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The research and development of an advanced verification infrastructure for ASIC devices using system verilog and the verification methodology manual (VMM)
Get PDFThe research described in this thesis has been conducted over a 24-month period as part of a college/industry partnership project. This project was funded under the Innovation partnership research grants scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland. The aim of the project is to research and develop an Advanced Verification Infrastructure using System Verilog and the Verification Methodology Manual ( VMM)
An examination of the relationship between unemployment and minimum wage rates in Ireland: 1994-2010
Get PDFDuring 1995-2007, Ireland experienced a period of rapid growth. Throughout this time, unemployment figures fell dramatically and wages in Ireland grew to one of the\ud
highest rates in Europe. Today however, the situation has changed spectacularly. Unemployment figures are at an all time high leaving many dependent on Social\ud
Welfare. While the employment situation has change radically, Ireland’s minimum wage rate is still one of the highest in Europe. The research question that is posed in this research was to determine the relationship\ud
between the minimum wage rate and unemployment rates in Ireland. The methodology that was used for this research was qualitative and involved conducting\ud
a semi-structured interview with six participants. The participants consisted of high profile relevant bodies in Irish society and participants with valid views on the\ud
research topic. The findings of the research indicate what the participants feel about the minimum wage and the factors to which they feel contribute to unemployment. The findings show that participants feel the minimum wage has some association with unemployment; however, other factors need to be considered before a decrease in minimum wage is considered. The research thesis concludes with suggestions for future research in the area of minimum wage and unemployment rates. The researcher has also highlighted some areas that should be looked at regarding the unemployment crisis
An experimental characterisation of ground and air source heat pump technologies in the Irish maritime climate
Get PDFAs energy derived from hydrocarbons now constitutes 87% of worldwide energy consumption there has been mounting concern about the potential negative environmental, economic and sustainability impacts of such over reliance on fossil fuel. Recent national and\ud
international policies reflect these concerns by setting targets for renewable energy supply by 2020 and 2050. Ireland has committed to achieve 12% renewable derived thermal energy consumption by 2020 and heat pump technologies are targeted as a key contributor.\ud
However, this project responds to the absence of climate specific design knowledge for the\ud
Irish Maritime climate and the need for effective source side management. This study addressed this knowledge deficit by developing a unique test facility with the\ud
capacity to characterise both ground-source and air-source heat pumps. It consisted of an automated weather station; 15kWth horizontal collector ground source heat pump (GSHP hc); 15kWth vertical collector ground source heat pump (GSHPyc); 8kWth air source heat pump (ASHP), along with 111 sensors and supporting data acquisition system which allowed the\ud
characteristics of the climate, collector and heat pumps to be continuously monitored. This facility was operated for 745 test days between 2007 and 2009, during which time 22 tests were conducted and 168,522kWh (606GJ) delivered. The average Seasonal Performance\ud
Factor (SPF) for the GSHPhc, GSHPvc and ASHP were 2.90, 2.95 and 3.74 respectively, highlighting the suitability of the Maritime climate for ASHPs. The impact of climate on the ground’s upper layer has been characterised in terms of ground temperature and moisture content and its impact on heat pump Coefficient Of Performance (COP) has been quantified.\ud
The influence of heat pump duty and collector design parameters such as soil type and ground cover type has also been assessed. A new parameter known as the Collector Performance Indicator (CPI) has been established to allow horizontal collector performance\ud
to be quantified. A numerical model has been developed to assess the performance of a new climate sensitive split level horizontal collector that delivered an 8% higher SPF than the standard collector design. Potential exists to boost performance by a further 7% using more\ud
effective source side management techniques. Suggestions were also made to insulate a portion of the vertical collector return pipe; that would boost performance by 5%. The study concludes with a series of recommendations that would further exploit the potential of the test facility and test data and boost the contribution of heat pumps in a sustainable energy\ud
fuelled future
Development of software models to integrate distributed RFID technologies into management information systems
Get PDFThe growth of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies within inventory and asset tracking processes during recent years, has caused a corresponding increase in the amounts of tracking data being generated at the edge of the network. This data\ud
requires filtering, processing and refining in order to produce information that can be used to provide more efficient business processes and aid decision making.\ud
New legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has enforced the asset tracking process in organisations, with RFID enhanced asset tracking technology being proposed as an answer. This however, requires the creation of an economical software system to\ud
consume and filter the data being generated by the hardware readers, and provide integration via a middleware solution with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This thesis presents a method of collecting and processing data generated by RFID 1 hardware. The manner in which the open source based web application that was designed for this project interacts with ERP systems via Microsoft BizTalk messaging system is also described. Finally this thesis looks at how users of the Juno system are\ud
presented and can interact with this information, to help in the asset tracking process. Security considerations are important due to the sensitive company financial\ud
information in use and this is considered later on
An investigation into auditors’ independence and the provision of non-audit services in Ireland
Get PDFThe issue of auditors providing non-audit services (NAS) is one of the most debated \ud
topics within the accounting profession at present. The debate over whether audit firms \ud
should supply NAS to their audit clients centres on the proposition that providing such \ud
services impairs auditors’ independence. \ud
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In conducting the study, the researcher used both primary and secondary research. The \ud
researcher used a combination of both questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires \ud
were sent out to the top twenty accounting firms and interviews were conducted with the \ud
accounting bodies, namely, CPA, ACCA, IIPA, and also with IAASA and the ODCE. \ud
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The findings suggest that there is some need for change in the area of auditors’ providing \ud
NAS. The main findings suggest that more disclosure is required in the annual report and \ud
the current rules and regulations are only in part sufficient to prevent the auditor losing \ud
independence whilst providing NAS. However, the findings do not seek the need for a \ud
ban on auditors providing NAS to their audit clients despite the recent exposure of the so \ud
called problem
The practice of customer experience management in bars in Mayo and Sligo
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the practice of Customer Experience Management in Bars in\ud
Mayo and Sligo. There is little evidence of research conducted into customer experience\ud
management in bars in Ireland, hi addition, the bar industry is said to be in decline in\ud
Ireland.\ud
The study identifies and prioritizes critical touch points for bars, capturing customer\ud
preferences and motivations for what enhances their experience in a bar. It establishes\ud
the role of staff in customer experience and discusses customer advocacy in the bar trade.\ud
The document also details case studies on four different styles of bars and outlines the\ud
efforts they are taking to manage their customers experience.\ud
The study examines current and past literature on the topic of Customer Experience\ud
Management. The primary research study utilizes focus group, questionnaires and\ud
interviews. The findings are detailed within the study.\ud
The study closes with conclusions on each of the objectives and uncovers improvement\ud
opportunities and potential weaknesses
An investigation into the brand awareness of small and medium sportswear companies within Ireland
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An empirical study on the development of e-notary and e-postille services in Ireland and specifically as it relates to tradecert.com
Get PDFIn today’s world of globalization, technology and the internet it is difficult for any organisation or profession to remain in a ‘pen and paper’ based world when it comes to the running of their organisation. The role of the Notary Public is no different. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the development of e-notary and eapostille services in Ireland. At present documents that require a notary stamp and an\ud
apostille seal are manually stamped and verified.\ud
The process used to conduct this research was not limited to one source of methodology. The author felt that in order to give the best possible result a combination of methodologies would serve this research project appropriately. A combination of primary and secondary data was accumulated by various methods including, library database searches; books and journals; website searches; personal interviews; a\ud
questionnaire; and telephone interviews.\ud
The research discovered that Ireland is progressing, however slowly, in its introduction of e-Notary and e-Apostille services. To date nine documents have been electronically notarised by a number of Irish Notaries Public. The Department of Foreign Affairs is in\ud
the latter stages of introducing the e-Apostille program to the Irish public. At present the proposed introduction is with the DFA’s legal team who are ensuring that all of the legal implications of introducing such a service are studied and scrutinized to insure their compliance with Irish Constitutional Laws on data protection
Impacts of the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium sp. on Irish crustacean fisheries
Get PDFInfection of Cancer pagurus by a parasitic dinoflagellate of the genus Hematodinium is described for the first time in Ireland. An industry-based monitoring programme was established to determine seasonality of infection intensity and prevalence in the country’s\ud
three largest brown crab Cancer pagurus fisheries in the southwest, north and southeast. Velvet crabs Necora puber, European lobsters Homarus gammarus and spider crabs Maja brachydactela were also screened for Hematodinium sp. Infections were scarce in N. puber\ud
and absent in both H. gammarus and M. brachydactela samples. In relation to C. pagurus, the parasite was present in all areas for the majority of sampling periods, with highest prevalences recorded in pre-recruit animals of both sexes. Microscopic examination of haemolymph revealed trophont, plasmodial and dinospore stages of the parasite. Overall prevalence in males (16 %) was higher than females (9 %). Prevalence of Hematodinium\ud
sp. infection ranged from 0 - 51 % but a distinct seasonal trend was not apparent. Infection intensity was seasonal with significantly higher peaks occurring in late autumn/early winter months than in other quarters, which corresponded with industry reporting\ud
moribund and dead pink-shelled crabs in commercial catches. It is postulated that seawater temperature or a temperature linked process is a key factor in the triggering the final stages of infection as significant autumn peaks were followed by a reduction in infection intensity as temperature decreased in the late winter/early spring months with no increase in\ud
intensity again until the following autumn. It is proposed that infection intensity rather than prevalence provides a more appropriate indication of the period when there is greatest potential for biological and economic impacts and discuss the parameter’s application as a fisheries management tool
An examination of the marine tourism business sector in the West of Ireland: capabilities, performance and \ud contribution to the regional economy
No full textThis is a business research study with the primary aim being the examination of the marine tourism business sector in the West of Ireland and assessment of its contribution to the regional economy. According to the Irish Regions Office (Irish Regions, 2008), the West of Region of Ireland comprises the countries of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. This thesis explores three main themes including the product, the person and related policy. The product theme includes the marine tourism product capabilities, business performance and challenges. The person theme includes the marine tourism product capabilities, business customers, tourist motivations, characteristics, participation levels and a visitor profile. The policy theme includes marine tourism development agents, strategic plan assessments and funding of the marine tourism business sector.\ud
This thesis concludes with a number of recommendations to develop and grow the marine tourism business sector in Ireland including the appointment of a lead government agency to take control and management of the sector at all levels; the development of marine tourism business sector internet hub; the investment in marine educational programmes at primary and secondary level to tackle participation levels; the investment and development in a network of marinas in the West of Ireland through public private partnerships, to build on the Volvo Ocean Race 2009 infrastructure investment in Galway; a re-design of Failte Ireland Exit Survey to capture marine tourism data more effectively; modernisation of Foreshore Act to encourage economic development; and investment in beach resort tourism programmes to support the businesses in the region