NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Smartphone Sensing of Road Surface Condition and Defect Detection
No full textRoad surface condition is vitally important for road safety and transportation efficiency. Conventionally, road surface monitoring relies on specialised vehicles equipped with professional devices, but such dedicated large-scale road surveying is usually costly, time-consuming, and prohibitively difficult for frequent pavement condition monitoring—for example, on an hourly or daily basis. Current advances in technologies such as smartphones, machine learning, big data, and cloud analytics have enabled the collection and analysis of a great amount of field data from numerous users (e.g., drivers) whilst driving on roads. In this regard, we envisage that a smartphone equipped with an accelerometer and GPS sensors could be used to collect road surface condition information much more frequently than specialised equipment. In this study, accelerometer data were collected at low rate from a smartphone via an Android-based application over multiple test-runs on a local road in Ireland. These data were successfully processed using power spectral density analysis, and defects were later identified using ak-means unsupervised machine learning algorithm, resulting in an average accuracy of 84%. Results demonstrated the potential of collecting crowdsourced data from a large population of road users for road surface defect detection on a quasi-real-time basis. This frequent reporting on a daily/hourly basis can be used to inform the relevant stakeholders for timely road maintenance, aiming to ensure the road’s serviceability at a lower inspection and maintenance cost
Queer Linguistics in dialogue with Critical Disability Studies in Latin America. A case study of the Colombian press
No full textThis article aims to present the developments of Queer Linguistics (LQ) and examine its potentialities in the study of the representation of sexual and gender minorities in the Spanish-speaking Latin American media industry. In particular, these potentialities are based on relating the LQ with critical studies of disability. To achieve this objective, a case study of the representation of a disabled trans woman in the Colombian written and audiovisual press is presented. The analysis shows that the press individualizes the becoming trans disabled and hides the causes, the agents, the discrimination and the precariousness that produce the weakening of these subjectivities. In this way, an intersectional, critical and decolonial queer linguistics is proposed that contributes to the study of the discursive construction of cisheteronormativity and its intersectionalities, especially those that are articulated with corporality and disability
Cuerpo y discapacidad en el cine colombiano reciente. El caso dePorfirio(2019) de Alejandro Landes
No full textIn this article I propose an interpretation of the recent Colombian cinema from a
perspective that combines Queer Theory with Disability Studies. For this, I take as a
case study the film Porfirio (2011) by Alejandro Landes. The analysis focuses on three
areas: firstly, I discuss recent Colombian cinema and establish the importance of
addressing the construction of (physical) disability in that cultural industry. Subsequently, I examine the way in which sexuality, the body and disability are articulated in Landes’ film through an analysis of their visual grammar. Finally, I establish
the (sociopolitical) contributions that this film generates in the current Colombian
context when a queer/ crip affective approach is assumed. In this way, this paper seeks
to promote more extensive research on the representation of (physical) disability in
Colombian cinema created in recent decades and, in particular, how it produces
affects and effects in Colombian conflictive society
Older people’s aspirations for the aftermath of COVID-19: Findings from the WISE study
No full textFor many older people around the globe, the COVID-19
pandemic has highlighted accessibility issues and pervasive
inequalities across multiple social, economic and health
dimensions. The aim of the present study is to explore older
people’s perspectives about what we should learn from this
pandemic and how to build a better future
Examining the Impact that Mental Health Services, Youth Resources and Facilities within the Education System and Communities of Low Socio-Economic Areas can have on Youth Delinquency and Anti-Social Behaviour.
No full textThe aim of this study is to examine the impact that mental health services, youth resources and
facilities within the education system and communities of low socio-economic areas can have
on youth delinquency and anti-social behaviour. Areas that are considered low socio-economic
areas are often stigmatised and deemed to have an influx in crime rates compared to more
affluent areas (Masho et al., 2019). Crime rates and poverty may not be directly related, but
there is a correlation between lower class areas and criminal activity (Blau & Blau, 1982).
There can be many reasons as to why there may be higher crime rates within these areas,
however one that will be critically analysed throughout this paper is the role of youth resources
and mental health facilities as a deterrent to crime, as well as the availability of these within
disadvantaged areas of the community. A qualitative study was carried out by semi structured
interviews with ten participants who work directly with youth under the ages of eighteen, five
secondary school teachers and five scout leaders. The data collected was then analysed by using
the method of a thematic analysis to deduct several reoccurring themes. The method of data
collection chosen for this research was participant interviews which were chosen due to the
variety and richness of first-hand information that can be gathered by this method. Snowball
sampling was used to gather participants for this research. This method provided access to
participants who have had first-hand experiences with individuals under the age of eighteen.
These interviews allowed in-dept, personal experiences of working with youth to be collected,
which is beneficial to the area of research. The methods used within this research paper are an
overall strength to the study as this qualitative data is ideal for gathering personal opinions and
views on social topics such as juvenile offending and youth resources within lower
socioeconomic areas. Throughout many of the interviews the issues of lack of awareness of
mental health facilities as well as the importance of extracurricular activities and structure
arose. Many participants focused heavily on the mental health aspect of this research and
discussed the importance of intervention and positive mental wellbeing within schools as well
as outside of the educational system. It was concluded from this study that participants had a
strong opinion on the importance of youth clubs and extracurricular activities in regard to the
aid they provide in deterring youth from delinquency and antisocial behaviour within the
community. Participants, both scout leaders and teachers emphasised the importance of mental
health and how positive programmes and information on the topic of mental health awareness
could be implemented through the community as well as through youth resources. The
information gathered throughout this study could support recommendations to aid with mental wellbeing of young individuals and further aid with deterring youth from delinquent behaviour
and entering the criminal justice system, not solely within lower socio-economic areas
A Scoping Review of Augmented/Virtual Reality Health and Wellbeing Interventions for Older Adults: Redefining Immersive Virtual Reality
No full textAugmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies are regularly used in psychology
research to complement psychological interventions and to enable an individual to feel as if
they are in an environment other than that of their immediate surroundings. A scoping
review was performed to identify how AR/VR was being used with older adult populations
to impact their physical and mental health. The review also sought to determine whether
the terminology used in AR/VR research was consistent. The results show that 65 studies
have been published in the last 20 years that meet the inclusion criteria (virtual/augmented
reality) technology to impact older adults’ physical/mental health and wellbeing.
Participants included healthy, physically, and cognitively impaired, and emotionally
vulnerable older adults. We argue that over 70% of the studies included in this review
were mislabeled as VR and only six papers included fully immersive VR/AR. The remaining
studies use less immersive variants of virtual reality with their populations, and only one
study made use of AR, which prompted the suggestion of a new definition for virtual reality.
This paper also calls for an updated taxonomy of augmented and virtual reality definitions
to address the lack of consistency found in studies that identify themselves as AR/VR when
they are using less immersive technical set-ups, including displaying non-interactive videos
on 2D screens
Working with Young People at Risk of Suicidal Behaviour and Self-Harm: A Qualitative Study of Australian General Practitioners’ Perspectives
No full textGeneral Practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in the identification and support of young people at risk of suicidal behaviour and self-harm; however, no studies have explored GPs’ perspectives, approaches, challenges, and resource needs when working with this cohort in an Australian setting. This was a qualitative study where fifteen GPs (Mage = 45.25 years) from multiple clinics in Western Australia took part in semi-structured interviews, and data were analysed thematically. Seven main themes were identified: (1) working with young people has its unique challenges; (2) screening and assessment tools can help to manage uncertainty and discomfort; (3) going beyond tools–the dialogue and relationship are most important; (4) there are limits to what we can offer in the time available; (5) the service access and referral pathways lack clarity and coordination; (6) the provision of mental health support should not fall on GPs alone; and (7) more comprehensive training in suicide and self-harm is needed. The findings highlight a number of opportunities to enhance care and better assist GPs working with young people who present with suicidal behaviour and self-harm, including considerations for conducting assessments, targeted resources such as training, and system and service improvements
Opening the black box of implementing activation in Ireland
No full textThis paper focuses on Ireland’s ‘activation turn’ and the roll-out of the Pathways to Work policy, contextualising these reforms within recent international developments in activation. Using a qualitative approach, the study explores the perceptions of a range of key stakeholders – jobseekers,
employment guidance practitioners, employment service managers, ancillary services and policymakers – offering some important insights into Ireland’s
move towards activation and the implementation of Pathways to Work. Three overarching themes were identified: depersonalisation, the missing ‘how to’ of
implementation, and the reform agenda. These findings, although tentative, provide a new understanding of the perceptions of key stakeholders, described
as ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’, and their views about both implementation and perceived effectiveness
Ethics review of big data research: What should stay and what should be reformed?
No full textBackground
Ethics review is the process of assessing the ethics of research involving humans. The Ethics Review Committee (ERC) is the key oversight mechanism designated to ensure ethics review. Whether or not this governance mechanism is still fit for purpose in the data-driven research context remains a debated issue among research ethics experts.
Main text
In this article, we seek to address this issue in a twofold manner. First, we review the strengths and weaknesses of ERCs in ensuring ethical oversight. Second, we map these strengths and weaknesses onto specific challenges raised by big data research. We distinguish two categories of potential weakness. The first category concerns persistent weaknesses, i.e., those which are not specific to big data research, but may be exacerbated by it. The second category concerns novel weaknesses, i.e., those which are created by and inherent to big data projects. Within this second category, we further distinguish between purview weaknesses related to the ERC’s scope (e.g., how big data projects may evade ERC review) and functional weaknesses, related to the ERC’s way of operating. Based on this analysis, we propose reforms aimed at improving the oversight capacity of ERCs in the era of big data science.
Conclusions
We believe the oversight mechanism could benefit from these reforms because they will help to overcome data-intensive research challenges and consequently benefit research at large
A New Approach to Homogenize Global Subdaily Radiosonde Temperature Data from 1958 to 2018
No full textThis study develops an innovative approach to homogenize discontinuities in both mean and variance in global subdaily radiosonde temperature data from 1958 to 2018. First, temperature natural variations and changes are estimated using reanalyses and removed from the radiosonde data to construct monthly and daily difference series. A penalized maximal F test and an improved Kolmogorov–Smirnov test are then applied to the monthly and daily difference series to detect spurious shifts in the mean and variance, respectively. About 60% (40%) of the changepoints appear in the mean (variance), and ~56% of them are confirmed by available metadata. The changepoints display a country-dependent pattern likely due to changes in national radiosonde networks. Mean segment length is 7.2 (14.6) years for the mean (variance)-based detection. A mean (quantile)-matching method using up to 5 years of data from two adjacent mean (variance)-based segments is used to adjust the earlier segments relative to the latest segment. The homogenized series is obtained by adding the two homogenized difference series back to the subtracted reference series. The homogenized data exhibit more spatially coherent trends and temporally consistent variations than the raw data, and lack the spurious tropospheric cooling over North China and Mongolia seen in several reanalyses and raw datasets. The homogenized data clearly show a warming maximum around 300 hPa over 30°S–30°N, consistent with model simulations, in contrast to the raw data. The results suggest that spurious changes are numerous and significant in the radiosonde records and our method can greatly improve their homogeneity