NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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How can I use Student Voice to Enhance my Understanding of the Learning Experiences of the Child?
No full textThis self-study action research project investigated: How can I use student voice to enhance my understanding of the learning experiences of the child? This study was inspired by the growing interest and research surrounding the need for schools to incorporate the voice of the child in relation to their learning and decision making affecting their learning experiences. This study resulted from a personal interest with the aim of including the voice of the student more within my everyday practice to help me live closer to my values.
I designed and planned an intervention which involved two components: teacher designed lessons based around student voice (what it is, why it is important, the child’s right to a voice, the many positives to using their voice etc.) and the implementation of the activity called PhotoVoice. Action research was selected as the methodology as it enabled me to investigate and improve my own practice. Throughout the research, I collected qualitative data using baseline and post intervention interviews, reflective journal, feedback from critical friend(s) and validation groups, unstructured observations and samples of children’s work.
The generation of a living theory was formed through engagement with the reflective process which enabled me to live in the direction of my values. The findings which emerged from the research resulted in three main themes which include:
• Teacher as facilitator
• The power of student voice
• The child as an active agent in their own learning
Using student voice to gain a deeper understanding of the learning experiences of the child is a powerful way to encourage and establish more participation, involvement and agency in school life by students. Student voice, when implemented with a genuine interest and betterment of the student's experience in school, can promote a sense of empowerment, increase confidence, motivation and awareness of their right to a voice and can bring about positive change not only for the student but also in relation to the teacher’s own practice. For student voice to be effective, there are many factors needed which include, creating a safe and comfortable space for children to express their opinions, views and thoughts, ensuring that there is a mutual respect and trust and a positive healthy relationship between teacher and student has been developed prior to the implementation of any student voice initiative. Providing choice and opportunity as well as facilitating talk and discussion are all required when accommodating student voice. This research has also inspired a compelling change in my own practice, and in how I include the voice of the child going forward
Unearthing Pedagogy: Recitative to reasoned practice. An exploration of the documented pedagogical understandings and practice of a cohort of PST students in an ITE programme in Ireland
No full textA generation of policy publications focussed on lower secondary education in Ireland
are now operational for several years. These policies conceptualise the role of
pedagogical understanding and practice for classroom practitioners. This research
explores the origins and intent of the pertinent policies with the aim of forming a
contextualised conceptualisation of sought pedagogical capacity.
The analysis framework employed has been constructed from Shulman’s revised
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) construct (2012) and Loughran’s PCK enactment
mechanisms. For this study this forms an investigative focus for the policy and
portfolio analyses.
Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has often been lauded as the stage in the teacher
education continuum which permits the highest level of attitudinal and practice
change in teachers. For this reason, this research explores the levels of pedagogical
understanding and practice amongst a cohort of PST teachers in a sample Irish ITE
programme. This exploration takes the form of a Qualitative Content Analysis of the
student teacher’s reflective portfolios and a semi-structured focus group. Emergent
challenges and opportunities to the development of PCK understanding and practice
for the PSTs during their ITE phase are also explored and documented.
Throughout this explorative study, efforts have been made to gather evidence and
document experience that contribute to the construction of artefacts, concerned with
the promotion of pedagogical development in ITE. The results of these efforts are
included as appendices at the end of this study
Grid integration aspects of wave energy—Overview and perspectives
No full textThe sustained development of wave energy in the past two decades makes it one of the
most promising renewable energy resources to be added to the diverse mixture of supply systems. The inherent difficulty of grid integration of wave energy involves various
aspects such as suitable control of power converters and power conditioning processes,
allowing for the extraction of the best quality power. This paper presents a comprehensive
review of different aspects of grid integration of wave energy devices, including classification of wave energy devices based on their impacts on grid integration, grid requirements imposed by the grid codes and storage technologies used for the grid integration
of wave energy converters (WECs). This study also analyses various grid integration studies on wave energy converters, with particular emphasis on power converter technology
and control. Furthermore, specific attention is given to the combinational studies that
use wave energy combined with other renewable resources due to their positive synergies in lowering the costs of energy produced and that hold an opportunity for future
research. An economic case is presented for wave energy devices based on value on
the grid
Mutational analysis of the Hsp70 substrate‐binding domain: Correlating molecular‐level changes with in vivo function
No full textHsp70 is an evolutionarily conserved chaperone involved in maintaining protein homeostasis during normal growth and upon exposure to stresses. Mutations in the β6/β7 region of the substrate-binding domain (SBD) disrupt the SBD hydrophobic core resulting in impairment of the heat-shock response and prion propagation in yeast. To elucidate the mechanisms behind Hsp70 loss of function due to disruption of the SBD, we undertook targeted mutational analysis of key residues in the β6/β7 region. We demonstrate the critical functional role of the F475 residue across yeast cytosolic Hsp70-Ssa family. We identify the size of the hydrophobic side chain at 475 as the key factor in maintaining SBD stability and functionality. The introduction of amino acid variants to either residue 475, or close neighbor 483, caused instability and cleavage of the Hsp70 SBD and subsequent degradation. Interestingly, we found that Hsp70-Ssa cleavage may occur through a vacuolar carboxypeptidase (Pep4)-dependent mechanism rather than proteasomal. Mutations at 475 and 483 result in compromised ATPase function, which reduces protein re-folding activity and contributes to depletion of cytosolic Hsp70 in vivo. The combination of reduced functionality and stability of Hsp70-Ssa results in yeast cells that are compromised in their stress response and cannot propagate the [PSI+] prion
Neoliberalism’s Paradoxical Effect and European Doctoral Education Reforms in Post-socialist Europe
No full textBuilding on examples from post-socialist Central Europe, this article addresses changes in European higher
education policy and examines the ‘paradoxical effect’ (Foucault 2008) of neoliberal educational reforms on the
doctoral level. We consider how economically driven policies oriented at building Europe’s knowledge economy and
market effectiveness, created possibilities for subjectification related to the extension of individual freedom – an aspect
of neoliberalism that Foucault juxtaposed to other forms of governmentality. Drawing on our positioning as doctoral
supervisors in the Polish and Czech academia during the period of intensive institutional restructuring, we illustrate
how European higher education reforms opened the doors of doctoral education to practitioners-doctoral researchers
who found themselves in the unique position to critically illuminate covert socio-economic and political mechanisms
of their practice. We consider the potential of critical doctoral pedagogy methodologically informed by Foucault’s
concept of practical critique (1984), to create the conditions of possibility for the construction of subjectivity and
emergence of new knowledges at the intersection of practical, academic and personal life trajectories under the
conditions of neoliberal domination
Experimental comparison of two methods to study barley responses to partial submergence
No full textBackground: Crop yield is dependent on climate conditions, which are becoming both more variable and extreme
in some areas of the world as a consequence of global climate change. Increased precipitation and flooding events
are the cause of important yield losses due to waterlogging or (partial) submergence of crops in the field. Our ability
to screen efficiently and quickly for varieties that have increased tolerance to waterlogging or (partial) submergence is
important. Barley, a staple crop worldwide, is particularly sensitive to waterlogging. Screening for waterlogging tolerant barley varieties has been ongoing for many years, but methods used to screen vary greatly, from the type of soil
used to the time at which the treatment is applied. This variation makes it difficult to cross-compare results.
Results: Here, we have devised a scoring system to assess barley tolerance to waterlogging and compare two different methods when partial submergence is applied with either water or a starch solution at an early developmental
stage, which is particularly sensitive to waterlogging or partial submergence. The use of a starch solution has been
previously shown to result in more reducing soil conditions and has been used to screen for waterlogging tolerance.
Conclusions: Our results show that the two methods provide similar results to qualitatively rank varieties as tolerant
or sensitive, while also affecting plants differently, in that application of a starch solution results in stronger and earlier
symptoms than applying partial submergence with water
Geometric optimisation of wave energy conversion devices: A survey
No full textUnlike more established renewable energy conversion technologies, such as wind turbines, wave power systems
have reached neither commercial maturity, nor technological convergence. The significant variation in device
geometries and operating principles has resulted in a diversification of effort, with little coordination or true
comparative analysis. The situation is compounded by the relative lack of systematic optimisation applied to
the sector, partly explained by the complexity and uncertainty associated with wave energy system models, as
well as difficulties in the evaluation of appropriate target function metrics. This review provides a critical
overview of the state-of-the-art in wave energy device geometry optimisation, comparing and contrasting
various optimisation approaches, and attempting to detail the current limitations preventing further progress,
and convergence, in the development of optimal wave energy technology
Ocean Energy Systems Wave Energy Modeling Task 10.4: Numerical Modeling of a Fixed Oscillating Water Column
No full textThis paper presents a systematic methodology to optimise the geometry of a three-body hinge-barge
wave energy converter, to maximise the energy extraction of the device in given sea states and in site specific wave climates. To that end, a 5-degree-of-freedom mathematical model is proposed to describe
the system dynamics in two-dimensional space and a two-layer optimisation is designed to find the
optimal design and control variables. The inner-layer optimisation is used to find the optimal control
parameters of the power take-off system and the outer-layer optimisation, which uses a genetic algorithm, is employed to find the optimal design parameters of barge lengths and of optimal ballast positioning. In the case study, this methodology is applied to a 1:20 scale prototype of the McCabe Wave
Pump device. Numerical results indicate that the optimal dimensions of the device, under given sea
states, can be found efficiently and accurately, and that there appears to be no obvious benefit in the use
of three barges, over a two-barge system
Resistance to COVID-19 vaccination has increased in Ireland and the United Kingdom during the pandemic
No full textObjectives: Hesitance and resistance to COVID-19 vaccination poses a serious challenge to achieving adequate vaccine uptake in the general population. Cross-sectional data from the early months of the pandemic indicates that approximately one-third of adults in multiple nations are hesitant or resistant to a vaccine for COVID-19. Using longitudinal data, we tracked changes in attitudes to COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic.
Study design: This is a quantitative, longitudinal design.
Method: Nationally representative samples of the adult general population of the Republic of Ireland
(N ¼ 1041) and the United Kingdom (N ¼ 2025) were assessed for their attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination at three points from March to August 2020.
Results: Statistically significant increases in resistance to COVID-19 vaccination were observed in Irish
(from 9.5% to 18.1%) and British (from 6.2% to 10%) adults.
Conclusion: Resistance to vaccination has significantly increased in two European nations as the
pandemic has progressed. Growing resistance to COVID-19 vaccination will pose a challenge to public
health officials responsible for ensuring sufficient vaccine coverag