POLT07002 2017 Active Politics Placement

Reflecting the changed and changing contexts within which contemporary politics and political activism takes place, this module seeks to facilitate students in their quest to locate and test theoretical paradigms in the world of real politics. To this extent, students will be encouraged to undertake a short placement learning experience not exceeding 30 hours in duration during semester four of their studies whose main objective is to forge points of contact, voluntarily, with the ever burgeoning third sector, pressure groups, new social movements, community groups, mainstream constitutional political parties and individuals who are engaged in a myriad of political activities. In essence, students will be encouraged to be both reflective and reflexive and to synthesize their practical and active experiences in the context of wider politics theoretical discourses.

Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills is the most comprehensive political research methods textbook available. Written especially for politics students, it provides a practical and relevant approach to the subject that equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate research findings and successfully carry out independent study and research. Taking a helpful step-by-step approach, the authors guide the reader through the process of asking and answering research questions and the different methods used in political research, providing practical advice on how to be critical and rigorous in both evaluating and conducting research. With an emphasis throughout on how research can impact important political questions and policy issues, Halperin and Heath equip readers with the skills to formulate significant questions and develop meaningful and persuasive answers. An Online Resource Centre accompanies this text, and includes a range of resources for both students and lecturers. For students: - Learn from real examples of actual research to see what research proposals and literature reviews look like in practice - Take your learning further with relevant web links to reliable online content related to each chapter. For registered lecturers: - Access additional case studies, complete with accompanying questions, for use in class or to assign as additional reading - Reinforce key themes from each chapter with suggested seminar questions and activities

Do you like getting your own way, making money, cheating your friends, reneging on your promises? Then try your hand as a politician in Michael Lavers series of entertaining games in Playing Politics. From games such as Agenda and Coalitions to three-sided soccer, you can fight elections, overthrow governments, and make deals, all in the interests of winning or holding onto power.
In both the world of politics and the world of games, outcomes are decided by calculated interactions between the players as they balance team tactics against self-interest, weigh up the risks, or use their bargaining power. A fun, lively, and accessible introduction to complex political concepts, Playing Politics is the only book available which uses games to teach politics. Throughout, Laver provides detailed commentary and analysis of how games and game theory relate to real political life.
Whether you are securing public funding to support a project or coming out on top in the opinion polls, the means by which you can win may be fair or foul. Anyone can have fun with these games, and by playing politics, get a feel for the fascinating complexity of the real thing.

THE PRINCE (Italian: Il Principe) is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccol Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (About Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of the Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings". Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.

THE PRINCE is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics. Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli's works and the one most responsible for bringing the word "Machiavellian" into usage as a pejorative. It also helped make "Old Nick" an English term for the devil, and even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "politics" and "politician" in western countries. In terms of subject matter it overlaps with the much longer Discourses on Livy, which was written a few years later. In its use of near-contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli which THE PRINCE has been compared to is the Life of Castruccio Castracani.

The descriptions within THE PRINCE have the general theme of accepting that the aims of princes-such as glory and survival-can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends:
"He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation."

When you need to source accurate information on the past history, achievements and current activities of leading world figures, from heads of state to sporting greats, Europa's The International Who's Who 2015 provides the answer.

Published annually since 1935 The International Who's Who is your source for hard-to-find biographical details on over 25,000 of the world's most prominent and influential personalities. Each year, all the featured personalities are given the opportunity to update their entry, providing new information on education, artistic achievements, leisure interests, awards, contact details and much more.

Also available online at www.worldwhoswho.com, featuring thousands of click-through web links and email addresses, and advanced search functions enabling users to search by name, nationality, place and date of birth and by profession.

The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook is the essential guide to what is likley to be Ireland's most dramatic election in almost a century. For the fourth election in a row, leading pundit and psephologist Noel Whelan will publish his uniquely detailed analysis in advance of an Irish general election. The handbook will set the national political scene as the election approaches. Among questions that Whelan will explore will include: * What are Fine Gael's prospects of returning to power? * How fragile is Labour and will it survive? * Is there a ceiling on the growth in Sinn Fein's vote? * Is Fianna Fail likely to experience a recovery or is in stuck in a shrunken state? * Who are the Independents, what explains their surge in the polls and will it be reflected in the ballot boxes on Election Day? * Can new micro parties like Renua and the Social Democrats make a break through? Whelan and other leading electoral commentators will analyse the key policy issues and concerns which will dominate the election debate and explore the likely campaign strategies of each of the parties.Separately, the handbook will examine how new gender quotas, campaign finance regulations, postering restrictions, turnout, and the impact of social media will shape the campaign environment. Constituency by constituency, this handbook will detail all 40 battlegrounds at the outset of the campaign. It will assess the performance of the parties and of the independents in each constituency over the last five years and their likely performance in the 2016 election. The handbook will also explore the local issues which may determine the parties' fate when voters go to the polls. The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook will be the essential guide for anyone covering, competing in or interested in Election 2016.

The Reflective Practice Guide supports all students for whom the process of reflecting on developing knowledge and skills is crucial to successful professional practice. It offers an accessible introduction to a wide range of theories and models that can help you engage more effectively in critical reflection. Illustrated throughout with examples and case studies drawn from a range of interdisciplinary professional contexts, The Reflective Practice Guide offers models of practice that can be applied in a variety of settings. Reflective questions in each chapter help you apply ideas to your own professional context.

Drawing on literature from a range of disciplines, key aspects of reflection explored include:

• Becoming more self-aware
• The role of writing in reflection
• Learning from experience
• Learning from positives and negatives
• Emotions and processing feelings
• Bringing assumptions to the surface
• Learning from feedback
• Reflecting in groups
• Managing change.

The Reflective Practice Guide is an essential source of support, guidance and inspiration for all students on education, nursing, social work and counselling courses, who want to think about practice at a deeper level, question approaches, challenge assumptions and gain greater self-awareness.

The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook is the essential guide to what is likley to be Ireland's most dramatic election in almost a century. For the fourth election in a row, leading pundit and psephologist Noel Whelan will publish his uniquely detailed analysis in advance of an Irish general election. The handbook will set the national political scene as the election approaches. Among questions that Whelan will explore will include: * What are Fine Gael's prospects of returning to power? * How fragile is Labour and will it survive? * Is there a ceiling on the growth in Sinn Fein's vote? * Is Fianna Fail likely to experience a recovery or is in stuck in a shrunken state? * Who are the Independents, what explains their surge in the polls and will it be reflected in the ballot boxes on Election Day? * Can new micro parties like Renua and the Social Democrats make a break through? Whelan and other leading electoral commentators will analyse the key policy issues and concerns which will dominate the election debate and explore the likely campaign strategies of each of the parties.Separately, the handbook will examine how new gender quotas, campaign finance regulations, postering restrictions, turnout, and the impact of social media will shape the campaign environment. Constituency by constituency, this handbook will detail all 40 battlegrounds at the outset of the campaign. It will assess the performance of the parties and of the independents in each constituency over the last five years and their likely performance in the 2016 election. The handbook will also explore the local issues which may determine the parties' fate when voters go to the polls. The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook will be the essential guide for anyone covering, competing in or interested in Election 2016.

The Green Book: An Irish Intern's Guide to Living and Working in Brussels (and other nice European cities): European Movement, Ireland. Available from: chrome-extension://padcapdkhelngdelppbbjmkmkfceoikg/content/pdf/viewer/viewer.html?file=http://www.europeanmovement.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/the_green_book_july_15.pdf