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Real-Time UAV surveys with the modular detection and targeting system: balancing wide-area coverage and high-resolution precision in wildlife monitoring
No full textThis study presents a real-time, adaptive UAV system designed to enhance ecological surveys by overcoming the trade-off between wide-area coverage and high-resolution data collection. The Modular Detection and Targeting System (MDTS) integrates thermal imaging for broad detection and high-resolution RGB zoom imaging for precise species identification. Field trials demonstrated the system’s ability to detect and record both avian and mammalian species with significantly reduced redundant data and improved survey efficiency. Compared to traditional UAV methods, the MDTS achieved over 300-fold improvements in image resolution and up to a 1000-fold reduction in data volume. The system’s modular design enables rapid adaptation to diverse ecological applications, providing classification-ready data while minimizing post-processing demands. These results highlight the MDTS as a scalable, efficient tool for wildlife monitoring and environmental research, bridging the gap between detection and actionable ecological insights.</p
An analysis of the development and governance of sustainable smart cities: the case of Limerick City, Ireland
No full textSmart cities have emerged as a potential solution to the growing problems of urbanisation and climate change. However, the development of smart cities is a relatively recent phenomenon that poses a host of unanswered questions, especially in relation to smart city development and the governance of smart city projects.Although governance is an important dimension of smart city development, the question of smart city governance is under-investigated in the smart city literature. The first objective of this thesis is to address this gap by developing the concept of smart city governance and its link to collaborative governance. It develops a Smart City Collaborative Governance Framework (SCCGF) by adapting Emerson et al.’s (2012) seminal collaborative governance framework. The second objective of the thesis is to apply the SCCGF to examine the pre-conditions and drivers that motivated LCCC to initiate collaborative arrangements for a smart city project -+CityxChange. The framework is also used to examine the dynamics of collaborative governance in the +CityxChange project and to identify the factors associated with successful or unsuccessful collaborative governance of the +CityxChange project.The SCCGF is developed in two phases. The first phase involves adapting Emerson et al.’s (2012) framework by adding pre-conditions and drivers that are specific to the smart city context and drawn from the extant smart city literature. The second phase involves the application of the initially adapted framework to analyse the workings of collaborative governance in the +CityxChange project. The second phase involves the identification of case?specific pre-conditions and drivers that motivated LCCC to develop a collaborative governance arrangement for the +CityxChange project. This stage also examines the dynamics of collaborative governance in the +CityxChange project and identifies the factors for successful collaborative governance of the project.This research employs qualitative methods to fulfil the main research objectives. To understand the Limerick smart city context, data is gathered from publicly available documents and semi?structured interviews with public and private stakeholders involved in Limerick’s smart city development. For the first objective (development of the SCCGF), an extensive review of the extant literature covering smart cities, smart city governance and collaborative governance is conducted. Lastly, for the second objective (using the SCCGF to examine collaborative dynamics), data is gathered from publicly available documents, a series of participant observations, and in-depth semi-structured interviews with public and private stakeholders involved in the +CityxChange project. The data is analysed using thematic analysis, coding data according to key themes and subcategories.It is revealed that Limerick adopted an innovative and articulated top-down approach to developing itself as a smart city. The formation of the Digital Services Department (DSD) within LCCC, the appointment of a Digital officer to oversee smart city operations, and the formation of the first digital strategy were all important steps in this development. LCCC led and fostered a culture of collaboration with public, private and research institute stakeholders, thereby promoting Triple Helix collaborations. The research also revealed that stakeholders share a well-articulated vision of Limerick as a smart city where technology and data enable the improvement of citizens’ quality of life. Despite considerable progress, some important challenges remain, including the need to address digital exclusion by fully integrating citizens into the smart city ecosystem.The results identify ten pre-conditions and five drivers of the SCCGF that motivated LCCC to initiate collaborative governance for the +CityxChange project. Some of the pre-conditions and drivers tie back to collaborative governance literature, while others are specific to the smart city initiative under consideration. The analysis of the collaborative dynamics of the SCCGF identifies the components and elements necessary for the success of collaborative governance in the +CityxChange project. The results show that a history of collaboration, detailed procedural and institutional arrangements, stakeholder diversity, prior resource availability, and leadership are the essential elements for successful collaborative governance of the +CityxChange project. Overall, this thesis makes contributions to the literature on smart cities by: (a) conducting a detailed case study of the development of a smart city in a medium-sized, brownfield city; (b) developing a model of smart city governance which is utilised to explore the governance of Limerick smart city and (c) providing lessons for policymakers in the field of smart city development.</p
A bibliometric analysis of the 50 most cited articles on acromioclavicular joint reconstruction
No full textThe aim is to identify the 50 most cited papers and thus the most influential papers pertaining to ACJ reconstruction, and specifically, analysing the level of evidence (LOE), article content, journals occurring, and countries represented within the 50 most cited. A search of the Web of Science database was carried out using the following terms: “Acromioclavicular joint” OR “AC joint” (Topic) AND Reconstruction OR Repair (Topic). The top 50 relevant articles were analysed in relation to citations, citation density, geographic origin of the article, year published, and article type. The articles were cited a total of 6053 times. The most cited article was cited 347 times. The highest citation density was 20.02, with a mean citation density of 7.71±4.13. Seventy per cent of the articles involved clinical research, 74% of which involved level IV evidence. Fifty two per cent of the articles were published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM). Most authors originated from USA (n=26 or 52%), followed by Germany (n=14 or 28%). This study revealed a paucity of articles with higher LOE among the most cited. Eight of the top 10 are either theoretical or biomechanical studies, and one reports an examination technique. Only two of the top 10 reported outcomes following surgical intervention and can thus directly guide treatment. Future research in the area of ACJ reconstruction should focus on generating high-quality interventional studies capable of informing/impacting patient care. Publishing in journals such as AJSM or Arthroscopy may lead to more citations</p
Finnish parents’ perception of the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of autistic adolescents
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted autistic adolescents differently, but less is known about what aspects of their lives were the most affected. In this paper, we used a convenience sample (n = 323) of Finnish parents of autistic adolescents who reported the perceived impact of COVID-19 on the lives of their autistic children. Data were analysed with content analyses and four themes emerged; studies, everyday life, interaction, and personal matters. The impact was considered to have been more negative (69%) than positive (31%). There were some mixed feelings towards the impact of COVID-19 and these were targeted particularly towards the way studies were carried out. Parents reported temporal negative impact of the pandemic such as, overall quality of schooling, changes to daily routines, lack of friendships, and reduced mental health. These areas should be monitored post-pandemic. In addition, parents reported their autistic adolescents were able to learn in an undistracted way, were supported by their family, had less exposure to stressful stimuli. The parents appreciated the opportunity to see their autistic child thrive. These were important learnings for designing personalised education for autistic adolescents, such as hybrid schooling and flexible supportive environments in a post-COVID-19 lockdown world</p
The people’s game: evolutionary perspectives on the behavioural neuroscience of football fandom
No full textAssociation football (soccer) is the world’s most popular sport. Transculturally, fans invest significant resources following their teams, suggesting underlying psychological universals with evolutionary origins. Although evolutionary science can help illuminate the ultimate causes of human behaviour, there have been limited modern evolutionary perspectives on football fandom. In this paper, we consider evolutionary perspectives on football fandom from a behavioural neuroscientific standpoint. We discuss how the appeal of football may arise through the low-scoring and highly variable outcomes of games; we relate this to the neuroscience of reward prediction errors and motivation. We highlight recent research on the psychobiological responses to ritual, including endorphin release, which may reduce anxiety and facilitate group bonding. We discuss the prosocial and anxiety-sublimating effects of the matchday ritual and argue that football may be a special case whereby ritual behaviour does have a small effect on the outcome of interest. We discuss the psychology of ingroup and outgroup effects of fandom and argue that, although resource scarcity can sometimes lead to aggression, that larger inter-group effects can be positive. We comment on the socioemotional developmental aspects of football fandom, and note how group identification may lead to displays of sacrifice. We finish with a discussion of whether, in the era of social prescribing, football could be seen as a psychiatrist’s tool. We conclude with suggestions on how the positive aspects of football can be emphasised through evolutionary perspectives, and how future research on football fandom may inform evolutionary understanding of humans writ large.</p
Design, architecture and safety evaluation of an AI chatbot for an educational approach to health promotion in chronic medical conditions
No full textThis paper presents the design, architecture, and safety evaluation of an AI chatbot tailored for educational purposes in man aging chronic medical conditions, focusing on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Leveraging conversational agents in health literacy, the chatbot integrates medically informed information, constrained responses, and response traceability to ensure appropriateness and compliance with protocols. By utilizing ChatGPT with retrieval augmented generation (RAG) and careful prompt engineering, the system ensures reliable, traceable, and privacy-conscious interactions. Safety and efficacy testing revealed just one inappropriate response (5%) in a simulated patient conversation and 15 (75%) fully appropriate responses. This study highlights the potential of AI chatbots in enhancing patient autonomy, reliability, and privacy in accessing medical knowledge for chronic conditions</p
Autonomous forklifts: State of the art—exploring perception, scanning technologies and functional systems—A Comprehensive review
No full textThis paper presents a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge autonomous forklifts, with a strong emphasis on sensors, object detection and system functionality. It aims to explore how this technology is evolving and where it is likely headed in both the near and long-term future, while also highlighting the latest developments in both academic research and industrial applications. Given the critical importance of object detection and recognition in machine vision and autonomous vehicles, this area receives particular attention. The article provides an in-depth summary of both commercial and prototype forklifts, discussing key aspects such as design features, capabilities and benefits, and offers a detailed technical comparison. Specifically, it clarifies that all available data pertains to commercially available forklifts. To obtain a better understanding of the current state-of the-art and its limitations, the analysis also reviews commercially available autonomous forklifts. Finally, this paper includes a comprehensive bibliography of research findings in this field</p
A little more conversation, a little more action, please: the carbon footprint of travelling to conferences of the European Health Psychology Society
No full textIntroduction: The environmental impact of on-site conferences, with air travel as the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, has prompted a surge in research in recent years. The objective of this report is to raise awareness and stimulate transformation in the organisation of meetings of the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS). Methods: We conducted estimations of travel-related CO2eq emissions of EHPS conferences in 2019, 2022, and 2023, and performed projections for 2024 and 2025. Additionally, we developed hypothetical scenarios for selected European cities as centroids for future conferences. Results: EHPS conferences with an online option result in significant reductions in CO2eq emissions when compared to on-site only conferences. The selected European locations of these conferences enable more delegates to choose alternative forms of transportation instead of flying, such as trains, cars or buses, and consequently lead to significantly lower CO2eq emissions. Discussion: The principal avenues for curbing travel-related emissions while maintaining on-site attendance are the provision of hybrid conferences with enhanced online participation and the optimisation of venue locations.</p
Press Release - The House of Bernardó Alba
No full textThis is a press release with information about the dance-theatre work The House of Bernardó Alba. It includes a list of the personnel involved in the realisation of the productions.</p