359 research outputs found
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The Use of Mentoring To Effect Cultural Change: Irish Farm Deaths And Injuries
Get PDFAgriculture is the most dangerous occupation in Ireland. For every fatality in the sector, more than 125 farm workers are injured, many of them so seriously that the viability of the farm is undermined. These terrible and largely hidden figures have remained constant for the past decade, despite legal requirements, awareness-raising events and inspections by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, yet it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector. This was again evident in 2017 where 51% (24 of the 47) of all fatal workplace incidents in Ireland were in the agricultural sector. Of those 24 deaths, 14 were of men aged over 65. A further 2,500 people were injured, many of them seriously. Interviews were conducted with farmers and farm safety advisory bodies. The findings from this research show that a systems social marketing approach should be adopted to eliminate farm deaths and injuries and that interventions should be co-created with the farming community. A grass-roots mentoring system needs to be established to advise farmers on best practice. The issue of farm safety needs to be addressed at a macro marketing level and needs to involve a broadening of the traditional 4Ps to include People, Policy and Partnership
Rotation of two-petal laser beams in the near field of a spiral microaxicon
Get PDFUsing a spiral microaxicon with the topological charge 2 and NA = 0.6 operating at a 532-nm wavelength and fabricated by electron-beam lithography, we experimentally demonstrate the rotation of a two-petal laser beam in the near field (several micrometers away from the axicon surface). The estimated rotation rate is 55 °/mm and linearly dependent on the on-axis distance, with the theoretical rotation rate being 53 °/mm. The experimentally measured rotation rate is found to be linear and coincident with the simulation results only on the on-axis segment from 1.5 to 3 mm. The experimentally measured rotation rate is 66 °/mm on the initial on-axis segment from 0 to 1.5 mm and 34 °/mm on the final segment of the beam path from 3 to 4.5 mm. The experimentally achieved rotation rate is higher than rotation rates of similar two-petal laser beams reported to date
Affective Computing for Emotion Detection using Vision and Wearable Sensors
Get PDFThe research explores the opportunities, challenges, limitations, and presents advancements in computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions (Picard, 1997). The field is referred to as Affective Computing (AC) and is expected to play a major role in the engineering and development of computationally and cognitively intelligent systems, processors and applications in the future. Today the field of AC is bolstered by the emergence of multiple sources of affective data and is fuelled on by developments under various Internet of Things (IoTs) projects and the fusion potential of multiple sensory affective data streams. The core focus of this thesis involves investigation into whether the sensitivity and specificity (predictive performance) of AC, based on the fusion of multi-sensor data streams, is fit for purpose? Can such AC powered technologies and techniques truly deliver increasingly accurate emotion predictions of subjects in the real world? The thesis begins by presenting a number of research justifications and AC research questions that are used to formulate the original thesis hypothesis and thesis objectives. As part of the research conducted, a detailed state of the art investigations explored many aspects of AC from both a scientific and technological perspective. The complexity of AC as a multi-sensor, multi-modality, data fusion problem unfolded during the state of the art research and this ultimately led to novel thinking and origination in the form of the creation of an AC conceptualised architecture that will act as a practical and theoretical foundation for the engineering of future AC platforms and solutions. The AC conceptual architecture developed as a result of this research, was applied to the engineering of a series of software artifacts that were combined to create a prototypical AC multi-sensor platform known as the Emotion Fusion Server (EFS) to be used in the thesis hypothesis AC experimentation phases of the research. The thesis research used the EFS platform to conduct a detailed series of AC experiments to investigate if the fusion of multiple sensory sources of affective data from sensory devices can significantly increase the accuracy of emotion prediction by computationally intelligent means. The research involved conducting numerous controlled experiments along with the statistical analysis of the performance of sensors for the purposes of AC, the findings of which serve to assess the feasibility of AC in various domains and points to future directions for the AC field. The AC experiments data investigations conducted in relation to the thesis hypothesis used applied statistical methods and techniques, and the results, analytics and evaluations are presented throughout the two thesis research volumes. The thesis concludes by providing a detailed set of formal findings, conclusions and decisions in relation to the overarching research hypothesis on the sensitivity and specificity of the fusion of vision and wearables sensor modalities and offers foresights and guidance into the many problems, challenges and projections for the AC field into the future
Cardiorespiratory fitness is positively associated with waist to height ratio and school socio economic status in irish primary school aged children
No full textBackground; The purpose of this paper is to examine any association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and markers of health among 6 and 10 year old Irish children. Methods; A total of 917 children (6 year olds, N=459; 10 year olds, N=458) from 11 primary schools in Cork (Ireland) participated. Body composition, blood pressure (BP), CRF (550-metre distance run) and school socio-economic status (SES) were assessed. Children were classified as low or high fitness based on run-time standard deviation scores (SDS). Physical activity (PA) determined over 1 week by accelerometry was collected from a sub sample of 700 children (76.3%). Results; Multiple linear regression revealed a positive association between run SDS and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), (β=8.24, p\u3c0.0005) and SES (β=0.36, p=0.008) among 6 year olds. For 10 year olds WHtR (β=5.96, p=\u3c0.0005), SES (β=0.51, p\u3c0.0005), MVPA (β=-0.01, p=0.001) and resting heart rate (β=0.02, p\u3c0.0005) were positive predictors of run SDS. High fit 10 year olds had lower WHtR and body mass index and were less likely to be overweight or obese than their low fit counterparts. These children also spent less time sedentary and more time in light PA, vigorous PA and MVPA than low fit 10 year olds (p\u3c0.005). Discussion/Conclusions; Children with higher fitness had more favourable body composition. Efforts to improve the future health of Irish children should consider targeting the promotion of increased fitness and prioritise the distribution of resources to low SES schools
Value of Exemption from Professional Examinations: Opinion of Third-Level Accounting Students and Graduates
Get PDFIn Ireland (and the UK) becoming an accountant usually involves a dual qualification system: a third-level degree followed by training and professional examination. This is commonly conceptualised as learning through knowing followed by learning through doing (Wilson, 2011; Apostolou & Gammie, 2014). Much debate exists about where the responsibility for the development of knowledge and skills lies. Third-level accounting degrees have been criticised for focusing too much on gaining exemptions from professional examinations, with employers feeling that graduates are not work ready (Albrecht & Sack, 2000; Jackling & De Lange, 2008; Pan & Perera, 2012; Bayerlein & Timpson, 2017). However, anecdotally, students and graduates value exemptions and maximising exemption is important to them. This study explores the views of third-level accounting students and recent graduates to confirm (or not) if exemptions are valued by students and graduates. Mixed methods were used in this study. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted; ten with third-level accounting students and five with recent accounting graduates. The findings from these interviews were supported by information obtained from a survey which had eighty-three respondents; fifty-three students and thirty graduates.
All participants expressed a strong preference for gaining exemptions during their degree to expedite qualification. While the development of broader business skills was acknowledged as useful, neither students nor graduates were willing to replace exemption bearing modules. Even though graduates admit to not having all the generic skills needed to be work-ready, both students and graduates were in agreement that exemption-led modules provide the most relevant knowledge for professional life. Students valued exemptions because they believed earning exemptions improves the work-life balance of the accounting graduate during the period of professional training and examination. Exemptions were seen as reducing the effort required by graduates to achieve qualification. Graduates after beginning professional examinations were less concerned about balancing work and study. Instead they view exemptions as having helped to improve employability prospects. Students and graduates believe that earning exemptions demonstrates to employer’s the graduates’ commitment to their career and willingness (and capability) to complete professional training and examinations.
Findings from this study provide qualitative evidence that exemptions are highly valued by accounting students and graduates. Awareness of exemptions should be promoted at the earlier stages of the accounting degree. Graduates did see a lot of benefit from a broader curriculum making students more work ready. Educators should continue to investigate ways of improving generic skills without removing exemptions. Developing broader business skills could be introduced as methods of examining modules (such as group work, presentations and IT reports), rather than replacing exemption-bearing modules
Tunable Optical Buffer Through an Analogue to Electro-magnetically Induced Transparency in Coupled Photonic Crystal Cavities
Get PDFTunable on-chip optical delay has long been a key target for the research community, as it is the enabling technology behind delay lines, signal re-timing and other applications vital to optical signal processing. To date the field has been limited by high optical losses associated with slow light or delay structures. Here, we present a novel tunable delay line, based on a coupled cavity system exhibiting an Electromagnetically Induced Transparency-like transmission spectrum, with record low loss, around 15dB/ns. By tuning a single cavity the delay of the complete structure can be tuned over 120ps, with the maximum delay approaching 300ps
VERITAS and Fermi-LAT Observations of TeV Gamma-Ray Sources Discovered by HAWC in the 2HWC Catalog
Get PDFThe High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) collaboration recently published their 2HWC catalog, listing 39 very high energy (VHE; \u3e100 GeV) gamma-ray sources based on 507 days of observation. Among these, 19 sources are not associated with previously known teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-ray sources. We have studied 14 of these sources without known counterparts with VERITAS and Fermi-LAT. VERITAS detected weak gamma-ray emission in the 1 TeV–30 TeV band in the region of DA 495, a pulsar wind nebula coinciding with 2HWC J1953+294, confirming the discovery of the source by HAWC. We did not find any counterpart for the selected 14 new HAWC sources from our analysis of Fermi-LAT data for energies higher than 10 GeV. During the search, we detected gigaelectronvolt (GeV) gamma-ray emission coincident with a known TeV pulsar wind nebula, SNR G54.1+0.3 (VER J1930+188), and a 2HWC source, 2HWC J1930+188. The fluxes for isolated, steady sources in the 2HWC catalog are generally in good agreement with those measured by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. However, the VERITAS fluxes for SNR G54.1+0.3, DA 495, and TeV J2032+4130 are lower than those measured by HAWC, and several new HAWC sources are not detected by VERITAS. This is likely due to a change in spectral shape, source extension, or the influence of diffuse emission in the source region
A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A
Get PDFOn 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only ~2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB 150323A (z = 0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to ~50% at 100–200 GeV. We conclude that GRB 150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below ~100 GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A 3 × 1011 g cm−1, consistent with a standard Wolf–Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB 150323A
Controlled Switching of Reactive Loads and Commisioning Regimes
Get PDFSwitching is a vital task in any power system for ensuring its safe and reliable operation. Switching may be necessary for fault clearance, to ensure wider system stability and to prevent damage to plant. It is essential for isolation, to allow technicians to carry out maintenance tasks safely. Also, switching of reactive loads such as shunt capacitor banks and shunt reactors, is crucial for controlling system voltage.
Switching of some loads however, may produce voltage transients and heavy transient inrush currents which can impact on wider system power quality, impact customers and cause damage or deterioration of the insulation of HV equipment. Therefore, it is important to provide some form of measure to control or mitigate transients caused by switching. The main control measures include: metal oxide surge arrestors, pre-insertion resistors, current limiting reactors and synchronised or controlled switching. Controlled switching is the favoured solution for frequently switched loads such as reactive plant, for economic benefits and as it reduces transients in the first instance.
Controlled switching is defined as the use of electronic equipment to control the making or breaking of high voltage circuit breakers at pre-determined points on the system voltage and current waveforms. It has been implemented in Ireland for over 30 years for the energisation of shunt capacitor banks. Over the last two years, the benefits of controlled switching for different applications has become ever more apparent, with increased use such as switching of transmission shunt reactors and the energisation of large power transformers, particularly in remote areas of the network such as wind farm interfaces.
The aim of this thesis is to provide a complete overview of the stages concerned in implementing controlled switching schemes, from examining the impacts of switching certain loads, to performing systems studies, up to site commissioning stage. The research in this thesis looks at both the theory and practice. It draws together the published work, manufacturers guidelines, international standards and simulation results, to give the total awareness of the issues involved in reactive load switching and commissioning regimes.
The various solutions and strategies associated with controlled switching schemes are examined, to ensure that the best and most economical solution has being implemented. Several recent projects where controlled switching has been implemented for switching of transmission reactors and power transformers are also investigated
A rapid and sensitive system for recovery of nucleic acids from Mycobacteria sp. on archived glass slides
Get PDFThe field of diagnostics continues to advance rapidly with a variety of novel approaches, mainly dependent upon high technology platforms. Nonetheless much diagnosis, particularly in developing countries, still relies upon traditional methods such as microscopy. Biological material, particularly nucleic acids, on archived glass slides is a potential source of useful information both for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes. There are significant challenges faced when examining archived samples in order that an adequate amount of amplifiable DNA can be obtained. Herein, we describe a model system to detect low numbers of bacterial cells isolated from glass slides using (laser capture microscopy) LCM coupled with PCR amplification of a suitable target