NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Fecal steroids as a potential tool for conservation paleobiology in East Africa
No full textConservation paleobiology seeks to leverage proxy reconstructions of ecological com-
munities and environmental conditions to predict future changes and inform management
decisions. Populations of East African megafauna likely changed during the Holocene in
response to trends and events in the regional hydroclimate, but reconstructing these pop-
ulations requires development of new proxies. We examine if fecal steroids are a viable
proxy for megafauna populations since they are well preserved in sedimentary archives.
We measured eleven fecal steroids in 87 fresh dung samples representing 22 species of
megafauna in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (Kenya) and a further seven samples
from captive animals. Using this reference library, four distinctive groups are identified,
which reflect diet and biochemical modification of these inputs during digestion by the
gut microbiome. Carnivore dung is characterized by more than ~ 75% cholesterol and pri-
mate dung includes uniquely high proportions of coprostanol. Two groups of herbivore are
distinguished by their differing proportions of phytosterols that are consumed by eating
plants and 5β-stanols produced during digestion. Under cross validation a random forests
statistical model accurately classified 72% of dung samples to the species level using fecal
steroids. Variability among individuals and between wild and captive animals suggests that
fecal steroids in herbivore dung may reflect diversity and variability in diet, while a lack of
variability in carnivore dung indicates that they cannot be identified to the species level in
most instances. Our results suggest that fecal steroids may have utility in reconstructing the
time-evolving composition megafauna populations in East Africa
The challenge of estimating wildlife populations at scale: the case of the European badger (Meles meles) in Ireland
No full textEstimating population size in space and time is essential for applied ecology and wildlife management purposes; however,
making accurate and precise estimates at large scales is highly challenging. An example is the European badger (Meles
meles), a widespread and abundant mammal in Ireland. Due to their role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis, the
species has been culled in agriculturally dominant landscapes with the intention of reducing spillback infection to local cattle
populations. Despite several studies using different approaches having estimated badger populations at different time points
and scales, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the current population and its future trajectory. To explore
this uncertainty, we use published data and expert opinion to estimate a snapshot of probable badger population size using
a Monte Carlo approach, incorporating variation in three key components: social group numbers, group size, and culling
efficacy. Using this approach, we estimate what the badger population in Ireland would be with/without culling, assuming
a steady-state population at carrying capacity, and discuss the limitations of our current understanding. The mean estimate
for the badger population size was 63,188 (5–95th percentile, 48,037–79,315). Population estimates were sensitive to the
assumption of mean group size across landscape type. Assuming a cessation of culling (in favour of vaccination, for example)
in agricultural areas, the mean estimated population size was 92,096 (5–95th percentile, 67,188–118,881). Despite significant
research being conducted on badgers, estimates on population size at a national level in Ireland are only approximate, which is
reflected in the large uncertainty in the estimates from this study and inconsistencies between recording of data parameters in previous
studies. Focusing on carefully estimating group size, factors impacting its variation, in addition to understanding the dynamics
of repopulation post-culling, could be a fruitful component to concentrate on to improve the precision of future estimates
Chapter 5 - Global surface temperatures
No full textThe Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that warming of the climate system since the start of the instrumental record was unequivocal. While this conclusion does not solely rest upon the surface temperature record, this record is a key aspect underpinning this finding. Herein is discussed the observational evidence basis for increases in global surface temperatures since the start of the instrumental record. This chapter starts by discussing how the measurements have been taken over time. It is then described how necessary efforts to adjust the records to account for time-varying biases have been performed. Resulting global estimates and efforts at quantifying uncertainties therein are then discussed. Changes in temperature extremes are briefly highlighted. This chapter closes with a view to future research directions and innovations
Teaching with and through Stories: Exploring Identities with Children using Narrative Approaches
No full textThe purpose of this self-study action research project (ARP) was to improve my teaching about identities, with identities and for identities while working with children using narrative interventions. I felt my teaching was pitched at a passive or deductive level and did not reflect my values of inclusion, student voice and identity representation within education. I was a student who received an education where not all identities where represented. In fact, many identities were discouraged and forced to be silenced. I truly believe that the vision for education has changed and with the right attitude, hard-work and correct teaching methods, the classroom can become a more inclusive and safe learning environment.
Stories and narratives have long been used as a method to develop a young child’s imagination, engagement, and language and that is why I decided to apply it to my teaching of identity. This approach allowed me to critically reflect on identity development through the idea of the situated self. It enabled me, and the children to engage critically with the concept allowing us to recognise ourselves as individuals shaped by experiences, beliefs, and understandings not only in education, but in the wider world in which education is situated. Therefore, the notion of narrative identity provided the backdrop to my critical reflections.
This research was conducted online with various educational professionals and academics as well as in person in an urban, co-educational Educate Together national school in Ireland which places a strong emphasis on inclusion. The twenty-eight 2nd class children in my care, various educational professionals and academics, as well as my critical friend all acted as participants in the research, with me and my practice as its focus.
My chosen methodology was self-study action research as it is a form of educational research that allows the researcher to put himself at the forefront of the study. I adopted a qualitative approach to data-gathering including student interviews post interventions, interviews with academics and professionals from various educational backgrounds, daily observations and recording my evolving thoughts, opinions, and mindset in my reflective journal. I conducted the research in accordance with ethical research principles in mind while maintaining a commitment to validity and reliability demonstrated within the process of triangulation. My narrative interventions were influenced by Hegarty (2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016,), Jenny Mosley’s (1996) and Winslade & Monk’s (1999) work on narrative approaches to childhood development. It used a story-telling or narrative approach to explore the various identities children may express. There was a focus on open dialogue, questioning and creating professional links with academic involvement.
The findings revealed the importance of affirmation, teacher identity and power as central in the negotiation of identities and its representation in classroom settings. A clear desire to enhance the teaching about and with identities from the Social Personal Health Education, better known as the S.P.H.E. (1999) curriculum was evident from the professional interviews as well as emerging evidence of the effectiveness of using narratives throughout the school day. I concluded that through my practice of using narrative approaches I can increase meaningful engagement in learning about identities for students and teachers alike. Further to this, the research highlighted the opportunity of using narrative interventions to learn more about the students beyond their role as a learner.
As a self-study process this research has had a profound effect on my own practice and understanding as I am more committed to teaching for, with and about identities with children.
How I now teach for, with and about identities aligns more closely with my personal and pedagogical values of inclusion, student voice and identity representation as I am now committed to providing time and spaces where children’s stories can be articulated, heard and responded to throughout their educational journey
How can I, as an early childhood educational leader, cultivate a Community of Practice in my setting?
No full textThe aim of this research was to explore means in which I could enhance my leadership skills by aligning my practice to my values. I value a colleigal environment and socially constructing knowledge with my colleagues. However, I was aware that my values were not reflected in my practice. Through engaging in self-study action research, I could examine my practice, identify methods in which I could enhance it and align my practice with my values.
As this is a self-study action research project, it occurred within my place of work, an early childhood education and care facility. I enlisted the support of a critical friend with nine colleagues from my setting agreeing to participant in the research. The research methodology I used included questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and my reflective journal. These qualitative research tools would enable me to gain the perspective of the participants while including my own learning as a researcher. All ethical considerations were adhered to during this research, these included gaining informed consent from the participants, and the collection and storage of data.
There were three action research cycles within this self-study, all of which focussed on enhancing my communication skills and providing opportunities for the co-construction of knowledge among the team. The data gathered and analysed from these research cycles indicated that the participants wished to engage in communities of practice to enhance their learning, practice, and sense of connection as a team. The data also found that the cultivation of a community of practice must be a deliberate and considerate act to support the involvement of all participants.
However, it also identified the following concerns, my communication skills and sense of identity as a new leader influenced the level of engagement from the participants and at times acted a barrier to engagement among the participants. This emerged from unexpected data and my engagement in meta-reflection. These findings have led me to deeply consider my practice, identity, and values as an early childhood educational leader. Furthermore, they have also supported me in constructing a living theory of my practice by providing a rationale and awareness as to why I had previously engaged in such practice
Investigating the Introduction of Aistear into the Fourth Class Curriculum
No full textThis Action Research project follows and documents the outcomes that arose before, during, and after implementing an 'Aistear' scheme of work in a Fourth Class classroom. The 'Aistear' sessions were carried out with pupils from a Fourth Class in Dublin. The study sets out to answer the following research questions;
1. What advantage would Aistear have on children in the Senior Cycle on their imagination and capacity for independent learning?
2. Would Aistear help further the pupils' understanding of curriculum concepts and skills and thereby enhance their learning and attitudes towards their learning?
Data was collected after each play session and reflected upon in order to make adaptations to future sessions and planning. A variety of data was collected, including pupil's brainstorms, teacher observations (recorded in a reflection diary), pupil's learning logs, and a pre-study and post-study questionnaire. Once all the data had been gathered from the play sessions, it was analysed. I drew some preliminary conclusions about the challenges and benefits of including Aistear in a Fourth Class classroom. The final chapter of this research project consists of a number of insights that I gained from carrying out this study. These insights may inform any teacher who wishes to introduce or re-introduce Aistear in their classrooms in the Primary Senior Cycle
HSPCs display within-family homogeneity in differentiation and proliferation despite population heterogeneity
No full textHigh-throughput single-cell methods have uncovered substantial heterogeneity in the pool of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), but how much instruction is inherited by offspring from their heterogeneous ancestors remains unanswered. Using a method that enables simultaneous determination of common ancestor, division number, and differentiation status of a large collection of single cells, our data revealed that murine cells that derived from a common ancestor had significant similarities in their division progression and differentiation outcomes. Although each family diversifies, the overall collection of cell types observed is composed of homogeneous families. Heterogeneity between families could be explained, in part, by differences in ancestral expression of cell surface markers. Our analyses demonstrate that fate decisions of cells are largely inherited from ancestor cells, indicating the importance of common ancestor effects. These results may have ramifications for bone marrow transplantation and leukemia, where substantial heterogeneity in HSPC behavior is observed
Improving chaos-based pseudo-random generators in finite-precision arithmetic
No full textOne of the widely-used ways in chaos-based cryptography to generate pseudo-random
sequences is to use the least significant bits or digits of finite-precision numbers defined by the chaotic
orbits. In this study, we show that the results obtained
using such an approach are very prone to rounding
errors and discretization effects. Thus, it appears that
the generated sequences are close to random even when parameters correspond to non-chaotic oscillations. In
this study, we confirm that the actual source of pseudo-random properties of bits in a binary representation
of numbers can not be chaos, but computer simulation. We propose a technique for determining the maximum number of bits that can be used as the output of
a pseudo-random sequence generator including chaos-based algorithms. The considered approach involves
evaluating the difference of the binary representation of
two points obtained by different numerical methods of
the same order of accuracy. Experimental results show
that such estimation can significantly increase the performance of the existing chaos-based generators. The
obtained results can be used to reconsider and improve
chaos-based cryptographic algorithms
A reliable chaos-based cryptography using Galois field
No full textChaos-based image encryption schemes have been extensively employed over the past few years. Many issues such as the dynamical degradation of digital chaotic systems and information security have been explored, and plenty of successful solutions have also been proposed.
However, the impact of finite precision in different hardware and software setups has received little attention. In this work, we have shown
that the finite precision error may produce distinct cipher-images on different devices. In order to overcome this problem, we introduce an
efficient cryptosystem, in which the chaotic logistic map and the Galois field theory are applied. Our approach passes in the ENT test suite
and in several cyberattacks. It also presents an astonishing key space of up to 24096. Benchmark images have been effectively encrypted and
decrypted using dissimilar digital devices
Examining the Utility of the Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) for Assessing Social Biases
No full textThe current research was focused on assessing the utility of a new behaviour-analytic implicit
Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST), for the proxy measurement of real-world social
attitudes. In Experiment 1, the FAST was administered to a sample of men and women to
assess the strength of verbal relations (attitudes) regarding gender biases. An explicit measure
of attitudes towards gender was also administered as part of a strategy to establish
preliminary convergent validity for the FAST. In the domain of gender attitudes, the FAST
scores for gender bias converged with those of the explicit measure. However, while male
participants self-reported a greater level of gender bias than the females, the cohort as a
whole was not found to be gender-biased using the implicit measure, nor were the females
when considered alone. This finding was interpreted in terms of System Justification Theory
(SJT) as part of a conceptual bridge building exercise between behaviour analysis and
mainstream social psychology. The predictions of this theory were also employed to
rationalise the need for Experiment 2. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1 within
the context of racial bias amongst a sample of White and Non-White adult participants. The
results showed that the cohort as a whole showed a significant implicit pro-White bias, in line
with the predictions of SJT, as did the Non-White cohort when considered alone. This
provided the FAST with a degree of predictive validity against conceptual frameworks within
the literature. In addition, divergent validity was established through the expected lack of
correlation between self-reports of racial bias and FAST scores. It was concluded that the
FAST may represent an acceptable behaviour-analytic alternative to social cognitive implicit
test methods and may be useful in sensitive research contexts in which self-reports are likely
to be unreliable