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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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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Work-integrated learning (WIL) has been suggested as a potentially beneficial addition to modern doctoral education. However, there is little research outlining the specificities of WIL aimed at PhD students. This paper explores the range of WIL opportunities available to PhD students through a review of secondary data. The findings indicate that WIL opportunities are non-homogenous and vary widely across their structure and implementation. Patterns emerge to indicate that WIL opportunities tend to be optional, paid, short-term, focused on horizontal learning development, and provide opportunities for boundary crossing outside of academia. These findings imply that WIL has the potential to complement doctoral education by providing opportunities to experience cross-sector or cross-discipline learning and development. However, higher education institutes might consider becoming more involved in the design and implementation of WIL for PhD students. Additional research is required to understand how WIL opportunities fit into doctoral education and to evaluate existing WIL opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set against the backdrop of an absence of agricultural extension in the curriculum of agriculture degree programs in Ireland between 1990 and 2010, this paper examines the knowledge exchange skills needed by the next generation of farm advisors and presents the case of a practicebased postgraduate program in Ireland that seeks to address the competency gap created. It reviews an Irish post graduate program that has been designed to equip graduates with the competencies to work effectively in advisory roles. It combines student, graduate, and manager survey results on their experience and assessment of professional development with this program. The evolving role of front-line farm advisors to facilitators of knowledge exchange and innovation is recognised while a range of essential competencies are highlighted. The value of this postgraduate education for early career farm advisors is evidenced through building competencies in a range of areas and gaining a deeper understanding through applied research of the complexities of innovation adoption and the barriers to change for farmers and their families. The paper concludes that greater attention is needed to developing core competencies of farm advisors to build strong relationships of trust and influence with farmer clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In an earlier paper from 2019, this author concluded that successful eradication of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) from Ireland by 2030 would be unlikely, given control strategies in place at that time plus the addition of badger vaccination. He argued that additional measures will be needed, broadly focusing on bTB risks from wildlife, risk-based cattle controls, and industry commitment. This paper considers these points in further detail. Main text Ongoing monitoring of the badger vaccination programme (which is progressively being rolled out nationally) and associated research will be critical, with a focus both on programme inputs and outcomes. The direct contribution of cattle movements to bTB restrictions in Ireland has been evaluated. However, it is the indirect role of cattle movements in bTB restrictions that is likely of greater importance, particularly towards the latter phase of the eradication programme. In other national programmes, a range of risk-based approaches have been used to address the challenge of residual infection in cattle (that is, the presence of animals with persistent but undetected infection), and similar approaches are needed in Ireland. A number of authors have highlighted the critical importance of industry commitment to programme success, and the key role of programme governance to achieving this. In this commentary, the author briefly considers experiences from Australia and New Zealand in this regard. The author also reflects on the challenge of uncertainty in decision-making, the relevance to Ireland of lessons from other countries, and the potential contribution of new methodologies in support of the national programme. Conclusions 'The tragedy of the horizon' was a term first used in the context of climate change, referring to the costs imposed on future generations that the current generation has no direct incentives to fix. This concept is equally relevant to bTB eradication in Ireland, where current decisions will have long-term consequences for future generations, including both the general public (through the Exchequer) and future Irish farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motorway incidents are frequent & varied in nature. Incident management on motorways is critical for both driver safety & road network operation. The expected duration of an incident is a key parameter in the decision-making process for control room operators, however, the actual duration for which an incident will impact the network is never known with true certainty. This paper presents a study which compares the ability of different machine learning algorithms to estimate the duration of motorway incidents on Ireland's M50 motorway, using an extensive historical incident database. Results show that the support vector machine has the best performance in most cases, but a different method may need to be used to improve accuracy in some situations. Results highlight the main challenges in accurately forecasting incident durations in real time & recommendations are made for improving prediction accuracy through systematic recording of various additional incident details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State labour inspection has been relatively underresearched in economic and labour geography, despite its prospective role in tackling worker exploitation as part of national state regulatory strategies. This paper seeks to address this gap by critically examining state labour inspection as a government function capable of upholding labour standards within and across economic space. A key contribution of the paper is to make stronger connections between workers' spatial strategies and their ability to shape how labour inspection and standards enforcement is carried out. Focusing upon the UK and Ireland, we examine different ways in which some labour-friendly groups have sought to contest but also to support state labour inspection efforts with a view to protecting workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5Dculture is a 24-month collaborative project co-funded by the European Union. It includes twelve partners from diverse sectors of cultural heritage, including archaeology, museums and fashion. It aims to enrich the offer of European 3D digital cultural heritage assets in the data space and fosters their reuse in important domains such as education, tourism and the wider cultural and creative sectors towards socially and economically sustainable outcomes. In particular, the project will deliver high-quality 3D content by identifying and engaging existing datasets from partners' collections focusing on topics of fashion, archaeology and architecture, all of which occupy a central place in the vast cultural heritage of Europe. It will also develop several reuse scenarios, which will experiment with the aforementioned assets in their complexity (from high-quality to derivatives).The Discovery Programme has a long research interest in 3D digital documentation and has participated in collaborative projects in the past, notably 3D-ICONS. However, opportunities and challenges in the reuse of 3D archaeological content exist, including the reuse of 3D content to enhance visitors experience at archaeological sites and the ability to exploit 3D surrogates for different sectors (tourism, education, gaming, the arts, conservation and heritage management).This paper will present the research that has been undertaken in this context, through the development of an enhanced processing pipeline to improve the quality of 3D models of cultural heritage assets, resulting in their improved re-use. It will present the approaches to improving model geometry, generating and applying enhanced textures, creating rich and functional metadata and strategies for persistence and archiving.A core component of our research has been the development of the processing pipeline to improve 3D model appearance through the application of parametric materials in the development of synthetic textures which artificially enhance the visualising of cultural heritage objects. Through the visual enhancements of 3D content improvements to the interpretation and aesthetic appearance of monuments and artefacts can be achieved, adding value to the original surveyed data. The paper will detail the processing pipeline, working from prime survey data in survey specific software, through 3D modelling techniques, and finally visualising and presentation approaches which enable increased accessibility and usability.The paper will conclude with a discussion of deliverables, particularly in the context of value to conservation. The Discovery Programme works together with many of the state agencies in Ireland on heritage and conservation projects, and it is the delivery of enhanced but practical outputs that their archaeologists and architects require. These include the Office of Public Works, National Monuments Service & the Heritage Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broad range of health professionals can obtain the authority to prescribe in the UK upon successful completion of an accredited non-medical prescribing programme. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many approved education institutions have adopted more permanent blended approaches to their programmes. This literature review aims to explore blended approaches to delivering postgraduate education to health professionals, with a view to improving the performance and satisfaction of students undertaking non-medical prescribing programmes. Seven papers were selected from a database search; five were research literature and two practice literature. The results suggest that social constructivism and laying a 'foundation' for effective study are key to student satisfaction. Advising students to engage with the provider's Virtual Learning Environment before a programme commences, dividing students into small groups that are designed to create communities of practice, scheduling face-to-face activities to provide early opportunities for social interaction and further research are recommended to enhance education for non-medical prescribers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Simulations, ludic or otherwise, have so far struggled to gain a foothold in mainstream historiography. Some authors suggest there may be fundamental incompatibilities between history and the language of simulations and scholarly games. Others believe that designing, employing, and validating historical simulations may be simply too costly and/or labor-intensive to justify their widespread adoption. Intervention: This paper intends to identify points of friction between historiography and simulation-based research and suggest practical solutions to these issues. Methods: My discussion is based on the description and analysis of a case study, the ThomondSim/ The Triumphs of Turlough research project. The initiative consisted of the development and application of an agent-based computational model (ABM) and a scholarly board game to investigate the possible associations between economic, environmental, and military hazards in 13th and 14th centuries Ireland. Results and Discussion: Ensuring the simulations matched historical evidence to a standard deemed acceptable by the historiographical community limited their phase space, compromising their capacity to explore emergent phenomena. The intricacy of the underlying conceptual model suited the ABM better than the board game, which struggled to reconcile complexity with good game design practices. The board game, however, proved to be an effective validating tool for the ABM. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research: The project espoused an overt simulation- and game-centric approach, paying little attention to unguided play. Recent literature suggests that fostering, rather than hindering, playful exploration could address some of the pitfalls identified by this project. Conclusion: Play could be a means of reconciliation between simulational, ludic, and historiographical practices. However, to ensure that projects adhere to epistemic standards, it is recommended that a methodology is developed to integrate it into research in ways that can be tested and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines financial cooperatives (credit unions) in Ireland and their response to COVID‐19. The paper offers two contributions. The first is the Cooperative Resilience Framework, which highlights the importance of iterative, heuristic responses in building capabilities that enable routine‐based responses. These responses, in turn, avoid and absorb the effects of disruption in subsequent similar crises. The second contribution is empirical, demonstrating the how of resilience by offering a better understanding of how the credit unions' collective actions created dynamic, agile responses that helped them to "bounce forward" after the crisis. Key themes identified include agility, strong social relationships, and decentralized decision‐making (empowerment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and histological type of spinal cancer is diverse. It is our role as physicians to explore the epidemiology of spinal cancers so that several projections can be made. Resource allocation, cost analyses, and the requirement of rehabilitation facilities all need to be considered. The objective of this paper is to provide an account of the acute spinal oncological admissions to the National Spinal Injuries Unit (NSIU) in both 2010 and 2020 with the hypothesis that upward trends will be noted. Only by exemplifying this trend, will it highlight the need to give spinal cancer the attention it deserves in the Republic of Ireland. All patients who were to undergo spinal surgery for primary or metastatic spinal cancer in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) in 2010 and 2020 were included in this retrospective cohort study. A list of medical record numbers (MRNs) for all patients who underwent spinal surgery in the MMUH were included. Data pertaining to patient demographics were noted. 90 patients were included in this retrospective cohort study. 37 patients in 2010, had increased to 53 by 2020. Metastatic disease to the spine was still the most prominent reason for referral. The most common spinal region affected was the thoracic spine. Breast cancer was the most prevalent metastatic cancer to the spine in 2010. Lung cancer became the most prevalent by 2020. Posterior spinal fusion was the most frequent surgical procedure performed. The length of stay in higher care facilities decreased from 5.4 days in 2010, to 4 days in 2020. Decreased were also seen in the mean length of hospital stay, plummeting from 23.6 days in 2010, to 7.6 days in 2020. The same could not be said for the 30-day mortality rate, increasing from 5.4% in 2010, to 9.4% in 2020. The results of this study show a substantial rise in the incidence and prevalence of both primary and metastatic spinal disease here in Ireland. One can see clear improvements in operative technique, with less patients proceeding to higher levels of post-operative care, and earlier discharge times. This data can be used for future planning. The paper highlights the economic cost of spinal oncological care, but it also identifies key areas where preventative campaigns can be targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To advance the understanding of the nature and dynamics of creative entrepreneurship in specific contexts, this paper explores how creative entrepreneurship both shapes and is shaped by its peripheral context. This paper adds to the growing work that is helping us understand that when looking at the periphery through the lens of cultural and creative practice we find a much more nuanced set of relations between place and practice. We focus on geographically separate regions facing the same obstacles of geographic peripherality. Underpinning the findings are semi-structured interviews reflecting the experience of creative entrepreneurs in North East Iceland, Västernorrland in Mid Sweden and the western region of Ireland. While we recognise that problems still exist in the creative industries policy domain, we argue that policy supports would be best designed in line with the characteristics of the sector in particular places. This work also helps to develop knowledge of the multifaceted role of the creative entrepreneur in peripheral societies and economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a decade has passed since the publication and enactment of the first National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (NLNS; Department of Education and Skills. 2011. Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011–2020. Dublin: Department of Education and Skills). This paper provides insights into the reality of its enactment across a range of primary and post-primary settings. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews (n = 30) and quantitative data from a survey (n = 455) of primary and post-primary teachers, the paper charts commonalities and differences across these two sectors. Qualitative data indicated that the NLNS was successful in putting literacy on the agenda, with a range of consequent policy and practices reported by teachers. The teaching of literacy tended to be grounded in largely traditional conceptualisations of print-based reading and writing, with limited reference to digital or multimodal practices. Quantitative data highlighted the divergence of opinions between teachers from both sectors, particularly in relation to students’ literacy skills on entry to post-primary school and in DEIS settings. As policymakers prepare for the enactment of a successor strategy (Government of Ireland. 2024a. Ireland’s Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024–2033: Every Learner from Birth to Young Adulthood. Dublin: Government of Ireland), the paper concludes by addressing implications for the next decade of literacy-focussed policy in Irish schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing emphasis on inclusive education over the last decade has placed renewed focus on curriculum and the extent to which standard or different curricula should be enacted for learners with special educational needs. This paper explores the enactment process for a state-mandated, standard curriculum in Irish special schools. A two-phase, explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach to data-gathering was adopted. Phase 1 incorporated a questionnaire distributed to the principal of every special school in the Republic of Ireland (n = 133). Phase 2 consisted of a multi-site embedded case study with three special schools for children with varying levels of general learning disability. The findings illustrate how special education teachers modify the curriculum to make it more accessible for all learners and showcase the pertinence of curriculum design frameworks for framing those illustrations. The paper concludes by demonstrating the potential of a modified curriculum design framework for ensuring that learners with the most complex needs have better opportunities to access a curriculum with degrees of commonality to their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on two aspects of gender inequality in Irish higher education: inequality in participation by gender and inequality of performance by gender, institution and subject. We use a rich set of data from the Higher Education Authority of Ireland which detail inter alia enrolment in institutions of higher education—Universities and Institutes of Technology—and record the class of degree received by graduating students, by subject and gender. The first aspect was the participation of women. Although more women enrolled as full‐time undergraduates in universities than did men, the reverse was the case in the Institutes of Technology. This had much to do with the subject structure of universities vis‐à‐vis the Institutes of Technology in tandem with the subject preferences of women and men. The second issue was inequality in performance. A major conclusion of this paper is that after enrolment there was little difference between the success rates of women and men in receiving first‐class degrees in the different subjects but there was considerable difference between the institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sociometric studies and adult reports have established that children with Language Disorder (LD) are at risk of peer relationship difficulties. However, we have limited knowledge of how children with LD understand friendship, whom they deem as a good or bad friend, and what role their friendship concepts play in their relationships with peers. This exploratory study aimed to conduct a qualitative investigation into the friendship concepts that children with LD hold and to explore their strategies for making friends. Methods: We conducted multiple, art‐informed interviews on the topic of friendship with 14 children with LD at the age of 6–8 years. Participating children were based in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. They attended enhanced provision, specific speech and language classes and mainstream classrooms. We used framework analysis to map children's responses to Selman's (1979) developmental model of interpersonal understanding, which espouses a theory of children's social development within the context of peer relationships. Results: The understanding of friendship formation in children with LD varied from physical presence to mutual support and sharing. Children's ideas about a good/bad friend represented the lowest developmental stage. Participants from the mainstream classroom demonstrated the highest stages of interpersonal understanding. Children with LD did not mention their language abilities as a barrier to making friends. Conclusion: There are limited studies exploring friendship directly from children with LD, and this study provides insights into this gap, by utilising art‐informed interviews. Children's immature understanding of a good/bad friend points towards a potential susceptibility to false friends, which we suggest needs further empirical validation. We also found that children with LD did not pay attention to their language difficulties when making friends, which raises questions about the ways diagnoses are shared with children. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Children with Language Disorder (LD) are at risk of peer relationship difficulties. Studies to date are based on sociometrics and adult reports. Only a few studies employ participatory approaches to research with children, directly engaging children with LD when exploring their friendships What this paper adds: This paper directly asks children with LD about their understanding of friendship and strategies for making friends.Physical proximity and play are important to children.s understanding of friendship especially in recognising good and bad friends. This indicates potential reasons for children with LD being susceptible to false friendsAdditionally, children with LD do not perceive language and communication as a barrier to making friends. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Concepts around friendship and good/bad friends should be routinely assessed and targeted (if appropriate) in interventions. The study highlights the need to continue discussing practices around sharing diagnoses with children with LD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature review has clearly indicated that the scale and characteristics of demand for Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences experts across different countries is unknown. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate this issue. This paper presents the results of research on the real demand for GEES specialists. In the paper, real demand is expressed by job vacancies (N = 17 378) published in six European countries over a period of 18 months. To analyse such an extensive body of text data, we used data mining techniques such as: SVD, inter-factor correlation analysis, word frequency analysis and word significance indicators, which allowed us to recognise similarities and differences in the size and structure of demand for these specialists in specific groups of countries. Employers from the UK and Ireland offered the most comprehensive range of positions whereas the expectations of Polish employers were the least diverse. Word frequency analyses for each occupation group demonstrated which components of GEES experts' knowledge and skills are considered universal on the labour market and which are subject to substantial regional variations. Moreover, word significance analyses allowed us to identify the occupations where a wider range of general skill areas was required and the positions for which primarily geographic skills were in demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper contributes towards the beginnings of asexual geographies, an area that has been largely overlooked within sexualities and queer geographies. Indeed, despite gradually increasing awareness of asexuality as a concept and identity, asexuality remains an underdeveloped area of academic research and is still widely misunderstood and invisible across society. Scholarship in the burgeoning field of asexuality studies has sought to redress this invisibility by exploring asexual people’s lives, identities, and experiences. Through these explorations, asexuality scholars have developed the concept of ‘compulsory sexuality’ to describe the ways in which social norms and practices assume that all people are sexual. However, within this growing field, the spatialities of asexuality and compulsory sexuality have yet to be fully developed. In this paper, I therefore aim to bring together work in geography and asexuality studies to introduce the concept of the allosexualisation of space. Drawing from qualitative interview data collected from seven asexual people living across Ireland, I examine the ways in which participants described feeling excluded, invisible, and/or out of place in a variety of spatial contexts – illustrating how spaces can come to reflect and co-produce the logic and assumptions of compulsory sexuality. In doing so, I argue that space matters to our understandings of asexuality and asexual people’s lived experiences, as well to the ways in which compulsory sexuality is manifest throughout our everyday lives. This paper thus contributes to beginning geographical discussions of asexualities, and extends emerging research on asexuality by introducing a geographical lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is limited research examining the views of general practice pharmacists (GPPs) on their role and their impact in general practice. The aim of this study was to explore GPPs' views regarding this role and its potential impact within general practice in Northern Ireland (NI). Methods: A paper-based self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 319 general practices in NI in 2022, directed to the GPP who spent most time at the practice. A variety of closed and open questions were included in six sections. Responses to closed questions were analysed descriptively whilst open question responses were analysed using content analysis. To ascertain associations between variables (e.g. GPP prescribing status, working arrangements and aspects of collaboration with GPPs), Fisher's exact test was employed with an a priori significance level of p < 0.05. Results: 155 responses were received equating to a response rate of 48.5%. Most participants (72.3%) were female, independent prescribers (71%), and 64.5% were currently using their independent prescriber qualification. Services that were provided by most GPPs were medication reconciliation (99.4%) and medication reviews (97.4%). The most common method of communication between GPPs and general practitioners (GPs) was face-to-face (89.0%). Telephone was the most common method of communication between GPPs, community pharmacists (97.4%) and patients (98.7%). Most GPPs (> 80%) showed positive attitudes towards collaboration with GPs and those who worked in multiple practices were more likely to agree with the Attitudes Towards Collaboration Instrument for pharmacists (ATCI-P) statements compared to those who worked in a single practice (p < 0.05). Less than 40% (36.8%) of GPPs agreed that patients were aware of the role they provided. The majority of GPPs (80.6%) expressed positive views on their impact on primary care. Analysis of the free-text comments revealed the need for more GPP patient-facing activities, GPP-specific training, and promotion of the GPP role. Conclusion: The findings indicated that GPPs had largely positive views about their role and their impact on primary care. The results may be helpful for practices and service commissioners. Further research is necessary to explore the perspectives of patients regarding the role of the GPP and to enhance patients' awareness of the GPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous research papers have used Irish-only data to test for the presence of an investment gap for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this paper, we use cross-country firm-level survey data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys to explore the investment patterns of Irish enterprises in a cross-country context and test whether an investment gap is present when compared to other countries. We use an accelerator model of investment which links capital expenditure to firm output growth and test the sensitivity of investment to this key fundamental for Ireland and other countries. We then estimate whether Irish firms face an investment gap relative to their European peers. We test whether any differences in cross-country patterns are driven by variation in financial factors (such as credit access or indebtedness) or firm quality (managerial experience, website usage, operating profitability). We find that Ireland's investment in fixed tangible assets is relatively well explained by these factors whereas a clear underinvestment in research and development expenditure emerges. Factors associated with investment in research and development include the degree of foreign technology usage, digitalisation and internationalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space has various meanings; while sometimes it can be expansive, at others it can be condensed into a particular frame. When power comes into question, space is internalized and subsequently challenged. The spaces of Seamus Heaney's writings are an extension of the wide expanse of the space of Ireland in general. The geographical spaces project fault lines distributed across religious, political and social grounds, and Heaney's poetry broadens this view of the Northern and Southern Ireland, trying to reestablish the lost Irish identity, entangled within the complexities of history and culture. Through the recollections of childhood, Heaney dwells on the rural landscape forming an essential part of nativity arising from the regionalism in question. This paper explores the relationship between the social and spatial aspects of Ireland as seen in Heaney's writing space. It is interpreted through Edward Soja's concept of Thirdspace that encompasses the socio-spatial and the spatial-temporal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: What is known on the subject?: Nurses' observation of patients in seclusion is essential to ensure patient safety.Patient observation in seclusion assists nurses in adhering to the requirements of mental health legislation and hospital policy.Direct observation and video monitoring are widely used in observing patients in seclusion.Coercive practices may cause distress to patient‐staff relations. What the paper adds to existing knowledge?: We add detailed information on specific observation methods in seclusion and compare them from the perspective of patients.Nurses communicating with patients ensures relational contact and that quality care is provided to patients even in the most distressed phase of their illness.Providing prior information to patients on observation methods in seclusion and the need for engaging patients in meaningful activities, while in seclusion are emphasized.Observation via camera and nurses' presence near the seclusion room made patients feel safe and gave a sense of being cared for in seclusion.Pixellating the video camera would give a sense of privacy and dignity. What are the implications for practice?: The overarching goal is to prevent seclusion. However, when seclusion is used as a last resort to manage risk to others, it should be done in ways that recognize the human rights of the patient, in ways that are least harmful, and in ways that recognize and cater to patients' unique needs.A consistent approach to relational contact and communication is essential. A care plan must include patient's preferred approach for interacting while in seclusion to support individualized care provision.Viewing panels (small window on the seclusion door) are important in establishing two‐way communication with the patient. Educating nurses to utilize them correctly helps stimulate relational contact and communication during seclusion to benefit patients.Engaging patients in meaningful activities when in seclusion is essential to keep them connected to the outside world. Depending on the patient's presentation in the seclusion room and their preferences for interactions, reading newspapers, poems, stories, or a book chapter aloud to patients, via the viewing panel could help ensure such connectedness.More focus should be placed on providing communication training to nurses to strengthen their communication skills in caring for individuals in challenging care situations.Patient education is paramount. Providing prior information to patients using a co‐produced information leaflet might reduce their anxiety and make them feel safe in the room.When using cameras in the seclusion room, these should be pixelated to maintain patients' privacy. Introduction: A lack of research investigating the specific role that various observational techniques may have in shaping the therapeutic relations in mental health care during seclusion warranted this study. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore patients' experience of different methods of observation used while the patient was in seclusion. Method: A retrospective phenomenological approach, using semi‐structured interviews, ten patients' experiences of being observed in the seclusion room was investigated. Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method was followed to analyse the data. Results: Communicating and engaging patients in meaningful activities can be achieved via the viewing panel. The camera was considered essential in monitoring behaviour and promoting a sense of safety. Pixelating the camera may transform patient view on privacy in seclusion. Discussion: The mental health services must strive to prevent seclusion and every effort should be made to recognise the human rights of the patient. The study reveals numerous advantages when nurses actively engage in patient communication during the process of observation. Implications for Practice: Different observation methods yield different benefits; therefore, staff education in using these methods is paramount. Empowering the patient with prior information on seclusion, engaging them in meaningful activities and proper documentation on patient engagement, supports the provision of individualised care in seclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geography is a significant element of social innovation. This paper focuses on exploring differences and similarities in the characteristics and contributions towards impact of Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs), a form of social innovation which provides otherwise unmet services and opportunities to people at risk of social and economic exclusion and distant from the labour market, in rural and urban areas of Ireland. To do so, we use data from 336 surveys from urban (213) and rural (123) WISEs and conduct an exploratory and spatially sensitive analysis to compare the characteristics, in terms of organisational age, legal and governance form, multiplicity of activities, revenue diversification; and contributions towards impact, in terms of geographical focus/reach, employment, volunteers, and income generation. Our analysis shows that WISEs in urban and rural areas present rather similar organisational characteristics and ways of functioning (legal structure, multiactivity, multiple sources of funding), but their contributions to socioeconomic impact differ according to their spatial location, with urban WISEs generating significantly more employment and income than their rural counterparts. Our study illustrates that socially innovative organisations are spatially sensitive, and that context influences their capacity to create sustainable employment opportunities and contribute to the local economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mindy Thompson Fullilove’s concept of ‘Root Shock’ captures the trauma caused by the mass displacement and dispossession associated with urban renewal. In the twenty years since it was published, such policies have set in motion waves of trauma and ‘dispossessive praxis’ (Lancione, 2024, p. 841), producing what Fullilove (2004, p. 99) calls ‘a downward spiral of collapse’. Reflecting on the book’s twentieth anniversary, in this paper we draw on root shock and ancillary concepts to reflect on what happens when the forms of community, reciprocity, and solidarity presupposed in analyses of residents’ experience of displacement have already been hollowed out? We do so by examining how housing movements have had to simultaneously resist displacement and engage in active processes to create community, focusing on the experience of the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) in Ireland. We show that the denial of roots requires the praxis of cultivating and nurturing their potential through tenant organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root shock is a predictable consequence of several sets of social policies in Ireland. This paper will look at how root shock is used to discipline one-parent families and people seeking asylum in Ireland. Changes to benefits and housing systems since the global economic crisis of 2008 has seen one-parent families suffer the most intense root shock through deprivation and homelessness. People seeking asylum have already suffered the most awful root shock while experiencing racism and suspicion from the Irish state, limiting their integration and overall safety. While the Irish state continues to fail to support either group, divisions deepen. The consequences of root shock have created the space for a politics of hate, which pits people seeking refuge against homeless one-parent families and allowed the far right in Ireland to weaponize the housing crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although Ireland has one of the highest levels of well‐being in Europe, having a health condition has been found to have a direct negative impact. The aim of this study is to evaluate the current situation and the experiences of patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin disease, and their relatives living in Ireland, with a focus on burdens and helpful practices. Methods and Measures: In a mixed‐methods design, a series of standardised questionnaires were combined with open‐ended questions. Via an online survey, data from n = 59 EB patients and relatives of EB patients living in Ireland were collected. Results: EB affects both the patients and their relatives. Burdens were found in relation to the visibility of EB, the degree of severity, the current health status, reduced mobility, the financial impact of EB, the psychosocial impact and personal and social resources. The paper also analyses existing resources and highlights opportunities for support and needs of improvement. Conclusion: Quality of life with EB is influenced by somatic symptoms and the psychosocial burden. Individual helpful practices in dealing with this rare disease can be considered as mediators, but they need to be supported by structural and healthcare improvements. Patient or Public Contribution: The perspective of EB patients, their relatives and EB experts were taken into account in the development of the study design via two feedback loops with the EB patient organisations DEBRA Ireland and DEBRA Austria. The design was adapted accordingly. Additionally, by including open‐ended questions, patients and relatives could contribute their individual perspectives and add insights into their lives with EB that might not have been captured with the structured online survey alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, an Irish parliament white paper called for greater addressing of sport-related concussions (SRCs) in Ireland, requesting the adoption of the Concussion in Sport Group's (CISGs) guidelines and greater consistency in SRC return to play (RTP) management. Ten years later, it is unclear how these requests have been addressed. Recently, the United Kingdom's government centralised guidelines to one SRC document for all grassroots sports. This study aimed to investigate all publicly available SRC guidance in Irish sports and national governing bodies (NGBs) to determine if centralised guidelines are warranted. Sport Ireland and the Irish Federation of Sports were searched for all recognised NGBs and sports in Ireland. Websites were searched for any information pertaining to SRCs and data were extracted and collated in Microsoft Excel. In total, 15 of 83 sports and/or NGBs included SRC guidance, nine of which provided RTP protocols. Various iterations of the CISGs guidance and tools were implemented. Several sports with a documented SRC risk had no guidelines present. The findings indicate disjointed and outdated guidance across Irish sport. Additionally, there are sports with a documented concussion risk that have no SRC guidance available. This study provides support for centralised guidelines to be adopted in Irish grassroots sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of a new source of fly ash, deposited on the site of a coal-fired power plant in Ireland dating from 1985 to 1995, as a cement replacement material. A series of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses on binder samples with cement replacement levels of 0, 10, 25 and 35% was undertaken to determine the fly ash's mineralogical composition and to determine its suitability as a supplemental cementitious material (SCM). The XRD results reveal a unique mineral composition with promising characteristics for enhancing the strength and durability of concrete. The experimental results were used to calibrate a thermodynamic model to predict changing phase assemblage and hydration behaviour over time and per replacement level. Thermodynamic models have been shown to give credible predictions of the long-term performance of cements, including SCMs. The initial experimental results' thermodynamic modelling demonstrates the feasibility of this fly ash source as a sustainable alternative to traditional cement, paving the way for more eco-friendly construction. Ash deposits dating from 1995 to 2005 and from 2005 to the present will be presented in subsequent publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The CELTIC ranges project aims to deliver a comprehensive range of reference intervals for commonly ordered laboratory investigations suitable for use in an Irish population as well as enabling comparison with relevant international studies. In this paper, we describe our methodology used throughout the entire project and present paediatric reference intervals for renal profile tests in plasma (sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine). Methods: 1023 children aged up to 17 years were recruited from our hospital's general practitioner paediatric phlebotomy clinic. Clinical chemistry analyses were performed on the Roche modular system and statistical analysis was completed in line with CLSI guideline EP28-A3c. Results: The plasma reference interval for sodium for ages 0.45–16.99 years was 137–143 mmol/L in 1000 subjects (combined genders). For plasma potassium, the corresponding ranges between 1 and 16.99 years (combined genders) were 3.6–4.8 mmol/L. Apart from neonates and in keeping with other studies, age partitioning for electrolytes was not required. Data for plasma creatinine (enzymatic methodology) and urea is also presented and, as anticipated, required partitioning for both age and gender. Conclusions: Our renal profile findings are broadly consistent with those of international studies, for example, CALIPER, HAPPI, NORDIC, PRINCE and KiGGs. Moreover, the CELTIC ranges study is also based on over 1000 subjects whose samples were analysed on the widely used Roche modular analytics system. We also expect the findings will improve knowledge of children's metabolic health in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As newsrooms build new audiences and revenue streams, there are considerations around the impact of digitalization on journalistic labour. This paper explores journalists' perceptions of how digital technologies influence their work, and the role of technology in furthering managerial control and extracting labour power. Building on an earlier study of freelance workers in the Republic of Ireland this exploratory paper examines if the concept of digital labour, can be expanded to include the work of salaried journalists. Specifically, the article considers how digital technologies are shifting the boundaries and the nature of work in journalism. The research is informed by a theoretical framework, drawn from labour process theory. Using this theory, the linkages between digital labour and work processes are considered to explore the perceived effects of digitalization on how journalists work. The main findings suggest organizations are increasingly extracting more labour power, requiring journalists to produce more over longer hours. Salaried journalists also report an implicit rather than a contractual obligation to participate in additional and unpaid digital labour to meet employer expectations. These developments, it is argued, have not only shifted the boundaries of news work but also further tilted the balance of power in favour of news organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the first X-ray fluorescence (XRF) investigation conducted on three late medieval chalices associated with Ireland: the Ó Learghusa chalice, auctioned as medieval Irish in 2021, does not have a confirmed provenance; the de Burgo-O'Malley chalice, dated 1494, and the TP-IEP chalice, dated 1589, both of Irish provenance. This study effectively addressed the knowledge gap concerning Irish medieval silver chalices composition. The analysis revealed that both the Ó Learghusa and de Burgo-O'Malley chalices were crafted from a silver-copper alloy and adorned using a fire-gilding technique. The blue and green enamels on the de Burgo-O'Malley chalice were found to be constituted by cobalt and iron/copper glasses, respectively. In contrast, the TP-IEP chalice exhibited a more intricate structure, being a composite object with partial silver gilt and with the bowl and base possibly made of a ternary silver-copper-gold alloy. The TP-IEP chalice's knop displayed glass, simulating gems with transparent, blue, and purple colorations. XRF analysis allowed identification of lead-potash glass, while the red glass displayed a rich iron content and was identified as soda-lime glass. The analysis allowed concluding that the de Burgo-O'Malley chalice had retained its original condition, including its original gilding and enamels, while the Ó Learghusa and TP-IEP chalices appeared to have undergone refurbishment. These significant discoveries contribute to a deeper understanding of the historical context and artistic craftsmanship behind these late medieval chalices, shedding light on their unique stories within Irish art and history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a small-scale qualitative participatory research study conducted in two large primary schools in Ireland with classes for autistic students. The paper reports how a menu of immersive technology learning experiences was thoughtfully designed and employed with autistic children who were communicating through their behavior an aversion to the learning environment and many aspects of conventional learning activities. Through this study, students were enabled to explore and respond to learning through immersive learning environments. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) infused design of these immersive learning experiences was tailored to remove barriers to learning, thus counteracting the observable disruptive behaviors of the students. The study explores a purposive sample of six participating teachers' perspectives on the affective gains (engagement, motivation, and self-efficacy) achieved through the use of these immersive experiences and their impact on students' use of disruptive behaviors as a means of communication. Semi-structured interviews with teacher participants were analyzed using the theory and a general inductive approach for qualitative data analysis. This paper contributes to the literature on the use of immersive technologies in education and highlights the potential benefits of incorporating these technologies into the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]