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Enhancing marketing communications for a B2B company, through the use of motion graphics
No full textBusiness sustainability framework for European manufacturing SMEs
Get PDFSMEs find it difficult to deal with environmental issues due mainly to their limited resources in terms of money, people and time. Our research also identified other barriers to engaging SMEs in environmental improvement activities, such as lack of awareness of their impact on the environment, belief that any measure regarding improvement of environmental performance means higher cost and insufficient access to environmental information, tools, training, information on available funding and incentives. In response, the FutureSME team has developed the Business Sustainability framework which is intended to support manufacturing SMEs in four key areas: cutting costs, gaining a competitive advantage, being compliant with legislation and finding new business opportunities, whilst improving their environmental performance. The framework includes an environmental toolkit, which comprises an environmental training programme and a set of environmental tools. This paper describes the Business Sustainability framework for SMEs
A phenomenological examination of qualified nurses' perception, meaning and experience of culture working in the HSE West
Get PDFT his Research Study sets out to examine qualified nurses’ perception, meaning and experience of culture working in the HSE West. The research was conducted utilising a Qualitative Phenomenological Husserlian\ud
Framework.\ud
An in-depth review of the sociological and nursing literature was carried out.\ud
This revealed that culture is a multifaceted, dynamic and nonstatic term which\ud
is difficult to define (Tovey & Share, 2003). Nursing is immersed in Culture\ud
complete with its philosophies, models and theories which embody the very\ud
essence of culture values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour (Bashford & Slevin,\ud
2003). The nurse is a cultural dweller who has been socialised at a personal\ud
level and at a professional level. Nursing subscribes to the practice o f Holism\ud
yet for many nurses faced with difference in society a tick -the -boxes essentialist \ud
perspective is preferred which is at variance to this very constructivist ideal (Gray & Thomas, 2006).\ud
Having the Map is not sufficient to deal with the diversity in Irish society the literature forwards cultural competence models with Madeleine Leininger (1995) at the fore front of the development of Transcultural nursing theory.\ud
Papadopoulos, Tilki & Taylor, (1998) have forwarded a transcultural care\ud
model which focuses on the development of transcultural skills and has identified four main concepts cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity and competence required in order for this to occur
Implementing a site waste management plan: a case study of a medium sized building contractor in Ireland
Get PDFConstruction and demolition waste management is becoming increasingly important on construction sites as landfill space in Ireland is rapidly depleting and waste management costs are rising. Due to these factors waste management plans are seen as a good response to minimising waste on site and this thesis aims to investigate how to implement such a plan on a practical case study as well as investigating the legislation regarding construction and demolition waste along with market availability for the reuse of the waste. Main contractor surveys were also carried out in order to gain a better understanding of current attitudes within the industry and these surveys are analysed in chapter five. A survey was also carried out among sub-contractors but this survey has not been used for this thesis as the study is on-going.\ud
The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the waste hierarchy opportunities that are available for construction and demolition waste in Ireland and to examine the effects of management strategies on construction and demolition waste reduction at the project level. A partnership was developed with Carey Developments Ltd in Co. Galway and an analysis of their waste management practices was undertaken. The primary case study will be the ‘Taylors Hill’ project in Co. Galway where work commenced in March, 2012. The secondary aim of the thesis is to develop specific waste minimisation strategies for the company and to develop a training tool kit for use on site
Data for the sustainable management of an emerging fishery: Age, growth and stock structure of Atlantic saury Scomberesox saurus saurus (Walbaum), in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean
Get PDFAlmost half of Ireland’s commercial stocks face overexploitation. As traditional species decrease in abundance and become less profitable, the industry is increasingly turning to alternate species. Atlantic saury (Scomberesox saurus saurus (Walbaum)) has been identified as a potential species for exploitation. Very little information is available on its biology or population dynamics, especially for Irish waters. This thesis aims to obtain sound scientific data, which will help to ensure that a future Atlantic saury fishery can be sustainably managed. The research has produced valuable data, some of which contradicts previous studies. Growth of Atlantic saury measured using otolith microstructure is found to be more than twice that previously calculated from annual structures on scales and otoliths. This results in a significant reduction of the expected life span from five to about two years. Investigation of maturity stage at age indicates that Atlantic saury will reproduce for the first time at age one and will survive for one or at most two reproduction seasons. It is concluded that a future Irish fishery will target mostly fish prior to their first reproduction. Finally the thesis gives some insights into the population structure of Atlantic saury, by analysis of otolith morphometric. Significant differences are detected between Northeastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean Sea specimens of the 0+ age class (less than one year old). The implications of these results for the management of an emerging fishery are discussed
Investigation of multiwavelength correlations for the VHE gamma-ray blazar markarian 421 from 1995 to 2009
Get PDFThe blazar Markarian 421 is an excellent laboratory for studying the physical processes within the jets of active galactic nuclei. In this thesis, a multiwavelength\ud
database has been compiled using data from the Whipple Observatory, the Milagro Observatory, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, the RXTE\ud
satellite, the Very Long Baseline Array, the Metsahovi Radio Observatory and the University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory. The Whipple data comprise 878.4 hours of high-quality y-ray observations taken with the 10m atmospheric Cherenkov telescope over the 14-year period 1995 - 2009; these observations constitute an unprecedented database for examining the long-term very-high-energy (VHE) variability of this\ud
source. The level of variability at VHE y-ray energies was examined on timescales from days to years. Over the 14-year period the annual mean rate is highly variable\ud
with values ranging from 0.18 ± 0.02 Crab units to 2.25 ± 0.31 Crab units; a test for constant rate gives a %2 value of 2669 for 13 degrees of freedom. Within each season the rate is highly variable from month to month with mean monthly rate from less than 0.1 Crab to more than 4 Crab; on the basis of the y? test, the most variable season was 2003-2004 while the least variable was 1996-1997. The mean nightly rate exceeds 2 Crab for -6% of the nights on which the source was observed. On a run-by-run basis (28 minutes), the rate is over 1 Crab for 30% of the runs and over 3 Crab for 5% of the runs. For the other energy bands, the level of variability is\ud
found to be lower. The various datasets were examined for correlations, both quasi-simultaneous and with time delays. In particular, an investigation was carried out to determine whether changes in the radio morphology of Markarian 421 can be associated with the y-ray emission. Over the 14-year timescale, a clear correlation was found between the X-ray flux and the TeV flux for zero delay; such correlations have been\ud
reported before but only on shorter timescales. No significant evidence was found for correlation on any timescale either between the TeV emission and the flux in any other energy band or between the TeV emission and the radio morphology. Searches for periodicity in the X-ray and y-ray signals showed no evidence for periodic\ud
behaviour on any timescale between 2 months and 7 years
A study of buyer behaviour and attitudes towards functional foods and related marketing activities
Get PDFConsumers have become increasingly concerned with the impact which the foods they eat \ud
have on their health. To address this issue, the food industry has developed a variety of foods \ud
that make health claims. Eating certain foods can, it is claimed, ‘reduce risks of health \ud
diseases’ or to ‘maintain a person’s health’. These foods are commonly known in the food \ud
industry as Functional Foods (FF). \ud
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This study was conducted to examine consumers’ attitudes and buying behaviour in relation \ud
to FF and how can they be successfully marketed by the industry, with a special focus on \ud
regulations and labelling. \ud
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Secondary research (literature review) examines the history, development, consumer \ud
acceptance and marketing of FF. Primary research explores FF buyer behaviour and attitudes \ud
towards these products. Primary research was conducted in two phases. Phase one involved \ud
100 consumer surveys using the street-distribution method. Phase two involved conducting \ud
five interviews, four of which involved suppliers from the FF industry. The final interview \ud
was conducted with an expert in the FF research area, to triangulate all findings. \ud
\ud
This study found that the purchase of FF impacted on age. Trust in FF was significantly \ud
different between age groups. Recommendations by health professionals also had an impact. \ud
Main influences found included ‘healthy option’, ‘health issues’, ‘recommended by health \ud
professionals’ and ‘taste’. \ud
\ud
Furthermore, there is high potential for the FF industry to improve its marketing of the FF \ud
brands with the focus of creating harmonised regulations, clear labelling and educating \ud
consumers. \ud
This paper may be of interest to marketing professionals, suppliers and marketers of the FF \ud
industry and researchers in this topic area
Dynamically Extending the Reach of Wireless Networks in Determining Movement of Individuals Between Cells
Get PDFLocation Based Systems are now a ubiquitous part of\ud
everyday life, seamlessly assisting us in everything we do from\ud
driving our cars to finding a cab, even preventing us missing our\ud
bus or train stop when oversleeping whilst on one. Global\ud
Positioning System (GPS) being the culmination of research in\ud
this area, and the technology of choice for outdoor location based\ud
systems today. Since then there have been significant inroads\ud
made in the development of Indoor Positioning Systems that\ud
attempt to mirror the success of its outdoor big brother\ud
equivalent. There are however some obvious barriers that\ud
currently stifle this aspiration, primarily the topography of an\ud
indoor location with its many walls, doors, pillars, ceilings and\ud
floors, distorting the signals to\from mobile devices and their\ud
tracking devices. The characteristically noisy behavior of wireless\ud
channels, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, microwaves etc. can\ud
cause interference as they all operate in the same band as Wi-Fi\ud
devices, namely 2.4 GHz, while water and human bodies absorb\ud
RF signals at that frequency. Furthermore the limited range of\ud
tracking devices such as Wireless Access Points (APs), and the\ud
restrictions surrounding their positioning within a building\ud
further exacerbate this issue. This paper advocates a solution to\ud
some of these issues, proposing a method to extend the range of\ud
Indoor Location Based Systems using Mobile Devices at the\ud
extremities of Cells who ‘know’ thei
Strategic Marketing Planning and Small Firms in Ireland
Get PDFThis paper examines the strategic marketing planning activities of small firms in Ireland. We take the view that there is a need to evaluate current practice and make informed recommendations that can improve marketing practice. In this research, data was\ud
collected in three stages: firstly, depth interviews were conducted. The interviews were conducted with six marketing practitioners. Secondly, a questionnaire was circulated to examine the practices of small firms operating in the Republic of Ireland. In the third,\ud
and final stage an expert group was convened with three marketing specialists and three representatives from small business support agencies. The expert group used the findings from stage one and two to develop six recommendations for marketing practitioners working in and with small firms
Design and validation of a domestic waste management audit tool
No full textThis study was undertaken to design and validate a new domestic waste management audit tool (W-MAT) that would allow waste management companies to track waste trends more efficiently. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2007) identified the limitations of the current paper based domestic audit questionnaire that is used by local authorities to audit household waste and highlighted the need for an electronic audit tool. In 2007 Galway County Council (GCC), under the auspices of the Local Authority Prevention Demonstration Programme (LAPD), sought to develop such a tool, as the existing paper based audit methodology adopted was labour intensive and costly to administer. The need for such a tool is driven by requirements to monitor domestic waste production and recovery rates. Landfill is decreasing and waste recovery rates have risen from 19% in 2004 to 26% in 2008. However, there is still some way to go to achieve the 50 % EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) diversion target by 2013. This emphasises the need for a greater understanding of household waste composition, volume of specific waste streams and changing waste trends. Increased understanding of domestic waste streams will allow local authorities and waste management companies to identify and provide appropriate and efficient waste management options such as reduce waste production at source, reuse material where possible and maximise recycling. The local authority should also investigate other available options such as incineration with energy recovery, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, bio-refinery plants and commercial composting plants, as economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternatives to landfill. GCC therefore identified a need for an audit tool that is:\ud
• Electronic based, to reduce the cost associated with data capture, compilation and analysis.\ud
• Easy for the householder to use.\ud
• Capable of data storage and retrieval.\ud
• Suitable for online deployment.\ud
• Able to generate waste trends for large sample size (>1000)\ud
• Modelled to provide a profile of the waste composition\ud
• Designed to generate a summary of results, that is supported by result charts\ud
• Administratively light for the local authority to deploy and implement\ud
Reflecting International best practice it was decided to base the W-MAT audit methodology on a combination of the Zero Waste New Zealand and the Irish Waste Characterisation, 2008 methodology. The W-MAT was designed using best practice software design methods that involved needs analysis with all stakeholders, design review meetings and field trials with 28 households. The waste management audit methodology developed is based on the well known Excel spreadsheet software, which can be easily deployed on-line. Both field trials demonstrated that the audit tool worked efficiently generating useful household audit results in the form of standard template reports. The results obtained were comparable with existing National data, generating confidence in both the quality of the data and the ability of the audit tool to capture accurate household waste trends. WMAT was well received by GCC and it is expected that the EPA will roll out W-MAT to other stakeholders in the near future