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The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between ideology and the narrative structure of popular Hollywood cinema in the 1990s, particularly the manner in which a closed narrative structure serves to reproduce the dominant ideology. I also attempt to account for its ongoing popularity with both filmmakers and contemporary, Western(ised) audiences. Primarily, I employ a materialist, deconstructive methodology, drawing my conclusions from a series of 'symptomatic' readings of certain popular films. Chapter One establishes and qualifies the structural identity of the individual act of comprehension and the canonic, three-act Hollywood screenplay, then describes the manner in which their similar (closed) narrative structures serve to affirm certain crucial ontological categories of the prevailing realist epistemology and, thus, to reproduce the dominant ideology; the dominant ideology depends for its moral authority upon certain realist ontological categories, especially those of 'reality' and 'representation'. I continue by theorising why the specific affirmation performed by these closed narrative structures is particularly favourable to the goals of the dominant ideology and also why the closed narrative structure is so popular with certain readers. The ability of the popular 1990s film to perform this affirmation depends upon its readers' ability clearly to recognise the presence, progress and resolution of its closed narrative structure. Chapter Two describes in detail the various narrative strategies employed by these films to assist this recognition; typically by indexing as clearly as possible the roles of the hero and villain, the opposing champions in a conflict the resolution of which typically coincides with the closure of the narrative. Chapter Three discusses the manner in which the ostensible content of the popular 1990s film further orients readers to the closed narrative structure by invoking only familiar, ideologically-sanctioned discourses to produce a textual transparency that allows a more unmediated access to its progress and resolution. Chapter Four attempts to situate the popular 1990s film within its social, political, economic and ideological context. It asks in what ways (if at all) the popular films of the 1990s constitute a distinct mode of film practice. I conclude that these films are not particularly distinct but rather represent a continuation of certain 'blockbuster' industrial principles established in the mid-1970s (and consolidated during the 1980s), principles, I argue, that actually result in a more reactionary film. I then attempt to justify the critical value of establishing this continuity (based on the necessarily reactionary quality of these films) by demonstrating the central and determining importance in these films of their main ideological/reactionary function (performed, as I have already noted, by the closed narrative structure). To do this, I show that the ostensible content of these films is highly fractured and contradictory as a direct result of the greater (ideological) importance of satisfying the narrative prerogatives of the closed narrative structure over the secondary, almost incidental prerogatives of the content. Chapter Five rounds off my discussion of the contemporary commercial cinema by examining possible alternatives to the dominant strategies outlined in the preceding chapters. It also investigates the possibility of a viable political cinema operating within the mainstream, a 'progressive realist cinema' that accepts for purely practical reasons its status as commodity, making certain necessary concessions to the dominant institutions of Hollywood, at the same time that it attempts to disrupt or problematise their ideological underpinnings. The chapter concludes with a detailed examination of certain alternative narrative strategies deployed in a range of contemporary progressive realist films. ; TARA (Trinity's Access to Research Archive) has a robust takedown policy. Please contact us if you have any concerns: rssadmin@tcd.ie

ObjectiveOur primary objective was to determine the social and demographic determinants of interpregnancy weight change. A secondary aim is to highlight the novel linkage of two data resources in Northern Ireland (NI) and the potential for transformative research in maternal health.
ApproachWe piloted a process to link two datasets in a safe, legal and ethical manner. The NI Maternity Services System (NIMATS) provides access to biological variables collected during the gestational period. The NI Longitudinal Study (NILS) is a rich source of Census information providing a demographic, social and economic background we would not otherwise obtain from NIMATS alone.
ResultsThe linkage of these two datasets has allowed us to link pregnancies to the same mother, enabling exploration of weight changes during the interpregnancy period(s). In NI, just over half of women giving birth (52%) were overweight. This is the highest in the UK. Descriptive statistics provided further insight into the current situation together with logistic regression which identified socio-economic and demographic correlates of interpregnancy weight changes.
Conclusion & ImplicationsObservation of women during pregnancy, linked with longitudinal, administrative data has provided valuable insights into the important public health issue of maternal obesity and into which socio-economic groups are most vulnerable to weight gain between pregnancies. Further research in maternal health has the potential to be facilitated by the unique linkage of NILS and NIMATS. This is important given the rise in complicated pregnancies during recent years and changes in maternal socio-demographic profiles.

AbstractLong‐term declines in rates of internal migration have been widely documented in many developed economies. Accompanying this decline has been a proliferation in the everyday use of new technologies such as the internet. New communication technologies have been theorised to influence migration decisions, but the direction of this influence is ambiguous, with some studies finding that they decrease migration, others that they increase it. Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, this paper assesses the relationship between internet use and preferences/expectations to change address as well as the decision to move. Although frequent users of the internet tend to be more mobile on average, longitudinal analysis offers no evidence that internet use influences migratory preferences and expectations or actual moves. This paper contributes to the literature by studying a developed country with high levels of internet penetration, by engaging not only with actual moves but also with preferences and expectations to move, and by drawing on longitudinal data to address unmeasured confounding in so far as possible. More broadly, it provides a reference point for future studies which might consider whether internet use plays a different role in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

ObjectivesThis study used Census data from Northern Ireland linked to administrative data on prescriptions between 2010 and 2016, to examine the association between ambient air pollution exposure and the risk of Parkinson's Disease (PD) onset. It contributes to this literature by providing new evidence in a comparatively low pollution context, using rich and nationally representative cohort data with comprehensive information on Parkinson's Disease medications dispensed over an extended period.
ApproachWe estimated Cox Proportional Hazards models for the association between pollution exposure and PD onset as proxied by first receipt of PD medication, controlling extensively for potentially confounding factors at the neighbourhood, household, and individual levels. Estimates are presented in the form of hazard ratios for the effect of medium-term PM2.5 exposure on the risk of PD onset.
ResultsThere was a clear unadjusted association between medium-term exposure to ambient pollution and the risk of developing PD, with those experiencing higher exposures being at greater risk. Once individual, household and neighbourhood confounders were adjusted for, however, we found no evidence supporting such associations. However, there was evidence of a positive association with both PM2.5 and NO2 exposure for sub-samples by age and education.
ConclusionsThis study contributes to an emerging literature examining the association between ambient PM2.5 pollution and onset of PD. Despite finding an unconditional association, we find no evidence for an association once individual, family and contextual characteristics are controlled for, at least in the relatively low-pollution context of Northern Ireland.

Ethnic and religious differentials in labour market outcomes within many countries have been remarkably persistent. Yet one very well-known differential – the Catholic/Protestant unemployment differential in Northern Ireland – has largely (although not completely) disappeared. This paper charts its decline since the early 1980s and examines potential explanations using Census data from 1991, 2001 and 2011 together with annual survey data. These data span the ending of The Troubles, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the introduction of fair employment legislation, growth in hidden unemployment, and major structural changes in Northern Ireland. We assess the potential impact of these changes.

Ethnic and religious differentials in labour market outcomes within many countries have been remarkably persistent. Yet one very well-known differential – the Catholic/Protestant unemployment differential in Northern Ireland – has largely (although not completely) disappeared. This paper charts its decline since the mid-1980s and examines potential explanations using Census data from 1991, 2001 and 2011 together with annual survey data. These data span the ending of The Troubles, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the introduction of fair employment legislation, growth in hidden unemployment, and major structural changes in Northern Ireland. We assess the relative contributions of these changes.

Objective and ApproachThis study assesses the relationship between PM2.5 air pollution exposure and mortality in Northern Ireland. It draws on a rich array of individual-level mortality and Census data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study linked to finely grained neighbourhood-level modelled air pollution data.
ResultsCox proportional hazards models reveal associations between mortality risk and PM2.5 exposure, though the magnitude of the effects depends on the specification. Without adjustment for measured characteristics, an interquartile range increase in the five-year moving average of PM2.5 exposure is associated with a relatively large increase in the hazard of mortality. This effect is reduced after adjusting for individual-level demographic, socioeconomic and health-related factors as well as household-level factors; however, the hazard ratio remains above one and comparable with estimates from other studies. In further analysis focusing on changes in exposure resulting from address changes, propensity score matching is used to assess whether, among those with similar levels of pre-move exposure, those who move to areas with different pollution levels face subsequently different mortality risks. The results show a higher (lower) mortality risk for those moving to a higher (lower) pollution neighbourhood.
Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study provides evidence of mortality effects of PM2.5 from a setting in which annual mean PM2.5 concentrations are low by international standards (averaging roughly 8 micrograms per cubic metre during the study period) and offers timely evidence to inform the delivery of Northern Ireland's first-ever Clean Air Strategy.

Objective and ApproachThe educational performance of school pupils in England is assessed in many ways, including through formal testing and teacher assessment. It is important to understand whether certain types of pupils perform better in certain forms of assessment, and although this has been studied within the context of ethnicity, amidst a recent increase in the number of school exclusions in England there is a growing need to understand whether excluded pupils perform differently than never-excluded pupils in different forms of assessment, especially given that excluded pupils are characterized by multiple forms of disadvantage. This study investigates this question using the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset, focusing on a cohort of pupils who undertook both forms of assessment at the end of Key Stage 3 (age 14).
ResultsWe first explore whether, compared with never-excluded pupils, excluded pupils receive a teacher assessment level below their achieved test level, conditional on prior attainment. These estimates reveal no differences by exclusion record, and this result holds for all assessed subjects (English, Maths and Science). We also explore whether, conditional on the Key Stage 3 test score, excluded pupils have a higher chance of being assessed below the expected level by their teacher. These estimates indicate that, compared with measurably similar pupils who are never excluded, some excluded pupils underachieve in teacher assessment.
Conclusions and ImplicationsOverall, the results show that what can be learned about systematic discrepancies between teacher assessment and test measures depends on how such discrepancies are estimated.

The breathing of polluted air is associated with the development and exacerbation of various health conditions, and the cost of treating such conditions is substantial. However, while the correlation with respiratory-related health conditions is well documented, less is known about this relationship from a longitudinal perspective and how pollution affects other health problems, such as neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. dementia) or diseases of the endocrine system (e.g. diabetes). More research is therefore needed to better identify the health risks and costs of pollution.
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and health outcomes at the individual level. The analysis is based on data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) - a representative 28% sample of the Northern Ireland population drawn from an administrative health database and linked to Census returns and other administrative databases - linked with routinely collected prescriptions data. Exposure to air pollution is assessed by linking modelled background pollution data at a 1x1 km grid square resolution to residential address. Annual measures of eight separate pollutants will allow us to examine cumulative exposure between 2001 and 2016.
Regression analysis will be used to estimate the health effects of exposure to air pollution. Preliminary analysis currently underway will focus on outcomes such as self-reported health at the 2011 Census (e.g. the presence of breathing difficulties and memory loss) and all-cause and respiratory-related mortality since 2001. Stage two of the analysis will utilise the prescriptions linkage to define illness-specific health outcomes using receipt of medicines prescribed by General Practitioners (GPs) to treat cardiovascular- and respiratory-related health conditions as well as diabetes, dementia and Parkinsonism. Longitudinal analysis will enable us to assess whether these relationships are affected by unobserved confounders. Preliminary results for both stages of the analysis are expected by autumn 2019.

Around 800,000 children experience exclusion from school every year in England, which can have significant and long-lasting effects, especially on educational achievement. Existing papers on the impact of school exclusion on children's outcomes mainly investigate the correlational relationship using US data. There is a lack of empirical evidence from other countries examining whether this relationship is causal. Longitudinal administrative data provide the ideal opportunity to test the hypothesis that children who are excluded go on to have lower educational achievement as a result.
This paper aims to measure the effect of exclusion in school-aged children. We use individual-level administrative data: the National Pupil Database (NPD) from school year 2004/05 to 2016/17. The NPD is maintained by the UK Department of Education and contains information on all pupils in state-funded schools in England. Detailed characteristics about the pupils and the schools are recorded. Student outcomes include the pupils'test scores, prior attainment, and progression at each Key Stage. In terms of school exclusion, we have detailed information on the time, school term when the exclusion occurred, and the type, reason and number of sessions for each exclusion.
To estimate the impact of school exclusion on the educational achievement of pupils, fixed effect models at individual level will be applied using the longitudinal dataset. We will control for the socio-economic characteristics of pupils, households and schools, for example age, gender, ethnic group, cohort, special education needs, location, siblings, school type, and other aggregate level characteristics. Having already conducted a comprehensive literature review, and with data expected to be available in September, we anticipate preliminary results this autumn.

ObjectivesMany countries face the problem of how to provide support for additional costs faced by disabled people while restricting disability benefit program growth given tight public finances. In 2013, the UK reformed its main additional costs disability benefit with this objective, changing both medical screening and payment rates with the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This study uses newly available linked administrative population data to examine the impact of this major reform on disability benefit receipt.
ApproachWe use the newly available 2011CBI dataset, which links Census records to microdata on benefit receipt for the population of England and Wales from 2011-2015. Difference-in-difference and synthetic control methods are used to estimate the reform impact on the probability of flowing onto disability benefits, exploiting the structure of the roll-out of PIP's introduction across English regions.
ResultsIntroducing PIP led to a sharp fall in the probability of disability benefit onflow, with tentative evidence of a partial reversal in the following year. Further analysis is required to quantify the extent to which this reflects well-known administrative delays in processing applications as opposed to a step change in the probability of claims being successful.
ConclusionsThis study is the first to present linked administrative population data estimates of the benefit recipiency effects of the introduction of PIP. In doing so it both contributes to the wider international literature on disability benefit reform and provides an early research application of a significant new administrative dataset for England and Wales.

ObjectivesThis paper estimates associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate air pollution and 13 self-reported health outcomes including poor general health, chronic illness, experiencing long-running difficulties with breathing, and experiencing frequent periods of confusion or memory loss. It examines the extent to which these associations are explained by confounding factors.
ApproachLongitudinally-linked Census data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study linked to data on annual average particulate (PM2.5) concentrations at the 1km grid-square level over the period 2002-2010, exploiting complete residential histories, are used. The paper controls for potentially confounding factors at the neighbourhood, household and individual level, including for prior health, in a multivariate regression framework. Robustness to the presence of remaining unobserved confounders is assessed in two extensions, first by assuming selection on unobservables is proportional to selection on observables, and second through inclusion of an extensive set of fixed effects in the model.
ResultsThere are strong statistical associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate pollution and all 13 health outcomes measured by the 2011 Northern Ireland Census. Most of these estimated associations survive conditioning on an extensive set of observable controls. Of these, however, only two associations – with chronic illness and with long-running breathing difficulties, where we might expect the strongest causal effects – survive further analysis designed to elicit robustness to selection on unobservables. The estimated magnitudes of these remaining effects are non-trivial. For example, a 5 µg/m3 difference in particulate exposure averaged over 9 years has a similar magnitude effect on the probability of reporting long-running breathing difficulties as the difference between those aged in their 20s and those in their 40s.
ConclusionsThis study provides evidence of substantial effects of long-term exposure to ambient particulates on the probabilities of experiencing chronic illness and long-running breathing difficulties. These are qualitatively robust to both observed and unobserved confounders. Associations between particulate exposure and other health outcomes in the study are shown to reflect confounders.

ObjectivesThis paper links prescriptions data for the Northern Ireland population with data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study and localized ambient air pollution data from 2002 onwards to estimate the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollutant from fine particulates (PM2.5) and Parkinson's Disease (PD).
ApproachCox Proportional Hazards models are used to examine the impact of air pollution on PD, first unconditionally, and then conditioning on a rich set of observable individual, family and contextual characteristics. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is defined as exposure averaged over the previous 5 years. Onset of PD is proxied by first receipt of a prescription for PD medication. Estimates are presented in the form of hazard ratios for the effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure on the risk of PD onset.
ResultsThere is a non-trivial magnitude and statistically significant unconditional association between long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution and receiving a prescription for PD, with those exposed to higher levels of pollution more likely to receive a prescription for PD. This estimated association disappears (becomes insignificantly different from zero), however, when the model accounts for confounding variables at household, individual and geographical levels.
ConclusionsThis study contributes to an emerging literature examining the association between ambient PM2.5 pollution and onset of PD. Despite finding an unconditional association, we find no evidence for an association once individual, family and contextual characteristics are controlled for, at least in the relatively low-pollution context of Northern Ireland.