The Pound Road The Challenges of Knowledge Creation and Equity in Third Level Education

Ireland’s economy has changed dramatically over the past six years and is changing once again. Since 1990 there have been significant developments in the area of access and equity both at institutional and national policy level. Third level education is strategically positioned to influence the future direction of the formal education system and in so doing to influence the responses of individuals and communities to current development challenges. This paper focuses on how third level education providers exercises this influence with particular reference to the ways in which they engage with those sectors of the population who are currently under represented or excluded from education. The paper explores the responses to access in Ireland and highlights the new initiatives at Third Level and the links at community level. It argues that the nature of this response has far reaching consequences not only for the well-being of those at the periphery but also for the on-going relevance of the knowledge base that underpins the entire formal education system

The Pound Road. The Challenges of Knowledge Creation and Equity in Third Level Education

The purpose of this paper is to look at how universities in Ireland respond to those sectors of the population who are currently under-represented or excluded from third level education. The paper provides an overview of our experience of the education system in the Republic of Ireland, and, in particular, the upsurge of activity in the area of access or equity over the past six to seven years. This paper proposes to examine the developments in access initiatives for the socio-economically disadvantaged from 1994 to 2001 in particular, and will address some of the major developments with regard to mature students. In the course of this exploration we hope to raise larger questions about the nature of the system itself, not only in relation to how it interacts with those on the periphery, but also on the ongoing relevance of the knowledge base that underpins the entire formal education sector

Mechanisms of personality-targeted intervention effects on adolescent alcohol misuse, internalising and externalising symptoms

Objective: This study aims to explore the mechanisms of personality-targeted intervention effects on problematic drinking, internalising and externalising symptoms. Method: As part of a cluster-randomised trial, 1210 high-risk students (mean age 13.7 years) in 19 London high schools (42.6% white, 54% male) were identified using the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Intervention school participants were invited to participate in personality-matched interventions by trained school staff. MacKinnon’s products of coefficients method was used to compare three complementary mechanism hypotheses, namely, whether early changes in i) alcohol use, ii) internalising and externalising symptoms or iii) personality during the 6 months post-intervention accounted for intervention effects over 2 years. Results: Early intervention effects on drinking behaviours during the 6 months postintervention partially accounted for longer term intervention effects on the onset of binge drinking (95% CI -.349 to -.062) and drinking problems (95% CI -.206 to -.016) over 2 years. Intervention effects on anxiety symptoms and conduct problems were partially mediated by early reductions in depressive symptoms (95% CI -.013 to -.001; 95% CI - .047 to -.001), and intervention effects on internalising symptoms were also partially mediated by reductions in anxiety sensitivity (95% CI -.003 to 0). Conclusions: 2 year intervention effects on problematic drinking were largely accounted for by early changes in drinking behaviours, and were not mediated by changes in mental health symptoms or personality risk factors. Early improvements in mood and anxiety sensitivity partially mediated longer term reductions in mental health problems

The impact of youth internalising and externalising symptom severity on the effectiveness of brief personality-targeted interventions for substance misuse : a cluster randomised trial

Highlights : Personality-targeted interventions reduce binge drinking in high-risk youth ; Youth with high (vs. low) externalising symptoms benefitted more from the intervention ; Personality-targeted interventions may effectively treat dually diagnosed youth ; The presence of high internalising symptoms didn't moderate intervention effects

Teagasc submission made in response to the Discussion document for the preparation of a National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy

Teagasc SubmissionThis document is Teagasc’s response to the “Discussion Document for the Preparation of a National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy” issued by the Department of the Taoiseach’s Economic Division in July 2017. It recognises the potential significance of the bioeconomy to Ireland, offers some policy and strategic insights from other countries, and identifies Teagasc’s role in supporting the development of the bioeconomy in Ireland

Implementing an Online Research Group about Classism in Counselor Education

In 2021, an online research group was created with counseling students from three different universities. This online research group consisted of masters counseling students and a lead research mentor and counselor educator. This research group was the first of its kind in its Program. This research team focused on intersectionality and classism. Topics of integrating the online world into counseling research, specifically, through this observed research group will be introduced in this documentation. This research team served as a catalyst to increase student morale during required remote learning. Implications driven from this student-centered, online research group will also be described. Discussion regarding ways to increasingly incorporate technology into counselor education pedagogy and research will also be included

The structure of psychopathology in adolescence and its common personality and cognitive correlates

The traditional view that mental disorders are distinct, categorical disorders has been challenged by evidence that disorders are highly comorbid and exist on a continuum (e.g., Caspi et al., 2014; Tackett et al., 2013). The first objective of this study was to use structural equation modeling to model the structure of psychopathology in an adolescent community-based sample (N = 2,144) including conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, substance use, anxiety, depression, phobias, and other emotional symptoms, assessed at 16 years. The second objective was to identify common personality and cognitive correlates of psychopathology, assessed at 14 years. Results showed that psychopathology at 16 years fit 2 bifactor models equally well: (a) a bifactor model, reflecting a general psychopathology factor, as well as specific externalizing (representing mainly substance misuse and low ADHD) and internalizing factors; and (b) a bifactor model with a general psychopathology factor and 3 specific externalizing (representing mainly ADHD and ODD), substance use and internalizing factors. The general psychopathology factor was related to high disinhibition/impulsivity, low agreeableness, high neuroticism and hopelessness, high delay-discounting, poor response inhibition and low performance IQ. Substance use was specifically related to high novelty-seeking, sensation-seeking, extraversion, high verbal IQ, and risk-taking. Internalizing psychopathology was specifically related to high neuroticism, hopelessness and anxiety-sensitivity, low novelty-seeking and extraversion, and an attentional bias toward negatively valenced verbal stimuli. Findings reveal several nonspecific or transdiagnostic personality and cognitive factors that may be targeted in new interventions to potentially prevent the development of multiple psychopathologies

Attention! A good bedside test for delirium?

peer-reviewedBackground Routine delirium screening could improve delirium detection, but it remains unclear as to which screening tool is most suitable. We tested the diagnostic accuracy of the following screening methods (either individually or in combination) in the detection of delirium: MOTYB (months of the year backwards); SSF (Spatial Span Forwards); evidence of subjective or objective 'confusion'.Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of general hospital adult inpatients in a large tertiary referral hospital. Screening tests were performed by junior medical trainees. Subsequently, two independent formal delirium assessments were performed: first, the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) followed by the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised 98 (DRS-R98). DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition) criteria were used to assign delirium diagnosis. Sensitivity and specificity ratios with 95% CIs were calculated for each screening method.Results 265 patients were included. The most precise screening method overall was achieved by simultaneously performing MOTYB and assessing for subjective/objective confusion (sensitivity 93.8%, 95% CI 82.8 to 98.6; specificity 84.7%, 95% CI 79.2 to 89.2). In older patients, MOTYB alone was most accurate, whereas in younger patients, a simultaneous combination of SSF (cutoff 4) with either MOTYB or assessment of subjective/objective confusion was best. In every case, addition of the CAM as a second-line screening step to improve specificity resulted in considerable loss in sensitivity.Conclusions Our results suggest that simple attention tests may be useful in delirium screening. MOTYB used alone was the most accurate screening test in older people.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe