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We respect them, and they respect us : The Value of Interpersonal Relationships in Enhancing Student Engagement
No full textAttempts to understand the patterns behind student disengagement and early school leaving have traditionally focussed on early school leavers’ individual characteristics. More recently, however, studies have begun to focus on the extent to which early school leaving is shaped by school-level factors, and in particular the central role of teachers and pedagogy, in (dis)engaging students. Studies have consistently shown how negative teacher–student relations can dominate the lives of young people, leading to poor attendance and behavioural issues which often culminate in them disengaging, leaving or being expelled from school. Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the role of pedagogical strategies in enhancing teacher–student relations, increasing student engagement and bringing about more socially just systems of education. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with staff working in a school engagement programme aimed at preventing early school leaving (the School Completion Programme) and young people who have left school early and who are now participating in an alternative education setting in Ireland as well as staff in those settings (the National Youthreach Programme), this paper provides a unique comparison of two approaches to learner engagement. Findings highlight the centrality of caring and respectful relationships between teachers and students across the two programmes. This paper suggests that aspects of the ‘productive pedagogies’ framework are being used to overcome barriers by placing equal emphasis on student wellbeing and formal learning. However, both programmes operate outside ‘mainstream’ education, with little scope for integration with the mainstream system. This paper concludes that at the micro level, the programmes are effective in re-engaging young people with education but argues that this has little impact at a broader level, where mainstream school practices impacting on student disengagement and early school leaving remain unchanged
Schism in the Stato da mar: the bishop of Padua and missions in Southeastern Europe
No full textThe dedicated reforming bishop of the landlocked Italian diocese of Padua, Gregorio Barbarigo (1664-1697), looked beyond his borders to help missionary efforts, primarily in Southeastern Europe. This article argues that although the Council of Trent ignored Catholic missions, many reforming bishops saw spreading the faith as crucial to Catholic Reform
Moth assemblages within urban domestic gardens respond positively to habitat complexity, but only at a scale that extends beyond the garden boundary
No full text‘Wildlife-friendly’ gardening is a dominant theme in the media that readily engages public attention. However, there is little empirical evidence of the ecological benefits of increased habitat quality of individual domestic gardens. This study uses light-trapping to examine the response of moth assemblages to domestic gardens that are assessed in terms of their habitat complexity (simple and complex) both within the garden and extending out to a 30 m radius that includes surrounding habitats. The results clearly show that moth assemblages were influenced by complex habitats (particularly increasing levels of the variable shrubs and decreasing levels of artificial surfaces), but only at a scale that extended beyond the garden boundary to include the surrounding area. In other words, neither the complexity of the habitat within the garden or the size of the garden had any influence on the abundance or diversity of the moth assemblage. These results have implications for both garden management and landscape planning – if domestic gardens are to be a useful component of strategies to reduce biodiversity loss within the urban environment then they should provide good habitat quality and be managed as a network of interconnected patches rather than as individual units
Ramifications of Approximate Posterior Inference for Bayesian Deep Learning in Adversarial and Out-of-Distribution Settings
No full textThe 16th European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV 2020), Online Conference, 23-28 August 2020Deep neural networks have been successful in diverse discriminative classification tasks, although, they are poorly calibrated often assigning high probability to misclassified predictions. Potential consequences could lead to trustworthiness and accountability of the models when deployed in real applications, where predictions are evaluated based on their confidence scores. Existing solutions suggest the benefits attained by combining deep neural networks and Bayesian inference to quantify uncertainty over the models’ predictions for ambiguous data points. In this work we propose to validate and test the efficacy of likelihood based models in the task of out of distribution detection (OoD). Across different datasets and metrics we show that Bayesian deep learning models indeed outperform conventional neural networks but in the event of minimal overlap between in/out distribution classes, even the best models exhibit a reduction in AUC scores in detecting OoD data. We hypothesise that the sensitivity of neural networks to unseen inputs could be a multi-factor phenomenon arising from the different architectural design choices often amplified by the curse of dimensionality. Preliminary investigations indicate the potential inherent role of bias due to choices of initialisation, architecture or activation functions. Furthermore, we perform an analysis on the effect of adversarial noise resistance methods regarding in and out-of-distribution performance when combined with Bayesian deep learners.Science Foundation Irelan
Whales and windfarms: towards a poetics of the sea in the twenty-first century
No full textThe aim of this project is to contribute to and stimulate the growing body of academic work being carried out within the Blue Humanities by developing a \u27poetics\u27 of the twenty-first century sea. The thesis defines these poetics as the accurate representation of present-day and near-future marine environments, validated through reference to their manifold contemporary expressions: physical reality, news reporting, and (critical) theory, but also fiction, film, installation, music, painting, poetry, and sound recording. The forward-looking aspect of the thesis ultimately results in the outline for a model for cross-species saltwater cohabitation: the ‘multispecies marine society’. The discussion begins by revisiting such concepts as ‘society’, ‘citizen’, and ‘culture’ in the context of a new critical appreciation of the shared physicality of human beings and non-human marine beings and environments. The thesis builds on these findings to demonstrate the value of situating the totality of marine actors in a network configuration. Following this reappraisal of the modern seascape, the project draws on the work of a number of key authors – Stacy Alaimo, Karen Barad, Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, and Anna L. Tsing – to describe the world-building, or sea-defining powers of storytelling. It also establishes the importance of key ecofeminist principles in recalibrating the relationship between humanity and the sea, and calls for acts of remembrance and reconciliation with respect to past and present injustices inflicted by humans on non- and more-than-human marine others. Finally, the validity of the concept of multispecies marine society is tested through juxtaposition with the stark reality of ongoing environmental degradation; it is found that cross-species saltwater ‘becoming’ holds promise no matter the circumstances, and today more than ever before. This helps the thesis maintain a pragmatic view of the disappearance of familiar seascapes: in their place comes a multispecies ferment of possibility
Directional Solidification Experiments with the Transparent Model Alloy Neopentyl Glycol-35wt.%(D)Camphor
No full textThis thesis describes the development of an experimental facility in combination with image processing and computer vision techniques for the visualisation and characterisation of dendritic growth structures in the transparent model alloy Neopentyl Glycol-35wt.%(D)Camphor. The facility enables the control of the mushy zone growth rate and the imposed temperature gradient during solidification and provides in-situ optical video data of the solidification process. A suite of image processing and computer-vision techniques facilitate quantitative data extraction from the in-situ video data. The first is a front-tracking technique for automated tracking of the solidification front position and growth rates during directional solidification. The technique is validated against manual measurement and compared with the traditional liquidus isotherm speed measurement technique, which is widely used for estimating growth rates in directional solidification. Next, the development of a computer vision algorithm for multiple dendrite tip tracking is described. In combination with a thermally calibrated experimental facility, the tracker provides tip velocity and undercooling data for comparison with similar data obtained in microgravity. The data are compared to the traditional LGK model and a modified LGK model adapted with a finite diffusional boundary layer theory to account for convection effects. Finally, mechanisms of competitive growth are investigated in the transparent alloy. Multiple scenarios that obey and disobey the classical Walton-Chalmers rule are described and provide the first examples of competitive crystal growth with associated tip velocity vectors in directionally solidified crystals
Processing and properties of PIB-PUR elastomers for the protection of implantable electronic devices
No full textActive implantable medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers are required to work in harsh physiological environments and must be protected in order to prevent device failure. Currently, hermetic packages are constructed using laser welded titanium cases and ceramic feedthroughs. As technology advances and medical devices shrink, the creation of hermetic packages becomes more difficult in smaller devices.
Polyisobutylene (PIB) is a commercially important polymer due to its excellent thermal stability and excellent flexibility at ambient temperature. Many properties have been identified which differentiate PIB from other polymers, a key one being low penetrability to small molecules. A formulation of polyisobutylene diol has been developed by an industrial partner. This diol was developed in order to create a polyisobutylene polyurethane (PIB-PUR), a synthetic rubber anticipated to have low permeability to small molecules and be flexible at ambient temperatures.
A means by which PIB-PUR samples can be fabricated in a laboratory setting was developed. The PIB-PUR samples were seen to exhibit ultimate tensile strengths in the range of 7.66–10.17 MPa and tensile failure strains in the range of 1148-1488%. PIB-PUR samples exhibited the Mullins effect. The water vapour transmission rate was examined for PIB-PUR and seen to be in the range of 0.03-0.04 g.cm/m2.day. Moisture absorption rates were also examined for both H20 and PBS solution for a period of 70 days and seen to be in the range of 0.79-2.24% and 0.57–1.38% respectively. The effect of incorporating polysorbate Tween 20 was examined and did not significantly affect the mechanical and permeability properties of PIB-PUR samples. There was no significant deterioration of mechanical properties over periods of up to 70 days in PBS solution at 37°C.
Finally, the research findings are discussed with respect to the potential of this PIB-PUR material as a suitable candidate to be a near hermetic barrier for encapsulation of implantable electronic devices
Exploring psychoanalytic psychotherapists’ experience of supervision: an interpretative phenomenological analysis study
No full textStudies aimed at exploring psychoanalytic psychotherapy supervisees’ experience of
supervision, have often been focused on novice and trainee therapists whose supervisory
needs, tasks and consequently their supervisory experiences differ from those of accredited
experienced practitioners. Experienced therapists have accumulated supervision experiences
that put them in a position to identify long-lasting and sustainable effects of supervision.
Hence, experienced therapists can contribute to our understanding about how psychoanalytic
supervision is experienced in the fullness of time. This study aimed to explore a group of
accredited psychoanalytic psychotherapist supervisees’ experiences of supervision. Using
purposeful and snow-ball sampling, fourteen psychoanalysts (seven female and seven male)
accredited by the Irish Council for Psychotherapy were recruited. Data were collected using a
semi-structured interview.
Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed for data analysis. The four
superordinate themes that emerged from the analysis were “providing illumination”,
“harmonizing emotional experience”, “noticing unmet needs” and “grappling with relational
experiences”. Good and effective psychoanalytic supervision appeared to be both insightful
and emotionally supportive, while problematic psychoanalytic supervision neglected the
participants’ needs and was characterised by an uncomfortable relationship. The findings from
the study point to several considerations for practice and future research. Of particular note is
that the supervisors are recommended to democratize the supervision relationship so that
supervision can be conducted in a way that is meaningful for the supervisee. Given that
supervision is a triadic practice, future research is required to study the supervisors and the
clients, which will extend the findings from the current study. This study is unique as it is the
first study to provide a nuanced understanding of the experienced psychoanalytic
psychotherapy supervisees’ supervision experiences in an Irish context
Adolescent perspectives on communication and negotiation of self management responsibilities for type 1 diabetes with parents: a mixed methods study
No full textAdolescents living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) begin to adopt a more collaborative approach to managing T1D with their parents before becoming independent in self-management. However, adolescents can encounter difficulties with T1D management and ambiguity in relation to the division of responsibilities for T1D management with their parents. This study aimed to explore: (1) how adolescents living with T1D experience self-management of T1D and share self-management responsibilities with parents and (2) the relationship between adolescent communication with parents about T1D self-management and demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables. A meta-synthesis of qualitative literature on child and adolescent experiences of self-management of T1D was conducted. The findings of the meta-synthesis indicated that balancing the demands of self-management with other aspects of life and sense of control over T1D are important for self-management of T1D. Following this a mixed methods study involving two phases was conducted; semi-structured interviews with adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (n = 28) and a cross-sectional survey with adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (n = 113). In interviews, adolescents highlighted their experiences of gaining independence in self-management in the overarching theme ‘Navigating increasing responsibility for self-management during adolescence: “it changed gradually… and I am almost fully doing it [self-managing] now”. The following themes contributed to the overarching theme: (1) Changing levels of involvement in self-management, (2) Talking about self-management with parents, (3) Taking ownership of self-management and (4) Environmental and contextual influences affecting self-management. The findings from the quantitative phase of this study indicated that parent-adolescent communication and T1D-specific family conflict are associated with T1D self-efficacy, division of family responsibility for T1D management, activation and self-management of T1D. However, the findings also indicated that T1D-specific family conflict and parent-adolescent communication are differentially related to distinct aspects of self-management and QOL. Overall, this study identified that parent-adolescent communication and family context characteristics relate to and contribute to self-management and T1D-specific QOL in adolescents living with T1D. This research identified what factors contribute to helping or hindering adolescent engagement with self-management of T1D and specifically that adolescents’ perceptions of their communication with their parents about T1D management are important. For the first time, the findings provide a nuanced understanding of adolescent perspectives on self-management of T1D and communication with parents about T1D self-management. Promoting self-efficacy through targeting communication strategies employed by adolescents and their parents may result in more optimal sharing of responsibilities, improved self-management and better QOL for adolescents living with T1D
Financial literacy in farming enterprises
No full textFinancial literacy has attracted significant interest in the past decade with researchers predominantly adopting a knowledge and skills-based perspective on this complex phenomenon. Theoretical diversification has the potential to facilitate greater understanding and by extending the literacy as a social practice framework to the domain of finance, this study seeks to examine how financial literacy manifests itself in farming enterprises. It is exploratory research that conceptualises the financial literacy of farmers as a social practice that is situated within a particular socio-cultural setting. Using in-depth multiple case analysis, it explores financial literacy in five Irish farms over the course of a year.
The study makes four important contributions to the field of financial literacy. Firstly, the study is original in applying a social practice lens to financial literacy in a business context. It extends Barton and Hamilton’s (1998) social theory of literacy to financial literacy and develops an empirical structure of its various dimensions. Secondly, it provides new theoretical insights on how temporality, role assignment, and power influence farmers’ financial literacy practices. Thirdly, the study provides new empirical evidence of the importance of institutional influence, historical issues, and temporal pressure in understanding the financial literacy practices that farmers engage in. Finally, for practitioners, it provides the first farm financial calendar derived from farmers’ financial literacy practices and highlights the importance of a social practice, rather than skills driven, approach to farmer financial training