Since the results of the UK General Election became clear, the debate about the future of the UK’s membership in the European Union has become much more serious.
Read MoreStudent Protests Spring? A global movement or isolated local anger?
In this post I will examine the different student protests in the UK and the Netherlands, and ask whether they form part of a new truly global student movement with concerns transcending the level of university parochialism, or whether they are just isolated incidents.
Read MoreA Tale of Two Votes: What about Equal Marriage in Northern Ireland?
It is a funny time to be gay in Northern Ireland. First the UK re-elects the most horrendous Conservative government, but even they knew the time had come to legalise equal marriage. Then the Republic of Ireland votes Yes in an equal marriage referendum, the first country in the world to bring it in by popular vote.
Read MoreField work Diary: the Tourist versus the Anthropologist
This post is about an experience which certainly wasn’t my proudest moment in the field and was, probably, the most uncomfortable I have felt in a very long time: the experience of being a tourist. So if emotional voyeurism is your thing, this is the fieldnote for you.
Read MoreExploring the potential for NICE guidance commentary to improve how recommendations are used in healthcare
During December 2014, I experienced my own geeky pre-Christmas anticipation as I eagerly awaited the publication of the new NICE guidance on antenatal and postnatal mental health. For those of you who aren’t afflicted with my UK maternity care and clinical guidance obsession, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes recommendations that influence UK healthcare practice and policy, amongst other things.
Read MoreCongratulations Ireland
On Saturday 23rd May 2015 love, compassion, humanity and equality triumphed over bigotry and hatred in Ireland.
Bringing forth a landslide victory, the people of Ireland flooded to the polls to vote on the matter of same sex marriage. Some came from far afield - Thailand, New Zealand, America - prompting the touching hashtag #HomeToVote. And in so doing they ensured that any two people in love, who decide they wish to commit their lives to one another, will be allowed to engage in the social, cultural and legal institution of marriage. And this, a mere two decades after homosexuality and divorce were legalised in their homeland. Good work, people of Ireland!
We at IANS wish to congratulate: the people of Ireland on their good judgment, the many engaged couples soon to be newly-weds, and the LGBTQ+ community across the world. We rejoice: a good day for love is a good day for all of us.
- Editor in Chief, Rebecca Hewer.
Creative Director, Nichole Fernández.
This article was written as a part of LGBT Week 2015 in honor or Ireland's marriage referendum. Find out more here.
Morality in Marriage
The particular circumstances surrounding the upcoming referendum regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland has led me to think more deeply about the abstract issue of morality. Marriage is a unique issue in Ireland, and highlights the contentious tensions particular to both its government and people.
Read MoreInterrogating the Irish Marriage Equality Campaigns: Where are the Voices of Young People?
The upcoming marriage equality referendum in Ireland is being heralded as historic, not just for the country itself, but for the global effort to realize equality and human rights for LGBTQ people. What is particularly interesting to me as child researcher, is the way in which both sides of the debate have situated children and young people in their campaigning.
Read MoreThe Disillusion of the Binary
Talking about gender and identity has become nearly mainstream practice, a stepping-stone in the course of getting to know someone. Sex, gender, and sexuality no longer align in a straightforward fashion with roles becoming prescribed essentially at birth.
Read MoreSticks and Stones: LGBT Street Harassment
I am an unwavering and proud supporter of marriage equality. I’m frustrated that it is taking so long to happen but I am proud of the momentum the cause has gained in the past few years. That being said, I do have issues with the way marriage equality is sometimes portrayed as the end goal for the LGBT movement.
Read MoreThe Birth Pangs of a Right: Who owns marriage?
In this, my contribution, to the exciting IANS coverage of the same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland, I will dive under the debate. Rather than wade through the bewildering currents that are the various arguments for or against constitutional amendment in Ireland, I will look at the ideological undercurrents at work here.
Read MoreA brief introduction to the marriage equality referendum
In 2013 a constitutional convention was held in Ireland to discuss proposed amendments to the Irish constitution. One of the issues discussed was that of same-sex marriage. The proposal pertaining to that matter was a success and on May 22nd, two years after the convention was held, Ireland is set to vote on same-sex marriage.
Read MoreSelling ethics in fashion through sponsored content online
The second anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh—an industrial disaster which killed over 1,130 garment workers producing clothing destined for North American and European markets—was marked on 24 April 2015.
Read MoreElection memories…
The best part of elections when I was growing up was that they involved a day off school. My primary school was a designated polling place, so a general election meant a day away from the classroom. That said, it also meant a trip back to the school with whichever parent was at home looking after us in order to cast a vote.
Read MoreMade by the Media: Pink is the New Black
After the Stonewall riots in 1969 companies began to become increasingly aware of the profitability of appealing to gay consumers. Promptly, marketers started targeting mythical ‘dream consumers’ - white, middle-class, gay men with double income, but no kids to spend it on.
Read MoreTales from the Field (which is further from home than I thought): Medical Experiences and Assumption from the US to the UK.
As a US-raised Ph.D. anthropologist studying families affected by dementia in London, I am working on coming to terms with cultural differences in understanding healthcare between the UK and US.
Read MoreSocial protection in developing countries, between problems and hopes
Globalization has been seen as the principle driver of the pressure to reduce public expenses: as governments try to make their countries more competitive they reduce the burden of excessive taxation and promote more efficiency in the public sector.
Read More$$ The Dollar Sign $$
The symbol of the US dollar looks like this: $. But you don’t need me to tell you that. The dollar sign is so widely recognized that it often surpasses its literal meaning as the symbol for US currency and comes to symbolize money and wealth in general. The dollar sign, in short, has become part of a language of symbols.
Read MoreCharities, Know Your Place!
Elections present a valuable opportunity for groups to have their agendas heard by influential figures, and among such groups are, controversially, charities.
Read MoreConstituting reality: studying policy, the political subject and more
When curious people discover I research prostitution policy they tend to jump to the very reasonable, though largely inaccurate, conclusion that my focus rests on the sellers of sex. Many are therefore perplexed, perhaps even disappointed, when they learn that my work concentrates not on people in prostitution, but on the activities of policy influential.
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