Introduction Amid the current trend of constrictive age labelling – ‘snowflakes’ and ‘OK, boomer’ to name a few – ‘digital natives’ is a more optimistic and malleable label. It defines the powerful pull Generation Z and beyond has to politically influence and organise. Social media was lauded as a revolutionary addition to democracy that would …
Is social media a factor in increasing depression, anxiety and loneliness?
The progress of society has been linked to technology and the changing ways in which technology is increasingly dominating many areas of society. We can see the use of iPads in classrooms to cater for different learning styles, use of machinery in workplaces to increase accuracy and efficiency, but most importantly the increasing use of …
A Study of St Nicholas Street Market in Galway
The trend towards urbanisation continues at an increasing pace and town and city dwellers now make up the majority of the global population for the first time in human history. The early decades of the 21st century have been characterised by increasing economic, social, and political challenges that municipalities have to manage according to the …
Online Virality
Introduction On Friday the fifth of October, a painting by the elusive political street artist known as Banksy ‘self-destructed’ the moment it was sold for 1.4 million pounds at an auction in London. The following Saturday the artist himself posted a video online of the painting being shredded by a mechanism within its frame as …
The Digital World’s Environmental Impact
Introduction The production, consumption and disposal of the digital world has considerable environmental impacts. Hodgson (2015) states that global data centres are producing the same amount of emissions as aviation. E-waste and the ways in which to manage it are contestable. In 1998 electrical and electronic waste was estimated to be 6 million tonnes and …
The Digital Divide
Introduction Conceptualising the diverse topic that exists in today’s world, this blog post will approach the digital divide with an outlook of hope that the widening gap will one day close. Starting with a brief understanding of how exactly the digital divide came about, explanations will then be brought forward to help further explore this …
How can Learning Technologies Support Teaching of Social Research Methods?
Introduction While social research methods are arguably a core feature of social science degrees universally, It appears to be a common trend that such modules are generally unpopular and have a bad reputation among students in the social sciences (Bos and Schneider, 2009; Peffefer and Rogalin, 2012; Ryan et al, 2014; Lewthwaite & Nind, 2016). …
Digital Footprints
My sister recently bought a new car, a 2016 Suzuki Vitara. It’s nice. She took me for a spin the other day so I started checking out its gizmos. I was messing around with the sat-nav, demanding directions to the Taj Mahal and Timbuktoo, when I noticed it had a history function. It hadn’t been …
Expression and Rights in the Information Age
Introduction The web, world culture, world politics, and most interpretations of basic human rights all have one thing in common. The right to one’s own opinions, free thought, and the equal, unrestricted expression of such—in other words—free speech. Many of the most important functions of the world order are, in part, defined by freedom of …
Textbook V’s Technology
Introduction Can the use of textbooks survive the introduction of technology in secondary schools in Ireland? Could textbooks be in danger of becoming something of history and are the teachers and schools prepared and trained enough to embrace these changes in the education process in Ireland. In recent years many schools across Ireland began to …