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Schools are ideal settings to promote adolescent physical activity (PA), yet school-based interventions have shown limited long-term impact. This position paper presents key issues surrounding school-based PA interventions. Collaborative conceptual thinking drawing on multi-author expertise and available evidence advanced our understanding and opinion. Key arguments: 1) the adoption of a systems approach, which maximizes partnership action and leverages policy, is crucial for understanding the complexities of implementing whole-school programs; 2) a reorientation to an assets perspective optimizes existing strengths and resources allowing greater emphasis on the full range of physical, cognitive, emotional and social benefits that PA provides, and 3) a move beyond traditional positivist research designs to advance our knowledge of what works better, for whom and in what context is needed for greater progress We provide suggestions, specifically advocating for systems approaches, as a realistic way to improve how we support PA in schools in the future.

This article discusses some of the main findings of a Critical Discourse Analysis of two landmark documents in Irish adult education: Learning for Life: The White Paper on Adult Education (DES, 2000) and the Further Education and Training Strategy (SOLAS, 2014) (from here on referred to respectively as the White Paper and the FET Strategy). The diachronic approach taken by this inquiry permits an exploration of the ways in which language in policy documents has changed over time, particularly in terms of how policy addresses educational inequality. It is in this way that the notion of a discursive shift could be explored, setting this change in language in starker relief. Policy as discourse shapes the formation of this inquiry so the article briefly explicates the approach taken to a Critical Discourse Analysis. Considerations of methodological nationalism widened the focus to consider the influence of European Union (EU) policy discourses specifically in Irish policy formation and these discourses in the statecraft of the EU and nation states. It is from this perspective that the Irish story is also a European one, so the article analyses how the White Paper and the FET Strategy were framed by the EU policy discourses of 'lifelong learning' and 'skills' respectively. As part of this analysis, this article considers the significance of the redefinition of the notion of 'inclusion' to 'active inclusion' and the sharpening of 'evidence based' discourse in policy resourcing of adult education provision. Finally, the article briefly elaborates on the authors' experience of this research and the value of Critical Discourse Analysis as a normative force and a tool for advocacy.

This document provides abstracts of papers presented at the Society of Dairy Technology 80th Anniversary Conference, covering a range of topics in the dairy industry. One paper examines the impact of process conditions on water evaporation and energy usage in spray drying, while another explores the use of near-infrared spectroscopy to analyze the composition of raw milk. Other papers discuss the development of high-protein soft cheese alternatives, plant-based cheese analogues, and sustainable cleaning strategies in dairy facilities. The document also mentions a project focused on characterizing the milk metabolome and developing biomarkers for milk processability and methane production. Additionally, the document highlights a study that modified sediment quantification tests for dairy powders to improve image analysis capabilities, with promising results. Further research is planned to investigate the effects of robotic agitation and test additional powders. [Extracted from the article]

The terminal examination of post-primary education in Ireland, the Leaving Certificate, is often criticised for the reliance on memory recall over higher order thinking skills in the assessment process. In order to examine the evidence base for these critiques, this article presents an empirical investigation of the intellectual skills and knowledge domains implicit in the tasks in the written examination papers of 23 subjects in the Leaving Certificate in Ireland from 2005 to 2010. Data were collected from two sources: examination papers and student interviews. In an in-depth document analysis of the examination papers, 14,910 occurrences of command verbs were coded for the intellectual skill and knowledge domains required by the assessment task. As the same verb can require different intellectual skills in different subjects and in different tasks, each occurrence of every verb was assigned a specific value depending on its context. The article presents the frequencies and distributions of intellectual skills and knowledge domains within and across subjects. In light of key points in the literature search, the findings indicate concern regarding the level of challenge and stimulation for the development of students of the Leaving Certificate.

Aim: Over the last few decades, gut microbiota research has been the focus of intense research and this field has become particularly important. This research aimed to provide a quantitative evaluation of the 100 most-cited articles on gut microbiota and IBS and highlight the most important advances in this field. Methods: The database Web of Science Core Collection was used to download the bibliometric information the top 100 most-cited papers. Microsoft Excel 2021, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, R software, and an online analytical platform (https://bibliometric.com/) were was applied to perform bibliometric analysis of these papers. Results: The total citation frequency in the top 100 article ranged from 274 to 2324, with an average citation of 556.57. A total of 24 countries/regions made contributions to the top 100 cited papers, and USA, Ireland, and China were the most top three productive countries. Cryan JF was the most frequently nominated author, and of the top 100 articles, 20 listed his name. Top-cited papers mainly came from the Gastroenterology (n = 13, citations = 6373) and Gut (n = 9, citations = 3903). There was a significant citation path, indicating publications in molecular/biology/immunology primarily cited journals in molecular/biology/genetics fields. Keywords analysis suggested that the main topics on gut microbiota and IBS were mechanisms of microbiome in brain-gut axis." Behavior" was the keyword with the strongest burst strength (2.36), followed by "anxiety like behavior" (2.24), "intestinal microbiota" (2.19), and "chain fatty acid" (1.99), and "maternal separation" (1.95). Conclusion: This study identified and provided the bibliometric information of the top 100 cited publications related to gut microbiota and IBS. The results provided a general overview of this topic and might help researchers to better understand the evolution, Influential findings and hotspots in researching gut microbiota and IBS, thus providing new perspectives and novel research ideas in this specific area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last century, there has been a dramatic change in both the composition and the structure of the Irish tax system. In this paper, we construct a new dataset of tax rates and tax bands for the main tax headings in Ireland, from 1920-2019. We document these changes and trends in tax policy in the aggregate and using the main tax headings. One striking regularity, however, is that Irish tax policy has been persistently procyclical. While tax revenues are naturally expected to vary with the cycle, we show that changes in tax rates have been conducted procyclically. Most notably, we find strong evidence that governments have tended to adjust the rates of income tax in a procyclical manner over the past century. Using an additional tax policy changes dataset, we show that discretionary tax measures - which incorporate all tax policy instruments (rates, bands, credits, exemptions, etc.) - have been largely procyclical over the period 1987-2019. These findings are in contrast with other developed countries, where tax policy has tended to be acyclical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognised that high-stakes assessment can significantly influence what is taught in the classroom. Many argue that high-stakes assessment results in a narrowed curriculum where students learn by rote rather than developing higher cognitive skills. This paper describes a study investigating the various cognitive objectives present from Bloom's Taxonomy Educational Objectives on the Leaving Certificate biology examination. The study analysed examination papers from the past and current biology syllabuses. Analysis was also carried out to determine the marks being awarded to the different cognitive objectives. The findings show that the examination predominately includes questions that do not promote higher levels of thinking. The majority of the marks on the paper were allocated to the lower objectives of the taxonomy, suggesting students can rely on rote learning to succeed when undertaking the biology examination. This study strongly highlights how high-stake examinations have a narrow scope in terms of student achievement and shows how current biology examination procedures promote low-level learning. This low level of thinking promotes rote learning and regurgitation of facts, requiring little to no understanding of the topics. To prepare students for the working world, there needs to be a shift from only terminal exams to a mixed approach.

The Government of Ireland has published its plan to reorder the infrastructure it uses to accommodate and support migrants seeking International Protection (IP) in Ireland. This policy document - entitled The White Paper to End Direct Provision and Establish a New International Support Service - was published on 26th February, 2021. The White Paper proposes to replace Ireland's current but discredited system with a new IP accommodation and support process – to be entitled Ireland's International Protection Support Service. This new system is intended to "treat all applicants to the process with dignity and respect" (Government of Ireland, 2021: 7). Dissonances exist, however. The discursive framing of the IPSS and the spatialities inherent in the proposals suggest a potential rearticulation of state control rather that a diminution of same. I turn to the work of scholars inspired by Giorgio Agamben to help situate the spatialities of this shift, and suggest that the current 'white paper' should simply be seen as a mechanism deployed the Government of Ireland to ensure that its bio-political command and control processes can migrate from the spatially-defined set of control environments currently in effect to a diffuse construction of a spatially networked series of deterritorialised indistinctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A national electronic health record is being procured for Health Service Executive hospitals in Ireland. A number of hospitals have implemented an electronic document management system. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency and safety of the electronic document management system in our centre. Methods: A retrospective audit was performed of patients operated on at Galway University Hospital. The availability and location of patients' admission data on the electronic document management system were recorded. These data were analysed using Microsoft Excel software, version 16.45. Results: The records of 100 patients were analysed. The main findings were: 5 per cent of operation notes were missing, 80 per cent were in the incorrect section, while 15 per cent were in the correct 'procedure' section on the electronic document management system. Conclusion: This study shows there is potential for error with 'paper-light' solutions, whereby delayed scanning, misfiling of scanned records and missing records may lead to significant delays in treatment and potential patient safety issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2014 the government published a White Paper on Universal Health Insurance, which details the steps towards the implementation of the most radical reform proposals in the history of the Irish health system. The Irish health system currently contains a complex interaction between public and private financing and delivery, leading to a number of inequities, highlighting the need for reform. The government's proposals include changes to the funding, allocation and delivery of health-care resources, and will culminate with the introduction of universal mandatory private health insurance. However, there are a number of potential issues with the reforms, particularly relating to cost and cost containment, the ability of people to pay for mandatory health insurance, the need to strengthen regulatory governance and the need to invest in the provision of services. Wider health-reform issues also need to be considered, irrespective of the funding mechanism proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Executive skills refer to a set of cognitive skills that allow individuals to engage in goal directed behavior. They encompass planning, initiation, inhibition, monitoring and flexibility in approach to tasks, and are necessary for functional competence. Executive skills are vulnerable to disruption with damage to the brain, as occurs with dementia. Methods Participants were recruited from a tertiary memory assessment and support Service. The Assessment of Motor & Process Skills (AMPS), a standardised observational assessment of occupational performance (1Fischer, 2003) was administered by trained Occupational Therapists. In addition, the EXIT-25, a pen & paper based assessment of executive skills (2Royall et al, 1992) was administered. Process scores from the AMPS, and overall score from the EXIT 25 were utilised for correlation analysis. Results 22 participants, 12 male and 10 females, age range 60-91 (mean 75.5 years), was analysed using Spearman's Rho correlation (-.2). Results did not identify a strong correlation Conclusion Dementia is commonly regarded as a disorder of memory. However, diagnosis is dependent on functional decline related to cognitive decline. The AMPS provides a formal assessment of functional skills, in terms of motor & process skills with cut off scores regarding safe independent living. The results of this study indicate that the AMPS is not associated with executive scores on formal cognitive assessments, highlighting the value of an extensive multi-component MDT approach (also incorporating history taking, imaging, bio marker testing etc.) in assessing and diagnosing a dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • ePIRLS 2016 is a new assessment of online reading skills of primary school pupils. • Spending time on the internet is positively associated with ePIRLS achievement. • Higher achievers in reading use computers less frequently for schoolwork at home. • Better online readers also use computers less frequently for schoolwork at school. • Owning a smart-phone is negatively associated with paper-based reading. Abstract Online reading necessitates the use of both similar and different skills to traditional paper-based reading. Therefore, some overlap is likely in the background and attitudinal factors associated with reading in the two modes. This study uses a multilevel framework and data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS, 2016) to explore the characteristics associated with online and paper-based reading in Ireland. Of independent variables examined, pupil reading confidence has the largest effect size for both PIRLS and ePIRLS. Home background variables have similar effect sizes for the two outcomes. Differences between the models emerge regarding time spent browsing the internet, the frequency of using a computer at school, pupil enjoyment of reading, and pupil ownership of a smartphone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (ICHORA) has been held since 2003, with the most recent conference, ICHORA10, taking place online in July 2022. The conference aimed to reflect on the centenary of two significant events in recordkeeping history in the UK and Ireland. The conference featured various forms of participation, including short postcards from the past and longer academic presentations. The papers presented at the conference explored the nature of archives and records, highlighting the diversity of perspectives and the importance of historical context. The special issue of the journal includes articles on topics such as recordkeeping pioneers in Malta, recordkeepers in Latin America, and the history of archives in different countries. The conference also raised questions about the unique methods and perspectives involved in studying the history of archives and records. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including human services; virtual community; and information technology.

This paper explores the development of policies dealing with teachers' digital competence in Norway, Ireland and Spain. Using a documentary research approach, the study analysed relevant policy documents from each country over a thirty-year period to the present day. Analysis of the documents highlights historical differences and similarities in how technology in education policies developed during that period and differences in how teacher education was addressed. Despite these differences, the analysis indicates a convergence in recent years towards a common understanding and the importance of teachers' digital competence influenced by supranational frameworks. The paper discusses the potential influence of these supranational frameworks and examines the opportunities and challenges of this policy convergence.

Purpose Ireland's physicians have a legal and an ethical duty to protect confidential patient information. Most healthcare records in Ireland remain paper based, so the purpose of this paper is to: assess the protection afforded to paper records; log highest risk records; note the variations that occurred during the working week; and observe the varying protection that occurred when staff, students and public members were present. Design/methodology/approach A customised audit tool was created using Sphinx software. Data were collected for three months. All wards included in the study were visited once during four discrete time periods across the working week. The medical records trolley's location was noted and total unattended medical records, total unattended nursing records, total unattended patient lists and when nursing personnel, medical students, public and a ward secretary were visibly present were recorded. Findings During 84 occasions when the authors visited wards, unattended medical records were identified on 33 per cent of occasions, 49 per cent were found during weekend visiting hours and just 4 per cent were found during morning rounds. The unattended medical records belonged to patients admitted to a medical specialty in 73 per cent of cases and a surgical specialty in 27 per cent. Medical records were found unattended in the nurses' station with much greater frequency when the ward secretary was off duty. Unattended nursing records were identified on 67 per cent of occasions the authors visited the ward and were most commonly found unattended in groups of six or more. Practical implications This study is a timely reminder that confidential patient information is at risk from inappropriate disclosure in the hospital. There are few context-specific standards for data protection to guide healthcare professionals, particularly paper records. Nursing records are left unattended with twice the frequency of medical records and are found unattended in greater numbers than medical records. Protection is strongest when ward secretaries are on duty. Over-reliance on vigilant ward secretaries could represent a threat to confidential patient information. Originality/value While other studies identified data protection as an issue, this study assesses how data security varies inside and outside conventional working hours. It provides a rationale and an impetus for specific changes across the whole working week. By identifying the on-duty ward secretary's favourable effect on medical record security, it highlights the need for alternative arrangements when the ward secretary is off duty. Data were collected prospectively in real time, giving a more accurate healthcare record security snapshot in each data collection point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognised that high-stakes assessment can significantly influence what is taught in the classroom. Many argue that high-stakes assessment results in a narrowed curriculum where students learn by rote rather than developing higher cognitive skills. This paper describes a study investigating the various cognitive objectives present from Bloom’s Taxonomy Educational Objectives on the Leaving Certificate biology examination. The study analysed examination papers from the past and current biology syllabuses. Analysis was also carried out to determine the marks being awarded to the different cognitive objectives. The findings show that the examination predominately includes questions that do not promote higher levels of thinking. The majority of the marks on the paper were allocated to the lower objectives of the taxonomy, suggesting students can rely on rote learning to succeed when undertaking the biology examination. This study strongly highlights how high-stake examinations have a narrow scope in terms of student achievement and shows how current biology examination procedures promote low-level learning. This low level of thinking promotes rote learning and regurgitation of facts, requiring little to no understanding of the topics. To prepare students for the working world, there needs to be a shift from only terminal exams to a mixed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article concentrates on the inaugural 'Global Perspectives' edition of the International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support (IJPBS), providing expert insights into the conceptualization and utilization of positive behavioral support (PBS) models internationally. Topics covered include the development and uses of PBS in Australia, the history of PBS in Ireland rooted in human rights-based approaches, and a comprehensive 30-year evolution of PBS in the USA.

This article discusses some of the main findings of a Critical Discourse Analysis of two landmark documents in Irish adult education: Learning for Life: The White Paper on Adult Education (DES, 2000) and the Further Education and Training Strategy (SOLAS, 2014) (from here on referred to respectively as the White Paper and the FET Strategy). The diachronic approach taken by this inquiry permits an exploration of the ways in which language in policy documents has changed over time, particularly in terms of how policy addresses educational inequality. It is in this way that the notion of a discursive shift could be explored, setting this change in language in starker relief. Policy as discourse shapes the formation of this inquiry so the article briefly explicates the approach taken to a Critical Discourse Analysis. Considerations of methodological nationalism widened the focus to consider the influence of European Union (EU) policy discourses specifically in Irish policy formation and these discourses in the statecraft of the EU and nation states. It is from this perspective that the Irish story is also a European one, so the article analyses how the White Paper and the FET Strategy were framed by the EU policy discourses of 'lifelong learning' and 'skills' respectively. As part of this analysis, this article considers the significance of the redefinition of the notion of 'inclusion' to 'active inclusion' and the sharpening of 'evidence based' discourse in policy resourcing of adult education provision. Finally, the article briefly elaborates on the authors' experience of this research and the value of Critical Discourse Analysis as a normative force and a tool for advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the relationship between anti-vice campaigns and the popular publishing industry of early-twentieth century Ireland. Specifically, it argues that there existed an informal but strongly symbiotic relationship between the two. The Irish anti-vice campaigns emphasised their objections to imported 'pernicious literature' in the form of British newspapers and story papers, thus allying themselves with both religious and nationalist movements of the time in Ireland. The Irish popular press, especially the story papers in direct and unequal competition with their large-scale British equivalents such as the Boys Own Paper, were able to use these moral attacks upon their competitors to position themselves as alternative leisure reading which was both wholesome and patriotic. This essay examines the ways in which Irish story papers such as the Emerald and Ireland's Own were able to use social purity rhetoric as a marketing technique against their British competitors. This occurred even though, as the essay outlines, in many cases the content of their stories was equally sensationalist and also had a strong emphasis upon violence, lurid plotlines and sometimes even sexually-suggestive advertising. Despite this, the anti-vice campaigns reserved their condemnations almost entirely for British publications, thus maintaining a co-operation with Irish publications which benefitted both parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers a response to Kath Browne and Catherine Nash's paper 'From hegemonic to where?'. Building on their influential body of work and expanding upon further empirical research across Ireland, Canada and the UK, their paper is a direct examination of the views and experiences of those concerned about socio-legal challenges in sexuality and gender. With my responses and provocations, I gesture towards a relational geographical framing, focusing on three main themes: the everyday and relationality, experience and difference, and praxis and allyship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eric Dunning influenced the development of curricula and research agendas in sociology, history, social science and sports studies, internationally, in the UK and in Ireland. Dunning was also doctoral supervisor to, and academic colleague/mentor and friend of, both authors (at Leicester, Dublin and Chester). Inspired by him, this paper reflects on the craft of sociological research. The case study is the struggle for recognition of 'Ireland' in international athletics and the associated painstaking ongoing archival and mixed methods research work in multiple venues, involving sporting, state and personal papers, interviews and oral history sources. Such a history of the social dynamics of charisma and shame between the so-called 'mother country' (Great Britain) and a restless dominion (Ireland) was by no means structureless or patternless, but ontologically interdependent with life today. Accordingly, we consider several themes: the interplay between theory and evidence, the involvement-detachment balance and exploring knowledge figurations. In line with Dunning (and Elias), the paper adopts an anticipatory motif, that is to say, the work of understanding social relations between the 'British' and 'Irish' 'then' and 'now' is not finished. This work is one step in carrying forth the baton – the stock of intergenerational knowledge – about doing sociology, handed to us in trust by Dunning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922 and the subsequent efforts to salvage and preserve the records that were recovered. It discusses how the staff at the time worked to recover records from the rubble and how they were cleaned and preserved. It also highlights the use of glassine paper in repairing damaged records, specifically in the case of the collection of Dublin Marriage Bonds from 1749-1820.

The article discusses the papers of Patrick McGilligan were deposited in the University College Dublin (UCD) Archives in a series of tranches between 1977–1978 and are catalogued in five separate catalogues. It states that the paper has covered broad subject areas which include electrification of the Irish Free State (1919–1932); Shannon Board of Control files (1925–1931) and material regarding Dr. Thomas McLaughlin.

To explore young peoples' motivation for engaging in agricultural education. Autonomous and controlled forms of extrinsic and intrinsic regulation are discussed regarding young peoples' decision to pursue an agricultural education. A qualitative research approach was applied comprising of purposive and snowball sampling for 28 face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. An understanding of the motivational regulations which mobilise young people to engage in agricultural education is provided. This paper sheds light on the psychological processes energising individuals to engage with agricultural education. The research highlights the importance of understanding motivation for engaging in agricultural education, and subsequent impacts on education programmes and educators. This paper contributes to pragmatic insights which demonstrate the importance of understanding young peoples' motivation for engaging in agricultural education. The paper builds on previous studies by using S.D.T. as a framework for understanding motivational processes within agricultural education. This paper supports an understanding of the motivational regulations which mobilise young people to engage with agricultural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how special educational needs (SEN) and social class can become intertwined in post-primary school choice in Ireland. The paper draws on data generated during a three-year ethnographic study of a DEIS school. Data are analysed using Holland et al.'s (1998. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press) positional identities, authored selves and figured worlds in order to examine how learner identities and school choice processes can become informed by emergent school cultures being formed and re-formed by neoliberal marketisation of education and how these actions are taken up in the identity work of young people and their families. Soft barriers and their contribution to aspects of school stratification by social class and SEN in this setting are explored. Finally, the paper calls for recognition of the responsibilities of every school to own diversity in their own settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand the current status of research in the field of metaverse, and to analyze the research progress and evolutionary trends in this field. Methods: Based on the bibliometric analysis, a total of 921 papers were obtained by searching the Web of science core database for the keyword "metaverse". CiteSpace was used to visualize and analyze the current status and trends of metaverse research in China. Results: Ireland is currently the country with the highest research impact. China is currently the country with the largest number of publications in this field, but the impact of the research is insufficient. The current research in the highly cited literature focuses on technical and history reviews of the metaverse as well as its development in the field of education. Artificial Intelligence and utaut2 are the underlying clusters of cited literature in this research area. Several research hotspots have been formed, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, digital twins and artificial intelligence. Conclusion: The current research on metaverse in various fields is basically in its infancy, but has a great potential for future development and will gradually penetrate into many different directions with many challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response to the paper "Use of Technology by Older Adults With an Intellectual Disability in Ireland to Support Health, Well-Being and Social Inclusion During the COVID-19 Pandemic,"by Darren McCausland, Mary McCarron and Philip McCallion, is presented. Topics include ways to present quantitative data in academic journals for easier understanding, practical information that should be included in research papers and the importance of the research to people with learning disabilities.

This paper focuses on the diaspora Chinese community in Limerick – an Irish county town in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland – and examines how Chinese parents have responded to the education policy shift resulting from the 2017 Irish foreign language strategy, which added Chinese to the official educational curriculum. A semi-structured group interview was conducted with four Chinese-speaking parents. Analysis of the data revealed that identity preservation and maintaining bonds with extended family are the predominant expressed reasons for parents to cultivate their children's Chinese proficiency. English and Irish are prioritized over Chinese. Though the parents hold positive attitudes towards the inclusion of Chinese as a school subject in Ireland, they are disempowered from taking advantage of participating in the implementation of this national language shift due to a lack of access to social, cultural, and economic capital. Analysed through a Bourdieuian lens, the findings further expose the limitations or constraints placed on family language policy and the discrepancy between macro- and micro-level language policies. The paper is intended to shed light on education, social justice, and equality, bridging the gap between micro-level family language practices and macro-level language policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland's policies towards US-owned global digital intermediaries (Big Tech) have emerged as an international political issue and received global media attention. So far, political and media focus has been on the impact of Ireland's tax policies on the revenue-raising ability of other European states and perceptions of light touch regulation of those corporations based in the Republic. The current paper will focus on how Ireland's switch to a focus on capital allowances for the sizeable American tech corporations has enabled the latter to sustain their dominance in the digital transition through incentivizing and subsidizing their switch to assetization as a means of deriving investment. Assetization enables investment and profits based on present and future rents from intellectual property. We argue here that the assets and intellectual property of the tech giants are emblematic of a broader process of political–economic restructuring and information monopoly building. The evidence for this resides in Ireland's bumper rise in corporate tax from 2015. Ireland's facilitation of assetization is the end process of some broader institutional transformations that structure economic power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and defends the counter-hegemonic methods applied to the investigation of a high-profile national policy for Early Education and Care (ECCE) in Ireland. The policy, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) seeks to ensure the full inclusion and meaningful participation of children with disabilities in mainstream, state funded ECCE. It makes a significant contribution to data and debate on how research about inclusion can become inclusion in the context of policy evaluation. The design of the policy evaluation included surveys, in depth interviews and qualitative case studies of pre-schools and children supported by AIM which were deliberately designed to be counter-hegemonic through the recruitment of practitioners as co-researchers (as expert representatives within a feminised workforce), and the use of a participative method of elicitation that sough the perspectives and lived experiences of inclusion among fourteen children supported by AIM. This method was multi-modal mapping. With a focus on these counter-hegemonic elements, the paper poses questions about how the approach was counterhegemonic in terms of its theoretical underpinning, practical approach, and outcomes. Thematic analysis of the data collected by practitioner researchers for the child case studies showed that the approach did achieve counter-hegemony through the achievement of redistribution, representation, and recognition in both the enactment of the research, and in the reporting of children's lived experience in the study as a whole. However, the extent of counter-hegemony achieved was limited when practitioner researchers were unable to deploy the multi-modal mapping method because of limited time, or because the child was not a speaker of English or was as yet, non-speaking. In a context where policy makers have a preference for positivist and rationalist approaches to evaluating the impact of policies, we assert that research about policies for inclusion, should be enacted as inclusion and social justice through the deliberate deployment of participatory and counter-hegemonic methods. We also assert that multi-modal mapping holds particular promise for researching the lived experience of inclusion and participation from the perspective of children and argue that more work needs to be done on developing these methods so that they are effective with all children, including those who are non-speaking. Finally, we posit that Fraser's triune model of social justice can be applied as a benchmark for designing and evaluating counter-hegemonic modii and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marketisation of European home care has given rise to significant private for-profit providers growth. However, little research has focused directly on commercial companies to examine the mechanisms through which they emerge, grow and shape long-term care policy – this is this paper's task. Drawing on the literature on business power, the recent concept of "institutional business power" is introduced, defined as the power flowing from the entrenched position of business actors in the provision of public social services. The paper identifies the mechanisms through which private providers have grown and assesses the extent of their institutional power by examining their influence on policy and the support they obtain from relevant home care stakeholders. The limits of providers' institutional power are also discussed. The paper relies on semi-structured interviews with representatives of public, private and non-profit home care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining housing and environmental conditions and socioeconomic marginalisation have been common experiences of older social housing estates. These factors can lead to poor-quality living conditions for residents, estate management challenges for social landlords and poor life chances and reputational stigma for communities. One of the interventions proposed by central governments, local authorities and social housing landlords to address the problems experienced by such estates is estate regeneration. This paper presents a case study of a large social housing estate in the south of Ireland where a long-term estate regeneration masterplan has been implemented since 2013. The paper draws on the findings of multi-annual reviews of the implementation process based on quantitative and qualitative evaluations with multiple stakeholders including residents. The paper also comments on the effectiveness of regeneration strategies to address the impacts of austerity, market failure and structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive education in Ireland has made major advances in the past two decades, with an increasing number of students with special educational needs (SEN) attending mainstream schools. This paper is part of a bigger study which examines the Special Education Teacher Allocation Model (SETAM) (Circular 0013/2017 Department of Education and Skills 2017) as the current model to support inclusion in practice in Irish primary schools. Guided by a constructivist paradigm, a mixed-methods approach was adopted to reveal the workings of the SETAM, in the Context of Practice. This paper presents the findings from the first phase of data collection; a national, online survey. Findings show that greater teacher autonomy to identify students' needs and allocate support, under this model, was welcomed by participants. However, limited continuous professional development sees some teachers feeling underprepared to identify such needs. More collaborative and inclusive practice is evident since the introduction of the SETAM, with increased use of in-class support for students with SEN. These findings may inform key stakeholders in inclusive education policy and practice, at a national and international level, by unveiling areas of success and potential for improvement, as recognised by Irish teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusion is a central tenet in deliberative democratic theory and an important indicator of the quality of a deliberative mini-public (DMP). Empirical measures of deliberation assess the quality of a deliberative exchange according to criteria drawn from deliberative theory; the discourse quality index is one well-known example. Despite the importance of inclusion in deliberative theory, existing measures do not account for this aspect of deliberative quality. This paper introduces and uses a measure for assessing the inclusiveness of deliberation called "deliberative uptake". This paper describes the new measure and applies it to the case of Ireland's Convention on the Constitution, a forum in which both citizens and politicians were included as members. The results suggest that politician members were more likely to receive deliberative uptake for their ideas than their citizen counterparts. In addition, women and men received similar levels of deliberative uptake throughout the Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic telemetry can provide valuable space-use data for a range of marine species. Yet the deployment of species-specific arrays over vast areas to gather data on highly migratory vertebrates poses formidable challenges, often rendering it impractical. To address this issue, we pioneered the use of acoustic telemetry on basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) to test the feasibility of using broadscale, multi-project acoustic receiver arrays to track the movements of this species of high conservation concern through the coastal waters of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Throughout 2021 and 2022, we tagged 35 basking sharks with acoustic transmitters off the west coast of Ireland; 27 of these were detected by 96 receiver stations throughout the study area (n = 9 arrays) with up to 216 detections of an individual shark (mean = 84, s.d. 65). On average, sharks spent ~ 1 day at each acoustic array, with discrete residency periods of up to nine days. Twenty-one sharks were detected at multiple arrays with evidence of inter-annual site fidelity, with the same individuals returning to the same locations in Ireland and Scotland over 2 years. Eight pairs of sharks were detected within 24 h of each other at consecutive arrays, suggesting some level of social coordination and synchronised movement. These findings demonstrate how multi-project acoustic telemetry can support international, cost-effective monitoring of basking sharks and other highly mobile species. Decision support tools such as these can consolidate cross-border management strategies, but to achieve this goal, collaborative efforts across jurisdictions are necessary to establish the required infrastructure and secure ongoing support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a comprehensive energy-related dataset, collected from residential electricity households within an energy community in Ireland, as part of StoreNet project. The data includes local weather parameters and per household power (W) and energy (Wh) components for various aspects such as active power consumption, PV generation, grid import and export, charging and discharging, and the state of charge of energy storage. Additionally, it provides weather data for the location at a 1-minute temporal resolution for the year 2020. The dataset has been validated by comparing measurements that should yield identical results to standard load profiles, with no significant inconsistencies discovered. Validation examples have also been given through the published articles where this dataset has been used to analyse peer-to-peer energy trading benefits for the energy community and decision-making support for aggregators. The dataset aids in understanding patterns in electrical load curves and the duty cycle of energy storage within an energy community. Furthermore, it can assist in comprehending the impact on distribution networks caused by distributed energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes three important contributions: to research on media and gender equality, specifically through the lens of gender equal sports coverage; to understanding the lived experiences of women in public service sports broadcasting, and to gender-sensitive public discourse and policy debates concerning the relationship between media and sport. In it, we examine industry attempts to achieve gender equal coverage in public service broadcasting (PSB) in Ireland and Sweden. The paper draws on a three-way dialogic exchange between the authors who, together, have sizeable professional and personal experiences of public service sports broadcasting, sports participation (from amateur to elite levels), and of voluntary sports coaching and administration. This novel exchange also responds to calls for greater insights into women's engagements with media. The paper concludes by considering current issues for PSBs in relation to gender equal coverage and suggesting potential future lines of enquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates the place of root shock in the colonial and postcolonial history of Ireland and situates this series of Irish papers inspired by Mindy Fullilove’s seminal book. It explains why the practice of eviction has such a traumatic resonance within Irish society. This trauma was laid bare in the responses to a 2023 artwork by Spicebag that connected modern eviction with its historical precedents. In this paper the elements of Spicebag’s work are given their historical context with an account of dispossession and plantation, famine and exile, urban poverty, and neoliberal privatization of land and housing. In each case, a new form of root shock was added to the earlier legacies producing chronic place-based trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Mathematics Learning Support (MLS), which is available in the majority of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ireland and the UK, is traditionally available only to students of those institutions. In this paper, we describe a drop-in model of MLS at Maynooth University (MU) which has been available for secondary school students since 2009. This service is mainly staffed by volunteer undergraduate trainee teachers. Their feedback, the main focus of this paper, which has been collected over ten years, indicates that this experience has had a positive impact on their teaching practice. School students are also very positive about the support and MU enthusiastically endorses the service. We conclude that there are no obvious downsides to the provision of this type of support and we believe that more institutions should consider making it available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In the context of widening societal diversity, culturally and linguistically diverse patients continue to experience inequities in healthcare access and deficiencies in standards of nursing care. Re‐framing culturally responsive care as a complex intervention spanning multiple interacting factors at micro, meso and macro levels is an essential prerequisite for addressing knowledge translation gaps into everyday nursing practice. To this end, this paper proposes and explicates the potential of applying synergistic participatory implementation methodologies for developing effective implementation strategies with impact at individual and wider structural levels. Design: Discussion Paper. Data Sources: A co‐design case study is presented as an example of combining normalization process theory and participatory learning and action to investigate and support the implementation of culturally responsive care in general practice nursing. Implications for Nursing: Enacting culturally responsive health care is inherently complex in that it is influenced by multiple interacting factors. Viewing culturally responsive care as a complex intervention and incorporating a synergistic participatory implementation science approach offers possibilities for addressing the documented shortcomings in the implementation of culturally responsive nursing care. Conclusion: There is a need to move away from conventional approaches to conceptualizing and generating evidence on culturally responsive care. Incorporating participatory implementation methodologies can provide a new lens to investigate and support whole system implementation strategies. Impact: The combination of participatory and implementation methodologies is both theoretically and empirically informed. Engaging stakeholders in the co‐design and co‐production of evidence and solutions to long standing problems has the potential to increase the likelihood of influencing iterative and sustainable implementation and changes to clinical practice and systems. Patient or Public Contribution: This work is part of a wider programme of participatory health research on migrant health, partnering with a non‐governmental organization that supports migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland's 2018 referendum on the Eighth Amendment, in which a majority of the Irish electorate voted to repeal the state's quasi-total ban on abortion, saw important public discussions regarding Irish national identity in the twenty-first century. From a linguistic perspective, this begs the question of what role language played in the construction of national identity during the referendum campaign. This paper will examine Irish English features in the referendum campaign's linguistic landscape and the extent to which they were used to index national identity. While there has been a significant amount of research on language ideologies connected to Irish, there has been little attention paid to Irish English and its relationship with national identity in the linguistic landscape literature. Drawing on a dataset of 1680 LL items collected from the 2018 referendum campaign (including campaign posters, placards, banners and stickers), this paper examines signs containing distinctive Irish English features, employing a qualitative, multimodal approach to the indexing of national identity. Specifically, it asks whether and under what conditions it is possible to claim that the use of Irish English features can be taken to index national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]