Evaluating the additionality of public sector assistance to Irish firms: a question of ownership?

This article presents an innovative approach to estimating the additionality of financial assistance awarded to firms by an Irish regional development agency. The 'self assessment approach' is used to derive estimates of deadweight and displacement for firms in the Shannon region of Ireland. Irish studies have derived high estimates of deadweight by international standards. In light of this, and the fact that successive Irish governments have placed emphasis on Foreign Direct Investment as an engine for growth, the primary objective here is to address the question of whether the type of firm ownership matters with respect to resulting deadweight and/or displacement estimates. The latter question is addressed using logistic regression analysis to test whether, ceteris paribus, firm ownership is a key-determining factor for estimates of deadweight and/or displacement. The results show that ownership does not matter in the case of deadweight, but regarding displacement there are differences between indigenous and foreign-owned firms albeit at very low levels. More precisely, as expected, indigenously owned firms are more likely to lead to higher estimates of displacement.

Outsourcing:an Irish perspective

This paper investigates three case studies with regards their outsourcing initiatives from an Irish perspective, the benefits and problems they encountered, the contracts they have constructed, and where they have outsourced and the reasons behind them. The research took place over a period of two years, and the information for the case studies was gleaned from a number of sources including: published papers about the companies, the company websites, annual financial reports, the questionnaire they filled out, and interviews with key decision making personnel in the company. Follow up interviews were conducted where it was felt they were required. Key findings were that: it is very important to have the outsourcing initiative driven from the top down, and it is imperative to construct a contract that promotes a relationship based on mutual trust and respect, the use of Ireland for outsourcing, and the benefits and problem companies have experienced.

French linguistics research and teaching in UK and Irish HE institutions

Introduction: The research and teaching of French linguistics in UK higher education (HE) institutions have a venerable history; a number of universities have traditionally offered philology or history of the language courses, which complement literary study. A deeper understanding of the way that the phonology, syntax and semantics of the French language have evolved gives students linguistic insights that dovetail with their study of the Roman de Renart, Rabelais, Racine or the nouveau roman. There was, in the past, some coverage of contemporary French phonetics but little on sociolinguistic issues. More recently, new areas of research and teaching have been developed, with a particular focus on contemporary spoken French and on sociolinguistics. Well supported by funding councils, UK researchers are also making an important contribution in other areas: phonetics and phonology, syntax, pragmatics and second-language acquisition. A fair proportion of French linguistics research occurs outside French sections in psychology or applied linguistics departments. In addition, the UK plays a particular role in bringing together European and North American intellectual traditions and methodologies and in promoting the internationalisation of French linguistics research through the strength of its subject associations, and that of the Journal of French Language Studies. The following sections treat each of these areas in turn. History of the French Language There is a long and distinguished tradition in Britain of teaching and research on the history of the French language, particularly, but by no means exclusively, at the universities of Cambridge, Manchester and Oxford.