NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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The structure of peritraumatic reactions and their relationship with PTSD among disaster survivors.
No full textPeritraumatic reactions such as fear, psychic and somatoform dissociation, tonic immobility, data-driven processing, and mental defeat are important in the etiology of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However current measures of such reactions overlap conceptually and do not clearly identify distinct peritraumatic processes. It is not known which processes are uniquely associated with PTSD. We investigated the factor structure of six standard peritraumatic measures and their relationship with the four DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters. Measures were administered to 308 earthquake survivors with high levels of exposure to traumatic events. Items comprising the six measures were investigated using exploratory structural equation modeling, which identified five peritraumatic response
factors. Items from most measures loaded on multiple factors. The factors labeled Mental
Defeat and Somatoform Dissociation significantly predicted all PTSD symptom clusters. The factor labeled Cognitive Overload significantly predicted Intrusions, Avoidance, and
Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity. The factor labeled Immobility significantly predicted Intrusions and Avoidance while Distress significantly predicted Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood and Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity. Due to the key role such reactions play in the development of PTSD, the findings are likely to benefit the study of etiological mechanisms, the prediction of those at greatest risk, and the design of preventative
intervention
Promising precarity: the lives of Dublin’s international students
No full textThere has been a considerable growth in the number of international students in Dublin, Ireland. In this paper, we first explore the broader context for this growth, showing the ways in which international student migration to Dublin has been facilitated, and the consequences in terms of the creation of different categories of international student migrants. We then discuss the experiences of international student migrants in Dublin by focusing on precarity and promise. We use Lorey’s tripartite understanding of precarity (2015. States of Insecurity: Government of the Precarious. London: Verso) to show how international student migrants in Dublin experience legal precarisation, economic precarity and personal precariousness. This is, we argue, mitigated by promise (Ahmed 2010. The Promise of Happiness. Durham: Duke University Press), as international student migrants seek to navigate their way through precarity in place. The paper offers important insights into the complexity of international student migration, based on the lived experiences of migrants themselves
A Case of the Governance of Digital Technology in Tax Administration
No full textDespite the growing importance of digital technology in recent years, a holistic view of its governance in tax administration is yet to be clearly articulated. This shortcoming is attributed to the lack of empirical research in this sensitive, yet important, public administration context. Using IT Governance conceptual framework, this case study research examines executive leadership perspectives (Information & Technology, Operations, and Customer Service) on the governance of digital technologies in a European tax administration. Specifically, the study explores the governance capabilities associated with a digital transformation initiative implemented in the tax administration. Findings revealed specific Structural, Decision-making, and Relational capabilities considered important from three disparate, yet complementary leadership views of digital technology governance in tax administration
Inferring the Relationship between Anxiety and Extraversion from Tweets during COVID19 – A Linguistic Analytics Approach
No full textWe investigate the longitudinal relationship between extraversion and experienced state anxiety in a cohort of Twitter users in New York using a linguistic analytics approach. We find that before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, highly extraverted individuals experienced lower state anxiety compared to more introverted individuals. This is in line with previous literature. However, there seem to be no significant differences between individuals after the pandemic announcement, which provides evidence that COVID19 is affecting individuals regardless of their extraversion trait disposition. Finally, a longitudinal examination of the present data shows that extraversion seems to matter more greatly in the early days of the crisis and towards the end of our examined time range. Throughout the crisis, state anxiety did not seem to vary much between individuals with different extraversion dispositions
A weather diary from Donegal, Ireland, 1846–1875
No full textWe present an overview of a weather diary for Glendooen, Co. Donegal in Ireland for the years 1846–1875. The record contains valuable direct observations of temperature and precipitation for the years 1864–1871, together with qualitative descriptions of weather covering the years of the Great Irish Famine and the exceptionally wet year of 1872
Impact of soil salinity on mangrove restoration in a semiarid region: a case study from the Saloum Delta, Senegal
No full textOngoing losses to mangrove forests globally have prompted increased interest in restoration programs that seek to restore vital ecosystem functions and services. In many cases, data on local-scale environmental tolerances of mangrove species used in reforestation efforts is lacking, and failure of restoration projects has been attributed to incorrect species selection in plantations. Here, we assess the impact of soil salinity on the early establishment success of monospecific red mangrove Rhizophora mangle reforestation projects in the Saloum Delta, Senegal, a region where widespread mangrove restoration efforts are ongoing. At soil salinities >60 ppt, stomatal conductance, photosystem II operating efficiency, and growth of planted R. mangle seedlings were severely reduced. Similarly, after 1–3 years, survival of mangrove seedlings decreased in soil salinities of >60 ppt. In contrast, we recorded naturally occurring black mangrove Avicennia germinans growing in exceptionally hypersaline conditions (90 ppt), representing some of the most saline vegetated ecosystems on Earth. The findings reported herein can be used to inform species choice in reforestation projects and help improve success rates of coastal wetland restoration projects in semiarid regions
The velvet protein Vel1 controls initial plant root colonization and conidia formation for xylem distribution in Verticillium wilt
No full texthe conserved fungal velvet family regulatory proteins link development and secondary metabolite production. The velvet domain for DNA binding and dimerization is similar to the structure of the Rel homology domain of the mammalian NF-κB transcription factor. A comprehensive study addressed the functions of all four homologs of velvet domain encoding genes in the fungal life cycle of the soil-borne plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. Genetic, cell biological, proteomic and metabolomic analyses of Vel1, Vel2, Vel3 and Vos1 were combined with plant pathogenicity experiments. Different phases of fungal growth, development and pathogenicity require V. dahliae velvet proteins, including Vel1-Vel2, Vel2-Vos1 and Vel3-Vos1 heterodimers, which are already present during vegetative hyphal growth. The major novel finding of this study is that Vel1 is necessary for initial plant root colonization and together with Vel3 for propagation in planta by conidiation. Vel1 is needed for disease symptom induction in tomato. Vel1, Vel2, and Vel3 control the formation of microsclerotia in senescent plants. Vel1 is the most important among all four V. dahliae velvet proteins with a wide variety of functions during all phases of the fungal life cycle in as well as ex planta
Lessons from Comparison of Hypoxia Signaling in Plants and Mammals
No full textHypoxia is an important stress for organisms, including plants and mammals. In plants,
hypoxia can be the consequence of flooding and causes important crop losses worldwide. In
mammals, hypoxia stress may be the result of pathological conditions. Understanding the regulation
of responses to hypoxia offers insights into novel approaches for crop improvement, particularly for
the development of flooding-tolerant crops and for producing better therapeutics for hypoxia-related
diseases such as inflammation and cancer. Despite their evolutionary distance, plants and mammals
deploy strikingly similar mechanisms to sense and respond to the different aspects of hypoxia-related stress, including low oxygen levels and the resulting energy crisis, nutrient depletion, and
oxidative stress. Over the last two decades, the ubiquitin/proteasome system and the ubiquitin-like
protein SUMO have been identified as key regulators that act in concert to regulate core aspects of
responses to hypoxia in plants and mammals. Here, we review ubiquitin and SUMO-dependent
mechanisms underlying the regulation of hypoxia response in plants and mammals. By comparing
and contrasting these mechanisms in plants and mammals, this review seeks to pinpoint conceptually
similar mechanisms but also highlight future avenues of research at the junction between different
fields of research
Poor people’s beliefs and the dynamics of clientelism
No full textWhy do some poor people engage in clientelism whereas others do not? Why does clientelism sometimes take traditional forms and sometimes more instrumental forms? We propose a formal model of clientelism that addresses these questions focusing primarily on the citizen’s perspective. Citizens choose between supporting broad-based redistribution or engaging in clientelism. Introducing insights from social psychology, we study the interactions between citizen beliefs and values, and their political choices. Clientelism, political inefficacy, and inequality legitimation beliefs reinforce each other leading to multiple equilibria. One of these resembles traditional clientelism, with disempowered clients that legitimize social inequalities. Community connectivity breaks this reinforcement mechanism and leads to another equilibrium where clientelism takes a modern, instrumental, form. The model delivers insights on the role of citizen beliefs for their bargaining power as well as for the persistence and transformation of clientelism. We illustrate the key mechanisms with ethnographic literature on the topic
Health literacy impacts self-management, quality of life and fear of recurrence in head and neck cancer survivors
No full textPurpose Little is known about whether health literacy is associated with affects certain key outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. We investigated (i) the socio-demographic and clinical profile of health literacy and (ii) associations among between health literacy and self-management behaviours, health-related quality of life (HRQL) and fear of recurrence (FoR) in HNC survivors.
Methods A population-based survey was conducted in Ireland. Health literacy was assessed using a validated single-item
question. Socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial outcome variables (FoR, self-management behaviours, HRQL) were collected. Multivariable linear regression was performed to estimate associations between health literacy and each psychosocial outcome. Results Three hundred ninety-five (50%) individuals responded to the survey. Inadequate health literacy was evident among 47% of the sample. In adjusted models, HNC survivors with inadequate health literacy had significantly lower levels of self-management behaviours in the domains of health-directed behaviour, positive and active engagement in life, self-monitoring and
insight, constructive attitudes and approaches and skills and technique acquisition. Inadequate health literacy was independently associated with lower functional well-being and HNC disease-specific HRQL. FoR was also significantly higher among those with inadequate health literacy.
Conclusions HNC survivors with inadequate health literacy have lower levels of self-management behaviours, lower functional HRQL and increased FoR compared to those with adequate health literacy. Implications for Cancer Survivors Clinicians, healthcare providers and those developing interventions should consider how inadequate health literacy among HNC survivors might affect post-treatment outcomes when developing services and providing support for this grou