NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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New extractive frontiers in Ireland and the moebius strip of wind/data
No full textThis article maps the interconnections between two emergent resource frontiers in Ireland: wind and data. Adding to literature about extraction and extractivism, we account for how these expanded extractive frontiers are mobilised within self-sustaining and automated formations. In Ireland, digital infrastructures such as data centres are developed by multinational tech companies to avail of a naturally cool climate and business environment friendly to their investment, part of a wider extractive system by which data are made valuable for their expansive operations. Wind farms similarly make use of Ireland’s climate to generate energy, often used to power digital infrastructures, and are increasingly embedded within ‘smart’ energy and data systems. Wind and data are seen discretely as ‘abundant’ resources, their infrastructures built on terra or (offshore) mare nullius, and their operations ‘green’. However, their infrastructures are entangled with non-renewable energy systems and tax evasive capital, and built across existing communities and environments through policy, planning logics and increasingly automated methods of maintenance and optimisation. Through what we call ‘the moebius strip of wind/data’, wind and data infrastructures are increasingly formidable in dictating our energy futures. In this article, we articulate how they are connected and how we can disentangle them, especially in their operation across urban and rural geographies
Effects of climate change on the Atlantic Heat Conveyor relevant to the UK
No full textThe Atlantic Heat Conveyor or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a major factor in maintenance of the climate and marine environment of the UK.
The AMOC is predicted to weaken in the coming century due to
climate change. The AMOC is currently in a weakened state and the subpolar North Atlantic appears to be entering a cool (and fresh) state. However, record cold temperatures in 2015 were found to be driven largely by air–sea heat loss rather than reduced AMOC. Large biogeographical and climatic shifts are expected in response to this shift to cooler conditions. There is little support for the idea that the AMOC will abruptly shut down despite new ideas suggesting more plausible mechanisms related to a shutdown.
Skill in predicting climate on decadal timescales can be derived from correct initialisation of AMOC in prediction systems hence increasing the capacity to manage, mitigate, and adapt to AMOC related climate changes
A comparison of high-end methods for topographic modelling of a coastal dune complex
No full textIn recent years, increasing tourism and development in the coastal dune area of the South East of Ireland have resulted in greater pressure on the environment, resulting in issues including soil erosion, flooding and habitat loss. Topographic mapping across a dune field is important for the development of targeted land management actions that maintain biodiversity and ecological functions. Developments in surveying technology, including LiDAR, terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) and aerial surveying from Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), have enabled high-resolution and high-accuracy spatial data to be gathered quickly
and relatively easily for 3D topographic modelling of a coastal dune complex. To-date, however, the relative efficacies of these three modelling methods, in the context of coastal dune modelling, has not been explored. This paper compares high-end methods based on LiDAR, TLS and RPAS technologies, for the topographic modelling of coastal dune complexes with particular reference to the Brittas-Buckroney dune complex in the South East of Ireland. The results identify the advantages and disadvantages of the respective technologies and highlight the efficacy of RPAS, in particular, for topographic modelling of coastal
dune complexes. These results can provide reference information for others when selecting suitable methods for topographic modelling of similar environments
Satellite-derived bathymetry in optically complex waters using a model inversion approach and Sentinel-2 data
No full textThis study presents an assessment of a model inversion approach to derive shallow water bathymetry in optically
complex waters, with the aim of both understanding localised capability and contributing to the global evaluation of Sentinel-2 for coastal monitoring. A dataset of 12 Sentinel-2 MSI images, in three different study areas
along the Irish coast, has been analysed. Before the application of the bathymetric model two atmospheric
correction procedures were tested: Deep Water Correction (DWC) and Case 2 Regional Coastal Color (C2RCC)
processor. DWC outperformed C2RCC in the majority of the satellite images showing more consistent results.
Using DWC for atmospheric correction before the application of the bathymetric model, the lowest average RMSE
was found in Dublin Bay (RMSE ¼ 1.60, bias ¼
Participant Action Research (PAR) for early childhood and primary education: the example of the THRIECE project
No full textThis paper explores the potential benefits of Participant Action Research (PAR) for early childhood
and primary education. It presents the example of the Erasmus+ funded THRIECE (Teaching for
Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education) project, and drawing on the reflections of its participants, supports PAR as a respectful, inclusive, relevant approach to educational research that can lead to deep personal and intercultural learning. It highlights the importance of embracing the ‘messiness’ of action research, and allowing its non-linear complexity to enhance both process and outcomes. It explores the potential of PAR to allow for investigation of and value for the embodied, tacit knowledge and understandings of expert educators, supporting continuous development of practice and providing the language for educators to explain their approaches. Finally, it
identifies the crucial nature of a relational approach for the success of Participant Action Research
TES Bolometer Arrays for the QUBIC B-Mode CMB Experiment
No full textQUBIC is a ground-based experiment aiming to measure the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The developed instrument is an innovative two frequency band bolometric interferometer that will operate at 300 mK with NbSi TES arrays. In this paper, we describe the fabrication process of the detectors
Analysis of 24 years of mesopause region OH rotational temperature observations at Davis, Antarctica – Part 2: Evidence of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) in the polar mesosphere
No full textObservational evidence of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) in the polar mesosphere is presented based
on the analysis of 24 years of hydroxyl (OH) nightglow
rotational temperatures derived from scanning spectrometer observations above Davis research station, Antarctica
(68◦ S, 78◦ E). After removal of the long-term trend and
solar cycle response, the residual winter mean temperature
variability contains an oscillation over an approximately
3.5–4.5-year cycle with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 3–4 K.
Here we investigate this QQO feature in the context of the
global temperature, pressure, wind, and surface fields using satellite, meteorological reanalysis, sea surface temperature, and sea ice concentration data sets in order to understand possible drivers of the signal. Specifically, correlation and composite analyses are made with data sets
from the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Aura satellite
(Aura/MLS v4.2) and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using
Broadband Emission Radiometry instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics satellite (TIMED/SABER v2.0), ERA5 reanalysis, the Extended
Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST v5), and
Optimum-Interpolation (OI v2) sea ice concentration. We
find a significant anti-correlation between the QQO temperature and the meridional wind at 86 km altitude measured by a medium-frequency spaced antenna radar at Davis
(R 2 ∼ 0.516; poleward flow associated with warmer temperatures at ∼ 0.83±0.21 K (ms−1)−1). The QQO signal is also marginally correlated with vertical transport as determined from an evaluation of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in the mesosphere (sensitivity 0.73 ± 0.45 K ppmv−1 CO,R 2 ∼ 0.18). Together this relationship suggests that the QQO is plausibly linked to adiabatic heating and cooling driven by the meridional flow. The presence of quasi-stationary or persistent patterns in the ERA5 data geopotential anomaly and the meridional wind anomaly data during warm and cold phases of the QQO is consistent with tidal or planetary waves influencing its formation, which may act on the filtering of gravity waves to drive an adiabatic response in the mesosphere. The QQO signal plausibly arises from an ocean–atmosphere response, and appears to have a signature in Antarctic sea ice extent
Contracting personalization by results: comparing marketization reforms in Australia and the UK
No full textMarket instruments are increasingly being used to drive innovation and efficiency in public services. Meanwhile, many governments recognize the need for services to be more personalized and ‘user-centred’. This was a key aim of major welfare-to-work reforms in both the UK and Australia over the past decade, which sought to achieve personalization through increasing service delivery by for-profit providers, contracted via Payment-by-Results. Drawing on three surveys of frontline staff, we show the impact of recent UK and Australian marketization reforms on frontline practices to consider whether the reform mixof increased commercial provision tied to Payment-by-Results has produced more personalized services. We find that the UK’s ‘black box’ model was associated with some increase in frontline discretion, but little evidence that this enhanced service personalization, either compared to previous programmes or to Australia’s more regulated system
Females have more complex patterns of childhood adversity: implications for mental, social, and emotional outcomes in adulthood
No full textBackground: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified as an important public health problem with serious implications. Less well understood is how distinct configurations of childhood adversities carry differential risks for mental health, emotional, and social outcomes later in life.
Objective: To determine if distinct profiles of childhood adversities exist for males and females and to examine if unique associations exist between the resultant latent profiles of childhood adversities and multiple indicators of mental health and social and emotional wellbeing in adulthood.
Method: Participants (N = 1,839) were a nationally representative household sample of adults currently residing in the USA and the data were collected via online self-report questionnaires. Latent class analysis was used to identify the optimal number of classes to explain ACE co-occurrence among males and females, separately. ANOVAs, chi-square tests, and t-tests were used to compare male and female classes across multiple mental health, emotional, and social wellbeing variables in adulthood.
Results: Females were significantly more likely than males to report a range of ACEs and mental health, social, and emotional difficulties in adulthood. Two- and four-class models were identified as the best fit for males and females, respectively, indicating more complexity and variation in ACE exposures among females. For males and female, ACEs were strongly associated with poorer mental health, emotional, and social outcomes in adulthood. Among females, growing up in a dysfunctional home environment was a significant risk factor for adverse social outcomes in adulthood.
Conclusions: Males and females have distinct patterns of childhood adversities, with females experiencing more complex and varied patterns of childhood adversity. These patterns of ACEs were associated with numerous negative mental, emotional, and social outcomes among both sexes
Country‐level and individual‐level predictors of men's support for gender equality in 42 countries
No full textAbstract
Men sometimes withdraw support for gender equality movements when their higher gender status is threatened. Here, we expand the focus of this phenomenon by examining it cross‐culturally, to test if both individual‐ and country‐level variables predict men's collective action intentions to support gender equality. We tested a model in which men's zero‐sum beliefs about gender predict reduced collective action intentions via an increase in hostile sexism. Because country‐level gender equality may threaten men's higher gender status, we also examined whether the path from zero‐sum beliefs to collective action intentions was stronger in countries higher in gender equality. Multilevel modeling on 6,734 men from 42 countries supported the individual‐level mediation model, but found no evidence of moderation by country‐level gender equality. Both country‐level gender equality and individual‐level zero‐sum thinking independently predicted reductions in men's willingness to act collectively for gender equality