Technology and Innovation Commons^™

Beyond Beautiful*- Why Citizens Are Comparatively Happier, More Prosperous, More Peaceful, More Democratically Engaged And Less Selfish Living In Smaller States, Anthony Paul Buckley

Other

Half of all sovereign states in the world have a population of less than 6.2m (World Bank, 2014). The mainstream literature in most academic disciplines has chosen, by accident or design, to neglect the unique determinants of small state growth and development (Armstrong & Read, 2003; Read, 2014). These are extraordinary omissions when the collective evidence on the performance of smaller states on a wide range of economic, political, cultural and social indices is considered. Apart from the disproportionate representation that small states enjoy in the World Banks Upper-Middle and High Income categories, many small states also feature in the …

The Phenomenon Of Online Reviews - Digital Headache Or Golden Opportunity For The Tourism Sector?, Jennifer Lawlor, Geraldine A. Gorham, Colin O'Connor

Conference papers

This conceptual paper presents a research agenda for tourism operators by examining the literature pertaining to the phenomenon of online reviews in the tourism sector. The objective is to examine tourist motivations for posting online reviews and their potential impact on the consumer decision making process. Furthermore, this paper seeks to explore how tourism operators may respond to, and act upon, this source of customer word-of-mouth.

Understanding Customer Actions During Self-Service Technology Failures In Multichannel Service Environments, Jennifer Lawlor, Petranka Kelly, Michael Mulvey

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Application Of Lean Thinking Using Simulation Modelling In A Private Hospital, Ayman Tobail, Patrick Egan, Waleed Abo-Hamad, Amr Arisha

Conference papers

Timely access, prompt responses to patient needs, and availability of resources to deliver quality service are the key priorities of healthcare systems, in particular hospitals. To cope with these constraints, healthcare managers have turned into lean thinking and approaches in their attempts to reduce non-value added activities and save costs by reducing wastes. This paper presents a case study of a private hospital in Dublin that used integrated approach of value stream mapping and simulation modeling to assess lean implementation in admission and discharge processes. Simulation enabled the strategic management to examine the outcomes of three possible improvement scenarios on …

Asynchronous Ultrasonic Trilateration For Indoor Positioning Of Mobile Phones, Viacheslav Filonenko (Thesis)

Theses

Spatial awareness is fast becoming the key feature on today‟s mobile devices. While accurate outdoor navigation has been widely available for some time through Global Positioning Systems (GPS), accurate indoor positioning is still largely an unsolved problem. One major reason for this is that GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) systems offer accuracy of a scale far different to that required for effective indoor navigation. Indoor positioning is also hindered by poor GPS signal quality, a major issue when developing dedicated indoor locationing systems. In addition, many indoor systems use specialized hardware to calculate accurate device position, as …

Idiosyncratic Distances: Impact Of Mobile Technology Practices On Role Segmentation And Integration, Nicolas Battard, Vincent Mangematin

Articles

Mobile technologies have brought convenience, flexibility and connectedness in our lives by enabling us to be reachable anywhere and anytime. All of our environments such as work and home converge through a single device and we can now receive private calls at work and professional calls during the weekend. Mobile technologies have transformed geographical distances and allow unplanned interruptions. While boundary theory suggests that individuals create, maintain and modify their boundaries in order to classify and simplify their environments, we focus here on how people use their devices and manage the boundaries that have been erased by mobile technologies. Based …

Mathematical Modelling Of A Low Approach Evaporative Cooling Process For Space Cooling In Buildings, Medhi Nasrabadi, Donal Finn, Ben Costelloe

Conference Papers

This paper describes a mathematical model of a low approach open evaporative cooling tower for the production of high temperature indirect cooling water (14-16°C) for use in building radiant cooling and displacement ventilation systems. There are several potential approaches to model evaporative cooling, including: the Poppe method, the Merkel method and the effectiveness-NTU (ε-NTU) method. A common assumption, applied to the Merkel and ε-NTU methods, is that the effect of change in tower water mass flow rate due to evaporation is ignored, which results in a simpler model with reduced computational requirements, but with somewhat decreasedaccuracy. In this paper, a …

Convergence And Multidisciplinarity In Nanotechnology: Laboratories As Technological Hubs, Nicolas Battard

Articles

This article argues that research groups dedicated to nanoscience and nanotechnology are considered as technological hubs where scientists with multiple backgrounds converge in order to conduct research at the nanoscale (a billionth of a metre). Scientific production is therefore challenged as multiple ways of thinking, practices and knowledge participate in the creation of new outcomes. Through an exploratory and inductive study, I show that these technological hubs develop a specialisation based on internal competencies and stock of knowledge. The specialisation enables laboratories to position themselves as an expert among other laboratories as well as making them more visible in order …

Knowledge Management In A Project Environment: Organisational Ct And Project Influences, Taya Polyaninova

Articles

During a project implementation various forms of information and experience are generated within the organization. If this accumulated knowledge is not recorded and shared amongst other projects, this knowledge will be lost and no longer be available to assist future projects. This may lead to increased future projects costs as resources, time and money will be wasted on redefining the knowledge that once existed within the company. By not capturing and redeploying this knowledge, the quality of a project’s deliverables may adversely suffer. First the publication reviews the concept of project knowledge management. It defines the reasons for managing project …

A Review Of Key Factors Affecting Consumers' Adoption And Usage Of Self-Service Technologies In The Tourism Sector, Jennifer Lawlor, Petranka Kelly, Michael Mulvey

Books / Book chapters

During the past ten years self-service technologies (SSTs) have attracted research attention especially in the banking, retail and airline sectors. The infusion of technology in the service encounter has been identified as being advantageous to both the service provider and the consumer, provided that SSTs gain adoption among consumers. In light of the importance of consumer participation in SSTs, this paper reviews the state of the SST adoption literature in an attempt to identify the most important influencing factors. Seven factors emerged as the ones of key research interest in the literature and they are discussed in more detail. These …

The Impact Of 3pl’S Green Initiatives On The Purchasing Of Transport And Logistics Services: An Exploratory Study, Pietro Evangelista, Maria Huge-Brodin, Karin Isaksson, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

There is a lack of research investigating the interaction and reciprocal influences between the buyer perspective and the supplier of transport and logistics services. Studies on the buyer perspective analyse the selection criteria to buy 3PL services, while research focused on green 3PL services examine initiatives undertaken by these companies to provide more environmentally sustainable services. The objective of this paper is to fill this void through an explorative case study analysis on the environmental attitude of 3PL companies in order to derive relevant implications for buyer’s behaviour. The results provide useful guidelines to buyers for understanding awareness, initiatives as …

Forex Trading Using Metatrader 4 With The Fractal Market Hypothesis, Jonathan Blackledge, Kieran Murphy

Conference papers

This paper reports on the results of a research and development programme concerned with the analysis of currency pair exchange time series for Forex trading in an intensive applications and services environment. In particular, we present some of the preliminary results obtained for Forex trading using MetaTrader 4 with a new set of trend indicators deigned using a mathematical model that is based on the Fractal Market Hypothesis. This includes examples of various currency pair exchange rates considered over different time intervals and use of the indicators in a live trading environment to place a buy/sell order.

Basic Insight; It’S All About People But Technology Gets You Closer, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

After three years of difficult trading conditions Irish tourism needs to move towards recovery. Given that we are waiting next month for one of the toughest budgets in the history of the state, talk of recovery might seem a little premature. Nevertheless we know that economic conditions in some of our key source markets abroad continue to improve, and so consumer sentiment in these countries is likely to recover faster than here at home. In order to position itself for recovery, tourism will need to do two things. Firstly it will need to continue to offer value to a weakened, …

A Review Of Key Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Self-Service Technologies In Tourism., Petranka Kelly, Jennifer Lawlor, Michael Mulvey

Conference papers

During the past ten years self-service technologies (SSTs) have attracted research attention especially in the banking, retail and airline sectors. The infusion of technology in the service encounter has been identified as being advantageous to both the service provider and the consumer. Service provider companies may reduce costs, increase consumer satisfaction and tap into new markets which have been made accessible via the Internet. From a consumer’s point of view, SSTs can save money and time, provide convenience, and in some cases, enjoyment. All the above mentioned advantages are achievable only if SSTs gain adoption among consumers. In light of …

Bridging The Gap Between Academics And Industry, Colm O'Kane

Papers, presentations and other resources

The benefits of close collaboration with industry for undergraduate design students have been repeatedly emphasised in the literature. This paper describes the operation of a design competition as a collaborative project between the DIT School of Manufacturing and Design Engineering and an external company. Small groups of design students were set a design brief and guided through the year by company representatives and by their academic supervisors. Along with giving an example of problem-based learning and showing how academic projects can remain relevant to the commercial design field, this paper gives an example of what approaches can be taken to …

Systemic Risk Assessment Using A Non-Stationary Fractional Dynamic Stochastic Model For The Analysis Of Economic Signals, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

This paper considers the Fractal Market Hypothesis (FMH) for assessing the risk(s) in developing a financial portfolio based on data that is available through the Internet from an increasing number of sources. Most financial risk management systems are still based on the Efficient Market Hypothesis which often fails due to the inaccuracies of the statistical models that underpin the hypothesis, in particular, that financial data are based on stationary Gaussian processes. The FMH considered in this paper assumes that financial data are non-stationary and statistically self-affine so that a risk analysis can, in principal, be applied at any time scale …

Visitscotland.Com Effectiveness Study, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Reports / Surveys

This report is a culmination of a comprehensive piece of research that studied the effectiveness of Visitscotland.com on a longitudinal basis over an eight month period from January 2009 up until August 2009. The purpose of the research is twofold. Firstly, the main purpose of the study was to evaluate how effectively VisitScotland.com serves its many stakeholders from a wide variety of perspectives. The second reason for conducting this research was to validate an expert system created specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of Destination Management Systems (DMS) from Macro, Meso, and Micro viewpoints.

Benefits Of Continuing Professional Development In The Visual Communications Sector In Ireland, Con Kennedy

Other resources

This research is concerned with identifying the benefits of Continuous Professional Development for the Visual Communications sector in Ireland, with the aim of establishing what benefits exist for both the employee and employer. Research is undertaken to identify CPD programmes that currently exist in other industries in Ireland for the purpose of establishing commonalities and how this may apply to the Visual Communications sector. This is achieved through a combination of literature review, desk research, surveys of employees and employers in the Visual Communications sector and a number of semi-formal interviews with representatives from various industry sectors with established CPD …

Heat Transfer Correlations For Low Approach Evaporative Cooling Systems In Buildings, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

The experimental performance of an open industrial scale cooling tower, utilising small approach temperature differences (1–3 K), for rejection of heat at the low water temperatures (11–20 °C) typical of chilled ceilings and other sensible air–water heat dissipation systems in buildings, is examined. The study was carried out under temperate maritime climatic conditions (3–18 °C wet-bulb temperature range). Initially a theoretical analysis of the process at typical conditions for this climate was conducted, which indicated that a water to air (L/G) mass flow rate ratio of less than 1.0 was required for effective operation. Consequently for these low L/G ratios, …

Role Of The Sales Manager And Its Intersection With Sales Technology, Stephen Kennelly

Masters

The area of sales management and technology is an expanding and dynamic field of research. Examining the impact and facets of technology in the arena of sales management has been steadily increasing over the past few decades as sales managers and industry seek to benefit from the multiple uses of technology. Large scale quantitative sales research itself in Ireland has been limited over the past 15 years and not since De Burca and Lambkin (1991) performed an analysis of the industry has there been any wide scale research in Ireland. This body of work seeks to follow on from De …

Factors Affecting Retailer Adoption Of The Internet In Ireland, Roisin Vize, Joseph Coughlan, Aileen Kennedy

Conference papers

To date, most of the commentary on the impact of the Internet on retailing in Ireland has been anecdotal and there is a paucity of academic empirical research examining the factors affecting Internet adoption by retailers in Ireland. The primary aims of this research are to identify the key factors perceived as being influential in determining the resultant level of adoption among traditional retailers in Ireland and to examine the extent and level of its’ adoption in the Irish retail sector. This paper represents the results from an exploratory investigation employing multiple case studies as the first of a two-stage …

Destination Website Emetrics, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

The priority of the research is thus to establish which criteria are important for destination websites and to determine a mechanism for their measurement. These criteria are divided into both macro- and micro- level metrics which each combine to provide information that is actionable from a business’ perspective. This work lays the foundation for the anticipated outcome of this research, a robust methodology for measuring the effectiveness of destination websites coupled with a suite of actionable eMetrics that will accurately relate to the key business goals of a destination website.

Thermal Effectiveness Characteristics Of Low Approach Indirect Evaporative Cooling Systems In Buildings, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

Meteorological enthalpy analysis of temperate and maritime climates above latitude 45°N suggests that the water-side evaporative cooling technique has considerable unrealised potential with contemporary “high temperature” building cooling systems—such as chilled ceilings and displacement ventilation. As low approach conditions are the key to exploiting the cooling potential of the ambient air, thermal performance at such conditions needs to be investigated. To address the research issues, an industrial scale test rig, based on a low approach open cooling tower and plate heat exchanger and designed to maximise evaporative cooling potential, has been constructed. The thermal effectiveness of such systems (as a …

Giving It Away : Free Technology Transfer To The Irish Sme Sector, Peter Kavanagh, Andy Maguire, James J. Casey

Articles

One of Europe’s major weaknesses lies in its inferiority in terms of transforming the results of technological research and skills into innovations and competitive advantages. (European Commission, 1995, p. 8.)

Technology transfer is a key aspect of economic development and research administration. These concerns are shared equally between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic. As technology is developed at a greater rate, concerns about the technology transfer will heighten. This article focuses on technology transfer in Ireland, particularly in the SME (Small and Medium size Enterprises, under 250 employees) sector. As the main Lisbon Objective has not …

Electronic Distribution Effectiveness Amongst Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises In The Hotel Sector, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

This paper examines the factors that affect electonic distribution amongst SMEs in the hotel sector.

Creating The Human Resources For Enhancing Innovation In Regional Economies, Brendan Goldsmith

Conference papers

No abstract available

Wto/Ifitt Research Paper – E-Metric Evaluation, Patrick Horan

Conference papers

This discussion paper evaluates electronic channel-choice strategies and outcomes amongst hotel SMEs and discusses the initial steps associated with constructing a methodology to generate a set of metrics for evaluating the DMS electronic channel.

Destination Websites Effectiveness Benchmarking, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

This presentation examines the steps that should be taken in order to construct a comprehensive framework to evaluate the effectiveness of destination management systems from a hotel SME's perspective.

Creating The Human Resources For Technology: The Case Of Ireland And The Specific Role Of Dit., Brendan Goldsmith

Conference papers

No abstract available

Experimental Energy Performance Of Open Cooling Towers Used Under Low And Variable Approach Conditions For Indirect Evaporative Cooling Of Buildings, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

The success of chilled ceilings and displacement ventilation systems as a means of sensible cooling in buildings has prompted a review of evaporative cooling technology as an effective means of generating the required cooling water. When such cooling water is generated at low approach conditions (2–5 K), at the higher temperatures required in these systems (14–18°C), very high levels of availability result. In many north western European locations the levels of availability are such that the prospect of supplanting rather than simply supplementing the refrigeration system, for sensible cooling purposes, arises. The viability of the technique, however, largely depends on …