Suchergebnisse

The following paper reviews the research Transition to Organic Farming in Ireland: How do Organic Farmers Arrive at the Decision to Adopt and Commit to Organic Farming Methods? The objective of this research was to examine how individuals arrive at the decision to adopt organic farming methods and commit to this decision on a daily basis through their everyday behaviour. A social movement approach was adopted. This approach considered the impact and appeal of the cosmological, organisational and technological aspects of the organic farming movement and how these aspects combine, in the decision process, to influence the biographies, motivations and behaviour of the organic farmer as well as the extent to which the organic farmer participates in social networks.

AbstractIn low‐income rural communities, access to early intervention and support services is restricted and resources needed to support children and families are limited. The aim of this study was to explore the role of local nonprofessional women, recruited as community home visitors (CHVs), to assist trained professionals in supporting parents with educating their child in their home environment. Structured questionnaires were developed and completed by interview. Three Portage staff, four trained CHVs, and a convenience sample of ten parents with children (aged <6 years) participated. An independent researcher conducted the interviews and parent interviews were assisted by a translator. Findings show that the CHVs are satisfied with the training received, are passionate about their job, and engaged parents with ease and as a friend. Challenges encountered include stigma, social exclusion of families, and a lack of community knowledge on how to help. Parents reported satisfaction with the support received, positive views of the home visits, varied progress in their child's development, increased involvement by fathers and siblings in the care of the child but continued lack of neighbor involvement, and some community pressure. Results show the centrality of using local women trained as home visitors in rural communities. Reciprocal respectful and trustful relationships can help to sustain parental compliance with an intervention program. The CHVs' presence in the village places them in a mediating role in efforts to integrate and destigmatize families and children with disabilities. More civic education and targeted anti‐stigma campaigns could provide a more inclusive and positive learning environment.

AbstractIn Ireland, an increasing number of students with special educational needs are leaving mainstream schools and enrolling in special education schools. A comparable context is countries that share an inclusion ideology and are at the implementation stage of inclusive education. The authors sought to investigate the reasons why students aged 12+ are leaving mainstream education and transferring to special schools, and to identify what burden this places on the special schools. Data were obtained from questionnaires sent to 54 special school principals. These administrators reported on their experiences with 246 transfer students. Descriptive analysis, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney U, and exact tests of significance were conducted between school groups and level of agreement with perceived difficulties. The principals reported an increasing trend (40% over 5 years) in students enrolling in special schools. The main reason given for the students leaving mainstream schools was the failure of mainstream schools to meet their academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and access‐to‐health resource needs. Adjustment and integration problems resulted from a lack of transition planning, entering too late into the special school curriculum, and an over‐dependency on supports. Students were reported to display a lack of self‐confidence, classroom disengagement, peer interaction difficulties, and challenging behavior, and these dysfunctions were attributed to the mismatch between the students' educational and other special needs and the educational environments.

BACKGROUND: Legislation pertaining to canine ownership in Ireland maintains a one-health perspective by establishing a minimum standard of care for dogs while safeguarding human health and wellbeing. However, public awareness of this legislation has not been measured. The goals of this study were first, to estimate and compare the level of awareness, among dog owners and non-dog owners, that eight responsibilities of dog owners are prescribed by law in Ireland. Second, to determine if gender modifies differences in awareness between owners and non-owners, and third to determine whether gender itself is independently associated with awareness of the legal specification of these dog ownership responsibilities. RESULTS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 679 University College Dublin employees. Exposure information included participants' dog ownership status, gender, age, and education level. Among dog owners and non-dog owners, we estimated and compared the prevalences of persons with self-reported awareness that each of eight dog ownership responsibilities are prescribed by law in Ireland: Dog fouling in a public place, the leashing and muzzling of certain breeds, holding a dog license, straying of dogs, safeguarding health and welfare of dogs, dog abandonment, prohibition on tail docking of puppies and the mandatory wearing of identification. The prevalence of awareness was low among both dog owners and non-dog owners with substantial awareness (≥ 80%) of only three responsibilities: Those pertaining to fouling, licensing and muzzling and leashing. Awareness that more than one responsibility was specified by law was also poor with only 17.9% (95% CI: 15.1–20.9%) of participants aware of all eight and dog owners essentially just as likely (54%; 95% CI: 49–58%) to be aware of more than one as non-dog owners. For most dog ownership responsibilities, differences in prevalence (PD) of awareness between owners and non-owners and females and males were trivial (PD < 10%). Similarly for most responsibilities, ...

AbstractA previous study on key farm performance indicators for animal welfare incidents in Ireland provided anecdotal evidence to suggest that farm animal welfare standards are often underpinned by social and human health‐related factors among farmers. The present study took an exploratory approach to identify these factors and how they influence farm animal neglect. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with farmers. Identified factors included farming difficulties associated with age and help on the farm (n = 5), mental health‐related problems (n = 4), and differing perceptions of animal welfare (n = 4). Stress was a prevalent theme. Evidence suggests that these negative human factors impact on farmers' ability to carry out farm management activities. Poor uptake of support services was noted and barriers included resistance, self‐reliance and an inability to talk openly about mental health problems. Initiatives such as the early warning system, aimed at reducing the incidence of farm animal neglect in Ireland, should be understood as often involving a human element. In particular, further research is required into how mental health problems may lead to altered or reduced regard for animal welfare.