NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
Not a member yet
18159 research outputs found
Sort by
William Alister Macdonald (1861-1956) of Scotland and Tahiti. A portrait of the artist in the third age.
No full textTahiti has long been associated with banker-turned artist Paul Gauguin and celebrated by writers such as Somerset Maugham in Moon & The Sixpence (1919), but in another ‘life is stranger than fiction’ tale, the life of Scottish watercolourist William Alister Macdonald (1861-1956) has been something of mystery to those outside of French Polynesia. After stepping off a ship in Tahiti en route to New Zealand, Macdonald began a new life at sixty, forging friendships with American writers Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall who had made their home there, and Zane Grey who was big-game fishing. Travelling alongside these writers his paintings caught timeless landscapes and atmospherics. His approach followed Whistler and Turner, with a knowledge of sea and boats crafted when growing up on the remote coast of northern Scotland, then along the Thames after moving to London as a young bank clerk. New research illuminates a life well-lived
Service user perspectives on recovery: the construction of unfulfilled promises in mental health service delivery in Ireland
No full textPurpose
The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or diagnosis. This view of recovery is unique to each person on that journey. However, there has been a significant focus on measuring these experiences. This paper aims to explore the influence of social constructionism on the concept of recovery within an Irish context, seeking to understand the influence of language, discourse and power on service users’ experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, interpretivist methodology was adopted for this case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 service users. Thematic analysis was chosen as the method of analysis.
Findings
Personalising recovery did not always lead to the removal of biological symptoms, but with the appropriate supports, individual’s recovery journey was greatly enhanced. On the contrary, personal recovery places overwhelmingly responsibility on the individual to succeed, largely driven by neoliberal discourse. This focus on individualism and the pressure to succeed was further experienced when people sought to re-integrate into society and participate in normalised social order. Ultimately, for many service users, they viewed personal recovery as an unfulfilled promise.
Research limitations/implications
It is not a representative sample of service users within an Irish context.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore influence of social constructionism on the concept of personal recovery within a mental health service context
Ar Ais chuig an Am atá le Teacht le Beo agus Raja. Scéal ón mBithgheilleagar Fadó
No full textThe Froebel Department, Maynooth University is a partner in the Horizon Europe Project BioBeo. BioBeo introduces new thinking and approaches in education on the circular bioeconomy across Europe. This comic aims to share to children in primary school (5th and 6th class) and to local communities the concept of a bioeconomy through an engaging journey back in time with Beo and Raja
The human MIF polymorphism CATT7 enhances pro‐inflammatory macrophage polarization in a clinically relevant model of allergic airway inflammation
No full textHigh level expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been associated with severe asthma. The role of MIF and its functional promotor polymorphism in innate immune training is currently unknown. Using novel humanized CATT7 MIF mice, this study is the first to investigate the effect of MIF on bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) memory after house dust mite (HDM) challenge. CATT7 BMDMs demonstrated a significant primed increase in M1 markers following HDM and LPS stimulation, compared to naive mice. This M1 signature was found to be MIF-dependent, as administration of a small molecule MIF inhibitor, SCD-19, blocked the induction of this pro-inflammatory M1-like phenotype in BMDMs from CATT7 mice challenged with HDM. Training naive BMDMs in vitro with HDM for 24 h followed by a rest period and subsequent stimulation with LPS led to significantly increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα in BMDMs from CATT7 mice but not WT mice. Addition of the pan methyltransferase inhibitor MTA before HDM training significantly abrogated this effect in BMDMs from CATT7 mice, suggesting that HDM-induced training is associated with epigenetic remodelling. These findings suggest that trained immunity induced by HDM is under genetic control, playing an important role in asthma patients with the high MIF genotypes (CATT6/7/8)
A whole-campus approach to technology and inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education in Ireland
No full textThe increasing demand for equitable higher education necessitates changes in how to consider and develop inclusive university settings. Using a systems-thinking lens, this article examines the whole-campus approach to technology and inclusion of college students with disabilities in Ireland. In-depth interviews with students with disabilities and other stakeholders representing higher education, non-profit organizations, and government bodies uncovered critical areas and dynamics for understanding and building institution-wide capacity for overcoming barriers to technology and access, and creating a systemic culture of inclusion in higher education. Five themes were identified: equity of technology-based access; shared responsibility and accountability; staff knowledge development; institutional commitment and management; and student partnership. The study indicated that embedding guidance, recognition and expectations for universal design, technology-inclusive practice, and meaningful input of students with disabilities across all areas of university life would help to cultivate more equitable higher education for all
Climate Driven Trends in Historical Extreme Low Streamflows on Four Continents
No full textUnderstanding temporal trends in low streamflows is important for water management and ecosystems. This work focuses on trends in the occurrence rate of extreme low‐flow events (5‐ to 100‐yearreturn periods) for pooled groups of stations. We use data from 1,184 minimally altered catchments in Europe,North and South America, and Australia to discern historical climate‐driven trends in extreme low flows (1976–2015 and 1946–2015). The understanding of low streamflows is complicated by different hydrological regimes in cold, transitional, and warm regions. We use a novel classification to define low‐flow regimes using air temperature and monthly low‐flow frequency. Trends in the annual occurrence rate of extreme low‐flow events(proportion of pooled stations each year) were assessed for each regime. Most regimes on multiple continents did not have significant (p < 0.05) trends in the occurrence rate of extreme low streamflows from 1976 to 2015;however, occurrence rates for the cold‐season low‐flow regime in North America were found to be significantly decreasing for low return‐period events. In contrast, there were statistically significant increases for this period in warm regions of NA which were associated with the variation in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Significant decreases in extreme low‐flow occurrence rates were dominant from 1946 to 2015 in Europe and NA for both cold‐ and warm‐season low‐flow regimes; there were also some non‐significant trends. The difference in the results between the shorter (40‐year) and longer (70‐year) records and between low‐flow regimes highlights the complexities of low‐flow response to changing climatic condition
A qualitative interview study to determine barriers and facilitators of implementing automated decision support tools for genomic data access
No full textData access committees (DAC) gatekeep access to secured genomic and related health datasets yet are challenged to keep pace with the rising volume and complexity of data generation. Automated decision support (ADS) systems have been shown to support consistency, compliance, and coordination of data access review decisions. However, we lack understanding of how DAC members perceive the value add of ADS, if any, on the quality and effectiveness of their reviews. In this qualitative study, we report findings from 13 semi-structured interviews with DAC members from around the world to identify relevant barriers and facilitators to implementing ADS for genomic data access management. Participants generally supported pilot studies that test ADS performance, for example in cataloging data types, verifying user credentials and tagging datasets for use terms. Concerns related to over-automation, lack of human oversight, low prioritization, and misalignment with institutional missions tempered enthusiasm for ADS among the DAC members we engaged. Tensions for change in institutional settings within which DACs operated was a powerful motivator for why DAC members considered the implementation of ADS into their access workflows, as well as perceptions of the relative advantage of ADS over the status quo. Future research is needed to build the evidence base around the comparative effectiveness and decisional outcomes of institutions that do/not use ADS into their workflows
Why are librarians up in arms over ebooks?
No full textOpinion: lack of available stock, high prices and onerous terms and conditions mean ebooks currently offer poor value for readers and libraries
SoMoSAT – Soil Moisture Estimates from Satellite-based Earth Observations. Report No 460
No full textSoil moisture interactions for climate, and their relevance for understanding hydrological, agricultural and ecological processes are recognised and acknowledged as important. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of soil water observations globally. Even at the regional and country scale, only limited observations are available. This research uses machine learning with remote sensing data and data from deployed in-situ soil moisture sensors to derive a harmonised soil moisture product for Ireland. Based on independent tests of the models it was found to largely reproduce the available soil moisture measurements. A key output from the research was the deployment of a number of in situ soil moisture sensors, which will support a national initiative to deploy an integrated network of soil moisture sensors across Ireland. The research highlights the need for an integrated monitoring infrastructure to facilitate consistently measuring soil moisture in Ireland
The Windsor Framework – guarantees, gaps and governance
No full textThis special issue of the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly aims to uncover and examine the many layers of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, as reformed by the Windsor Framework, focusing specifically on governance, fundamental rights and movement of people. It is the product of a workshop held in June 2023 at Maynooth University to mark the launch of the Maynooth Centre for European Law.1 While significant literature existed on some core aspects of the original Protocol, gaps remained and the ongoing political and legal developments necessitated a renewed analysis. This was exemplified by the Windsor Framework, which was adopted only three months before the workshop was held, and the restoration of Northern Ireland’s Executive in February 2024 while the articles herein were being finalised