An explaratory study on the relationship between Employee innovation and the rewards systems supporting innovation ; a case study of Medtronic Galway

The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between innovation and reward system supporting innovation. The empirical evidence came from a case study in Medtronic, Galway, a medical device company. This study incorporates the literature surrounding innovation and rewards and will attempt to identify a link both theoretically and practically between both.

The Selection Process of Applications to the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System: Who Gets Financial Support?

Public policies to support entrepreneurship and innovation play a vital role when firms have difficulties in accessing external finance. However, some authors have found evidence of long-term inefficiency in subsidized firms (Bernini and Pelligrini, 2011; Cerqua and Pelligrini, 2014) and ineffectiveness of public funds (Jorge and Suárez, 2011). The aim of the paper is to assess the effectiveness in the selection process of applications to public financial support for stimulating innovation. Using a binary choice model, we investigate which factors influence the probability of obtaining public support for an innovative investment. The explanatory variables are connected to firm profile, the characteristics of the project and the macroeconomic environment. The analysis is based on the case study of the Portuguese Innovation.Incentive System (PIIS) and on the applications managed by the Alentejo Regional Operational Program in the period 2007 – 2013. The results show that the selection process is more focused on the expected impact of the project than on the firm’s past performance. Factors that influence the credit risk and the decision to grant a bank loan do not seem to influence the government evaluator regarding the funding of some projects. Past activities in R&D do not significantly affect the probability of having an application approved under the PIIS, whereas an increase in the number of patents and the number of skilled jobs are both relevant factors. Nevertheless, some evidence of firms’ short-term inefficiency was found, in that receiving public financial support is linked to a smaller increase in productivity compared to non-approved firm applications. At the macroeconomic level, periods with a higher cost of capital in financial markets are linked to a greater probability of getting an application for public support approved, which could be associated with the effectiveness of public support in correcting market failings.

Polish immigrants in Ireland's black economy: a phenomenological investigation

The purpose of this thesis is to answer the research question ‗why do some Polish migrants engage in shadow employment in the Republic of Ireland?‘ The individual and group interviews, which were conducted in August 2011 with thirteen Polish migrants, living and working in Ireland, generated the answer to the research question. Interviewees‘ responses were analysed from the point of view of the literature that examines the various factors within the topics of migration and the black economy. The thesis begins with theoretical background information regarding the enlargement of the European Union and the economic situation of Poland and Ireland. Then migration theories are explained and Polish and Irish migration history is presented. Next, the issue of the black economy and shadow employment is developed with a focus on its presence in Poland and Ireland. The following section is dedicated to the research methodology that was adopted to ensure effective collection of the information. The issues of the qualitative and quantitative research, phenomenological approach to the research and interviews as data collection are raised in that section. The last part of the thesis is based on an analysis of the respondents‘ statements. It explores interviewees‘ experience of life and work in Ireland. The main part of that section develops the reasons why do Polish workers engage in shadow employment in the Republic of Ireland. Simultaneously, it provides the answers to the research question of this thesis.

An emperical study of performance management systems in SMEs in the Republic of Ireland and the People's Republic of China : a cultural perspective

The objectives of this thesis are three. Firstly, finding and analyzing the differences of performance management system in SMEs in Ireland and China. Secondly, finding the cultural differences between China and Ireland and thirdly, integrating the research outcomes of the above research objectives, and then analyzing the effect of these cultural differences on performance management system in SMEs in China and Ireland.

The Irish Pub: past, present – whither the future?

The purpose of this research is to examine the main economic, legislative, and socio- cultural factors that are currently influencing the pub trade in Ireland and their specific impact on a sample of publicans in both Galway city and county. In approaching this task the author engaged in a comprehensive literature review on the origin, history and evolution of the Irish pub; examined the socio-cultural and economic role of the public house in Ireland and developed a profile of the Irish pub by undertaking a number of semi-structured interviews with pub owners from the area. In doing so, the author obtained the views and opinions of the publicans on the current state of their businesses, the extent to which patterns of trade have changed over recent years, the challenges and factors currently influencing their trade, the actions they believed to be necessary to promote the trade and address perceived difficulties and how they viewed the future of the pub business within the framework of the current regulatory regime. In light of this research, the author identified a number of key findings and put forward a series of recommendations designed to promote the future success and development of the pub trade in Ireland. The research established that public houses are currently operating under a very unfavourable regulatory framework that has resulted in the serious decline of the trade over the last decade. This decline appears to have coincided initially with the introduction of the ban on smoking in the workplace and was exacerbated further by the advent of more severe drink-driving laws, especially mandatory breath testing. Other unfavourable conditions include the high levels of excise duty, value added tax and local authority commercial rates. In addition to these regulatory factors, the research established that a major impediment to the pub trade is the unfair competition from supermarkets and other off-licence retail outlets and especially to the phenomenon of the below-cost selling of alcohol. The recession has also been a major contributory factor to the decline in the trade as also has been the trend towards lifestyle changes and home drinking mirroring the practice in some continental European countries.

An empirical study of the effectiveness of Irish banks’ lending regulations

The objective of this thesis will be to examine the effectiveness of lending regulations for Irish banks both prior to and after the collapse of the banking sector. The research developed a profile of the banking sector in Ireland, then evaluate the levels of stability in the Irish banking sector. In the course of this research, the author tried to establish an understanding of who is responsible for lending regulations for banks in Ireland, Investigate in particular: AIB, Ulster Bank & Anglo Irish Bank’s level of compliance with lending regulations between the Celtic Tiger and the present.

Investigating the long term planning framework for the Galway Bay community from climate change.

This research looked at the scientific evidence available on climate change and in particular, projections on sea level rise which ranged from 0.5m to 2m by the end of the century. These projections were then considered in an Irish context. A review of current policy in Ireland revealed that there was no dedicated Government policy on climate change or coastal zone management. In terms of spatial planning policy, it became apparent that there was little or no guidance on climate change either at a national, regional or local level. Therefore, to determine the likely impacts of sea level rise in Ireland based on current spatial planning practice and policy, a scenario-building exercise was carried out for two case study areas in Galway Bay. The two case study areas were: Oranmore, a densely populated town located to the east of Inner Galway Bay; and Tawin Island, a rural dispersed community, located to the south east of Inner Galway Bay. A ‘best’ and ‘worse’ case scenario was envisaged for both areas in terms of sea level rise. In the absence of specific climate change policies it was projected that in the ‘best’ case scenario of 0.5m sea level rise, Tawin Island would suffer serious and adverse impacts while Oranmore was likely to experience slight to moderate impacts. However, in the ‘worse’ case scenario of a 2m sea level rise, it was likely that Tawin Island would be abandoned while many houses, businesses and infrastructure built within the floodplain of Oranmore Bay would be inundated and permanently flooded. In this regard, it was the author’s opinion that a strategic and integrated climate change policy and adaptation plan is vital for the island of Ireland that recognises the importance of integrated land use and spatial planning in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

The meaning of dependence and independence of older people with a disability in Ireland

The paper presents the findings of a research study carried out in Ireland in 2006 (Murphy et al., 2007) which explored the meaning of dependence and independence for older people with a disability. The research adopted a grounded theory approach; purposive sampling was used initially with some relational sampling towards the latter interviews. The sample was comprised of 143 older people with one of six disabilities: stroke (n=20), arthritis (20), depression (20), sensory disability (20), a learning disability (24), and dementia (18). All participants lived at home, some participants required high levels of help in activities of living while others were mostly independent. An interview schedule was used to guide interviews, all of which were tape recorded and transcribed. Data was collected on levels of dependence and independence using the Katz scale. Participants recorded high levels of independence in relation to transferring (93%), toileting (92%), dressing (87%), continence (87%) and feeding (98%). The main area of dependence where participants required assistance from others was with bathing (77%). The constant comparative technique was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings of the study would suggest that participants personal definition of their independence or dependence shifted relative to others and/or improvement or worsening of their capacity People were aware of the difference between independence and dependence, but these two concepts were not always perceived as opposites. It was possible to be independent and dependent at the same time. People valued being able to do things for themselves, accepted help when necessary but wanted to reciprocate when possible. Participants used varied coping strategies to regain and retain control of their lives. Strategies to promote older peoples independence and self esteem will be explored in this paper.

Management technologies - are they worth it? A normative study of ISO 9001 and project management

This research inquires into the value of two common ‘management technologies’, namely ISO 9001 and project management. To avoid certain methodological problems, we study the value of these micro-level practices by inductively analysing macro-level data, specifically the intensity of project management and ISO 9001 certification (termed project management score and ISO 9001 score) in different countries against national measures of wealth and innovation. There is no correlation between ISO 9001 score and innovation, while high ISO 9001 scores are correlated with decreasing levels of wealth. The project management score is positively correlated with wealth and with innovation, though very high project management scores are negatively correlated with innovation. The study includes a cluster analysis which finds that, with one exception, countries tend to adopt either project management or ISO 9001 but not both. The analysis indicates that project management is more likely to be associated with high innovation and high wealth than ISO 9001.

Audit of mathematics learning support in Ireland in 2015 – the key findings

In 2015 the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) commissioned a comprehensive audit of the extent and nature of mathematics learning support (MLS) provision on the island of Ireland. An online survey was sent to 32 institutions, including universities, institutes of technology, further education and teacher training colleges, and a 97% response rate was achieved. While the headline figure – 84% of institutions that responded to the survey provide MLS – sounds good, deeper analysis reveals that the true state of MLS is not so solid. For example, in 25% of institutions offering MLS, only five hours per week (at most) of physical MLS are available, while in 20% of institutions the service is provided by only one or two staff members. Furthermore, training of tutors is minimal or non-existent in at least half of the institutions offering MLS. The results provide an illuminating picture, however, identifying the true state of MLS in Ireland is beneficial only if it informs developments in the years ahead. This talk will present some of the findings of the survey in more depth along with conclusions and recommendations. Key among these is the need for institutions to recognise MLS as a vital element of mathematics teaching and learning strategy at third level and devote the necessary resources to facilitate the provision of a service which can grow and adapt to meet student requirements.

“Who Gets Public Support to Innovation? Evidence from the Portuguese Alentejo Region”

The aim of the study is to assess which factors influence the policymaking decisions to financially support an innovative investment project. Based on the case study of the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System in the Alentejo region, we estimated an econometric model based on firms’ and application’ characteristics, controlling for macroeconomic environment. The results indicate that the selection process is more focused on the expected project impact than on firms’ past performance. Furthermore, we found that government preference for promoting employment and exportation are shown to be higher than the impact on firm productivity.

“Productivity and Employment in Firm’s Acess to Public Funding to Support Innovation”

Innovation is at the heart of the Europe 2020 Strategy, in order to promote higher levels of employment and productivity. Special attention is given to increasing the effectiveness of innovation policy instruments, mainly as some authors found evidence that productivity could be negatively affected by subsidies. The aim of the study is to assess how the expected impact on firm productivity and employment is taken into account, when firms apply for public funding for innovation. The analysis is based on the case study of the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System in the Alentejo region. In order to understand which factors influence the public decision to financially support private investment, we estimated a logit model based on firms’ and applications’ characteristics, controlling for the macroeconomic environment. The results indicate that government preferences for promoting exports, exploiting firms R&D results and stimulating the level of qualified employment are shown to be more relevant than the impact on firm productivity. Furthermore, the cost to the government of new jobs created, measured at least by exemption of interest and financial charges on the loan, is almost twice as much for non-SMEs as for SMEs.

Show me your body and I tell you how hold you are: a non-invasive methodto define 6 life history-classes in Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), using an identified trial population in the Atlantic

European Cetacean Society Conference Workshop, Galway, Ireland, 25th March 2012.

Habitat differentiation between groups of Risso's dolphins as evidence of coastal nursery areas

26th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Galway, Ireland 26-28 March 2012.

Development of a semi-automatic self learning pattern recognition system for the control of electronic boards

This project was funded under the Applied Research Grants Scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland. The project was a partnership between Galway - Mayo Institute of Technology and an industrial company, Tyco/Mallinckrodt Galway. The project aimed to develop a semi - automatic, self - learning pattern recognition system capable of detecting defects on the printed circuits boards such as component vacancy, component misalignment, component orientation, component error, and component weld. The research was conducted in three directions: image acquisition, image filtering/recognition and software development. Image acquisition studied the process of forming and digitizing images and some fundamental aspects regarding the human visual perception. The importance of choosing the right camera and illumination system for a certain type of problem has been highlighted. Probably the most important step towards image recognition is image filtering, The filters are used to correct and enhance images in order to prepare them for recognition. Convolution, histogram equalisation, filters based on Boolean mathematics, noise reduction, edge detection, geometrical filters, cross-correlation filters and image compression are some examples of the filters that have been studied and successfully implemented in the software application. The software application developed during the research is customized in order to meet the requirements of the industrial partner. The application is able to analyze pictures, perform the filtering, build libraries, process images and generate log files. It incorporates most of the filters studied and together with the illumination system and the camera it provides a fully integrated framework able to analyze defects on printed circuit boards.