Face-to-face or distance training? Two different approaches to motivate SMEs to learn - an update

In the past, too many government-sponsored initiatives have presented learning resources that have been wasted because the target small business audience has failed to make use of them. This paper explores the issue of offering learning materials to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a manner that recognizes their working environment, mode of operation and preferred learning methods. It then outlines methods currently being tested in the UK and Ireland, and indicates preliminary findings. The two methodologies are different in that the UK (LSSB - Learning Support for Small Businesses) programme is aimed at distance learning in primarily small businesses, whilst the Irish (University of Limerick and Limerick City Enterprise Board) programme is aimed at face-to-face learning primarily in micro-enterprises. Preliminary findings are presented

Attacks on midwives, attacks on women’s choices

Nadine Edwards, Jo Murphy-Lawless, Mavis Kirkham and Sarah Davies ask whether recent attacks on midwives are a Human Rights issu

Sickly Sweet: The Development of a Standardized Method for Testing Lactose and Fructose Intolerance and Malabsorption

Lactose intolerance has been a known cause of gastrointestinal distress for many years. Recently, it has come to attention that fructose intolerance elicits many of the same symptoms as lactose intolerance. The consumption of fructose has more than doubled in the past twenty years; conversely, the instances of fructose intolerance have also increased. Fructose and lactose intolerance are measured using similar methods. While there are common practices and guidelines used when testing fructose and lactose intolerance and malabsorptive issues, there is no official standard method including precise practices for before, during, and after the test. Therefore a standard system was created by comparing methods used in previous studies. If used on a wide scale, the standard system will enable researchers to compare results of different studies. Ultimately, this would enable researchers to gain a better understanding of lactose and fructose intolerance and malabsorptive issues in order to develop improved treatments and potential cures

Aspects of management options for pasture-based dairy production stocked at two cows per hectare

End of project reportWhite clover in association with Rhizobium bacteria have the capacity to fix or convent atmospheric N into plant available N. This can make a considerable contribution to sward productivity. One of the objectives of this experiment was to determine the upper carrying capacity of grass-white clover swards receiving 90 kg fertilizer N/ha. A second objective was to examine the impact of grass-clover swards on mineral-N in the soil and losses of nitrate-N from soil to drainage water during the winter. This experiment was conducted at Solohead Research Farm. There were three treatments: (i) A grass-only treatment (FN) stocked at 2.0 cows per ha in 2003 and 2.2 cows per ha during 2004, 2005 and 2006. This treatment received an average of 226 kg per ha of fertilizer N per year during these years. (ii) A grass-clover treatment (WC) stocked at the same rates as FN and received an average of 90 kg per ha of fertilizer N per year during the experiment. (iii) A grass-only treatment (CC) that was gradually converted over to grass-clover during the experiment and stocked at 2.0 cows per ha throughout the experiment. Fertilizer N input was gradually lowered from 150 kg per ha in 2003 to a target of 90 kg per ha in 2005 and 2006

Gender equality in Pacific small-scale fisheries governance: current progress and future prospects

Sarah Lawless investigated how gender equality commitments diffuse and have impact in Pacific small-scale fisheries governance. She found that meanings and priorities for gender equality are contested and negotiated, diluting intrinsic qualities of justice and fairness. Shifts in gender equality narratives and objectives are essential to ensure socially equitable impacts

Brexit and Irish Consumers. Quarterly Economic Commentary Special Article, Spring 2018.

Concerns about the impact of Brexit on the Irish economy have tended to focus on the challenges to exporting firms. However, as the UK is a significant source of imports into the Irish economy and there is considerable integration of the retail sectors in both countries, the imposition of tariffs or other increases in trading costs could pass through to increased prices for Irish consumers. This paper examines the contribution of UK imports to overall household expenditure in Ireland and their exposure to tariffs and other cost increases from possible restrictions on trade. Our approach generates an estimate of potential increases in the level of CPI of between 2 per cent and 3.1 per cent. In the estimated scenarios, these increases are the equivalent of between €892 (increase in non-tariff trade costs) and €1,360 (tariffs plus other trade cost increases) in the annual cost of its consumption basket for the average household. This assumes that there is no switching or changes in expenditure patterns in response to the cost increases so gives an upper bound to the cost increase effects. We also find that these effects are very unevenly distributed across households. Households with lower income levels would face considerably higher percentage increases as they tend to consume a higher share of products that would be most affected by increases in tariffs and trade costs

Viscoelastic properties of human and bovine articular cartilage : a comparison of frequency-dependent trends

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Spencer C. Barnes and Hamid Sadeghi for assistance during experimentation. We would also like to thank patients donating tissue and the surgeons collecting these. Funding The equipment used in this study was funded by Arthritis Research UK (Grant number H0671). We are grateful to Arthritis Research UK for the award of a PhD studentship to Anna A. Cederlund (Grant number 19971). Arthritis Research UK had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extending the reach of policy and strategy research using Political Discourse Analysis; the case of the Health and Social Care Act 2012

There is a growing interest in discursive perspectives on strategy and policy as practice. The goal of this paper is to present a discussion of the research methodology used to analyse the underexplored relationships between discourse, strategy and practice in health policy development The research explores the development of the Health and Social Care Act (2012) and in doing so highlights the weakness’ in communication – both in developing a narrative but also in being able to use it persuasively with important audiences – demonstrating a lack of engagement both with parliamentary colleagues, professionals and the electorate