NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Sexual violence in the Irish Civil War: a forgotten war crime?
No full textThis article provides a detailed analysis of conflict-related rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated in the period covering the Irish Civil War and its immediate aftermath. The impact transgressive sexual violence had on individual women attacked, their families and communities, and the direct involvement of the army and government in investigating these cases, is examined. Both the cover up and non-prosecution of heinous attacks on women between 1922 and 1923 raises provocative questions about ethical remembrance and ‘forgotten’ war crimes, in a moment of national commemoration
The role of Connected Health technologies in supporting families affected by paediatric cancer: A systematic review
No full textObjectives: Families impacted by paediatric cancer are met with logistical, financial
and psychological impacts, with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus two
creating additional barriers and stressors for these families. Connected Health (CH)
may facilitate cancer care. The objective of the present study was to systematically
review CH for families/informal caregivers affected by paediatric cancer.
Methods: Using search terms relating to: (1) paediatric cancer, (2) family/caregivers
and (3) CH, the databases of PsycINFO, Pubmed, EMBASE and Web of Science were
searched. Inclusion criteria included an evaluation of CH technologies for supportive
care for families/caregivers affected by paediatric cancer at any stage of
treatment or survivorship.
Results: Sixteen studies met inclusion criteria. CH was primarily web‐based (n ¼ 6),
however smartphone applications (n ¼ 5), telehealth (n ¼ 2) and online groups (n ¼
3) were utilised. Intervention areas included psycho‐social (n ¼ 6), health and information
provision (n ¼ 8) and palliative care (n ¼ 2).
Conclusions: While limited studies have evaluated the impact of CH on families
living with paediatric cancer, emerging evidence suggests potential benefits. More
evidenced‐based interventions are required
Synchronous Nationalisms – Reading the History of Nationalism in South-Eastern Europe Between and Beyond the Binaries
No full textThis article argues that historicising the evolution of nineteenth century nationalisms in South-Eastern Europe allows us to undermine not only binary understandings of nationalism, but also the essentialist reification of a single ideal type as a dominant or exclusive manifestation of nationalism. It draws attention to the competing nationalisms that can be encountered in the area during this period, varying across the spatial and temporal axes, as well as in their espousal by certain groups within the same ‘nation’. The article challenges notions of a temporal lag, constitutive of binary interpretations that identify a
fundamental difference between ‘East’ and ‘West’
Investigating the regulation of plant immunity by the N-degron pathway
No full textCrop losses arising from plant diseases present a major obstacle for efforts to meet the food
demands of a growing global population, and these impacts may be exacerbated by
unprecedented rates of climate change. The Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) contributes
to the regulation of plant immunity and a greater understanding of its role in these processes
could lead to the future development of disease-resistant crops. The N-degron pathway is a
subset of the UPS that relates the stability of a protein to the identity of its N-terminal amino
acid residue. Previous work has revealed distinct roles for the N-degron pathway as a regulator
of plant defence responses (De Marchi
et al., 2016; Gravot
et al., 2016; Vicente
et al., 2018),
although the molecular mechanisms underpinning this activity are not fully understood.
My project aims to elucidate the contribution of specific N-degron pathway enzymatic
components to immunity through complementary approaches in
Arabidopsis thaliana. These
include (i) treatments with purified pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to
unravel the role of the N-degron pathway in pattern triggered immunity (PTI) and (ii)
inoculations with the model pathogen
Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000.
Furthermore, this project aims to establish a foundation for N-degron pathway studies in the
economically important crop
Brassica rapa and transfer knowledge obtained via the
experiments with its close relative
Arabidopsis.
Together, this work has yielded novel insights into the role of the N-degron pathway in the
PTI response of both the
Arabidopsis thaliana model and
Brassica rapa, and may indicate the
molecular mechanisms underlying its contribution to the pathogen response. These findings
should be considered during future efforts to engineer more resilient crops to ensure global
food security
Making Migration Policy to Save Europe
No full textThis thesis is an ethnography of EU migration and asylum policy. It explores questions
relating to how policy makers conceptualise their roles in shaping migration and in shaping
the EU. I have combined fieldwork in Brussels and a Weberian understanding of ethics to
argue that policy workers understand their work as operating with an ethic of responsibility to
save Europe.
An ethic of responsibility is a form of consequentialist ethics that involves basing decisions
on foreseeable results, and each chapter of this thesis demonstrates that policy workers
evaluate migration and asylum policy in terms of the foreseeable results for Europe, that is
they view migration through an EU lens. Making migration and asylum policy to avoid
harming the EU means, for policy workers, avoiding policies that could undermine solidarity
between member states or deepen tensions between the institutions, and choosing policies
that can demonstrate to the public that the “numbers are under control” in order to avoid
fuelling the rise of far right, nationalist and Eurosceptic political parties that challenge
“European values”. Saving the EU is seen as an ethical endeavour because the alternatives
risk posing a threat to the achievements of the EU including the border free Schengen area,
and the EU is considered to be a union of values. This thesis argues that by furnishing
ethnographic depth to the area of migration policy formation we can better understand the
persistence of the policy direction characterised by attachment to border control, and the
motivations of policy makers
Sprinting, Strength, and Architectural Adaptations Following Hamstring Training in Australian Footballers
No full textThe aim of this study was to determine the sprinting, strength, and architectural adaptations following a hip-dominant flywheel (FLY) or Nordic hamstring exercise
(NHE) intervention in Australian footballers. Twenty-seven male athletes were randomized to FLY (n = 13) or NHE (n = 14) training across a 39-week period (inclusive of pre-season and in-season). Biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture
was assessed throughout. Eccentric hamstring strength and 40 m sprint times (with
force-velocity profiling) were assessed at baseline, end of pre-season, and following the intervention. After the intervention, BFlh fascicle length was longer in both
groups compared to baseline (FLY: 1.16 cm, 95%CI: 0.66 to 1.66 cm, d = 1.99,
p < 0.001; NHE: 1.08 cm, 95%CI: 95%CI 0.54 to 1.61 cm, d = 1.73, p < 0.001). Both
groups also increased their eccentric strength (FLY: mean change 82 N, 95%CI 12 to
152 N, d = 1.34, p = 0.026; NHE: mean change 97 N, 95%CI 47 to 146 N, d = 1.77,
p = 0.001). After pre-season, the NHE group improved their 5 m sprint time by 3.5%
(±1.2%) and were 3.7% (±1.4%) and 2.0% (±0.5%) faster than the FLY group across
5 m and 10 m, respectively. At the end of pre-season, the FLY group improved maximal velocity by 3.4% (±1.4%) and improved horizontal force production by 9.7% in season (±2.2%). Both a FLY and NHE intervention increase BFlh fascicle length and
eccentric strength in Australian Footballers. An NHE intervention led to enhanced
acceleration capacity. A FLY intervention was suggested to improve maximal sprint
velocity and horizontal force production, without changes in sprint times. These findings have implications for hamstring injury prevention but also programs aimed at
improving sprint performance
Estimating the conditional probability of developing human papilloma virus related oropharyngeal cancer by combining machine learning and inverse Bayesian modelling
No full textThe epidemic increase in the incidence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) related Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OPSCCs) in several countries worldwide represents a significant public health concern. Although gender neutral HPV vaccination programmes are expected to cause a reduction in the incidence rates of OPSCCs, these effects will not be evident in the foreseeable future. Secondary prevention strategies are currently not feasible due to an incomplete understanding of the natural history of oral HPV infections in OPSCCs. The key parameters that govern natural history models remain largely ill-defined for HPV related OPSCCs and cannot be easily inferred from experimental data. Mathematical models have been used to estimate some of these ill-defined parameters in cervical cancer, another HPV related cancer leading to successful implementation of cancer prevention strategies. We outline a “double-Bayesian” mathematical modelling approach, whereby, a Bayesian machine learning model first estimates the probability of an individual having an oral HPV infection, given OPSCC and other covariate information. The model is then inverted using Bayes’ theorem to reverse the probability relationship. We use data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry, SEER Head and Neck with HPV Database and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), representing the adult population in the United States to derive our model. The model contains 8,106 OPSCC patients of which 73.0% had an oral HPV infection. When stratified by age, sex, marital status and race/ethnicity, the model estimated a higher conditional probability for developing OPSCCs given an oral HPV infection in non-Hispanic White males and females compared to other races/ethnicities. The proposed Bayesian model represents a proof-of-concept of a natural history model of HPV driven OPSCCs and outlines a strategy for estimating the conditional probability of an individual’s risk of developing OPSCC following an oral HPV infection
Sociology in Ireland: Some random reflections
No full text2021 has been a year for looking back as well as forwards. In this article, I reflect on the state of languishing induced by lockdown, and the intensification of uncertainty in our everyday lives. I offer some biographical details of the early years of my career, which has largely been within a single institution, Maynooth University. The late Professor Liam Ryan was my boss and later my friend from 1990 until his death in 2015. His (typically) acerbic insights on the state of Irish sociology were recorded in 1984 for an issue of the Sociological Association of Ireland Bulletin. Re-visiting his prognosis today, I reflect on North–South relations in the discipline, on the challenge of forging a public role for Irish sociology, and on the growth of a precariat within the academic discipline. I conclude with some comments on the enduring relevance of sociology as we come to terms with post-pandemic life
Asexuality and the Potential of Young Adult Literature for Disrupting Allonormativity
No full textThis article examines the representation of asexuality and norms around sex and sexual orientation in contemporary English-language UK and US YA literature. In its multiplicity and radical potential for transforming regimes of compulsory sexuality, asexuality challenges the pervasive allosexual regime of allonormativity (the assumption that all human beings ‘naturally’ experience sexual attraction to other people). In light of the pervasive histories of erasure of asexuality and the still relative scarcity of explicit representations of asexuals in entertainment media and literature, inclusive representation and the explicit naming and recognition of asexuality as a legitimate sexual orientation worthy of respect and recognition are crucial. While sexual attraction is pervasively assumed to be inherent to all humans, sex and sexual attraction have especially been regarded as inherent and necessary to adolescence. Allonormative traditions and conventions have
predominantly underpinned Western YA literature, although this has been increasingly changing with the growing recognition and representation of ace (asexual) and acespec
(people on the asexual spectrum) characters in recent YA fiction, especially in independent publishing and e-publishing. This article aims to contribute to the recognition and analysis of the representation and mediation of asexuality in contemporary YA literature, and to
explore the liberatory and inclusive potential of YA fiction to expose, problematise, and disrupt allonormative norms and hegemonies around sex and sexual orientations
The complex multi-sectoral impacts of drought: Evidence from a mountainous basin in the Central Spanish Pyrenees
No full textWe analyzed the impacts of drought severity on a variety of sectors in a topographically complex basin (the upper
Aragón basin 2181 km2) in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Using diverse data sources including meteorological
and hydrological observations, remote sensing and tree rings, we analyze the possible hydrological implications
of drought occurrence and severity on water availability in various sectors, including downstream impacts on irrigation water supply for crop production. Results suggest varying responses in forest activity, secondary growth,
plant phenology, and crop yield to drought impacts. Specifically, meteorological droughts have distinct impacts
downstream, mainly due to water partitioning between streamflow and irrigation channels that transport
water to crop producing areas. This implies that drought severity can extend beyond the physical boundaries
of the basin, with impacts on crop productivity. This complex response to drought impacts makes it difficult to
develop objective basin-scale operational definitions for monitoring drought severity. Moreover, given the high
spatial variability in responses to drought across sectors, it is difficult to establish reliable drought thresholds
from indices that are relevant across all socio-economic sectors. The anthropogenic impacts (e.g. water regulation
projects, ecosystem services, land cover and land use changes) pose further challenges to assessing the response
of different systems to drought severity. This study stresses the need to consider the seasonality of drought impacts and appropriate drought time scales to adequately assess and understand their complexity