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Ireland And Scotland (ireland + and_scotland)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

St Columba and the convention at Druimm Cete: peace and politics at seventh-century Iona

EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 3 2007
James E. Fraser
Attendance at the ,convention of kings' at Druimm Cete in north-east Ireland is one of the most famous episodes in the career of St Columba or Colum Cille, who died in 597. Discussion of the significance of this shadowy summit, largely informed by unreliable late evidence, has hitherto focused upon what (may have) transpired there between kings based in Ireland and Scotland. The result has been the neglect of the hagiographical dimension of the presentation of Druimm Cete in our principal source, Adomnán's Vita Sancti Columbae, composed c.700. Analysis of this material shows that Adomnán's information about the convention came from his principal source, composed some sixty years earlier. It reveals moreover that Druimm Cete assumed prominence within the Columban dossier in the 640s for what it represented, rather than because of what actually happened there. Once the hagiographical agenda of Vita Sancti Columbae and its principal source is restored to its rightful place in evaluating the text, it emerges that several of its best-known stories , including the story of Columba's ordination of a Scottish king , are much more problematic as witnesses to sixth-century history than is conventionally supposed. As scholars begin to lose their grip upon the historical Columba, however, they grow better able to grasp seventh-century political history in north-east Ireland and Gaelic Scotland. [source]

Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry: The Role of Logistics

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2005
Chris van Egeraat
Abstract: The economic crisis of the mid-1970s marked the transition from the traditional Fordist mode of industrial organization to one of time-based competition (TBC). It has been postulated that the rise of TBC will lead to an increase in local and regional production linkages. Part of the argument is that the associated search for logistical efficiency and the adoption of the just-in-time (JIT) principles will lead to closer buyer-supplier proximity. In this article, we test the relevance of this idea in a case study of the microcomputer hardware industry in Ireland and Scotland. Most of the data were collected during multiple interviews with subsidiaries of all global microcomputer assemblers with operations in one of the two countries. The study shows that rather than sourcing locally or regionally, the assemblers import the vast majority of their material inputs from regions outside Ireland and Britain, notably from the Far East, and that the inbound logistics pipelines of most components involve inventories, often hubbed in local warehouses. Such supply systems have been interpreted as pseudo-JIT, suboptimal inbound logistics systems that are organized on traditional Fordist principles. We argue that the logistics systems and the geography of the supply linkages should not be interpreted this way. Inbound inventories were tightly managed, leading to modest target buffer levels and high shipment frequencies. Even under JIT supply, the geographic configuration of production linkages and the details of logistics systems remain highly dependent on a range of contextual conditions and component characteristics. The findings of this study suggest that a strategy of building integrated vertical production clusters around subsidiaries of multinational enterprises is no longer suitable for Ireland and Scotland, at least not in the context of the microcomputer industry. [source]

An International Comparison of Materiality Guidance for Governments, Public Services and Charities

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002
Renée Price
This article compares international and country,specific guidance associated with the materiality concept as it applies to the public sector and charitable entities. The proliferation of multiple terms with similar meanings is evidenced in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom , England, Ireland and Scotland , and international guidance. Alignment of terminology could enhance harmonization of standards and increase the chances that application of standards is comparable. Conceptual dimensions of materiality in the public sector emphasize qualitative considerations such as legal compliance, fiduciary responsibility, timeliness, and follow,up. [source]

Phylogenetic analyses and molecular epidemiology of European salmonid alphaviruses (SAV) based on partial E2 and nsP3 gene nucleotide sequences

JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 11 2008
E Fringuelli
Abstract Sequence data were generated for portions of the E2 and nsP3 genes of 48 salmonid alphaviruses from farmed Atlantic salmon (AS), Salmo salar L., and rainbow trout (RT), Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), in marine and freshwater environments, respectively, from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Norway, France, Italy and Spain between 1991 and 2007. Based on these sequences, and those of six previously published reference strains, phylogenetic trees were constructed using the parsimony method. Trees generated with both gene segments were similar. Clades corresponding to the three previously recognized subtypes were generated and in addition, two further new clades of viruses were identified. A single further strain (F96-1045) was found to be distinct from all of the other strains in the study. The percentage of nucleotide divergence within clades was generally low (0,4.8% for E2, 0,6.6% for nsP3). Interclade divergence tended to be higher (3.4,19.7% for E2, 6.5,28.1% for nsP3). Based on these results and using current SAV terminology, the two new clades and F96-1045 were termed SAV subtypes 4, 5 and 6, respectively. SAV4 contained AS strains from Ireland and Scotland, while SAV5 contained only Scottish AS strains. Recently identified SAV strains from RT in Italy and Spain were shown to belong to SAV2. In addition, marine AS strains belonging to SAV2 were identified for the first time. Analysis of the origin of several clusters of strains with identical E2 and nsP3 sequences strongly support horizontal transmission of virus between farms and aquaculture companies. Evidence in support of vertical transmission was not found. [source]