Ireland and the financial crisis.

The growth of the Irish economy in the years 1995-2007 was dramatic and unparalleled by Western economies, earning Ireland the moniker “The Celtic Tiger”. Emerging from conditions of high unemployment, very high rates of emigration of graduates, and enormous government debt in the 1980s, the transformation of the Irish economy in two decades was remarkable and lauded by economists and commentators. High growth rates were facilitated by a number of factors, including the presence of a large number of multinationals producing goods for export, generally benign world economic conditions, low interest rates, a low taxation regime, and an expansionary government policy which embraced the tenets of the ‘free market’. With the onset of the financial crisis, however, came another rapid transformation in the Irish economy. From being one of the fastest growing Western economies in the late 1990s, in 2009 Ireland suffered the greatest contraction of any OECD country since the second world war. The reasons for this dramatic reversal of fortune were attributable not only to the global financial crisis, but also to government policies and the structure of the Irish economy. In this chapter, the remarkable rise and fall of the Irish economy is described and analysed. Influences on the performance of the Irish economy in this period, including the benign world economy, government policy, and the structure of the Irish economy are analysed and examined. Proposals on how best to initiate recovery are also assessed, particularly the narrow focus of discourse which largely concentrates on attempts to ‘fix’ the current system, without considering alternative approaches

An empirical investigation of the financial growth life cycle

Purpose - This paper empirically examines the financing of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through a financial growth life cycle model. Reporting and analysing a large primary data set across six age categories, a number of statistical tests are conducted to test the financial growth life cycle model (Berger and Udell, 1998). Design/methodology/approach - Data in publicly available databases is generally unsuitable to examine the financial life cycle model, thus a questionnaire survey was employed to collect data. Because of the well-documented reticence of SME owners to reveal detailed financial information (Avery et al., 1998), data was requested in percentage form. This innovative methodology was successful, as 92 percent of respondents disclosed detailed financing data. A response rate of 42.6 percent across six industry sectors provided data to employ parametric techniques. Findings – Analysis of respondents’ capital structures across age groups indicates distinct changes in sources of finance employed by firms over time. Financing choices are consistent with Myers’s (1984) pecking order hypothesis, and the importance of profitability in financing SMEs is emphasised. Contrary to conventional wisdom, respondents in the youngest age category report a relatively high use of debt financing. This is explained by the provision of firm owners’ personal assets to secure firm debt. Originality/value - The key contribution of this paper is to provide an empirical examination of the financial growth life cycle model by combining a number of statistical tests. This approach is significantly different to that traditionally adopted in empirical investigations of SME financing, which is to examine the applicability of theories developed in corporate finance on panel data. Additionally, it presents data on personal sources of finance employed by firm owners, which is typically not available, even in comprehensive secondary databases

Social loafing in student entrepreneurship teams

This paper assesses the level of social loafing which occurs in an entrepreneurship education context, using a sample of 310 student teams from an Irish University. While teamwork is a common element of most deliveries of entrepreneurship education (Hytti & O’Gorman 2004), there are few studies which explore the actual impact of the team on performance in this context. In entrepreneurship more generally it has been found that team-level variables has an impact on team effectiveness (Hill et al. 2013) however studies like these are limited in the field of entrepreneurship education. As team-led entrepreneurship is gaining both academic and wider interest, as seen in the review by Klotz et al. (2014), the teamwork dynamic in an educational setting of entrepreneurship may have discrete characteristics, warranting its own research inquiry

Individual level assessment in entrepreneurship education: an investigation of theories and techniques.

This paper examines a number of commonly used theories and constructs applied to the investigation of the entrepreneur (at the individual level). For each of these theories, an existing measure is selected and assessed on its applicability to the study of entrepreneurship education, reflecting on past research and an empirical investigation in the entrepreneurship education context. Focusing on trait theory, self-efficacy, intentionality and passion, a measure for each construct was investigated by administering it on a sample of students (n=367) taking an entrepreneurship education module. Aspects of the reliability, validity, internal consistency and factor structure of each test were examined using SPSS and MPlus statistical analyses. The findings allow for a direct comparison to be made of the measures in a controlled environment. Theoretically there is a justification for applying each assessment approach to entrepreneurship education. Based on past research it was noted that trait theory has often been criticised for inconsistent empirical findings. This was echoed in our study as empirical analysis supported the use of the entrepreneurial intentionality and entrepreneurial self-efficacy measures, yet the trait measure, the General Enterprise Tendency (GET) test displayed worrisome reliability and structural validities and would not be recommended for future research without significant revision. The measure used to examine entrepreneurial passion was stable in the context, and furthermore suggested that this construct may offer valuable insight about the mindset of students undertaking entrepreneurship education in future. Limitations of the study include use of a mainly homogenous sample with no control group. The measures for analysis were selected as they were intended for entrepreneurship research and have since been applied to entrepreneurship education. The measures are not reflective of respective theory as a whole. Different and many theories could have been selected, as well as alternative measurement instruments. The measures could have been integrated together into a more complex analysis, however the intended purpose was to examine them in parallel. There have been repeated calls to systematise the assessment of entrepreneurship education, to converge existing knowledge and research. It is hoped that this paper provides educators with an overview and empirical insight regarding theories and measures to adopt for future research and assessment approaches

Mathematics support centre attendees and their use of online resources

In this paper we consider survey results which focus on student use of online resources, where all respondents were attendees of a Mathematics Support Centre. We see that while most respondents are engaging with online resources, some are not using resources in an appropriate fashion. We discuss how these preliminary findings might inform discussions on the merits, or otherwise, of institutions providing training for students on their use of online materials. We also identify several areas of potential further research

A Trial of the Assistive Technology EquatIO in an Irish University

In this case study, we report on the trial of the assistive technology EquatIO with students studying mathematics and statistics at Maynooth University (MU) during the 2021-22 academic year. This software, provided by the MAP (Maynooth Access Programme) Office, was made available to support students who presented to MAP with a difficulty writing mathematics. In this paper, we give a brief outline of EquatIO and the trial. We then describe the feedback received from students who engaged with the software. Finally, we close with conclusions on our experience of providing the software for students, including observations from the tutor who assisted students as part of the trial, and end with our recommendations for possible future supports

Adult learners and mathematics learning support

The provision of some level of Mathematics Learning Support (MLS) is now standard in the majority of Higher Education Institutions in Ireland, the UK, and in many other countries. This provision is, in part, a response to the large numbers of students entering Higher Education who do not have the mathematical skills required and this cohort includes a significant number of adult learners. Research indicates that these students have different motivations and approaches to learning than traditional age learners. This paper considers the analysis of a large scale student evaluation of Mathematics Learning Support in Ireland. In particular, it presents the responses and engagement levels of adult learners and compares these to those of traditional students. The findings are key to ensuring best practice in the provision of MLS for the wide variety of students who engage with it

An Irish mathematics learning support network (IMLSN) report on student evaluation of mathematics learning support: Insights from a large scale multi-institutional survey

In this section we provide a summary of the main outcomes of this survey on Mathematics Learning Support (MLS), for full and further information we refer the reader to the relevant part of the report

Financing Early Stage Cleantech Firms

T HE report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [47] highlighted the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strive for decarbonization in order to restrict global warming. The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, has a vision of accelerating technology development and transfer [92] in order to reduce harmful carbon emissions. The development of new and innovative disruptive technologies to ameliorate and reverse the harmful effects of carbon emissions is emphasized by governments and international agencies [6], [53], [59], [102]. Large incumbent firms are well resourced to conduct this research and development (R&D), although small early stage ventures also play a significant role in innovation and invention [67], [76]. New enterprises have the advantages of agility, testing, and implementing new business models quickly [73], although they typically lack sufficient resources to develop and scale their business successfully