The Potential of an Enhanced Cooperation Measure in the EAFRD (2014-2020): the case of Ireland

This report was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) through the National Rural Network (February-May, 2012).The current Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for Rural Development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) includes Article (36) Cooperation that is potentially instrumental for realising the objectives of FOOD HARVEST 20204. The purpose of this report is to assess the scope and potential of Article 36 in the context of Irish agriculture and its findings have four key aspects. First, the main areas of confluence between Article 36 and primary policy objectives as set out in Food Harvest 2020 are identified. Second, a range of cooperation categories and types relevant to Article 36, many of which are operational in Ireland, are profiled. Third, drawing from case-studies of these co-operation types5, the operational characteristics of each type are presented, focusing on compatibility with Article 36. Possible supports that would encourage and assist the formation and operation of the cooperation types on a broad scale into the future, and also any possible constraints that would prevent success, are indicated. Fourth, a brief discussion of some key implementation considerations arising from the analysis overall is presented.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Angels in the architecture - and devils in the detail: how the learning space impacts on teaching and learning

An innovative classroom design pioneered in the US, which aims to facilitate greater student engagement, has been piloted in a UK University for the first time. This case study reflects on some of the advantages and the challenges of this technology rich learning space and considers its impact on curriculum design in a module which aims to develop academic, research and digital skills in first year students on an undergraduate Health and Social Care course

Publishing cooperative and work-integrated education literature: The Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education

The Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education (APJCE) was founded in 1999, with the first volume published in 2000. The journal strongly adhered to the philosophy of having freely and readily accessible information, and opted to be a free, fully online, open access journal. Over the last 12 years, the journal has grown and has become well-established in the cooperative (co-op) and work-integrated learning (WIL) community. The number of publications per year has steadily increased and the number of submissions has shown strong growth, especially in the last three years. APJCE articles are increasingly cited in other journals and significant book publications, and both its author and user bases have become more international. This article will discuss the advantages from the APJCE perspective of being an open access journal and provide an analysis of the growth of APJCE. The article will also discuss the performance of the journal in the context of co-op/WIL literature internationally and discuss some recent developments for the journal