This thesis develops a methodology to capture ‘social value' in a national-level index. Social value describes the individual and collective benefits derived from social, economic and environmental goods and services. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is often treated as a proxy measure for social value (at least implicitly), and large parts of policy are geared towards increasing it despite significant conceptual and methodological flaws. Alternatives to GDP, including subjective well-being are reviewed but none are found to provide an adequate framework for setting collective goals and driving policy decisions to achieve those goals. A conceptual framework – constrained utilitarianism – is developed. This is a hybrid of the most appealing features of modern theories of value: objective list theory, hedonic theory and desire theory. The framework combines people's subjective preferences with ‘expert' opinion on phenomena such as climate change, which people may not prioritise. The framework is then applied to the Republic of Ireland. Subjective views of the things people value are canvassed through an online survey of people resident in Ireland. Ten outcome areas emerged from the research and appropriate national indicators were identified. Due to the data limitations that individual researchers inevitably face, the approach is not fully operationalised as an index, but illustrated through a comparison with GDP in a dashboard format. The full methodology, however, is designed to be used by national policymakers who would have, or could obtain, the data required to operationalise the approach. I highlight three key innovations. First, the conceptual framework provides a structure for collectively agreeing goals, whilst constraining those choices subject to (for example) scientific evidence. Second, I challenge the requirement for such indices to be internationally comparable and make the case for more culturally-specific measures of social value. Finally, I argue that a test of such an index is its relevance for policy i.e. that it identifies changes that can improve the lives of citizens in a way that is transparent and increases the accountability of policy-makers. I show through two worked examples – mental health and the environment – how such an approach would lead to different directions for policy. Several areas of future research are identified, including issues with collation, ownership and use of data in the public sphere.

This thesis provides a critical edition of the longest extant version of the medieval Irish text Tochmarc Ferbe ('The Wooing of Ferb'), accompanied by translation, textual notes and literary commentary. Tochmarc Ferbe is found in two manuscripts, the Book of Leinster (LL) and Egerton 1782. This comprises three versions of the text: a short prose account in Egerton 1782, and a long prosimetric account in LL, followed in the same manuscript by a poetic account. After a preliminary analysis of the relationship between these three versions, the edited text of the long prosimetric version (LL-prose) is presented, alongside a facing-page translation. Issues arising from the text, in terms of interpretational difficulties, literary features and metrical analysis of the poems, are discussed in the form of textual notes. A particular focus is the prevalence of textual correspondences between Tochmarc Ferbe and other medieval Irish tales, many of which are identified as direct textual borrowings by the author of this text. The thesis concludes with a literary commentary focusing on the role of women in the LL-prose version. It is argued that its depictions of a wide range of female characters challenge traditional assumptions about medieval Irish attitudes towards women, which tend to focus on their supposed passivity and negativity. The portrayals of two female characters are singled out as especially noteworthy. Queen Medb, frequently viewed as the archetypal expression of negative attitudes towards power-wielding women in medieval Irish literature, is shown to receive a positive depiction in this text. Meanwhile, the main female protagonist Ferb is characterised by her use of speech, which dominates the text in a manner almost unparalleled in medieval Irish literature. It is argued that she subverts the usually passive role of lamenter by channelling her grief into an active force, offering an alternative model of positive female action.

This thesis explores the topic of shame through my perspective as a pro-choice woman and future educator. It tells of the long relationship I have had with shame, which began when I had my first abortion. It also describes the history of shame inflicted on the women of Ireland, who continue to fight for their reproductive rights. I use these narratives to support my position that educators have a responsibility to create safe spaces for controversial topics and vulnerable populations on university campuses.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Johns Hopkins University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 374-400). Also available on the Internet.

The history of the Viking invasions in England and what is now France in the ninth and tenth centuries is fairly well documented by medieval chroniclers. The process by which these people adopted Christianity, however, is not. The written and archaeological evidence that we can cobble together indicates that the Scandinavians who settled in England and Normandy converted very quickly. Their conversion was clearly closely associated with settlement on the land. Though Scandinavians in both countries expressed no interest in Christianity as long as they engaged in a Viking lifestyle, characterized by rootless plundering, they almost always accepted Christianity within one or two generations of becoming peasants, even when they lived in heavily Scandinavian, Norse-speaking communities. While the early history of the Vikings in Ireland was similar to that of the Vikings elsewhere, it soon took a different course. While English and French leaders were able to set aside land on which they encouraged the Scandinavians to settle, none of the many petty Irish kings had the wealth or power to do this. The Vikings in Ireland were therefore forced to maintain a lifestyle based on plunder and trade. Over time, they became concentrated into a few port towns from which they travelled inland to conduct raids and then exported what they had stolen from other parts of the Scandinavian diaspora. Having congregated at a few small sites, most prominently Dublin, they remained distinct from the rest of Ireland for centuries. The evidence suggests that they took about four generations to convert. Their conversion differed from that of Scandinavians elsewhere not only in that it was so delayed, but also in that, unlike in England and Normandy, it was not associated with the re-establishment of an ecclesiastical hierarchy. Rather, when the Scandinavians in Ireland did convert, they did so because they were evangelized by monastic communities, in particular the familia of Colum Cille, who had not fled from foundations close to the Viking ports. These communities were probably driven by political concerns to take an interest in the rising Scandinavian towns.

The history of the Viking invasions in England and what is now France in the ninth and tenth centuries is fairly well documented by medieval chroniclers. The process by which these people adopted Christianity, however, is not. The written and archaeological evidence that we can cobble together indicates that the Scandinavians who settled in England and Normandy converted very quickly. Their conversion was clearly closely associated with settlement on the land. Though Scandinavians in both countries expressed no interest in Christianity as long as they engaged in a Viking lifestyle, characterized by rootless plundering, they almost always accepted Christianity within one or two generations of becoming peasants, even when they lived in heavily Scandinavian, Norse-speaking communities. While the early history of the Vikings in Ireland was similar to that of the Vikings elsewhere, it soon took a different course. While English and French leaders were able to set aside land on which they encouraged the Scandinavians to settle, none of the many petty Irish kings had the wealth or power to do this. The Vikings in Ireland were therefore forced to maintain a lifestyle based on plunder and trade. Over time, they became concentrated into a few port towns from which they travelled inland to conduct raids and then exported what they had stolen from other parts of the Scandinavian diaspora. Having congregated at a few small sites, most prominently Dublin, they remained distinct from the rest of Ireland for centuries. The evidence suggests that they took about four generations to convert. Their conversion differed from that of Scandinavians elsewhere not only in that it was so delayed, but also in that, unlike in England and Normandy, it was not associated with the re-establishment of an ecclesiastical hierarchy. Rather, when the Scandinavians in Ireland did convert, they did so because they were evangelized by monastic communities, in particular the familia of Colum Cille, who had not fled from foundations close to the Viking ports. These communities were probably driven by political concerns to take an interest in the rising Scandinavian towns.

Thesis (M. Journ.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-39).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-221). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (B.A.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2009. / Also available online. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-40).