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Effects of fabrication errors on the focusing performance of a sector metalens
Get PDFUsing e-beam lithography, a 16-sector spiral metalens was fabricated in an amorphous silicon, capable of converting linearly polarized incident light into an azimuthally polarized optical vortex. When illuminated by a 633-nm linearly polarized laser beam, the metalens generated a near-surface subwavelength focal spot equal to 0.75 of the incident wavelength at full-width of half-maximum intensity. The focusing performance of the spiral metalens was numerically shown to be sensitive to the deviation of the factual microrelief from the calculated height. For the designed microrelief height, a circularly polarized incident beam was focused into a bright ring with a reverse energy flow occurring at its center. For the microrelief height other than the designed one, the energy backflow effect did not occur
Exploring the Role of Irish Local Authorities in Tourism Development: A Senior Management Perspective on Tourism Development in Cork County Council
Get PDFIn an Irish context, the government\u27s engagement in tourism and its role in developing the sector is acknowledged across most Irish government publications. However, despite efforts made to highlight the major role of the government in tourism, the number of studies that seek to understand how Irish local governments are engaging in tourism is limited. In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, this study brings a new contribution to the current relevant literature by exploring the role of the government in developing tourism within a local Irish context.
Using a qualitative case-study approach, the particular entity under investigation is Cork County Council. The research aims to provide an understanding of how the local authority engages in tourism, by examining its functions and responsibilities in relation to tourism development. It is argued that local government has a direct, unique and critical role in developing tourism and the author examines the specific manner in which this role is enacted and performed in Cork County. The study\u27s central objective calls for in-depth insights from Cork County Council\u27s tourism representatives on the role of the local authority in tourism development.
The findings report that the function and role of Cork County Council in terms of tourism development is currently evolving, while the analysis of data highlights current challenges, strategies and collaborations for tourism development in Cork County Council. The study reveals five main functional areas for tourism development for the local authority. Specifically, the author draws attention to local government\u27s engagement in tourism development in areas such as product development, economic and community development, marketing and promotion, planning and policy and sustainable tourism development. The findings bring additions to the current literature in each of these areas, and develops important insights of practical significance to policy makers on tourism development. From an Irish context, the research represents a new contribution to an under-investigated subject.
In summary, this study extends the current understanding of the role of the local government in tourism development and concludes by suggesting practical implications for Cork County Council in addressing tourism development and providing a foundation for further research
Gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity in investment management
Get PDFPurpose
Through an examination of the everyday organisational and social practices, this paper aims to consider gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within front office investment management. At the core of this research is the need to understand the interactions between gender, power and patriarchy. Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist philosophical stance underpins the study. A theory-building approach using 19 semi-structured interviews with investment management employees based in Ireland was undertaken. Findings
The findings highlight a sector in which gender is performed in line with sectoral expectations, which place men in positions of dominance with hegemonic masculinity inherent. The organisational structures and daily interactions are imbued with male norms, which dictate how gender is to be performed, and which places women firmly as “different” and “outsiders”. These mechanisms of inequality are further supported by men’s “blocked reflexivity”. Practical implications
The findings of this study indicate clear evidence of a “patriarchal dividend”, which is underpinned by the maintenance of closure regimes and gender blindness particularly, among senior male gatekeepers. Such results call for policymakers to go beyond goals of numerical parity and ensure transparency and equality across all aspects of work. A holistic and multifaceted approach to addressing issues of gendered culture and the normalisation of men’s privileged relationship with power positions is needed. Originality/value
This paper is situated within a relatively under-researched labour market space, that of investment management. The findings conceptualise gender as a social process, thus facilitating traditional assumptions about gender at work as a single entity to be challenged. The results also advance theoretical insights of misogynistic work cultures and hegemonic masculinity through the analysis of gendered behaviours within this traditionally male environment
Extreme HBL Behavior Of Markarian 501 During 2012
Get PDFAims. We aim to characterize the multiwavelength emission from Markarian 501 (Mrk 501), quantify the energy-dependent variability, study the potential multiband correlations, and describe the temporal evolution of the broadband emission within leptonic theoretical scenarios.
Methods. We organized a multiwavelength campaign to take place between March and July of 2012. Excellent temporal coverage was obtained with more than 25 instruments, including the MAGIC, FACT and VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes, the instruments on board the Swift and Fermi spacecraft, and the telescopes operated by the GASP-WEBT collaboration.
Results. Mrk 501 showed a very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray flux above 0.2 TeV of ∼0.5 times the Crab Nebula flux (CU) for most of the campaign. The highest activity occurred on 2012 June 9, when the VHE flux was ∼3 CU, and the peak of the high-energy spectral component was found to be at ∼2 TeV. Both the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray spectral slopes were measured to be extremely hard, with spectral indices \u3c 2 during most of the observing campaign, regardless of the X-ray and VHE flux. This study reports the hardest Mrk 501 VHE spectra measured to date. The fractional variability was found to increase with energy, with the highest variability occurring at VHE. Using the complete data set, we found correlation between the X-ray and VHE bands; however, if the June 9 flare is excluded, the correlation disappears (significance \u3c 3σ) despite the existence of substantial variability in the X-ray and VHE bands throughout the campaign.
Conclusions. The unprecedentedly hard X-ray and VHE spectra measured imply that their low- and high-energy components peaked above 5 keV and 0.5 TeV, respectively, during a large fraction of the observing campaign, and hence that Mrk 501 behaved like an extreme high-frequency-peaked blazar (EHBL) throughout the 2012 observing season. This suggests that being an EHBL may not be a permanent characteristic of a blazar, but rather a state which may change over time. The data set acquired shows that the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of Mrk 501, and its transient evolution, is very complex, requiring, within the framework of synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models, various emission regions for a satisfactory description. Nevertheless the one-zone SSC scenario can successfully describe the segments of the SED where most energy is emitted, with a significant correlation between the electron energy density and the VHE gamma-ray activity, suggesting that most of the variability may be explained by the injection of high-energy electrons. The one-zone SSC scenario used reproduces the behavior seen between the measured X-ray and VHE gamma-ray fluxes, and predicts that the correlation becomes stronger with increasing energy of the X-rays
Efficient Control Message Dissemination in Dense Wireless Lighting Networks
Get PDFModern lighting systems using LED light sources lead to dense lighting installations. The control of such systems using wireless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) where standard LED light sources are replaced by wirelessly controllable LED light sources create new problems which are investigated in this thesis. Current approaches for control message transmission is such networks are based on broadcasting messages among luminaires. However, adequate communication performance - in particular, sufficiently low latency and synchronicity - is difficult to ensure in such networks, in particular, if the network is part of a wireless building management system and carries not only low-latency broadcast messages but also collects data from sensors. In this thesis, the problem of simultaneously controlling dense wireless lighting control networks with a higher number of luminaires is addressed. Extensive computer simulation shows that current state-of-the-art protocols are not suitable for lighting control applications, especially if complex applications are required such as dimming or colour tuning. The novel D³LC-Suite is proposed, which is specially designed for dense wireless lighting control networks. This suite includes three sub-protocols. First, a protocol to organize a network in form of a cluster tree named CIDER. To ensure that intra-cluster messages can be exchanged simultaneously, a weighted colouring algorithm is applied to reduce the inter cluster interference. To disseminate efficiently control messages a protocol is proposed named RLL. The D³LC-Suite is evaluated and validated using different methods. A convergence analysis show that CIDER is able to form a network in a matter of minutes. Simulation results of RLL indicate that this protocol is well suited for dense wireless applications. In extensive experiments, it is shown that the D³LC-Suite advances the current state-of-the-art in several aspects. The suite is able to deliver control messages across multiple hops meeting the requirements of lighting applications. Especially, it provides a deterministic latency, very promising packet loss ratios in low interference environments, and mechanisms for simultaneous message delivery which is important in terms of Quality of Experience (QoE
An Industry-Based Study on the Efficiency Benefits of Utilising Public Cloud Infrastructure and Infrastructure as Code Tools in the IT Environment Creation Process
Get PDFThe traditional approaches to IT infrastructure management typically involve the procuring, housing and running of company-owned and maintained physical servers. In recent years, alternative solutions to IT infrastructure management based on public cloud technologies have emerged. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), also known as public cloud infrastructure, allows for the on-demand provisioning of IT infrastructure resources via the Internet. Cloud Service Providers (CSP) such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) offer integration of their cloud-based infrastructure with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools. These tools allow for the entire configuration of public cloud based infrastructure to be scripted out and defined as code. This thesis hypothesises that the correct utilization of IaaS and IaC can offer an organisation a more efficient type of IT infrastructure creation system than that of the organisations traditional method. To investigate this claim, an industry-based case study and survey questionnaire were carried out as part of this body of work. The case study involved the replacement of a manually managed IT infrastructure with that of the public cloud, the creation of which was automated via a framework consisting of IaC and related automation tools. The survey questionnaire was created with the intent to corroborate or refute the results obtained in the case study in the context of a wider audience of organisations. The results show that the correct utilization of IaaS and IaC technologies can provide greater efficiency in the management of IT networks than the traditional approac
An Optimal Milk Production Model Selection and Configuration System for Dairy Cows
Get PDFMilk production forecasting in the dairy industry has been an independent research topic since the early 20th century. The accurate prediction of milk yield can benefit both the processor (creameries) and the producer (dairy farmer) through developing short-term production schedules, planning long-term road maps, facilitating trade and investment in the dairy industry, improving business operations, optimising the existing infrastructure of the dairy industry, and reducing operating costs. Additionally, due to the innate characteristics of the milk production process, the accurate prediction of milk yield has been a challenging issue in the dairy industry. With the abolishment of EU milk quotas in 2015, the business requirements of milk production forecasting from the dairy industry has become increasingly important. However, to date, most of the existing modelling techniques are data dependent and each case study utilises specific data based on unique conditions. Consequently, it is difficult to compare the prediction performance of each candidate model for forecasting milk as both the data types and origins are independent from study to study. This body of work proposes an integrated forecasting framework XIX concentrating on milk production forecasting using heterogeneous input data combinations based on animal data, milk production, weather variables and other possible records that can be applied to milk yield forecasting on either the herd level or the individual cow level. The first objective of this study concerned the development of the Milk Production Forecast Optimisation System (MPFOS). The MPFOS focused on data processing, automated model configuration and optimisation, and multiple model comparisons at a global level. Multiple categories of milk yield prediction models were chosen in the model library of the MPFOS. Separated databases existed for functionality and scalability in the MPFOS, including the milk yield database, the cow description database and the weather database. With the built-in filter in MPFOS, appropriate sample herds and individual cows were filtered and processed as input datasets for different customised model simulation scenarios. The MPFOS was designed for the purpose of comparing the effectiveness of multiple milk yield prediction models and for assessing the suitability of multiple data input configurations and sources. For forecasting milk yield at the herd level, the MPFOS automatically generated the optimal configuration for each of the tested milk production forecast models and benchmarked their performance over a short (10-day), medium (30-day) and long (365-day) term prediction horizon. The MPFOS found the most accurate model for the short (the NARX model), medium and long (the surface fitting model) terms with R2 values equalling 0.98, 0.97 and 0.97 for the short, medium and long term, respectively. The statistical analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of the MPFOS as a model configuration and comparison tool. For forecasting milk yield at the individual cow level, the MPFOS was utilised to conduct two exploratory analyses on the effectiveness of adding exogenous (parity and meteorological) data to the milk production modelling XX procedure. The MPFOS evaluated the most accurate model based on the prediction horizon length and on the number of input parameters such as 1) historical parity weighting trends and 2) the utilisation of meteorological parameters. As the exploratory analysis into utilising parity data in the modelling process showed, despite varying results between two cow groups, cow parity weighting profiles had a substantial effect on the success rate of the treatments. Removal of the first lactation and applying static parity weight were shown to be the two most successful input treatments. These results highlight the importance of examining the accuracy of milk prediction models and model training strategies across multiple time horizons. While the exploratory analysis into meteorological data in the modelling process demonstrated that based on statistical analysis results, 1) the introduction of sunshine hours, precipitation and soil temperature data resulted in a minor improvement in the prediction accuracy of the models over the short, medium and long-term forecast horizons. 2) Sunshine hours was shown to have the largest impact on milk production forecast accuracy with an improvement observed in 60% and 70% of all predictions (for all test cows from both groups). However, the overall improvement in accuracy was small with a maximum forecast error reduction of 4.3%. Thus, the utilisation of meteorological parameters in milk production forecasting did not have a substantial impact on the overall forecast accuracy. One possible reason for this may be due to modern management techniques employed on dairy farms, reducing the impact of weather variation on feed intake and lessening the direct effect on milk production yield. The MPFOS architecture developed in this study showed to be an efficient and capable system for automatic milk production data pre-processing, model configuration and comparison of model categories over varying prediction horizons. The MPFOS has proven to be a XXI comprehensive and convenient architecture, which can perform calculations for milk yield prediction at either herd level or individual cow level, and automatically generate the output results and analysis. The MPFOS may be a useful tool for conducting exploratory analyses of incorporating other exogenous data types. In addition, the MPFOS can be extended (addition or removal of models in the model library) and modularised. Therefore the MPFOS will be a useful benchmark platform and integrated solution for future model comparisons
Farm Deaths and Injuries: Changing Irish Farmer Attitudes and Behaviour on Farm Safety
Get PDFWhile the Irish agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector - generally ranging from between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year. This was again evident in 2014 where 55% (30 of the 56) of the fatal workplace incidents were in the agricultural sector. Agriculture has an ageing workforce with the average age of an Irish farmer now standing at fifty-seven and farmers are eight times more likely to be fatally injured in a farm accident than the general working population. Interviews were conducted with farmers and farm safety advisory bodies. The findings from this research show that a mentoring system needs to be established to advise farmers on best practice. This needs to be modelled on 3 main pillars – individual farm visits, courses in safe farming and group farm walks. Live testimonials from farmers who have been involved in farming accidents also need to be incorporated into all farm safety talks and demonstrations. These need to show farmers the physical, emotional and financial consequences of a farming accident. These farm accident victims should attend individual farm visits, courses in safe farming and group farm walks. Practical workshops need to be set up so farmers learn specific skills appropriate to their farming situation. Lecture-based teaching where farmers sit and listen about safe farming practices should be avoided as farmers like to learn by doing. Farm advisory bodies need to explain to older farmers that they should respect the limitations on what they can do on a farm. The media used to promote this safe farming message should be age-appropriate
Behavioral determinants of physical activity across the life course: A DEterminants of DIet and Physical ACtivity (DEDIPAC) umbrella systematic literature review
Get PDFBackground: Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a global concern and increasing PA engagement is becoming a priority in current public health policies. Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the behavioral determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the evidence on the behavioral determinants of PA across the life course. Methods: A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases. The search was limited to studies published in English from January, 2004 to April, 2016. SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies that investigated the behavioral determinants of PA were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence, and the methodological quality. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2014:CRD42015010616). Results: Seventeen reviews on 35 behavioral determinants of PA were eligible for this umbrella SLR. Regardless of age, the most investigated determinants were those related with \u27screen use\u27 and \u27smoking\u27. For youth, probable positive evidence emerged for \u27previous PA\u27 and \u27independent mobility and active transport\u27 among children and adolescents. For the adult population, \u27transition to university\u27 and \u27pregnancy/having a child\u27 showed probable negative associations. Conclusions: Although the majority of the evidence was limited and most of the determinants were not associated with PA, this umbrella SLR provided a comprehensive overview of the associations between behavioral determinants and PA. Youth should be physically active in the early years and increase active transportation to/from school, independent mobility, and \u27free-range activities\u27 without adult supervision, whilst adult PA behaviors are mostly influenced by the life events. Finally, more research is needed that incorporates prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA, objective measurement methods of PA assessment, and the use of interactionist and mediational approaches for the evaluation of different behavioral determinants influencing PA behaviors
A Blueprint to Evaluate One Health
Get PDFOne Health (OH) positions health professionals as agents for change and provides a platform to manage determinants of health that are often not comprehensively captured in medicine or public health alone. However, due to the organization of societies and disciplines, and the sectoral allocation of resources, the development of transdisciplinary approaches requires effort and perseverance. Therefore, there is a need to provide evidence on the added value of OH for governments, researchers, funding bodies, and stakeholders. This paper outlines a conceptual framework of what OH approaches can encompass and the added values they can provide. The framework was developed during a workshop conducted by the “Network for Evaluation of One Health,” an Action funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology. By systematically describing the various aspects of OH, we provide the basis for measuring and monitoring the integration of disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders in health initiatives. The framework identifies the social, economic, and environmental drivers leading to integrated approaches to health and illustrates how these evoke characteristic OH operations, i.e., thinking, planning, and working, and require supporting infrastructures to allow learning, sharing, and systemic organization. It also describes the OH outcomes (i.e., sustainability, health and welfare, interspecies equity and stewardship, effectiveness, and efficiency), which are not possible to obtain through sectoral approaches alone, and their alignment with aspects of sustainable development based on society, environment, and economy