NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Stories in the Border Country. An autoethnographic exploration of narrative identity and re-storying.
No full textTaking the ontological position that we are storied beings, living storied lives, I tell the story of my visit to border country, a metaphorical place of transformation and opportunity. In an autoethnographical exploration of narrative identity, I use the metaphors of the border country and changing track, in varying turns, a place removed, on the edge, exposed, liminal, transitional, exclusionary, or a place of opportunity, to read the compass, re-direct, re-centre, and re-story. This is a reflexive journey where I am open to being, and am, surprised by the stories told and what the stories tell me
Unlocking the Ivory Tower: Exploring the Barriers to Postgraduate Education for Ireland's Older Generation.
No full textDespite the growing population of older adults in Ireland and the various initiatives by educational establishments and third-level institutions to encourage more post-retirement engagement of older adults in academic activities, the number that engages in formal postgraduate education is discouraging. Copious amounts of contemporary and worldwide research highlight numerous barriers and other factors that inhibit gerontological access to various learning activities – even at the undergraduate level. Unfortunately, none focuses specifically on the engagement of older adult learners in postgraduate study and statistics for those over retirement age are scant. Using a mixed-method approach employing both quantitative and qualitative analyses, this project sets out to identify why the participation rates of this cadre of older adults are so low and what can be done to address the situation. Findings reveal that the issues involved are multifaceted, with age being one of the major barriers responsible
The ARDS microenvironment enhances MSC-induced repair via VEGF in experimental acute lung inflammation
No full textClinical trials investigating the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases,
such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), have
been disappointing, with less than 50% of patients responding
to treatment. Licensed MSCs show enhanced therapeutic efficacy in response to cytokine-mediated activation signals. There
are two distinct sub-phenotypes of ARDS: hypo- and hyper-inflammatory. We hypothesized that pre-licensing MSCs in a hyper-inflammatory ARDS environment would enhance their
therapeutic efficacy in acute lung inflammation (ALI). Serum
samples from patients with ARDS were segregated into hypoand hyper-inflammatory categories based on interleukin
(IL)-6 levels. MSCs were licensed with pooled serum from patients with hypo- or hyper-inflammatory ARDS or healthy
serum controls. Our findings show that hyper-inflammatory
ARDS pre-licensed MSC conditioned medium (MSCCMHyper) led to a significant enrichment in tight junction
expression and enhanced barrier integrity in lung epithelial
cells in vitro and in vivo in a vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF)-dependent manner. Importantly, while both
MSC-CMHypo and MSC-CMHyper significantly reduced IL-6
and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) levels in the
bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-induced ALI mice, only MSC-CMHyper significantly
reduced lung permeability and overall clinical outcomes
including weight loss and clinical score. Thus, the hypo- and
hyper-inflammatory ARDS environments may differentially
influence MSC cytoprotective and immunomodulatory functions
Riding the wave: a prospective exploration of the temporal impact of perceived challenges on the development of relatively early high performing national-level youth soccer players
No full textResearch investigating the challenges experienced by high-performing athletes throughout development has predominantly used retrospective designs. Consequently, there is limited empirical and prospective data to inform the temporal dimensions of these experiences and their perceived impact on development. Therefore, this investigation sought to prospectively explore the temporal impact of perceived challenges on the development of six national-level youth footballers during their entrance into, and first season in, a selective national talent development environment. Participants engaged in monthly semi-structured interviews over a season, with data analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Findings demonstrated that each player’s experience in the national system was characterised by exposure to significant biopsychosocial challenges. The dynamics of these challenges were highly individualised, with variations in the temporal nature, emotional disturbance, and the psycho-behavioural skills deployed to navigate such challenges. Within the national system, the perceived judgement and the ongoing selection and deselection processes were a pervasive feature of each player’s experience, presenting significant challenge across the season. Yet, the temporal impact of this challenge varied among players. In practice, we advocate for talent systems to adopt a personalised approach to managing challenges faced by athletes and to recognise the individualised nature of the temporal impact of such challenges
Introductory Remarks in East Asian Religiosities in the European Union
No full textThis volume aims to provide an overview of East Asian religiosities in the European
Union, with the aim of shedding light on their increasingly significant presence,
revolving around the informal or structured practices of several million Europeans and
East Asians (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese people) living in Europe. In
this introductory chapter we address some of the main scholarly issues concerning the
study of these religiosities, paying attention to the reasons why this topic is relevant to
Religious Studies and other related disciplines, to the methodological challenges
inherent to this field, and to some conceptual questions emerging from the countryrelated and thematic chapters
Divine Immutability and the Variability of Creation: A Thomistic Reconciliation
No full textAbstract included in Introduction
UNITES Project: National Mapping and Review of Home Visiting Programmes in Ireland. Report Number One
No full textThe UNITES project was commissioned (in 2022) by the Department of Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). The project involved two separate, but related stages, the aims of which were: (1) to profile and critically review home visiting provision in Ireland (Stage One); and (2) to elicit the insights, views and experiences of a wide range of stakeholders involved in managing, implementing, delivering or receiving home visiting programmes and services across the country with a view to identifying some proposed actions or ‘options’ that may provide key stepping stones toward a more standardised, effective and sustainable ‘model’ of home visiting service delivery in Ireland (Stage Two). This report presents the findings from Stage One of the UNITES project. The results of Stage Two are described in a second companion report (McGilloway et al., 2024).
The aims of Stage One were to: (1) map/scope out home visiting service provision in Ireland; and (2) to critically examine relevant evidence of effectiveness and implementation produced in a national context. The specific objectives of this desk-based study (each of which corresponds to a separate section in this report) were to:
1. Profile, map and describe current home visiting provision across Ireland
2. Examine the development and nature of provision
3. Assess the evidence of impact/outcome achievement based on the academic literature and
4. Explore aspects of implementation
Genealogy of a data ecosystem: The digitalisation of planning development and control in Ireland, 2000-2024
No full textIn this paper, we address two significant empirical and theoretical gaps in two literatures. The first is documenting how a data ecosystem emerges and evolves as a socio-technical assemblage over a substantive period of time. To date, studies of data ecosystems have examined their organization and operation at a particular point in time, but have not empirically detailed how they are constructed, maintained and change over time. The second is charting the digitalization of a planning data ecosystem as it transfers from a paper-based endeavour to one that is digitally mediated. While a number of studies have examined the adoption and use of specific digital technologies in planning, there has been no detailed examination of the suite of digital technologies that have been assembled for undertaking the day-to-day work of planning development and control (the management of the planning and construction pipeline from planning application, to appeals process, to building control). We resolve these two lacunae through a genealogical analysis of the digitalisation of the development and control function of planning and its associated data ecosystem in Ireland over a 25 year period. Our analysis reveals the contingent and relational nature of (planning) data ecosystems and the social, political and technical work that continually reconfigures their relations and practices
BioBeo Blended Intensive Programme Schedule
No full textMaynooth University Leads Horizon Europe Funded BioBeo Education Programme
Maynooth, Ireland
The BioBeo Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), an integral component of the Horizon Europe funded BioBeo Education Programme led by Maynooth University (MU), is set to revolutionise circular bioeconomy education across Europe. The initiative strategically introduces circular bioeconomy curricula in primary, secondary schools, and university settings, with a primary focus on fostering youth and citizen engagement in bioeconomy policymaking. The BioBeo Education Programme, funded by Horizon Europe and led by Maynooth University, is at the forefront of promoting circular bioeconomy education. Through strategic partnerships and innovative approaches, the programme aims to inspire and empower individuals to actively participate in shaping the future of bioeconomy policy and living as community members in a society transformed through a bioeconomy. Geared towards future educators, the BIP equips participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach bioeconomy concepts in diverse educational settings. The programme will be hosted at Maynooth University from the 1st to the 8th of March 2024, providing an immersive experience for all attendees and facilitated by the Environmental Sustainable Development Education and Bioeconomy Research Unit (ESDEB) of MU.
Collaborating on this groundbreaking project are Maynooth University and University College Dublin - Ireland, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences -The Netherlands, and Odisee University of Applied Sciences - Belgium. Dr Máire Nic an Bhaird and Dr Laoise Ní Chléirigh are looking forward to welcoming BIP scholars to Maynooth University in the first week of March 2024. During the BIP, the MU/UCD BioBeo bioeconomy comic ‘Back to the Future with Beo and Raja: A Tale from the Early Bioeconomy’ will be launched by Minister of State for EU Affairs and Defence Peter Burke at the medieval roundhouse in the grounds of UCD, along with planting native Irish trees with the BIP participants and invited guests.
It is anticipated the programme will serve as a catalyst for advancing circular bioeconomy education and empowering the next generation of leaders in this critical field. The BIP offers a unique opportunity to enhance their understanding of bioeconomy and contribute to knowledge dissemination. This eight-day ERASMUS and Horizon Europe funded programme combines in-person and online components, culminating in the highly anticipated European BioBeo Festival on the 15th of March 2024
Feeling healthy versus being healthy: Discrepancies between subjective and objective health in older adults
No full textBackground: With increasing age, older adults experience declines in
health, often in the form of reduced functionality, increased multimorbidity
and waning cognitive capacity. Despite such declines, some older adults provide
stable (and sometimes even improving) subjective appraisals of their
health over time – even in the face of declining objective health. Growing
dissociations between subjective and objective health scores in later
life mean that some older adults may provide overly ’health optimistic’ or
’health pessimistic’ appraisals of their health. However, consensus on how
these individuals should be identified is lacking. Additionally, the long-term
health implications of being overly health optimistic or pessimistic in later
life is considerably underexplored.
Methods: To address this, the present thesis describes a health asymmetry
framework, a metric which classifies older adults into groups, based on
the level of agreement between their subjective and objective health scores
(‘health optimistic’, ‘health pessimistic’, ‘good health realistic’ and ‘poor
health realistic’). Using four nationally representative, secondary archived
datasets across Europe, including one instance of primary data collection,
the thesis longitudinally investigates how these health asymmetry categories
are associated with mental and functional health sequelae over time.
STUDY 1 utilises data from wave one of the Irish Longitudinal Study of
Ageing to create a health asymmetry metric. Self-rated health scores were
compared to scores from a Frailty Index, in a sample of n=6907 older adults
(aged 50+ years), resulting in the derivation of the following categories:
’health optimistic’, ’health pessimistic’ and ’health realistic’. Multinomial
logistic regressions found that being health pessimistic was associated with
psychosocial factors such as increased anxiety, increased loneliness and decreased
social connectedness. In contrast, being health optimistic was associated
with increased levels of vigorous exercise and alcohol consumption.
STUDY 2 describes how a sample of older English adults transitioned from
one health asymmetry category to another, across waves one to three of the
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Using first-order Markov transition
and generalised logit models, health realistic individuals were likely to remain
health realistic over time. The prevalence of the health optimistic
category increased over two wave transitions, while the health pessimistic
category yielded volatile, unstable transition probabilities.
STUDY 3 investigated how baseline health asymmetry status predicted
depressive symptoms and change in depressive symptoms over time in European
older adults. Using data from the Survey of Healthy Ageing and
Retirement in Europe, multilevel growth curve models found that health
pessimists consistently had the highest levels of depressive symptoms over
time. Health optimists had a gradually declining trajectory of depressive
symptoms across a 14-year study period.
STUDY 4 explored whether health asymmetry categories differentially
predicted the risk of an injurious fall in older Swedish adults. Data from
the Swedish National Study on Ageing and Care in Kungsholmen were
utilised. A set of time-varying Cox and Laplace regressions found that
health optimists had the most elevated risk of experiencing an injurious fall
of all health asymmetry categories, which may be due to their poor OH and
optimistic biases which make health pessimists believe they are not at risk
of falling.
STUDY 5 involved intensive primary data collection from a sample of
n=53 middle aged and older Irish adults, through a smartphone-based Ecological
Momentary Assessment design. Health anxiety data were collected
over the course of a 6-day study period. Growth mixture modelling found
that two latent trajectories of health anxiety evolved over the study period.
Health asymmetry categories did not significantly predict health anxiety
scores over time.
Conclusions: Health asymmetry appears to be a clinically relevant tool
which is significantly associated with depressive symptomatology, injurious
falls and mortality. Health asymmetry may be more useful as a summary
tool for large-scale population-based studies, given that the metric can be
retrospectively constructed using secondary data. Future research should
consider exploring the association between health asymmetry and other
important physical and functional health outcomes in older adults, such as
psychological distress and multimorbidity