National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Maynooth University ePrints and eTheses ArchiveNot a member yet
18158 research outputs found
Sort by
On Low-Rank Multiplicity-Free Fusion Categories
No full textThis thesis explains the methods and algorithms we used to obtain explici
Learning from innovative staff practices that led to virtual disability services using the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems
No full textthis paper draws on a complex adaptive systems lens to develop an understanding of the staff practices that sup-ported the development of Virtual Disability services in ireland amid the cOViD-19 pandemic. the study involved twelve interviews with service providers, which were anal-ysed using Reflexive thematic analysis, leading to two over-arching themes. the first theme focuses on the logistics of constructing the response. this includes dynamic adaptive-ness, technological readiness, a positive attitude towards technology, resource availability, digital skills, and the level of take-up. the second theme centres on the enacted response, which encompasses sensemaking, developing technological expertise, managing upward, fostering creative innovation, cultivating a systems sensibility, and creating conditions for psychological safety and authentic engagement. We conclude that staff practices are key for creating conditions conducive to safe spaces, sustaining well-being, and reshaping power dynamics and emphasise the impor-=tance of embracing technology as a tool for innovation within complex operating environments
"Moving from that's the way it is, to what it can be". Improving service at MU Library.
No full textEngagement & Information Services, Maynooth University Library
Biological maturity but not relative age biases exist in female international youth soccer players relative to the general population
No full textThis study investigated the extent to which biological maturity and relative age biases existed
and varied with chronological age in female international youth soccer players relative to the general population.
A total of 113 players (52 under-15 (U15), 32 under-16 (U16) and 29 under-17 (U17)) selected by the Football
Association of Ireland participated in this study. All players were assessed for height, body weight and relative
age. Biological maturity status and timing were assessed in U15 and U16 players only. Relative to population
norms, the results showed a significant but small bias in favour of more biologically mature players (P < 0.001,
d = 0.39) that increased with age from U15 (P = 0.007, d = 0.36) to U16 (P = 0.009, d = 0.44). U16 players
had achieved a significantly higher percentage of their predicted adult height than U15 players (T = 7.4,
P 0.05).
There was no significant difference in height, weight or relative age of the players between the three age
groups and no significant difference between the U15 and U16 age groups in terms of predicted adult height
or biological to chronological age offset. This study demonstrates that biological maturity but not relative age
biases exist in female international youth football relative to the general population, with notable differences
in pattern and magnitude compared to those previously observed in male international youth football
From the 'King of the Waters' to Curative Manuscripts: Water and Medicine in Medieval Irish Textual Culture
No full textThe ARDS microenvironment enhances MSC-induced repair via VEGF in experimental acute lung inflammation
No full textClinical trials investigating the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases,
such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), have
been disappointing, with less than 50% of patients responding
to treatment. Licensed MSCs show enhanced therapeutic efficacy in response to cytokine-mediated activation signals. There
are two distinct sub-phenotypes of ARDS: hypo- and hyper-inflammatory. We hypothesized that pre-licensing MSCs in a hyper-inflammatory ARDS environment would enhance their
therapeutic efficacy in acute lung inflammation (ALI). Serum
samples from patients with ARDS were segregated into hypoand hyper-inflammatory categories based on interleukin
(IL)-6 levels. MSCs were licensed with pooled serum from patients with hypo- or hyper-inflammatory ARDS or healthy
serum controls. Our findings show that hyper-inflammatory
ARDS pre-licensed MSC conditioned medium (MSCCMHyper) led to a significant enrichment in tight junction
expression and enhanced barrier integrity in lung epithelial
cells in vitro and in vivo in a vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF)-dependent manner. Importantly, while both
MSC-CMHypo and MSC-CMHyper significantly reduced IL-6
and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) levels in the
bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-induced ALI mice, only MSC-CMHyper significantly
reduced lung permeability and overall clinical outcomes
including weight loss and clinical score. Thus, the hypo- and
hyper-inflammatory ARDS environments may differentially
influence MSC cytoprotective and immunomodulatory functions
Belgium
No full textBelgium has a small East Asian diaspora, within which the Chinese community is the largest,
as well as a long local reception of Chinese and Japanese art, philosophy and religion which led
to some Belgians identifying as Buddhist from the 1950s onward. Today there are a significant
number in particular of Belgian Buddhist converts in various East Asian traditions, with centres
identifying as “Zen” (sometimes in practice Ch’an, Thiền or Sŏn) the most visible, alongside
East Asian-led groups. East Asian Christianities, new religious movements, holistic healing and
martial arts are all also visible. Research on East Asian religiosities in Belgium is constrained
both by a shortage of statistical data and limited scholarly interest
How the oil and gas industry influences higher education
No full textAs the climate crisis gets worse, global fossil fuel production is growing and oil and gas companies are making record profits.
While the powerful influence of the fossil fuel industry’s lobbying on climate policy is increasingly acknowledged, our new research also shows how oil and gas companies are influencing universities.
We are researchers with combined expertise on just energy transitions and climate justice and the university (the title of Jennie Stephens’s forthcoming book). With international colleagues we undertook the first comprehensive review of academic and civil society investigations into fossil fuel industries’ ties to higher education in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
In all four countries, the research shows multiple ways oil and gas companies have been investing in universities
Signs and Wonders: Exploring Aspects of Ritual and Narrative Representations of Magic in Medieval Ireland
No full textThis thesis explores literary narratives, legal frameworks, medical practices, and ritual performances in order to shed light on the complex connections between ritual forms of magic, public perception, and the authorisation granted by the public for the performance of magical rituals. The research is presented through six chapters, each of which examines a magical practice through select texts.
Chapter 1 lays out the keywords and phrases that will be used throughout the rest of the thesis, and defines them in such a way that the work that follows is easier to read. This includes defining such terms as ‘magic’ itself, as well as ‘charm’, ‘love magic’, and ‘curse’ so that they are reduced to neutral terms, with modern or cultural biases removed from them. Chapter 2, then, examines some representations of miracles and magic in hagiographical texts by looking at events in the Tripartite Life of St Patrick through the lens of similar events in the life of Moses. This is set alongside a discussion of miracles in the Lives of St Brigit, with particular regard to how they reflect social and gender norms of the period, while also reflecting charming practices that will be seen in Chapter 3.
Chapter 3 turns to the genre of medical texts to explore the concept of miraculous healing. Specific examples are taken from a previously unpublished collection of blood-staunching remedies from Dublin, National Library of Ireland MS G11; a full transcription and translation of these remedies is provided in the Appendix. Chapter 4 explores the practice of satire as imprecation in early Ireland. The codes and procedures relating to the filid and the practice of satire are discussed, as well as the clerical form of ritual cursing, which explicitly endorsed and permitted the practice of this style of ‘word-magic’ in society.
Chapter 5 draws on evidence from select texts to explore how magical practices might be directed at inducing love or affection in another individual. This material is set against the wider background of representations of magic in Carolingian writings on the
divorce of King Lothar and Queen Theutberga. Chapter 6, then, draws on ritual theory to consider the possible psychological and emotional aspects of these performances on their audiences
The Irish National Teacher: Origins, Identity and Contribution 1831-1871
No full textThe Irish national education system is long recognised as fruitful ground for historians of education. Established in 1831 by the pre-Independence administration, some forty years before similar systems emerged in other English-speaking domains, the national system realised exponential growth over a short period to become an embedded feature of the Irish educational landscape. Central to this narrative, but largely omitted from historiographical studies to date, are the school teachers who staffed the system. Colloquially known as national teachers (NTs), these individuals were tasked with the delivery of the new national education system. The lacuna around early national teacher identity foregrounded the central research question of this work which sought to establish ‘Who was the Irish national teacher in the early decades of the nineteenth century’? In essence, the purpose of the research was to examine who these teachers were, where they came from and how they came to inhabit a specific national teacher identity. In order to examine this early national teacher identity it became apparent that an understanding of identity as a phenomenon and the theory of identity was required. Readings of contemporary identity theory such as those outlined by Schwartz, and Adams and Marshall, amongst others, led the researcher to recognise that there were modern elements which could be applied retrospectively to historical data, such as establishing a shared point of origin, social status and class, and religious affiliation. These core aspects of identity became the central elements of examining Irish national teacher identity in the historical context, in this study.
Drawing on archival material, largely grounded in official correspondence between the Inspectorate and the CNEI, data relevant to the Irish national teachers’ identity are examined while those current theoretical understandings of identity noted above informed and guided this historical analysis of Irish national teacher identity between 1831 and 1871. Ultimately, the thesis draws firm conclusions around the identity of the early Irish national teacher. First, it is clear that the majority of those employed as national teachers originated amongst the poorer classes of Irish society while, second, the social class and status of the national teachers for the greater part of the time period under review remained in an ambiguous state. Third, in respect of religious beliefs, it is clear that the majority of those who were employed as national teachers were affiliated to the Catholic Church. Each of these elements of national teacher are discussed and analysed within the thesis to assess their contribution to the emerging identity of the Irish national teacher in the early decades of the nineteenth century.
Finally, the import of this work cannot be understated. This is the first comprehensive research undertaken on the identity of the early Irish national teacher. This is tempered by the unique methodological approach employed, which utilises contemporary identity theories in tandem with document analysis to further understanding and knowledge of early Irish national teacher identity. Neither can the implications or resonance for the composition of the twenty-first century Irish primary teaching population be ignored. This positions this research as both timely and useful in assessing and analysing intake within Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in Ireland at the present time