NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Gendered Rhetoric in the Pedagogy of Non-Korean Sŏn
No full textThis research can be reduced to two fundamental questions; what happens to Sŏn Buddhist pedagogy when it moves beyond the Korean peninsula into various contexts in Europe and elsewhere in Asia? And; might there be a gendered aspect to any adaptations and accommodations in non-Korean contexts? This project adopts a constructivist methodology to conduct an ethnographic investigation into the semiotic function of Korean Sŏn rhetorical pedagogy in various non-Korean social and cultural contexts in Europe and Asia. By adopting a hitherto unused gender paradigm through which to research Sŏn pedagogy itself and its transnational interactions, mediations, transcultural-flows and relationships, this research investigates contemporary South Korean Sŏn Buddhist transnationalism itself to present four key findings.
Firstly, this study frames post-Korean War (1953 onwards) Sŏn transnationalism and its spread from South Korea to the Global North, in the backdrop of the South Korean Buddhist ‘Purification Movement’ (1954-1970) which ostensibly ‘purified’ South Korean Buddhism of colonial ‘Japanized’ elements but which this research argues was a gendered division of the South Korean Sŏn institution itself, a bifurcation which reflected a “Western” orientalist view drawn from Buddhist modernism which dichotomized Buddhist meditation and ritual. Referring to historical precedents and following Walraven’s use of the ‘public’ and ‘private’ within historical Korean religious culture as a paradigm, this research shows that this division is both symptomatic of the influence of Buddhist modernism on early twentieth-century Korean Buddhist transnationalism and that it characterizes subsequent post-war South
Korean transnationalism until the present. I apply Walraven’s notion of public and private to domestic and transnational Sŏn.
Secondly, as the spread of post-war South Korean Sŏn Buddhism correlates with the transition of the South Korean economy from the Global South to the Global North it also coincided with the second-wave of global feminism. Building on the first point above of ‘public’ and ‘private’ being gendered in the historical Korean socio-religious context, this research shows that the gendered institutional-division of Sŏn during the ‘Purification Movement’ in South Korea, constructed an institutional ecclesiastical Sŏn which participates in re-masculinizing the nation. This extrapolates abroad in Sŏn transnationalism to reveal a continuum in which exist ‘parallel congregations’ – Sŏn Buddhist communities of ethnic-South Korean emigrants which sprung up in the post-war period and non-Korean ‘convert’ centres which for the most part do not overlap and I include the southern half of the Korean peninsula in this analysis of Sŏn transnationalism. The nature of these parallel congregations within the continuum of contemporary transnational Sŏn have implications for whether Sŏn can even be called [South] Korean any longer and how despite sometimes virulent anti-Japanese sentiment used to divide Sŏn institutionally at home, it exhibits rhetoric of Japanese imperial Zen in Europe with respect to race and providing in some cases, a type of generic Zen ‘couture’ for right-wing extremism.
Thirdly, through participant-observation at South Korean Buddhist sites in Europe (Germany, France and Poland) and in Asia (Hong Kong, Myanmar and Thailand) as well as semi-structured qualitative interviews of both Sŏn teachers and learners, this gendered perspective implemented in this research suggests that despite ‘traditional’ perceptions of Sŏn rhetorical pedagogy, the eclipsed feminine collaborates in this rhetoric in a number of ways. In the East
Asian context, this collaboration co-constructs masculinity while outside of South Korea, this collaboration co-constructs the empowerment of the individual.
Offering itself as a form of gendered bio-power for the state, institutional South Korean Sŏn is inextricably tied to the androcentric military-industrial-complex of South Korea which ecclesiastic South Korean Sŏn endorses politically with its gendered rhetoric. Based on this gendered notion of public and private within domestic and transnational South Korean Sŏn mentioned above, this research relates the political aspect of gendered Sŏn-rhetoric in transnational contexts back to the super-structure of domestic South Korean Sŏn by theorizing if ethnic-South Korea Sŏn transnationalism is part of a state-endorsed re-masculinizing within the Global North – what I call an ‘eschatology of re-unification’ which being nationalized can never be transcended until the existential crisis of the androcentric-state is resolved through re-unification or by destruction. In that sense, the semiotic function of Sŏn rhetorical pedagogy participates in state discourse.
By conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews on location in Europe and Asia, participant observation, interviews online and an online-survey of monastics in South Korea, this research is one of the most extensive inquiries into contemporary Sŏn practice as well as contemporary Sŏn transnationalism at large. Specifically, this project is one of very few which takes women into account in the analysis of Sŏn Buddhism and the only research conducted into the gendered nature of Sŏn pedagogy
The Development and Characterisation of a Pyruvate Biosensor for Real-Time Neurochemical Monitoring of Brain Extracellular Pyruvate
No full textThis thesis presents research on the development and characterisation of a pyruvate biosensor for the study of brain energy metabolism. The aim of the project was to utilise a pyruvate oxidase enzyme to develop the biosensor in-vitro, followed by a detailed in-vitro characterisation study. Finally, the developed biosensor was deployed in the in-vivo environment and a detailed in-vivo validation study was carried out.
Three results chapters are presented in this thesis. The first of these, Chapter 4 details the development of the biosensor. The finalised design was comprised of 15 layers of an enzyme solution (800 U/mL + 80 μM flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)) immobilised on a Pt/Ir disc micro-electrode using styrene. Cross-linkers and stabilisers were also introduced (1 % bovine serum albumin (BSA), 0.25 % glutaraldehyde (GA) and 2 % polyethyleneimine (PEI)) as a final layer to further increase sensitivity and reproducibility. Chapter 5 discusses the detailed in-vitro characterisation study carried out to determine the potential viability of use of the developed biosensor in the in-vivo environment. Temperature dependence issues were resolved by the introduction of 200 mM sucrose into the enzyme solution and the addition of the cross-linkers and stabilisers to every layer of the design. The best design was found to be:
Pt/Ir (disc) – PPD – {Sty – ([POx (800 U/mL) + FAD (80 μM) + Sucrose (200 mM)] + BSA (1 %) + GA (0.25 %) + PEI (2 %))15}
It showed excellent sensitivity (9.66 ± 0.08 pA/μM, n = 10) and was highly selective towards pyruvate due to the incorporated poly-phenylenediamine (PPD) layer’s ability to reject endogenous electroactive species present in the brain. It was also sufficiently independent of changes in oxygen levels within the relevant physiological range. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 0.33 ± 0.172 μM with an in-vitro response time of ca. 10 s (n = 4), which was within the mixing time.
Chapter 6 details the in-vivo validation of the biosensor signal. This initially involved investigating the possibility of cross-talk between the pyruvate biosensor and a composite blank electrode bi-laterally implanted. Correlation analysis showed that cross-talk was negligible. This was followed by determining the circadian/diurnal changes for pyruvate over a 60 hr recording period. Using in-vitro calibration data the basal extracellular concentration
of pyruvate was estimated to be 197 ± 18 μM, which is within the expected concentration range reported in the literature. The biosensor was sufficiently oxygen independent and highly selective toward pyruvate. Finally, confirmation that the sensor responds to changes in extracellular pyruvate was achieved using local perfusions of 500 mM pyruvate which resulted in an increase in signal. These were also used to confirm that the biosensors remained viable for at least 2 weeks and were thus deemed suitable for chronic in-vivo recording
Disinformation about gender and sexuality and the disputes over the limits of morality
No full textThe article analyses the disinformation circulation in Brazil from its socio-cultural
ground. It examines the false stories about gender and sexuality shared in 2019, arguing
that they take part in a field of moral disputes. The research involved mapping fake news
and rumors regarding these two markers through fact-checking agencies’ databases.
Narratives’ characteristics of false stories were examined by qualitative textual analysis,
and their publication sources were identified by reverse search in search engines. Among
the main findings, it is stated that at least 65 disinformation pieces addressed gender
and sexuality, most of them referring to events that guided the public agenda
Conquering Ida: An Ecofeminist Reading of Catullus’ Poem 63
No full textMany have recognised poem 63 as a study in contrasts – light versus darkness, masculine versus feminine, rationality versus madness, animal versus human, culture versus nature. Caught between these polarities is the figure of Attis, removed from everything bright, male, sane, human, and civilised by one impassioned act. The poem suggests that it is partly the nature of the place, its quasi-Hippocratic airs, waters, and places, that emasculates Attis, making him like a notha mulier, iuvenca , and famula. This article will use ecofeminist theory – in particular, Val Plumwood's Feminism and the Mastery of Nature – to investigate the logic of domination running between the poem's polarities and to show how a foreign ‘Eastern’ wilderness effeminises Greek Attis. Moreover, it will be shown that the characterisation of Attis and the galli as a dux and his comites associates the story with the Roman imperial endeavour, suggesting that we can read the poem alongside others that portray conquest (11, 29) and the experience of young men abroad on provincial cohorts (10, 28, 47). In this way, Catullus implies that the imperial project is also made weak and feminine by its very contact with foreign places
Investigation of Turbulence Modeling for Point-Absorber-Type Wave Energy Converters
No full textReviewing the literature of CFD-based numerical wave tanks for wave energy applications,
it can be observed that different flow conditions and different turbulence models are applied during
numerical wave energy converter (WEC) experiments. No single turbulence model can be identified
as an ‘industry standard’ for WEC modeling. The complexity of the flow field around a WEC, together
with the strong dependency of turbulence effects on the shape, operational conditions, and external
forces, hampers the formulation of such an ‘industry standard’. Furthermore, the conceptually
different flow characteristics (i.e., oscillating, free surface flows), compared to the design cases of most
turbulence models (i.e., continuous single-phase flow), can be identified as a source for the potential
lack of accuracy of turbulence models for WEC applications. This communication performs a first step
towards analyzing the accuracy and necessity of modeling turbulence effects, by means of turbulence
models, within CFD-based NWTs for WEC applications. To that end, the influence of turbulence
models and, in addition, the influence of the initial turbulence intensity is investigated based on
different wave–structure interaction cases considering two separately validated WEC models. The
results highlight the complexity of such a ‘turbulence analysis’ and the study suggests specific future
work to get a better understanding of the model requirements for the flow field around WECs
Place and Destination Branding: A Review and Conceptual Mapping of the Domain
No full textAlthough there is increasing interest in place and destination branding, the inter‐disciplinary nature of the field
poses challenges for the development of a coherent knowledge base. With a view to informing both research and
practice, this article presents a systematic review combining place and destination branding, identifying and defining
its core themes, and developing a conceptual map of the inter‐play between them. The following key themes are
identified: general, brand identity, image and personality, politics, heritage, communication/media, country‐of‐
origin, and designscape and infrastructure. The article concludes with an agenda for further research including
the need for research on specific themes across a wider range of place entities
Effects of an on-board psychosocial programme on stress, resilience, and job satisfaction amongst a sample of merchant seafarers
No full textBackground: Seafarers are an occupational group amongst those at highest risk for stress, which may adversely
affect their mental health. The primary aim of this study was to assess the effects of a psychosocial programme
on perceived stress, resilience, and job satisfaction among a sample of merchant seafarers.
Materials and methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using a work questionnaire administered by
a large shipping company. The matched subjects technique and multivariate analysis of covariance were conducted using a theoretical model of the programme’s effects on job satisfaction, resilience, and perceived stress.
Results: A significant interaction between programme participation and weeks on board indicated that the
effects of weeks on board on perceived stress differed significantly for the intervention group and matched
control group. Weeks on board had a significant effect for perceived stress for the control group (p = 0.02),
but not for the intervention group (p = 0.857).
Conclusions: These findings indicate that participation in the programme moderated the effects of weeks
on board on perceived stress, suggesting that the programme may have safeguarded participants against
the effects of weeks on board on perceived stress. Importantly, however, a work environment that is experienced as supportive, inclusive and just is necessary as a cornerstone for individually-focused psychosocial
interventions to be optimally applied
Exploring network dynamics in science: the formation of ties to knowledge translators in clinical research
No full textFrom an evolutionary economics perspective, knowledge networks are self-organizing systems. Therefore, studying changes of these systems requires an understanding of how such changes are influenced by both the behaviors and characteristics of key individual actors and the network structure. We apply this perspective to a network of investigators (i.e. lead scientists) and a sample of 9543 Phase 2 cancer clinical trials during the period 2002–2012, in order to examine the structure and explore the dynamics of the clinical trial network. Using temporal exponential random graph models, we examine whether preferential attachment, multi-connectivity, or homophily drive the formation of new collaborative relations to knowledge translators - i.e. investigators with basic and clinical research knowledge. Our results suggest that despite some increased connectivity over time the network remains fragmented due to the considerably growing number of investigators in the network. This fragmentation limits opportunities for knowledge transfer to advance clinical trials. We find that homophily in research fields and investigators’ country of affiliation and heterophily in terms of publication output promote the formation of ties to knowledge translators. We find also that multi-connectivity increases the probability of tie formation with knowledge translators while preferential attachment reduces this probability
Driving the European Green Deal in Turbulent Times
No full textThe European Green Deal (EGD) is an ambitious strategy. However, significant events, incidents, and demands, from democratic backsliding in the EU to the Covid‐19 pandemic, are causing the ground to shift underfoot. These events go beyond
ordinary changes or even individual crises, cumulatively fueling a “new normal” of turbulence for the EU, encompassing rapid, unpredictable changes. This turbulence can help and hinder policy design and implementation, requiring policy
actors to think outside the box and beyond the status quo. This article investigates how the European Commission and
other key actors can engage effectively with turbulence to ensure the successful delivery and implementation of the EGD.
The first half of the article strengthens and adapts turbulent governance literature (Ansell & Trondal, 2018). It delineates
how turbulence differs from crisis; expands the forms of turbulence to include horizontal scalar and policy turbulence, as
well as its transversal attribute; and shifts the focus to governing with turbulence rather than against turbulence. The second half undertakes an initial analysis of the EGD in light of turbulence and provides a springboard for further investigations
within this thematic issue and beyond. It is apparent that the EGD is both responding and contributing to a varied landscape
of turbulence. Policy actors must identify and understand the sources of turbulence—including their transversal nature
and the potential for responses to increase turbulence—if they are to effectively govern with turbulence
Duality and modular symmetry in the quantum Hall effect from Lifshitz holography
No full textThe temperature dependence of quantum Hall conductivities is studied in the
context of the AdS/CMT paradigm using a model with a bulk theory consisting of (3+1)-
dimensional Einstein-Maxwell action coupled to a dilaton and an axion, with a negative
cosmological constant. We consider a solution which has a Lifshitz like geometry with a
dyonic black-brane in the bulk. There is an Sl(2,R) action in the bulk corresponding to
electromagnetic duality, which maps between classical solutions, and is broken to Sl(2,Z) by
Dirac quantisation of dyons. This bulk Sl(2,Z) action translates to an action of the modular
group on the 2-dimensional transverse conductivities. The temperature dependence of
the infra-red conductivities is then linked to modular forms via gradient flow and the
resulting flow diagrams show remarkable agreement with existing experimental data on
the temperature flow of both integral and fractional quantum Hall conductivities