NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
Not a member yet
18159 research outputs found
Sort by
A set of serious games for massive societal impact: design and features. Deliverable D2.5
No full textThis report describes the design, development and implementation of a serious game suite focused
on sustainability, renewable energy sources and fuel technologies. Serious games are innovative and
engaging tools designed with specific learning objectives or goals. They aim to impart knowledge,
develop skills, or change behaviours in players. They have become increasingly popular in education
as well as for corporate training, recruitment, assessment and employer branding
Doing science together: Gaining momentum from long-term explorative university–industry research programs
No full text‘Doing science together’ collaborations are a more intense form of university–industry interactions and are characterized by a mutual involvement and active participation of academic and company scientists in scientific research. Here, we examine the successful approach that AstraZeneca and its internationally renowned academic partners, Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, implemented to fully unlock the potential of all parties in long-term, explorative, truly collaborative research programs. The underlying premises of these successful research programs are three collaborative governance mechanisms (3MCs) that are required that leverage the strengths of each organization: mutual collaboration; mutually beneficial science; and a mutual governance model with senior management involvement
The inherent fruits of educational endeavour
No full textThis contribution begins by reviewing a widespread inherited idea in Western civilisations: that
education is an undertaking to be controlled, at least in all essentials, by some superior body; not by
educational practitioners. As a subordinate practice then, and depending on the political, religious
or ideological colour of the controlling body’s outlook, education may be called upon to serve
widely different purposes, often conflicting ones. Against this historical pattern I propose the notion
of education not as a subordinate practice but as a practice in its own right, with demands that arise
from its own inherent purposes. Despite being overshadowed by institutionalised forces in the
history of Western education, the philosophical ancestry of education as a practice in its own right is
robust and energetic. It reaches back beyond Plato and Aristotle to the example of Socrates,
specifically the practical Socrates captured in the early dialogues of Plato. In supporting the case for
education as a practice in its own right, I will explore the kinds of experience that lie at the heart of
the practice and the character of the kinds of fruit that flow from it. These features distinguish
education from other practices and from deficient forms of educational practice itself. Arising from
this exploration, an analysis will be carried out of the capabilities and relationships that constitute
educational practice, as the particular kind of practice that it is
Not ‘just consumers of content’: early insights into the policy enactment of the Digital Learning Framework
No full textIn Ireland, as with many international jurisdictions, digital technology is firmly positioned at the core of educational discourses. However, despite a rise in ‘techno-positivity’ among professionals in schools, these positive attitudes do not seem to permeate through to practice nor in effective learning outcomes. As a result, given the introduction of the Digital Learning Framework in the Irish schooling system, this study focuses on the initial experiences of those who lead the initiative within their respective schools and the contextual nuances they must navigate in the design of the enactment. This qualitative study comprised in-depth interviews with the Digital Learning Leaders of 10 different schools. Data evidenced the initial organisational considerations a leader must reckon with during the planning phase, and early indications of pedagogical impact, leading to a conclusion regarding contextual literacy. The research also highlights the subtle policy shift of embedding digital technologies within school evaluation mechanisms, heightening a sense of accountability associated with successful enactment
An Author without a Nation: Fictional Renderings of Leopoldo Lugones in Argentine Literature
No full textThis article examines three novels that use fiction to revise the figure of the Argentine author Leopoldo Lugones: Ricardo Piglia's Respiración artificial (1980), C. E. Feiling's Un poeta nacional (1993), and César Aira's Lugones (2020). These three novels present different portrayals of Lugones, which also mirror their opposing views of the Argentine literary tradition. Piglia, Feiling, and Aira look back at the so-called national poet when self-fashioning themselves as writers and outlining a literary project in a (post)dictatorial scenario. In a cultural field marked by the effects of state terror and neoliberal reform policies, these fictional renderings of Lugones become a means of reflecting on the political past and the future of literature. Ultimately, I argue that Respiración artificial, Un poeta nacional, and Lugones devise a figure of the Argentine author decoupled from the mission of consolidating a national identity that Lugones epitomized for nearly half a century
Perceived corporate social responsibility and innovative work behaviour: the role of passion at work
No full textPurpose – Perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) reflects personal views towards CSR activities
that impact emotion, attitude and behaviour. This paper aims to investigate how perceived CSR predicts
innovative work behaviour (IWB).
Design/methodology/approach – This study used a survey questionnaire to collect data from Gen Y
508 nurses working in the United Arab Emirates health-care sector. This study used a structural equation
model to examine the study’s hypotheses.
Findings – Perceived CSR was found positively and significantly related to employees’ passion at work
(PAW). This study also found that PAW positively and significantly mediates the relationship between
perceived CSR and IWB in the organisation.
Research limitations/implications – This study’s main limitation is that it used only quantitative
methodology to examine the hypotheses. Thus, this study suggests mixed-method investigations in future research.
Practical implications – This study suggests that organisations should significantly engage in CSR related activities, as it increases employees’ PAW and cause IWB to be in full swing. Passionate Gen Y nurses
will improve the quality of patient care services with productive, IWB.
Originality/value – The study’s findings give an insight into how Gen Y nurses’ perceptions of CSR would
affect their attitudinal and emotional variables. This study contributes to the knowledge domain of IWB in the
organisation. Passionate Gen Y nurses will add value to the health-care system by implementing IWB
Biospheric values as predictor of climate change risk perception: A multinational investigation
No full textClimate change is one of the big challenges of our time. A better understanding of how
individuals form their evaluation of the risk related to climate change seems to be key
to win broad support for climate change mitigation efforts. Extant research indicates
that biospheric values (BV) are an important antecedent of individuals’ perception of
the risk and consequences related to climate change. However, risk perception scholars
have only recently started to study how BV relate to individuals’ climate change risk
perception (CCRP) and much is still to be learned about this relationship. The present
study contributes to this growing literature by studying the BV–CCRP relationship in
a multinational context. The results suggest that the BV – CCRP relationship varies
in strength between different countries. These differences can be explained in part by
societies’ cultural leanings (i.e., individualism vs. collectivism) and societies’ wealth.
The present research adds to our understanding of why individuals in different countries perceive climate change related risk differently and how this perception is shaped
differently by biospheric values in different countries. In this way, the findings help to
build a more nuanced theory of how CCRP are formed. The presented results also have
implications for policymakers and NGOs who wish to increase individuals’ engagement with climate change and its consequences in different populations. In particular,
the findings suggests that it might be necessary to use different strategies in different
societies to achieve a greater awareness of climate change related risks
VisTex: An Investigation on the Role of Visual and Textual Programming Languages When Learning to Program
No full textVisual and Textual Programming Languages (VisTex) are the two primary
language types used in programming education today. A Visual Programming
language (VPL) is one which uses more than just text in their workflow
(images, blocks, animation etc.). Some examples of VPL include
Scratch, Alice and flowchart based systems. A Textual Programming Language
(TPL) on the other hand is what most consider a "traditional" programming
language, one that might be used in third level education or
industry. Examples of TPL include Java, Python and C++.
In this thesis, a comparative study will be done examining the usage
of visual and textual programming language in a second-level educational
setting. In particular, Snap! will be used as the VPL and Java as a TPL.
This will be discussed in more detail later. This study will involve the
undertaking of a Systematic Literature Review, development and testing
of curricula, examining the need for another "hybrid" option, the development
of this and then data analysis and conclusions.
In this introductory chapter, some of the initial ideas and motivations
will be described, research questions will be set and an overview of the
remaining chapters in the thesis will be presented
The Effects of Social Support on ACEs and Mental Health in Ireland
No full textThe aim of this study is to determine the moderating effect of perceived social support on the relationships between ACEs and depression/anxiety, and CPTSD symptoms in older adults in Ireland. Moderated regression analysis was used to evaluate these relationships in a sample of 535 residents of Ireland, aged 50 or above. The results show statistically significant predictive relationships between ACEs and mental health outcomes as well as a significant moderating effect of perceived social support. These findings suggest that ACEs in Ireland should be considered and measures to increase perceived social support should be implemented
Curriculum and Assessment in Children’s School Lives: Experiences from Primary Schools in Ireland 2019–2023
No full textUnderstanding Children’s School Lives (CSL) requires an in-depth exploration of how children experience the curriculum and assessment in their everyday lives, the focus of this thematic report. A core aspect of the CSL study has been to capture children’s voice and understand their experiences as they progress through primary school. In this report we place children’s experiences of curriculum and assessment practices at the centre of the analysis. While their voices are central, we present these also in the context of the perspectives of key adult decision makers in children’s lives: teachers, principals, and their parents. Relationships are at the core of the teaching and learning processes, as the evidence from the previous report on Pedagogy (Report 5)1 shows. For this reason, we explore teachers’ and principals’ experiences of both curriculum and assessment to better understand children’s experiences as these are framed within the complex challenges faced by school communities. Finally, a key element we explore in this report is the family dynamics around experiences of the curriculum, assessment and out of school learning by considering parents’ views and concerns. Each of these perspectives provides a wider lens into the rationale behind and experience of curricular and assessment practices in primary schools, and in the case of parents, their priorities and experiences, including the key insights they have over how their children respond to and engage with their learning