Journal articles on the topic 'Irish Miracle'

For the 1st fifteen years or so there has been an intensive talk about the Irish "economic miracle". Since Irish economy has experienced a highest degree of sustained growth among the EU states in this very period, this observation is an accurate one. The average GDP in this period has constantly been above five percent. The national income per capita rose dramatically to 2700 Euro and is the highest in the EU. The rate of employment is permanently on the increase while (qualified) working force is becoming imported as well. In a very short period of time Ireland has achieved not only an impressive level of economic development, but has also experienced a radical social transformation. From predominantly agrarian and traditionally emigrant country, Ireland had rapidly become a highly developed (post)industrial immigrant society. There is no doubt that the adequate strategy and the politics of rural development had an important role to play in achieving these remarkable results. Regardless of how much this development is conditioned and influenced by the rural development policies of the EU, Irish model still has many authentic features. This paper explores the possibilities of using some of these experiences from the Irish developmental strategies in the context of an integral rural development of Serbia in the period of transition.

The paper gives a comprehensive picture of fundamental issues connected with the Irish ?economic miracle?, with especial regard to globalisation effect. The analysis of Ireland?s economic development in the period from 1960 to 2003 answers the question why it decelerated, instead of accelerating, for a long time: two decades after the accession to the European Community in 1973 and mainly the enigma, the ?economic miracle? why the rate of growth accelerated in the decade after 1993 to an extent (on annual average to almost 8 percent) similar to that previously observed only in East Asia. The country has not only caught up economically with the European Union, but has approximated the level of development of the United States. The analysis shows that all this can be attributed not only to Ireland?s favourable conditions, but also to an adequate economic policy and foreign direct investment. The author reveals the so-called globalisation effect that in Ireland after 1993 had a decisive role in the extraordinary acceleration of economic growth.

Medieval headache treatment is largely unknown. Medieval incantations against headache enumerate bodily organs to be protected. One 8th-century Latin hymn from Lake Constance using this device is addressed to St. Aid “mechprech”, who has been identified as Aed Mac Brice, Bishop of Killare, 6th century. This Irish Saint inspired unusual legends by some rather unorthodox activities: He abducted a young girl as hostage while his inheritance was withheld, but at the same time was seen surrounded by angels. He prayed for a nun who was pregnant and made the pregnancy vanish by a miracle, and he replaced the severed heads of maids, men and horses, creating a new spring as a by-product of this operation. Already at his birth his head had hit a stone, leaving a hole in the stone which collected rainwater that cured all ailments. In our own time, such “bullaun stones” are still believed to cure headache in Ireland. According to the legends collected by Plummer and Co1man, St. Aed Mac Bricc was well known for his power to cure headaches. He relieved St. Brigid's headache when she was suffering many miles away, but his most impressive cure was in convincing a headache sufferer that the patient's headache could actually be transferred to his own head. The headache hymn or incantation is intended to repeat Aed's unique miracle.

For the last fifteen years or so there has been an intensive discussion about the Irish "economic miracle". Since Irish economy has experienced a highest degree of sustained growth among the EU states in this very period this perception is an accurate one. The average GDP growth rate in this period has constantly been above five percent. The national income per capita rose dramatically to 27000 Euro and is the highest in the EU. The rate of employment is permanently on the increase while (qualified) workforce is becoming imported as well. In a very short period of time Ireland has achieved not only an impressive level of economic development but has also experienced a radical social transformation. From predominantly agrarian and traditionally emigrant country, Ireland has rapidly become a highly developed (post)industrial immigrant society. There is no doubt that the adequate strategy and the politics of rural development had an important role to play in achieving these enviable results. Regardless of how much this development is conditioned and influenced by the rural development policies of the EU, Irish model still has many authentic features. This paper explores the possibilities of using some of these experiences from the Irish developmental strategies in the context of an integral rural development of Serbia in the period of transition.

The following article analyzes two novels, published recently by a new, powerful voice in Irish fiction, Lisa McInerney: her critically acclaimed debut The Glorious Heresies (2015) and its continuation The Blood Miracles (2017). McInerney’s works can be distinguished by the crucial qualities of the Irish Noir genre. The Glorious Heresies and The Blood Miracles are presented from the perspective of a middle-aged “right-rogue” heroine, Maureen Phelan. Due to her violent and law-breaking revenge activities, such as burning down the institutions signifying Irishwomen’s oppression (i.e. the church and a former brothel) and committing an involuntary murder, Maureen remains a multi-dimensional rogue character, not easily definable or even identifiable. The focal character’s narrative operates around the abuse of unmarried, young Irish mothers of previous generations who were coerced to give up their “illegitimate” children for adoption and led a solitary existence away from them. The article examines other “options” available to “fallen women” (especially unmarried mothers) in Ireland in the mid-twenty century, such as the Magdalene Laundries based on female slave work, and sending children born “out of wedlock” abroad, or to Mother and Baby Homes with high death-rates. Maureen’s rage and her need for retaliation speak for Irish women who, due to the Church-governed moral code, were held in contempt both by their families and religious authorities. As a representative of the Irish noir genre, McInerney’s fiction depicts the narrative of “rogue” Irish motherhood in a non-apologetic, ironic, irreverent and vengeful manner.

Current research in biometrics aims to develop high-performance tools, which would make it possible to better extract the traits specific to each individual and to grasp their discriminating characteristics. This research is based on high-level analyses of images, captured from the candidate to identify, for a better understanding and interpretation of these signals. Several biometric identification systems exist. The recognition systems based on the iris have many advantages and they are among the most reliable. In this paper, we propose a new approach based on biometric iris authentication. A new scheme was made in this work that consists of calculating a three-dimensional head pose to capture a good iris image from a video sequence which affects the identification results. From this image, we were able to locate the iris and analyse its texture by intelligent use of Meyer wavelets. Our approach was evaluated and approved through two databases CASIA Iris Distance and MiraclHB. The comparative study showed its effectiveness compared to those in the literature.

This article is on the comparison of two biblical manuscripts of the twelfth century from Plock, namely the so-called Bible of Plock and Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia with two Mosan biblical manuscripts: Evangeliar of Averbode and the Biblia Universa transcribed in the same period. The first three texts: Beatissimo Papae Damaso (Novum opus), Prologus quatuor evangeliorum (Plures fuisse) and Iheronimus Damaso Pape (Sciendum etiam) – the last one is not in the Bible of Plock - and Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia are of St. Jerome. In contrast, the introduction to the Synoptic Gospels: Argumentum secundum Matheum, Prologus in Marco and Prologus sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam are not the texts of St. Jerome, as is sometimes mistakenly repeated by different scholars, but belong to Sedulius Scottus, an Irish monk and poet who lived and worked in a school in Leodium in the ninth century, and the introduction to the Gospel of John: Prephatio in Evangelium secundum Iohannem was written by Bede the Venerable. While the texts of Jerome were quite commonly used in biblical medieval manuscripts, the fact that the introductions to the Synoptic Gospels are written by Sedulius Scottus and are present in both the Bible of Plock as well as partially in Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia is a very strong argument for the Mosan origin of the biblical manuscripts of Plock from the twelfth century. Comparative analysis of the texts themselves clearly leads to several important conclusions. First, the Bible of Plock and Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia are closer to the version of the text preserved in the Biblia Universa, a codex written in the monastery of Sancti Trudonis, than to Evangeliar of Averbode. It follows that the sources for the biblical manuscripts of Plock from the twelfth century should be searched at Mosan Benedictine monasteries, perhaps in the very monastery Sancti Trudonis near Liège. Second, the Gospel of Mark generally follows the version of the text preserved in the Biblia Universa and the Bible of Plock but not all the time. It should therefore be hoped that further comparative studies, especially the version of the biblical text, would confirm this relationship and will help determine whether the codex was written in the Mosan region or is a copy of the Bible of Plock made on the spot. Thirdly, and this is an extremely interesting proposal, Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia, not counting minor copyist changes like the conversion of - tium to - cium, is very much dependent on the Bible of Plock. If, as it is confirmed by records of the miracles, the Bible was already in Plock in 1148 or before that date, it is very likely that Evangeliar of Princess Anastasia, would be a copy of the text made on the spot in a local Plock scriptorium as a foundation of Boleslaw Kedzierzawy and a votive offering for the salvation of his deceased wife Anastasia. The codex would therefore arise after her death, dating back to the year 1158 in Plock in the time of Bishop Werner and would not have been brought by him following his trip to Aachen.These conclusions, for obvious reasons, are only preliminary, as comparsion of the texts are not fully detailed and fuller conclusions will be presented only after benchmarking a version of the biblical text of the four Gospels.

Dermot Bolger’s 2015 novel Tanglewood is one of a raft of literary responses to the demise of Ireland’s recent economic ‘miracle’, the so-called ‘Celtic Tiger’. Bolger’s narrative is deeply critical of the corrupted morality that characterised facets of the property ‘boom’, a corner of the Irish economy that underlay such a significant part of the economic buoyancy of the country. Consequently, Bolger mobilises shame as one part of his critical armoury, and in so doing he resurrects a familiar affect in the Irish context. However, Bolger’s use of shame, and his suggestion that those who benefited most lavishly during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger period should be shamed, and feel ashamed, are deeply conservative and self-defeating ways of confronting the aftermath of the economic recession in Ireland. As we note, Bolger’s version of shame causes little more than personal isolation and familial fracture, and lacks any potential to partake of what we shall term ‘a revolutionary politics of shame’.

There are many folktales that have similiar themes in the world. Birth, love, conflict, struggle for life, and miracle are the universal themes of folktales. Because of these similiarities, there is a great possibility for a reseracher to compare one folktale with others and reaveal the similiarities or differences among them. This article aims at highlightings a popular theme in many folktales around the world, it is about the spritual side of human’s life that gets a miracle from God. That theme is founded in three folktales which originally come from different setting of places, times, and beliefs. The first folktale is The Story of Little Bird. This folktale is a famous one from Irish with Hindy and Chatolic beliefs. The second one is the legend of Ashabul Kahfi from Middle East or Islam world. The third folktale is The Smoke of Fuji Yama, a folktale from Japan that is popular for Shinto believers. Three steps were used in analyzing these folktales. The first step was discussing the time and place of literary work production, including cultural background that set the story. The second step was analyzing literary lements namely character and setting. This step led to the theme of the folktales. The last step was discussing the story structure, such as explanation-rising the conflict-climax-and denounement. The result of analysis shows that theme is the same. It is about a help from God for the choosen and noble craetures.Key terms: literary work, folktale, theme

This article focuses on portrayals of fictional characters with neurological synesthesia in seven selected 20th and 21st century English-language novels in the detective-spy genre. Characters are discussed in terms of the five categories of literacy depiction of synesthete characters as outlined in the chapter, “Synesthesia and Literature” in the Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia (Oxford University Press, 2013). I will suggest that depictions of synesthete characters in the detective genre link synesthetic perceptions with glimpses of ultimate truth, and trace these tendencies back to descriptions of synesthesia in 19th century seminal European works (written during a very fertile period of research into audition colorée), including Arthur Rimbaud’s “Letter of a Seer” and Max Nordau’s Degeneration. Novels included in this study: Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov, The Synesthete by Brent Kiernan, Top Ten by Gene Ha and Alan Moore, The Fallen by T. Jefferson Parker, Miracle Myx by Dave Diotalevi, Still Waters by Nigel McCrery, Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews.

This article focuses on portrayals of fictional characters with neurological synesthesia in seven selected 20th and 21st century English-language novels in the detective-spy genre. Characters are discussed in terms of the five categories of literacy depiction of synesthete characters as outlined in the chapter, “Synesthesia and Literature” in the Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia (Oxford University Press, 2013). I will suggest that depictions of synesthete characters in the detective genre link synesthetic perceptions with glimpses of ultimate truth, and trace these tendencies back to descriptions of synesthesia in 19th century seminal European works (written during a very fertile period of research into audition colorée), including Arthur Rimbaud’s “Letter of a Seer” and Max Nordau’s Degeneration. Novels included in this study: Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov, The Synesthete by Brent Kiernan, Top Ten by Gene Ha and Alan Moore, The Fallen by T. Jefferson Parker, Miracle Myx by Dave Diotalevi, Still Waters by Nigel McCrery, Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews.

SummaryIn one of her miracles, St Brigit makes an infant speak in order to find our who his father is. The present investigation aims at finding a source for the story in an anecdote told by Gregory of Tours (6th century), and adduces a number of Christian (and one Quoranic) parallels from Ireland, from the Continent, and from the Orient. The kernel turns out to be a citation from the Psalter. Results may provide arguments for further discussion of (e.g.) philological and historical problems, such as the dating of Brigit’s or Ailbhe’s Lives or the influences from abroad on early Irish monasticism.

Introdução: O tratamento de câncer de boca muitas vezes mutila o paciente fazendo com que o mesmo perca dentes, parte de estrutura de palato, língua ou assoalho, dificultando sua mastigação e fonação, resultando em problemas nutricionais e excluindo-o do convívio social. Neste sentido, a reabilitação protética desse paciente torna-se cada vez mais relevante e tem por objetivo restaurar a estética, função e autoestima perdidas. Objetivo: relatar um caso clínico a respeito da atuação do cirurgião dentista na reabilitação protética de paciente que sofreu maxilectomia parcial decorrente de remoção de tumor. Descrição do caso clinico: Foi confeccionada uma prótese parcial removível obturadora palatina para o arco maxilar e uma prótese parcial removível convencional para o arco mandibular. Conclusão: Este tipo de reabilitação promove restauração oclusal, estética e fonética ao paciente, resultando em melhora da qualidade de vida e permitindo seu retorno ao convívio social sem constrangimentos.Descritores: Neoplasias Bucais; Prótese Maxilofacial; Anormalidades Maxilofaciais; Obturadores Palatinos.ReferênciasAlonso N, Amaral DREC, Kuczynski E. Quality of life among children with cleft lips and palates: a critical review of measurement instruments. Rev Bras Cir Plast. 2011;26(4):639-44.Almeida SDF, Hossotani HM, Moura DGJ. Internal carotid artery thrombosis related to trauma of palate in a child. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2012;30(1):144-47.Dym RJ, Masri D, Shifteh K. Imaging of the paranasal si­nuses. Oral Maxilofac Surg Clin North Am. 2012;24(2):175-89.Regea CCI, Silva YPF. Carcinoma epidermóide no seio maxilar: uma revisão analítica da literatura. Sci Invest Dent. 2013;16(1):29-42.Carvalho VA, Franco MHP, Kovács MJ, Liberato RP, Macieira RC, Veit MT et al. (orgs.). Temas em Psico-oncologia. São Paulo: Summus, 2008.Keyf F. Obturator prosthesis for hemimaxillectomy patients. J Oral Rehabil. 2001; 28(9):821-29.Irish J, Sandhu N, Simpson C, Wood R, Gilbert R, Gullane P et al. Quality of life in patients with maxillectomy prostheses. Head Neck. 2009;31(6):813-21.Kusterer LEFL, Paraguassú GM, Silva VSM, Sarmento VA. Reabilitação com obturador maxilar após cirurgia oncológica: relato de casos. Rev Cir Traumatol Buco-Maxilo-Fac. 2012;12(4):9-16Sharma AB, Beumer J 3rd. Reconstruction of maxillary defects: the case for prosthetic rehabilitation. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2005; 63(12):1770-73.Rezende JRV. Fundamentos da protese buco-maxilo-facial. 2 ed. São Paulo: Savier; 1997.Goiato MC, Piovezan AP, Santos DM, Gennari Filho H, Assunção WG. Fatores que levam à utilização de uma prótese obturadora. Rev Odontol Araçatuba. 2006;27(2):101-6.Silva DP, Almeida FCS, Vaccarezza GF, Brandão TB, Cazal C, Caroli A et al. Reabilitação protética de pacientes maxilectomizados, uma contribuição da odontologia e um convite à reflexão. Pesq Bras Odontoped Clin Integr. 2004;4(2):125-30.Souza RP, Cordeiro FB, González FM, Yamashiro I, Paes Junior AJO, Tornin OS et al. Maxillary sinus carcinoma: Na analysis of tem cases. Radiol Bras 2006;39(6):397-400.Goiato, MC, Pesqueira AA, Ramos da Silva C, Gennari Filho H, Micheline dos Santos D. Patient satisfaction with maxillofacial prosthesis, literature review. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2009;62(2): 175-80.Carvalho ACGS, Catro Filho FM, Sousa FB, Magro-Filho O, Romio KB, Nogueira RLM. Immediate oral rehabilitation after partial maxillectomy: a case report. Rev cir traumatol buco-maxilo-fac. 2009; 9(2):33-8.Miracca RAA, Andrade Sobrinho J, Gonçalves AJ. Reconstrução com prótese imediata pós-maxilectomia. Rev Col Bras Cir. 2007;34(5):297-302.Shibayama R, Tiossi R, Campaner M, Queiroz ME, Dallazen E. Reabilitação protética de paciente maxilectomizados: relato de caso. Rev Odont Araçatuba. 2016;37(2):9-16.Bonachela WC; Kaizer OB; Kaizer ROF. Tratamento protético pós-cirúrgico de ameloblastoma de maxila. RFO UPF. 2007;12(2):68-73.Goiato MC, Tabata LF, Archangelo CM, Martins Júnior M. Use of osseointegrated implants associated to retention systems in rehabilitations with oral and maxillofacial prosthesis: a review of literature. Pesq Bras Odontoped Clin Integr. 2007;7(3):331-36.

Introduction Children are beginning to use digital technologies at younger and younger ages. The emerging trend of very young children (babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers) using Internet connected devices, especially touch screen tablets and smartphones, has elicited polarising opinions from early childhood experts. At present there is little actual research about the risks or benefits of tablet and smartphone use by very young children. Current usage recommendations, based on research into passive television watching which claims that screen time is detrimental, is in conflict with advice from education experts and app developers who commend interactive screen time as engaging and educational. Guidelines from the health professions typically advise strict time limits on very young children’s screen-time. Based for the most part on policy developed by the American Academy of Paediatrics, it is usually recommended that children under two have no screen time at all (Brown), and children over this age have no more than two hours a day (Strasburger, et al.). On the other hand, early childhood education guidelines promote the development of digital literacy skills (Department of Education). Further, education-based research indicates that access to computers and the Internet in the preschool years is associated with overall educational achievement (Bittman et al.; Cavanaugh et al; Judge et al; Neumann). The US based National Association for Education of Young Children’s position statement on technology for zero to eight year-olds declares that “when used intentionally and appropriately, technology and interactive media are effective tools to support learning and development” (NAEYC). This article discusses the notion of Digitods—a name for those children born since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 who have ready access to touchscreen technologies since birth. It reports on the limited availability of evidence-based research about these children’s ICT use concluding that current research and recommendations are not grounded in the everyday life of very young children and their families. The article then reports on the beginnings of a research project funded by the Australian Research Council entitled Toddlers and Tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. This research project recognises that at this stage it is parents who “are the real experts in their toddlers’ use of screen technologies. Accordingly, the project’s methodological approach draws on parents, pre-schoolers and their families as communities of practice in the construction of social meaning around toddlers’ use of touch screen technology. Digitods In 2000 Bill Gates introduced the notion of Generation I to describe the first cohort of children raised with the Internet as a reality in their lives. They are those born after the 1990s and will, in most cases; have no memory of life without the Net. [...] Generation I will be able to conceive of the Internet’s possibilities far more profoundly than we can today. This new generation will become agents of change as the limits of the Internet expand to include educational, scientific, and business applications that we cannot even imagine. (Gates)Digitods, on the other hand, is a term that has been used in education literature (Leathers et al.) to describe those children born after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. These children often begin their lives with ready access to the Internet via easily usable touch screen devices, which could have been designed with toddlers’ touch and swipe movements in mind. Not only are they the youngest group of children to actively engage with the Internet they are the first group to grow up with a range of mobile Internet devices (Leathers et al.). The difference between Digitods and Gates’s Generation I is that Digitods are the first pre-verbal, non-ambulant infants to have ready access to digital technologies. Somewhere around the age of 10 months to fourteen months a baby learns to point with his or her forefinger. At this stage the child is ready to swipe and tap a touch screen (Leathers et al.). This is in contrast to laptops and PCs given that very young children often need assistance to use a mouse or keyboard. The mobility of touch screen devices allows very young children to play at the kitchen table, in the bedroom or on a car trip. These mobile devices have, of course, a myriad of mobile apps to go with them. These apps create an immediacy of access for infants and pre-schoolers who do not need to open a web browser to find their favourite sites. In the lives of these children it seems that it has always been possible to touch and swipe their way into games, books and creative and communicative experiences (Holloway et al. 149). The interactivity of most pre-school apps, as opposed to more passive screen activities such as watching television shows or videos (both offline or online), requires toddlers and pre-schoolers to pay careful attention, think about things and act purposefully (Leathers et al.). It is this interactivity which is the main point of difference, one which holds the potential to engage and educate our youngest children. It should be noted within this discussion about Digitods that, while the trope Digital Natives tends to homogenise an entire generation, the authors do not assume that all children born today are Digitods by default. Many children do not have the same privileged opportunities as others, or the (parental) cultural capital, to enable access, ease of use and digital skill development. In addition to this it is not implied that Digitods will be more tech savvy than their older siblings. The term is used more to describe and distinguish those children who have digital access almost since birth—in order to differentiate or tease out everyday family practices around these children’s ICT use and the possible risks and benefits this access affords babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. While the term Digital Native has also been criticised as being a white middle class phenomenon this is not necessarily the case with Digitods. In the Southeast Asia and the Pacific region developed countries like Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore have extremely high rates of touchscreen use by very young children (Child Sciences; Jie; Goh; Unantenne). Other countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia have moved to a high smart phone usage by very young children while at the same time have only nascent ICT access and instruction within their education systems (Unantenne). The Digitod Parent Parents of Digitods are usually experienced Internet users themselves, and many are comfortable with their children using these child-friendly touch screen devices (Findahl). Digital technologies are integral to their everyday lives, often making daily life easier and improving communication with family and friends, even during the high pressure parenting years of raising toddlers and pre-schoolers. Even though many parents and caregivers are enabling very young children’s use of touch screen technologies, they are also concerned about the changes they are making. This is because very young children’s use of touch screen devices “has become another area where they fear possible criticism and in which their parental practices risk negative evaluation by others” (Holloway et al). The tensions between expert advice regarding young children’s screen-time and parents’ and caregivers’ own judgments are also being played out online. Parenting blogs, online magazines and discussion groups are all joining in the debate: On the one hand, parents want their children to swim expertly in the digital stream that they will have to navigate all their lives; on the other hand, they fear that too much digital media, too early, will sink them. Parents end up treating tablets like precision surgical instruments, gadgets that might perform miracles for their child’s IQ and help him win some nifty robotics competition—but only if they are used just so. (Rosin)Thus, with over 80 000 children’s apps marketed as educational in the Apple App Store alone, parents can find it difficult to choose apps that are worth purchasing (Yelland). Nonetheless, recent research regarding Australian children shows that three to five year olds who access touch screen devices will typically have five or more specific apps to choose from (5.23 on average) (Neumann). With little credible evidence or considered debate, parents have been left to make their own choices about the pros and cons of their young children’s access to touch screens. Nonetheless, one immediate benefit that comes to mind is toddlers and pre-schoolers video chatting with dispersed family member—due to increased globalisation, guest worker arrangements, FIFO (fly-in fly-out) workforces and family separation or divorce. Such clear benefits around sociability and youngsters’ connection with significant others make previous screen-related guidelines out of date and no longer contextually relevant. Little Research Attention Family ownership of tablet devices as well as touch screen phones has risen dramatically in the last five years. With very young children being loaned these technologies by mum or dad, and a tendency in Australia to rely on market-orientated research regarding ownership and usage, there is very little knowledge about touch screen usage rates for very young Australian children. UK and US usage figures indicate that over the last few years there has been a five-fold increase in tablet uptake by zero to eight year olds (Ofcom; Rideout). Although large scale, comparative Australian data is not available, previous research regarding older children indicates that Australia is similar to high use countries like some Scandinavian nations and the UK (Green et al.). In addition to this, two small research projects in Australia, with under 160 participant families each, indicate that two thirds of these children (0-5) use touchscreen devices (Neumann; Coenenna et. al.). Beyond usage figures, there is also very limited evidence-based research about very young children’s app use. Interactive technologies available via touch screen technologies have been available domestically for a very short time. Consequently, “valid scientific research has not been completed and replicated due to [the lack of] available time” (Leathers el al. 129) and longitudinal studies which rely on an intervention group (in this case exposure to children’s apps) and a control group (no exposure) are even fewer and more time-consuming. Interestingly, researchers have revisited the issue of passive screen viewing. A recent 2015 review of previous 2007 research, which linked babies watching videos with poor language development, has found that there was statistical and methodological issues with the 2007 study and that there are no strong inferences to be drawn between media exposure and language development (Ferguson and Donellan). Thus, there seems to be no conclusive evidence-based research on which to inform parents and educators about the possible downside or benefits of touch screen use. Nonetheless, early childhood experts have been quick to weigh in on the possible effects of screen usage, some providing restrictive guidelines and recommendations, with others advocating the use of interactive apps for very young children for their educational value. This knowledge-gap disguises what is actually happening in the lives of real Australian families. Due to the lack of local data, as well as worldwide research, it is essential that Australian researchers obtain a comprehensive understanding about actual behaviour around touch screen use in the lives of children aged between zero and five and their families. Beginning Research While research into very young children’s touch screen use is beginning to take place, few results have been published. When researching two to three year olds’ learning from interactive versus non-interactive videos Kirkorian, Choi and Pempek found that “toddlers may learn more from interactive media than from non-interactive video” (Kirkorian et al). This means that the use of interactive apps on touch screen devices may hold a greater potential for learning than passive video or television viewing for children in this age range. Another study considered the degree to which the young children could navigate to and use apps on touch screen devices by observing and analysing YouTube videos of infants and young children using touch screens (Hourcade et al.). It was found that between the ages of 12 months and 17 months the children filmed seemed to begin to “make meaningful use of the tablets [and] more than 90 per cent of children aged two [had] reached this level of ability” (1923). The kind of research mentioned above, usually the preserve of psychologists, paediatricians and some educators, does not, however, ground very young children’s use in their domestic context—in the spaces and with those people with whom most touch screen usage takes place. With funding from the Australian Research Council Australian, Irish and UK researchers are about to adopt a media studies (domestication) approach to comprehensively investigate digital media use in the everyday lives of very young children. This Australian-based research project positions very young children’s touch screen use within the family and will help provide an understanding of the everyday knowledge and strategies that this cohort of technology users (very young children and their parents) have already developed—in the knowledge vacuum left by the swift appropriation and incorporation of these new media technologies into the lives of families with very young children. Whilst using a conventional social constructionist perspective, the project will also adopt a co-creation of knowledge approach. The co-creation of knowledge approach (Fong) has links with the communities of practice literature (Wegner) and recognises that parents, care-givers and the children themselves are the current experts in this field in terms of the everyday uses of these technologies by very young children. Families’ everyday discourse and practices regarding their children’s touch screen use do not necessarily work through obvious power hierarchies (via expert opinions), but rather through a process of meaning making where they shape their own understandings and attitudes through experience and shared talk within their own everyday family communities of practice. This Toddlers and Tablets research is innovative in many ways. It seeks to capture the enthusiasm of young children’s digital interactions and to pioneer new ways of ‘beginnings’ researching with very young children, as well as with their parents. The researchers will work with parents and children in their broad domestic contexts (including in and out-of-home activities, and grandparental and wider-family involvement) to co-create knowledge about young children’s digital technologies and the social contexts in which these technologies are used. Aspects of these interactions, such as interviews and observations of everyday digital interactions will be recorded (audio and video respectively). In addition to this, data collected from media commentary, policy debates, research publications and learned articles from other disciplinary traditions will be interrogated to see if there are correlations, contrasts, trends or synergies between parents’ construction of meaning, public commentary and current research. Critical discourse tools and methods (Chouliaraki and Fairclough) will be used to analyse verbatim transcripts, video, and all written materials. Conclusion Very young children are uniquely dependent upon others for the basic necessities of life and for the tools they need, and will need to develop, to claim their place in the world. Given the ubiquitous role played by digital media in the lives of their parents and other caregivers it would be a distortion of everyday life for children to be excluded from the technologies that are routinely used to connect with other people and with information. In the same way that adults use digital media to renew and strengthen social and emotional bonds across distance, so young children delight in ‘Facetime’ and other technologies that connect them audio-visually with friends and family members who are not physically co-present. Similarly, a very short time spent in the company of toddlers using touch screens is sufficient to demonstrate the sheer delight that these young infants have in developing their sense of agency and autonomy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk). Media, communications and cultural studies are beginning to claim a space for evidence based policy drawn from everyday activities in real life contexts. Research into the beginnings of digital life, with families who are beginning to find a way to introduce these technologies to the youngest generation, integrating them within social and emotional repertoires, may prove to be the start of new understandings into the communication skills of the preverbal and preliterate young people whose technology preferences will drive future development – with their parents likely trying to keep pace. Acknowledgment This research is supported under Australia Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DP150104734). References Bittman, Michael, et al. "Digital Natives? New and Old Media and Children's Outcomes." Australian Journal of Education 55.2 (2011): 161-75. Brown, Ari. "Media Use by Children Younger than 2 Years." Pediatrics 128.5 (2011): 1040-45. Burr, Vivien. Social Constructionism. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2003. Cavanaugh, Cathy, et al. "The Effects of Distance Education on K–12 Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis." Naperville, Ill.: Learning Point Associates, 2004. 5 Mar. 2009 ‹http://www.ncrel.org/tech/distance/index.html›. Child Sciences and Parenting Research Office. Survey of Media Use by Children and Parents (Summary). Tokyo: Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute, 2014. Coenena, Pieter, Erin Howiea, Amity Campbella, and Leon Strakera. Mobile Touch Screen Device Use among Young Australian Children–First Results from a National Survey. Proceedings 19th Triennial Congress of the IEA. 2015. Chouliaraki, Lilie and Norman Fairclough. Discourse in Late Modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1999. Department of Education. "Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia." Australian Government, 2009. Ferguson, Christopher J., and M. Brent Donnellan. "Is the Association between Children’s Baby Video Viewing and Poor Language Development Robust? A Reanalysis of Zimmerman, Christakis, and Meltzoff (2007)." Developmental Psychology 50.1 (2014): 129. Findahl, Olle. Swedes and the Internet 2013. Stockholm: The Internet Infrastructure Foundation, 2013. Fong, Patrick S.W. "Co-Creation of Knowledge by Multidisciplinary Project Teams." Management of Knowledge in Project Environments. Eds. E. Love, P. Fong, and Z. Irani. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2005. 41-56. Gates, Bill. "Enter 'Generation I': The Responsibility to Provide Access for All to the Most Incredible Learning Tool Ever Created." Instructor 109.6 (2000): 98. Goh, Wendy W.L., Susanna Bay, and Vivian Hsueh-Hua Chen. "Young School Children’s Use of Digital Devices and Parental Rules." Telematics and Informatics 32.4 (2015): 787-95. Green, Lelia, et al. "Risks and Safety for Australian Children on the Internet: Full Findings from the AU Kids Online Survey of 9-16 Year Olds and Their Parents." Cultural Science Journal 4.1 (2011): 1-73. Holloway, Donell, Lelia Green, and Carlie Love. "'It's All about the Apps': Parental Mediation of Pre-Schoolers' Digital Lives." Media International Australia 153 (2014): 148-56. Hourcade, Juan Pablo, Sarah Mascher, David Wu, and Luiza Pantoja. Look, My Baby Is Using an iPad! An Analysis of YouTube Videos of Infants and Toddlers Using Tablets. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, 2015. Jie S.H. "ICT Use Statistics of Households and Individuals in Korea." 10th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Meeting (WTIM-12). Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), 25-7 Sep. 2012.Judge, Sharon, Kathleen Puckett, and Sherry Mee Bell. "Closing the Digital Divide: Update from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study." The Journal of Educational Research 100.1 (2006): 52-60. Kirkorian, H., K. Choi, and Pempek. "Toddlers' Word Learning from Contingent and Non-Contingent Video on Touchscreens." Child Development (in press). Leathers, Heather, Patti Summers, and Desollar. Toddlers on Technology: A Parents' Guide. Illinois: AuthorHouse, 2013. NAEYC. Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 [Position Statement]. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College, 2012. Neumann, Michelle M. "An Examination of Touch Screen Tablets and Emergent Literacy in Australian Pre-School Children." Australian Journal of Education 58.2 (2014): 109-22. Ofcom. Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London, 2013. Rideout, Victoria. Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013. San Francisco: Common Sense Media, 2013. Rosin, Hanna. "The Touch-Screen Generation." The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2013. Strasburger, Victor C., et al. "Children, Adolescents, and the Media." Pediatrics 132.5 (2013): 958-61. Unantenne, Nalika. Mobile Device Usage among Young Kids: A Southeast Asia Study. Singapore: The Asian Parent and Samsung Kids Time, 2014. Wenger, Etienne. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Wenger, Etienne. "Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems." Organization 7.2 (2000): 225-46. Yelland, Nicola. "Which Apps Are Educational and Why? It’s in the Eye of the Beholder." The Conversation 13 July 2015. 16 Aug. 2015 ‹http://theconversation.com/which-apps-are-educational-and-why-its-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-37968›.