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The purpose of primary physical education: The views of teacher educators
No full textThis paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal project investigating the perceived purposes that different stakeholders have for primary physical education (PE). In the study, the views of 19 teacher educators from seven countries across Europe were sought. While teacher educators may have some influence across the layers of an education system, little is known about this stakeholder group and their views about primary PE. Analysis of focus group conversations depicts that, while the teacher educators come from a wide range of contexts, their views on the purposes of primary PE were more similar than different. With primary PE in danger of disconnecting into different schools of thought, this finding is important because it suggests that more coherent and connected approaches have the potential to be developed. In line with most government policies from the seven countries, similarities focused on both an educational and outward-looking view of primary PE. Significantly, while the teacher educators recognised the key role of physical learning in primary PE, they also highlighted how children's social, emotional, and cognitive learning form part of an integrated view of primary PE. Teacher educators recognised the importance of primary PE expanding beyond the hall/gymnasium and into classroom, school, and community settings. However, some concerns were voiced about the influence of outsourcing and sport agendas that currently dominate. The views of these teacher educators offer a useful starting point for further investigation, particularly as they present the purposes of primary PE from both an integrated and educational perspective
William Alister Macdonald (1861-1956) of Scotland and Tahiti. A portrait of the artist in the third age.
No full textTahiti has long been associated with banker-turned artist Paul Gauguin and celebrated by writers such as Somerset Maugham in Moon & The Sixpence (1919), but in another ‘life is stranger than fiction’ tale, the life of Scottish watercolourist William Alister Macdonald (1861-1956) has been something of mystery to those outside of French Polynesia. After stepping off a ship in Tahiti en route to New Zealand, Macdonald began a new life at sixty, forging friendships with American writers Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall who had made their home there, and Zane Grey who was big-game fishing. Travelling alongside these writers his paintings caught timeless landscapes and atmospherics. His approach followed Whistler and Turner, with a knowledge of sea and boats crafted when growing up on the remote coast of northern Scotland, then along the Thames after moving to London as a young bank clerk. New research illuminates a life well-lived
Visualising Bivariate Patterns using Association Measures
No full textCorrelation matrix displays are valuable tools for investigating bivariate associations,
typically showcasing Pearson’s correlation—a linear association measure—for
pairs of numerical variables. However, these displays have limitations in capturing
complex non-linear associations and associations involving categorical variables.
This thesis addresses these limitations by introducing alternative association measures
that accommodate pairs of numerical, ordinal, and categorical variables, as
well as mixed pairs where one variable is categorical and the other is numerical. For
numerical variables, we incorporate modern non-linear association measures like
distance correlation and the maximal information coefficient (MIC). Notably, our
displays present multiple association measures for each variable pair, revealing patterns
beyond linear associations or associations dependent on levels of a grouping
variable. To address space issues with high-dimensional datasets, we also offer a linear
layout display, showing one or more association measures for each variable pair.
Furthermore, we employ seriation for matrix displays and importance sorting for
linear displays to emphasize highly-associated variables or pairs with significant differences,
making them easier to discern and interpret. These improvements enhance
the effectiveness and efficiency of data analysis, allowing for a more comprehensive
understanding of associations in various datasets
The European Health Data Space as a Case Study
No full textIn May 2022, the European Commission proposed the launch of a health-specific data sharing framework called the European Health Data Space (EHDS), underpinned by legislation, for the use of electronic health data by patients and for research, innovation, policy-making, patient safety, statistics, or regulatory purposes. In this essay, I review some of its more contentious features based on the latest version of the legislative proposal. I suggest that the EHDS is a useful case study to illustrate the need for a translational bioethics approach that shines a critical analytical light on contentious aspects of large-scale research infrastructures
Of Land and Ocean: Climate Change Vulnerability and Resilience on Inishbofin Island
No full textIreland’s Inishbofin Island, situated in the north-east Atlantic, is particularly exposed to climate change. Weather-dependent access and frequent isolation from the mainland necessitate continuous adaptation to erosion and extreme weather. Understanding how Islanders adapt is hindered by a lack of longitudinal studies and data on Irish islands. Developing and deploying an interdisciplinary ethnographic framework drawn from geography, anthropology and island studies, this research examines the interplay between culture, identities, and socio-ecological dynamics to enhance understanding of resilience and vulnerability in Inishbofin. Key objectives include understanding the significance of island identities for resilience; exploring the impacts of colonial legacies and post-colonial governance on climate resilience and vulnerability; assessing the exposure of island services, infrastructures, and livelihoods; and investigating the lived experiences of the island's weather, or weatherworld, and future implications.
Identity is enmeshed within Inishbofin's distinct socio-ecological dynamics, particularly exchanges between land and ocean, and internal and external governance. Resilience emerges from memory (sometimes tragic) and experience of incremental and abrupt changes in society, weather and the sea, formed by continuous transformation of and attachment to place, with fluidity being a central characteristic of both islandness and resilience. Findings underscore the critical role of power relations and political narratives in shaping island resilience and vulnerability. Historical marginalisation, exemplified through suppression of the Irish language and theft of human remains for science, has impaired equitable planning and policy, contributing to vulnerability.
Marginalisation persists through deferral of essential services and infrastructures, including electricity grid connection and an accessible deep-sea pier, available only in 1998. As Inishbofin’s non-Gaeltacht status precludes a secondary school, migration ensues from childhood. Tourism and proliferation of second home ownership mean that nearly half of its housing remains unoccupied for much of the year yet is inaccessible to locals. Water supply has faced suspensions due to elevated manganese levels, and primary livelihoods of fishing, farming and tourism are at risk from climate change. While islandness is a factor in determining the availability and exposure of services, infrastructures and livelihoods, national policy and external governance are a greater determinant. Adaptation is restrained by mainland projections of island stasis rather than its ongoing transformation.
Implementing adaptation designed for the mainland, oblivious to island weatherworlds, leads to policy failures and destabilises political narratives. This dynamic, heightening tensions between island resilience and external pressures, results in an approaching tipping point whereby population decline may threaten the sustainability of island communities. By analysing geographical, cultural, social, historical, political, economic and psychological factors, the research provides a comprehensive view of the processes that generate resilience and vulnerability in Inishbofin. The findings are not unique to this island and call for a greater focus on justice, together with recognition and affirmation of islandness in responding to climate change in these distinctive, important places of land and ocean
Antimicrobial Resistance in Irish Private Drinking Water Supplies and Novel Treatments
No full textAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is jeopardising the efficacy of current and future antimicrobial
agents, with the environment as a reservoir for AMR being notably underrepresented in the One
Health framework. However, drinking water has emerged as a potential environmental route of
transmission of AMR. Irish private drinking water supplies (PDWS) are particularly vulnerable
to AMR contamination due to poorer microbiological quality than public supplies. An absence of
guidelines that recognise AMR bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs) as contaminants of drinking
water has limited our knowledge on the contribution of PDWS in the spread and persistence of
AMR. Furthermore, AMR plasmids are particularly concerning within One Health, as they can
independently mobilise between and across species, and ecosystems.
With the support of citizen science, we investigated the bacterial reservoirs of AMR in Irish
PDWS and explored the potential of alkyl α-D-mannopyranosides to reduce the transmission of
MDR plasmids via inhibition of biofilms amongst Escherichia coli.
Irish PDWS were confirmed reservoirs of both commensal and clinically relevant ARB. Bacteria
resistant to last-line antimicrobials were identified as carbapenem-resistant H. alvei and linezolid�resistant Enterococcussp. Opportunistic and potentially pathogenic isolates of E. coli, E. cloacae,
Enterococcus casseliflavus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Serratia rubidaea harboured
MDR phenotypes. In E. coli, this was attributed to conjugative plasmids, IncP-1α, IncFIA and
IncFIB. Whole genome sequencing of two E. coli isolates harbouring IncFIB revealed virulence
factors and clinically relevant ARGs such as phenicol- (floR, catI), aminoglycoside- (apha�variants), and β-lactam- (blaTEM-1) resistance genes. Exogenously captured plasmids also
harboured IncF, IncQ and Col-plasmids. In addition to the ARGs identified in E. coli, these plasmids additionally encoded clinically relevant ARGs such as the methyltransferase (cfrA),
tetracycline efflux (tetB) and broad-spectrum β-lactamase (blaTEM-116).
Investigations into a biofilm-inhibiting, next generation antimicrobial, revealed previously
unexplored conjugation inhibitor (COIN) activity against MDR F-plasmids. Heptyl α-D�mannopyranoside inhibited biofilms of a broad range of biofilm-forming E. coli strains at µg/mL
concentrations, with only a small impact on bacterial viability. In addition, heptyl α-D�mannopyranoside significantly reduced the transmission of MDR IncF plasmids of both clinical
(pEK499) and environmental (pEN154, pEN500) background. However, limitations were
identified due to an increase in the conjugation of the R388 (IncW) plasmid.
Heptyl α-D-mannopyranoside failed to inhibit conjugation in the absence of FimH, demonstrating
the significance of FimH interactions. Further, the COIN potency of heptyl α-D-mannopyranoside
was determined – in large – by the plasmid host. We also uncovered COIN potential for the
galactose analogue, heptyl β-D-galactopyranoside, which demonstrated comparable COIN
activity on pEK499 (IncFIA/IncFII), but this was limited by concentration.
Overall, this thesis provides evidence that Irish PDWS are reservoirs of AMR. By accumulating
information regarding the movement and persistence of ARB and ARGs, efforts can be made to
mitigate the potential risk this poses to the Irish population. Moreover, the novel and promising
findings have unveiled a new class of COINs for the control of MDR plasmids amongst E. coli.
The work suggests that lectins may be used as an alternative target for COINs, a promising starting
point for future COIN studies
A Dilemma for Proceduralist Theories of Democracy: Elected Delegates or Elected Monarchs?
No full textEmphasizing the intrinsic value of formal political equality, a prominent strand of democratic theory—proceduralism—sharply disassociates democracy from substantive justice. This paper elucidates a resultant dilemma: that proceduralism is either underinclusive in its exclusion of robust forms of representative democracy or overinclusive in its inclusion of elective dictatorship. I show how the horns of this dilemma respectively derive from different conceptions of political equality: the standard view, which foregrounds the choice of legislative text itself, and an alternative view, drawn from Robert Dahl’s model of “procedural democracy,” which privileges the choice of procedure by which to resolve disagreement over the choice of text. Conceiving of democracy in terms of political equality alone leads to a rigid characterization of the elected legislature either as an institution whose structure is entirely open or as a mechanism for enacting citizens’ wishes that denies legislators their intuitive input
An Exploration of Pre-Service Teachers’ Journeys in their Development as Socially Just Teachers: An Interpretative Study
No full textIt is widely acknowledged that the development of just teachers, teachers who ensure that all
students have access to a high-quality education regardless of their background, is essential within
initial teacher education (ITE). Teacher bias can significantly impact the educational experiences of
some children and contribute to educational inequality. This interpretative study aims to explore the
experiences of pre-service teachers in the journey of their development as a just teacher. To support
this goal, a professional development framework involving engagement with arts-based workshops
and school placement in a diverse education setting was designed, implemented, and researched to
enable pre-service teachers to confront their bias. Pre-service teachers in this study were enrolled in
year three of a four-year B. Ed program in an ITE college in Ireland.
The design of this interpretative study is subdivided into two phases. Phase One draws on the
reflective journals of pre-service teachers' engagement in arts-based workshops. The workshops
sought to enable pre-service teachers to develop awareness of their bias. Thirty pre-service teachers
took part in phase one. Phase two involves ten semi-structured interviews to explore how school
placement supports pre-service teachers' development as just educators. Data was analysed using
reflective thematic analysis. Findings indicated that the professional development framework
supported pre-service teachers' personal and professional learning. Key conclusions from this study
offer possible implications for pedagogical design and research in IT
Resilience, resistance and ‘giving back’: teachers from working class backgrounds and their journeys to teaching
No full textPrecipitated by a recent policy focus on diversifying Ireland’s homogeneous teaching profession, there is an emerging research base focused on the experiences of teachers from under-represented groups. However, the life stories of teachers from lower socio-economic groups remain underexplored. Responsive to the mostly atheoretical nature of research on initial teacher motivation and employing a narrative life history methodology grounded in phenomenology, interviews were conducted with six teachers from working class backgrounds. Consistent with the generative capacity of habitus, the participants’ stories of becoming a teacher are ones of resilience, resistance, and aspiration to make a difference in their local communities. Their experiences of schooling and initial teacher education and the various challenges they encountered, highlights the systemic and cultural change required to ensure not only a more diverse and representative teaching profession, but one that is also critically conscious and culturally responsiv
Rethinking digital ‘visual’ twins and building alternatives for smart city planning: a case of Smart Dublin.
No full textThe abstract is included in the presentation