Evaluation of the Speech and Language Therapy Service of Tallaght West Childhood Development Initiative

A retrospective evaluation of the Childhood Development Initiative (CDI) Speech and Language Therapy Service was undertaken. The design consisted of two strands. The first was quantitative and examined the referral, uptake and outcomes of the service. The second was qualitative and looked at the implementation. The main research questions were organised according to implementation of the programme; uptake and accessibility; and outcomes.  The results of this evaluation suggest that the service succeeded in receiving referrals, assessing and intervening with 192 children in Tallaght West at an age when they were extremely unlikely to have been seen by any other local service and without waiting for a long period of time. Parents echoed these findings by reporting that their children were more ready for school as a result of the intervention. Parents and staff were in agreement that the model was a positive and welcome alternative to traditional clinic-based therapy delivery, in terms of its on-pre-school site location, which meant the SLTs were literally and figuratively accessible to children, parents, practitioners and teachers

Characterisation of host growth after infection with a broad-range freshwater cyanopodophage

Freshwater cyanophages are poorly characterised in comparison to their marine counterparts, however, the level of genetic diversity that exists in freshwater cyanophage communities is likely to exceed that found in marine environments, due to the habitat heterogeneity within freshwater systems. Many cyanophages are specialists, infecting a single host species or strain; however, some are less fastidious and infect a number of different host genotypes within the same species or even hosts from different genera. Few instances of host growth characterisation after infection by broad host-range phages have been described. Here we provide an initial characterisation of interactions between a cyanophage isolated from a freshwater fishing lake in the south of England and its hosts. Designated ΦMHI42, the phage is able to infect isolates from two genera of freshwater cyanobacteria, Planktothrix and Microcystis. Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy indicate that ΦMHI42 is a member of the Podoviridae, albeit with a larger than expected capsid. The kinetics of host growth after infection with ΦMHI42 differed across host genera, species and strains in a way that was not related to the growth rate of the uninfected host. To our knowledge, this is the first characterisation of the growth of cyanobacteria in the presence of a broad host-range freshwater cyanophage

An Accessible Childcare Model

Report commissioned by National Women\u27s Council of Ireland, 200

Perception of academic learning environments and perceived impact on articulation of employability; a mixed methods study

This study reports on the findings of a mixed methods study that was undertaken to establish student perceptions of academic learning environments and the perceived impact of these on their articulation of employability skills. This was so student perspectives on employability could be used to inform reflection on pedagogic practices for their educators in higher education. Using a purposive sample of 250 students based in a recently modernised Sciences Complex Building in a Higher Education Institution (HEI), the study was cross sectional and descriptive by design. The social learning spaces researched were perceived by participants to provide optimal academic learning environments for their development of knowledge, skills and professionalism through certain signature pedagogies as they progressed through their programmes of study. Students also expressed the view that their acquisition of functional skills were significantly more important than any personal attributes/characteristics that they brought to programmes. What also mattered was whether the importance of certain graduate skills to the workplace had been made explicit to them so that they could see the relevance of their studies to practice. In defining ‘graduateness’, in employability terms the research Hayes et al. Perception of academic learning environments and perceived impact on articulation of employability skills Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 10: November 2016 2 concluded that it was necessary to consider how it was shaped by the context of delivery of subject disciplines, stages of academic progression, and the use of social learning spaces, as they all had a significant impact on the perceptions students held about their potential employability upon completion of their academic programmes. Keywords: learning environments; employability; signature pedagogies; situated cognition; problem based learning

Exploring the perspectives of key stakeholders on the design and delivery of an intervention to rehabilitate people with cognitive deficits post-stroke [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Cognitive impairment is common post-stroke and can result in negative sequalae such as a lower quality of life, increased carer burden and increased healthcare costs. Despite the prevalence and associated burden of post-stroke cognitive impairment, there is uncertainty regarding the optimum intervention to improve cognitive function post-stroke. By exploring the perspectives of people post-stroke, carers and healthcare professionals on cognitive impairment, this qualitative study aims to inform the design and development of an intervention to rehabilitate cognitive impairment post-stroke. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach will be applied, using semi-structured interviews with people post-stroke, carers and healthcare professionals. People post-stroke will be recruited via gatekeepers from a local stroke support group and Headway, a brain injury support service. Carers will be recruited via a gatekeeper from a local carers branch. Healthcare professionals will be recruited via gatekeepers from relevant neurological sites and via Twitter. The final number of participants recruited will be guided by information power. Data will be collectively analysed and synthesised using thematic analysis. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ) guidelines will be used to standardize the conduct and reporting of the research. Conclusions: It is anticipated that exploring the perspectives of people post-stroke, carers and healthcare professionals on cognitive impairment post-stroke will inform the development of an evidence-based optimal intervention to rehabilitate cognitive deficits post-stroke. This study was granted ethical approval from the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of Limerick. Study findings will be disseminated locally through presentations at stroke support groups, as well as internationally through academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals

A mixed methods impact and ouotcome research study

To explore and identify the impact of Learning Disability Liaison Nursing (LDLN) Services in NHS Lothian, Forth Valley, Borders and Fife on the healthcare experiences of people with a learning disability attending for general hospital care

Learning Disability Liaising Nursing Services in South East Scotland: A mixed methods impact and outcome research study

To explore and identify the impact of Learning Disability Liaison Nursing (LDLN) Services in NHS Lothian, Forth Valley, Borders and Fife on the healthcare experiences of people with a learning disability attending for general hospital care

An Examination of Concepts of School Readiness Among Parents and Educators in Ireland

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs commissioned research through the Irish Research Council (IRC) to examine concepts of school readiness as they are understood by early years educators and managers, primary school principals, junior infant teachers and parents of children participating in the first Free Preschool Year in Ireland. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving interviews, an online survey and “draw and tell” sessions with children. Representative samples of FPSY settings and primary schools were selected and an online survey based on the findings of the qualitative phase was sent to 500 pre-primary settings and 500 primary schools. In this study, the concept of school readiness as understood by parents of children availing of the FPSY, and early years educators and managers, emerged as a multi-faceted and complex concept, influenced by and entwined with a range of interrelated factors at macro (policy), meso (interrelationships) and micro (pre-primary and primary) levels. These factors included children’s social and emotional skills, dispositions, language development, self-help skills, appropriate classroom behaviour and pre-academic skills. School readiness was clearly located along a maturationist-environmentalist continuum where readiness was associated with a child’s age as well as external evidence of the acquisition of specific skills. Interview and survey participants articulated a range of school readiness indicators, with significant differences in some instances between the importance allocated to these indicators by individual participant groups