National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Training new prison officers in restorative practices: The Irish experience
No full textRestorative practices are a set of values and
skills that professionals can use during their day-to-day interactions with the people for whom
they deliver services.2
They can be applied across
the ‘human services’,3
including in criminal justice
agencies such as policing and prisons, social work,
schools and universities, among other settings.
Professionals working in these services have
significant discretion to decide how to allocate
benefits and sanctions on behalf of the State, and
how they interact with the people over whom
they have authority, and for whose welfare they
are responsible.4
Advocates argue that restorative
values and skills can help professionals orient
their practices towards building and maintaining
positive relationships, ensuring people feel
treated fairly and involved in decisions, and
addressing and repairing harm and resolving
conflict constructively
Innovation and commercialisation: the role of the international dynamic marketing capability in Malaysian international entrepreneurial firms
No full textPurpose – This study aims to investigate how international entrepreneurial firms (IEFs) successfully
commercialise innovative products/services internationally. In doing so, the authors examined the role played by
the international dynamic marketing capability (IDMC) in the relationship between explorative and exploitative
innovation and commercialisation. In addition, the authors also evaluated how the breadth and depth of
international networks facilitate IEFs in upholding the effects of the IDMC to influence commercialisation.
Design/methodology/approach – To test the research model, structural equation modelling is used based
on time-lagged survey data drawn from 201 Malaysian IEFs. To validate the results, additional robustness
tests and endogeneity analyses have been performed.
Findings – The findings show that the IDMC positively mediates the relationship between explorative and
exploitative innovation and commercialisation. Furthermore, the finding exhibits that the effects of the IDMC
on commercialisation are positively moderated by the breadth and depth of international networks.
Originality/value – Given the fragmented and general nature of the extant marketing research on the IDMC,
the study contributes to the international marketing literature by providing rich and nuanced pertinent
knowledge. This study advances dynamic capability theory in relation to IEFs by establishing the IDMC as a
functional capability suited to enable them to successfully commercialise the products/services resulting from
explorative and exploitative innovation
Perceptions of the ‘mainstream’ and the mainstreaming of the far right: from Ed Sheeran to Keir Starmer
No full textWhile people use the term ‘mainstream’ on a regular basis, there has been relatively little discussion about what it actually means. Within far-right studies, attempts to define the mainstream often center around party politics and the impact of mainstream party strategies on the far right. While a useful starting point, this focus has led to more rigid conceptions which encourage particular normative assumptions about its identity. Through poststructuralist discourse theory, supported by insights from music studies and critical discourse studies, this article proposes a definition which accounts for its contingency and construction, challenging dominant narratives about its nature. These issues are crucial when we consider the relationship between the mainstream and far right because they encourage us to question their perceived relative positioning. By introducing the concepts of talking ‘with’ and ‘about’ the far right, this piece establishes the need for us to take the role of the mainstream in the mainstreaming of the far right seriously
Workplace regimes in Western Europe, 1995–2015: Implications for intensification, intrusion, income and insecurity
No full textThe article investigates the emergence of ‘new’ forms of working such as ‘lean production’ and
‘learning organisations’ in Western Europe, 1995–2015. First, the article identifies the dominant
forms of work organisation (‘workplace regimes’) across Western Europe, including new
‘pressure’ and ‘extreme’ varieties of previously identified regimes. Second, the article analyses
the implications of these workplace regimes for various important worker outcomes – insecurity,
income, intensity of work and intrusion of work into non-working life – and assesses the ‘trade-offs’ of different outcomes across regimes. Third, the article assesses the changing distribution
of these regimes, whether certain forms such as Lean Production are coming to dominate the
division of labour, and where and for whom. The shape of the ‘new world of work’ is increasingly
Lean, but remains open to political contestation – both in how regimes themselves are organised
and in the mix of regimes in particular societies and for particular workers
Population dynamics of mushroom casing over the course of Agaricus bisporus cultivation in the presence of Bacillus velezensis QST 713 and Bacillus velezensis Kos biocontrol agents
No full textThe globally cultivated white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is grown commercially at an industrial scale. Numerous pathogens pose a significant economic threat to its cultivation. Due to the emergence of resistance towards fungicide treatments, the future of mushroom disease treatment will need to move towards integrated pest management including the use of biological control agents (BCAs). In this study, we investigated the impact of the BCAs, B. velezensis QST 713 and Kos on the population dynamics of the microbiota of mushroom casing. Amplicon sequencing revealed that four Bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota dominated at casing and the end of the crop cycle. The most dominant fungal genus detected at casing was Agaricus and after 7 days accounted for the vast majority of fungal species detected. The application of BCAs, B. velezensis QST 713 and B. velezensis Kos did not have a significant impact on the microbiota across the crop cycle and comparisons between control plots and plots treated with BCA showed no significant differences in their microbiome composition. This research contributes novel insights into the dynamics, composition, and structure of microbial communities within A. bisporus mushroom casing with and without the application of two BCAs
Utilising proteomics-derived data to identify novel biomarker signatures in Multiple Myeloma.
No full textMultiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by the clonal expansion of plasma cells in the bone marrow that results in end-organ damage, including hypercalcemia, renal dysfunction, infection, anemia, and bone disease. Despite the introduction of novel therapeutics, MM remains an incurable disease mainly due to repeated relapses and resistance to current chemotherapies. The development of extramedullary multiple myeloma (EMM), an aggressive form of MM associated with the colonisation of soft tissues or organs by myeloma cells, is associated with a poor prognosis. There remains a critical unmet need for effective treatments for patients with refractory disease and aggressive extramedullary disease. Given the potential of predictive biomarker panels to optimise treatment regimens, a phosphoproteomic analysis based on ex vivo drug responses to a selection of drug classes was performed. Results showed an increased abundance of proteins and phosphoproteins associated with cell adhesion and a decreased abundance of proteins and phosphoproteins associated with protein translation in multi-drug resistant myeloma cells based on ex vivo drug response. Furthermore, a proteomic analysis of MM patient plasma stratified based on ex vivo drug responses identified circulating proteins, including interleukin-15, as potential predictive biomarkers of drug response. Using label-free mass spectrometry, distinct alterations in the proteomic profile of bone marrow mononuclear cells from EMM patients compared to MM patients were identified. Bioinformatic analysis revealed an increased abundance of proteins linked to a poor prognosis in MM, and potential cellular mechanisms, including leukocyte transendothelial migration, associated with EMM. Proteomic and metabolomic evaluation of plasma samples from MM patients with and without extramedullary spread confirmed a distinct phenotypic change in EMM patients. Three proteins, namely, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, hepatocyte growth factor activator, and pigment epithelium derived factor, were verified as promising biomarkers of EMM. Overall, this thesis provides novel insights into aggressive phenotypes of MM and identifies promising biomarkers for future validation studies
Children's School Lives: Equalities in Children's School Lives - The Impact of Social Background (2019-2023)
No full textA key focus of the Children’s School Lives (CSL) longitudinal study is to understand the factors which shape
children’s experiences of their learning and ultimately their capacities to flourish both in the here and now as
children, but also in their future lives as adults. Our previous report into the wellbeing of children (Report 7)
highlighted attributes related to children’s feelings about themselves and their lives in school – levels of
happiness, worry, interest in learning as well as sense of accomplishment and meaning in life. In this report we
locate children’s flourishing within the wider social context of differences in wealth, poverty, social status and
belonging in the society at large. It is children, including those in primary school, who are at greatest risk of
poverty1 (CSO 2024) in Ireland. While all children have a right to education, as enshrined in the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child, (Assembly, U. G. [1989]. Convention on the Rights of the Child. United
Nations, Treaty Series, 1577[3], 1–23.) children’s capacity to realise these rights within education is influenced
by the social, material and economic conditions of their everyday lives. This is especially important with respect
to the earlier years of education, including in primary schools, where the foundations for children’s educational
trajectories are established
An Examination into What Constitutes an “Ideal” State Response to Rioting: Comparisons Between Rioting in England and the United States
No full textThe aim of this dissertation is to provide answers as to what constitutes an “ideal” response to
rioting and how this can be achieved. This study explored the pillars of riot theory and
presents arguments regarding the policing and social control of rioting. Through exploring
different theoretical perspectives on policing strategies and the impact of social control on
protest and rioting it was found that an ideal response to rioting is one that protects the right
to protest, maintains police legitimacy and is based upon an evidence-based approach to
rioting behavior from both a policing and criminal justice perspective. These arguments
regarding the policing and social control of rioting were then applied to two highly publicized
riots, the 2011 England riots and the 2021 United States Capitol riot in order to conclude on
how the response of each jurisdiction aligned with an ideal response to rioting. The analysis
of these State responses to rioting found that neither jurisdiction fulfilled the criteria to be
considered an ideal response to rioting. The responses of each jurisdiction to examples of
rioting were then compared using the parallel topical comparison method which found that
both jurisdictions shared many similarities in their response to rioting. In concluding this
dissertation recommendations were provided on how these responses could be improved and
how ideal responses to rioting could be achieved
“It Never Gets Easier”: Understanding the Adaptation and Shattered Realities of First-Time Prison Entrants and Their Loved Ones
No full textThe abstract is included in the text
“War has entered the blood’’ Conflict related sexual violence - Why men rape in wartime. Identifying causal factors and legal responses.
No full textConflict related sexual violence is a phenomenon which causes devastation to innocent civilian populations and has lasting implications beyond the serious physical violation. This dissertation explores the causation of sexual offending during war through a predominantly offender perspective by examining different case studies, which are intended to demonstrate both similarities and differences in its occurrence. Through theoretical frameworks and analysis of military structures and cultures the commission of sexual violence can be understood to be complex and rooted in the politics, culture, ethnicity, and religion of the individual context. The title of the thesis ‘War has entered the blood’ is definitive of the distinguishable transition between peace and war time and its influence on the perpetration of sexual violence. Connections between time periods are undeniable, however, the breakdown in social order and shifts in governing powers allow for changes in behaviour which are influenced by internal groups dynamics and hierarchal structures in the armed forces and in many cases alter the type and severity of sexual violence. The research extended to examine the variation in sexual offending as opportunistic, as a practice, as a weapon of war and as a form of genocide. Each context analysed demonstrated how perpetrators exploit the obvious vulnerabilities of the target population through sexual violence to gain advantage for various purposes. Changes to behavioral norms during war appear to elevate violent tendencies with rape becoming exceptionally brutal.
Assessments of legal responses to conflict related sexual offending demonstrated the challenges associated with prosecuting offenders and how individual cases have reoriented international criminal law and its focus on this serious crime. This process has not been linear, and the cases chosen for analysis suggest that the law works in tandem with external sociological and political elements and remains a work in progress.
The research predominantly indicated that the perpetration of sexual violence as an individual isolated offence is less frequent than it being employed as a practice or systematically. In some of the regions examined the practice of sexual violence was due to permissive and tolerant attitudes of commanders and in other instances formed part of a military and governmental strategy which was planned in advance. The range of territories chosen, the former Yugoslavia, Palestine, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo formed an important part of the research as it demonstrated past and present contexts which have experienced sexual offending during war. Analysis of each region provided a wealth of information which highlighted the patterns and distinct differences in how sexual violence is commissioned