NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Crises, Coloniality, and Energy Transformations in Puerto Rico.
No full textIncreased attention to inclusive processes and distributed engagement is essential to
ensure injustices are not perpetuated during energy transitions (Bennett et al. 2019;
Markard, Geels & Raven 2020; Newell & Simms 2021; Sovacool 2021). Energy
system change that focuses narrowly on transforming the technical components of
the system without transforming the underlying socio-political dynamics reinforces
power differentials, preventing a more just and equitable future (Stephens 2019).
Crises and disasters provide opportunities for re-envisioning energy systems, but
despite the “windows of opportunity” that such moments present, the changes
brought on by disruptive events are not guaranteed to lead to more just futures
(Birkland 1997; O’Donovan 2017; Ellis 2020; Kinol & Kuhl 2023). The conditions
that make either re-entrenchment or transformation more likely are not well understood, particularly in contexts of coloniality in which power dynamics are highly unequal and decision-making authority is external to the local context. Coloniality
refers to the “long-standing patterns of power that emerged as a result of colonialism, but that define culture, labor intersubjective relations, and knowledge production well beyond the strict limits of colonial administrations” (Maldonado-Torres 2007, p. 243) and, as de Onís (2018) articulates, energy is a critical system in which coloniality operates, particularly due to the extractive nature of energy production (de Onís 2018). Especially after disasters when change is perceived to be “urgent”, transformation may reinforce existing power dynamics and exacerbate inequalities (Blythe et al. 2018; Jones, Kuhl & Matthews 2020; Schipper et al. 2021).Through a case study of Puerto Rico, this chapter explores the ways that crises
have influenced the visions of the future of the energy system for different actors, acknowledging that visioning is a critical component of the transformation process.
This chapter seeks to understand the role of crises in shaping narratives of energy
transitions, and to engage with the literature on climate coloniality to better understand challenges for energy transformation under contexts of coloniality. Hopkinset al. (2020) and Ghosh et al. (2021) call for sustainability transitions scholarship to engage more deeply with post and de-colonial scholarship, and McGowen and Antadze (2023) reflect on how attention to coloniality and the “dark side of trans-
formations” (Blythe et al. 2018) reshape their own previous analysis of sustainability transitions
The dawn and twilight of Old Irish scholarship
No full textEven though the publication of Johann Kaspar Zeuss’s monu-mental Grammatica Celtica (Zeuss 1853) marks the beginning of the modern, scientific study of the Old Irish language, short excerpts of the most important textual witnesses of Old Irish, the so-called Old Irish glosses, preserved in 8th–9th-century manuscripts on the European Continent, had appeared in print since the early 18th century. This article gives an overview of these early publications from the 18thand early 19th century by Johann Georg von Eckhart, Domenico Vallarsi, Lodovico Antonio Muratori, and Vittorio Amedeo Peyron, and assesses their role as early trailblazers inthe study of Old Iris
Access to inner language enhances memory for events.
No full textEvents are temporally bounded experiences involving people, objects, and actions that can be segmented into sequences of smaller, meaningful events (e.g., steps involved in constructing a piece of furniture), but the role of inner language in remembering such events has been unclear. We investigated whether inner language enhances memory for events in a naturalistic, nonverbal task where participants constructed simple models from memory. Across three experiments, we used linguistic suppression in a dual-task paradigm to test whether inner language improved overall memory performance and completion time, additionally exploring the number of events that could be recalled. We found that access to inner language at encoding consistently affected memory performance: when inner language was disrupted at encoding, participants were poorer at recalling the models and remembered fewer events. This effect was present whether or not the number of events to be recalled exceed event memory capacity (estimated as approximately seven to eight events). Critically, linguistic suppression impaired memory performance to a greater extent than a control secondary task that did not affect access to language; that is, impairment was not solely due to dual-task interference. The results support the proposal that inner language enhances event memory via a mechanism of linguistic bootstrapping, which makes event representation more efficient by allowing more information to be encoded in an event model even when language is not being used in the task. These findings therefore extend theories of event memory and add to a growing body of evidence that inner language is a highly valuable cognitive tool
On the expanded repertoire of fungal siderophore utilisation following chemoderivatisation.
No full textDue to a lack of novel antimicrobial development amongst other issues, antimicrobial
resistance (AMR) has been flagged as one of the major threats to human health by the
World Health Organisation. For Aspergillus fumigatus, a lack of specific and sensitive
diagnostic assays increases the risk of the pathogen further. This thesis poses that the
chemoderivatisation of siderophores, iron chelating molecules produced by
microorganisms in response to iron starvation, could be used to develop novel
antimicrobial treatments and diagnostic assays. Siderophore Trojan horse molecules
are known to improve the uptake of antimicrobial compounds. An A. fumigatus
secondary metabolite, gliotoxin (GT) is known to be an antimicrobial toxin, but is also
cytotoxic. GT was modified and conjugated to an A. fumigatus siderophore,
diacetylfusarinine C (FeDAFC), for use as an antimicrobial. A. fumigatus siderophores
were further exploited for their diagnostic potential. Ferricrocin (FeFC) was used as a
hapten and conjugated to a carrier-protein for immunisation. The resulting antisera
was screened for antibodies against FeFC. Antibodies previously developed against
Triacetylfusarinine C (FeTAFC) using a hapten immunogen strategy were used to
develop a one-step ELISA for the detection of FeTAFC in urine, with high specificity.
This antibody was then shown to have antifungal properties against A. fumigatus due
to the binding of FeTAFC, which is essential for its growth and virulence, preventing
uptake of the siderophore. A recombinant esterase, rEstB, for the breakdown of
FeTAFC was produced and shown to have activity against FeTAFC, with the hope of
development as a crop antimicrobial. Finally, a plant derived compound, celastrol,
which has been linked to preventing the production of A. fumigatus siderophores, with
coincubation with the novel compound ADL2022, was shown to have antimicrobial
effects even under iron-replete conditions and to have a significant impact on the
proteome of A. fumigatus
Charting the UK's path to net zero emissions by 2050: Challenges, strategies, and future directions
No full textThe authors explore the various obstacles and possible approaches that the UK may take
to fulfil its goal of having net‐zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The paper thoroughly examines several aspects of this project, such as the modernisation of infrastructure, the energy transition, the economic effects, the obstacles to research and
development, changes in behaviour, and the frameworks for policy and regulation. With a
44% decrease from 1990 levels by 2021, it showcases the UK's noteworthy achievement
in lowering emissions and its ambitious initiatives, such as the £12 billion Ten Point Plan,
to accelerate this development. The difficulties of switching from reliance on fossil fuels
to renewable energy sources, their implications for the economy, and the necessity of
green technology innovation are all covered in the article. It also discusses the behavioural
sides of this shift, highlighting the need to change one's lifestyle and engage the public. To
address these issues, the importance of international cooperation and policymaking is
emphasised. Insights into potential remedies are provided by the article, which includes
energy efficiency initiatives, investments in renewable energy, assistance for clean technology R&D, green funding options, public awareness campaigns, international cooperation, and regulatory frameworks. Every one of these alternatives is examined for
possible effects and obstacles. The article concludes that reaching net zero in the UK is a
complex but necessary objective that calls for a concerted strategy that strikes a balance
between social and economic concerns and environmental sustainability
International scope of biomedical research ethics review
No full textIn the context of biomedical research involving human subjects, the review of research proposals by ethics committees in virtually every country has traditionally focused on informed consent and other protections for individuals participating in research ( 1 ). However, the substantial societal implications of modern biomedical research and the globalization of scientific inquiry make it important to understand whether research ethics review in each country addresses both individual and societal issues. Knowledge of the practices internationally can promote understanding and can suggest possible innovations for specific countries. Below, we explore three related issues: (i) whether biomedical research ethics review considers the societal and long-term implications of the research, (ii) whether bodies charged with performing research ethics reviews are appropriate to consider these issues, and (iii) the feasibility and likely support for embedding multidisciplinary researchers with scientists to study societal and long-term implications. We address current regulatory policies and offer comments about possible changes
Investigation and analysis of demand response approaches, bottlenecks, and future potential capabilities for IoT‐enabled smart grid
No full textSignificant attempts have been made to make the electrical grid more intelligent and responsive to better meet customers' requirements while boosting the stability and efficiency of current power systems. Smart grid technologies, which have just recently emerged, facilitated the incorporation of demand response (DR) by introducing an information and communication backbone to the current system. The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a key technology for smart energy grids. Security concerns have emerged as a major obstacle to the widespread adoption of IoT‐enabled devices because of the inherent Internet connectivity of these smart gadgets. Therefore, security is a crucial factor to address before the widespread implementation of IoT‐based devices in power grids. In this study, the framework and architecture of smart grids that are enabled by the IoT are first examined. Then, the role of IoT for DR in smart grids and different approaches adopted worldwide to make DR schemes more effective, have been discussed in detail. Finally, the authors discuss how IoT‐enabled smart grids can benefit from cutting‐edge solutions and technologies that make them more secure and resistant to cyber and physical attacks
Lawful, but not Really: The Dual Character of the Concept of Law
No full textDisagreement on law’s relationship to morality has long been driven by disagreement about our ordinary concept. Until recently, however, there had been no systematic investigation of lay intuitions. In this paper, we advance this nascent effort. Across two studies (N = 697), our findings reveal that most people consider law to be more than a matter of political circumstance alone. Contrary to the expectations of most contemporary philosophers, morality (both substantive and procedural) emerges as a key influence on judgments of legal validity: many people say that conduct prohibited by immoral statutes is not truly illegal, and that immoral conduct which was never explicitly prohibited is truly illegal. This suggests that people often treat law as a dual character concept that, like the concepts of scientist or of artist, features autonomous concrete and abstract dimensions
A Dilemma for Proceduralist Theories of Democracy: Elected Delegates or Elected Monarchs?
No full textEmphasizing the intrinsic value of formal political equality, a prominent strand of democratic theory—proceduralism—sharply disassociates democracy from substantive justice. This paper elucidates a resultant dilemma: that proceduralism is either underinclusive in its exclusion of robust forms of representative democracy or overinclusive in its inclusion of elective dictatorship. I show how the horns of this dilemma respectively derive from different conceptions of political equality: the standard view, which foregrounds the choice of legislative text itself, and an alternative view, drawn from Robert Dahl’s model of “procedural democracy,” which privileges the choice of procedure by which to resolve disagreement over the choice of text. Conceiving of democracy in terms of political equality alone leads to a rigid characterization of the elected legislature either as an institution whose structure is entirely open or as a mechanism for enacting citizens’ wishes that denies legislators their intuitive input
Effect of Drought Stress on the Physiology and Early Growth of Seven Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton Provenances
No full textDecline of Senegalia senegal (Acacia senegal) in its natural range has been observed
and attributed mainly to harsh environmental conditions such as frequent drought occurrences. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of water stress on growth, biomass allocation and photosynthetic capacity in Senegalia senegal seedlings. Seeds were
collected from seven provenances in Senegal and grown under greenhouse conditions
in a randomized complete block design with 5 replications. Seedlings were subjected to
three cyclic droughts by watering them when average soil moisture content dropped to
4.7%, 2.7%, and 2.1% during the first, second, and third dry down cycles, respectively.
With the exception of net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration at
the second and third dry down cycles, no drought by provenance interaction was found
for any trait measured. Ngane provenance had a lower root/shoot ratio and allometric
analysis revealed that Ngane allocated less biomass to roots than shoots. Ngane developed
superior growth traits and biomass production, despite similar net photosynthetic rate with
other provenances before treatments started. Overall, drought stress significantly reduced
biomass, stem height, diameter and leaf gas exchange. Total biomass was reduced by
28.5%, whereas root/shoot ratio was increased by 25% compared to control. Significant
interaction on leaf gas exchanges at the second and third dry down cycles reveals different
sensitivity levels to drought among provenances with the Ranerou provenance exhibiting
no decline in leaf gas exchange. No significant difference of stomatal limitation among
genotypes was found, which is indicative of the complex process of photosynthesis and
the need for extended times scales for measurements to better depict physiological sensitivity of Senegalia senegal to drought