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Neuromorphic event-based vision: Sparse and spiking networks for efficient vision systems
No full textThis thesis investigates the potential of event-based vision systems in Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), addressing the critical need for fast, efficient sensors in automotive safety. The journey begins with conventional computer vision algorithms designed for frame-based cameras, gradually evolving toward methods optimized for the sparse, asynchronous data produced by event cameras. As these unconventional sensors operate fundamentally different, they bring new possibilities, but also require tailored approaches in data processing and neural network design. This exploration led to a progressively deeper understanding of sparsity in neural models, from dense networks to sparse processing units, and ultimately to the adoption of binary spike representations known for their optimal efficiency in encoding event-driven data.
To harness the full potential of event data, the research moved from initial experiments with traditional networks to developing specialized architectures uniquely suited to event- driven inputs. Early efforts included a multitask network for driver facial analytics, tackling tasks like gaze estimation and head pose detection. These initial approaches were soon complemented by an exploration of YOLO for out-of-cabin object detection, which revealed the limitations of conventional networks in leveraging event-based data. Recognizing these challenges, the thesis shifted focus toward architectures and methods explicitly designed for event processing, including a submanifold convolutional network for driver distraction detection, a Sigma Delta Neural Network (SDNN) for event stream super-resolution, and spiking-based networks for Distraction Detection & Face Detection. The result is a novel hybrid model that combines Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) and Artificial Neural Net- works (ANN) to balance temporal precision with the robustness needed for real-world DMS applications.
Noise resilience techniques, such as event bias tuning and real-time filtering, were also developed to improve data quality under challenging conditions. The findings show that both the event representation and the processing pipeline are essential to realize the advantages of event cameras. Many of the methods presented here are among the first of their kind in the event domain, consistently achieving competitive state-of-the-art results across diverse DMS tasks. This thesis lays a strong foundation for future event-based DMS systems, demonstrating that optimized event representations and processing architectures hold significant promise for practical, high-efficiency deployment.This work was supported by Irish Research Council (now Research Ireland) to the employment-based PhD Scheme under Grant EBPPG/2022/17. With Fotonation Ltd/ Tobii as industry mentor and University of Galway as host institution
Peddling stories: an investigation of the day‑to‑day realities for cyclists in Galway
No full textTowns and cities worldwide are challenging the dominance of private cars and seeking ways to limit their use, compelled by the urgency to deal with the climate crisis. There is a growing determination to transition to more active and sustainable transport such as walking, cycling, and public transport, and to reduce our overall need for private car use in urban areas while improving public health and local environs. Cycling is a low-impact aerobic exercise and mobility option that can assist attempts to reduce private car use, cut harmful emissions, and moderate economically damaging traffic congestion in towns and cities. Cycling also offers numerous health and well-being benefits. But in towns and cities where cycling is constrained, marginalised, or ignored by transport planners, little is known about who is cycling, for what purpose, where they are cycling to and from, and their motivation to cycle. In recent times efforts have been made to improve the cycling infrastructure and better promote this mode of travel in Galway, a small city on the West coast of Ireland. This study investigates the experiences of cyclists in the city with data collected from individuals of differing ages and cycling abilities and advocates cycling continues to be marginalised and neglected in the context of implementing transport policy in the city. The findings indicate that most cyclists feel unsafe, and a prevailing car-centric policy mindset prevents cycling from developing to its potential in Galway to the detriment of the local environment, citizens' health, and new economic opportunities.peer-reviewe
Equity in health care and health: Contributions from health economics
No full textHealth economics is centrally concerned with efficiency; the allocation of scarce health resources to achieve maximum value. Increasingly health economists are also looking to better understand the distribution of this value. This includes examining issues such as who gains at whose expense, measuring inequities in health care access, utilisation, and outcomes, as well as assessing how economic tools – like incentives to change behaviour – can help address inequities.peer-reviewe
Modelling the stability of ternary solid dispersions
No full textThis thesis provides a mathematical analysis of the stability of some ternary solid dispersions using thermodynamic theory. Solid dispersions have been developed to improve the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Traditional solid dispersions typically consist of two components - a drug and a hydrophilic polymer, the purpose of the polymer being to improve the solubility of the drug when administered orally. More recently, ternary dispersions (that is, systems with three components) have been developed. Ternary dispersions provide an extra degree of freedom to enable system designers to optimize both the stability and solubility properties of the dispersion. Unstable dispersions may phase separate, thereby limiting their shelf life. In this thesis, I mathematically model ternary solid dispersions with a view to identifying parameter regimes that lead to favourable and unfavourable stability properties for the dispersion. A systematic study of this kind has hitherto been lacking in the literature.
The methodology used is as follows. The solid dispersions are modelled using Flory- Huggins solution theory, a well-established thermodynamic model in polymer science for polymer blends. The stability properties of the dispersions are determined by constructing phase diagrams using the Gibbs free energy of mixing. The phase diagrams determine whether a particular ternary composition is stable or unstable or metastable. The requisite numerical calculations to construct the diagrams are carried out by programs that I wrote using the mathematical packages Maple and MATLAB.
Thermodynamic theory determines the broad character of the ultimate state of the mixture, but yields no information on how the mixture evolves to that state, or what the detailed character of the final state is for unstable compositions. To address these issues, a partial differential equations model is developed to describe the dispersion mixture evolution, and some simulations of this model are also presented.
A few notable results are as follows. For polymer-polymer-drug ternary systems, it is found that for desirable stability properties to be possible, the two polymers need to be compatible (in a sense that has been described quantitatively). Also, the stability behaviour can be finely dependent on the asymmetry between how the two polymers interact with the drug. Closed loops of immiscibility are shown to be theoretically possible. For polymer-surfactant-drug ternary systems, it is shown that the stability behaviour can be sensitive to the character of the interaction between the polymer and the surfactant, and the molecular weight of the surfactant. Numerous other predictions are made
Iniúchadh ar ómós na háite dúchais mar a léirítear é trí theaghlach, theanga, thraidisiún, thírdhreach agus thírghrá san úrscéal Mo Dhá Róisín (1921) le Máire
No full textSan alt seo, déanfar tagairt do na teaghlaigh ar daofa é, don Ghaeilge, do na traidisiúin, don tírdhreach agus don tírghrá agus don dóigh a n-aibhsíonn Máire téama an ómós áite ina úrscéal Mo Dhá Róisin, 1921 (MDR). Tá na téamaí thuasluaite fite fuaite ina chéile san úrscéal agus sna saothair dá chuid a lean é. Dar le Titley (2002: 89), d’aimsigh Máire foirmle ar éirigh léi ina chuid scríbhinní tosaigh agus, dá fheabhas iad, níor éirigh leis riamh dul thar scríob na foirmle sin agus saothar níos géarchúisí, níos do-reamhinste nó fiú níos éagsúla a scríobh. D’aontaigh Ó Corráin (1992: 103) le Titley ina léacht ar Mháire a chuir Mac Congáil in eagar nuair a dúirt sé gur chloígh Máire leis an aon mhodh amháin scríbhneoireachta in achan rud dár scríobh sé. Dar le Ó Fiaich (1974) (in Ó Doibhlin, 1992: 168), níor ghá do Mháire mórán cumraíochta a dhéanamh ach an saol a bhí timpeall air a bhreacadh síos go mion le peann an ealaíontóra agus dá dtiocfadh an lá choíche a chaillfí gach foinse staire ó Rann na Feirste, d’fhéadfaí saothar ar stair Rann na Feirste a athchruthú as leabhair Mháire. Maíonn Nic Eoin (1982: 134) ‘Is beag na difríochtaí idir a chéadiarrachtaí agus na saothair dheireannacha dá chuid’. Déanfar iarracht a léiriú san alt seo, áfach, go bhfuil tús áite ag ómós áite léirithe go soiléir in MDR.peer-reviewe
Moving forward in comparative slavery: Orlando Patterson’s critique of “slave society”, “slave systems”, and the “second slavery”
No full textOrlando Patterson’s critique of the concept of “slave society” in his recent book Enslavement: Past and Present offers us an occasion to reflect upon the use of this term by scholars engaging in studies of comparative slavery in the ancient and modern worlds. It is possible to relate Patterson’s critique of “slave society” to a discussion of the cognate concept of “slave system”, taking inspirations from important recent studies by historians of ancient slavery in comparative perspective. At the same time, it is equally important to keep into account the important comparative work done by an innovative group of scholars on the “second slavery” in the nineteenth-century Atlantic world. Patterson’s concept of dependence as the main feature that defined slavery can help us moving forward in comparative slavery studies by providing guidelines for a comparison of “slave systems”, including the ones that characterized the “second slavery”.peer-reviewe
Governance exclusion and climate disengagement: Understanding fishers’ perspectives in Castletownbere, Co Cork, Ireland
No full textIn the epoch of the anthropogenic climate crisis, the necessary policies and actions to alleviate the worst aspects of Climate Change require the involvement of the whole community and stakeholders at all levels. Based on research undertaken as part of a final year dissertation (Jeisy, 2023), this short policy brief examines the underrepresentation of fishers in marine policy decision-making in Ireland, focusing on Castletownbere in County Cork, the country’s principal whitefish port. Through qualitative analysis of stakeholder interviews and fisheries data, this research highlights how restrictive quotas, the dominance of foreign fleets, and exclusion from governance structures contribute to fishers’ disconnect from broader environmental concerns and action. A key finding is that many fishers deprioritise Climate Change and sustainability incentives due to immediate economic struggles and a lack of representation in marine policy discussions and implementation. The study argues that addressing governance inequalities is essential for fostering more inclusive and effective climate adaptation strategies. Furthermore, it explores the importance of fostering stronger connections between fishers and policymakers to enhance trust, engagement, and shared responsibility in marine governance and protection.non-peer-reviewe
“How I Learned About Consent”: Influences of research based theatre on sexual consent attitudes
No full textBackground
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of sexual consent promotion research-based theatre (RbT) as a sexual violence and harassment prevention intervention through sexual consent attitude change.
Methods
Two quantitative studies were conducted: one with higher education students attending The Kinds of Sex You Might Have at College; the other with secondary school pupils attending How I Learned About Consent. Pre- and post-performance surveys were analysed using paired t-tests and multiple linear regressions to assess attitudinal changes and predictors.
Results
Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvements in sexual consent attitudes. Theatrical experience and demographic factors, including age and gender, were key predictors of attitudinal shifts.
Conclusions
Research-based theatre is a promising medium for sex-positive sexuality education, fostering attitudinal change while minimizing traumatisation. Future work should explore long-term impacts and integrate mixed methods for deeper insights.These studies were funded by the Life’s2Good Foundation, ReThink Ireland, Community Foundation Ireland, University of Galway, the Government of Ireland, and the Higher Education Authority of Ireland.peer-reviewe
Ó ‘clábar’ go ‘clobber’ agus an t-athrú cló: forás brí ainmfhocail de bhunús Gaeilge i dTalamh an Éisc le himeacht ama
No full textAgus ré na teicneolaíochta linn bíonn gá le téarmaí nua a chumadh go rialta le dul i ngleic le riachtanais teanga na sochaí: focail ar nós ‘féinín’ agus ‘clicmhealladh’, mar shampla. Léirítear riachtanais teanga éagsúla a thagann chun cinn ó ghlúin go glúin agus an saol ag athrú. Anuas air sin, is minic a bhíonn focail iasachta fite fuaite i dteangacha agus iad á n-úsáid go nádúrtha ag an bpobal labhartha: leithéidí tsunami, avatar, sudoku, cul-de-sac, cuirim i gcás. Is díol spéise go nglactar leis na leaganacha iasachta sin de réir a chéile, rud a léiríonn an meascadh cultúrtha a tharlaíonn beagnach i ngan fhios don phobal labhartha agus an chaoi a mbíonn teangacha ag athrú de shíor dá bhrí sin. Ní heisceacht í an Ghaeilge agus í ag athrú leis na cianta. Is é aidhm an ailt seo, mar sin de, díriú ar athrú céille ainmfhocail de bhunús Gaeilge i dTalamh an Éisc mar shampla ar leith den phróiséas athraithe sin. Déanfar iniúchadh agus anailís ar raon samplaí atá le fáil sa Dictionary of Newfoundland English (Story et al., 1982) trí lionsa na staire agus na teangeolaíochta, chun patrúin shuntasacha éagsúla a thabhairt chun solais maidir leis an bhforás brí a tharla do na focail sin le himeacht ama.peer-reviewe
Developing a digital health intervention for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease
No full textBackground:
Secondary prevention is an important strategy to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While guidelines recommend that secondary prevention should start as early as possible following a CVD diagnosis, referral to and uptake of secondary prevention programmes such as cardiac rehabilitation (CR) remains persistently poor. Digital health interventions (DHIs) including mobile apps have the potential to offer innovative, scalable approaches that improve the provision of timely secondary prevention. However, despite these potential benefits, adoption of DHIs into routine clinical practice has been slow. Furthermore, although secondary prevention DHIs such as CR have been compared to traditional in-person programmes, there has been little research focusing on the development of these DHIs, with limited use of co-design to approaches. There is also a lack of understanding of the systems required to support implementation, scalability, and sustainability.
Aim:
The overall aim of this research was to advance knowledge on the development of DHIs for the secondary prevention of CVD. In line with this aim, the research included in this thesis sought to: (i) examine current practice, by assessing the outcomes of a multicomponent digital CR intervention delivered in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) to identify factors influencing implementation of this digital CR programme from the perspective of health workers, and (iii) to use the resulting evidence to inform the development of a DHI known as “INTERCEPT” for the secondary prevention of CVD that could be provided to patients with coronary heart disease(CHD) at the time of their diagnosis and prior to their discharge from hospital.
Methods:
Using a mixed methods approach, this research was underpinned by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. In the first study, a single-centre observational study was conducted to examine the outcomes (lifestyle, risk factor, therapeutic goals and quality of life) of a digital CR programme called “Croí MySláinte”. To help identify the contextual factors influencing implementation of secondary prevention DHIs, a qualitative analysis of health worker perspectives on this programme was conducted in Study 2.
In Study 3, a person-based, co-design approach to the development of INTERCEPT, inclusive of usability testing was adopted.
Findings:
The observational study of Croí MySláinte (Study 1) showed that multicomponent digital CR can be successfully implemented to help patients achieve guideline recommended lifestyle, medical and therapeutic targets that are comparable to in-person CR programmes. Insights from the qualitative analysis of health worker perspectives on digital CR (Study 2) revealed that factors influencing implementation of DHIs relate to: intervention characteristics and technical considerations; individuals (workforce and patients); the healthcare ecosystem; and the broader extrinsic ecosystem within which they operate. Then, in Study 3, the needs of the end user, key design principles, and the desired app features and content were established through the use of co-design. Through an iterative process, including usability testing, this facilitated the development of a theory informed intervention, which comprised of a mobile Health app linked to a health care professional portal and wearable technology.
Conclusion:
Increasing emphasis is being placed on prioritising the development of DHIs for the secondary prevention of CVD. This research contributes to the evidence base for the development of such interventions by examining real world evidence including clinical outcomes and contextual factors influencing implementation and integrating these findings with the use of co-design to inform the development of INTERCEPT. By adopting a mixed method, theory based, approach to the development of the INTERCEPT DHI, this programme of research has paved the way for next step feasibility testing and definitive evaluation of effectiveness and future replication.This research was funded by a Health Research Board Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA-2019-001