Irish Universities
Not a member yet
78452 research outputs found
Sort by
Evolving roles of academics in Irish institutes of technology and technological universities
No full textThis research critically explores the changing roles and demands on academics in Irish
Institutes of Technology and Technological Universities amid profound changes in HE in the
past decade. Professional roles are dominant themes in the discourse of occupations yet
currently there is a lack of empirical research on professional roles amongst academics working
in Irish Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and Technological Universities (TUs). This study
critically explores how academic roles are conceptualised and constructed. The central research
problem explores how everyday roles are evolving and are perceived amongst experienced
academics in IoTs and TUs in Ireland.
This research is situated within an interpretivist framework and uses an exploratory case study
design to address the research questions. A multiple case study design is used with four Irish
IoTs selected, two moving to TU status and two currently remaining outside of the process.
Qualitative data is drawn from twenty-seven interviews with academic staff, Academic
Managers as well as document analysis. The qualitative interviews enabled the perceptions and
understandings of individual academics and their Academic Managers and the way in which
they navigate their local context to be critically explored and explained. Documentary analysis
of institutional policies was used to supplement the interviews and provide a contextual
evidence base as part of the qualitative aspects of this study. The research draws on the personal
accounts and local perspectives focusing on the voice of the “ordinary” academics. This study
provides insight into how academics navigate their everyday roles within an IoT/TU context.
This research reveals evidence of both continuity and change and of divergence and
convergence in academic roles. This research finds that more fluid, multifaceted and holistic
roles exist among the academics in this study. This research dispels the myth of the academic
“all-rounder” and finds academics in the present study focusing on elements of practice
primarily involving teaching, service and to a lesser extent research
Sociolinguists and their publics: epistemological tension and disciplinary contestation over language in Catalonia
No full textThis article aims to investigate the relationship of sociolinguists with the publics in Catalonia and to disentangle the complex interrelationships among academics within the discipline. By examining material from mainstream media outlets and data from interviews with a selected number of sociolinguist scholars, we show how the public sphere is a site in which competing epistemological and disciplinary visions contest for discursive dominance in language-in-society matters, institutional authorization, and resources. Rather than seeing the engagement of sociolinguists with publics as a disinterested activity of knowledge dissemination and the provision of facts, we argue that the publics are better conceived as a terrain toward which sociolinguists direct institutional, disciplinary, and professional interests. Ultimately, our article contributes to a more encompassing understanding of ourselves as sociolinguists.
Aquest article pretén investigar la relació entre sociolingüistes i l’esfera pública (que inclou l’audiència i diversos altres agents acadèmics) a Catalunya per entendre millor la complexitat de la interconnexió entre acadèmics en la disciplina. Partint de l’anàlisi de material publicat en mitjans de comunicació i d’entrevistes amb un grup de sociolingüistes, mostrem com l’esfera pública és un àmbit en el qual visions epistemològiques i de disciplina oposades competeixen pel domini discursiu en relació amb temes de llengua i societat, per autoritat institucional i per recursos. En lloc d’entendre la dialèctica entre els sociolingüistes amb l’esfera pública com una activitat desinteressada de disseminació de coneixement i de bases factuals, argumentem que l’esfera pública s’ha d’entendre com a terreny en el qual els sociolingüistes hi projecten expectatives institucionals, disciplinaries i professionals. En definitiva, l’article ajuda a entendre’ns com a sociolingüistes de manera més àmplia
Analysing the performance of stress detection models on consumer-grade wearable devices
No full textIdentifying stress levels can provide valuable data for mental health analytics as well as labels for annotation systems. Although much research has been conducted into stress detection models using heart rate variability at a higher cost of data collection, there is a lack of research on the potential of using low-resolution Electrodermal Activity (EDA) signals from consumer-grade wearable devices to identify stress patterns. In this paper, we concentrate on performing statistical analyses on the stress detection capability of two popular approaches of training stress detection models with stress-related biometric signals: user-dependent and userindependent models. Our research manages to show that user-dependent models are statistically more accurate for stress detection. In terms of effectiveness assessment, the balanced accuracy (BA) metric is employed to evaluate the capability of distinguishing stress and non-stress conditions of the models trained on either low-resolution or high-resolution Electrodermal Activity (EDA) signals. The results from the experiment show that training the model with (comparatively lowcost) low-resolution EDA signal does not affect the stress detection accuracy of the model significantly compared to using a high-resolution EDA signal. Our research results demonstrate the potential of attaching the user-dependent stress detection model trained on personal low-resolution EDA signal recorded to collect data in daily life to provide users with personal stress level insight and analysis
A retrospective observational study of the impact of 16s and 18s ribosomal RNA PCR on antimicrobial treatment over seven years: A tertiary hospital experience
No full textAlthough culture-based methods remain a staple element of microbiology analysis advanced molecular methods increasingly supplement the testing repertoire. Since the
advent of 16s and 18s ribosomal RNA PCR in the 2000s, there has been interest in its utility for pathogen detection. Nonetheless, studies assessing the impact on antimicrobial prescribing are limited. We report a single-centre experience of the influence of 16s and 18s PCR testing on antimicrobial treatment, including a cost-analysis. Methods Data were collected retrospectively for all samples sent for 16s and 18s PCR testing between January 2014 and December 2020. Results were compared to any culture-based result. Assessment focused on any change of antimicrobial treatment based on PCR result,
or use of the result as supportive evidence for microbiological diagnosis. Results 310 samples relevant to 268 patients were referred for 16s/18s rRNA PCR testing during
the period. Culture was performed for 234 samples. Enrichment culture was performed for
83 samples. 82 of 300 samples sent for 16s PCR had positive results (20.8%). When culture was performed, enrichment reduced the outcome of 16s PCR only positive results (4/36 [11.1%] versus 14/35 [40.0%], p = 0.030 where a pathogen found). 18s PCR yielded 9 positive results from 67 samples. The 16s PCR result influenced antimicrobial change for 6 patients (2.2%). We estimated the cost for 16s PCR testing to result in one significant
change in antimicrobial therapy to be €3,340. 18s PCR did not alter antimicrobial treatment
Participation in group music therapy: a preliminary study of the experiences and perceptions of adolescents who stammer
No full textMusic therapy and music-based interventions are increasingly used in the treatment of speech, language, and communication needs, and music therapy has been extensively applied to adolescent groups. To date, however, there has been no published work examining music therapy for adolescents who stammer. The aim of the current study was to explore adolescents’ experiences and perceptions of a group music therapy intervention. Four adolescents who stammer participated in semi-structured interviews examining their experience of group music therapy intervention. The music therapy group intervention consisted of five therapeutic sessions conducted at a summer camp for children and adolescents who stammer. Analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews revealed four main themes and several subthemes. Recurrent themes revealed a variety of psychosocial benefits related to the experience of group music therapy, such as developing new friendships and facilitating peer support, increasing self-confidence and self-expression. There was also an emphasis on fun and enjoyment. This paper highlights a number of key benefits of music therapy for adolescents who stammer. These preliminary results highlight the potential of music therapy for adolescents who stammer, and the role of addressing psychosocial aspects of stammering within this creative arts intervention.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe
Gone in 60 days: our first experience with a bioconvertible IVC filter
No full textThe Sentry bioconvertible IVC filter (Boston Scientific, MA, USA) contains a bioabsorbable filament which hydrolyses after 60 days, allowing the arms of the filter to spring open, retract into the vessel wall and endothelialise, leaving an unobstructed IVC lumen.
It is a novel treatment option for patients at transient risk of pulmonary emboli with a contraindication to anticoagulation. The device provides similar protection to other currently available devices against pulmonary emboli with minimal complications. It represents an effective alternative to retrievable filters, the removal of which is variously not attempted, not possible or associated with high complication rates.
We review the literature which underpins the development of the bioconvertible filter. We describe our first deployment of the filter in an 85-year-old female with gastric malignancy (who subsequently underwent a subtotal gastrectomy) with a history of anaemia and previous pulmonary emboli. The availability of a bioconvertible filter constitutes a further step forward in the management of patients with potential or active thromboembolic disease
Effectiveness of acute geriatric unit care on functional decline and process outcomes among older adults admitted to hospital with acute medical complaints: a protocol for a systematic review
No full textIntroduction Older adults are clinically heterogeneous and are at increased risk of adverse outcomes during hospitalisation due to the presence of multiple comorbid conditions and reduced homoeostatic reserves. Acute geriatric units (AGUs) are units designed with their own physical location and structure, which provide care to older adults during the acute phase of illness and are underpinned by an interdisciplinary comprehensive geriatric assessment model of care. This review aims to update and synthesise the totality of evidence related to the effectiveness of AGU care on clinical and process outcomes among older adults admitted to hospital with acute medical complaints. Design Updated systematic review and meta-analysis Methods and analysis MEDLINE, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Controlled Trials in the Cochrane Library and Embase electronic databases will be systematically searched from 2008 to February
2021. Trials with a randomised design that deliver an AGU intervention to older adults admitted to hospital for acute medical complaints will be included. The primary outcome measure will be functional decline at discharge from hospital and at follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include length of stay, cost of index admission, incidence of unscheduled hospital readmission, living at home (the inverse of death or institutionalisation combined; used to describe someone who is in their own home at follow‐up), mortality, cognitive function and patient satisfaction with index admission. Title and abstract screening of studies for full-text extraction will be conducted independently by two authors. The Cochrane risk of bias 2 tool will be used to assess the methodological quality of the included trials. The quality of evidence for outcomes reported will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework.
A pooled meta-analysis will be conducted using Review Manager, depending on the uniformity of the data
Comparison of the uterine inflammatory response to frozen-thawed sperm from high and low fertility bulls
No full textThe full text of this article will not be available in ULIR until the embargo expires on the 20/09/2022Some bulls with apparently normal semen quality yield unacceptably low pregnancy rates. We hypothesised that a differential uterine immunological response to sperm from high and low fertility bulls may contribute to these differences. The experimental model used was heifer follicular phase uterine explants incubated with frozen-thawed sperm from high and low fertility bulls (3–5 replicates per experiment). Inflammatory gene expression of IL1A, IL1B, IL6, TNFA and CXCL8 were assessed by qPCR and IL1-β and IL-8 were quantified in explant supernatants by ELISA. Neutrophil binding affinity to sperm from high and low fertility bulls was also assessed. There was a significant up-regulation of IL1A, IL1B and TNFA from frozen-thawed sperm, irrespective of fertility status, compared to the unstimulated control. This response was confirmed at the protein level, with an increase of IL-1β and IL-8 protein concentrations by 5 and 2.7 fold, respectively (P < 0.05). Although no significant differences in the inflammatory response at the gene or protein level were evident between high and low fertility bulls, more sperm from low compared to high fertility bulls bound to neutrophils (P < 0.05). Using bulls of unknown fertility, cauda epididymal sperm (CES) plus seminal plasma (SP) upregulated IL6 (P < 0.05) but there was no upregulation of any inflammatory gene expression for CES alone. Overall, this ex vivo study demonstrated an upregulation of inflammatory gene expression in the uterus in response to frozen-thawed bull sperm. While there was no difference between sperm from high and low fertility bulls, there was a greater binding affinity of low fertility sperm by neutrophils
ETHOS Push: An Approach toward Empathetic Orchestration of Scrutable Push
No full textThere was a time, not so long ago, when our physical world would have seemed unfathomably large. But thanks, in part, to the meteoric rise of technology and its ability to connect far reaching parts of the universe, it has since diminished in size. The space and silence that was once infinite is now fast filling up with a noisy clamour borne of the virtual world, which is quickly expanding and, unless tempered, threatens to reduce the size of our physical world further, until it exists solely behind a softly glowing screen.
Mobile devices are ubiquitous in the modern world and rarely leave our side. Subsequently, interruptions are more frequent and attention increasingly difficult to protect. Push-notifications are an extremely valuable tool for disseminating useful and timely information, but their current use lacks the intelligence to tactfully adapt to the transient physical and cognitive contextual needs of subscribers, to whom they are delivered. Those pushing notifications resort to increasingly persuasive strategies to entice engagement and, at times, do so without empathy for the human to whom they are pushing. Therefore, subscribers of this technology require tools for protection, awareness and empowerment to retain ownership of their attention and make informed engagement decisions.
This thesis presents ETHOS-Push, an approach for creating, delivering and presenting notifications which are empathetic to subscribers and promote scrutability. The requirements of the ETHOS-Push approach were informed through a rigorous review of literature and observational studies of push-notification engagements in-the-wild. A sustainable, data-driven approach toward intelligent delivery was evaluated; well-defined principles of persuasion were used to engineer features for scrutability; and finally, overtly enticing text was moderated at the point of creation to reduce the exploitative influence of notifications employing information-gap strategies