University of Galway Research Repository
Open access to publications, including peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, working papers, reports, and other scholarly communications by University of Galway researchers.
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Publication Trends in health behaviours, outcomes and contexts:1998-2022. The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study(Department of Health, Government of Ireland, Dublin & Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway, 2025-06-03)[No abstract available]Publication Business creation model: Development of an applied business model for novice enterprises(University of Galway, 2025-05-09)Economies worldwide depend on successful businesses to create value, employment, and prosperity. Entrepreneurship has been linked to the creation of wealth, increases in productivity, and improvements in the overall quality of life. In Ireland however, 99.8% of businesses are small to medium in size (i.e., employing fewer than 250 individuals), and their management skills lag behind those of other high-income European countries. Whilst this underperformance is masked economically by the current excellent performance of the multinational sector, this systemic deficit poses clear risks to the continuing wealth and prosperity of the Irish economy and its society. Past attempts by Ireland’s enterprise development agencies (Enterprise Ireland and Local Enterprise Offices) to improve this underperformance have had mixed results. This research sets out to address this problem of underperformance for novice entrepreneurs. It focuses on the novice entrepreneur as the main actor in creating a business, and develops an entrepreneur-centric business creation model that empowers them to strategise, formulate, and implement prioritised business creation activities that build business capability and create value. Employing a mixed-methods, exploratory sequential design, the study combines knowledge from academia and industry reports with insights from expert practitioners in entrepreneurship to ground the research in real-world experience. The research follows four phases, respectively: define goals, design the model, develop the model, and validate the model. Input and feedback were sequentially and iteratively gathered and analysed over several interviews and field tests to configure the emerging business creation model (BCM). Research participants included a group of 12 enterprise experts comprising academics, enterprise development officers, business mentors, experienced entrepreneurs, and 62 novice entrepreneurs (33 participating in pilot testing and iteration, and 29 performing validation tests on the finalised BCM). The results indicate that the BCM largely attains its primary objective of facilitating the development of strategically capable novice entrepreneurs. This primary objective is supported by providing a holistic cognitive map of the enterprise domain with which to orient the user; by creating a usable model that is relevant to the user’s needs; by assembling an integrated toolbox (of standard tools, templates, and techniques) for sequenced application towards an end solution; by maintaining a focus on implementation; and by enabling the user to ‘right-size’ the model to a level that suits them. This research makes novel contributions to addressing the serious problem of ongoing underperformance in the SME sector. It makes a practical contribution to the organisational and strategic capability of novice entrepreneurs and the field of applied BM research. It concludes by acknowledging its limitations, and by making recommendations for further study in this important area.Publication Against the tide: Immigration into Ireland from continental Europe 1945-1990(University of Galway, 2025-05-07)Immigration to Ireland in the second half of the Twentieth Century has been largely overlooked, particularly immigration from continental Europe. This examination of the motivation, experiences and impact of Europeans in the period before Maastrict and Nice opened the borders in Europe sheds new light on received historiograpy of Ireland in the late twentieth century.Publication Tracing a tyrant’s paper trail: A comparative assessment of the uses of archives in domestic proceedings addressing international crimes(University of Galway, 2025-05-06)[No abstract available]Publication Navigating urban environments: Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris ecology in Irish cities(University of Galway, 2025-05-06)With increasing global urbanisation, urban ecology has become an essential aspect of native species conservation. The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), typically found in rural woodlands, can also thrive in urban parks and green spaces if there is sufficient tree cover., Maintaining connectivity between suitable habitats is crucial to prevent population isolation and link established populations. This project investigated the suitability of urban habitats for red squirrels. The initial study was conducted in Galway City, an urban area in western Ireland where invasive grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are absent. Using non-invasive monitoring techniques, including hair tube surveys, trail camera surveys, and a citizen science survey, we determined the distribution of red squirrels across Galway's urban centre. Red squirrels were found to be established in three woodlands in Galway's urban centre, with transient red squirrels from these populations observed in surrounding green urban areas. Notably, they were absent from other seemingly suitable woodlands in the city. Red squirrels preferred broadleaf habitats in summer due to greater food availability but were detected less frequently with hair tubes in that habitat during spring. Squirrels observed in green spaces surrounding woodlands exploited anthropogenic food sources, including bird feeders, a behaviour linked to higher population densities in other urban areas. The population demographics of one of the identified red squirrel populations in a fragmented woodland in Galway were examined through live trapping. Radio tracking techniques were employed to examine the habitat usage of individuals in Menlo. Mean population densities were estimated at 0.63 squirrels per hectare using the Lincoln Index in a 23.8-hectare broadleaf woodland. Mean body weight of the squirrels was 268.6g, which is lower than typical values from Britain and Ireland. The weight of male squirrels exhibited greater stability over the course of the study compared to females, which demonstrated more pronounced fluctuations. Low fecundity was attributed to lower body weight, resulting in fewer second litters.
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