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Antidepressant and anxiolytic medications and risk of mortality in people with dementia: a nested case-control study in Northern Ireland
No full textBackground Antidepressant and anxiolytic medication use in people with dementia (PwD) may contribute to potentially inappropriate prescribing and be associated with mortality.Objective To investigate trends in prescribing of these medications and their association with mortality risk among PwD.Methods A nested case-control study was conducted in Northern Ireland (NI) using linkage of five administrative population-based data sources within a cohort of dementia patients (identified if a medication indicated for dementia was prescribed). Dementia patients who died were matched to one control who lived at least as long as their matched case after dementia diagnosis (matched on age, sex and year of dementia). Exposure to antidepressant and anxiolytic medications was assessed from two years prior to study entry. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression after adjusting for demographic factors and comorbidities. Results The study included 14,420 dementia cases. Antidepressants were prescribed to 59.2% of cases and 54.7% of controls whilst 44.8% of cases and 36.0% of controls were prescribed anxiolytics. There was evidence of a weak increased risk of mortality in PwD prescribed antidepressants (fully adjusted OR=1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.14) and a strong increased risk in those prescribed anxiolytics (fully adjusted OR=1.26; 95% CI 1.19-1.33) compared to nonusers. Conclusions In this large NI population-based cohort of PwD, elevated levels of antidepressant and anxiolytic prescribing were observed. The use of anxiolytic medications was strongly associated with mortality in PwD
Power system planning under deep uncertainty: integrating tidal energy for net-zero Northern Ireland
No full textAchieving high renewable penetration is often hindered by resource variability, renewable curtailment, and deep uncertainties in long-term decarbonization planning. In coastal and islanded power systems with significant tidal potential, predictable marine resources such as tidal power can offer a valuable solution, enhancing system flexibility, reducing curtailment, and supporting progress towards net-zero objectives. In Northern Ireland, however, tidal energy remains underutilized, and limited operational flexibility continues to pose challenges for integrating large shares of renewables. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a robust multi-period power system planning framework that integrates tidal energy and energy storage using an Information Gap Decision Theory–Flexible Revision Multi-period Two-stage Stochastic Planning (IG-FRM-TSP) model. The framework explicitly accounts for uncertainties in demand growth, technology costs, and CO2 pricing, while optimizing the coordinated deployment of tidal, offshore wind, and hydrogen-battery storage. A novel Dispatch Down Reduction Index (DDRI) is introduced to quantify and reduce renewable curtailment, improving system efficiency and flexibility. Scenario analyses show that strategic co-deployment of tidal energy with offshore wind and storage can reduce curtailment to below 2 %, while achieving up to 80 % CO2 emissions reduction compared to business-as-usual scenarios, all while maintaining grid reliability. The results highlight that tidal predictability, combined with responsive storage and supportive policy incentives, plays a critical role in enabling cost-effective decarbonization pathways for islanded and coastal power systems. The proposed methodology offers a replicable approach for similar regions worldwide, emphasizing that operational coordination and market design—beyond capacity expansion—are essential to achieving net-zero goals.<br/
Lack of social and physical opportunity are key barriers to adopting alternative pig farming systems
No full textIn high-income countries, pig production predominantly occurs in conventional indoor systems, but interest in alternative systems is growing. This research applied social science frameworks to understand barriers and facilitators influencing adoption of alternative pig farming practices. Using the COM-B model (Capability-Opportunity-Motivation = Behaviour) and Theoretical Domains Framework, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with stakeholders from conventional indoor and alternative (free-range and organic) systems. Eighteen interviews (Conventional: n = 9; Alternative: n = 9) and two focus groups (Conventional: n = 5; Alternative: n = 4) explored individual- and industry-level factors affecting the adoption of alternative systems, with pig farming stakeholders. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling, and data were analysed using a deductive Framework approach. Barriers to adoption related to Capability (e.g., shortage of skilled staff, lack of knowledge of alternative farming methods), Motivation (e.g., alternative farming perceived as a hobby), and Opportunity (e.g., power dynamics in the industry, profitability). Facilitators included Capability (e.g., diversification of activities) and Opportunity (e.g., availability of woodlands, support from family and community). The majority of the identified barriers related to lack of opportunity, highlighting the need for a physical and social environment that facilitates the development of alternative pig farming systems. A supportive regulatory and physical environment are essential in progressing alternative pig farming systems.<br/
Protestant religion in Northern Ireland to 1980
No full textThe religious beliefs and practices of Protestants in Northern Ireland have not been well served by scholars. ‘Protestant’ is reduced to a synonym for political unionism, and much attention has been devoted to sectarianism and the fundamentalism of Rev Ian Paisley. Yet religion cannot simply be reduced to political identity and conflict; it is also clear that the overwhelming majority of Protestants, and evangelicals specifically, did not join Paisley’s Free Presbyterian Church and remained members of mainstream Protestant denominations. Furthermore, Protestant religion in this period is unhelpfully described in binary terms—‘evangelicals’ versus ‘ecumenists’—a morality tale of reactionary conservatives stifling liberals who articulated an ecumenical or ‘dissenting’ vision. By placing the experience of Northern Ireland Protestants in broader perspectives, this chapter offers an interpretation that prioritizes religious developments, highlights the diversity of evangelicalism, and complicates the ‘evangelicals’ and ‘ecumenists’ binary.<br/
Network-orchestrated security protocol for the Internet of Drones in O-RAN
No full textThe rapid evolution of open radio access network (O-RAN) technology has produced many innovations and increased adoption of drones across various industries, including delivery systems, search and rescue, and surveillance. However, as the adoption of drones becomes more widespread, there is an increased likelihood of security breaches, which can be disastrous, particularly in disaggregated scenarios. Compromised communication channels can make drone communications vulnerable to attacks by an adversary, leading to sensitive data leaks or disruption of services. This paper examines the current approaches to solve this problem and their associated drawbacks, such as requiring computationally expensive cryptographic operations unsuitable for resource-constraint drones. Following this, an efficient and secure scheme is proposed that employs chameleon hash functions to enable mutual authentication and key agreement between user and drone that allows access to real-time information. To demonstrate the protocol’s resilience against known security attacks, both an informal and formal analysis utilising Tamarin have been presented. A proof of concept has been implemented to display the feasibility of the solution along with a comparison to the state-of-the-art approaches.<br/
Cosmopolitan (non-)cinema: impurity, recognition and hospitality in <i>The Cambridge Squatter</i> (2016)
No full textThis chapter puts forward the idea of cosmopolitan non-cinema to examine Eliane Caffé’s The Cambridge Squatter (Era o Hotel Cambridge 2016). The film focuses on the occupation of an abandoned hotel in São Paulo, Brazil, and incorporates non-cinematic and impure elements to address the issue of housing rights in a context marked by transnational migration. Cosmopolitan non-cinema puts into dialogue the notions of non-cinema and cosmopolitanism. The first approach, as theorised by William Brown and Lucia Nagib, relates to non-mainstream and non-commercial films that dialogue with other arts and new media to articulate passages to reality. The idea of cosmopolitanism refers to ethico-political dispositions towards those deemed Others and facing social injustices. This chapter explores The Cambridge Squatter as an example of cosmopolitan non-cinema, proposing that the film’s use of digital technology and language, and its close engagement with architecture, articulate cosmopolitan discourses on recognition and hospitality, respectively.<br/
Listening to children and young people
No full textThis chapter is about listening to children and young people: about what it means to listen to children and young people, why we should listen to children and young people, and how we communicate with children. There are sections on dealing with specific issues that emerge in communicating, and on particular issues in work with younger children. The chapter also deals with questions of children’s competence, the concept of ‘wishes and feelings’ and how listening to children sits with promoting their ‘best interests’. Finally, the chapter considers organisations and initiatives to enable a voice for young people in care, and ways of listening to children and young people collectively. The chapter concludes with a guide to further reading.<br/
The Honest Ulsterman and poetic depictions of the Troubles (1968–1986)
No full textQuite often cited as the beginning of the Ulster ‘Troubles’, summer 1968 was also the season the poet James Simmons established the Honest Ulsterman. This little magazine would run until summer 2003 and was reestablished as an online journal in 2014. From its first issues, it published work by prominent writers from across the globe as well as Northern Irish poetry, prose and criticism. Conterminous with the rise of the Heaney Generation, the Honest Ulsterman was instrumental in providing a platform for Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson and Medbh McGuckian, as well as already established poets such as Padraig Fiacc. All too aware of the international turmoil of 1968, in his editorial for the debut issue Simmons identified the moment as a ‘watershed in history’. Although he may have hoped, he didn’t know that the Honest Ulsterman would become the site of a very specific aesthetic watershed in literary history, where Irish poetry was forced to confront head-on political violence. Throughout the mid-1970s, as the ‘Troubles’ intensified, the Honest Ulsterman became a forum where writers debated – often heatedly – the ethics of addressing sociopolitical upheaval in verse. The eminent instance is Ciaran Carson’s review of Seamus Heaney’s North from the 1975 winter issue. The young poet took issue with what he perceived as unethical historiography, crass image-making and poetic exploitation. This paper will investigate the extent to which contributions to the Honest Ulsterman throughout the mid-1970s played a role in forging new aesthetical and ethical understanding of poetry’s relationship with politics, one which would have drastic formal consequences in ‘postmodernist’ Northern poetry in the succeeding decade. Key here will be Heaney’s and Carson’s still-unacknowledged debt to Fiacc, who incorporated violent sectarianism within his poetry years before North, whilst holding to self-described principles of verisimilitude and authenticity decades before Carson’s long-lined and kitchen-sinked collection the Irish for No (1987).<br/
The challenges of managing the third sector: an exploration of emerging themes
No full textThe third sector plays a critical role in addressing societal challenges, supporting vulnerable communities, and bridging gaps in public service provision. Managing third-sector organizations (TSOs) has become increasingly complex due to financial constraints, evolving governance structures, and heightened accountability demands, particularly during crises. Excluding this front-end, scene-setting paper, this Special Issue brings together five papers that apply innovative frameworks to examine participatory governance, public/third-sector partnerships, performance reporting, resilience, and membership dynamics within TSOs. The papers emphasize the importance of inclusive governance, strategic collaboration, and adaptability in enhancing social inclusion, sustainability, and organizational resilience. It also provides practical recommendations for policymakers and practitioners and identifies opportunities for future research to address unresolved questions in the field