Vincent Twomey’s thought-provoking essay sees reasons for hope in the midst of all the problems currently besetting Irish Catholicism. He opines that people’s faith has withstood the turmoil within and without the Church and argues that there are signs of the kind of renewal that was recommended by some of the documents of Vatican II. Detecting these signs is important in revealing the newly opened up possibilities (and risks) for a more humble Church that seeks to fulfil its God-given mission to bring joy to the world of today. The re-evangelizing of Ireland will not happen easily: it requires placing more emphasis on the beauty of lived Christianity and, by extension, of everyday sanctity.

This chapter presents four main stages. The first stage is concerned with general problems in the cultural industries connected with the rise of the internet, such as criticisms of cultural parasitism and piracy. The second stage looks at governmental policies and practices, which aim to address and curb internet piracy in both the US and the UK. The third stage is concerned with problems of internet piracy in the field of media sport and the related field of major sport events like the Olympic Games and also high-profile and high-value football matches. It describes 'hard' and 'soft' approaches taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in its efforts to address the problem. The fourth stage considers issues relating to the nature of the current co-existence between television and the internet-based media in the context of the Olympics, and the possibilities for a new symbiosis in this area.

Michael Cronin opens this chapter by observing that the greatest threat to Irish society has been the dominant discourse of neo-liberalism and the Market, which has come to be the deity to which all must bend. The Irish Church has traditionally been associated with a regime of fear and punishment, which is somewhat paradoxical given that the founding message of Christianity is one of hope, of the end of fear. In Cronin’s view, a more radical move for a Church, which has been brought to its knees by a multiplicity of cultural factors, would be to embrace empathy and a politics of hope, which might consist of no longer saying ‘No’, but ‘Yes’. The affirmation of justice for all, a more equal sharing of wealth, the creation of a climate where difference is embraced, these are the life-affirming and Christian principles on which the future of Irish Catholicism should be based.

Amplified telephony was introduced to the UK by the General Post Office in an attempt to provide ‘hard of hearing’ individuals access to telephone communications during the inter-war years. In defining deafness as an inability to engage with telephony, the Post Office used this technology to construct new thresholds of hearing loss. Through exploring the development of amplified telephones for ‘deaf subscribers’ I show how telephony was used as a tool in the categorisation of disability and how, in turn, telephone users modified such technology to fit their personal needs and identities. A growing number of histories of disability examine the multiple ways in which social contexts shape disability and ability. This analysis provides a new perspective on the fluid, technology influenced definitions of hearing and deafness. By conceptualising the amplified telephone as a prosthetic, this analysis uncovers some of the ways in which hearing and deafness were socially and technologically constructed in interwar Britain. Study of early twentieth century telephony redefines the relationship between technology, communications, and disability, broadening our historical understanding of deafness in particular.

This chapter outlines a sociological framework of ideas and terms of reference for exploring the deeper and broader contexts of social change relevant to the understanding of contemporary mega-events. It outlines a general conception of the social nature and inter-relationships of various types of media, how they have changed over the course of Western modernisation and how they have provided important deep social contexts for developments in mega-events. The chapter introduces general aspects of globalisation and also of capitalism which contemporary mega-events can be said to reflect and refract, and to mark and influence. It also introduces the global shift in mega-event locations which has been evident in the early twenty-first century. Globalisation emerged from the mid-1990s as an increasingly well-recognised phenomenon, much-commented upon in social-scientific discourses as well as public discourses.

This chapter sketches out the key features of Dreamfields' ethos before reflecting on the historical trajectories that underpin how education, urban space and formations of race, class and gender are discussed. Current discourses draw on historical representations rooted in the development of industrial capitalism, classificatory mechanisms and empire. The chapter reflects on the methodological process of producing qualitative data. The 'structure liberates' ethos highlights the paradoxical contradictions of liberalism's reliance on freedom accessed through submission. Neoliberal governance accelerates these interventions focused on the site of the individual. Dreamfields' neocolonial stance of virtuous missionary saving urban children follows a long trajectory of interventions aimed at Britain's urban poor. Culford emphasises how Dreamfields creates a culture and belief structure that 'works' in urban areas. Foucault's work on the production of docile bodies through disciplinary mechanisms is pivotal to understanding Dreamfields' approach.

Based on ethnographic research conducted at the Manchester Airport Group 2009-2012 this chapter follows some of the actors and practices involved in the making of the Escape Lounge. The chapter shows that the city is being made-over by the loungification. The make-over by loungification begins by assuming the role of a new political actor, but one not yet fully formed or domesticated within the established institutions and parliamentary forums of city politics. Richard Branson's Virgin group has also been developing the concept, re-lounging the high street retail bank through its network of 'Virgin Money lounges'. The chapter traces the use that airport management sought to make of geo-demographic consumer data. To seek a clear demarcation of cause and effect or to isolate and distinguish a source for the 'Manchester vibe' is a problem that finds itself entangled with the problem of identifying a clear separation of State and civil society.

This chapter examines the writings of Jean Jacques Rousseau. It focuses on how his critical social theory and his normative political theory meet as a conception of childhood that would come into sharper focus during the nineteenth century. The chapter also examines reformatory education and public hygiene, focusing on how the public health strategies were developed and deployed in Ireland. Both in terms of design and strategic objective, the penal reformatory school exemplified biosocial power in that it was deployed as a social technology to refashion life that had been deformed by social circumstances. The chapter looks at how the 'biosocial' apparatus has recently been reconfigured through a policy framework called Healthy Ireland, the purpose of which is to 'reduce health inequalities' by 'empowering people and communities'. It also looks at how the prescriptive thrust of Emile was made practical through a pedagogical form of philanthropy.

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book takes up a labour-centred Marxist approach to human-environment relations, place and language, human-machine relations, technique and technology, political economy and violence. The relationship between humans, their labour and their environments is a practical and historical question, 'not an abstract philosophical puzzle'. This should contribute to 'new anthropology of labour' and a 'decolonised anthropology dispenses with the disciplinary emphasis on the "outside" of capitalism and encompasses the dynamism and interconnections of global society'. An understanding of the processes of production and reproduction can provide considerable insight into social organisation, technologies, and environments. The book discusses the situation of structural violence that arose for people who were not able to exert the machine control.

This chapter examines the consequences of deindustrialisation and urban regeneration for residents who have lived through numerous waves of urban regeneration in East Manchester. The radical pace of deindustrialisation and redevelopment in East Manchester has resulted in a strong sense of loss for Patrick, the Minister, like Colin. The second half of the twentieth century saw fundamental shifts in employment, from work in manufacturing and heavy industry to the service sector, which brought about widespread job losses in the city. Historical accounts of deindustrialisation in East Manchester depict a narrative of decline: from the area being a productive hub in the Industrial Revolution to a redundant wasteland in post-industrial Britain. The chapter explores the cultural resources which were used by older residents in order to work out a change in East Manchester. It explores how residents living in post-industrial spaces make sense of extended periods of change.