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Overcoming the supply inconsistencies of tidal current energy conversion devices
Get PDFThe adoption of a sustainable approach to meeting the energy needs of society has recently taken on a more central and urgent place in the minds of many people. There are many reasons for this including ecological, environmental and economic concerns. One particular area where a sustainable approach has become very relevant is in the production of electricity. The contribution of renewable sources to the energy mix supplying the electricity grid is nothing new, but the focus has begun to move away from the more conventional renewable sources such as wind and hydro. The necessity of exploring new and innovative sources of renewable energy is now seen as imperative as the older forms (i.e. hydro) reach the saturation point of their possible exploitation. One such innovative source of energy currently beginning to be utilised in this regard is tidal energy.\ud
The purpose of this thesis is to isolate one specific drawback to tidal energy, which could be considered a roadblock to this energy source being a major contributor to the Irish national grid. This drawback presents itself in the inconsistent nature in which a tidal device generates energy over the course of a 24 hour period. This inconsistency of supply can result in the cycling of conventional power plants in order to even out the supply, subsequently leading to additional costs.\ud
The thesis includes a review of literature relevant to the area of tidal and other marine energy sources with an emphasis on the state of the art devices currently in development or production.\ud
The research carried out included tidal data analysis and manipulation into a model of the power generating potential at specific sites. A solution is then proposed to the drawback of inconsistency of supply, which involves the positioning of various tidal generation installations at specifically selected locations around the Irish coast. The temporal shift achieved in the power supply profiles of the individual sites by locating the installations in the correct locations, successfully produced an overall power supply profile with the smoother curve and a consistent base load energy supply. Some limitations to the method employed were also outlined, and suggestions for further improvements to the method were made
Investigating the long term planning framework for the Galway Bay community from climate change.
Get PDFThis research looked at the scientific evidence available on climate change and in\ud
particular, projections on sea level rise which ranged from 0.5m to 2m by the end of the\ud
century. These projections were then considered in an Irish context. A review of current\ud
policy in Ireland revealed that there was no dedicated Government policy on climate\ud
change or coastal zone management. In terms of spatial planning policy, it became\ud
apparent that there was little or no guidance on climate change either at a national, regional\ud
or local level. Therefore, to determine the likely impacts of sea level rise in Ireland based\ud
on current spatial planning practice and policy, a scenario-building exercise was carried\ud
out for two case study areas in Galway Bay. The two case study areas were: Oranmore, a\ud
densely populated town located to the east of Inner Galway Bay; and Tawin Island, a rural\ud
dispersed community, located to the south east of Inner Galway Bay. A ‘best’ and ‘worse’\ud
case scenario was envisaged for both areas in terms of sea level rise. In the absence of\ud
specific climate change policies it was projected that in the ‘best’ case scenario of 0.5m\ud
sea level rise, Tawin Island would suffer serious and adverse impacts while Oranmore was\ud
likely to experience slight to moderate impacts. However, in the ‘worse’ case scenario of a\ud
2m sea level rise, it was likely that Tawin Island would be abandoned while many houses,\ud
businesses and infrastructure built within the floodplain of Oranmore Bay would be\ud
inundated and permanently flooded. In this regard, it was the author’s opinion that a\ud
strategic and integrated climate change policy and adaptation plan is vital for the island of\ud
Ireland that recognises the importance of integrated land use and spatial planning in terms\ud
of mitigation and adaptation to climate change
Investigation into the feasibility of a West of Ireland Pumped Storage System
Get PDFIreland’s remote position on the tip of Europe ensures that the country is vulnerable to\ud
uncertainty of supply. The reliance on conventional sources of electricity has ensured that\ud
escalated prices and high carbon emissions have been witnessed whilst opportunities that\ud
inherent resources provide, such as the wind, have not been capitalised upon. The\ud
intermittent nature of the wind make it difficult to maximise its potential as in many cases\ud
the highest wind speeds are highest when demand is low. The West of Ireland’s\ud
combination of wind speeds and unique topography makes it suitable for and innovative\ud
wind powered pumped storage system, which can essentially regulate the wind generated\ud
electricity and integrate further penetration of renewable energy. In addition, its location\ud
along the Atlantic Ocean provides further scope for innovation as seawater can be\ud
integrated into the system design.\ud
The construction of such an unprecedented project in combination with increased\ud
interconnectors has the potential to make Ireland a rechargeable battery for Europe.\ud
However, such ambitious plans are at the very early stages and are in direct contrast to\ud
current events in the Irish energy market. This study focuses on the feasibility of West of\ud
Ireland pumped storage systems. Entailed within this is an extensive desk study, a detailed\ud
site selection process and a feasibility study of grid connection. To increase opportunities\ud
to identify the best possible site, the feasibility study was focused on the Galway and\ud
Mayo areas solely
Green furniture: sustainable design guidelines for the Irish furniture and wood products industry.
Get PDFThis thesis presents the research and development of sustainable design guidelines for the furniture and wood products industry, suitable for sustainably enhancing design, manufacturing and associated activities. This sustainable guideline is based on secondary research conducted on subject areas such as ‘eco’ design, ‘green’ branding and ‘green’ consumerism, as well as an examination of existing certifications and sustainable tools techniques and methodologies, national and international drivers for sustainable development and an overview of sustainability in the Irish furniture manufacturing context. The guideline was further developed through primary research. This consisted of a focus group attended by leading Irish designers, manufacturers and academics in the area of furniture and wood products. This group explored the question of ‘green branding’ saturation in the market and the viability of investing in sustainability just yet. Participants stated that they felt the market for ‘green’ products is evolving very slowly and that there is no metric or legal framework present to audit whether or not companies are producing products that really embody sustainability. All the participants believed that developing and introducing a new certification process to incorporate a sustainable design process was a viable and necessary solution to protecting Irish furniture and wood manufacturers going forward. For the purposes of the case study, the author investigated a ‘sustainable’ design process for Team woodcraft, Ltd., through the design and development of a ‘sustainable’ children’s furniture range. The case study followed a typical design and development process; detailing customer design specifications, concept development and refinement and cumulating in final prototype, as well as associated engineering drawings. Based on this primary and secondary research, seven fundamental core principles for this sustainable guideline have been identified by the author. The author then used these core principles to expand into guidelines for the basis of proposed new Irish sustainable design guidelines for the furniture and wood products industry, the concept of which the author has named ‘Green Dot’. The author suggests that the ‘Green Dot’ brand or logo could be used to market an umbrella network of Irish furniture designers and manufactures who implement the recommended sustainable techniques
Artefacts and bones from Glencurran cave
No full textGlencurran Cave, in the heart of the Burren, has been the site of important archaeological discoveries since 2004
Residential property tax in Ireland
Get PDFThe Report of the Commission on Taxation 2009 recommends the introduction of an \ud
annual property tax on principal private residences while at the same time zero rating \ud
stamp duty on the transfer of principal private residences. \ud
\ud
The objective of this research is to determine if a combined system of a positive rate of \ud
stamp duty and an annual property tax would better achieve the objective of broadening \ud
the tax base with an equal degree of fairness and efficiency \ud
\ud
A search of the literature was carried out. Interviews with commission members, experts \ud
in the area of stamp duty, local taxes and labour mobility were undertaken \ud
\ud
The research established that stamp duty is an efficient tax but is not sufficiently broadly \ud
based leading to unfairness. The annual property tax recommended by the Commission \ud
on Taxation is well constructed and in terms of fairness and efficiency compares \ud
favourably with similar taxes used in EU peer countries. \ud
\ud
The recommendation is that stamp duty on principal private residence should remain at a \ud
positive rate but that the base should be broadened by the removal of exemptions. \ud
The rate for principal private residences should be a reduced rate. \ud
The annual property tax as recommended should be introduced with some adjustments to \ud
the rate to reflect current economic circumstances. \ud
Part of the income from the tax should be used to fund local authorities to establish a link \ud
between the tax and services provided
Constraints on the development of rural tourism enterprise in Ireland's western region
Get PDFThe positive impacts of rural tourism enterprise have led to an increasing recognition\ud
among governments of the value of its contribution to the health of regional and\ud
national economies. Enterprise in the tourism industry requires a certain climate in\ud
order to prosper, however there are a number of dynamic constraints which impact\ud
upon operators within the sector. This research uses a series of unstructured\ud
interviews and detailed questionnaires to achieve a practical understanding of the real\ud
barriers experienced by entrepreneurs in the tourism sector. The dynamics of the\ud
internal and external factors that shape tourism enterprise development are explored.\ud
The western region of Ireland provides the geographical scope of this study,\ud
exhibiting a largely rural context which offers a unique opportunity to investigate\ud
firms in the rural tourism sector. The research clearly demonstrates the existence of\ud
two categories of constraints: internal (the skills, experience, training and motivations\ud
of the entrepreneur and the size and operational aspects of marketing and human\ud
resources of the enterprise) and external (access/infrastructure, cost of operation,\ud
support, complementary tourism product, demand and seasonality and location).\ud
Constraints on the development of rural tourism enterprise are complex and\ud
interdependent however a better understanding of these issues is essential to the\ud
successful future development of the industry. This research contributes to this\ud
understanding through the development of a new theoretical framework
Political marketing in Ireland : smoke and mirrors or real substance : an exploration of the potential use of marketing techniques on the voting intentions of first time voters in the forthcoming General Election
Get PDFThis thesis provides an investigation o f the phenomena political marketing and seeks to uncover its utilisation\ud
among political parties in Ireland. The research question is “Political marketing in Ireland: smoke and mirrors or\ud
real substance? An exploration o f the potential use o f marketing techniques on the voting intentions o f first time\ud
voters in the forthcoming General Election in Ireland”. The research is aimed at determining whether or not\ud
political marketing can influence first time voter’s intentions in the forthcoming General Election in Ireland. This\ud
study focuses on the Irish political and electoral system. A combination o f primary and secondary research\ud
approaches are deployed. Secondary research approaches incorporated a global exploration o f marketing per se\ud
while primary research strategies focus on political parties, campaigning groups and first time General Election\ud
voters in Ireland. Although marketing has received some criticism for its validity in the political domain, it is very\ud
clear from this study that its potential is very much recognised by the main political actors in Ireland. Furthermore,\ud
primary research took place in the form o f in-depth interviews with the key personnel o f the Irish political parties\ud
including the Green party, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Labour party. Further primary research included an indepth\ud
interview with local Roscommon county councillor Orla Leyden to establish whether there is a\ud
differentiation between political marketing at a national and local level. The author also interviewed two local\ud
Roscommon TDs Denis Naughten and Frank Feighan.\ud
Also, for the purposes o f generating an appropriately constructed questionnaire, two focus groups comprised o f\ud
first time General Election voters were held in the youth development centre in Roscommon.\ud
The second part o f the research involved the study o f the political consumer in this case first time voters. This\ud
aspect o f the research process involved compiling a questionnaire and distributing this among a variety o f samples\ud
o f voters. Questionnaires were initially (as a pilot study) distributed to young people at the local youth club in\ud
Roscommon town. Following this, a second round o f questionnaires was administered to youth development\ud
centres in Roscommon and Sligo. Additionally, use was made o f online survey techniques wherein questionnaires\ud
completed electronically were evaluated. The final samples were administered to Young Fine Gael and Young\ud
Fianna Fail. The author felt that the five samples chosen would incorporate a holistic view o f voter’s perceptions in\ud
the “first time voter’s category”. The reason for targeting these organisations was because members were o f the\ud
age 16-21. The five samples chosen incorporated young people o f 16-21 therefore first time voters in any future\ud
General Election due to be held on or before May 2012.\ud
It is interesting to note that the apparent rise in political marketing techniques through social media outlets is\ud
frowned upon by the youth o f today. The main findings originating from the study are that the question o f young\ud
people’s apathy is overstated. The author also noted that social media effectiveness as a marketing tool is unclear,\ud
it was also noted that there is no significant differentiation between the main political parties interviewed Fianna\ud
Fail, Fine Gael and Labour party, however the Green party in particular are noted as representing the environment.\ud
In general the main political parties in Ireland use the same marketing techniques to generate the desired votes.\ud
The researcher concluded that local representatives target first time voters in the same way as the political party\ud
dictate
Leveraging the green economy: recovering contaminated wood as pallet blocks
Get PDFThe market for clean wood has been growing in the last years; however, waste wood hasn’t been considered a resource mainly because it usually arises as part of a mixed waste stream and it is predominantly contaminated, which often makes recovery impractical. Large quantities of waste wood are being discarded to landfill every year, which represent a significant missed opportunity. The CleanWood LIFE project is offering an innovative solution to wood recovery and identifies uses for all co-products. This paper presents the successful vision separation technology the project has developed to detect and isolate contaminated woodchip. All residues from the process are used: clean wood as boiler fuel for the CHP system, the remaining contaminated wood for the manufacturing of composite pallet blocks, ferrous/non-ferrous materials, stone, glass and plastics for recycling
A study of the impact of art in Irish pre-schools on children's creative development and associated learning
Get PDFIreland, in the last decade has witnessed an increased demand for child care services.\ud
The government has responded by addressing the quality o f childcare services and the\ud
educational needs of the childcare workers. They have approached these issues by\ud
implementing a quality framework called Siolta and the new early childhood\ud
curriculum framework Aistear. Nevertheless, to date, these frameworks are not\ud
mandatory. Therefore each pre-school setting has its own limitations due to childcare\ud
workers’ experience and facilities, and these consequently influence and affect a\ud
child’s experience during art. Similarly, the theoretical framework and methodology\ud
of each pre-school will affect the way in which art is facilitated and creativity is\ud
fostered.\ud
The object o f this research was to study the pre-schools art systems’ impact on\ud
children’s creative development and associated learning, by analysing the provision of\ud
art in the Mainstream, Steiner Waldorf, Montessori and HighScope pre-schools. This\ud
research used both qualitative and quantitative methods throughout two distinct\ud
phases of primary research.\ud
In fulfilling this objective, it was found that the value system of each preschool affects\ud
the provision of art through its environment, facilitation, and objective o f exercise.\ud
Areas of conflict were identified between children’s overall and creative\ud
developmental needs, and responded to with recommendations of best practice.\ud
Ultimately, the objective of the art exercise should where possible be creativity\ud
nurtured appropriately to each child’s developmental stage