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An investigation into the appointment role and success of examinership in Ireland performance management in the public sector: an evaluation of the usefulness of pmds in institutes of technology in the bmw region
No full textAs part of the national partnership agreements performance management (PM) systems \ud
have been introduced to the public service. The Performance Management and \ud
Development System (PMDS) was first implemented in the civil service and was \ud
subsequently adapted for the higher education sector in 2005. Due to the current economic \ud
climate the government has been forced to reduce expenditure in the public sector. Now \ud
more than ever there is a greater demand on public servants to perform their jobs \ud
effectively and efficiently. This approach is not only emphasised by the government but also \ud
echoed by public demands for accountability. A PM concept, such as the PMDS, is seen as a \ud
model that could deliver such efficiencies within the higher education sector. \ud
The higher education sector, in particular academic staff, poses a problem for any PM \ud
system. The difficulties arise in assessing a lecturer’s performance. Each lecturer has a range \ud
of tasks within their role and each carry out these tasks in individual ways. The challenges \ud
faced by a PM system are how to set standard for service delivery for a lecturer and how \ud
then to measure them. \ud
This research evaluates the PMDS system within several Institutes of Technology (IOTs). It \ud
focuses on academic staff, examining the usefulness of the PMDS to both staff and \ud
management. It first identifies what the PMDS seeks to achieve before describing the \ud
process itself. It then explores different aspects of the PMDS identifying its strengths and \ud
weaknesses as well as future improvements. \ud
The research consists of a review of the relevant literature in the subject area and also \ud
primary research. The primary research conducted produced both qualitative and \ud
quantitative information. Questionnaires were issued to a sample of lecturers from the IOTs \ud
under review and six interviews were carried out with a sample of managers. This multi \ud
method approach allowed for further exploration of the subject area while also enhancing \ud
the validity of the results. \ud
The results indicate that the PMDS has proven useful in some aspects but that the system \ud
overall is in need of improvement. It has been more successful with regard to the \ud
development of staff but has fallen short in its usefulness for PM in the IOTs. These \ud
shortfalls are the consequence of faults with the system itself but some are also due to \ud
external factors within the higher education sector. It is clear there is the potential for a \ud
more meaningful role for the PMDS within the IOTs provided that the current challenges \ud
both inside and outside the system are addressed
An investigation into the information needs and seeking behaviour of chief executive officers in Ireland
Get PDFOVERVIEW\ud
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest ranking official in the \ud
company who has the responsibility of formulating and executing strategy. \ud
The CEO is ultimately responsible for the performance of the company. It is \ud
commonly understood that information is a critical resource for CEO’s in formulating \ud
strategy and obtaining an essential understanding of the environment in which the \ud
CEO operates. Increased technology and communications has meant that obtaining \ud
and analysing information is much easier than ever before. The difficulty for CEO’s is \ud
determining which information they require to prevent information overload. \ud
PURPOSE\ud
The purpose of this research is to examine the nature of CEO work. In this research, \ud
the researcher will use Mintzberg’s ten point framework to analyse the role of Irish \ud
CEO’s in the 21st century. Furthermore, the researcher aims to illustrate the \ud
information needs and information seeking behaviours of Irish CEO s’, and their \ud
insights into the usefulness of information systems. \ud
FINDINGS\ud
The research indicates that the role of CEO s examined is strategic in nature. Source quality, \ud
uncertainty and task complexity influence the information needs and seeking behaviour of \ud
CEO s. CEO s predominantly use internal personal and impersonal sources of information, \ud
requesting information from subordinate managers most frequently. \ud
Chief Financial Officers are integral for the effective implementation of information systems, \ud
especially in larger more complex companies. However, the CFO is also responsible for \ud
information systems investment and development due to accounting and inventory control \ud
systems, especially in smaller firms who lack the resources to employ a Chief Information \ud
Officer \ud
The problem of integrating information systems is a major problem experienced by \ud
companies in the research. High investment costs are also experienced by companies, \ud
especially by the largest companies with more complex operations and the smallest \ud
companies who suffer from lack of resources. \ud
\ud
FUTURE RESEARCH\ud
The research presents a foundation for further research in the area. Further exploratory \ud
research could be conducted on the work of CEO s, to provide a greater picture of their work. \ud
The research established that numerous companies included in the population employed a \ud
Chief Information Officer. There currently is a gap in the knowledge regarding their roles and \ud
the nature of the work in the Irish context
Back to the future: the power of traditional teaching with modern communication
Get PDFThe use of information and communication technologies in the delivery of higher education is heavily influenced by academic researchers in the fields of e-learning and education. The primary interest of such academics is naturally more focused on research and practice in the use of more advanced and emerging tools and techniques, rather than in the growth of their own institutions. Could such a preference be an inhibiting factor in the development of online courses in higher educational institutions? In moving their teaching online, academics are often faced with the dual challenge of changing the medium of teaching as well as adopting more sophisticated technologies and pedagogical practices than those they have previously used. In addition to this, institutions are challenged by development and quality assurance procedures for online delivery that are often more stringent than those in use with campus based delivery. Could it be that the combination of these challenges is resulting in many departments being slow to develop online courses or in not considering online delivery as an option at all? Might this be different if institutions were to replicate online, the methods used for teaching campus-based courses? Institute of Technology Sligo, Sligo, Ireland.\ud
This paper presents a case study on the success of a department in Institute of Technology Sligo in rapidly developing a suite of online distance learning programmes (www.itsligo.ie/online), with a very low level of investment. Using synchronous and asynchronous communications technologies to enable mainly traditional teaching methods over the Internet, this small department, with no previous experience of distance learning, between 2002 and 2008, grew the number of online distance learners to 400, greater than the number of full-time campus based students, and income from fees to over €1.5m\ud
The paper also puts forward the hypothesis that adopting a strategy of transferring traditional teaching practices online, may be more effective in scaling up the availability of online learning programmes than other strategies that require the use of more sophisticated pedagogical or technological approaches. It also suggests that the interests and preferences of e-learning and educational researchers may actually work against the simpler business objective of increasing capacity in online delivery
History of the Zebra Mussel/ICAIS Conference series
Get PDFThe International Conference on Aquatic\ud
Invasive Species (ICAIS) (http://www.icais.org)\ud
has evolved over the last two decades into a\ud
broad comprehensive international forum for the\ud
dissemination, outreach and review of\ud
information on the biology and impacts of all\ud
aquatic invasive species in freshwater, marine\ud
and estuarine environments
The design and development of heat extraction technologies for the utilisation of compost thermal energy
Get PDFA composting Heat Extraction Unit (HEU) was designed to utilise waste heat from decaying organic matter for a variety of heating application The aim was to construct an insulated small scale, sealed, organic matter filled container. In this vessel a process fluid within embedded pipes would absorb thermal energy from the hot compost and transport it to an external heat exchanger. Experiments were conducted on the constituent parts and the final design comprised of a 2046 litre container insulated with polyurethane foam and kingspan with two arrays of qualpex piping embedded in the compost to extract heat. The thermal energy was used in horticultural trials by heating polytunnels using a radiator\ud
system during a winter/spring period. The compost derived energy was compared with conventional and renewable energy in the form of an electric fan heater and solar panel. The compost derived energy was able to raise polytunnel temperatures to 2-3°C above the\ud
control, with the solar panel contributing no thermal energy during the winter trial and the electric heater the most efficient maintaining temperature at its preset temperature of 10°C. Plants that were cultivated as performance indicators showed no significant\ud
difference in growth rates between the heat sources. A follow on experiment conducted using special growing mats for distributing compost thermal energy directly under the plants (Radish, Cabbage, Spinach and Lettuce) displayed more successful growth patterns\ud
than those in the control. The compost HEU was also used for more traditional space heating and hot water heating applications. A test space was successfully heated over two trials with varying insulation levels. Maximum internal temperature increases of 7°C and\ud
13°C were recorded for building U-values of 1.6 and 0.53 W/m2K respectively using the HEU. The HEU successfully heated a 60 litre hot water cylinder for 32 days with maximum water temperature increases of 36.5°C recorded. Total energy recovered from\ud
the 435 Kg of compost within the HEU during the polytunnel growth trial was 76 kWh which is 3 kWh/day for the 25 days when the HEU was activated. With a mean coefficient of performance level of 6.8 calculated for the HEU the technology is energy efficient. Therefore the compost HEU developed here could be a useful renewable energy technology particularly for small scale rural dwellers and growers with access to significant quantities of organic matte
Development of a data acquisition system to characterise sustainable energy technologies and to support Web-Based learning (DAQ-WBL)
Get PDFDriven by concerns about rising energy costs, security of supply and climate change a new wave of Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET’s) have been embraced by the Irish consumer. Such systems as solar collectors, heat pumps and biomass boilers have become common due to government backed financial incentives and revisions of the building regulations. However, there is a deficit of knowledge and understanding of how these technologies operate and perform under Ireland’s maritime climate. This AQ-WBL project was designed to address both these needs by developing a Data Acquisition (DAQ) system to monitor the performance of such technologies and a web-based learning environment to disseminate performance characteristics and supplementary information about these systems. A DAQ system consisting of 108 sensors was developed as part of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology’s (GMIT’s) Centre for the Integration of Sustainable EnergyTechnologies (CiSET) in an effort to benchmark the performance of solar thermal collectors and Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP’s) under Irish maritime climate, research new methods of integrating these systems within the built environment and raise awareness of SET’s. It has operated reliably for over 2 years and has acquired over 25 million data points. Raising awareness of these SET’s is carried out through the dissemination of the performance data through an online learning environment. A learning environment was created to provide different user groups with a basic understanding of a SET’s with the support of performance data, through a novel 5 step learning process and two examples were developed for the solar thermal collectors and the weather station which can be viewed at http://www.kdp 1 .aquaculture.ie/index.aspx. This online learning environment has been demonstrated to and well received by different groups of GMIT’s undergraduate students and plans have been made to develop it further to support education, awareness, research and regional development
A qualitative investigation of corporate governance in Irish PLC's:the perceptions of auditors
Get PDFCorporate governance was dominated by corporate scandals across the world\ud
involving such companies as Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Parmalat, Polly Peck, and\ud
Maxwell. Over the last two decades a number of reports have been commissioned into\ud
the subject of corporate governance and as a result a number of codes of best practice\ud
have emerged worldwide. Following these reports, the Financial Reporting Council\ud
issued the combined code on corporate governance, which is adopted by the Irish\ud
stock exchange. Furthermore, since 2001 in Ireland there have been significant\ud
regulation and legislation initiatives made to enhance corporate governance. The\ud
objective of this dissertation is to examine the auditors’ perceptions of corporate\ud
governance in Irish PLC’s.\ud
The literature review presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of corporate\ud
governance and outlines US and Irish legislation regarding corporate governance. It\ud
also outlines the importance of auditors and their key role regarding corporate\ud
governance. The primary research for this dissertation was undertaken through five\ud
semi-structured interviews with audit partners from the four largest audit practices in\ud
Ireland based on fee income.\ud
The research revealed auditors are in favour of the “comply or explain” approach to\ud
corporate governance and that Ireland should adopt a stakeholder approach to\ud
corporate governance. Additionally, the research revealed that auditors’ believe that\ud
the board of directors have a key role in relation to corporate governance and that the\ud
mechanisms introduced in the combined code are all good. The main problem is in\ud
relation to non compliance with the combined code and the auditors favoured\ud
introducing a monitoring body in relation to non compliance. Furthermore, the\ud
research uncovered that auditors felt there was too much legislation in Ireland and that\ud
auditing was become a “box ticking exercise”. The auditors’ also suggested that they\ud
would think twice about pursuing a career in auditing in the current environment.\ud
Finally, the research revealed that auditors’ consider it is essential to have someone\ud
with financial experience on the audit committee to challenge managers and auditors\ud
therefore enhancing corporate governance
What influences accounting student’s attitudes towards the accounting profession - a north west experience
Get PDFThis study explores several issues which have been linked with influencing a\ud
student’s attitude toward the accounting profession. These issues include the\ud
factors that influence their choice of career, their decision to pursue a career in\ud
accounting, perceptions of the accounting profession and timing of the career\ud
decision.\ud
The study will also take into consideration the criticisms of accounting education\ud
which have received a lot of attention in related literature, and the decline in the\ud
popularity of accounting for leaving certificate.\ud
The results show that three main factors influence the student’s decision to pursue\ud
a career in accounting, namely long term earnings, job market conditions, and a\ud
genuine interest in the subject. This finding is the same regardless of gender. With\ud
regard to accounting education, the findings of this study support the argument that\ud
a gap has emerged between academic study and professional practice and as a\ud
result accounting education is no longer serving the needs of it graduates. The\ud
study also concluded that the majority of students still hold the traditional view of\ud
the profession as ‘bookkeeping’ and ‘number crunching’ orientated, however\ud
female students did have a much more favourable view of the profession than male\ud
students
The ecology of Twite Carduelis flavirostris in Ireland
Get PDFThe Twite Carduelis flavirostris is one of only three passerine species to appear\ud
on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland. It is also listed in\ud
The Irish Red Data Book of endangered species. Despite its unfavourable\ud
conservation status, no previous study has ever focused on this bird in\ud
Ireland. Data on Irish Twite has been sparse and largely anecdotal because it\ud
mainly relied upon the observations of birdwatchers. It also lacked ecological\ud
precision or information on demographics. Population surveys in this study\ud
found north county Mayo and west county Donegal to be the two breeding\ud
strongholds, accounting for a combined total of 40 pairs. Based on this data,\ud
and various verified records, it is estimated that the national population is\ud
between 54 and 110 breeding pairs with a minimum of 650-1,100 birds\ud
wintering here. Applying these figures to the IUCN Red Data Book criteria,\ud
Twite are 'Endangered' and can be considered at 'high risk of extinction in the\ud
wild' in Ireland. Nesting habitat for Twite in Ireland comprises good quality\ud
long Heather Calluna vulgaris, and occasionally Bracken Pteridium aquilitium.\ud
For foraging, Twite selected dry-humid acid grassland, saltmarsh and\ud
artificial surfaces such as small weedy roads and roadside verges. Twite\ud
targeted the seed of more than 20 plant species depending on their\ud
availability, particularly; Taraxacum agg., Rumex acetosa, Stellaria media, and\ud
Plantago maritima. Freshwater streams provide an important habitat for\ud
bathing, drinking, and picking up grit. It was found that foraging habitats\ud
were always within 2.5 km of the nest sites. Twite remain in their breeding\ud
areas from late April to September and generally over-winter within 30 km of\ud
their breeding areas. Winter flocks primarily forage for seed at cattle ringfeeders,\ud
saltmarshes, and sea drift lines. Overgrazing and changes in land use\ud
represent the main threats to Twite. Measures to conserve Twite as a breeding\ud
species in Ireland must include the maintenance and creation a heterogeneous\ud
mix of moorland, particularly long Heather, and avoid agricultural\ud
improvement (e.g. reseeds) in foraging areas
Teaching academic writing skills at Level 9: An evaluation
Get PDFThis study is an evaluation of a level 9 academic writing skills module in the School of Business Studies, Letterkenny IT. A 5 credit writing module was offered to all masters students in support of their dissertations. The evaluation will assess the overall quality of the module and the individual teaching and learning strategies, from the learner perspective. This could be developed into an iterative process of improving course design and add something to the knowledge base on the pedagogy of academic writing skills. The approach is consistent with the ethos of the reflective practitioner.\ud
Three techniques were identified from the literature as effective, and included in the module design: the writer-respondent method, writers’ groups incorporating peer review, and WebCT© reflective postings. Learners could bring their research proposal (assessed on a separate methodology module) to the Academic Writing course for both tutor and peer review. The module had relatively low contact hours, and assessment comprised eight WebCT© discussion postings (task based and reflective) and a portfolio of evidence of improvement in academic writing skills. The module used group work including writing partnerships, an emphasis on practising writing skills and provided experience of giving and receiving feedback. \ud
Since the starting point of the module design was a perceived problem with academic writing skills at level 9, the learning outcomes of the academic writing module will be significant to evaluation. Therefore the evaluation will comprise a questionnaire to the twelve participating students based on perceived achievement of intended learning outcomes. All students will then be interviewed with a particular emphasis on the effectiveness of the three main strategies of the module