight that education, not income, is a better predictor for consumption patterns in the arts. Why this is so, extant research is not clear. Participation in arts and culture continues to be highest amongst the educated, particularly the third level educated. Some scholars posit that individuals, as a demonstration of elite preferences and behaviours, mobilize and leverage the networks created through third level education as a means to transverse the social mobility matrix in an effort at upward movement through the class schema (Chan, 2010). Others (Lunn & Kelly, 2009; Warde, Wright, Gayo-Cal, Bennett, Silva & Savage, 2005) state that the educated classes are more likely to demonstrate leisure preferences amongst their peer groupings and that this should be unsurprising, as what the middle classes tend to like is each other. As such, cultural participation becomes a form of social networking and leveraging of opportunities. With more people around the world completing forms of tertiary education than ever before, education and its relationship to arts and cultural consumption requires a deeper consideration and exploration

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Introduction Increased participation in the arts and culture has led to higher levels of consumption within, and across, varying art forms. The resulting emphasis uncovered is a qualitative shift from singular elite, ‘univore’ participation in exclusive highbrow art forms towards a middle class breadth of ‘omnivorous’ appropriation of legitimate cultural forms (Peterson and Kern 1996). This qualitative shift has been specifically linked to those with higher educational achievements (Jaeger and Katz Gerro, 2008) with education and not income, noted as a better predictor for consumption patterns in the arts.

More people around the world are now completing forms of tertiary education than ever before. In Ireland, educational attainment levels are now higher than the OECD average with nearly 50% of adults attaining a third level qualification. Conversely arts funding is falling with the Arts Council of Ireland’s own grant-in-aid reduced by 30 percent over the five years from 2008 to 2013. This has stark implications for cultural policy and for associative funding. This paper will seek to address this shifting fulcrum where the number of individuals with potential competencies to access culture is growing while funds for culture continue to fall.

Culture and education Culture and education have always been linked. This was most stark at the turn of the twentieth century as Veblen’s ‘leisure class’ rose (1879/1996), and free public education became widely available. Culture was ring fenced as a source of distinction by the ‘threatened’ elites against the rising faceless mass of the rising middle classes (Carey, 1992). This hegemonic declarative stance sought to preserve culture in the educated upper echelons of the higher classes. The distinctive intellectual and professional group borne in the early twentieth century ‘embraced the supremacy of ascriptive values of ‘noblesse oblige’ (Miles and Savage, 2012, p.600) and declared a unified set of dispositions in relation to culture and rootedness in a specific elite and educated class position, with those attending ballet, opera, classical music and the visual arts identifiable by their location in the ABC1 class, higher managerial level and third level educational attainment levels. Within this context, the possibility to consume experiences within the arts and cultural arena possesses and conveys latent meanings of status and identity to engaged and attending consumers. Individuals can choose certain commodities and patterns of consumption that articulate specific modes of personal expression.

Through arts and cultural consumption, individuals can acquire, and flex, the social energy that has the capacity

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to produce the profits of social emulation. This process of differentiation, individuation and display provides individuals with distinction and reproduces a new form of social stratification based on cultural consumption.

The source of this distinction, as defined by Bourdieu (1984), is ‘cultural capital’ with the accruement of this resource conveying to the bearer, symbolic significance in the construction of self-identity. Cultural capital highlights ‘the disposal of taste’ or ‘consumption of specific cultural forms that mark people as members of specific classes’, with the differences in consumption patterns representing a notable form of social dominance (1984). Goldthorpe suggests that this is a self-affirming engagement which affirms membership as part of aspirational networks that convey social conviviality as well as intangible benefits. Through self-inclusion in cultural activities, individuals accumulate, and leverage, intangible resources from which others are excluded or are self-excluding. Sections of society, which tend to be the less educated or less socially mobile, tend to be self-excluding from arts and cultural participation and the differential distribution of class, age, gender, and social positioning continues to have its own specific cultural associations. Thus, in a resource aggregate approach, if the experience of culture is a resource, this resource is leveraged, consolidated and activated by certain sections of society. This mobilisation of resources and capacity to leverage opportunity remains largely within the grasp of those who can realise the potentialities of their networks and experiences, and whose relational dynamic is fluid.

Education plays a substantial part in this process and educational qualifications are increasingly a prerequisite for access to new positions and occupations within contemporary society (Whelan and Layte 2004).

Irish Society and Education Ireland, at the turn of the twentieth century was a relatively closed, homogenous Catholic culture focused on an agrarian economy with a largely uneducated populace.

Substantially pre-industrial, the Irish (viewed through the eyes of the English) were considered a backward, repressed and wanton people (Kiberd, 1996). The ‘renovation of the Irish consciousness’ at the turn of the twentieth century (Kiberd, 1996, p.641) and its co-requisite features of a new found understanding of politics, economics and society was a seminal moment in Irish self -and nation-hood.

In the Ireland that emerged from the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921), the Catholic Church and Taoiseach (prime minister) Eamon de Valera, were equally creative and constraining forces. De Valera’s conservative, devout views and rejection of a materialist sensibility, held the young country back, from industrializing in line with other western nations.

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Sean Lemass’s (Taoiseach, 1959-66) national plan of 1958 however, favoured a shift away from de Valera’s social investment (schools, housing, and hospitals) towards a more ‘productive’ form of investment, namely attracting foreign capital from major international investors with the promise of major tax relief. In these policies, the spirit of the (Celtic) Tiger had been summoned: when Lemass stated that ‘the historic task of this generation is to ensure the economic foundation of independence’ (Boss and Maher, 2003, p.15). Subsequently, liberal economic policies, cohesive international integration, close co-operation between public and private sectors and limited tax financed social services became the defining features of modern late twentieth century Ireland. From a largely agricultural society, where only a small percentage were educated at secondary and tertiary level, the Lemass era ushered in free education and larger numbers (particularly women) progressing to third level education. Over the course of the twentieth century, educational attainment levels in Ireland have risen to significantly unprecedented levels and, unsurprisingly, Ireland has witnessed a substantial expansion of its professional and middle classes.

From a position of relative weakness in terms of numbers attaining second and third level education, Ireland now ranks internationally. The share of those attaining third level degrees has risen to 45% of young adults (aged 25–34 years), now holding a third level qualification (McGuinness, Bergin, Kelly, McCoy, Smyth and Timoney, 2012). Indeed, Ireland has positioned itself within the front rank of OECD countries with higher educational numbers now over the OECD average. 85% of 25-34 year-olds experience secondary education (compared with an OECD average of 82%) and 47% reaching tertiary education (compared with an OECD average of 39%, OECD, 2013, p.5). Subsequently, higher education provision has expanded rapidly to meet this need.

In Ireland, there are currently 7 Universities, 14 Institutes of Technology and 7 Colleges of Education as well as a number of other third level institutes who specialize in art and design, education, medicine, music, business, theology and law. Based on current participation rates in education in Ireland combined ‘with demographic projections, the number of potential undergraduate HE entrants is expected to grow from 41,000 in 2010/2011 to 44,000 in 2019/20 (7 per cent) and to just over 51,000 by 2029/2030’(McGuinness et al, 2012, p.7). While there has been some substantial movement in the participation rates in higher education amongst all classes, education participation rates remain highest among the professional classes in Ireland, and lowest amongst the unskilled (McGuinness et al, 2012, p.36) Whelan and Layte (2004) demonstrate that educational attainment, in Ireland, is intimately linked to increased

mobility opportunities and, furthermore, that class position remains strongly associated with educational qualifications.

They note perpetuation of class privilege and class position through the passing on of ascriptive resources, be these social networks, economic resources or educational privilege. And this very much follows the Bourdieuian thesis of cultural capital and its relationship to economic, social and symbolic capital. Kelly, O’Connell and Smyth, (2008) in their ESRI study of the economic returns among higher education graduates in Ireland note, that university qualifications are recognized to bring premiums to those who attain them and that these can be financial as well as social and can feed directly into economic and professional circumstance.

Ireland: Cultural Participation Peterson in his consideration of the relationship between education and arts participation placed a direct link between the variables of class, status and education in relation to arts and cultural consumption. In his work with Simkus (Peterson & Simkus 1992) and with Kern (Peterson & Kern 1996), he tested 2 competing ideas: one, that high status individuals were generally becoming more omnivorousness and secondly, that the burgeoning number of the younger, and increasingly educated factions of society were replacing older people who were snobbish and univorous in their tastes. Peterson found both to be true - with those born after the Second World War to be distinctly more omnivorousness than those born before.

Conversely, lower status individuals consumed less and as such were more univoreness in their cultural habits. Other scholars across Europe and the US (Bennett et al 2009, Di Maggio & Muktar, 2004, Di Maggio & Useem 1980, Jaeger & Katz-Gerro 2008, Lizardo & Skiles, 2011) have also recognized the growing evidence which suggests a shift in the dynamics of this one on one correspondence between taste and culture to a broader and more expansive arts and cultural consumption profile among the dominant classes.

This typifies as a disposition to embrace legitimate as well as less legitimate forms of culture or rather, an openness to consuming a variety of exclusive as well as more popular cultural forms. The resulting emphasis uncovered is a qualitative shift from singular elite, ‘univore’ participation in exclusive highbrow art forms towards a middle class breadth of ‘omnivorous’ appropriation of legitimate cultural forms (Peterson and Kern 1996). Peterson (2005) in his later work recognised that cultural consumption amongst the dominant classes did not mean that everything was liked and embraced indiscriminately but was redefined as an openness to a variety of art and cultural forms, and a disposition to ‘appreciate and critique in the light of some knowledge of the genre’. And though empirical research

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on the cultural habits of Irish society is scant, it would appear that the same historical and social processes which underlie the patterning of cultural taste and participation behaviour, which are apparent in the rest of Europe and America, are also present in Ireland.

The following consideration draws on empirical research conducted in Ireland in 1981, 1994, and 2006 on the public and their cultural participation in Ireland (Arts Council of Ireland/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon 1983, 1994, 2006).

These reports were commissioned by the Arts Council of Ireland and were conducted in such a way as to invite comparisons between reports. While the 1981 survey was relatively limited, the 1994 and 2006 surveys allow greater comparisons. The findings of these surveys in which approximately 1,200 people took part were carried out at 100 points around Ireland. The data from the Arts Council surveys can also be compared with data retrieved through the Target Group Index Reports which link together with the results of the Arts Council surveys (Arts Audiences, 2011, 2012). All reports demonstrate a strong link between arts attendance and social stratification, as defined by class, income and education variables.

According to Peterson’s original conceptualization of omnivorous consumption, ‘omnivores’ are characterized by a rising volume of engagement with arts and culture across time, and a breadth of artforms. The data captured at various time points in Ireland, does allow us to chart levels of arts and cultural participation at different time locations. In 1981 for example, 37% of the surveyed populace attended mainstream film, by 2006, this had risen to 57%. Concurrently, attendance at visual arts exhibitions rose from 8% to 15% in the same time period. In 1981, 60% of survey respondents attended any arts events and by 2006 this had risen to 85% (Arts Council of Ireland/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon 1983, 1994, 2006). The arts participation data from the Arts Council surveys also detail selected arts activities and cultural consumption patterns by occupational class. The data demonstrates an increase in each of the surveys in arts attendance across the board for all occupational classes. The ABC1 classes, (professional, managerial and skilled classes), make up the bulk of attendees with 92% and 93% respectively. The next largest attending group is the C2 skilled working class at 81% and 84% respectively, with the DE semi skilled and unskilled workers at the lower percentages of 68% and 71% (Arts Council of Ireland, 1983, 1994, 2006).

Most notable for our purposes is the large proportion of individuals within the ABC1 class grouping who make up the bulk of attendees at arts and cultural experiences in Ireland. The more recent arts attendance surveys collated

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by Arts Audiences of 2011 and 2012 also show a similar patterning of attendance in relation to class and artform with ABC1s making up the largest class groupings, While there are distinct preferences in artform, such as 57% attending classical music, 47% plays, 54% art galleries & exhibitions, 54% opera in 2012, it is worth highlighting that of the artforms surveyed of folk, plays, any performance in a theatre, ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, art galleries and exhibitions, classical music, opera, attendance is above 40% in the ABC1 class group, in all artform categories (Arts Audiences, 2012, p.11). This again demonstrates that the middle or dominant classes remain the largest attending public of the arts in Ireland.

Arts and cultural consumption in Ireland also relates directly to educational attainment level held. With, for example, 82% of graduates (and 74% of postgraduates) attending a mainstream film, as distinct from second level qualifications of 56.6% per cent, and primary educated only at 17% (Lunn & Kelly, 2009, p.19). Visual arts consumption in the 2006 survey stands at 33.6% for postgraduate, 26.4% for a graduate and 12.4% for second level attainment. It falls to 3.8% for primary level educational attainment only.

It is notable that greater numbers of those with higher educational levels attained are those who consume more visual arts than those with lower levels of educational attainment. Peterson also found this to be true with the cultural portfolios of omnivores loaded predominantly towards the inclusion of traditionally highbrow and legitimate forms of culture, especially, the visual arts. In the performing arts, levels of educational attainment show higher levels of attendance but a similar correlated pattern overall with 46.6% for a postgraduate, 41.8% for a graduate, just under 30% for a second level and 12.4% for primary school only. Finally, classical music attendees comprise 19.9% of postgraduates and 8.6% of those with only primary education. Lunn and Kelly (2009) in an analysis of the 2006 survey data, highlight the subjective interests of those who attend arts and culture. They aptly demonstrate that those who engage with the more legitimate form of arts and culture and indeed, what were traditionally highbrow artforms such as classical music, the performing arts and visual arts, are substantially more likely to be interested in watching or listening to other artforms, particularly those interested in the visual arts. So as a visual arts attendee, you are 96.6% subjectively interested in the arts and have a 9.07 mean number of other artforms listened to or watched. We can contrast this with 78.8% of people who are interested in mainstream film but listen or watch only 5.06 mean number of other artforms (Lunn & Kelly, 2009, p.19). Thus, those who go to the traditionally highbrow artforms such as plays, art exhibitions and classical music, watch or listen to a greater number of

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artforms and have a greater subjective interest in the arts generally than those who engage with more popular forms of culture. So to extrapolate this out further, if those with higher educational attainment are more likely to be arts consumers, then the figures for Ireland also show that those with higher educational attainment are more likely to consume more artforms. Lunn and Kelly (2009) further analysed the 2006 survey data and succinctly demonstrated arts interest and its relationship to educational attainment.

They found that as a graduate you are 6.5 times more likely to consume other artforms than someone who attended primary or secondary school (3.71% and 4.55% respectively); and 6.76 times more likely as a postgraduate (Lunn &Kelly, 2009, p.19). As someone whose highest qualification is at second level, you are 16.1% less interested in the arts than a postgraduate and watch or listen to just under 2 artforms less. This drops even further for someone whose highest level of qualification is from primary school.

So while there has been a general move towards ‘omnivorousness’ across artforms, those in the higher socioeconomic classes, and the more educated, remain the main consumers of the traditionally high or legitimate arts of classical music, visual art, opera and theatre, with a particular depth of interest in some more legitimate forms of art than others. This may indicate that there is a required level of knowledge or competency needed to access culture and that correlations can be drawn between educational levels, occupational interests as well social activities. The National and Economic Social Forum reports of (2007, 2008) draw on the Public and the Arts participation survey in Ireland (Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon, 2006), and suggest that those who cannot, or do not, intellectually access art forms are subject to social and psychological exclusion and are thereby closed to any of the benefits they may offer. What this leads us to consider is whether education is a pre-requisite for accessing culture and, if so, that it equips individuals with the competencies and abilities to ‘read’ situations, symbols and signifiers of culture. Or, if in fact individuals are self-excluding rather than socially or educationally excluded. Andrew Pinnock’s theories (2009), in relation to time investment and cultural capital are relevant here. He states that those who are regular and frequent attendees of culture are more likely to maintain, reproduce, and develop their levels of cultural engagement precisely because of the time they have invested to date. If an individual has invested time in a particular leisure pursuit such as culture, they are more inclined to continue to invest time in this pursuit than in others. Pinnock (2009) further suggests that cultural competencies are developed, maintained and reproduced in three ways in the field of social relations. He suggests that through the experience of attendance at an art event

(exhibition or performance), or by sharing related opinions with others, and/or by reading reviews and critiques in magazines and papers, cultural competency and ensuing capital and value are garnered. Over time this practice of accumulating experience leads to stocks of, what Pinnock terms, ‘cultural consumption capital’ resulting in greater enjoyment from each encounter (Pinnock, 2009, p.57). Effort and time over months or years has to be invested before ‘rewards’ can be materialized (rewards such as ease of access or reading of art works, for example) and once these rewards have been internalized, (and therefore cultural competencies developed), values are learnt and remain stable as a direct result of the a priori commitment already made (Shockley 2005). Katz-Gerro and Yaish (2008) suggest that these cultural preferences establish patterns that are difficult to alter and which shift only slightly across the course of our lifetimes.

Cultural provision in Ireland So while further research needs to be undertaken to determine the exact homogeneity, or heterogeneity, of taste and behaviour amongst Irish cultural consumers, these figures suggest, on first enquiry, an Irish case of ‘omnivorousness’ to be made amongst the educated middle classes. Yet these burgeoning numbers of cultural consumers stand in stark contrast to the falling funds for culture now available in Ireland. The Arts Act of 1951 established An Chomhairle Ealaíon, the Arts Council of Ireland and the Council was established within the Department of the Taoiseach with a remit to: ‘stimulate public interest in the arts; promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts; and assist in improving the standards of the arts,’ (Irish Statute Book, 2015). With the expression ‘the arts’ defined as ‘painting, sculpture, architecture, music, drama, literature, design in industry and the fine arts and applied arts generally’ (Irish Statute Book, 2015). With an amended Arts Act in 1973, ‘cinema’ was included in the list. Prior to this period, the state had no official mechanism or formal instrument of cultural policy. By 1975, the ‘responsibility for the funding of a number of major arts bodies to the Arts Council established further the Council’s status as the state vehicle for the arts. Despite low funding, from this period dates the more independent stance of the agency as well as a greater seriousness of intent in relation to its brief’ (Cultural Policies, 2013). From this point onwards, the Arts Council of Ireland/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon, became established as the state agency and primary funder of arts and cultural activity in Ireland. Like its counterparts in the UK and elsewhere, a significant portion of the overall funding of the Arts Council comes from the National Lottery, while the remaining monies are sourced from within the exchequer. While

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funding provision was initially low, it has since risen to an all time high of €85 million at the peak of the Celtic Tiger in 2008. Prior to this point, the Council had propounded varying agendas ranging from the general promotion and stimulation of interest in the arts (what we might term the early years), towards a focus on the individual as artist (the middle years). By the 1990s, the focus had shifted towards building capacity in tangible terms, and an array of arts infrastructures were developed (the later years)– a legacy which remains but which also remains underfunded and poorly utilised.

Arts Council subvention for the arts is now spiraling downwards and has reached a current low of €59.865 million in 2013. This figure is set to fall a further 6% for 2015.

This equates to a 40% cut in Exchequer funding over a 7 year period with the professional arts the hardest hit of all government departments. This reduced cultural provision is set against the stark backdrop of developments in Ireland, a country ‘severely shaken by a sudden collapse in its economic fortunes’ (Cooke, 2011, p.99); and a constraining and pressurized recessionary climate with unemployment rates running at 10% of the population and GNP at 3.5% in 2015 (Economic and Social Relations Institute (ESRI), 2015).

Cultural provision In Ireland is also channeled through the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This ministerial department was first established in 1993 (as the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht) and was a significant step forward in the profile of arts and culture from a governmental point of view. It was the first time, a government minister held a brief for arts and culture with a remit including broadcasting, heritage, film and the Irish language as well as a responsibility for the conservation, preservation, protection and presentation of the heritage and cultural assets of Ireland.

The Department invited the Arts Council in 1995 ‘to prepare the first plan for the arts [and] this resulted in an immediate doubling of funding to the Council. In addition, a programme of significant capital investment in the physical arts infrastructure throughout the country was launched by government (using EU structural funds)’, (Cultural Policies, 2013). The remit of the Department now includes the ‘Arts, Culture, Film and Music, as well as oversight of Ireland’s cultural institutions’ (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, 2015). The funding for this Department was €260 million in 2013, with an expected cut of 5.4% across the Department for 2014. While most of the Department’s financial duties towards the funded arts are discharged through the Arts Council (as well as the Irish Film Board and Culture Ireland), they do also directly fund the national cultural institutions of the National Archives, National

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Concert Hall, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Chester Beatty Library and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Crawford Art Gallery in Cork. These national institutions have been subject to a review process set to result in a substantial rationalization of their Boards of Directors, with an associated loss of autonomy particularly in the functions of HR, IT and legal services. These services will be relocated within the Department of Arts, and further cuts to grant in aid funding are further expected.

Marian Fitzgibbon in her overview of cultural policy in Ireland, states that ‘the National Development Plan 20072013 made provision for a total of 1.13 billion for arts and culture. Since 2009, with the dramatic economic downturn, this funding trend has suffered a rapid reversal with swingeing cuts to Department and arts funding, despite strong sectoral advocacy (Cultural Policies, 2013).

The falls in funding in both the Department and in the Arts Council, result in a lack of provision to cultural organizations and their ability to execute their operating missions. They also add further to the pressures already felt by the funded arts and cultural service providers to continue arts and cultural provision. Concurrently, the arts are consistently placed on the public policy agenda for social and economic recovery in Ireland, and often cited as part of the rich tapestry with which cultural tourists come to engage, and the Irish diaspora connect. Arts and cultural providers are therefore, on the one hand, expected to aid the recovery of the country but, on the other, are expected to perform on 40% less capability than 7 years ago. Through anecdotal experience, arts organizations continue to close, futures are threatened and cultural providers are no longer able to meet the demands placed on the skeletal staff currently in existence.

While the Arts Council of Ireland has not commissioned any research to ascertain the effect or impacts of the economic downturn on arts organisations, artists, and/ or arts audiences, research of this nature in Northern Ireland does exist. A report commissioned by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (2010), found that ‘one in three organisations said they had experienced a decrease in their income profile over the last 6 months largely due to a fall in grant income’. Further, ‘of the 34 organisations that experienced an unexpected rise in costs, 71% noted an increase in utility costs’ and ‘more significantly, one third of surveyed organisations reported they had witnessed a decline in audiences over the past 6 months.’ Similar research has also been conducted by Arts Council England and Creative Scotland (formerly Scottish Arts Council) with similar findings (Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2010).

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Conclusion The assertion dating back to Keynes is that better educated people have a greater capacity to understand the intellectual and metaphorical qualities of artistic performances (Lunn and Kelly 2009). This parallels extant research in the UK in the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion project 2006 (Bennett et al, 2009). Lunn and Kelly (2009) highlight that this should be unsurprising given that people with higher incomes are much more likely to consume most material and experiential goods; however it still does not explain why those in higher socio economic groups possess a greater preferences for the arts. They posit the advanced social networking and status opportunities associated with arts events as a consideration. The importance of identity affirmation, building and positioning, Lunn and Kelly believe, is a strong motivational force in this regard (2009). Warde et al (2005) state that ‘omnivorousness’ is socially profitable because ‘omnivores are more likely to be graduates, who seek to associate with others and that this is largely self-affirming, i.e. what the university, educated middle classes are likely to ‘like’ is each other.

The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF), produced a report in 2008 entitled, In the Frame out of the Picture (NESF, 2008). This report highlights that while audiences for art and culture had grown in Ireland, attendance was distinctly correlated with higher levels of socio-economic status and educational achievement. The authors tested for measures of interest and of educational background, and found that no evidence exists that the large differences in social stratification and cultural consumption are down to different levels of interest in the arts: “Despite equivalent interest, those from less well-off backgrounds are much less likely to attend events. This finding therefore suggests they face barriers other than interest.” (NESF, 2008).

The data also suggests that there remains a distinct correlation between the social stratification variables (as determined by class position, level of educational attainment and income) and highbrow or legitimate artforms, and lowbrow or more popular forms of culture in Irish society. So from this perspective, the numbers attending arts and culture events depends strongly on the existence of the education system. The Irish Arts Council’s 2006 survey optimistically suggested that ‘as the Irish population’s level of educational attainment gradually increases, this should support greater involvement with the arts’ (Arts Council, 2006, p.9). Chan and Goldthorpe take this further and declare that ‘a high level of education

is the best prophylactic against minimal levels of cultural consumption’ (2007, p.380). Ireland currently exists at a counterpoint, whereby the number of individuals with potential competencies to access culture is growing, and has continued to grow for quite some time, while grant in aid from the exchequer for the funded arts continues to fall. The rising education figures are concurrently set against the decreasing numbers of cultural service providers who are forced to close their doors due to the falling subvention levels for the funded arts. In latter day 21st century Ireland, it is a reasonable consideration that a populace of expansive middle class origin, with access to education at both second and third levels, is amongst the largest potential audience for the consumption of culture at any time previous in the history of the State.

Figures from the HEA study demonstrate those who are already in the professional and managerial classes affirm their relationship with their class through the educational prospects of their progeny. Therefore, the current social profile of Ireland, and the shifting fulcrum of the funds for culture, has stark implications for cultural policy and for cultural consumption now and in the future.

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Another way: exploring changing ideas in film studies using corpus analysis

Another way: exploring changing ideas in film studies using corpus analysis Helen Doherty

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction The cultural studies academic Raymond Williams complained: “problems of information are severe” as he reflected on his two decades of compiling content for his book Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1976,15).

In that project, his purpose was to illustrate the relationship between general language use and social change in postwar Britain. For his research, the information required was of two different types, historical analysis of word use and current examples of how language was changing in contemporary society. Research into word etymology was standard practice whereas the second type of research to gather current information about language use was not. A problem with identifying language change is that patterns do not always clearly emerge at the time of publication and word behaviour needs to be tracked across time. For this Williams depended on the unreliable method of his friends and colleagues reading the printed media to find examples of new word trends. Subsequently this created the logistical problem of sorting, filing and archiving diverse print cuttings. In this time, from the 1950s to the 1970s, photocopiers were unusual in the workplace, computers not commonly affordable and the World Wide Web was not invented. It is not surprising that Williams complained that he was unable to manage the severe information problems that obstructed his research. Many of the problems that Williams faced have subsequently been resolved using a method called corpus analysis that was developed in the field of applied linguistics. Indeed this is a research method that Williams hoped would emerge: “In writing about a field of meanings I have often wished that some form of presentation could be devised in which it would be clear that the analyses of particular words are intrinsically connected, sometimes in complex ways.”

(Williams: 1976,22) There is a fifty year interval between Williams’ time and today, but they are vastly different epochs when measured by the difference between analogue and digital technologies. Digital technologies offer a facility to resolve many of the difficulties that Williams encountered. Now, computers, software and the World Wide Web can be used in various ways to assist research tasks offering a more direct route to interpreting research material. This paper offers a short case study of Keywords and connects that body of research with the principles of corpus analysis used in my own research into changing academic interests within film and media education. I will demonstrate the use of computer-assisted corpus analysis and suggest that film and media studies research would be greatly augmented by including this type of research.

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Raymond Williams and the Problems of Information Raymond Williams was one of the most important British academics of the twentieth century in the area of cultural theory. He is credited as the main founder of the British variation of Cultural Studies that offers an intellectual exploration of popular culture and mass media. From his cultural and academic perspective, Williams was fascinated by the transformation of post-war Britain in terms of language use in society. This prompted his research into cultural change by tracking words of particular significance.

Keywords (Williams:1976) presents the result of twenty years of research from the 1950s to the 1970s. It is a work that offers an unusual integration of etymology and zeitgeist portraits that was innovative at the time of publication and gained popular appeal outside academia. The book Keywords seems straightforward today, it is structured through a series of short essays that explore 110 key words in alphabetical order, yet it caused a stir within academia.

Williams, as a leftist academic with affiliations to the Frankfurt School would have been somewhat pleased by the review of his book in the Times Literary Supplement by Roger Scruton. From his stance as a right-wing philosopher Scruton shows disdain for its unorthodox approach to culture and its popular appeal. He stated that Keywords discarded “the entire tradition of English literary criticism”, and that “ Professor Williams is unashamedly radical.

Moreover his radicalism has taken a distinctly fashionable turn”. (Scruton:1976) Keywords continued to gain a wide readership over the next decade. From its publication in 1976 Keywords reached its eighth impression 1981, it was revised and expanded in 1983 and reprinted in 1985.

The selection of keywords for Keywords was subjective, chosen because they seemed to be “significant, indicative words in certain forms of thought” (Williams 1976:13) and “The significance, it can be said, is in the selection. I realize how arbitrary some inclusions and exclusions may seem to others.” (Williams 1976:12). In the revised 1983 edition Williams reflects society in language by retaining the word class, introducing racial but omits feminist. Williams acknowledged the influence of his own judgement when he stated “[e]very word which I have included has at some time, in the course of some argument, virtually forced itself on my attention” (Williams 1976:13). While Williams did not claim to seek an objective or scientific rigour, nowadays a more impartial methodical process for selecting words from a corpus of text would be the norm.

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Another way: exploring changing ideas in film studies using corpus analysis

Corpus Analysis The process of selecting which words to investigate could be made much more objective by using corpus analysis software. Software programmes such as WordSmith Tools are designed to assist the study of language. WordSmith was developed by the applied linguist Mike Scott and released in 1996 and he continues to update the package (Scott: 2008b, 95). Scott designed WordSmith to be used by people who are not computer programmers, though the non-programmer must have a good level of technical skills. The principle of corpus analysis is founded on representing text to show patterns of meaning. This purpose is summarised by Scott: “In effect, the chief purpose of the software is to take a preexisting shape, the text, then mix it all up and sort it all out, showing it in a quite different order. The computer does not see any patterns, but the human user does.”

Scott: 2008b, 104 WordSmith’s application in research ranges from analyzing texts for second-language learning to exploring ideology in newspaper articles. WordSmith’s processing capability is very impressive. In my own research I use the 100million word British National Corpus as a standard language reference for my research corpus. While the rate of process completion is not always dependable for a 4 million word corpus, the software is stable and processes data speedily for corpora of 1 or 2 million words. Coincidentally, there is overlapping terminology in the WordSmith software lexicon in which keyness (Scott: 2008a) is the term that denotes the strength of a word’s distinctiveness based on a statistical log likelihood test. Using corpus analysis software, words in a corpus can be ranked by their statistical value of keyness.

Consequently it is a relatively straightforward procedure to observe the keyness ranks and select the most distinctive terms and patterns to interpret. From this example it is clear that using a corpus analysis technique to identify distinctiveness offers a great advantage to the researcher who aims to be objective when investigating language patterns.

If words in a corpus are selected by reasonably objective means the next challenge is how to explore word patterns.

As has been noted, Williams wished that “some form of presentation could be devised in which it would be clear that the analyses of particular words are intrinsically connected”. (Williams: 1976,22) The problem that he pointed to here is the paradox of how to convey meanings that are created in context when words are necessarily singled out for interpretation. In this regard, Williams explained in the introduction that he was uneasy about presenting his word

essays alphabetically, since this involved excising them from their context to locate them on a semantically arbitrary A-Z scale, thereby invalidating their interconnectedness of meaning. He considered grouping words into themes such as politics or art, but rejected the limitations of such categories. Making the best of his circumstances at the time, Williams resolved his predicament by shuttling between the word and its wider meaning in the expository essay and suggested the reader make additional semantic connections, not confined by the A-Z format.

The corpus analysis response to resolving linguistic disconnection, while not a complete solution, offers progress. For example, the WordSmith Concord function provides a new way of observing patterns of meaning that were not available to Williams in the analogue era.

The concordance function can scale the context of words from their immediate placement with other words in a sentence up to the extent of the original text. In this way the corpus analysis process performs the task of contextual word representation and linguistic patterning that Raymond Williams thought necessary for interpreting and communicating research.

In order to demonstrate how the corpus analysis functions of concordance and patterns work I will take a word from the beginning of Williams’ book, the word art. Whereas Williams was interested in general language use, for the purpose of this paper I will narrow the scope to a more limited corpus to illustrate the corpus analysis process in WordSmith.

Corpus Analysis: Concordance and Patterns The corpus I will explore is from Screen an academic journal in the field of film and television studies which marked its 50th anniversary in 2009. In my research I have used techniques from corpus analysis to explore media education over 20 years. The purpose here is to illustrate on a small canvas something of the corpus analysis process. Therefore, I have reduced the scope to a 5-year corpus from Screen.

I selected the word art from Raymond Williams’ Keywords (1976 edition) for this overview. My word selection criterion was simply to choose a word from Keywords’ alphabetical list of contents. The A-word section comprises the words: aesthetic, alienation and art. I chose art as a general term of interest. A summary of information about the Screen corpus and the Concord analysis of the word art in WordSmith is provided in Table 1 below.

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Corpus: Screen 5 year 20052009

1,202,285 words

The word art

997 occurrences

WordSmith processing rate

73,280,000 words per minute

WordSmith processing time

2 seconds

Number of concordance lines

997

The WordSmith menu allows the user to extend the default fragment further to enable a more informed reading as shown in Figure 2 below.

Table 1 WordSmith processing information for the Screen corpus In WordSmith’s Concord menu, the target word occurrences are presented in the centre of the window: this is shown in Figure 1 below. On either side of the highlighted target word, the five preceding words and the subsequent five words are displayed. This is the default mode for presentation of a word in concordance, it allows the researcher to observe the word in its immediate context.

To illustrate the scaling feature I have framed a concordance line to show how its increasing context offers potentially richer meaning in a way that would be difficult to achieve if the 20 journals were not in the digital environment.

Figure 2: Extended Concordance view of the target word

The concordance view of the search word can be extended from its occurrence in part of a sentence, in lines, in paragraphs and in the full original source text. The target word, in this example art, acts as a hyperlink back to the source text. If “art” is clicked the original text is brought forward to be read in full. The original text can be scrolled through: a sample is shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 1: WordSmith Concordance, art, Screen 2005-2009 corpus

Figure 3: Link from Concordance word in context to full text at source

This illustrates the options for viewing the target word art in a corpus consisting of over 1 million words in Screen. In this example from a film and television studies journal, the research information that might be gained from the increasingly extended information context is that Alfred Hitchcock, who is well known as a British film director, is less known for his work as an art director. It may also be of interest to the film studies student to note that while Hitchcock worked as an art director in Germany, he was influenced by the work of the German film director Fritz

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Another way: exploring changing ideas in film studies using corpus analysis

Lang. The underlying principle of this observation is that words in a large corpus can easily be observed in isolation and in the larger context to retain their integrity of meaning. Functionality of this sort helps to identify items of interest without, however replacing the researcher’s responsibility to interpret meaning.

I will now draw attention to a second aspect of the Concord menu that offers another corpus perspective. This is the patterns function. This could be regarded as a function that realises Williams’ wish to find a way “in which it would be clear that the analyses of particular words are intrinsically connected” (Williams: 1976,22).

Patterns emerge from the interconnectedness of words. When word associations are repeated they can be considered important. Pattern formation is useful information to acquire to identify distinctive perspectives and ideas in the corpus. In Concord mode when the patterns function is activated, it presents the target word in the Centre column and patterns of association with other words in columns on either side. Patterns of association for art in the Screen corpus 2005-2009 are shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: The patterns function in Concord mode

Leaving aside the grammatical function words, we can observe even confined to one word on either side of our target word (columns L1 and R1) that art has patterns of media association with the categories of cinema, film, art house and video. These media are approached in terms such as modern, contemporary and history - an important factor is criticism. The cultural links with these media are mainly European and American. Patterns uses the same data as was used for concordance, but now presented as patterns a different corpus perspective is gained. On the basis of this configuration it can now be observed that the Screen corpus is characterised by an interest in film and related screen media, that it takes an intellectual approach in terms of criticism and that the media cultures of most interest in Screen are based in Europe and in North America. I have singled out the concordance and the patterns function in WordSmith to demonstrate an aspect of the corpus analysis process. Both of these functions offer means by which to

address some of the severe problems of information faced

by Raymond Williams. The particular characteristics of corpus analysis that offer an advantage not available before the digital era are: data acquisition, storage and retrieval, speed of processing and presentation of the text from different perspectives. The claim here is not that the corpus analysis process replaces an interpretive analysis, rather corpus analysis offers an empirical process that uses digital technologies to bring the researcher more effectively to the object of study by overcoming information obstacles.

As I will discuss below, corpus analysis can stabilise other research approaches such as the traditional socio-historic reading by offering a consistent empirical foundation for the research design.

A Methodological Deficit Some methodological limitations in film and media studies have been discussed over the years. One shortcoming that has been pointed out by academics is an unwillingness to explore methodological approaches and the avoidance of empirical methods used in the social sciences. Richard Nice, a Cultural Studies academic made a strong statement about the unnecessary rejection of sociology in film studies: he says “in the circumstances of British intellectual activity in the 1960s and 70s, the constitution and development of a distinct field of, for example, film studies, has been correlative with a vehement rejection of sociological perspectives.” (Nice: 1978,24) Jackey Stacey, a Screen journal editor was equally critical about problematic gaps in attitudes to method in film studies and also compared the weakness of method in film study with strengths in sociology: “One of the most notable features of methodological debate within film studies is its paucity. ... Film studies (unlike sociology) typically falls into the group that rarely debates questions of methodology.” (Stacey: 1993,260) Years later Alan Durant argued that the consequences of such methodological impoverishment would be an unhelpful division of the field into industry reports on the one hand and film appreciation without methodological rigour on the other: “More generally, renewed investigative vigour may be needed if Film and Media Studies are not in future to dissolve back into two broad strands associated with earlier disciplinary affiliations: one strand concerned with investigating money, policy and technology; the other strand – in practice if not in theory – simply a new production line in Liberal Studies.” (Durant: 2000, 7)

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It is clear from this selection of commentaries across four decades that there has been a methodological gap in the field of media education. The aim of this paper has been to draw attention to relatively simple practical solutions from corpus analysis when applied to some of the problems faced in cultural research. The traditional method in film and media studies is a close reading of the “text”. Adding an empirical method to the textual analysis method could add a new methodological approach. Indeed Alan Durant has drawn attention to the link between the emerging practice of corpus linguistics and its potential to assist the type of Cultural Studies that Raymond Williams practiced: Electronic corpora, at least for some relevant areas, are beginning to become available to make such analysis applicable within humanities research. There are challenging tasks of interpretation alongside the searching. Much of the pioneering work Williams started in Keywords and elsewhere, tracing meaning backwards and forwards between linguistic analysis and historical and political commentary, is there waiting to be continued. (Durant: 2006, 21)

Conclusion These comments on research methodology point a way forward to the advantages of applying a new methodology such as corpus analysis within areas of the humanities.

Such a methodological turn would be dependant on setting aside the discipline boundaries that remain a barrier to research innovation.

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Bibliography: Durant, Alan (2000) ‘What future for interpretive work in Film and Media Studies?’

Screen, 41:1, 7-17

Durant, Alan (2006) ‘Raymond Williams’s Keywords: investigating meanings ‘offered, felt for, tested, confirmed, asserted, qualified, changed’ ’.

Critical Quarterly, 48: 4, 1-26.

McEnery, Tony, Xiao, Richard and Tono, Yukio (2006) Corpus-based Language Studies: an advanced resource book London: Routledge.

Scott, Mike (2008a) WordSmith Tools version 5, Liverpool: Lexical Analysis Software.

Scott, Mike (2008b) ‘Developing WordSmith’.

International Journal of English Studies,8:1, 95-106

Scruton, Roger, The Word in the World,

TLS Book Review 26th March 1976, Book Review Keywords Williams, Raymond 1976, Croom Helm (The TLS Historical Archive, 1902-2006) [accessed May 10 2010]

Stacey, Jackie (1993) ‘Textual obsessions: methodology, history and researching female spectatorship’.

Screen 34:3, 197-210.

Williams, Raymond (1976) Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society.

London: Croom Helm

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The use of Twitter

by Sport Psychologists and other interested parties

The Sport Psychologist Tweeter: What information do ‘followers’ want?

Olivia Hurley The aim of the present study was to explore the reasons given by individuals interested in sport psychology for joining Twitter, their activities on Twitter, and their opinions regarding the advantages and disadvantages to being members of Twitter. Participants were specifically asked how sport psychologists they follow on Twitter might use it to benefit them. 70 participants completed a specially devised online survey. 62.79% of the participants stated they checked their Twitter accounts ‘every day’. 35.71% cited ‘tweeting, re-tweeting and favouring tweets’ as their most common activities on Twitter. The advantages of being members of Twitter were cited as, being able ‘to source information’ quickly, being able ‘to communicate’ with athletes and using Twitter as a source of ‘entertainment’.

The disadvantages of Twitter memberships cited included privacy, abuse, addiction and information overload issues.

Suggestions for how sport psychologists on Twitter might benefit their followers included qualitative responses such as ‘posting research findings’ and ‘giving practical tips’ to help their followers improve their sporting performances.

The importance of training sport psychologists, and athletes, on the most appropriate ways to use Twitter to benefit performance in sport are also discussed.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction Campbell (2012, p. 1) stated “over 70 million people worldwide follow pro (professional) athletes and teams on Twitter, while another 400 million Facebook users have clicked the ‘like’ button on pages dedicated to sports stars and squads”. However, according to Sanderson and Kassing (2011), despite other social media platforms being available, such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, Twitter has dominated the usage figures among the ‘sporting elite’. Academics working in the world of sport psychology have also become interested in this ‘boom’ in social media use within the sporting community and have begun to examine the impact of such a phenomenon on the mental preparation, and lives, of their athletic clientele (Browning & Sanderson, 2012). Many athletes, and indeed sport psychologists, appear to have been drawn to Twitter as the social media of choice because it provides them, like politicians for example, with a mechanism to communicate and interact directly with their supporters and followers.

Many reasons for athletes and sports professionals tweeting have been proposed. The first reason is the instant contact and information about the world that Twitter provides (Browning & Sanderson, 2012). For fans and spectators of sport, it can narrow the ‘gap’ between them and their sporting idols. It allows both groups to interact and converse with each other (Clavio & Kian, 2010). However, it could be said that the irony of such social media is that it requires no apparent social skills.

Tweeting may provide individuals with ‘person’ contact, that is not personal, and yet it may feel personal, such as sports supporters ‘basking’ in the reflected glory of their sporting idols and teams. Twitter may also act as a source of entertainment, and can even create competition among athletes, teams and professional academics to see who gains the most ‘followers’ on Twitter, similar to having the most ‘friends’ on Facebook. Given that elite sports people, and indeed many that work with them, are competitive individuals, this behaviour is perhaps unsurprising.

A second reason for tweeting is that it can provide individuals, who are looking to safeguard their futures by setting up businesses, with a means to connect with their potential consumers. It allows them to brand themselves and sell their business products (Atencio, 2010; Feil, 2012).

It is nearly impossible now to search for any service or business online without discovering that they have a web presence that utilises most available social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. But what do sporting professionals, especially those working in the sports science domain actually say on such

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social media? Pegoraro (2010), in a study of athletes’ use of Twitter, commented that they tended to use Twitter to share aspects of their daily lives with their fans, and to answer fans’ queries about all areas of their sporting lives. Fans can read or see (via pictures posted on Twitter or Instagram) events in the daily lives of top athletes, leading them to often develop a ‘parasocial’ relationship with the athletes. A parasocial relationship refers to a relationship where one person is aware of the activities of a celebrity, such as a famous athlete, politician or professional academic, but not vice versa (Baek, Bae & Jang, 2013). Fans and followers may read the daily tweets of such individuals and feel ‘Hey, they’re just like me! They do normal, everyday things, like doing laundry or going for coffee’.

As stated above, many individuals, including athletes and those working with them, use social media, such as Twitter, to allow them to share their views and opinions about a wide range of everyday topics and issues (Browning & Sanderson, 2012). However, sharing such personal views and opinions, can leave a person vulnerable to ridicule and cyberbullying. Twitter may provide individuals with what they perceive to be a cloak of anonymity (Oakland, 2013). Famous individuals from the sporting world are not immune to cyberbullying. They have been the targets of abuse because of their Twitter comments on many occasions (Browning & Sanderson, 2012; Staples, 2011; Trotter, 2012). Such bullying behaviour was illustrated, for example, during the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games (often referred to as the Twitter Olympics) when Team Great Britain diver, Tom Daley, was the subject of some very negative comments from an individual on Twitter, following Tom and his teammate Pete Waterfield’s performance in the paired diving event (BBC, 2012). Such behaviour resulted in the young, male individual who posted the comments being arrested. Therefore, such social media interactions can have negative consequences for both the offender and the offended.

The negative consequences of social media use have prompted many companies and organisations to design training programmes, and issue guidelines, or impose rules, for the use of social media by their employees. Indeed, officials at the London 2012 Olympic Games went to great lengths to give advice to athletes, support staff and their own volunteers before the Games about their use of all social media during the Games (Jeffery, 2011; O’Connor, 2011; Zmuda, 2012). Interestingly, Browning and Sanderson (2012) reported that while many individuals, such as athletes, often receive negative comments on social media, such as Twitter, they persist with its use, and often check it to see what ‘others’ are saying about them on a frequent basis. The student athletes interviewed by Browning and

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The use of Twitter by Sport Psychologists and other interested parties

Sanderson remarked that they were not ‘bothered’ by the negative comments posted about them online. However, Browning and Sanderson reported they were not convinced by such responses from the athletes they interviewed, given the athletes’ persistent, and frequent checking what their followers were saying about them online.

So, how do individuals portray themselves on media such as Twitter? A good example is Newcastle footballer, Joey Barton, who, despite his controversial tweets portraying a sometimes angry individual, is also quite philosophical in his comments (Bernstein, 2011). This shows the ability of such media to portray the many facets of an individual’s personality. Twitter, in allowing such open communication, permits individuals to display layers of their personality not often portrayed in interviews, competitions (Johnston, 2009), or indeed, in the case of sport scientists, their writings, in textbooks or journal articles. However, individuals such as soccer player, Joey Barton, are also no different than others in their sometimes ill-advised and unconsidered comments posted on social media. Many examples of individuals sending controversial tweets are documented. Indeed, some tweets have resulted in serious consequences, such as fines and bans being imposed by clubs, employees and sporting organisations. Some tweets have even led to criminal charges being brought against the offender (Poeter, 2012), as was the case in the Tom Daley case cited above.

With such ‘problem’ cases evident, it is no wonder that some schools and universities have also started to monitor their students’ and staffs’ social media sites (Dunning, 2011).

Many coaches and organisations have banned the use of Twitter, or have banned tweeting for certain periods of time, often agreed with the team members (48 hours before and after games, or events, for example). Some sporting leaders have gone so far as to say Twitter is dangerous (i.e. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew and Manchester United’s former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson). Indeed, Manchester United has been described as “doing its best to ignore it [Twitter]” (Reynolds, 2012). However, in contrast, in a recent interview, Russell Stopford (Head of Digital at Manchester City) was quoted as saying, “Manchester City is now a digital-first brand. Social media fits with the brand values of the club: transparency and giving the fans something unique” (Reynolds, 2012, p. 29). Stopford went on to say, “We don’t actively encourage players to be on Twitter, it is up to them. But if they want to be on social media, we support them with best practice” (Reynolds, 2012, p. 29).

However, Twitter-use bans, and Twitter account ‘spying’, by clubs, academic organisations and coaches, for example, have also resulted in discussions surrounding the legality of

such actions. Some argue it is a stance against free-speech (Hauer, 2012). It is interesting to note that no professional sports organisations have placed absolute bans on their staff, players or athletes using Twitter. Instead, many clubs in such organisations have placed part-bans on players’ and support staffs’ Twitter activity for agreed periods of time, as cited above. These ‘Twitter-Blackouts’ may be justified by coaches who do not want such activity distracting their players and staff in their preparation time before a game, or stopping them from posting ill-considered tweets soon after eventful games, while allowing them the freedom to use the medium for entertainment and enjoyment purposes in their free time outside important game-time periods.

Some individuals, both inside and outside of the world of sport, have also commented that Twitter is, in their view, partly responsible for the breakdown in face-to-face communication within teams and society. Players and support staff, for example, often text and tweet while sitting on the same bus going to the same training or match venue as their colleagues. As already stated such behaviour could be a form of entertainment and fun, however, could it also act as a distraction, and could it be taking players’ and staffs’ focus away from more important jobs to be done at training, for example?

While Twitter’s appeal is that with only 140 characters, it can take as little as 30 seconds to send a tweet, it can also be time-consuming and distracting if individuals are checking their Twitter accounts, and tweeting, many times throughout a working/training day, (as many do), when their time and focus might be more beneficially spent focusing on more important things directly related to enhancing their or their clients’ sporting performances. Of course, the exception to this is if Twitter use is employed to benefit a business or brand’s exposure, or communications, as may be the case in some sports science areas that sport psychologists, for example, operate within.

In a 2012 survey by the football fan website, www.fourfourtwo.com, 100 professional soccer players were asked about a number of sensitive issues within their sport, for example, recreational drug use, fame and money issues. When asked about whether Twitter should be banned among players, 70% ‘disagreed’ that it should be banned. So, while athletes do appear to acknowledge the negative side of social media use, they appear to be reluctant to remove themselves completely from such a world. Therefore, should professionals working with individuals be asked to refrain from such interactions also?

It would appear that those involved in managing and training athletes must continue to support and advise their

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

clients, and they themselves, use such social media to their advantage, while minimising the negative impact of such technology on both their, and their athletes’, careers within sport (Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA), 2013).

Therefore, the present study was prompted by a realisation of the lack of empirical research on the use of the social network, Twitter, specifically by sport psychologists working with athletes. Very little empirical research findings are available on what sport psychologists’ followers want from their interactions with such professionals. As such, an online survey was designed to gather data from the followers of a sport psychologist active on Twitter, in order to provide some base-line views on their uses of Twitter, and the desired material sought by such followers of sport psychologists on Twitter. The main research question for this study was, therefore, what information, and interactions, do Twitter followers seek out, especially from the sport psychologists they follow on Twitter?

Methodology Design A semi flexible, online survey design was employed in the present study, in order to gather some descriptive, quantitative, and qualitative data, on what information and interactions Twitter followers seek out from sport psychologists they followed on this specific social media platform.

Participants 70 ‘followers’ completed the online survey. This equated to a survey completion rate of 69%, given that 101 individuals started the survey online (thus, there were 31 dropouts during the survey). Demographic information was collected from the participants, including their age, gender, nationality and occupation (See Figures 1 and 2 below for more details).

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9% 14%

Ô 9% 18-19 years Ô 41% 20-29 years Ô 30% 30-39 years

41% 30%

Ô 14% 40-49 years Ô 4% 50-59 years Ô 2% 60-69 years

Figure 1: Pie chart displaying the age profile of the participants (* Please note all pie chart percentage figures are rounded up to whole numbers in each display)

Of the 70 participants who completed the survey, 59.18% were male, and 40.82% were female. Five nationalities were represented within the participant group (Irish (72.86%; n=51), British (17.14%; n=12), American (1.43%; n=1), Spanish (1.43%; n=1), and Irish-French (1.43%; n=1). 5.71% (n=4) of the 70 participants did not indicate their nationality. The participants’ occupations are presented in Figure 2 below.

14.77% of the participants indicated they were Qualified Sport Psychology consultants and/or Lecturers in Sport Psychology. 15.91% indicated they were athletes with an interest in Sport Psychology, while ‘Others’ represented 13.68% of the individuals surveyed, and included individuals who stated their occupation as, for example, members of the Irish Police force, secondary school teachers and undergraduate Psychology students.

7% 24%

6% 8%

21%

16% 16% Ô 7% Qualified Sport Psychology consultant

Ô 21% Undergraduate Student of Sport Psychology

Ô 6% Lecturer of Sport Psychology & Applied Sport Psychologist

Ô 16% Coach with an interest in Sport Psychology

Ô 2% Lecturer of Sport Psychology Ô 8% Postgraduate Student of Sport Psychology

Ô 16% Athlete with an interest in Sport Psychology Ô 24% Other

Figure 2; Pie Chart representing the occupations of the survey participants.

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The use of Twitter by Sport Psychologists and other interested parties

Materials A custom-made online survey, consisting of 11 closed questions and 3 open ended questions was devised using Survey Console. Participants could provide qualitative responses to the 3 open-ended questions. The first section of the online survey contained a brief description of the survey and what participants were required to do by participating in the study. Their rights and responsibilities were also explained and if they were then happy to proceed, they clicked on the consent box, which took them to the first question on the online survey. Demographic details, such as age and gender were recorded, followed by questions relating to their duration as Twitter account holders, and their activities on Twitter. The final series of questions in the survey were open-ended questions where participants were invited to give qualitative responses regarding their views on the advantages and disadvantages of being members of Twitter, and also the kind of content they would like to receive in tweets posted by sport psychologists they followed on Twitter.

Procedure The study was approved by IADT’s Department of Technology and Psychology Ethics Committee, where the research was being conducted. The online survey was then designed following a review of the literature in the area of social media use, both in general, and specifically by sports professionals. Informal, unstructured interviews with professional colleagues were also completed to help to inform the researcher of the types of questions to pose, and information to include, in the online survey. The survey was then created using Survey Console, and was pilot tested by two colleagues of the researcher. Following feedback from these individuals regarding the wording and structure of some of the survey questions, some minor adjustments were made to the survey questions. The survey was then distributed ‘live’ online via Twitter, on Facebook and email, for those who requested it via these media also.

Results The data collected was analysed using software tools available on Survey Console. Descriptive statistics and qualitative, thematic, data analysis are presented below.

Descriptive Statistics Duration as a Twitter Member The largest percentage (26.44%) of respondents on the survey indicated they had joined Twitter more than 2 years prior to completing the survey. 22.99% had joined Twitter between 7 and 12 months previous. See Figure 3 below for

more details regarding participants’ duration as Twitter members.

6% 26%

10% Ô 6% Less than 1 month Ô 10% 2-6 months

23% 20%

Ô 23% 7-12 months Ô 15% 13-18 months Ô 20% 19-24 months Ô 26% More than 2 years

15%

Figure 3: Pie chart displaying participants’ duration as Twitter members.

Frequency of Twitter ‘Checking’ When asked how often they checked their Twitter accounts, 62.79% indicated they logged on ‘every day’, or ‘every 2 to 3 days (10.47%). See Figure 4 below for the summary display of participants’ responses regarding their frequency of Twitter ‘checking’ behaviour.

6%

Ô 63% Every day

7%

Ô 11% Every 2-3 days Ô 10% Once each week

10% 63% 11%

Ô 2% Once every two weeks Ô 6% Once each month Ô 1% Once every 6 weeks Ô 7% Other

Figure 4: Pie chart displaying the frequency of responses for the question regarding how often participants checked their Twitter account.

Twitter Activities When asked about the activities they engaged with on Twitter, the largest percentage of members (35.71%) stated they spend their time ‘tweeting, retweeting and favouring tweets’. Interesting, a large number of participants (27.38%) reported they ‘only viewed tweets’. This response implied that a large number of the participant Twitter followers surveyed did not send tweets, nor did they retweet the messages of others they followed (See Figure 5 below for details of participants’ Twitter activities).

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

5%

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4%

Qualitative Results

Ô 4% Tweeting Ô 1% Retweeting

27%

27%

Ô 27% Tweeting & retweeting Ô 36% Favouring tweets Ô 27% Tweeting, retweeting & favouring tweets

36%

Ô 5% Viewing tweets only

Figure 5: Pie chart displaying the activities of the participants on Twitter.

Why join Twitter?

When asked why they had joined Twitter, the largest percentage of respondents indicated they joined Twitter to ‘source information of interest’ to them (47.22%). Other participants reported they used Twitter mainly ‘to communicate with family and friends’ (13.59%). See Table 1 below for a summary of participants’ reasons for joining Twitter.

Table 1: Participants’ responses to the question: Why did you join Twitter?

Answers to the Question: Why did you join Twitter?

n

%

1

To source information of interest to me

51

47.22

2

To communicate with colleagues

20

18.52

3

To communicate with well-known athletes/individuals

8

7.41

4

To communicate with family and friends

15

13.89

5

To follow other members only

10

9.26

6

‘Other’ (sample response: ‘was nosey about it!’)

4

3.70

* Please note the n values in Table 1 above do not total to 70 because participants could give more than one response for the question regarding why they joined Twitter.

Question 1: What are the Advantages of Twitter Membership?

In response to the advantages of being on Twitter, using the thematic analysis procedures advocated by Richardson, Goodwin and Vine (2011), three main themes were identified from the participants’ responses to this question, namely ‘Sourcing information’, ‘Communication’ and ‘Entertainment’.

See Table 2 below for some sample responses illustrating each of these three identified themes.

Table 2: Sample responses illustrating each of the three themes identified for the advantages of Twitter membership Theme

Sample Response

Sourcing Information

[It provides] .... ‘Fast information at your fingertips.’

Communication

‘You get a chance to interact with people like celebrities, such as famous athletes, singers, comedians.’

Entertainment

[It is]….’Hilarious to read tweets while following a particular event.’

Question 2: What are the Disadvantages of Twitter Membership?

In response to the disadvantages of being a member of Twitter, four main themes were identified from the participants’ responses to this question, namely ‘Privacy’, ‘Abuse’, ‘Addiction’ and ‘Information overload’. See Table 3 below for some sample responses illustrating each of the four disadvantage themes identified.

Table 3: Sample responses illustrating each of the four themes identified within the participants’ replies to the question regarding the disadvantages of Twitter membership Theme

Sample Response

Privacy

‘Lack of privacy related to tweeting.’

Abuse

‘You can get abused too easily by people you don’t know.’

Addiction

[Twitter] ... “Becomes addictive’.

Information overload

‘Information overload - sometimes there’s too much to read and you can become bogged down/distracted.’

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The use of Twitter by Sport Psychologists and other interested parties

Question 3: How could Sport Psychologists you follow on Twitter use it in a more beneficial way for their followers?

In response to the qualitative question, “How could sport psychologists you follow on Twitter use it in a more beneficial way for their followers?”, the Word Cloud presented below in Figure 7 indicates the frequency of the words that appeared in the participants’ responses to this question. The most frequently cited words appeared to be ‘Psychology’, ‘Research’ and ‘Sport’, along with some less frequent words such as ‘Tweet’, ‘Information’ and ‘Articles’.

Table 3: Sample responses illustrating the two main ‘suggestion’ themes identified in the participants’ responses for how sport psychologists could use Twitter in a more beneficial way for their followers.

Theme

Sample Response

Research Findings

‘Perhaps try to apply research findings/ evidence to popular trends or events as they happen e.g., if a player missed a penalty, tweet about the possible reasons for this, using the same hashtag as the event trending.’

Practical Tips

‘Give practical tips to use in your sport.’ ... ‘Prepare the sportsperson for the abuse or the applause.’

Discussion Position of the findings in relation to previous research

Figure 7: A word cloud display representing the frequency of words appearing in the participants’ responses to the question regarding how sport psychologists they followed on Twitter might use it in a more beneficial way for their followers.

The responses to this final question on the survey, similar to the advantages and disadvantages of Twitter membership responses, were also analysed using the thematic analysis advocated by Richardson et al. (2011). Two main themes were identified from the participants’ responses, namely ‘Research findings’ and ‘Practical tips’. Table 3 below displays responses coded each of the two main themes as identified from the participants’ replies to this third open- ended question.

As can be seen from the descriptive results presented, and themes identified, from the data analysis completed for this online survey, a number of findings emerged regarding how Twitter followers, with an interest in sport psychology, use and would like others to use, this specific social media platform. The findings of the current study underline the importance social media can have in providing individuals with fast, and potentially useful, information, from both a career and performance perspective. These findings support those of Browning and Sanderson (2012). The possible implications regarding the dangers of Twitter use are also evident in the participants’ survey responses, regarding privacy and abuse issues. Such findings further support those of Browning and Sanderson, whose study findings also highlighted the dangers of a lack of privacy when using such media, and the exposure to potential abuse from other Twitter members also.

Strengths and limitations of the present study Some strengths and limitations of the current study are also evident and acknowledged. The sample of 70 individuals who completed the online survey, of the 101 individuals who initially commenced it, represents a good response rate, with only a 30.69% drop- out rate. This is quite a low drop-out rate for such an online survey.

However, the design of the survey as short, taking under 8 minutes to complete, and with a progress bar at the top of each survey page, providing an indication of how many more questions there were to answer as the survey progressed, is likely to have contributed to this low drop-out rate. However, given that the survey link was tweeted to over 660 followers of the researcher via her Twitter account,

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

this highlights the difficulty in persuading individuals online to commit to even potentially completing a survey of this kind. 101 individuals who were willing to start the survey out of a possible total of over 660 followers (without them even re-tweeting it to their followers), is probably more representative of the typically low response rate for a survey of this kind (Sheehan, 2001). However, based on their demographic information, the 70 respondents did represent a diverse range of individuals of differing ages and occupations, a further strength of the study. However, the majority of the sampled participants were Irish. It would be interesting to investigate if similar responses to such survey questions would be recorded for participants from other European countries, and indeed, from further afield.

The timely nature of this research study is also important as it explores the influence of the social medium, Twitter, among sporting and psychologically focused individuals: an area of research previously neglected in the sporting literature especially. It is also one of the first studies of its kind to attempt to determine the way sport psychologists are active on Twitter, and how they could use this social medium to benefit their followersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sporting and academic performances. More detailed explorations of this nature may now be taken on by other stakeholders such as the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) A further limitation of the present study is the lack of inter-rater reliability checks completed for the thematic analysis of the qualitative responses to the 3 key openended questions. While the researcher is experienced in coding such qualitative data, especially the short comments provided by the participants in this study, the themes identified may have been influenced by the researcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own opinions and potentially biased views. Therefore, if this research is to be expanded and followed-up on, inter-rater reliability checks of the identified themes for the three key open-ended questions should be completed in order to strengthen the validity and reliability of the themes identified in this preliminary study. This could allow the findings of such a study to be considered of greater value to, and by, the wider academic community interested in the impact of social media in the world of sport and performance psychology.

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The use of Twitter by Sport Psychologists and other interested parties

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How Twitter will change the way we live.

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Ghosts in the House: Patrick Ghosts in the

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

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Ghosts in the House: Patrick Pearse, History and Theatre

Ghosts in the House: Patrick Pearse, History, and Theatre Elaine Sisson Patrick Pearse argues in his 1915 essay ‘Ghosts’ that we must acknowledge the past before we can begin to build a collective future. Pearse’s ghosts appear to him, both inspiring and admonishing, from the nationalist past and his writing is replete with metaphors of ghostliness and otherwordliness. This paper addresses Pearse’s writing for the theatre and his use of the child as a spectral, dramatic metaphor within his writings on nationhood and selfdetermination, and makes connections between the stage and the nation as temporal spaces where the ‘hauntings’ of past performances are always present.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction In his 1915 essay ‘Ghosts’, Patrick Pearse argues that we must acknowledge the past before we can begin to build a collective future. ‘Ghosts’ he argues ‘are troublesome things in a house or in a family.’1 Pearse’s ghosts are those of the nationalist past; ‘of dead men that have bequeathed a trust to us living men.’ If we do not recognise their presence and their significance to our own experience, he suggests, we remain incomplete both spiritually and nationally.

Ghosts are troublesome things in the theatre also. For what is the theatre but an intense engagement with the ghostly?

The physical realization of other worlds which theatre offers is, in some sense, a haunting of the present by the past. Characters brought alive, embodied and inhabited by actors, are threshold creatures who occupy the boundaries between the physical and the imaginative world. For what is the actor but a revenant who embodies another for a short period and then disappears? What is theatre itself but a vivid, intense engagement with other, temporal worlds that call us momentarily out of the present?

In Micheál Mac Liammóir’s 1929 historical pageant The Ford of the Hurdles the figure of Pearse appears at the end of an epic retelling of 1,000 years of Dublin history. His presence consolidates all the events of the past, suggesting that in 1916 the point of history had been reached.

Pearse is not merely a catalyst for action but the symbol of the realized present: the ghosts have been appeased.

The figure of Pearse, physically absent yet imaginatively present, appearing at the climax of the historical pageant suggests that history, through theatre, has been realized.

This ‘messianic moment’ is grounded in Pearse’s own writings for the theatre that are full of ‘returning bodies’ or ‘transformative bodies’ that appear to offer redress for the wrongs of the past. It is evident in the form of the otherworldly boy who appears in Pearse’s plays functioning as a boundary figure.

Pearse’s Ghostly Children Pearse’s writings are populated by ghostly children. Within romantic nationalism the literary and visual image of the child is often used to recall a common past. However, a child also represents the promise of the future and therefore is also understood as a transitional figure. Pearse’s strange, redemptive children are complex constructions, despite the simplicity of his narratives. They may be contextualised

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within the terrain of late Victorian/early Edwardian culture which idealized and sentimentalized the purity and innocence of children, but also within a national identity fused with a Catholic religious ethos.

Avery Gordon’s Haunting and the Sociological Imagination explores the ghostly in much the same way as we might think about the child as a trope. Gordon suggests ‘the ghost is primarily a symptom of what is missing. It gives notice’ she says, ‘not only to itself but to what it represents.’ For Gordon this is ‘usually a loss, sometimes of life, sometimes of a path not taken.’ Further, she determines that ‘from a certain vantage point the ghost also simultaneously represents a future possibility, a hope.2 So we might argue that the ghostly, otherworldly children we encounter in Pearse’s writings are doubly inscribed within discourses of loss and of hope, of the past and the future, of what is missing and what yet can be achieved.

David Lloyd traces the emergence of two discourses of ghostly revenant that have haunted Irish culture since the Famine: the first, he sees as a phantom of ‘future possibility’ and the other, more familiar, is the vengeful ghost who rises from the aftermath of destruction, seeking redress for injustice.3 Consider Pearse’s words in the pamphlet Ghosts: ‘Here be ghosts that I have raised this Christmastide, […]

There is only one way to appease a ghost. You must do the thing it asks you. The ghosts of a nation sometimes ask very big things; and they must be appeased, whatever the cost.’ 4 These ghosts are the unappeased dead wandering through the house and they fuel Pearse’s political imagination and energy. But his writing, his literary imagination, is haunted by more benign ghosts; they are not exactly dead, but in a suspended state of becoming: they exist on both a physical and a metaphysical plane; they are, in Lloyd’s terms those ‘little phantoms of future possibility’.

The character of Íosagán was one of the central literary and visual images promoted by Pearse in the early years of St Enda’s school.5 Íosagán is a morality tale of the Christ-child in Connacht which first appeared as a short story in 1907 before he adapted for the stage in 1910. It tells the story of an old man, isolated by the villagers because he has lost his faith, who prefers his own company and the company of the local children. One morning a barefooted, golden haired 2 Avery Gordon, Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination.

University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1997, p63-64.

1 Patrick Pearse, “Ghosts”. Collected Works of PH Pearse: Political Writings and Speeches, Dublin, Cork, Belfast: The Phoenix Publishing Co., 1924, pp 222-255. This paper is based on the text of a Keynote given to the Symposium on Pearse and Theatre, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, November 2013.

3 David Lloyd, Irish Times: Temporalities of Modernity. Field Day Files 4, University of Notre Dame and Field Day, Dublin 2008, 43

4 Pearse, Ghosts. 1915 5 See Sisson, Elaine, Pearse’s Patriots: The Cult of Masculinity at St. Enda’s.

Cork University Press, 2004, repr 2005.

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Ghosts in the House: Patrick Pearse, History and Theatre

child appears, wearing an unusual white garment. His face is radiant and there is a peculiar light surrounding him. He is only visible to the children and to Old Matthias. Íosagán is associated with the natural world (in which is included the world of childhood and of faith). His interactions with Matthias restore the old man’s faith just in time: he dies after being given the last rites by the local priest. Íosagán is not of this world and he is the first of Pearse’s dramatic figures to represent the permeable boundaries between the physical and metaphysical world, as well as between the world of children and of adults. However, the adults may not cross the threshold and return: only the children may. Moreover, Iosagán does not die, nor is he sacrificed: he is there to save, not to redeem through his own death. In other plays of Pearse’s, the child figure is closely associated with the redemptive power of its own life.

The death of Giolla na Naomh in The King is one such play.

The King marks the boy’s entry into adolescence via the masculine rite of passage of war. The King opens in the grounds of a cloister. A group of boys discuss the rumour that the pagan King is going to battle and they fantasize, as the King’s horsemen pass by, about being a King or a warrior when they grow up. Suddenly a bloodstained young man stumbles out the forest (the darkly treacherous landscape of manhood) on to the sunlit plain. He considers himself unworthy to wear the crown of Kingship and feels the battle will be lost if the crown is not worn by somebody pure. The youthful, Giolla na Naomh (or servant to the Saint) is chosen ‘as the noblest jewel in the house.’

Obediently the child takes on the mantle of kingship, and his ‘golden head’ goes into battle ‘like a torrent through a mountain gap.’ Leaving the cloisters of childhood, he moves upwards, on horseback, into the dangerous, unknown territory of manhood where the reality of battle is taking place. He advances as the enemy retreats, but at great cost.

The child is killed at the moment of victory and his dead body borne back to the monastery. The King kisses him, paying homage to his ‘white body’ since, ‘it is [his] purity that hath redeemed my people.’ The child’s body is not returned to the cloister, but is laid instead in the interim space between the forest and the monastic home.

This space, which links two off-stage worlds, is the literal space of the playing stage – it is where the action is seen by the audience; but it is also the liminal space which theatre occupies in our world. This no-man’s land, suspended between the concrete (although imaginary) forest and cloister can be understood as a metaphor of what theatre is. It is a clearing which enables us to map layers of meanings on top of each other; according to the audience and the context in which it is being produced and seen. This

clearing allows us to conflate history, fiction, memory and the contemporary as a type of alchemy that creates a world which is simultaneously tangible (actors, sets, costumes) and yet insubstantial and temporal: when it is over, it disappears.

The return of the past and transition is also a thematic central to The Master. Set in a cloister, the presence of two arches suggests two off-stage spaces: one to a forest which characterizes the public world, and the other to a chapel which is a reflective, interiorized space. Young Iollann Beag, is the, by now familiar, ethereal child. He is an innocent who praises God by climbing trees and watching birds. His friends understand him to be special. Set at a time when the new religion of Christianity co-exists with an older, druidic culture these two oppositional philosophies are represented by the figure of Ciarán, the Master, and Daire, the pagan King. The dialogue between them plays out personal conflicts in Pearse’s own state of mind: the tension between public service and private belief, between thought and action.

Once boyhood friends, Ciarán and Daire have chosen different pathways. Daire accuses Ciarán of spending his life ‘pursuing shadows that fled before you’; ‘ghosts over wide spaces’ instead of being part of the world of action.

In his defense, Ciarán remonstrates that he has sought what is ‘remote and holy and perilous’ suggesting that ‘truth’ is insubstantial and cannot be grasped. Daire’s response is ‘Ghosts! Ghosts!’ and accuses him of following ‘mocking phantoms.’ Asking him for proof of this ghostly world, Daire challenges Ciarán to ‘ask that Great Mystery to unveil its face’ and save young Iollann Beag from being killed by his sword. The child stands in for all of them, as Daire says:’for your soul … and mine … and the souls of all [of] this nation, born and unborn.’ Unlike Ciarán, Iollann’s faith is unwavering and he calls upon the Archangel Michael to protect him. Pearse’s stage directions indicate that the figure of ‘a mighty Warrior, winged, and clothed in light’ seems to stand beside the boy. Iollann is spared, but Ciarán, faith restored, dies as Daire kneels before the symbol of the Other World. Here, it is the ghost-child, twinned with the Angel, who enables this cathartic moment: this messianic moment of death through faith, of surrender, of salvation and ultimately of personal liberation.

David Lloyd’s observation that we look to the ‘unexhausted possibilities secreted in the past’ to shape ‘utopian hopes for a more just, less destructively exploitative, order of things’6 resonates in Pearse’s return to the child to seek redemption for the past and salvation for the future.

6 Lloyd, Irish Times, p. 7

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Studies on liminality and ritual suggest that in transitional periods (for example adolescence) initiation rites involve a seclusion or sequestering from society, and that, as a consequence, the initiates achieve a type of invisibility, what Victor Turner calls ‘betwixt and between-ness.’ 7 This offers us some interesting insights about the space which the transitional body occupies – this no-man’s land, this presence but absence, this ghostly invisibility- and not only of the child itself, but also asks us to consider the transformative power of the performing space: the stage.

Staging the Text: Thinking about Performance Pearse’s plays are not just literary texts – they are written for performance and so we have to think about them as being embodied, staged and performed. Sometimes it is easier for academics to deal with the clean and stable certainty of the written word. It is much more difficult, messy and complex to pin down the text in performance.

However, dramatists anticipate that their plays will foremost be seen and not read (otherwise why write them as plays) and so we must consider the literary text as only a partial invocation of the play.

If we are to argue for theatre as a boundary space, a liminal space of temporality, ghostly hauntings and returns, then we must be able to consider the text in performance and to think about performers and audiences. The importance of audience and performers is crucial to thinking about how a play is seen and understood. As W.J.T. Mitchell says, representation is ‘always of something or someone, by something or someone, to someone’ 8 confirming Jerzy Grotowski’s assertion that ‘at least one spectator is needed to make [theatre] a performance’.9 Andrew Gurr states that ‘the hermeneutics of the theatre […] depend as much on the audience’s state of mind as it does on the author’s and the players’ expectations of what, mentally, their audience will be prepared for’ or more succinctly, ‘because almost nobody bothers to put down in writing what they feel about a play while they experience it’ - and certainly not the actors. 10

7 Victor Turner, “Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of

Passage.” Proceedings of the American Ethnological Society, 1964. 14

8 Mitchell, W.J.T. “Representation”. Critical Terms for Literary Study. Eds. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 1995. 12.

9 Bennett, Susan. Theatre Audiences: A Theory of Production and Reception.

New York: Routledge, 1990, 1. See also Caroline Lamb, Corporeal Returns: Theatrical Embodiment and Spectator Response in Early Modern Drama.

The University of Western Ontario, unpublished PhD Dissertation, 2011..

10 Gurr, Andrew. Playgoing in Shakespeare’s London. Cambridge University Press, 2004, p6 and p95.

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Turning to the performative context of a play not staged until after Pearse’s death: MacDara the protagonist of The Singer, is most closely identified with Pearse himself. If Ciarán and Daire in The Master represent different aspects of Pearse, MacDara is understood to be Pearse.

Certainly this was the interpretation offered in one of the most public stagingsof The Singer in 1932 at the Gate Theatre. This was the first professional production of the play on a main stage (the Abbey produced the play in 1942).

The Gate (founded four years previously by Micheál Mac Liammóir and Hilton Edwards) was still finding its place in Dublin and the play was an unusual choice for a theatre committed to European experimentalism. This allegiance to experiment was perhaps fulfilled by the fact that The Singer appeared as part of a triple bill. Sandwiched between Pearse’s play and an episodic piece called Easter 1916 was Anatole France’s The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife.

The main interest of The Singer, according to the review in the Irish TImes, lay in the restless, tormented MacDara, into whose personality Pearse has managed to breathe his complete soul. 11 Importantly though the role, in turn, was understood to be an autobiographical portrait of Pearse.

Mac Liammóir’s identification with Pearse was reinforced

by Mac Liammóir’s role in Easter 1916 where he appears as ‘The Strange Voice’ who speaks the words of Pearse.

Easter 1916 is strange and dislocating. It was first performed as the final episode in a longer historical pageant in 1929 but was received so successfully that Mac Liammóir decided to revive it as a stand-alone piece in 1932. The transcripts for the original suggest the desire to present a shadowy, dream-like sequence with voices, shadows, choreography and lighting used for dramatic effect. Set before dawn the drama is framed by the rise and fall of voices from the side of the stage: cries of longing and despair phrased in biblical terms: ‘Long have we waited in the darkness/ Too long, too long have we waited.’ As the voices fade, the stage directions indicate that ‘the light of dawn gradually creeps over the stage and shows the modern city sleeping.’

The symbolism is clear: the Irish people are awakening to a new dawn and a new future. A messianic figure ‘The Strange Voice’ appears speaking fragmented phrases taken from Pearse’s writings. A gunshot rings out and the silhouette of ‘The Strange Voice’ falls, accompanied by the Greek chorus of all the voices: ‘16 men/16 men who were faithful/What will become of us, what will become of us now?’

11 Triple Bill at the Gate, Irish Times, 29 March, 1932

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Ghosts in the House: Patrick Pearse, History and Theatre

Performed together, The Singer and Easter 1916 provide the prologue and epilogue of the revolutionary moment. The dramatic and emotive conclusion of the pageant, drawing on recent memory and appealing to everybody’s higher nature was bound to please. Maud Gonne MacBride praised the production as ‘a worthy Easter commemoration’. 12 Her imprimatur was not to be underestimated; her disapproval over Sean O’Casey’s The Plough in the Stars, in which a Pearse-like character appears off-stage as The Figure, had created enormous public controversy some years earlier. The performances of The Singer and Easter 1916 contributed to the continued elevated status of Pearse within the new State.

The Actor as Revenant If, as Pearse suggests, one of the things the spectres of the past do, is to call us out of the banality of our lived experience, then we return to the metaphor of the ghost in the house to think about the work of the actor.

Is theatre a site of memory? Is the actor a type of ghost? The actor is physically present and yet is, through the temporary displacement of his persona by another character, also absent. Theatre, through its form, is concerned with the prosthetic: it draws attention to its own artifice. Live actors (material bodies) appear on the stage as characters creating a particular kind of theatrical energy because they appear both as themselves and as other people. Freddie Rokem has drawn attention to what the actor ‘does’ rather than which character he plays; this is critical to the credibility, emotion and energy of a performance but, he argues its communicative power is often overlooked. In theatre history and scholarship, Rokem suggests that the actor ‘often simply appear[s] as the central ligament around which discourses of the theatre have … been organized.’ 13

Liammóir shared an understanding of the power of history: Mac Liammóir after all was a man who had rewritten his own past, but, like Pearse he understood the theatre as a conduit for the temporal.

Conclusion Have the ghosts in the house been appeased? Theatre’s emphasis on the temporal, ghostly, and mutable is the antithesis of the fixed and documented historical text and demands that we consider the importance of the experiential when thinking and writing about performance. Yet it also forces us to consider the importance of the theatre as a space for playing out fantasies and stories about the past; indeed David Lloyd argues that ‘ghosts of the unlived and unworked through past appear in oblique and unexpected ways’ all the time in culture.14 Pearse no longer appears as a spectral figure in Irish drama, either as demagogue or messiah, although his presence threw a long shadow over the early years of State formation. The ghosts that now haunt Irish theatre are not the unappeased nationalist dead: we are no longer revisited by Emmet, or Pearse or Tone. Instead, our cohabiting ghosts are the return of the psychically repressed, and the slow, painful surfacing of individual traumas and family secrets; we see this, for example, in the work of Marina Carr, of Martin MacDonagh, of Enda Walsh, of Mark O’Rowe and of Conor McPherson. The ghosts are still in the house, despite Pearse’s attempts to exorcise them; and these little ‘ghosts of hope that are the afterlife of lost imaginary futures’ continue to haunt and influence the Irish stage. 15

Sometimes acting is treated as if it is a more sophisticated form of ‘pretending.’ Acting works best when it is not merely impersonation or a representation (this is what mediocre actors do): it is a particular form of embodiment and, when it succeeds, an audience see ghosts: the dead and the living materialized in the same body. The cognitive dissonance involved in looking at a dead person and a live person as one (Mac Liammóir as Pearse) creates a flattening of time. By collapsing the past (the dead) into the present (the living), it presents a shared imaginative past but also an immediately accessible now. To the 1932 audience Pearse becomes more than a figure from the recent past, his death is prefigured in The Singer and his place in history is secured in Easter 1916: he now transcends history. Pearse and Mac 12 Maud Gonne MacBride, An Phoblacht, 27 April, 1933.

13 Freddie Rokem. Performing History: Theatrical Representations of the Past in Contemporary Theatre, University of Iowa Press, 2002, p.188.

14 David Lloyd, Irish Times: Temporalities of Modernity, 44 15 David Lloyd, Irish Times: Temporalities of Modernity, 44

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

References: Bennett, Susan.

Theatre Audiences: A Theory of Production and Reception New York: Routledge, 1990.

Gordon, Avery. G Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1997.

Gurr, Andrew Playgoing in Shakespeare’s London.

Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Lloyd, David.

Irish Times: Temporalities of Modernity.

Field Day Files 4, University of Notre Dame and Field Day, Dublin 2008.

Mitchell, W.J.T. “Representation”. Critical Terms for Literary Study. Eds. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Pearse, Patrick.

“Ghosts” (1915) in Collected Works of PH Pearse: Political Writings and Speeches Dublin, Cork, Belfast: The Phoenix Publishing Co., 1924.

Pearse, Patrick.

Collected Works of P.H Pearse: Plays

Dublin, Cork, Belfast: The Phoenix Publishing Co., 1924.

Rokem. Freddie.

Performing History: Theatrical Representations of the Past in Contemporary Theatre.

University of Iowa Press, 2002.

Sisson, Elaine.

Pearse’s Patriots: The Cult of Masculinity at St. Enda’s.

Cork: Cork University Press, 2004, repr 2005.

Turner, Victor.

“Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of Passage.”

Proceedings of the American Ethnological Society, 1964.

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62

Exploring the possibility of art to enact other spaces

Exploring the possibility of art to enact other spaces Clodagh Emoe The cultural critic and philosopher Alberto Toscano identifies in contemporary art a capacity to enact other spaces. Toscano defines ‘other’ spaces as situations where new ways of thinking is engendered.1 In order to explore how art creates ‘other’ spaces or temporalities, this essay employs an anthropological lens to focus on the American artist, Robert Morris, and his installation, Bodyspacemotionthings (1971). Dorothea von Hantelmann’s analysis of the first iteration of Bodyspacemotionthings as a new form of ritual provides a departure point to explore the potential of art to transform the museum both spatially and experientially.

However, instead of using the overarching term ritual to read Bodyspacemotionthings, I’ve chosen a particular stage in ritual, the liminal stage, to conduct my exploration. By using the more concise anthropological term ‘liminal’ to read Morris’s work, I argue the possibility of Toscano’s conjecture.

1 Alberto Toscano, “Introduction” in Handbook of Inaesthetics, Alain Badiou, ed. Werner Hamacher, trans.

Alberto Toscano (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2005), p.ix

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Although Bodyspacemotionthings was produced in the 1970s, this work is pivotal within the lineage of contemporary art. Critic Hal Foster locates the moment art becomes contemporary within minimalism and develops his reading of contemporary art by critically reflecting on Morris’s artistic practice. In his essay, “The Crux of Minimalism”, Foster observes how minimalist practices articulated an emergent concern with the external relations of art. Foster identifies how minimalism shifted emphasis from the formal attributes of art that preoccupied late modernism, to the subject/object dynamic. The minimalist concern with the experiential dimension of art marked a radical departure from late modernism. This emphasis on the subject and its experience has remained an overarching concern of contemporary art practice.

The recent re-staging of Robert Morris’s Bodyspacemotionthings at Tate Modern as part of the Unilever Project in 2009, and its inclusion in the show Move Choreograph Yourself at the Hayward Gallery in 2010, indicates the significance of this work.

Bodyspacemotionthings can be regarded not only as a landmark moment within Morris’s minimalist oeuvre, but central to the broader realm of contemporary art.

That Tate extended the duration of this show further indicates the currency of Morris’s work to a contemporary art-audience. It is rare to see the duration of an exhibition extended in large institutions. it is equally rare to see the premature closure of an exhibition, as was the case when Bodyspacemotionthings was first presented as part of Morris’s retrospective exhibition at Tate in 1971.

Bodyspacemotionthings consisted of large sculptural elements: beams, platforms and tunnels constructed in raw unfinished plywood structures. Morris intended that these ‘props’ to be used by the audience would interact with the exhibition on a physical level. Morris’s intention was made explicit in the photographs displayed beside each object demonstrating how these ‘props’ could be used. Instead of provoking a “detached” optical encounter, the beams, weights, platforms, rollers, tunnels and ramps that form this work encouraged physical interaction by inviting the “audience to clamber over several large sculptural elements”.2 Although the photographs demonstrated how the objects should be used, this instructive material did not temper the audiences’ ‘enthusiastic’ reception of these works. An article in The Times reported how “pandemonium broke out”. The threat of further damage to the works (and audience) and the fact that Tate staff “were not able to cope with the frantic means of emotional release that the exhibition became,” led to its premature closure after only four days.3 2 http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/apr/06/tate-

robert-morris-Bodyspacemotionthingss#/?picture=347767221&index=1, 12/09/2013 3 http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/apr/06/tate-

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Von Hantelmann looks back to this controversial incident to develop her theory that Bodyspacemotionthings initiated a new form of ritual in the museum.. To expand her theory, von Hantelmann draws on Tony Bennett and Carol Duncan’s interpretation of the museum. Both theorists identify the museum as a dedicated institutional space for aesthetic refinement. They observe the museum as performing the function of ritual in the way that it ‘transforms’ the individual, civilizing them through their encounter with art. Von Hantelmann observes how Bodyspacemotionthings undermines the task of the museum to cultivate refinement and composure in the individual by encouraging more explicit forms of physical engagement. She sees in Morris’s sculptural environment a refusal to be silently contemplated by vision alone, maintaining the invitation to engage on a more physical level, trangressing the civilizing ritual of museum because it disrupts the ideal of the museum as a space of silent, individual contemplation.

Von Hantelmann observes how in instituting a new mode of interaction Bodyspacemotionthings transforms the museum to a shared space of activity.

While I see the value in von Hantelmann’s analysis of Bodyspacemotionthings as transforming the museum as a civilizing, instructive space, I argue that the term ritual is too broad for the purpose of my exploration into the possibility of art to enact other spaces. Ritual is understood as a cultural framework that consists of specific rites.

Anthropologists associated with ritual theory, namely Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner and Claude Levi-Strauss note the purpose of performing rites is to maintain the normative structure – (i.e. through the rites of marriage lovers are re-integrated into society as husband and wife).4 Although ritual facilitates transformation, ritual is essentially conservative in that it maintains the normative structure by marking and in so doing, authorising change to an individual’s social status. Although ritual can be understood to furnish transgression, it is organised in a manner that manages contingency: specific rites that transgress the normative structure are performed, but these are enacted so that the contingent element can be re-integrated into the normative structure. Furthermore, the term ritual tends to imply an activity that takes place repeatedly (i.e. a daily ritual of having coffee) as theorised

by Levi-Strauss who identifies the relationship between ritual and structure. Rather than focusing on the structural aspect of ritual to interpret Bodyspacemotionthings, I consider how Morris’s work engenders an ‘other’ space by performing ‘anti-structure.’.

robert-morris-Bodyspacemotionthingss#/?picture=345544625&index=4, 12/09/2013 4 See Van Gennep’s, The Rites of Passage, University of Chicago Press, trans.

1960; Levi Strauss’s, The Raw and the Cooked, University of Chicago Press 1969; and Turner’s The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1969.

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Exploring the possibility of art to enact other spaces

The term anti-structure is tied in with the liminal stage in ritual and was coined by the anthropologist Victor Turner in his analysis of liminality.

The term liminal is derived from the Latin limen, meaning threshold. Transgression is implied by this term that foregrounds some kind of departure or crossing over of boundaries. Although this term was first espoused by Arnold van Gennep who coined the term within his analysis of ritual in The Rites of Passage, (first published in French in 1909), it was through The Ritual Process, Turner’s 1969 publication detailing his findings from fieldwork while living with the Ndembu tribe of North Western Zambia, that the term gained currency. The significance of the term was not restricted to the field of anthropology but extended to the wider cultural domain. Through Turner, van Gennep is now recognised as a key thinker within ritual theory because he identified the liminal stage as pivotal in ritual. Although there was a range of similar studies conducted during this period, van Gennep’s is significant as his was the first to propose a systematic pattern that initiates these rites of transition. Van Gennep identified the structure of the ritual as constituted by a tripartite movement, occurring over the three stages: separation, segregation, and integration. This movement is affected by particular moments manifested through ritual. Van Gennep and Turner observe that in order to initiate the liminal stage in ritual, participants are symbolically removed from the space of the everyday through an intensification of experience. Because the liminal stage is initiated on an experiential level, it is understood to designate a temporal, spatial symbolic space. This space exists outside and beyond normative structures because it becomes enacted when regular conventions are transgressed. In the liminal stage, ‘normative’ structures are symbolically “played with, suspended and perhaps “even transformed”.

Turner introduced the term structure to designate the values and the normative mode of social interaction. He identified this structure as a hierarchical system of politicolegal-economic positions with many types of evaluation that separate men in terms of “more” or “less.” 5 As its respective counterpart, Turner proposes anti-structure and registered this in the symbolic liminal stage of ritual.

Turner observed that within ritual participants undergoing the initiation rites are literally ‘stripped’ of the vestiges that symbolically represent their position within society.

Without physical trappings, participants unite to form a non-hierarchical social group. Turner observed in the liminal stage of ritual anti-structure where normative social values no longer apply. The liminal state is therefore considered 5 Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1969, p.96

other in that it transgresses the quotidian everyday experience through an intensification of experience.

This intensification of experience that is essential to, and initiates, the symbolic other space of liminal state can also be registered in Bodyspacemotionthings. This is event from contemporary reports of the chaos that led to the premature closure of the Tate exhibition in 1971.

For example, The Guardian quotes the curator of the exhibition, Michael Compton, stating that the audience became “so intoxicated … that they went around jumping and screaming”. The critic Reyner Banham re-iterates how this exhibition transgressed the idealized space of the museum by recalling how “liberated esthetes leaped and teetered and heaved and clambered and shouted and joined hands with total strangers”.6 From these reports, we can register Bodyspacemotionthings as demonstrating a similar abandonment of status, registered as anti-structure, through the collective performance of play. In a similar manner to the liminal stage in ritual, Bodyspacemotionthings furnished a temporal experiential state for its participants.

Although Morris’s exhibition closed it suceeded in carving out an ‘other’ space: a temporary space enacted through experience. Rather than regarding the show as a failure, the curator Michael Compton’s letter to Morris describes Bodyspacemotionthings as “provid[ing] the grounds for a very special experience”.

Bodyspacemotionthings instituted a new mode of interaction the success of Bodyspacemotionthings on noting how it fulfilled Morris’s aim to “provide a situation where people can become more aware of themselves and their own experience, rather than more aware of some version of my experience”.7

6 Dorothea von Hantelmann, “On the Socio-Economic Role of the Art

Exhibition,” in Corner-Stones, ed. Nicolaus Schafhausen, Monika Szewczyk Juan A. Gaitan (Rotterdam/Berlin: Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art , Stenberg Press) p.274 . Quoting from Reyner Banham, “It was SRQ – And a Disaster”, New York Times, May 23rd 1971 7 Dorothea Von Hantelmann, “On the Socio-Economic Role of the Art Exhibition,” in Corner-Stones, ed. Nicolaus Schafhausen, Monika Szewczyk Juan A. Gaitan (Rotterdam/Berlin: Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art , Stenberg Press) p.276 – Robert Morris, Quoted after Jon Bird, Jon Bird, “Minding the Body: Robert Morris’s 1971 Tate Gallery Retrospective,” im Rewriting Conceptual Art, eag. Michael Newman and Jon Bird, 88-107 (London: Reaktion Books, 1999).

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Fig 1: Robert Morris, Bodyspacemotionthings, Tate Modern, 2009.

Image Courtesy of Connell Vaughan.

Von Hantelmann defines Bodyspacemotionthings as a “privileged site” that furnishes a “subjective encounter with objects”.8 By permitting the audience not only to touch, but to clamber, climb and jump on the work, Von Hantelmann observes how Bodyspacemotionthings transformed the space of the museum from a space centred around the refinement of the individual, to a new space focused on collectivity. By instituting a new mode of interaction, as heightened and intensive forms of physical and emotional engagement, Bodyspacemotionthings ensured that “others might enter into the same experience”. 9 The value of these experiences is suggested by Compton who claims Bodyspacemotionthings as instituting an awareness of “notions of freedom and responsibility in art”. 10 8 Von Hantelmann, op.cit, p.276 9 Von Hantelmann, op.cit. p.277 10 Compton observes how this work prompts questions such as “the

relationship of the way groups or individuals use art to the way it is conceived or made”.

This awareness of the responsibility in contemporary art is articulated by Toscano. He maintains the value of the temporal, experiential, “other” space enacted by art resides in its ability to furnish and engender new forms of thought. Such forms of thought may be seen to challenge the way we think our world. We might re-think our world by reflecting on the disruption to the normative structures and the new modes of interaction that become initiated through Bodyspacemotionthings. In a similar manner to the liminal stage, Bodyspacemotionthings presents, albeit momentarily, an ‘other’ space that institutes more integrated community in a prevailing, individualistic society.

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Exploring the possibility of art to enact other spaces

Figs 2 and 3. Bodyspacemotionthings, Robert Morris. Tate Modern 2009 Images courtesy of Connell Vaughan

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Works Cited: Alberto, Toscano.

“Introduction” in Handbook of Inaesthetics

Alain Badiou, ed. Werner Hamacher, trans. Alberto Toscano. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2005.

Bird, Jon. “Minding the Body: Robert Morris’s 1971 Tate Gallery Retrospective,” im Rewriting Conceptual Art,. Michael Newman and Jon Bird (eds), London: Reaktion Books, 1999.

Levi Strauss, Claude.

The Raw and the Cooked

Chicago, University of Chicago Press 1969

Turner, Victor.

The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure.

New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1969.

Van Gennep, Arnold.

The Rites of Passage

Chicago, University of Chicago Press, trans. 1960

Von Hantelmann, Dorothea.

“On the Socio-Economic Role of the Art Exhibition,”

in Corner-Stones, ed. Nicolaus Schafhausen, Monika Szewczyk Juan A. Gaitan Rotterdam/Berlin: Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art , Stenberg Press, 1999.

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68

The Diaries of Reverend Thomas Goff.

Antidisestablishmentarianism and the Diaries of Reverend Thomas Goff: the Carriglea connection.

David Doyle

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Introduction Roisín Hogan House in IADT was once the home of the Reverend Thomas Goff (1772-1844), a Church of Ireland minister, landowner and sometimes army chaplain. Goff was a keen, if sometimes sporadic, diarist leaving nine volumes covering the years 1796 to 1844 and extending to more than 185,000 words.1 These diaries form the main source for this study but various other primary sources are also extant.2 The diaries give us a sustained picture of life in Ireland over a period of nearly half a century albeit from a particular vantage point. His commentary affords an insight into the thinking and attitudes of the dominant social class in Ireland during the years leading up to the Famine. Goff provides a critique on a society about to be overwhelmed by that event. The element of society of which he was a member would suffer economic hardships in the decades after his death but, of course, this was of a different order of magnitude by comparison to the devastation to be experienced by the peasantry over whose livelihood they held sway. In many ways, Goff’s preoccupations, as evidenced in his writings, are indicative of the preoccupations of his own class; a class whose actions in the nineteenth century were, and continue to be, much maligned and often with justification. Studying Goff’s diaries allows us at least to attempt a more nuanced view of one member of that class; an historical understanding rather than an exercise in rehabilitation: Goff would have seen no need for that.

There is no doubt that Goff was a very rich man and he enjoyed all the trappings of that wealth; not just the benefits of being able to maintain several homes, servants, and long trips to England and Wales but also those of education, a large private library and even old-masters paintings. In his will Goff left large sums of money and parcels of land to his children. His daughter, Theodosia, for example, was left £15,000 in gilt-edged stocks.3 Until his marriage in 1826, aged 54 to Anne Caulfeild, he lived in one of the largest houses in Eccles Street just a few minutes walk from Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) in the centre of Dublin. Subsequent to his marriage he bought a house and sixty acre demesne at Carriglea near Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) about ten kilometres south of the city, where the couple raised their family of one girl and six boys and where they spent most of their remaining years.

1 The diaries are held in the library of the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin (IADT).

2 The most important of these are copies of the three wills of Goff, his

father Robert Goff, and his brother, also Robert In addition there are two boxes of deeds and other documents in the National Archives of Ireland as part of the Landed estates court archive; 3 This conservatively converts to a sum well in excess of £1,000,000 at today’s value.

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The fact that Goff had a career as a landowner, clergyman and army chaplain offers particularly rich insights into Irish and British society during the period. The scope of his observations is widened by the fact that his holdings were dispersed geographically which ensured that he had to travel quite widely and regularly on business from Dublin to Roscommon, Kilkenny and Wexford. He also recorded several trips to England and Wales for the purpose of pleasure and in order to visit family. Indeed while he may have appeared to be provincial in London, at home in Ireland, and most especially when in Roscommon, he must have seemed a most learned and cosmopolitan figure.

The diaries span almost fifty years and are rarely dull; they are only repetitive in their reaction to long running international and local political events. For example, Goff commented extensively on the careers of Napoleon Bonaparte and Daniel O’Connell who took equal standing as bêtes noir in his imagination. Equally, he commented frequently on his attitude to Roman Catholicism and the position of Roman Catholics in Ireland; however, there is evidence of an amelioration of his views as time goes on and as he gets older – his attitude matures as he matures.

Naturally he commented on the leading stories of the day, from Robert Emmet’s rebellion, of which he was a peripheral witness, to court and political intrigue in London, about which he read in the journals, to the continuing social unrest in Ireland. The latter was one of his primary concerns and the main source of his insecurity. His interests can be described as eclectic and he commented widely on politics, history, society and the intricacies of theological debate amongst many other subjects.

Religion and Society: Reading the Diaries in the Context of Their Times Having such extensive material available it is necessary to concentrate on particular aspects of the man and his times. As religion was such a huge part of Goff’s life and one of the dominant factors in political affairs it is the focus of this paper.

It is interesting that Goff, as the elder son, should have been the one to enter Trinity College, Dublin and to take holy orders as this was usually the role assigned to younger sons, but Goff was bookish and cerebral. At various times he became particularly exercised by the ‘tithe question’ and the move towards the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland. If anything, these were more important to him than the issue of Catholic Emancipation and Repeal. Doctrinal questions were important to him; not just in relation to the Roman Catholic Church but also with regard to dissenting groups – he was particularly scathing of Arianism and

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The Diaries of Reverend Thomas Goff.

Unitarianism. This did not detract from his ability to jockey for preferment and from positioning himself most favourably with respect to those in power. For example, when his cousin, Reverend Thomas Trocke, was killed by rebels on Vinegar Hill, Wexford during the rebellion of 1798 he lost no time in agitating for his cousin’s chaplaincy to be transferred to him, and on very favourable terms. As self- serving as this may seem, it is clear from his later expenditure accounts that he took a strong paternal interest in the surviving children of his cousin and invested both time and money in their education and upbringing.

His comments on that killing are indicative of the general sense of insecurity, even embattlement, which is in evidence throughout his diary entries and may be taken as representative of the mood of his social class through that period and beyond.

The diaries give an insight into Goff as a person; allowing access not just to his attitudes to the important matters of the day, but as a family man with a deep and sincerely held Protestant faith. He was pained when his wife suffered a miscarriage and he had to draw on deep reserves of faith on the death of two of his sons in infancy. Defying the popular image of the early nineteenth century gentleman he was present ‘holding my wife’, in his sixtieth year, at the birth of his son, Robert, the first of his children to be born at Carriglea.4 Goff was a scholar, bibliophile and linguist, describing his reading of the New Testament, Ovid and Plato in Greek. He was a member of the Economy Committee of the RDS for sixteen years and also a member of the Polite Literature Committee of the RIA.5 There are constant long-suffering references in the early diaries to his being taken away from study and reading, at the behest of his father, to assist with property dealings and related family matters. But while numerous references were made to his reading in French, Italian, Spanish, and both Latin and Greek, he made only one anecdotal reference to the Irish language to which he must have been exposed on a regular basis on his trips to Roscommon. For although it is clear from his writing that he regarded himself as a patriotic Irishman, his was an alternative brand of Irishness to that of the popular imagination.

The work of the historian Jacqueline Hill is invaluable in making sense of the interplay of religion and politics in Reverend Goff’s world and the views of what might 4 Goff diaries IADT, 10 April, 1831.

5 Royal Dublin Society, Database of past members, http://www.rds.ie/

cat_historic_members.jsp_name=goff. Accessed 16 February 2013. He was elected as a member for life of the Royal Irish Academy and of the Royal Dublin Society as well as being a member of other learned societies and committees.

be termed ‘ordinary’ Protestants.6 Equally, in trying to understand the actions of his brother, Robert Goff, Blackstock’s work on the Brunswick clubs and on loyalism in Ireland has been most revealing.7 In a sense the brothers represent two sides of the same coin: while they differed in the expression of their ultra-Protestantism they shared in a fundamental belief in the righteousness of their cause. In addition, Irene Whelan provides an analysis of the causes and effects of the tensions which existed between the different Christian denominations in Ireland.88

Using Diaries as Historical Sources The methodology outlined by Ciarán Reilly in using personal diaries (surely the most ‘local’ of all sources), to throw light on issues of national importance has been most helpful.9 In his diaries Reverend Goff expressed many concerns and exposed his many anxieties. To a remarkable extent they paralleled those of his fellow episcopal Protestants in Ireland. In analysing his writing it is hoped that some extra light can be thrown onto the complexity of the lives and attitudes of ordinary Irish Protestants and in some small way contribute to what Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh called a richer historiography of the pre-Famine period.10 Diaries present data without the ‘benefit’ of retrospection and so Goff’s world can be viewed through his own eyes and without, as John Horne wisely advises, ‘editing out the awkward bits’.11 Goff is examined in his own terms and, knowing that the past is fundamentally different from the present, this is done for the merits of doing so and not as an admonition or for the purpose of a lesson.

Religion, Politics and the Ruling Classes Reverend Goff was a member of the ruling class in Ireland.

This was a small interdependent and often interrelated group of people who wielded power and influence locally and nationally. He was also a member of the Church of 6 Jacqueline R. Hill, From Patriots to Unionists: Dublin Civic Politics and Irish

Protestant patriotism, 1660-1840 (Oxford, 1997). Jacqueline Hill, ‘Dublin after the union: the age of the ultra-Protestants, 1801-22’ in Brown, M., P.M. Geoghegan and J. Kelly (eds.) The Irish Act of Union: bicentennial essays (Dublin, 2003), pp 145-56.

7 Blackstock, Allan, Loyalism in Ireland 1789-1829 (Rochester, New York, 2007).

8 Irene Whelan, The Bible war in Ireland: the ‘Second Reformation’ and the polarization of Protestant-Catholic relations, 1800-1840 (Dublin, 2005).

Irene Whelan, ‘The sermon and political controversy in Ireland, 1800 – 1850› in, Francis, K. A. and W. Gibson (eds.) The Oxford handbook of the British sermon 1689-1901 (Oxford, 2012), pp 169-82.

9 Ciarán Reilly, John Joseph Joly and the Great Famine in King’s County (Dublin, 2012).

10 Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, ‘Political history’, in Geary, L.M. and M. Kelleher (eds.)

Nineteenth century Ireland: a guide to recent research (Dublin, 2005), p. 25.

11 John Horne, ‘Conclusion’, in John Horne & Edward Madigan (eds.), Towards commemoration: Ireland and war and Revolution 1912-1923 (Dublin, 2013), p.170

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Ireland, which was the official state religion in Ireland for more than three hundred years, from the time of the Reformation until 1869, when it was disestablished by parliament. The Anglican Church was formed as a result of the Reformation but, of course, it has far deeper roots than that. It was posited by many that it was the true successor of the Christian Church of St. Patrick. The administrative structures of the Church of Ireland are, consequently, both intricate and arcane. The Church of Ireland was ‘in effect a part of the apparatus of government’ in Ireland performing functions which would be fulfilled in modern times by branches of the civil service.12 In 1834 some 852,064 people belonged to the Church of Ireland, this compares to almost 650,000 Presbyterians and nearly six and a half million Roman Catholics.13 Officially, of course, Goff was an ordained minister in the Church of England and Ireland, for the 1801 Act of Union was not just a political union but an ecclesiastical one also between the Church of England and the Church of Ireland. It could be argued that while those of the Anglican tradition formed a small minority on the island of Ireland they were, however, part of a considerable majority when considered in the context of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In this way Anglicans in Ireland could justify their pre-eminent position as arising from divine and state authority but also as being supported by a straightforward headcount. Nonetheless, there was no doubt in Goff’s mind as to his home – while staying in Brighton in 1823 he remarked on the celebration of Guy Fawkes’ night by the local youths and contrasts it with the situation in ‘my native land... there all Popery, here the reverse’.14

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course, that their gratitude will not be the livelier for this design.” 15 The entry shows Goff to be both a student of human nature and a captive of his own mind set. There might be a chink in his armour in that ‘some suppose’ the Catholics might be disloyal; perhaps, just perhaps, Goff did not agree. He was also well aware that people would not be thankful for the return of what they felt was rightfully theirs. It is not unusual for those with power and wealth to be politically conservative and this was certainly true of Reverend Goff; for any change to the status quo of the day had the potential to threaten his position and that of his class. Reverend Goff was a typical Irish Anglican, or member of this ‘Protestant community’; for continually and consistently through his writings he was critical of all nonepiscopal Protestants (evangelicals, Methodists, Unitarians and dissenters of every hue) and absolutely scathing of Roman Catholics (or Papists as he frequently has it) beliefs.

As a consequence of the Act of Union in 1801 many Catholics had expected, and equally many Protestants had feared, that further relief of Catholic ‘disabilities’ was imminent. Goff commented on the situation immediately after the union.

Goff saw Anglicanism occupying perfectly the central ground. His view was that Anglicanism provided the golden mean between the ‘Bible Society party’ on the one hand and the ‘Popish priesthood’ on the other, in explication of which he attempted a parable in which the former would serve up to a sick man the whole bird feathers, entrails and all; the latter would preserve the best bits to itself and offer the patient only the pinion bone.16From first almost to last he argued his doctrinal differences with Unitarians (who argued against the Trinity) but his theses were sometimes quite thin, for example, ‘it is asserted [by Unitarians] that Christ and his apostles never announced the Doctrine of the Trinity – but did they ever deny it?17 It is also clear that he was constantly reading works on doctrinal matters and unsurprisingly was always prepared to be convinced.

Equally he was not above a little prejudice, noting that when in London he paid a visit to the prominent Unitarian Dr. Thomas Belsham who he described as a ‘snug, fat, well fed man’.18

“It was in the contemplation of government, to bring a bill into the imperial parliament, the purport of which will be, the taking off all remaining restrictions, which the existing laws place on the Roman Catholics - perhaps this may be of use, to attract them to the side of loyalty, to which, as some suppose, they are not now attached, but, it is to be apprehended, that they will not consider it a favour, & of

He had the habit of using the term ‘Methodistical’ pejoratively. His disapproval would appear to be more of manner than of doctrine. If the delivery of a sermon lacked ‘gentility’ then he regarded it as leaning towards Methodism. For example, on attending a service at his own parish church in Tallaght, county Dublin, delivered by his curate, he describes the sermon as a ‘wild unconnected

12 Ibid.

13 A return of the total population of England, Ireland and Scotland

respectively, according to the census of 1841; accompanied by an abstract of the total number of persons in Ireland ascertained, by the Commissioners of Public Instruction, in 1834, to belong to each religious persuasion at the time of their inquiry. HC, 1843 (354), p.351.

14 Goff diaries IADT, 5 November 1823.

15 Goff diaries IADT, 21 January 1801.

16 Goff diaries IADT, 2 July 1824, It is easy to imagine this parable forming the basis of a sermon by Goff himself, unfortunately none of his sermons are known to survive.

17 Goff diaries IADT, 28 July 1796.

18 Ibid., 27 May 1822.

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discourse, very Methodistical’19 However, he does see the benefits of the ‘evangelical style’ in its appeal to those who lacked gentility. In one sermon while he disapproved of the ‘very mean and low’ language used by the preacher and his ‘vulgar and sometimes ridiculous’ evangelical manner he was nevertheless impressed by the preacher’s ability to impress the ‘lower orders’: “Why were the lower orders so attentive? Because he was so familiar, so immediately addressing himself to them. In the sentiments & thoughts of his sermon there was nothing Methodistical. It was the manner only that caused the suspicion. Yet I should think such a manner might be adopted, as would Interest both parties which might not appear slovenly & rude to the one; nor indifferent or disregardful to the other.”20 For all his musings it would seem doubtful that Goff would make use of such vulgar display in the delivery of his own sermons. It may be assumed that in matters of religion Reverend Goff did stand on ceremony, it was important to him that ceremony should be ‘consistent with my notions of religious decorum’.21 On attending Christmas Day service and Holy Communion in St James’ Chapel in Cheltenham in 1828 he was dissatisfied with the conduct of the rite.

“At the communion, the wine used seemed to be a sweet kind of white wine. I think there is more solemnity & a stricter attention to the rubrics, in our mode of conducting this sacred rite in Ireland, than here”. 22 His own community was not above criticism either, as latterly Goff showed his distrust of any tendency toward Anglo-Catholicism by the High Church Anglicans; in commenting on his reading on the subject of ‘the present Oxford Controversy as put afloat by Mr. Pusey’23 Goff was somewhat perplexed and his suspicions were aroused, he commented darkly that ‘it seems to savour much of a tendency to Popery.’24 There does seem to be one departure from orthodoxy on his part in that he noted his attending the Bethesda chapel in 1897.25 While outwardly evangelical, Whelan states that the Bethesda was ‘characterised by an uncompromising allegiance to the Established Church and a close association 19 Ibid., 5 February 1808.

20 Ibid., 23 December 1804.

21 Ibid., 5 October 1799.

22 Ibid., 25 December 1828.

23 Edward Pusey, (1800 – 1882) a founder of the Oxford Movement .

24 Goff diaries IADT, 28 June 1839.

25 Ibid., 7 August 1797. The chapel was in Dorset Street , only a few minute’s

walk from his home in Eccles Street. As if to excuse himself he noted, ‘not being very well, I did not go to Church - I went to the Bethesda Chapel in the evening’.

with Trinity College’.26 Goff entered Trinity in 1879 at a time when two-thirds of the undergraduate population were ‘destined for a career in the ministry’27 and even though this generation were central to the revival of the Church of Ireland in the early nineteenth century, this spirit of renewal does not seem to have overly influenced Goff himself. Perhaps it was the distractions of his involvement in his father’s property and business dealings and his own seeking after preferment and position that prevented him from entering fully into the revival.

‘Popery’ and Ireland Goff had difficulty with both the practice and doctrine of Roman Catholicism. On reading Alexander Geddes’ popular work on the Pentateuch,28 Goff was highly critical that the author would put ‘Papists & Protestants on the same footing with respect to the foundation of their religion’.29 Goff explained his understanding of the difference thus: “The papist is forbid to make any further inquiry, & if he questions the infallibility of the church, he is heretical, the Protestant is invited to examine the truth of the Scriptures [of ] which ... he can hardly fail of being convinced... & if he has the wish to believe, the opportunity is given him to confirm his faith” 30 The contrast between the passive Roman Catholic being forbidden to enquire under threat of being branded a heretic and the engaged Protestant being invited to examine the truth is telling. Goff’s fear of Roman Catholicism was threefold: fear of its doctrines; fear of its threat to his privileged position and fear of the ‘priestridden’ mob – who of course in Ireland, or at least the areas of Ireland which he frequented, were Catholics. In a sense the last fear was coincidental. He could only associate ‘popery’ with disorder and unrest. Writing, again from Cheltenham, he stated ‘I cannot think of the state of my native land without sadness. It is so convulsed by party strife, but popery will never suffer it to be at rest’.31 At times his reactions are almost amusing in their predictability; one would assume that as a churchman, and as one who valued public order highly, he would applaud the efforts of Father Mathew to encourage temperance by ‘the lower orders’.

However, he greeted the campaign with some suspicion, aware perhaps of the popular opinion amongst Protestants that a sober Catholic population was a population with 26 Whelan, Irene, The Bible war in Ireland: the ‘Second Reformation’ and the

polarization of Protestant-Catholic relations, 1800-1840 (Dublin, 2005), p. 18.

27 Ibid., p. 47.

28 Alexander Geddes, Critical remarks on the Hebrew Scripture, 1800.

29 Goff diaries IADT., 20 February 1801.

30 Ibid., 20 February 1801.

31 Ibid., 28 November 1828.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

plans for revenge, as was popularly thought to presage the massacres in Wexford in 1798.

“Father Mathew, the so called apostle of temperance has been in Dublin & administered the pledge of abstinence to many thousands of my whimsical countrymen. Whether this engagement will be productive of good or evil, who can tell, but I think it wears a suspicious aspect.” 32 Neither was Goff above triumphalism, when news reached him of the ‘remarkable phenomenon’ of an apparent upsurge in conversions from ‘Popery to Protestantism’ he states ‘I think we may believe ... it to be the work of God’, and he enthused that it was ‘quite marvellous and must amaze the calm observer’, nonetheless he was quite anxious regarding the resultant ‘tumult and agitation’ in the public mind.33 At this time too he expressed the essence of his religious belief thus: “But all events we know are under the control of omnipotence, & while we are impressed with this consolatory truth, & rest our hope upon the rock of ages, we cannot be uneasy or distrustful.” 34 While Reverend Goff frequently displayed a deep suspicion of Roman Catholicism he had no scruples in donating money to Roman Catholic charities and, apart from Daniel O’Connell (‘the arch demagogue’), showed no real distaste for Roman Catholics per se. His brother was not so tolerant.

From the report of a threatening letter received by Robert Goff it is evident that he had become a member of a Brunswick club in Roscommon town in 1828, probably as a founding member35 Sir Richard Steele, from whom Goff would buy his Carriglea estate in 1831, was also a Brunswick club member, attending the meeting in Dublin’s Rotunda in February 1829.36

Anti-Catholicism, Social Change and Emancipation The Brunswick club movement had originated in England in June 1828, as the prospect of Catholic emancipation came closer, when, as Blackstock notes, ‘ultra Tory peers... formed an aristocratic club to co-ordinate anti-Catholic feeling’.37 Such clubs were quickly established in towns 32 Ibid., 9 April 1840.

33 Ibid., 20 March 1827.

34 Ibid.

35 Appendix 3. Reverend Goff’s report on the anonymous letter to his

brother Robert.

36 Royal Dublin Society, Database of past members, http://www.rds.ie/ cat_historic_members.jsp. Accessed 16 February 2013.

37 Allan Blackstock, Loyalism in Ireland 1789-1829 (Woodbridge, 2007), pp 22526.

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throughout Ireland.38 In the manner of their formation they represented a top-down effort to influence events in the defence of the rights of Protestants in Ireland; this might be crudely contrasted with the more bottom-up organisation of the Orange movement.

There were about 200 ‘Brunswick Constitutional Clubs’ in Ireland claiming 150,000 members.39 There were also several dozen clubs in England and Wales. Essentially they were engaged in opposition to the Catholic Association in a rather futile last-minute effort to oppose the granting of Catholic Emancipation. Huggins describes the ‘Brunswickers’ as ‘the militantly Protestant society founded to oppose the extension of constitutional rights to Catholics after the suppression of the Orange Order’.40 Goff’s comments on the threatening letter, more than thirty years after 1798, are indeed telling. His image of men from the ‘Popish party’ cutting down the young trees and sharpening the heads to be used as pikes against Protestants is chilling.41 The report in full gives evidence of his own insecurity and the continuance of what Huggins describes as ‘a sense of embattlement among magistrates, yeomen, landowners, Protestant clergy and the military’.42 No information is available as to the ‘origins’ of the Goffs however, Reverend Goff’s wife Anne Caulfeild would have been well aware of the fate of her kinsman Sir Toby Caulfeild who, in the first act of the 1641 rebellion, was tricked into captivity by his Catholic neighbour Sir Phelim O’Neill and was later murdered in captivity.43 Goff was a complex man and it is difficult to categorise his political beliefs, certainly he conformed to Kelly’s view of this as a time when ‘religion was of abiding importance in defining political positions44 In advocacy, rather than action, he conforms to Hill’s definition of an ultra-Protestant. 45 While his brother, Robert had a more proactive approach to defending the Protestant position Thomas was equally wedded to the notion of ‘No surrender’.

At the time of Emmet’s insurrection in July 1803 Robert Goff had been in Roscommon with his father ‘for the assizes’; he returned to Dublin on 4 August ‘leaving everything 38 Ibid.

39 Alan Phylan, ‘The Brunswick Clubs: rise, contradictions and abyss’, in The Old Limerick Journal, Winter 2004, p. 25.

40 Michael Huggins, Social conflict in pre-Famine Ireland, the case of County Roscommon (Dublin, 2007), p. 25.

41 Goff diaries IADT., 31 January 1829.

42 Michael Huggins, Social conflict in pre-Famine Ireland, the case of County Roscommon (Dublin 2007), p. 27.

43 Micheál Ó’Siochrú, God’s Executioner (London, 2008), p. 22.

44 James Kelly, Sir Richard Musgrave, 1746 - 1818 (Dublin, 2009) p. 24.

45 Jacqueline Hill, ‘Dublin after the Union: the age of the ultra-Protestants, 1801-22’ in M. Brown, P.M. Geoghegan and J. Kelly (eds.), The Irish Act of Union: bicentennial essays (Dublin, 2003) pp 145-46.

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apparently very tranquil’ and within a few days Reverend Goff notes, ‘My brother joined himself to the merchants corps of cavalry’. Less martial than his brother; on 31 August Reverend Goff joined the local ‘district committee’ of residents set up to ‘hold a kind of inquisitorial eye over the inhabitants of the metropolis.’ He never saw duty but he did take the constable’s oath. Nonetheless in 1834 Robert donated the site for a new Roman Catholic chapel for the local parish of Kilbride, County Roscommon.46 The Lord Kingston from whom the Goffs purchased Oakport estate mentioned in the diary entry of 1 June 1801 was General Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton of Rockingham Castle, Boyle. Lorton was the mainstay of the Boyle Brunswick club.

Tolerance and Reflection

However, when the Emancipation bill was finally published

by Prime Minister Robert Peel, Reverend Goff seemed reconciled to the measure and appeared to be quite hopeful, even optimistic, as to the prospects for the future of Ireland.

I have lately had a well penned application (not the first) to assist by a subscription the building of an RC place of worship, in a wild & lonely district of the County Galway, where I have a small property. Shall I contribute a mite to this? It is a difficult question. I believe I will. I think as a Christian man, I ought to help the roofing a place, where the commonality may derive some notions of decency & order, in their religious worship.50

Mr Peel has brought forward his plan, which has been most favourably received. A considerable majority has given him permission to bring in a bill to remove all the existing disabilities affecting the [Roman Catholics] his speech is a most ample & luminous composition, & I hope the divine blessing will accompany the new measures, & restore my disturbed countrymen to mutual peace & good fellowship, & produce a spirit of industry, good order, and obedience to the law thro’ out my native country.47 Whilst Goff’s attitude was rather muted it certainly showed no sign of panic or dismay. It is to be noted also that again he was using the terms ‘my countrymen’ and ‘my native country’. In actuality emancipation would have very little effect on Goff’s life; it was the prospect of disestablishment that was much more to be feared. One month later he again sounded a hopeful note regarding the granting of Emancipation, ‘the Roman Catholics are now emancipated, I trust & hope there will be an end to all our religious bickering & jealousies, & Ireland will be at peace’.48 He was also able to keep his equilibrium on the subject of national school education Lords Roden & Plunket had a warm altercation on the subject of the new education system in Ireland. The former exaggerated not a little, I think, the danger of this project, to the Protestant religion. Lord Plunket was very able & argumentative in his reply to the saintly peer.49 46 Roscommon Journal, 1 August 1834. “For some time past the wretched

parishioners of Kilbride have been obliged to hear the word of God in the open air for want of a chapel.”

47 Goff diaries IADT., 9 March 1829.

48 Ibid., 13 April 1829.

49 Ibid., 3 March 1832.

Two consecutive diary entries in August 1840 reveal Goff’s thoughts on religious tolerance; while he could accept Roman Catholics and even donate money toward the building of a church, he could not abide Roman Catholicism as a theology. In retrospect also, ‘now that the tables are turned’ he seemed to be, perhaps grudgingly, regretful of the treatment of Roman Catholics by members of the established church. But he must be allowed this – his convictions were strong and he genuinely believed the tenets of the Roman church to be false. If the righteous were bold then it would be cowardly to compromise on essentials.

and …it is deserving of consideration, if the Protestant party, were not much mistaken in their conduct toward their RC countrymen, by keeping them in a state of such abject depression, as they certainly did, in respect of their public religious duties. Their chapels were most contemptible & their priesthood greatly looked down upon & held in scorn & derision. Now the tables are turned, by the emancipation act & its consequences. Power has changed sides, & their despicable order of men [priests] & their houses of worship are both gaining an ascendancy which as a reacting force is likely to be a great discouragement to Protestantism.51 In conclusion, Goff saw everything through a Protestant lens and one heavily tinted with Irish Anglicanism at that.

His opposition to the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation, and later to O’Connell’s campaign for repeal of the Union were always on the grounds of the threat to Protestantism.

His outlook expressed in microcosm that of the Irish Protestant community. And while he and they may have felt that they had God on their side, in reality their cause was doomed. For while they felt their future was assured in being a part of a greater Protestant whole in belonging to the United Kingdom, this was provincial naivety. As the nineteenth century progressed they were becoming less and less masters of their own destiny. Political reality 50 Ibid., 1 August 1840.

51 Ibid., 10 August 1840.

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would ultimately win the day as Irish Protestant politics would founder on the rock of the broader world-view taken by a nation in the process of becoming a dominant global power. Blackstock’s conclusion on the Brunswick clubs could be taken as a requiem for the political and religious aspirations of Goff and his cohort. In reality, they were engaged in an impossible struggle, and it was less the Catholic Association which destroyed their cause as opposition to the ultra-Protestant position in the Commons and, crucially, in the cabinet.52

Conclusion “I have read a long article in the Quarterly Review for March 1844, which gives such an account of the Terrorists of France during the commencement of the Revolution, which shews how much better it is “to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of”.

Just a few months before his death, Reverend Goff continued to express the concerns of a lifetime. At 72 he was still an avid reader on history and politics; his quote from Shakespeare’s most-quoted soliloquy of Hamlet confirms the conservatism that had served him well through his long life.

Reverend Thomas Goff emerges from the pages as a deeply Christian and thoughtful man, a doting father, a caring and sensitive husband, a man who gave freely of his time, energy and money to charitable works, a multilinguist, voracious reader and bibliophile, poet and sermon writer (he was a regular attendee at charity sermons and an unforgiving critic of the quality of sermons and of preaching in general), he was also an avid follower of political and military events both at home and abroad; a member for life of both the Royal Dublin Society and the Royal Irish Academy and a member of various committees (both charitable and learned) including the Royal Irish Art Union. In his younger years he travelled widely in Ireland usually for business but often for pleasure too; he travelled on horseback, by chaise, by ‘post’ coach, on foot, by sailboat on Lough Ree, by canal boat and by river boat on the Barrow, later in life he expresses delight at the convenience of using the steam commuter train from Kingstown to Dublin.

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In a sense Goff belonged to a minority within a minority.

He was a member of the Church of Ireland; whose numbers made up only one eighth of the population on the island; however, being very comfortably off and well connected he was no ordinary member of that community. His cohort of rich, landowning Protestants were relatively small in number and therefore quite insular. It is unsurprising that he should strive to maintain the status quo. From the diaries it is clear he was active in advancing the various strands of his career; however he was conservative and cautious in nature. The reactionary concerns he expresses regarding the union, agrarian unrest, Napoleon’s expansionism, Catholic Emancipation, the tithe question and repeal of the union are exactly those of his coreligionists. His perspective on the embattlement of his community, the righteousness of his cause and his loyalism mirrored that of the advocates of the rights of the Anglican community in Ireland. It is interesting that Goff can be simultaneously open to the world of ideas and insular on matters relating to religion and matters of politics.

He was reflective and sympathetic to the suffering of his fellow human beings (even though they might be Roman Catholic); nonetheless his compassion was tinged with fear.

It is fitting to include the last lines written by Goff in August 1844, just two months before his death. He was thankful for the health and wellbeing of, what we might see as, his ideal Victorian family, ranging in age from 16 year old Theodosia to his youngest, William at just 2. His loyalism is evident with as is his capitalised veneration of the royal Mother. He signed off finally with a poetic and, so very Irish, attitude to the weather.

11 August 1844 …we have continued in good Health, which prevailing among a large Family, of young Children has been a great blessing. A few days since her Majesty has had a favorable accouchement, of a young Prince, who with his royal Mother continues to do well._ Rain_ Rain_ Rain- still is bathing our Granite Rocks53

He left details (descriptive as well as financial) of his extended excursions in England and Wales, graduating from sail to steam, watching the building of the Menai Strait bridge and commenting approvingly as the roads improve over the years. His career had many facets; landlord, property dealer, land agent, clergyman and army chaplain.

52 Allan Blackstock, Loyalism in Ireland, 1789 – 1829 (Woodbridge, 2007), p.260.

53 Goff diaries IADT., 11 August 1844

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The Diaries of Reverend Thomas Goff.

Works Cited Blackstock, Allan, Loyalism in Ireland: 1789-1829.

Irish Historical Monograph Series, Vol. 5. Rochester, New York: The Boydell Press, 2007.

Hill, Jacqueline R. From Patriots to Unionists: Dublin Civic Politics and Irish Protestant patriotism, 1660-1840.

Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1997.

Hill, Jacqueline R., ‘Dublin after the union: the age of the ultra-Protestants, 1801-22’ in Brown, M., P.M. Geoghegan and J. Kelly (eds.) The Irish Act of Union: Bicentennial Essays. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2003.

Horne, John and Edward Madigan (eds.), Towards Commemoration: Ireland and War and Revolution 1912-1923.

Royal Irish Academy: Dublin, 2013.

Huggins, Michael.

Social conflict in pre-Famine Ireland, the case of County Roscommon.

Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007.

Kelly, James.

Sir Richard Musgrave, 1746 – 1818.

Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2009

Monkstown Register of Burials 1835-1854.

Murphy, Étain.

A Glorious Extravaganza: the history of Monkstown Parish church Bray: Wordwell Ltd., 2003.

National Archives: The Landed Estates Court Archive. Ó Tuathaigh, Gearóid ‘Political history’, in Geary, L.M. and M. Kelleher (eds.) Nineteenth century Ireland: a guide to recent research.

Dublin: University College Press, 2005.

Ó’Siochrú, Micheál.

God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland London: Faber & Faber, 2009.

Phylan, Alan.

‘The Brunswick Clubs: rise, contradictions and abyss’, in The Old Limerick Journal. Winter, 2004.

Reilly, Ciarán.

John Joseph Joly and the Great Famine in King’s County.

Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society, 2012.

Reverend Goff diaries (1796-1844) IADT Library.

Royal Dublin Society Database of Past Members at www.rds.ie/ cat_historic_members.jsp.

Whelan, Irene.

‘The sermon and political controversy in Ireland, 1800–1850’

in, Francis, K. A. and W. Gibson (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the British Sermon 1689-1901. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Whelan, Irene.

The Bible War in Ireland: the ‘Second Reformation’ and the Polarization of Protestant-Catholic relations, 1800-1840.

Madison: University of Wisconsin Press and Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2005

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Film still from These Dog Days, written and directed by Paul Freaney, 2015

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Biographies of contributors

Crom: an 18 feet high giant model commissioned by Macnas, Symphony for the Restless, Street Parade, 2014. by Paul McDonnell

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

List of Contributors Dr Andrew Power Dr Andrew Power is Head of the Faculty of Film, Art and Creative Technologies at IADT. He has written extensively on cybercrime and cyberpsychology, most recently Power, A. and Kirwan, G. (2013) Cyberpsychology and New Media, Psychology Press and Kirwan, G and Power, A. (2013) Cybercrime: The Psychology of Online Offenders, Cambridge University Press.

Marianne Checkley Marianne Checkley’s completed an M.Res (Psychology) at iADT. She is the Chief Executive Officer at iScoil, an online learning community providing accreditation and progression opportunities for early school leavers.

Dr Tim McNichols Dr Tim McNichols is a Lecturer in the Department of Technology & Psychology. His teaching interests include Applied Research, Consumer Cyberpsychology and Digital Media Entrepreneurship. His research has been published in various Business and Information Systems journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. Tim has consulted on Enterprise Ireland and industry projects involving digital trading card games, gamification in project teams, consumer behavior analysis and social media strategy.

Kerry McCall Kerry McCall has worked as a project leader, consultant and academic in the arts and cultural sector in Ireland for over 25 years. She lectures in cultural project and cultural event management, in the Faculty of Enterprise and Humanities, IADT. She is completing doctoral research on the Who? How? and Why? of cultural participation in Ireland at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Dr Helen Doherty Dr Helen Doherty is a Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Studies in The National Film School/IADT. She has contributed as a sector expert to the EU MEDIA programme policy on issues from media literacy to the uses of media technologies by independent television producers. Her academic interest is an exploration of the relationship

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between cultural theory and practice research as informed by an historical analysis of screen education.

Dr Olivia Hurley Dr Olivia Hurley holds an MSc and PhD from University College Dublin in Sport Psychology. She is a Lecturer on the BSc (Honours) Applied Psychology program in IADT. Olivia is a Sport Psychologist with the Irish Institute of Sport and works with athletes, and teams, to assist them in enhancing their sporting performances.

Dr Elaine Sisson Dr Elaine Sisson specializes in Irish cultural history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at IADT with teaching and research interests in Irish modernism, costume and stage design, avant-garde modernism on the Irish stage, and Shakespeare in Ireland.

Dr Clodagh Emoe Dr. Clodagh Emoe teaches on the BA in Art. Her artistic research focuses on the relationship between art and philosophy in contemporary art and she holds a PhD from GradCAM/DIT. Her work has been commissioned both nationally and internationally: Taipei Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art Seoul, Nýló, Reykjavik, IMMA, documenta XIII, Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Project Arts Centre, Dublin City Council and the Department of the Environment.

David Doyle David Doyle is the Academic Administration and Student Affairs Manager at IADT. His work on Reverend Goff is published by Four Courts Press as part of the Maynooth Studies in Local History Series, 2015.

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List of Contributors

List of Contributors of Visual Images Liam Doona Liam Doona is a theatre designer and Head of Department of Design and Visual Arts. He lectures on the BA Design for Stage and Screen.

Fiona Snow Fiona Snow is a designer and an Assistant Lecturer in digital fabrication and technical studies on the BA 3D Design, Modelmaking and Digital Art. A current M.Ed student at Trinity College, Dublin her research is on the role of the hand as a cognitive tool.

Mark Curran Dr Mark Curran is an artist, researcher and educator who lives and works in Berlin and Dublin. He lectures on the BA in Photography. His ongoing work THE MARKET is a project the functioning and condition of the global stock and commodity markets.

Ian Mitton Ian Mitton lectures on the BA in Photography, he is a founder member of the photographic art collective Chasing Shadows. www.chasingshadows.org

Peter Evers Peter Evers is a Visual Artist/Photographer who teaches on the BA in Visual Communications.

Kathleen Moroney Kathleen Moroney is a ceramic artist who lectures on the BA in Art. She is in her final year of an interdisciplinary PhD, investigating the physical processing of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;movement in time and spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; through the perspective of ceramics and dance.

Eimhin MacNamara Eimhin McNamara is a tutor in Animation. He is a founder of the animation company PaperPanther Productions www. paperpanther.ie . He is a member of the indie film collective Late Night Work Club www.latenightworkclub.com

David Quin David Quin is an animator/director producing stop-motion and 3D animated series, short films and commercials.

He has a stopmotion online series Cutbacks at www. dailymotion.com/cutbacks.

Alan Farquharson

Laura Venables

Alan Farquharson is a production designer for film, television and theatre. He is an Assistant Lecturer on the BA Design for Stage and Screen.

Laura Venables is a tutor in life drawing and visual language.

Lynda Devenney Lynda Devenney is an Assistant Lecturer on the BA in Art. Her research and practice explore the built environment and its relationship to the spatial sense of self and time, which often take on hybrid forms such as digital video, installation and sculptural objects.

Paul Freaney Paul Freaney is a writer, Lecturer and co-ordinator of the Masters in Screenwriting. These Dog Days was produced

by Jean Rice (lecturer in Film and Television). Executive producer was Donald Taylor Black (Creative Director of the National Film School). The cinematographer, Michael Lavelle is a graduate of the BA in Film and Television Production at IADT.

Ger Clancy Ger Clancy is a sculptor, designer and lecturer on the BA 3D Design, Modelmaking and Digital Art. Ger works in the visual arts, spectacle arts, theatre and film in his creative practice.

Paul McDonnell Paul McDonnell is a lecturer, designer and maker of things who teaches on the BA in 3D Design, Modelmaking and Digital Art and the BA in Design for Stage and Screen.

Perspectives II IADT Staff Research Journal 2015

Stillness In Motion. Kinetic Ceramic Installation, Farmleigh Gallery, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 2014.

by Kathleen Moroney

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