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National Collection of Children\u27s Books
No full textChildren s literature collections occupy significant and interesting liminal spaces: between private and public , national and international , instruction and knowledge , history and possibility , and archaeology and architecture . Although increasingly relevant as literary, educational, and cultural resources, no central mechanism for researchers to simultaneously search for and explore children s books across the various collections held in Dublin s libraries existed until 2015. This represented a significant barrier to the development of research in the area, as the material laid undiscovered and under-researched.
The National Collection of Children\u27s Books (NCCB) Project created an online open-access platform with information on over 250,000 children s books in more than 90 languages from five Dublin libraries. NCCB showcases the cultural heritage that is children s literature in Ireland, not only by providing a platform and thus encouraging and facilitating new research, but also by featuring Irish researchers in its platform and publications, and by including Irish language material. Through its internationalisation activities and capacity building in Irish Higher Education Institutions, the project is contributing to the development of the strong Irish profile in children\u27s literature research
Measures of maximum strength and jump performance can predict 30 m sprint time in Rugby Union players
No full textThe full text of this article will not be available in ULIR until the embargo expires on the 30/09/2022Performance and fitness monitoring in Rugby Union often include jumping, sprinting, and strength tests, but repeatability of and relationships between these measures are unclear. The level of interindividual variability in these relationships and their sprint time predictive capabilities are also unknown. This study examined the reliability of, and relationship between, countermovement (CMJJH), squat (SJJH), and rebound (RBJJH) jump heights, rebound jump contact time (RBJCT), estimated 1 repetition maximum back squat relative to body mass (SQBM), and reactive strength index (RSI) to 30-m sprint time of subelite, semiprofessional Rugby Union players. Measurement reliability was very good, with high average intraclass correlation coefficients (≥0.9) and low coefficient of variation ( 0.575), except for SQBM (only related to CMJJH, r = 0.621) and RBJCT (only related to RSI, r = −0.727). SJJH and SQBM were the strongest and most consistent predictors of time to 30 m (R = 0.754 ± 0.081; SEE = 0.166 ± 0.025), but variability in SEE magnitude was observed across the group during bootstrapping. Cross-validation showed a mean difference between actual and predicted 30 m times equivalent to 0.22% of the group average time to 30 m. These results support the importance of multiple aspects of fitness training in Rugby Union players for improving performance in short-duration sprinting activities, but highlight the individual nature of their relative importance. Measures of strength and power can be used to predict short sprint performance by the strength and conditioning professional
Executive compensation and sustainable business practices: the moderating role of sustainability-based compensation
No full textThis study seeks to contribute to the extant business strategy and the environment
literature by investigating the effect of CEO pay and executive compensation (EC) on
sustainable business practice (SBPs). It also distinctively ascertains whether the pay for-sustainability sensitivity (PSS) is reinforced in firms with sustainability-based compensation (SBC) policy. Using a sample of 262 UK listed firms from 2009 to 2018, our
findings are threefold. First, the findings reveal that both CEO pay and EC variables
have positive effect on all SBP measures, except CO2 reduction performance where
the link is negative. Second, the study shows that the PSS is reinforced for firms that
implement SBC policy. Finally, we detect that both the PSS and the moderation effect
of SBC on the PSS are higher in the symbolic construct of SBPs than the actual measures. The results support insights drawn from neo-institutional theory. The findings
have key implications for regulators and policy makers
Education doctorates. exploring personal, professional and academic contributions
No full textDespite a lack of attention in national and European policy, professional doctorates in Ireland and the United Kingdom have grown in popularity since their introduction in the early 2000s. Such programmes offer learners an alternative to the traditional PhD, framed in a context of doctorate level study which both informs and is informed by, professional practice. Definitions of such programmes emphasise this professional practice grounding as the defining feature of the professional doctorate and yet there is little evidence of such contributions to practice, the workplace or the profession more broadly.
This study focuses on two aspects of undertaking one such type of programme, the Doctor of Education (EdD). Firstly, it asks the “why”, exploring the multifaceted reasons for pursuing an EdD. Secondly, the study explores the contribution of such programmes for the learner, their workplace and their wider professional and academic communities.
The study of impact or contribution is a complex one, and the researcher acknowledges that one cannot suggest a simple cause and effect relationship between programme and practice. Instead, the focus is on the perceptions of the learner to answer five central questions:
1. What motivated the students/graduates to pursue the EdD?
2. How do the students/graduates perceive the contributions of their EdD? Where and when do these occur?
3. What are the more tangible contributions of the EdD?
4. How do the students/graduates recognise and describe the more intangible contributions?
5. Are these contributions resulting from the process, the product, or both?
The study adopts a mixed-method case study approach, looking at one EdD programme in an Irish context. The study commences with an extensive literature review which informed the development of a conceptual framework and a detailed survey instrument – the first phase of this mixed-method study. This is followed up with a second phase, involving in-depth interviews with 14 of the survey respondents, from a range of professional backgrounds. The study revealed wide-ranging contributions including personal and professional development, career implications, workplace and practice contributions and contributions to wider professional and academic communities
HR analytics & evidence-based decision-making: a multi-stakeholder perspecitive
No full textHuman Resource Analytics (HRA) is espoused as enabling the Human Resource (HR) function
to make evidence-based decisions, and, consequently, has garnered a growing interest among
both scholars and practitioners in organisations over the past decade. There is now a
burgeoning literature that centres on how HRA can inform decision-making among HR
professionals and senior management. This relatively nascent literature, however, lacks a
consistent conceptualisation of HRA, and is rather prescriptive in its focus, neglecting to
consider the wide range of HRA stakeholders and their use of HRA for evidence-based
decision-making. This research, therefore, seeks to address these knowledge gaps, and examine
the complex phenomenon of HRA from a multi-stakeholder perspective within the context of
evidence-based decision-making. This research aims to gain an understanding first of the
stakeholders of HRA; second; how HRA is conceptualised, and, third, how HRA is utilised for
decision-making among a broad range of organisational stakeholders. A qualitative research
design was adopted, comprising three distinct Studies: 1) a systematic review of existing HRA
literature; and 2) a thematic analysis of 40 secondary cases on HRA; and 3) an in-depth case
study conducted in a large public sector organisation. Through the findings, this research
advances knowledge in HRA in three ways. First, the research identifies the broad range of
stakeholders on three different levels (organisational level, operational and broader
environment) and examines their role as well as salience level regarding HRA. Second, the
research offers a conceptualisation of HRA from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Third, the
research builds a holistic model of how a broader range of stakeholders can utilise HRA for
evidence-based decision-making in organisations. Consequently, this research outlines a
number of important implications for the application of HRA in organisations, as well as future
research directions to further develop the scholarship in the field of HRA
Co-occurrence of pathogen assemblages in a keystone species the common cockle Cerastoderma edule on the Irish coast
No full textDespite coinfections being recognized as the rule in animal populations, most studies focus on single pathogen systems. Pathogen interaction networks and the drivers of such associations are lacking in disease ecology studies. Common cockle Cerastoderma edule populations are exposed to a great diversity of pathogens, thus making them a good model system to investigate. This study examined the diversity and prevalence of pathogens from different taxonomic levels in wild and fished C. edule on the Irish coast. Potential interactions were tested focussing on abiotic (seawater temperature and salinity) and biotic (cockle size and age, and epiflora on shells) factors. No Microsporidia nor OsHV-1μVar were detected. Single infections with Haplosporidia (37.7%) or Vibrio (25.3%) were more common than two-pathogen coinfected individuals (9.5%), which may more easily succumb to infection. Fished C. edule populations with high cockle densities were more exposed to infections. Higher temperature and presence of epiflora on cockle shells promoted coinfection in warmer months. Low seawater salinity, host condition and proximity to other infected host species influenced coinfection distribution. A positive association between two Minchinia spp. was observed, most likely due to their different pathogenic effect. Findings highlight the major influence that ecological factors have on pathogen interactions and host–pathogen interplay
Organisational identification after cultural system reform:the role of self-enhancement and uncertainty reduction motives after a radical organisational change
No full textThis study explores the role of self-enhancement motive and uncertainty reduction
motive in affecting organisational members’ identification after a radical organisational
change. The data for this study was collected via a questionnaire based survey of
performing artists in one large Chinese performing arts organisation. This organisation
experienced a radical organisational change during 2009 – 2019. The findings indicate
that both self-enhancement motive and uncertainty reduction motive are positively
related to members’ post-transformation organisational identification. Moreover, in
addition to affecting identification directly, uncertainty reduction motive also
negatively moderates the effect of self-enhancement motive on organisational
identification. This study contributes to the field of organisational identification by
showing how multiple and potentially competing identification motives work after a
radical organisational change. Furthermore, this study offers new insights on the post-transformation symptoms of cultural system reform during a time of uncertainty. For
management practices, this study sheds light on how to direct managerial efforts at a
time when attentional and other resources are scarce
Frail by Different Measures: A Comparison of 8-year Mortality in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
No full textPurpose: We compared the ability of four frailty identification tools (frailty phenotype: FP; FRAIL scale; 32-item Frailty
Index: FI; and Clinical Frailty Scale: CFS) to predict 8-year mortality in TILDA.
Methods: We included wave 1 (2010) participants with data for all four tools. Mortality was ascertained at wave 5 (2018).
Age, sex and education-adjusted binary logistic regression models were computed.
Results: At baseline, there were 5700 participants (mean age 63, range 50–98, 54% women). Frailty prevalences were 2.3%
by FRAIL, 3.8% by FP, 10.9% by CFS, and 12.8% by FI. Mortality was 41.2%, 44.9%, 25.3% and 27.0%, respectively. The
highest adjusted OR for mortality was for FRAIL (OR 4.48, 95% CI 2.93–6.85, P < 0.001), followed by FP (OR 3.55, 95%
CI 2.52–5.00, P < 0.001), FI (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.68–2.62, P < 0.001), and CFS (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.48–2.38, P < 0.001).
Conclusions: All tools significantly predicted mortality, but FRAIL and FP seemed more specific
Monolithic metal–organic frameworks for carbon dioxide separation†
No full textCarbon dioxide (CO2) is both a primary contributor to global warming and a major industrial impurity. Traditional approaches to carbon capture involve corrosive and
energy-intensive processes such as liquid amine absorption. Although adsorptive
separation has long been a promising alternative to traditional processes, up to this
point there has been a lack of appropriate adsorbents capable of capturing CO2 whilst
maintaining low regeneration energies. In the context of CO2 capture, metal–organic
frameworks (MOFs) have gained much attention in the past two decades as potential
materials. Their tuneable nature allows for precise control over the pore size and
chemistry, which allows for the tailoring of their properties for the selective adsorption
of CO2. While many candidate materials exist, the amount of research into material
shaping for use in industrial processes has been limited. Traditional shaping strategies
such as pelletisation involve the use of binders and/or mechanical processes, which can
have a detrimental impact on the adsorption properties of the resulting materials or can
result in low-density structures with low volumetric adsorption capacities. Herein, we
demonstrate the use of a series of monolithic MOFs (monoUiO-66, monoUiO-66-NH2 &
monoHKUST-1) for use in gas separation processes
Development of an intertidal foraminifera training set for the North Sea and an assessment of its application for Holocene sea-level reconstructions
No full textRegional datasets of the vertical distribution of intertidal foraminifera are useful to reconstruct Holocene sea-level changes from fossil foraminifera in estuaries and salt marshes. In this paper, we present a new foraminiferal dataset from the Ythan Estuary (Scotland) and combine it with data from eight other coastal sites from England, Denmark and Germany to produce a regional modern training set for the North Sea. We recognise a correlation between foraminifera and tidal elevation which makes the foraminifera suitable as sea-level indicators. We subdivide the data into subregional training sets and develop WA and WAPLS transfer functions. Applying a variety of statistical methods, including detrended canonical analysis, cross-validation by bootstrapping and leave-one-site-out, and the modern analogue technique, we establish the most appropriate transfer function from which to reconstruct early Holocene sea-level changes in a sediment core from the western North Sea coast. Results show that the subregional England/Scotland training set provides the most appropriate sea-level reconstructions, with decimetre-scale uncertainties. The techniques we use in this study, that consider both the modern and fossil assemblages to determine the best training set and transfer function, are suggested as a template for the development of regional transfer functions based on foraminifera and other intertidal microfossils