Specialist support for persons with disabilities living in the community: Review of international practice.

Despite the widespread ratification of the CRPD, there is considerable variation evident across countries in how community living is supported in practice. This variation appears to stem both from the policy origins in different legacy welfare state models and their underlying ideologies, but also from varying trends in the development of service provision over time

Home broadband and student engagement during COVID-19 emergency remote teaching

This research is supported by the Economic and Social Research Institute’s Electronic Communications Programme, jointly funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment and the Commission for Communications Regulation in Ireland.During the academic year 2019–2020, school buildings worldwide closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating a rapid shift to distance education. This study assessed the influence of high-speed broadband availability on student engagement with distance learning during this period in Ireland. Employing data from a representative sample of 206 secondary schools, student engagement as perceived by school principals was estimated to have been more adversely affected among schools located in areas with lower coverage of high-speed broadband. This may be partly explained by a lower probability of poorer student engagement among schools that deployed live online video teaching. While the costs and benefits must be considered, these findings may support the case for government intervention to provide greater equity in access to high-speed broadband. Where distance learning is required in future, secondary teachers should be supported in the use of live online teaching to better foster student engagement.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Road traffic noise, quality of life, and mental distress among older adults : evidence from Ireland

Funding for this research was provided by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Research Programme 2014–2020, which is funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in Ireland.This research contributes to an emerging evidence base that considers a possible relationship between exposure to road traffic noise and mental distress. This study aimed to determine whether chronic exposure to road traffic noise was associated with quality of life or various measures of mental distress. We spatially linked high-quality modelled noise exposure data for the cities of Dublin and Cork in Ireland to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, allowing an examination of these health outcomes among older adults while adjusting for socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics. Exposure to air pollution was also considered in the analysis, allowing any associations between noise and either quality of life or mental distress that were independent of this other stressor to be isolated. While the study did not detect evidence of an association between noise exposure and depression, anxiety, stress, or worry, it identified a negative association between exposure to road traffic noise and quality of life that was independent of a range of socio-demographic and behavioural factors. Moving from the highest quintile of noise exposure to the lowest was associated with an increase on the CASP-12 quality of life scale of 1.08 of a standard deviation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Road traffic noise and cognitive function in older adults : a cross-sectional investigation of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing

This research is funded under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Research Programme 2014–2020.Background The World Health Organization published updated Environmental Noise Guidelines in 2018. Included are recommended limit values for environmental noise exposure based on systematic reviews for a range of health outcomes, including cognitive impairment. There is emerging evidence in the literature that chronic exposure to road traffic noise may affect cognitive function in older adults, but this relationship is not well established. This study spatially linked nationally representative health microdata from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing to building-level modelled noise data for two cities in the Republic of Ireland. This was used to investigate associations between exposure to road traffic noise and cognitive function in a sample of older adults, independent of a range of socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics, as well as exposure to air pollution. Methods We used the Predictor-LimA Advanced V2019.02 software package to estimate noise originating from road traffic for the cities of Dublin and Cork in Ireland according to the new common noise assessment methodology for the European Union (CNOSSOS-EU). Noise exposure values were calculated for each building and spatially linked with geo-coded TILDA microdata for 1706 individuals aged 54 and over in the two cities. Ordinary least squares linear regression models were estimated for eight standardised cognitive tests including noise exposure as an independent variable, with standard errors clustered at the household level. Models were adjusted for individual sociodemographic, behavioural and environmental characteristics. Results We find some evidence that road traffic noise exposure is negatively associated with executive function, as measured by the Animal Naming Test, among our sample of older adults. This association appears to be accounted for by exposure to air pollution when focusing on a sub-sample. We do not find evidence of an association between noise exposure and memory or processing speed. Conclusions Long term exposure to road traffic noise may be negatively associated with executive function among older adults.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Magnifying inequality? Home learning environments and social reproduction during school closures in Ireland

This research is supported by the Economic and Social Research Institute’s Electronic Communications Programme, jointly funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Commission for Communications Regulation in Ireland.COVID-19 school closures have seen the homeplace become a school-place for students and their families in Ireland. This paper presents research on the resources and supports available for students to engage with learning in their home environments. Evidence from a nationally representative survey comprising one third of second-level school leaders, conducted during the first school closures in 2020, shows that attendance and engagement appears to be influenced by the educational level of parents/guardians. The association between parental education and student engagement was stronger for Junior Certificate students but was not statistically evidenced for Leaving Certificate students. Qualitative evidence sheds further light on inequalities which characterised students’ experiences of online and remote learning. Viewing these developments through a social reproduction framework, this study argues that unequal home learning environments may magnify existing inequalities. To prevent a return to the classroom with more classed outcomes, it is imperative that policy, planning and investment strive to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on educational inequality.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Learning for all? Second-level education in Ireland during COVID-19. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 92 June 2020.

Second-level schools in Ireland faced different challenges when responding to the COVID-19 school closures depending on their locations and socioeconomic environments, according to new ESRI research in partnership with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment (DCCAE) and the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg)

Learning for all? Second-level education in Ireland during Covid-19

Second-level schools in Ireland faced different challenges when responding to the COVID-19 school closures depending on their locations and socioeconomic environments, according to new ESRI research in partnership with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment (DCCAE) and the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg)

Towards sustainable transport : macroeconomic and microeconometric perspectives

Progressing towards sustainable transport will be critical to meeting the Paris Climate Change Agreement's target of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This thesis explores questions relevant to this transition. Have we reached 'peak car'? Did Brexit cause a shift from road freight transport to the more energy efficient mode of short sea shipping? Can ride hailing platforms advance transport sustainability? In Chapter 1, using 1950-2010 data on 88 countries, I demonstrate that the number of private cars per GDP in the economy, or 'car intensity', evolves in a hump-shaped pattern during economic development. I develop a general equilibrium model to argue that structural transformation can generate this trend. My calibrated model can account for a quarter of observed variation in car intensity among 54 countries in 2010. Counterfactual exercises show that peak intensity is lower for economies that develop later. In Chapter 2, I conduct a difference-in-differences analysis of the effect of Brexit on maritime cargo volumes. I examine 2013-2022 Eurostat port-level data and find a 22 per cent decrease in EU-UK roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) volumes, and a 54 per cent decrease in Ireland-UK Ro-Ro volumes, due to Brexit. I find a concurrent increase of 147 per cent in Ireland-France Ro-Ro cargo, indicating a diversion from the UK land-bridge route to direct short sea shipping routes. I estimate that emissions would be roughly 60 per cent lower on the direct route. In Chapter 3, I employ Scottish Household Survey 2012-2019 travel diary data from 16,712 individuals in a difference-in-differences examination of how ride hailing affected the use of other transport modes. Results reveal a small complementary effect on the use of public transport relative to driving a car in Glasgow, which is more pronounced among individuals who are younger, male, and with higher household income

All hail? The impact of ride hailing platforms on the use of other transport modes

Does ride hailing complement or substitute other forms of transport, such as public transport? I employ Scottish Household Survey travel diary data from 16,712 individuals between 2012 and 2019 in a difference-in-differences examination of how ride hailing affected the use of other transport modes. Results reveal a small complementary effect on the use of public transport relative to driving a car in Glasgow, although this is not reflected in Edinburgh. The Glasgow effect appears to be more pronounced among individuals who are younger, male, employed and with higher levels of household incom