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Introduction

The context of construction for this paper is relatively simple and focuses on a personal need to bring one area of life to a close while opening the door to another. Three years of academic study of Youth & Community work – often related to a Northern Irish context – in England is concluding, while a career in that profession combined with further study beckons. Therefore  a need for the author to fully understand the circumstances in which Northern Ireland resides in 2010. It is also intended that this paper will form the basis of the next period of academic study, further pursuing the issues and history which are touched on briefly in this paper.

To achieve the above, the important historical events which created and shaped the secular communities of Northern Ireland will be analysed and critically discussed. Using arguably the most important document of Anglo-Irish politics, it will be seen how secular has become singular, however is still challenged by the socio-religio-cultural web of influence which has been present. This paper is not placed to answer the questions of what went on previously, perhaps that is a discussion for the future. It will however, analyse key events, people and organisations in respect to the culture, politics and religions of Northern Ireland in order to link it to Community Work’s past failings. Once this has been achieved, recommendations will be drawn out, set out for all interested and engaged parties to see what a viable pathway for development is.

The Northern Ireland Context & Community Power

The history of Northern Ireland since it’s conception in 1921 is laden with key events, both positive but often negative. Such is the complexities of the community framework; these historical events have been instigated on very different but interrelated realms, including the influences of; political parties; religious sects; cultural organisations; community & residents groups; the British & Irish governments; international leaders and paramilitary organisations.

When attempting to analyse where our current facet of community has come from, it’s important to look at more recent key events rather than delving into the deep rooted past of over twenty years ago. This said, context remains important, and will be primarily called into question to understand developments of the society.

On the 30th of January, 1972 (Museum of Free Derry; 2005), thirteen men were shot dead by the British Army in Londonderry while taking part in Civil Rights Movement march which had been banned. While many believe these actions – and others relating to the social mobilisation of Catholics in this period – by the British Army to be the conception of thirty years of violence in Northern Ireland (Probert; 1978), the march itself was part of a wider series of events organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) (Widgery, Lord; 1972) who were organising against the corruption of a majority protestant local government (Minahan, J.B; 2000 & Lydon, J; 1998) lead by Faulkner. Prior to this in 1970, born out of the uprising of ill-feelings from the nationalist community, the Provisional IRA was created, a ruthless band of militants preparing to take the British State to account with the use of force (McCreary; 1975, Probert; 1978). There has indeed been a number of positive examples of community power coming into action within the country such as The Peace People led by 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winners Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan (Nobel Web AB; 2010 & Peacepeople.com; no date). As the example of the NICRA shows, it can often be overshadowed by the violent acts surrounding it. The NICRA movement and that key march in Londonderry, in personal opinion, must be accredited massively with being the catalyst of change against a corrupt Protestant majority oppressing a Catholic minority. Instead, it is memorialised – and rightly so – by many due to the losses and violence it suffered, and accused by some in the loyalist community as being trouble makers who deserved what they got. Wilson (1998) We will never know if NICRA’s peaceful means could have brought down the Northern Ireland government, rather than it being dissolved into direct rule due to the violent crisis in which the British Government had to be seen to be dealing with swiftly and effective. It is the opinion of this paper that it would have achieved this in a peaceful manner, however the timescale would have been much longer and the struggle against the sectarian government at Stormont much greater.

The Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement

Many believe The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) was only born out of talks taking place in Stormont from the new year of 1998 up until Easter, however this is a misconception. Many commentators (Craig, J; 2002, Morton, A; 2009) suggest the roots of the GFA where planted at the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1984. Personal feelings sugesst that the Downing Street talks of 1991 and the subsequent risks taken by John Hulme was the catalyst for change. Simply put; there can be little argument against the fact that the events of 1991 sparked a change in paramilitary circles, leading the IRA and Loyalist Ceasefires of 1994. For the first time in almost thirty years, the people of Northern Ireland faced a minimal level of conflict, albeit briefly.

The British Governments acceptance of Sinn Fein lead to a change of psyche within republican circles, and was a long way from the voice bans of the Thatcher years only three years prior (BBC News; 2005). Republicans were accepted into the political talks with British government officials, which not only angered unionists, but hard line republicans in the process as well, in the end, forcing a split which resulted in the Real IRA. It would be foolish to say that this was a cataclysmic event in republican communities, however the choices which the Loyalist and Unionist community of Northern Ireland were about to face would be much more demanding. In personal opinion, the key event which directly led to the development of the GFA was the democratically elected ‘Northern Ireland Forum’ of 1996 (Whyte, N; 2003). This was the first major step towards devolved, cross community government by getting political representatives from all sides of the divide to begin communicating with each other.

The Changing Face: Pre-GFA Community Work

In majority Catholic areas, “Concerned Resident’s Groups” received a large amount of publicity by the press surrounding their objections to Loyal Order parades through their areas. These received a lot of criticism in Loyalist circles, as often there would be a distinct connection to Sinn Fein as well as the ‘chairperson’ of many of these groups being found to be not from these areas. A well known example is that of the Garvaghy Road, were Brendan McKenna was leader of the local residents group in protesting against Portadown Orange Lodge’s demands to walk down that particular road (BBC News; 2007). While being leader of this particular residents group in Portadown, he was a resident of West Belfast, over thirty miles away.

Where community work in republican areas have always been associated closely with Sinn Fein, in loyalist areas, the links have not been with political organisations, but more with the paramilitary groups associated with the ‘policing’ of the local area. Of course there have been aligned Political parties such as The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and to an extent historically, Ian Paisleys’ Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) were closely aligned to the loyalist workers movements of the 1980′s and was seen as the face of the Ulster Workers Council strike of 1974 due to his opposing of the Sunningdale Agreement (BBC News; no date, Probert; 1978). Indeed, Paisley is regarded as the godfather of Ulster Loyalism and the face of Northern Irish Politics, his famous speech in November 1985 cemented his legacy and outlined the depth of opposition felt towards a more extensive agreement, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which Prime Minister Thatcher supported due to wanting to create better links between Britain and the Republic of Ireland. In this renowned speech to over 100,000 people at Belfast City Hall, Reverend Paisley stated;

“I want to ask a question today. And the question is simple. Where do the terrorists operate from? From the Irish Republic! That’s where they come from! Where do the terrorists return to for Sanctuary? To the Irish Republic! And yet Mrs. Thatcher tells us that that Republic must have some say in our province! We say NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!”

(Youtube.com; 2009).

This is not to say that the paramilitary’s themselves were openly the face of community work, rather it was well known names of the organisations or ex-members being seen in the press as ‘community workers’ (BBC News; 2009). Grass-roots, front line community workers have a great deal of scepticism surrounding them due to this, and it will take a lot before the general public will be won over by the profession.

The Good Friday Agreement and Community Work

Although not totally explicit in its intentions, The Good Friday Agreement does make quite a number of references to Community Work, particularly in respect to reconciliation initiatives (Northern Ireland Office; 1998). In respect to institutions which would be established; The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission would have a “…membership from Northern Ireland reflecting the community balance…” (Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity –  Human Rights -Section 5); Equality Commission to replace four sub-commissions (Section 6) and discussions to further consider a dedicated Department

Brawn Grand Prix is a Formula One team based in Brackley in south Northamptonshire, England which was formed out of the ashes of the Honda Racing F1 team in 6th March 2009. In December 2008 Honda revealed that they were going to pull the plug on their Formula One team in an attempt to save the Honda company money during the worsening global financial downturn.

This left one of the best funded and best equipped Formula One teams in the field in limbo while the management team attempted to find a buyer for the team and save 700 plus worker’s jobs at the teams Brackley HQ. Between December 2008 and February 2009 a number of possible buyers’ names were being thrown about by the media and team boss Nick Fry claimed the management was negotiating with a dozen possible buyers. The media reported that the team was close to being saved a number of times by parties including Prodrive, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and a ‘consortium of Brazilian investors’ however none of these came to fruition and it was soon looking likely that the only realistic option was a management buyout.

In Feburary 2009 it came to light that the Honda management were in negotiations with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and they looked set to buy the team however speculation ended when Richard Branson revealed he was interested in F1 but only once certain conditions were met, mainly that costs were reduced and that the sport was championing green technology.

On the 6th March 2009 the Honda Motor Company and the former Honda Racing F1 Team management announced that the team had been saved buy a management buyout from technical director Ross Brawn and the new team Brawn GP was born. The team went on to test its car for the first time in an official test at Circuit de Cataluña, Barcelona in March where they were they performed very well, setting an unofficial lap record in the process. The team was accused of running the car underweight in an attempt to attract sponsors to help fund the fledgling team however these claims were denied by the team. Others accused the team along with rivals Williams and Toyota of having an illegal rear diffuser under the new 2009 regulations, claims which were also denied by all three teams. Whatever accusations were thrown at the team, nobody could deny that it looks like Brawn GP had a very competitive car that could turn out to be one of the fastest come the season opening race in Australia.

Roll on the last weekend in March and it was time for the start of the 2009 Formula One season, throughout the weekend Brawn GP showed that it’s pace in pre-season testing was no bluff and in-fact they had one of the best cars on the grid. They proved this by first locking out the front row in qualifying and then going on to secure a historic 1-2 finish in the race, which was only the third time in history that a brand new team had managed it.

The advent of technology has helped us to communicate in a number of ways.The good morning SMS are found online. You can therefore get samples of appealing and soul touching good sunrise texts to send to your loved ones.

SC numbers are of various length in different countries and even can vary operator to operator. United Arab Emirates is a multi ethnic, multi lingual modern country with a mass of healthy earnings.

This is because the impact is usually great when read other than when the note is relayed through the mouth.As the telephone users are always on the go these days, the calling cards are the best option for their use. International calls are dialed along the access numbers.

As a matter of fact, nothing can be more pleasant that waking up to a cute SMS from a friend or someone you love. As a matter of fact, nothing can be more pleasant that waking up to a cute SMS from a friend or someone you love.

In most instances, these funny text can revolve around any topic as long they are able to evoke the right emotions to make someone smile.

Sending texts is one of the easiest ways of communication between loved ones.Some free SMS service provider websites provide customized messages like jokes, funny SMS, love SMS, friendship, etc and other special occasion.

No doubt, there is a thin line between safe driving and dangerous driving; one must learn where to draw the line.

Cell phone forensics investigations are the best service to be found today to recover deleted text and other types of data that has been erased from a cell phone.

Text marketing to those customers who want to buy from you and probably already have is the most cost effective and produces the highest return on investment versus any other form of advertising.

The process to obtain and use a short code is two-fold. The process to obtain and use a short code is two-fold. Rohil, is a free writer and loves to write about day to day happening.

Satellite Radio Its here! Satellite radio is a new service being offered by two companies, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Both companies are offering over 100 channels of streaming music and entertainment. High quality sound is achieved through the use of satellites orbiting high above. Satellite radio is commercial free and free from regulations by federal committees. The impossible, is now possible, hearing the same radio station across North America and from coast to coast. All made possible by XM satellite radio and Sirius satellite radio.

Normal radio has been around for decades and is part of many people’s lifestyle. This is changing. Regular radio is monitored and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, whom has fined several radio stations and media companies within the last 3-4 years. The FCC has only fined radio stations a maximum of ,500 per show no matter how man profanities were aired. Recently the FCC has been upping the ante and in conjunction with Congress has decided to raise the fine up to 0,000 per incident per station (Potter). A slap on the wrist has turned into a business-changing event. Sexually explicit comments by Bubba the Love Sponge and Howard Stern could get a station in trouble no doubt about it.

Clear Channel Radio dropped both shock jocks this year after being hit with record fines. (Potter) Recently Howard Stern has made a move to Sirius Satellite wireless in an effort to preserve his career and free speech. Consumers are reaching towards satellite radio as a way to hear unregulated news and content. Recently XM Satellite wireless has claimed to have over 3 million subscribers paying .99 per month and Sirius claims to have over 1.3 million customers paying .95 per month. Many of those customers pay an additional .99 per month for premium content such as the upcoming Howard Stern Show.

Several normal wireless stations and media outlets are realizing the potential to get their message across in a broad fashion. XM has launched a morning show, which is hosted by Bob Edwards, whom was fired earlier this year by National Public Radio. “The Bob Edwards Show” will air on a public satellite wireless channel that also features news and programs from Public wireless International, among others. Sirius has its own public wireless channel carrying NPR programs. Consumers and companies are demanding free speech and it seems that satellite wireless is the vehicle.

XM Satellite wireless and Sirius Satellite wireless have designed satellite broadcast systems that differ but they achieve the same high quality of satellite wireless. A milestone of this success is the fact that satellite wireless signals that are available across the United States and into Mexico and Canada. Rock and Roll No it’s not a genre any more! XM Satellite wireless has two satellites named Rock and Roll, which remain in parallel geostationary orbit to provide wireless coverage throughout the United States. Sirius Satellite wireless has chose to use three satellites in an inclined elliptical orbit. This configuration provides 16 hours per satellite of signal, which gives a great redundancy if any satellite were to fail. Playing it smart, Sirius and XM both have spare satellites, which can be called on in a moments notice if needed.

XM satellite wireless and Sirius satellite wireless have Earth based broadcast stations that are used to send up information to the satellites, which is then dispersed through out the globe. Sirius and XM both have disk jockeys that manage, create and program music which is then sent up to the satellites. The information is then taken in by the satellites and sent through a rebroadcast of the streams to earth.

The Major advantage of this is that, unlike earth-based wireless stations whose signals reach listeners 150 miles away, satellite wireless signals have a huge reach, and are receivable anywhere within the continental United States and hundreds of miles in each direction of the borders. Satellite wireless is growing to become a worldwide network and offerings are growing throughout the world. XM satellite radio and Sirius satellite radio are making it happen.

Unregulated Satellite Radio is the answer for free speech in a government regulated airwaves arena. Not only can listeners hear unbiased information but also they can listen to it anywhere in the United States. Media giants are jumping to get the piece of the pie regarding satellite radio, as the new wave of the future is satellite radio.

Today consumers prefer to have Fast Internet Connections for a variety of activities. These can range from personal interests such as playing online games, transferring files, listening to online music and sending and receiving e-mails to business purpose. With the increase in usage of the Internet, speed is the most important consideration for user looking for an Internet solution. And when we talk about high speed Internet connection, it has to be a broadband service.

What is a broadband connection?

An Internet connection is described as broadband if it has a download rate of over 256 kilobytes per second while transferring files and data. It is often referred to as “high-speed” or “premium Internet” connection , because it usually has a high rate of data transmission. With a broadband plan, users can enjoy a faster, better-quality access to the worldwide web as compared to dial-up, its predecessor. There is a vast difference between broadband and dial-up connection in terms of connection speed, rates of data transmission and price. Due to the popularity of broadband internet there are many different companies that offer broadband services ranging from larger national companies to small local ones.

Major types of broadband Internet

Broadband Internet service can be transmitted in a variety of ways such as through power lines, cable lines, cellular networks and satellite connections. Five major types of broadband connections that are in most common use today are:

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) - This is the most popular broadband connection in the market. Anyone with a normal telephone line can access this type of broadband connection. Speeds of ADSL can range from 128 kilobits per second to more than 5 megabits per second. However, as ADSL is asymmetrical in nature, the upload speed is slower as compared to download speed.

Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) – To use this type of broadband plan, one needs to have an additional phone line. Here the speed of upload and download of data is same.

Cable Broadband – Here coaxial cables are used for providing high speed broadband connection. As cables come with a higher bandwidth connection as compared to a telephone line , a cable broadband connection is faster.  The speed of a cable broadband connection can range from 2 megabits per second to 8 megabits per second.

Satellite broadband – In a satellite broadband connection a satellite dish is used to send and receive data. This type of broadband connections are common in rural areas, where other form of Internet connections are quite rare.

Wireless broadband - This is the latest form of broadband technology where a user needs to connect their mobile phone to their computer to transmit data. Speeds of wireless broadband can range from 128 kilobits per second to 3 megabits per second.

Each of these Broadband Plans have their own merits and demerits. In fact, there are many vital aspects to be taken into consideration while deciding upon an appropriate broadband type and a broadband plan for both home and business use.