NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Urban growth shadows
No full textDoes a location’s growth benefit or suffer from being geographically close to large economic centers? Spatial proximity may lead to competition and hurt growth, but it may also improve market access and enhance growth. Using data on U.S. counties and metro areas for the period 1840–2017, we document this tradeoff between urban shadows and urban access. Proximity to large urban centers was negatively associated with growth between 1840 and 1920, and positively associated with growth after 1920. Using a two-city spatial model, we show that the secular evolution of inter-city and intra-city commuting costs can account for this. Alternatively, the long-run decline in inter-city shipping costs relative to intra-city commuting costs is also consistent with these observed patterns
Time To Go? Head Coach Quits and Dismissals in Professional Football
No full textThat football Head Coaches will be dismissed for poor performance and will quit when they have better outside options seems obvious. But owners may find it hard to distinguish poor performance from bad luck and may find it difficult to identify and attract talented Head Coaches from other clubs even if their current Head Coach is performing below expectations. Equally, Head Coaches may have few options to move to better clubs even when they are performing well. Using rich data on Head Coach characteristics we identify determinants of quits and dismissals across four professional football leagues over the period 2002–2015. We find that Head Coaches’ probabilities of dismissal are significantly lower when the team is performing above expectations, with the effect strongest for recent games. However, in contrast to earlier studies, we find that performing above expectations also reduces the probability of Head Coach quits. Head Coach success in the past, as well as Head Coach experience, reduce the probability of being dismissed, even when conditioning on team performance, suggesting Head Coach human capital has some ‘protective’ effect in managerial careers. Past experience has little effect on quit probabilities—with the exception of tenure at the current employer, which is associated with lower quit rates. We test the robustness of our results by confining estimates to first exits, within-season departures and by dealing with unobserved Head Coach heterogeneity
Lower Limb Muscle Size after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textBackground Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is known to have a number of deleterious efects on lower limb muscle
function. Alterations in muscle size are one such efect that have implications towards reductions in strength and functioning
of the lower limbs. However, a comprehensive analysis of alterations in muscle size has yet to be undertaken.
Objective To systematically review the evidence investigating lower limb muscle size in ACL injured limbs.
Design Systematic review
Data Sources Database searches of Medline, SPORTDiscus, Embase, Cinahl and Web of Science as well as citation tracking
and manual reference list searching.
Eligibility Criteria for Selecting Studies Individuals with ACL defcient or reconstructed limbs with an assessment of lower
limb muscle size and control limb data (contralateral or uninjured control group)
Methods Risk of bias assessment was completed on included studies. Data were extracted and where possible meta-analyses
performed. Best evidence synthesis was also undertaken.
Results 49 articles were included in this review, with 37 articles included in the meta-analyses. 66 separate meta-analyses
were performed using various measures of lower limb muscle size. Across all measures, ACL defcient limbs showed lesser
quadriceps femoris muscle size (d range=− 0.35 to − 0.40), whereas ACL reconstructed limbs showed lesser muscle size
in the quadriceps femoris (d range=− 0.41 to − 0.69), vastus medialis (d=− 0.25), vastus lateralis (d=− 0.31), hamstrings
(d=− 0.28), semitendinosus (d range=− 1.02 to − 1.14) and gracilis (d range=− 0.78 to − 0.99) when compared to uninjured limbs.
Conclusion This review highlights the efect ACL injury has on lower limb muscle size. Regardless of whether an individual
chooses a conservative or surgical approach, the quadriceps of the injured limb appear to have lesser muscle size compared
to an uninjured limb. When undertaking reconstructive surgery with a semitendinosus/gracilis tendon graft, the harvested
muscle shows lesser muscle size compared to the uninjured limb
Engaged genomic science produces better and fairer outcomes: an engagement framework for engaging and involving participants, patients and publics in genomics research and healthcare implementation
No full textGenomic science is increasingly central to the provision of health care. Producing and applying robust genomics knowledge is a complex endeavour in which no single individual, profession, discipline or community holds all the answers. Engagement and involvement of diverse stakeholders can support alignment of societal and scientific interests, understandings and perspectives and promises better science and fairer outcomes. In this context we argue for F.A.I.R.E.R. data and data use that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reproducible, Equitable and Responsible. Yet there is a paucity of international guidance on how to engage publics, patients and participants in genomics. To support meaningful and effective engagement and involvement we developed an Engagement Framework for involving and engaging participants, patients and publics in genomics research and health implementation .
The Engagement Framework is intended to support all those working in genomics research, medicine, and healthcare to deliberatively consider approaches to participant, patient and public engagement and involvement in their work. Through a series of questions, the Engagement Framework prompts new ways of thinking about the aims and purposes of engagement, and support reflection on the strengths, limitations, likely outcomes and impacts of choosing different approaches to engagement. To guide genomics activities, we describe four themes and associated questions for deliberative reflection: (i) fairness; (ii) context; (iii) heterogeneity, and (iv) recognising tensions and conflict.
The four key components in the Engagement provide a framework to assist those involved in genomics to reflect on decisions they make for their initiatives, including the strategies selected, the participant, patient and public stakeholders engaged, and the anticipated goals. The Engagement Framework is one step in an actively evolving process of building genomics research and implementation cultures which foster responsible leadership and are attentive to objectives which increase equality, diversity and inclusion in participation and outcomes
The Legitimacy of Capital Controls during a retreat from Globalisation
No full textCapital controls—measures taken to regulate the outflow or inflow of capital—are employed by governments to maintain financial stability and prevent or mitigate the effects of economic crises. For many decades capital controls were out of favour among economists and policymakers. Of late, however, they have become acceptable, if somewhat controversial, tools of financial policy, with the International Monetary Fund stating that ‘in certain circumstances, [capital controls] can be useful to support macroeconomic adjustment and safeguard financial stability’. Yet, little is known about the legality of capital controls under the various international treaties and rules of international organisations. This article introduces capital controls, traces their evolution over time, considers the success of short-term and long-term controls implemented in Chile, Malaysia, Iceland and China, and examines the consistency of selected controls with international rules and obligations. We suggest treaty language will be the critical factor in determining the legality of a particular capital control under a trade or investment agreement
PhD Vignette: Changes in Society and Scene: An Examination of the Role of Women Performers in Commercial Irish traditional music
No full textThe abstract is included in the text
Ocean Energy Systems Wave Energy Modeling Task 10.4: Numerical Modeling of a Fixed Oscillating Water Column
No full textThis paper reports on an ongoing international effort to establish guidelines for numerical
modeling of wave energy converters, initiated by the International Energy Agency Technology
Collaboration Program for Ocean Energy Systems. Initial results for point absorbers were presented
in previous work, and here we present results for a breakwater-mounted Oscillating Water Column
(OWC) device. The experimental model is at scale 1:4 relative to a full-scale installation in a water
depth of 12.8 m. The power-extracting air turbine is modeled by an orifice plate of 1–2% of the
internal chamber surface area. Measurements of chamber surface elevation, air flow through the
orifice, and pressure difference across the orifice are compared with numerical calculations using
both weakly-nonlinear potential flow theory and computational fluid dynamics. Both compressibleand incompressible-flow models are considered, and the effects of air compressibility are found to
have a significant influence on the motion of the internal chamber surface. Recommendations are
made for reducing uncertainties in future experimental campaigns, which are critical to enable firm
conclusions to be drawn about the relative accuracy of the numerical models. It is well-known that
boundary element method solutions of the linear potential flow problem (e.g., WAMIT) are singular
at infinite frequency when panels are placed directly on the free surface. This is problematic for
time-domain solutions where the value of the added mass matrix at infinite frequency is critical,
especially for OWC chambers, which are modeled by zero-mass elements on the free surface. A
straightforward rational procedure is described to replace ad-hoc solutions to this problem that have
been proposed in the literature
Disseminating early years research: an illustrative case study
No full textPurpose – This paper aims to outline a knowledge translation (KT) case study undertaken as part of a
multi-component research programme aimed at evaluating new parenting supports in the earliest years.
The study aimed to: explore the influencing factors relating to research use in an early years context; and
to use the findings, at least in part, to execute an integrated KT plan – to promote stakeholder
engagement, greater research visibility and to enhance the understanding of findings emerging from the
research programme.
Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-methods study was embedded within a large-scale,
longitudinal research programme. In the present study, a national survey (n = 162) was
administered to stakeholders working with children and families throughout Ireland. A series of oneto-
one interviews were also undertaken (n = 37) to amplify the survey findings. Also, one focus group
was carried out with parents (n = 8) and one with members of the research team (n = 3). Several
dissemination strategies were concurrently developed, executed and evaluated, based partly on
survey and interview findings and guided by the knowledge translation planning template (Barwick,
2008; 2013; 2019).
Findings – The main factors influencing the dissemination of evidence, as identified by the stakeholders –
were: a lack of resources; an under-developed understanding of research use and dissemination;
insufficient collaboration and communication; and conflicting stakeholder priorities. Despite these
challenges, the research programme was found to benefit from a multi-component KT plan to achieve the
outlined dissemination goals.
Practical implications – The KT planning process allowed the research team to be more
accountable, introspective and to work more efficiently. This helped increase the likelihood of more
targeted and successful dissemination of the research findings, delivering a better return on
research investment.
Originality/value – This is the first study of its kind (to our knowledge) to provide important insights for
stakeholders in Ireland and elsewhere about how to improve the dissemination process. Effective KT
planning can ultimately help to bridge the research-policy-practice gap and enable the effective
translation of high-quality evidence in the early years’ sector to enhance outcomes for families in the
shorter and longer-term
Life (online): an introduction to the #AoIR2020 special issue
No full textOur contemporary life is an intertwined arrangement of ‘Life’ with digital technologies. Increasingly, we are seeing the prevalence of automation and machines, predominantly through artificial intelligence (AI), as a means to make sense of our worlds, engage with our employers, understand the political system and interact with our social lives as some of the key methods among a wide variety of other interpersonal communication processes. Not only are these often machine-based activities seen through digital communication itself, but also in the surrounding regulatory systems, the growing concerns of digital inequality, the act of datafication, and the infrastructures that enable and inhibit digital communication. These are some of the key themes that emerged from the selected papers in this special issue emerging from the 2020 Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) conference, entirely held online and themed around ‘Life’. In this special issue, we present seven papers from senior and emerging scholars within Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America that address and unpack the contemporary moment of communication in our Life. The papers in this special issue discuss chatbots, games, smart lighting, wearables, doorbells, sensors, biometrics, and facial recognition technology -–very much everyday technologies that shape many of our lives. They ground our expectations of AI and highlight the importance of context in internet research
