The Financial Accountability of Irish Credit Unions: an initial empirical study

Credit unions are member-owned, voluntary, self-help, democratic, not-for-profit institutions that provide financial services to their members. They have both economic and social goals. Over this last decade they have achieved remarkable growth levels and currently there are 600 such organisations in Ireland, with approximately 50 per cent of the adult population of Ireland belonging to a credit union. Accounting for credit unions is a much-neglected area and relatively little is known about the sector's accountability. This paper presents the results of an initial empirical study of the financial accountability of Irish credit unions. A series of interviews and a basic content analysis of 178 recent financial statements were used to identify the views of key stakeholders with respect to the discharge of financial accountability by credit unions and the current quality of financial reporting. Overall, the research points to a sector where financial accountability through the medium of the annual report is weak and possible adverse consequences of this are explored. On the basis of the interviews it is suggested that if changes in financial accountability are to be achieved then some more proactive engagement of parties external to the management of individual credit unions is needed.

Addressing diversity and inclusion in the early years in conflict-affected societies: A case study of the Media Initiative for Children – Northern Ireland

This article reports on the development and systematic evaluation of an innovative early years programme aimed at encouraging young children to respect differences within a deeply-divided society that is emerging out of a prolonged period of violent conflict. The programme, the Media Initiative for Children – Northern Ireland, has been the product of a partnership between an US-based organisation (the Peace Initiatives Institute) and NIPPA – The Early Years Organisation and has been supported by academic research and the efforts of a range of voluntary and statutory organisations. It has attempted to encourage young children to value diversity and be more inclusive of those who are different to themselves through the use of short cartoons designed for and broadcast on television as well as specially-prepared curricular materials for use in pre-school settings. To date the programme has been delivered through 200 settings to approximately 3,500 pre-school children across Northern Ireland. This article describes how the programme was developed and implemented as well as the rigorous approach taken to evaluating its effects on young children’s attitudes and awareness. Key lessons from this are identified and discussed in relation to future work in this area.

La incidencia de los valores culturales en el voluntariado: el caso de Europa

La realidad del voluntariado es sumamente compleja hasta el punto de que resulta complicado definir y caracterizar el trabajo voluntario, dada la gran variedad de interpretaciones, motivaciones, variables sociodemográficas y aspectos culturales que configuran el perfil de los voluntarios. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la influencia conjunta de algunas variables sociodemográficas, así como de los valores culturales de índole secular o tradicional, sobre el perfil de los voluntarios en Europa. Además, se investiga qué variables orientan a los voluntarios hacia un determinado tipo de voluntariado u otro. Para ello se ha aplicado principalmente una metodología de regresión logística a partir de la información disponible en la European Value Study. Los resultados obtenidos ayudan a establecer una caracterización del voluntariado en Europa, y confirman la influencia de los valores culturales, en primer lugar, en la realización o no de trabajos de voluntariado, y en segundo lugar, en la elección que hacen estas personas del tipo de actividad con la que están comprometidos. Al analizar dos tipos de voluntariado de motivación supuestamente muy diferente, se concluye que existe un grupo de valores que influyen en ambos, aunque el sentido y la intensidad en la que lo hacen sea diferente; por otra parte, algunos valores tienen influencia o no en la realización de trabajos de voluntariado, dependiendo del tipo específico al que nos refiramos.

Non-agrocultural co-peratives and economy transformation in Cuba: politic processes and strategies

Contribution of co-operatives has been demonstrated since the 1970s as the main development line in agricultural production in Cuba. In contrast, there has been a late recognition of urban co-operatives, even if the need of transformations based on the realization of property in different territorial scenarios had been identified. The article analyses the reform processes launched since the first decade of the 21st century focusing on the nature of the initiatives fostering formation and promotion of nonagricultural co-operatives including follow up of their performance. The potential and limitations of the recent experiences are examined in order to reflect on the organizational processes and transformations from the point of view of their members. To conclude, some questions are posed about whether these co-operatives are capable of avoiding the impact of earlier employment circumstances and of developing strategies aimed at reinforcing voluntary membership and autonomy on which they are founded.

A delphy study of the cooperativisation of the social services in the historical territory of Gipuzkoa

This article shows the main results obtained from the Delphi study, which was made of politicians and technicians from the Department of Social Policy in the County Council of Gipuzkoa, concerning the possibility of cooperativizing the provision of social services in this historical territory. With this in mind, the structure of this article is in two different parts. The first part develops the theoretical framework which serves as inspiration for the empirical work, where note is made of the main theoretical proposals that have a bearing on the collective dimension of citizen participation in the management of public services. Among the various models, those which prioritise public participation through social and solidarity economy entities stand out. The second part concerns itself with the presentation of the field research results. To this end, the methodological notes concerning the preparation process for the Delphi analysis are presented first and this is immediately followed by a synthesis of the main results obtained in this study. The article ends with a section of conclusions and future lines of action.

Organizational and financial transparency in the website of the foundations: an empirical study for Spain

Transparency in nonprofit sector and foundations, as an element to enhance the confidence of stakeholders in the organization, is a fact shown by several studies in recent decades. Transparency can be considered in various fields and through different channels. In our study we focused on the analysis of the organizational and economic transparency of foundations, shown through the voluntary information on their Website. We review the theoretical previous studies published to put to the foundations within the framework of the social economy. This theoretical framework has focused on accountability that make foundations in relation to its social function and its management, especially since the most recent focus of information transparency across the Website.In this theoretical framework was made an index to quantify the voluntary information which is shown on its website. This index has been developed ad hoc for this study and applied to a group of large corporate foundations.With the application of these data are obtained two kind of results, to a descriptive level and to a inferential level.We analyzed the statistical correlation between economic transparency and organizational transparency offered in the Website through quantified variables by a multiple linear regression. This empirical analysis allows us to draw conclusions about the level of transparency offered by these organizations in relation to their organizational and financial information, as well as explain the relation between them.

The training in social and solidarity economy. Analysis of the university offer in Spain

This research analyses the importance of the training for the promotion of the social economy in two ways: 1) focusing on the characteristics of the educational offer of Social Economy and 2) analyzing its differences regarding to those studies from the Management, entrepreneurship, and innovations areas. To this aim, it is carried out as a first step a literature review of the contributions that study the relationships that can exist between the education and Economy. Then, being based on this previous analysis, we already center our research on the Social Economy sector and its relations with the education system. To get this objective, it has been developed a database that includes all the postgraduate titles related to the Economics area. Likewise, a questionnaire has been designed with the aim of characterize the training in social Economy. As a conclusion, it is obtained that the training in social economy in postgraduate studies in the Spanish Universities is very poor. On the other hand, there are significant differences between Social Economy degrees and Business Management, entrepreneurship and innovation degrees with regard to different aspects such as: values to transmit, competencies, skills, the way of understanding the Economy, etc. Based on these conclusions, different recommendations are proposed in order to promote and boost this other way of doing Economy through the training and education in postgraduate studies.

Social economy and economic crisis in the basque country abstract

This article examines the socio-economic evolution of the social economy sector in the Basque Country during the 2008-2014 period of economic crisis. Data have been obtained within a framework of collaboration between university, Basque Government and private sector of the social economy. The results suggest that such entities have evolved better, both in terms of number of enterprises and employment, than the general economy of the Basque Country, while the context of public policies aimed at social economy has worsened over the years. However, in economic terms (measured through the Gross Value Added generated), they have not been able to cope with the crisis in equal conditions to the general economy. The main contribution of this research lies in that, unlike similar studies, it discusses the evolution of the whole sector of the social economy, taking as reference a broad period of the current economic crisis.

Notes on the History of Social Work: An Examination of the Transition from Philanthropy to Professional Social Work in Ireland

The objective of the article is to examine the way in which social work in Ireland evolved from practices of philanthropy in the late 19th century to a distinct professional strategy in the present. Results: The results of archival research show that philanthropy in Ireland was provided almost exclusively by religious organizations and was constructed within a discourse of sectarianism and rivalry between the two main denominations, Catholic and Protestant, up to the 1960s. It is only in the past 30 years that social work has become firmly established as a secular strategy. Conclusions: It is concluded that although social work is now clearly distinct from voluntary and religious-based social work practices, some of its present principles and practices remain continuous with its historical antecedents.

The effect of simultaneous contractions of ipsilateral muscles on changes in corticospinal excitability induced by paired associative stimulation (PAS)

Consideration was given to means of increasing the reliability and muscle specificity of paired associative stimulation (PAS) by utilising the phenomenon of crossed-facilitation. Eight participants completed three separate sessions: isometric flexor contractions of the left wrist at 20% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) simultaneously with PAS (20s intervals; 14 min duration) delivered at the right median nerve and left primary motor cortex (MI); isometric contractions at 20% of MVC: and PAS only ( 14 min). Eight further participants completed two sessions of longer duration PAS (28 min): either alone or in conjunction with flexion contractions of the left wrist. Thirty motor potentials (MEPs) were evoked in the right flexor (rFCR) and extensor (rECR) carpi radialis muscles by magnetic stimulation of left M1 Prior to the interventions, immediately post-intervention, and 10 min post-intervention. Both 14 and 28 min of combined PAS and (left wrist flexion) contractions resulted in reliable increases in rFCR MEP amplitude, which were not present in rECR. In the PAS only conditions, 14 min of stimulation gave rise to unreliable increases in MEP amplitudes in rFCR and rECR, whereas 28 min of PAS induced small (unreliable) changes only for rFCR. These results support the conclusion that changes in the excitability of the corticospinal pathway induced by PAS interact with those associated with contraction of the muscles ipsilateral to the site of cortical stimulation. Furthermore, focal contractions applied by the opposite limb increase the extent and muscle specificity of the induced changes in excitability associated with PAS. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuromuscular-skeletal constraints on the acquisition of skill in a discrete torque production task

The organisation of the human neuromuscular-skeletal system allows an extremely wide variety of actions to be performed, often with great dexterity. Adaptations associated with skill acquisition occur at all levels of the neuromuscular-skeletal system although all neural adaptations are inevitably constrained by the organisation of the actuating apparatus (muscles and bones). We quantified the extent to which skill acquisition in an isometric task set is influenced by the mechanical properties of the muscles used to produce the required actions. Initial performance was greatly dependent upon the specific combination of torques required in each variant of the experimental task. Five consecutive days of practice improved the performance to a similar degree across eight actions despite differences in the torques required about the elbow and forearm. The proportional improvement in performance was also similar when the actions were performed at either 20 or 40% of participants' maximum voluntary torque capacity. The skill acquired during practice was successfully extrapolated to variants of the task requiring more torque than that required during practice. We conclude that while the extent to which skill can be acquired in isometric actions is independent of the specific combination of joint torques required for target acquisition, the nature of the kinetic adaptations leading to the performance improvement in isometric actions is influenced by the neural and mechanical properties of the actuating muscles.

Neuromuscular-skeletal origins of predominant patterns of coordination in a rhythmic two-joint arm movement

The authors tested for predominant patterns of coordination in the combination of rhythmic flexion-extension (FE) and supination-pronation (SP) at the elbow-joint complex. Participants (N = 10) spontaneously established in-phase (supination synchronized with flexion) and antiphase (pronation synchronized with flexion) patterns. In addition, the authors used a motorized robot arm to generate involuntary SP movements with different phase relations with respect to voluntary FE. The involuntarily induced in-phase pattern was accentuated and was more consistent than other patterns. That result provides evidence that the predominance of the in-phase pattern originates in the influence of neuro-muscular-skeletal constraints rather than in a preference dictated by perceptual-cognitive factors implicated in voluntary control. Neuromuscular-skeletal constraints involved in the predominance of the in-phase and the antiphase patterns are discussed.

Neuromuscular adaptation during skill acquisition on a two degree-of-freedom target-acquisition task: Isometric torque production

In this study we attempted to identify the principles that govern the changes in neural control that occur during repeated performance of a multiarticular coordination task. Eight participants produced isometric flexion/extension and pronation/supination torques at the radiohumeral joint, either in isolation (e.g., flexion) or in combination (e.g., flexion - supination), to acquire targets presented by a visual display. A cursor superimposed on the display provided feedback of the applied torques. During pre- and postpractice tests, the participants acquired targets in eight directions located either 3.6 cm (20% maximal voluntary contraction [MVC]) or 7.2 cm (40% MVC) from a neutral cursor position. On each of five consecutive days of practice the participants acquired targets located 5.4 cm (30% MVC) from the neutral position. EMG was recorded from eight muscles contributing to torque production about the radiohumeral joint during the pre- and posttests. Target-acquisition time decreased significantly with practice in most target directions and at both target torque levels. These performance improvements were primarily associated with increases in the peak rate of torque development after practice. At a muscular level, these changes were brought about by increases in the rates of recruitment of all agonist muscles. The spatiotemporal organization of muscle synergies was not significantly altered after practice. The observed adaptations appear to lead to performances that are generalizable to actions that require both greater and smaller joint torques than that practiced, and may be successfully recalled after a substantial period without practice. These results suggest that tasks in which performance is improved by increasing the rate of muscle activation, and thus the rate of joint torque development, may benefit in terms of the extent to which acquired levels of performance are maintained over time.

Transfer of resistance training to enhance rapid coordinated force production by older adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the capacity of resistance training to enhance the rapid and coordinated production of force by older people. Thirty adults (greater than or equal to 60 years) completed a visually guided aiming task that required the generation of isometric torque in 2 df about the elbow prior to and following a 4-week training period. Groups of six participants were allocated to two progressive ( 40 - 100% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)) resistance-training (PRT) groups, to two constant low-load (10% MVC) training groups (CLO) and to one no-training control group. Training movements required the generation of either combined flexion and supination (FLESUP), or combined extension and supination (EXTSUP). In response to training, target acquisition times in the aiming task decreased for all groups; however, both the nature of the training load and the training movement influenced the pattern and magnitude of improvements (EXTSUP_ CLO: 36%, FLESUP_ PRT 26%, EXTSUP_ PRT 22%, FLESUP_ CLO 20%, CONTROL 15%). For one group that trained with progressively increasing loads, there arose a subsequent decrease in performance in one condition of the transfer task. For each group, these adaptations were accompanied by systematic changes in the coordination of muscles about the elbow joint, particularly the biceps brachii.

The sites of neural adaptation induced by resistance training in humans

Although it has long been supposed that resistance training causes adaptive changes in the CNS, the sites and nature of these adaptations have not previously been identified. In order to determine whether the neural adaptations to resistance training occur to a greater extent at cortical or subcortical sites in the CNS, we compared the effects of resistance training on the electromyographic (EMG) responses to transcranial magnetic (TMS) and electrical (TES) stimulation. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the first dorsal interosseous muscle of 16 individuals before and after 4 weeks of resistance training for the index finger abductors (n=8), or training involving finger abduction-adduction without external resistance (n=8). TMS was delivered at rest at intensities from 5% below the passive threshold to the maximal output of the stimulator. TMS and TES were also delivered at the active threshold intensity while the participants exerted torques ranging from 5 to 60% of their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) torque. The average latency of MEPs elicited by TES was significantly shorter than that of TMS MEPs (TES latency=21.5+/-1.4 ms; TMS latency=23.4+/-1.4 ms; P