National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Maynooth University ePrints and eTheses ArchiveNot a member yet
18158 research outputs found
Sort by
Cognitive engagement with AI‐enabled technologies and value creation in healthcare
No full textDespite the potential for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies in healthcare, their benefits are limited owing to the numerous challenges of cognitive engagement. This research paper explores the factors of “cognitive engagement with AI-enabled technologies” and its impact on the customers' benefits and value creation. A mixed-method study was utilized in the Indian health-care setup where AI-based technology is developing. The qualitative findings shed light on the factors of cognitive engagement with AI-enabled technologies. Grounded on the theories of customer benefit, an integrative framework of customer-perceived financial, experiential, psychological, and functional benefits, alongside perceived instrumental and terminal values, was developed. The quantitative findings of PLS-SEM explain the dynamics of the patients' cognitive engagement with AI-enabled technologies. The results enrich a more nuanced understanding of how the patient benefits of AI applications have different impacts on perceived value. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications
Can dialogue help police officers and young Black adults understand each other? Key findings from a restorative process
No full textRelationships between the police and minority ethnic communities are often characterised by tension, mistrust and a lack of understanding. It seems unlikely that the solutions lie in traditional approaches to police-community engagement. This article outlines the key findings from the first study to use restorative practices to facilitate dialogue between police officers and young Black adults in Europe. This occurred in a part of West Dublin, Ireland, where the police recently shot and killed a Black man. Observational and interview data suggest that the process enabled participants to speak and listen respectfully to each other and to understand how each other’s experiences shaped their perspectives on policing. These data suggest that restorative practices are a viable method for enabling dialogue that can play an educational role and provide a space safely to discuss and reflect upon views and experiences of belonging, policing and police-community relations. While there is sufficient evidence to justify seeking to scale-up dialogic processes, it remains unclear whether and how the contribution that dialogue can make at the individual and local level could translate into cultural change at the institutional level, or address underlying structural inequalities
Teaching for the future: restorative legal professionals require a restorative education
No full textI am a non-lawyer who has never read for a degree in law, but has always studied
and lectured in a School of Law, initially at the University of Leeds (UK), where I
studied for my undergraduate degree, master’s degree and PhD in criminology, and
now at Maynooth University in Ireland. This gives me some sense of legal education,
because I always studied alongside law students, and I mostly lecture to mixed
groups of law and criminology students. I also taught criminology and criminal
justice to lawyers at an advanced level for many years.
Where I now teach in Ireland, our legal education is perhaps unconventional.
First, most of our law undergraduate students do not exclusively read law. Many
instead study a three-year Bachelor of Civil Law: a qualifying law degree with a
major or minor in criminology, business, accounting, a language, or another social
science or humanity (‘Law and Arts’). Second, people who study ‘straight’ law (the
LLB) undertake a four-year course, combining the professionally required subjects
with comparative, socio-legal and technologically oriented module
Draft genome sequence of the fungal biocontrol agent, Bacillus velezensis Kos
No full textHere, we report the draft genome sequence of Bacillus velezensis strain Kos,isolated from casing soil used during Agaricus bisporus cultivation in Dublin, Ireland. B.velezensis Kos exhibits a suppressive ability toward Cladobotryum mycophilum, Trichoderma aggressivum, and Lecanicillium fungicola, which are common threats to A. bisporusproduction, cultivation, and quality
Qualitative research during the COVID19 pandemic: the impact of remote research on the collaborative production of methodological knowledge
No full textDuring the COVID19 crisis, school closure was a frequent feature of Government responses. The Children’s School Lives (CSL) national cohort study of primary schooling in Ireland had to be adapted and transferred online as an interim response to the unprecedented impact that the pandemic had on the research environment. Adapting longitudinal qualitative research in response to a global pandemic brought specific challenges. In addition to moving data collection to remote methods, longitudinal studies also needed to maintain a focus on retention of research participants and sustain an analysis that informs the longitudinal design of the study. Based on reflective research practice during the COVID19 pandemic and through the collaborative production of methodological knowledge, this paper contributes to the literature on remote research during times of crisis. However, it also extends this literature as the methodological learning can be applied beyond the very particular circumstances of a pandemic
What does well-being mean to me?’. Conceptualisations of well-being in Irish Primary Schooling
No full textPurpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the term well-being as conceptualised by parents, grandparents, principals and teachers in the Irish primary education system.
Design/methodology/approach
A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the nature and meaning of the phenomenon of well-being. Interviews were carried out with 54 principals, teachers, parents and grandparents from a representative sample of primary schools in Ireland. Each participant was asked the same, open, question: “What does well-being mean to you?” Responses were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis.
Findings
Three conceptualisations of well-being were identified (1) well-being is about being happy, (2) well-being is about being healthy and safe and (3) well-being is something you “do”.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge this paper is the first of its kind to describe how well-being is conceptualised by adults in Irish primary school contexts. In particular it highlights how neoliberal conceptualisations of well-being as a “thing”, a commodity exchanged on assumptions of individualism, moralism and bio-economism, have crept into the education of our youngest citizens
Anxiety in Multiple Sclerosis: An Exploration of Experiences and Supports.
No full textPurpose: A high percentage of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) experience anxiety, which can negatively impact quality of life. Despite this, anxiety in PwMS remains under researched. This review aims to identify associates of anxiety in PwMS that are amenable to change, with a view to informing the development of interventions in the area. Materials and method: The following databases were searched for studies investigating anxiety in PwMS from 2015-2021: PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science. The search consisted of keywords relating to MS and fear, anxiety or worry. Once screening was complete by two reviewers, a narrative synthesis was used to analyse the data, with the MMAT used for quality appraisal. Results: Of the 3117 unique abstracts screened, 39 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Evidence was found linking anxiety in PwMS to several modifiable factors broadly categorized as either psychological, social or lifestyle factors. Perceptions of self and one’s ability to cope/adjust to MS emerged as important psychological factors. Physical activity and social support from friends were also linked with improved anxiety outcomes. Conclusion: Anxiety in PwMS is linked to a number of modifiable factors. Findings may help inform the development of rehabilitation interventions to decrease anxiety in MS
WHOSE CLIMATE-PROOF CITY? A river-led, catchment-based critical assessment of climate justice in South Dublin.
No full textThe expansion of urban green and climate policy of the last decades in many regions
of the world has been increasingly called out for dramatically reinforcing existing
urban inequities. Many urban justice scholars have documented how these
inequities are produced through non-inclusive procedural and epistemic governance:
a tight control over who makes decisions and who produces knowledge in urban
green and climate development results in further unjust urban environmental
arrangements.
Building on these findings, the present PhD research project assesses how climate
inequities unfold in South Dublin: it asks whose environmental concerns and
knowledges count in the making of the climate-proof city. Taking as a starting point
one South Dublin river, the river Poddle, it critically assesses four climate change
adaptation and mitigation projects to be implemented in its catchment and involving
a wide range of public and private stakeholders: a planned flood alleviation scheme,
an Amazon data centre powered district heating scheme, two inner-city redensification
initiatives and, finally, a combined river greening and sustainable food
production project.
Grounded in a qualitative, inductive methodology approach and drawing on main
feminist epistemologies assumptions, the collection and assessment of data
pertaining to the four climate projects are conducted through three research
methods: walking with the river Poddle, semi-structured interviews and discourse
analysis. Findings are consistent with the existing literature on the neoliberalization
of urban environmental governance: all four climate projects are found to be heavily
private actor, private market driven and as such leading to intensified social and
environmental inequities. The privatization of climate governance is largely
facilitated by state and local government tight control over decision-making and
knowledge production processes. In contrast, the present research project outlines
ways to locate and challenge the produced inequities through fairer human and
more-than-human spatial-epistemic arrangements
From ‘Cottage to Crèche’ and Back: An Examination of Childcare and Au Pairship in Ireland.
No full textIreland has changed in recent decades with increasing gender equality, women working outside the home, and the ongoing secularisation of society. However, these advances are accompanied by rising costs and a national shortage in access to formal childcare services. This dissertation addresses how Irish families cope and adapt in this context. Through ethnographic analysis, it explores the strategies that families employ to manage domestic and economic circumstances, interrogates how these approaches affect their parental and household needs, and evaluates their success in satisfying the requirements of the domestic unit. Through the specific lens of au pairs and host families in Ireland, this research examines how these relationships are politically and socioeconomically situated. This research considers the impact of childcare choices, such as the decision to employ au pairs, upon the most intimate kinship relations of the family, particularly mothering; it asks how these familial bonds are disrupted, maintained, or reshaped over time by the addition of an au pair into the family unit? This thesis investigates how boundaries and meanings of kinship are negotiated in circumstances where ‘care’ is commodified. I look at the tensions that arise in these interactions and the impacts of crossing or violating boundaries.
This study follows the journey of au pairs and host families from their first expectations through the construction of boundaries and the creation of kinship ties and possible breakdowns of such relationships. I examine the establishment and negotiation of boundaries within the household, by both the au pair and host family, using the theoretical framework of boundary work.
In addition, I address the dynamics of contemporary Irish kinship, focusing on the idea of ‘fictive kinship,’ to investigate the relationships that emerge between au pairs and host families. For both the au pairs and host families, tensions surrounding the experience of familial-like relationships highlights the complex nature of these dynamics. In this thesis, I follow my research participants as they navigate this fragile territory in the nexus of everyday practices, routines, and experiences
The relationship between gratitude and cardiovascular responses to stress.
No full textRecent research has begun to highlight the potential for gratitude (trait, state, and interventions) to buffer against the negative effects of cardiovascular responses to stress. This thesis extends this research by examining the impact of trait gratitude on the risk of suffering acute myocardial infarction, the effects of state gratitude on cardiovascular reactivity and recovery, and the efficacy of a gratitude intervention in modulating cardiovascular reactivity. It presents three empirical studies addressing these objectives, thus providing new insights into the intersection of positive psychology and cardiovascular health. Study One’s key novel finding is that there is an indirect inverse relationship between trait gratitude and the risk of acute myocardial infarction, mediated by heart rate reactivity. Study Two is the first study to suggest that state gratitude impacts both cardiovascular reactivity and recovery, further extending research on the relationship between gratitude and cardiovascular stress responses. Study Three makes use of a randomised controlled trial design, showing that a brief intervention can reduce cardiovascular stress reactivity. These studies constitute novel explorations of the longitudinal relationship between trait gratitude and risk of acute myocardial infarction, the protective relationship between state gratitude and cardiovascular recovery, and it also provides the first study to demonstrate the influence of a brief gratitude intervention on cardiovascular reactivity. These empirical analyses suggest a modest but significant relationship between gratitude and cardiovascular stress responses that is ultimately cardio-protective