NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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On the Ratio of Reactive to Active Power in Wave Energy Converter Control
No full textOptimal control of wave energy converters (WECs), while converting wave energy into a usable
form, such as electricity, may inject (reactive) power into the system at various points in the wave cycle.
Though somewhat counter-intuitive, this action usually results in improved overall energy conversion. However, recent experimental results show that, on occasion, reactive power peaks can be significantly in excess of
active power levels, leaving device developers with difficult decision in how to rate the power take-off of the
system i.e. whether to cater for these high reactive power peaks, or limit power flow to rated (active) levels.
The origins of these excessive power peaks are currently poorly understood, creating significant uncertainty
in how to deal with them. In this paper, we show that, using both theoretical results and an illustrative
simulation case study, under matched controller conditions (impedance-matching optimal condition), for
both monochromatic and panchromatic sea-states, that the maximum peak reactive/active power ratio never
exceeds unity. However, under mismatched WEC/controller conditions, this peak power ratio can exceed
unity, bringing unrealistic demands on the power take-off (PTO) rating. The paper examines the various
origins of system/controller mismatch, including modelling error, controller synthesis inaccuracies, and
non-ideal PTO behaviour, highlighting the consequences of such errors on reactive power flow levels. This
important result points to the need for accurate WEC modeling, while also showing the folly of catering for
excessive reactive power peaks
Valuing drought impact mitigation on ecosystem services in a Mediterranean country
No full textDrought is a complex natural hazard increasing in frequency, duration, and severity worldwide. Although
droughts cause both market and non-market impacts, the latter suffers from a dearth of economic studies
quantifying their magnitude. In this paper, we investigated how droughts affect selected ecosystem services
expected to result in welfare losses in Spain. This study is aimed at quantifying and simulating societal losses
given the expected potential increase in drought severity in the coming decades. We estimated a Discrete Choice
Latent Class Model by which we distinguished three broad classes of individuals. The common behavior across all
classes is that people consistently choose to avoid the negative effects of droughts. However, there are substantial
differences among the three classes; while class 1 chooses options regardless of cost, even when selecting the
most expensive ones, the other two classes account for the size of the payment. Moreover, health and water use
restrictions have been decisive factors in individuals’ choices. We have also observed that the perception of
climate change is related to individual decisions. We quantified the enormous damage drought causes to societal
well-being. Policymakers should take this information into account when addressing the increasing likelihood of
extreme weather events
The Teachings of Death: Gesturing toward New Educational Thought in the Posthuman Convergence
No full textThe current trajectory of the Earth, itself becoming a vast graveyard amidst the ongoing destruction of life-sustaining conditions, is a pressing reality that demands earnest consideration. This thesis is based on the premise that reorienting this necrophiliac tendency requires, in part, a transformation in how we think about mortality and subjectivity. Gesturing towards this fundamental shift, the interdisciplinary investigation here presented delves into the educational potential of death, i.e., education imparted by death, rather than education about death. Its aim is to expand on recent studies dealing with the subject of death in educational philosophy and theory, meanwhile distinguishing itself through a unique theoretical and methodological approach. Situated in the field of philosophy of education, this work also draws on continental philosophy – particularly feminist posthuman theory, queer death studies, and the environmental humanities – and builds on contributions from the arts.
Following a research question of my own, this thesis positions death as a critical site of learning, with the aim of questioning its educational value. This approach establishes new ways to reflect on the lessons that death and the dead can offer in the era of the posthuman convergence, as well as the potential responses that may be envisaged in light of these teachings. Against this backdrop, my methodology takes the form of an aesthetic-theoretical provocation, which is itself developed through registers of ‘gesture’ and ‘choreography’ as well as three case studies analysing depictions of death in four contemporary artworks. As such, my methods and styles of thinking with and from death support the exploratory, open-ended, and cross-disciplinary character of the inquiry that brings multiple texts, materials, and ideas into play, while also drawing on the expressions and perspectives of artistic bodies and the aesthetics of knowledge, to expand understandings of death in innovative ways and without immobilising a definition or seeking to lay claim to any particular discipline.
Within the choreographic structure of the thesis, I articulate teachings of death around three main intersecting lenses, which I call ‘scenes’: philosophical, educational, and aesthetic-pedagogical. In the first scene, I lay conceptual foundations by elaborating a concept of death in terms of relation. Deploying feminist and posthuman philosophy, I seek to understand death not as an individualising event, but, on the contrary, as one that highlights relationality and the singularity of a life. This proposed conceptualisation defines a model for understanding relations with and of death in which the human individual is not at the centre but entangled in multiple networks of human, more-than-human, and ahuman mortal legacies and assemblages. This philosophical envisioning of death propels the second scene, in which I give attention to the educational
implications of the relational approach, including its ethical and political dimensions. Here, I propose to examine death as a source of education that can generate affirmative and ethical modes of subjectivity and relationality, thus challenging the paradigm of modernity’s social and political denials of death. The third scene continues and deepens this reflection by examining the aesthetic aspect of death’s teachings through a pedagogical analysis of four works of art, each featuring a distinct ‘death narrative’. While differing in form and content, these works question various forms of violence, highlighted in their narratives, and the normalisation of certain deaths, often assumed or implicit within the context of entangled, multiple crises that are characteristic of the posthuman convergence. Through their narratives, I examine how each work points toward neglected, irreverent, and novel ways of thinking with death, overturning conventional representations and opening new avenues for pedagogical reflection and action.
Overall, this dissertation contends that while education is, and always has been, linked to issues of death, the lessons that death imparts have rarely been incorporated into our lives in a concrete, pedagogical way. This research attempts to address this point, and it moves towards a position where facing up to death is not about negating life, but about deepening our awareness of what constitutes it
Brain Glucose: Development and Characterisation of a Microelectrochemical Composite Biosensor for Chronic Real-time Monitoring in Freely Moving Rats
No full textThe aim of this project was to characterise a first-generation polymer enzyme
composite (PEC) biosensor for monitoring brain extracellular glucose. The brain is
heavily dependent on glucose as its primary energy source and dysregulation of
metabolism is linked to several neurological disorders including neurogenerative diseases
such as Alzheimer’s. Therefore, quantification and an improved understanding of glucose
changes and their relationship to other metabolites in the brain, are important research
goals. This project involved applying the composite biosensor design that has previously
been used to monitor other neurochemicals such as D-serine, choline, glutamate and
lactate to the existing glucose biosensor design that was previously developed by Lowry
et al. The core components of different crosslinking/stabilising agents, layering strategies
and drying times for the PEC biosensor design have already been optimised in the
previously developed devices. When the composite design was applied for the detection
of glucose the chosen sensor design was:
PtD(PoPD)(Sty)(GOx/GA)15
Where a PtD electrode (Platinum disc) was modified with PoPD (poly-ophenylenediamine),
an interference rejection layer, Sty (Styrene) an immobiliser, GOx
(glucose oxidase) the enzyme and finally GA (glutaraldehyde) a cross-linking agent.
Firstly, a literature review of neurochemical glucose biosensors was conducted to
compare and contrast the new glucose biosensor’s response characteristics (e.g.
sensitivity, Vmax and Km) with devices already reported. An in vitro characterisation of the
composite glucose biosensor was performed to determine the sensitivity of the device.
The sensor was exposed to a range of pH and temperatures that it may encounter in the
brain. Oxygen dependence studies were performed to ensure the low O2 concentration in
the brain would not hinder the biosensor’s performance. Biocompatibility tests were
conducted as exposure to brain tissue can lead to a decrease in sensitivity due to electrode
poisons, surfactants and surface modifying agents. A range of different stability
experiments were performed to determine the effect repeat calibrations had on the
sensitivity of the biosensor along with shelf-life experiments to assess the longevity of
the device. Finally, interference rejection was tested for common endogenous
electroactive interferents to ensure they had minimal effect on the glucose signal
recorded.
In summary, the polymer enzyme composite biosensor achieved an excellent
sensitivity of 32.42 ± 0.90 nA.cm-2.μM-1. It had a shelf-life of several weeks and no loss
of sensitivity was observed after repeat calibrations or exposure to ex vivo rodent brain
tissue (14 days). The sensor performed adequately under all physiologically relevant pH
and temperature ranges. The addition of a poly-ortho-phenylenediamine (PoPD) layer
provided the sensor with interference rejection properties which resulted in a reliable,
interference-free detection of glucose. Preliminary in vivo studies were performed in
freely moving rats where the sensor demonstrated reliable signals in response to neuronal
activation (tail pinch), and expected signals were observed when interference testing for
ascorbic acid and oxygen was performed. Future work will involve extending the vivo
characterisation of the biosensor
Combining motherhood and work in the creative industries: Mothers have the problem
No full textThis article examines film and television workers’ experience of mothering in Ireland and argues that not only are mothers constructed as a ‘problem’ in these Creative Industries workplaces because of their care work duties, but the ‘problem’ of work’s incompatibility with motherhood is presented as one to be ‘solved’ by mothers themselves. Drawing from the scholarship on motherhood in film and television work and 12 interviews with workers in the film and television Creative Industries sectors who are mothers, we undertake a thematic analysis to uncover common experiences and insights that are reflective of but depart in some ways from the literature. We identify four themes that suggest that motherhood remains Othered in film and television work and that balancing care work and motherhood remains a form of additional labour that mothers (almost exclusively) must undertake: managing pregnancy at work; maternity leave and the return to work; care for children while working; and mothers’ finding solutions
Do sports analytics affect footballer pay?
No full textLabor economists aspire to understand how workers' productivity impacts pay. While professional football is a well-established domain to explore this relationship, so far, research has relied on basic productivity measures. Football is now awash with advanced and granular performance metrics that can allow a deeper understanding of the pay-performance relationship. We specify a salary model considering the newly available data and use sophisticated performance measures to explain contracted salaries in the English Premier League and Italian Serie A. We make a methodological breakthrough by identifying a sample of players who are in the first year of a new contract only. This results in a much tighter relationship between pay and performance. We estimate different salary equations using both basic and advanced performance statistics. Our main findings are, first, that few of our advanced performance metrics help to explain player salary and, second, that there is misalignment between individual performance determinants of team points and player salaries.
JEL codes
J41, Z2
Insulation from loss: Exploring the impact of changing relationships in the liminal period between reoffending and desistance, and substance misuse and recovery
No full textThis article focuses on changes to relationships during the transition to desistance. This is important as liminality in offending behaviour is well-established meaning that people may move forward and backward through the offending cycle. Research on the nature of relationships as people move towards desistance is thus essential to understand the impact of change for individuals during a period of transition. This article explores the impact of change to relationships for both men and women contributing to gendered understandings of transitions to desistance. Based on interviews with 18 men and 10 women completing probation, two themes emerged to describe the impact of change, which were loss and gain, and rebuilding. These themes explain how changes to relationships can hinder or encourage desistance in the liminal period from reoffending to desistance
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled in the European Union: Reflecting on Its Implementation and Gauging Its Impact from a Disability Perspective
No full textThe Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) requires State Parties to introduce limitations and exceptions to national copyright rules in order to allow the reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in formats that are accessible to persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. This Treaty was concluded by the European Union (EU) on behalf of its Member States in 2018. It was then implemented by means of a Directive and a Regulation. On the tenth anniversary of its adoption, and six years after the enactment of the EU implementing acts, this article reflects on the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in the EU, highlighting its strengths and shortcomings. It then discusses, from a disability perspective, the impact of the Marrakesh Treaty within Europe on foot of a multimethod empirical study conducted within the project ReCreating Europe. On the whole, this article argues that, in spite of some weaknesses of the Marrakesh Directive, which leaves room for differences across the Member States, the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by the EU has supported access to printed materials for people with disabilities
How can we research social movements? An introduction
No full textThis introductory chapter is written for beginning researchers, whether in movements or universities, for people from non-traditional academic backgrounds and non-native English speakers. We share some of our own complicated and messy routes to movement research. We also explain why researching social movements matters, and how it can genuinely help movements. This is the first methods handbook for movement researchers that takes a genuinely global perspective, rather than focussing on researchers and movements in the global North. Understanding movements means not being restricted to knowing about one movement or one academic discipline. The chapter introduces the book’s themes - the methodologies and politics of knowledge of movement research; different methods of data collection/analysis; and the uses of research for movements - followed by a chapter-by-chapter overview, highlighting the specific movements studied. The chapter concludes with reflections on the future of social movements research and a call for solidarity
District energy modelling for decarbonisation strategies development—The case of a University campus
No full textUniversity campuses can be considered as microcosms of urban districts, since they are typically located within or near a city and have a significant impact on the surrounding area. Moreover, they have a high energy consumption due to the large number of buildings, facilities, and services that use energy for transportation, heating, cooling, and lighting. This makes university campus as testing facility for decarbonisation strategies that can be replicated in other urban areas. The present study discusses a decision-making framework based on a digital twin model for analysing decarbonisation strategies of University College Dublin in Ireland. The thermal and electricity networks of the university campus are modelled to analyse the current status of energy consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions. Five future development scenarios are explored to identify the optimum pathway for decarbonisation. Conclusions show that the campus can achieve a 10% reduction in emissions without the need for new generation units, while introduction of a new biomass CHP unit would increase this reduction to 17% compared to the baseline. Furthermore, Coupling this with the installation of 3 MW of solar photovoltaic, the calculated campus potential, a total reduction of 26% can be achieved