NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Enhancing Social and Emotional Learning Through Social Skills Groups: A Primary School Perspective
No full textMental health issues among children have been on the rise over the past few years, however, the pandemic has accelerated this issue. The Irish Medical Journal (2021) presented figures obtained from the three public Paediatric Emergency Departments in the greater Dublin region. The stark figures highlight mental health presentations by children aged five to fifteen increased by 52.4% during July and August last year, 2020, compared to the corresponding period for 2019. However, statistics also show that we have inadequate services deal with such numbers. As of July 2021, the Freedom of Information Act (2014) obtained figures from The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which highlighted that 2,559 children were currently awaiting an appointment in their services. 251 children had been waiting for more than 12 months. This particular statistic struck me as earlier in 2021 I was seeking help for a child in my class, however I was advised by another professional that only severe cases where children were harming themselves were being cared for at the moment. It is not the under-resources services at fault. It is our lack of resources as a nation to help, that leads to a need for a serious review of our systems.
With a particular focus on the social and emotional development of the children in my class, using a self-study approach within an action research framework, I reflected on my practice with an aim to live closer to my values in the classroom. I aimed to improve the social and emotional learning in my classroom. As an intervention, I set up child-led social skills groups. These are groups carried out in a small group setting over six weeks. Through collaboration with the children I began to see my values of voice, care and respect being realised. The self-study action research process has enhanced my awareness and understanding of the social emotional experience of some of the children in my care and improved my personal and professional development. The research findings have also highlighted that the children feel more valued, heard and seen within the class now. In this study the children acted as co-researchers, making this a collaborative study.
The research study was interrupted due to school closures from January to March imposed by Covid-19. However, as a contingency plan, we took the groups online and cycle one was completed through an online platform. The intervention of social skills groups facilitated the enhancement of social and emotional learning in my classroom. It also emphasised the importance of child voice, autonomy and agency within their learning. This intervention allowed the children to take ownership over their own learning through identifying their own needs.
Thematic Analysis revealed prior assumptions which I had when choosing which children to be part of the groups, it highlighted the importance of child voice within their learning along with the need for autonomy and agency for the children in their learning experiences. These findings enlightened me towards new ways of thinking and planning. It led to a transformation in my teaching, guiding me towards a pedagogy of valuing child voice, agency and autonomy throughout my lessons. It also led to a transformation in my thinking about my assumptions while choosing participants for a social skills group. I hope that this study had made a difference to a child somewhere in my care and across the wider school community
How can I, as a Froebelian Teacher, practice Active and Experiential Learning in an Irish- Language Early Immersion Education (Luath-Tumoideachas) Setting?
No full textThe purpose of this Self-Study Educational Practitioner Research (SSEPR) Project
(Huxtable & Whitehead, 2021) was to identify how I can improve and adapt my
practice in language instruction in order to align my practice with my Froebelian
values. This research project took place in an Irish-Language early-immersion, or
tumoideachas, setting. It was undertaken in response to the identification of a ‘livingcontradiction’
(Whitehead, 2011) within my own practice and in order to navigate and
create my own ‘living-educational-theory’ (Huxtable & Whitehead, 2021) of
language instruction.
This SSEPR project was grounded in action-research methodologies and is an account
of both my professional and personal learning journeys. This thesis documents an
adaptation of my language teaching methodologies through critically reflective
practice, and the examination of my assumptions and values.
The intervention for this research project, called Fiontar Froebelach, was designed
following the identification of my ontological values of the importance of life-long
and active learning, compassion and understanding, and my epistemological belief
that all learners are knowledge creators. Fiontar Froebelach involved using active
and experiential approaches to language learning in a Junior Infant Classroom.
Through incorporating a thematic approach to teaching, providing opportunities for
the students to play with their language and engaging with nature and outdoor
learning, the aim of the study was to evaluate if the children’s understandings of their
roles as language learners was affected.
In addition to the children in the class who volunteered to take part in this SSEPR,
this research encompassed engagement from many secondary partners in order to add
to the reliability and validity of the research. Such secondary partners included: A
Learning Partner, Critical Friends and Critical Observers.
Through vigorous data collection and a thematic analysis, a number of findings
emerged in relation to my learning and the learning of the students. The intervention
proved effective in enhancing the students’ perceptions of themselves as language
learners, in these circumstances. It also proved to be effective in the adaptation of my
practice and contributed to the development of my own ‘living-educational-theory’
(Huxtable & Whitehead, 2021) of language development. This study has the potential
to contribute to the field of practitioner-based early-immersion education research and
towards the enhancement of my own practice, along with the policies and practices in
my school
Fail to Prepare and you Prepare to Fail: the Human Rights Consequences of the UK Government’s Inaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textAs the sustained and devastating extent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic becomes apparent, a key focus of public scrutiny in the UK has centred on the novel legal and regulatory measures introduced in response to the virus. When those measures were first implemented in March 2020 by the UK Government, it was thought that human rights obligations would limit excesses of governmental action and that the public had more to fear from unwarranted intrusion into civil liberties. However, within the first year of the pandemic’s devastation in the UK, a different picture has emerged: rather than through action, it is governmental inaction that has given rise to greater human rights concerns. The UK Government has been roundly criticized for its inadequate response, including missteps in decision-making, delayed implementation and poor enforcement of lockdown measures, abandonment of testing, shortages of critical resources and inadequate test and trace methods. In this article, we analyse the UK Government’s missteps and compare them with published international guidance; we also contrast the UK’s decisions with those taken by several other countries (including the devolved administrations within the UK) to understand how its actions and inactions have contributed to unfavourable outcomes. Using an analytical perspective that demonstrates how human rights are both a protection from the power of the state and a requirement that governmental powers are used to protect the lives, health and wellbeing of citizens, we argue that the UK Government’s failure to exercise their powers competently allowed the virus to spread without ensuring the country had the means to manage a high case load. This abject failure has led to one of the highest rates of deaths per capita worldwide. We offer several lessons that can be learnt from this unfortunate, but preventable, situation
Some Remarks about Entropy of Digital Filtered Signals
No full textThe finite numerical resolution of digital number representation has an impact on the
properties of filters. Much effort has been done to develop efficient digital filters investigating the
effects in the frequency response. However, it seems that there is less attention to the influence in the
entropy by digital filtered signals due to the finite precision. To contribute in such a direction, this
manuscript presents some remarks about the entropy of filtered signals. Three types of filters are
investigated: Butterworth, Chebyshev, and elliptic. Using a boundary technique, the parameters of
the filters are evaluated according to the word length of 16 or 32 bits. It has been shown that filtered
signals have their entropy increased even if the filters are linear. A significant positive correlation
(p < 0.05) was observed between order and Shannon entropy of the filtered signal using the elliptic
filter. Comparing to signal-to-noise ratio, entropy seems more efficient at detecting the increasing
of noise in a filtered signal. Such knowledge can be used as an additional condition for designing
digital filters
When Eurosceptics become Europhiles: far-right opposition to Turkish involvement in the European Union
No full textTurkey’s involvement in the European Union has long provoked controversy among Europe’s elites. Recently, in the context of the so-called ‘migrant crisis’, coupled with the mainstreaming of Islamophobia and rising Euroscepticism, the issue of Turkey has acquired renewed significance. While many scholars have linked hostility towards Turkey with the desired construction of a supra-national European identity, few have noted the role it plays in the discourse of parties that explicitly reject the EU. Adopting a mixed-methods approach to Critical Discourse Studies, this paper investigates the contemporary construction of Turkey as a dangerous ‘other’ by far-right parties in the United Kingdom (UKIP) and France (FN/RN). Drawing on theories of Orientalism, Islamophobia and civilisationism, it exposes the apparent contradiction in the strongly Eurosceptic positions adopted by these parties, while simultaneously rejecting Turkish involvement based on its supposed ‘non-Europeanness’. They thus become defenders of Europe while simultaneously undermining the supra-national EU project
‘I myself delight in Miss Edgeworth’s novels’: Gender, Power and the Domestic in Lady Gregory’s Work
No full textAugusta Gregory used her power in the domestic sphere as a mechanism for effecting change in the public sphere. Her career as a writer was forged by her creative responses to her private life: marriage at the age of twenty-eight to William Gregory; an important love affair with Wilfred Scawen Blunt; the freedom and responsibility that came with being widowed at just thirty-nine years of age. Recently, with a focus on Gregory’s relationships with Sir William, Blunt and Gregory’s protégé, W. B. Yeats, Lucy McDiarmid shows how, ‘surrounded by men and pleasing them, Lady Gregory created a public voice for herself and entered the world of professional authorship’
What increase in modern contraceptive use is needed in FP2020 countries to reach 75% demand satisfied by 2030? An assessment using the Accelerated Transition Method and Family Planning Estimation Model
No full textBackground: Sustainable Development Goal 3.7 aims to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services. One suggested benchmark is to have at least 75% of the demand for contraception satisfied with modern methods (DS) in all countries by 2030. The translation of DS-based targets into targets for the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) is needed to make targets actionable.
Methods: We propose the Accelerated Transition (AT) method for determining the mCPR needed to reach demand-satisfied targets by 2030. The starting point for this method is the projection of DS under “business as usual” using the one-country implementation of the Family Planning Estimation Model (FPEMcountry). For countries in which the DS target is projected to be later than 2030, the AT method assumes that meeting the DS target by 2030 requires an acceleration of the contraceptive use transition such that the DS target, and its associated mCPR, will be reached in 2030 as opposed to the later year. The DS-target-associated mCPR becomes the mCPR target for the year 2030.
Results: We apply the AT method to assess progress needed for attaining the 75% DS target for married or in-union women in the world’s poorest countries. For 50 out of 68 countries, we estimate that accelerations are needed, with required mCPR increases ranging from 4.3 to 50.8 percentage points.
Conclusions: The AT method quantifies the acceleration needed – as compared to business as usual projections – for a country to meet a family planning target. The method can be used to determine the mCPR needed to reach demand-satisfied targets
Antimicrobials offered from nature: Peroxidase-catalyzed systems and their mimics
No full textThe control of antimicrobial resistance requires the development of novel antimicrobial alternatives and naturally occurring peroxidase-catalyzed systems may be of great value in this era of emerging antimicrobial resistance. In the peroxidase system, a peroxidase enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of a halide/pseudohalide, at the expense of hydrogen peroxide, to generate reactive products with broad antimicrobial properties. The appropriate use of peroxidase systems needs a better understanding of the identities and properties of the generated antimicrobial oxidants, specific targets in bacterial cells, their mode of action and the factors favoring or limiting their activity. Here, the ABCs (antibacterial activity, bacterial “backtalk” and cytotoxicity) of these systems and their mimics are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the concomitant use of thiocyanate and iodide dual substrates in peroxidase/peroxidase-free systems with implications on their antimicrobial activity. This review also provides a summary of actual applications of peroxidase systems as bio-preservatives in oral healthcare, milk industry, food/feed specialties and related products, mastitis and wound treatment; lastly, this review points to opportunities for further research and potential applications
Neoliberalization, De-democratization, and Populist Responses in Western Europe, the US, and Latin America
No full textThis article argues that multipronged de-democratization processes over the course of neoliberal projects fostered unstable democratic equilibria in Western and Latin American democracies, opening space for populist leaders and parties to emerge. To comprehend the variation in the nature of populists that gained support, the form of neoliberalization process in each region and the consequent impacts on traditional party systems is accounted for. Moreover, the impact of region-specific factors on populist forms such as economic crises, immigration levels, and the existence of progressive social movements are accounted for. The conflux of neoliberal de-democratization, austerity, and immigration fostered a conservative nativist-populism in Western cases. In Latin America, neoliberal de-democratization and austerity, in the presence of powerful popular movements, witnessed the emergence of a more progressive populism
Novel alternative ribonucleotide excision repair pathways in human cells by DDX3X and specialized DNA polymerases
No full textRemoval of ribonucleotides (rNMPs) incorporated into the genome by the ribonucleotide excision repair (RER) is essential to avoid genetic instability. In eukaryotes, the RNaseH2 is the only known enzyme able to incise 5' of the rNMP, starting the RER process, which is subsequently carried out by replicative DNA polymerases (Pols) δ or ϵ, together with Flap endonuclease 1 (Fen-1) and DNA ligase 1. Here, we show that the DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX3X has RNaseH2-like activity and can support fully reconstituted in vitro RER reactions, not only with Pol δ but also with the repair Pols β and λ. Silencing of DDX3X causes accumulation of rNMPs in the cellular genome. These results support the existence of alternative RER pathways conferring high flexibility to human cells in responding to the threat posed by rNMPs incorporation