Whitaker Institute Whitaker Institute

The concept of ephemerality is increasingly relevant for information systems scholars, business leaders, governmental regulators, and broader society. This talk examined the rise of digital ephemerality, its importance for information systems research, and why it is necessary to consolidate what we mean when we say that a digitally-mediated experience is ephemeral. It is suggested that a multidisciplinary understanding of the ephemerality concept will serve researchers and stakeholders best.

By Ronan Doyle

In 2018, Marine and coastal tourism generated €2.6 billion in revenue accounting for approximately 45% of all tourism expenditure in Ireland. Recent covid-19 related travel restrictions have severely impacted the ability of this industry to generate revenue while also entirely changing the composition of the tourists visiting coastal areas. The goal of many related to this industry will be a swift recovery to pre-pandemic levels of revenue.  Using data collected in 2018, Dr John Deely discussed the determinants of demand for both domestic and overseas marine and coastal tourism in Ireland. Using participation models and length of stay models, Dr Deely explored which individuals are most likely to enter the market, who tends to stay longest and the value a tourist receive above what they have spent. The discussion concluded with some remarks on how the tourist industry may be revitalised following the removal Covid-19 related travel restrictions.

On 19 November the Whitaker Institute was delighted to host the last event in the year long series celebrating Social Marketing. Most of us recognise that everyday life today is not the same as it was a few months ago let alone a few years ago what with climate change, the pandemic, social inequalities, digital technologies, global markets and so much more. It is a world shaped increasingly by collective as well as individual choice, and by systems, social and behaviour change all rolled into one. In this emerging complex world social marketing is a leading behavioural science already into a future of radical transformation. To meet the demands of our time, we must incorporate an “and” approach – citizens and stakeholders, citizens and society, citizens and systems, citizens and the planet into our way of doing and being.  Social marketing’s call to action is to get on board now, be the Change Catalyst in your life, your family and your community to open the door to a new sustainable world for all. Join us and our guest speakers on the 50th anniversary of Kotler and Zaltman’s (1971) famous Social Marketing paper as we hear about the latest developments in Social Marketing. Using behavioural and systems science, research evidence, practical insights, case studies and examples, this series of SOCIAL MARKETING seminars with global experts explores the complex links between our environment, our health and wellbeing and our future.  

Presentations: 

‘Arise Social Marketers, Planet Earth Needs You!’ Professor Gerard Hastings  

Covid and social marketing: this much I know Professor Alan Tapp  

Hosted by Dr Christine Domegan, NUI Galway

This talk explored recent technological innovations in healthcare and why sometimes they don’t work as expected. The psychological science that underpins these successes and failures in ‘real-life’ was explored, including examples of the importance of stakeholder involvement in design and implementation of new technologies.

By Dr Jane Walsh

Government and public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic required employees to work from home where possible. Over a period of a year and half, working from home became the new norm for a considerable number of employees and organisations in Ireland and across the world.  As we look to the post-pandemic landscape, it is clear that working from home will continue to be a significant part of that landscape.  Organisations are developing hybrid and flexible working policies which include some time in the office and some time working remotely in a hybrid format.    

The Working from Home: Quantifying Economic and Environmental Impacts and Opportunities webinar presented findings from travel and commuting data gathered in the NUI Galway and Western Development Commission national remote working survey during COVID-19.  The webinar brings together multidisciplinary insights to assess environmental and economic impacts and opportunities from working from home.    The event is relevant to organisations, individuals and policy makers interested in understanding economic and environmental impacts of hybrid, remote, distributed and flexible working.  Much discussion and debate to-date focuses on the employment and HR issues regarding the COVID-19 impact on how and where we work.  This webinar extends the debate to examine broader economic and environmental issues and opportunities.  

Professor Alma McCarthy provided an overview of the working from home opportunities and challenges for employees and employers from the national remote working survey data.  

Dr Eoghan Clifford outlined the overall change in transport patterns during the recent COVID-19 pandemic including an outline of pre-COVID-19 travel patterns, lockdown travel patterns and potential travel patterns post-pandemic based on stated preferences for remote working in the national survey. He outlined potential impacts that remote working could have on transport emissions based on data from the NUI Galway/WDC national remote working survey. He also presented a breakdown of potential savings from different sectoral and regional analyses.

Dr Tom McDermott discussed economic implications of a shift to increased remote working. Survey respondents indicate a strong preference to continue with flexible and remote working beyond the pandemic. The perceived value of attending the office appears to have declined dramatically. This shift in work practices offers potentially large economic and environmental gains. Alongside the potential emissions reductions, an increase in remote working could also bring substantial productivity gains for the economy, particularly in the form of reduced time spent commuting. However, the gains are contingent on behavioural responses to the new norm, and need to be weighed against concerns about unequal access to and benefits from remote working. A range of complementary policy interventions may be required to ensure the potential gains from remote working are realised and unintended negative effects kept to a minimum.

Professor John FitzGerald acted as discussant and reflected on economic and climate related policy implications of the findings presented in the webinar.  He drew on his experience and work on the Climate Change Advisory Council and Ireland’s carbon budgets to inform the discussion.

 The event coincided with the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow November 2021.

In our talk/webinar we present the findings from our research into how Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) engage with the need to support mission centric service users with limited capacity, and relatively weak voice, and the implications of this for mission realisation. We explore, in this context, what this means for management control systems (MCS) and accountability design and use. Our research comprised an in-depth case study of four NPOs providing support services to people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland. We examined the NPOs MCS and accountability systems and probed management’s perceptions of the importance and voice of service users within their organisations. We identify the recognition and monitoring of service user advocacy within the organisation (‘internal advocacy’), as part of the MCS and accountability processes, as being critical for NPO mission realisation. In so doing the we provide theoretical insights for the design of MCS and accountability systems for NPOs involved in human service provision. Our findings contribute not just to NPO management and MCS literature but empirically to the relational interaction of service users with support organisations and what this may mean for the realisation of their life objectives.  Speakers: Dr Geraldine Robbins & Dr Frank Conaty