NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Multi-proxy evidence for woodland clearance in northeast Northumberland (England) during the Iron Age
No full textPollen diagrams covering the Bronze Age to Roman period from northeast Northumberland are scarce. We present a 14C-dated
pollen record from a peat-filled forest hollow in Chillingham Wild Cattle Park, northeast Northumberland, that spans the
Iron Age. For the first time for this part of Northumberland, fungal spores are also analysed to investigate whether clearances
took place in the context of crop cultivation or pastoralism. The pollen diagram shows significant woodland cover during the
Late Bronze Age, with small-scale landscape openness potentially representing crop cultivation and animal grazing under a
tree canopy. A local clearance event, with arboreal pollen falling to 13.2%, is radiocarbon dated to the late Early to Middle
Iron Age, likely coinciding with the construction and occupancy of the nearby Ros Castle hillfort. A significant rise in dung
fungal spores and the presence of Plantago and other open vegetation taxa indicate animal husbandry played an important
role in this clearance phase. A subsequent large decrease in dung fungi and a small rise in arboreal pollen may reflect a
degree of abandonment of the area after the climate cooled. Peat formation ceased in the late Middle to Late Iron Age as
the hollow filled up. Limited renewed peat growth occurred in the last century or so, after peat shrinkage due to drying and
consequent oxidation provided the possibility for renewed peat formation within the hollow
Conceptualising change in equality, diversity and inclusion: A case study of the Irish film and television sector
No full textResearch is key to supporting diversity and inclusion practices in media and creative industries because it articulates the structural and cultural barriers to participation by workers with a broad range of underrepresented social identities. However, currently there is a lack of research that problematises how change happens with regard to equality, diversity and inclusion in creative industries. Very little research looks beyond specific initiatives, particular employers or individual organisations to explore how change is adopted more broadly within the sector. This article seeks to address that gap by applying a number of literatures on policy and organisational or cultural change to generate a schema that allows the complexity of change to be understood through a unified model of a policy regime. This article adopts a qualitative case study methodology to examine equality, diversity and inclusion regime change in the film and television industries in Ireland from 2015 to 2021. Key findings map how policy goal changes, paradigm shifts in thinking on equality, organisational coalitions and a change in power arrangements all combined resulting in significant change in the gender and equality regime in Irish film and television work. This framework is valuable because it provokes questions about how equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives can be more effective, how various cases of change compare with each other and how some efforts at change ultimately fail
A hydraulic model of the Amur River informed by ICESat-2 elevation
No full textAccurate predictions of water surface elevation (WSE) in rivers at high spatial and temporal resolution are important for flood/drought risk assessment and flood/drought forecasting and management. WSE in a river is controlled by three main factors: discharge, riverbed geometry, and hydraulic roughness. In remote and poorly instrumented rivers, discharge and riverbed geometry are highly uncertain and WSE is therefore hard to predict. ICESat-2 laser altimetry provides accurate elevation transects across the river at very high spatial resolution (70 cm along track). This paper demonstrates how ICESat-2 elevation transects can be used to parameterize a basin-scale hydraulic model of a continental-scale river. The workflow is demonstrated for the transboundary Amur River in North-East Asia. Simulated WSE is subsequently validated against a large dataset of in situ and satellite altimetry observations, and we demonstrate that the model can reproduce available WSE observations throughout the basin with an accuracy of 1–2 m
Painting by Numbers: How Provision of Education for People with Intellectual Disabilities Leads to Exclusion from Further Education
No full textPeople with Disabilities, be they physical, mental, or intellectual, have always been on the
margins of modern western society. And as a marginalised group, find themselves subject to
a disproportionate influence of power. This power comes in many forms, within their daily
relationships and the power handed down through administrative processes. Post-Structuralist
philosopher, Michel Foucault, believed that power influences how every member of society
acts and thinks. Using Foucauldian principles, I demonstrate how power structures negatively
affect the education of people with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Not only in the
exorcizing of power over students, but how power acts within society to establish social
norms, shaping the thoughts and opinions of educators, practitioners, and parents. Through
discussions with practitioners within special education I have highlighted societal structures,
through which power is manifested within this particular epoc of the Irish education system
and made suggestions as to how provision can change to ensure SEN learners have greater
access to educational opportunities, in whatever form that entails, for future generations
‘A welcome change . . . but early days’: Irish Service Provider Perspectives on Domestic Abuse and the Domestic Violence Act 2018
No full textThis article is an exploratory study of service provider perspectives on the impact and effectiveness of the recently commenced Domestic Violence Act 2018 in Ireland. Drawing on 22 semi-structured interviews with domestic abuse organisations, and a review of both national and provincial newspaper sources, the article highlights the challenges facing domestic abuse service providers in Ireland and identifies key areas in need of reform. The research was conducted during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, and as such, provides a unique insight into the experiences of frontline service providers, and the victims that availed of their services, during the public health crisis
Spatial and temporal scaling of sub-daily extreme rainfall for data sparse places
No full textGlobal efforts to upgrade water, drainage, and sanitation services are hampered by hydrometeorological data-scarcity plus uncertainty about climate change. Intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) tables are used routinely to design water infrastructure so offer an entry point for adapting engineering standards. This paper begins with a novel procedure for guiding downscaling predictor variable selection for heavy rainfall simulation using media reports of pluvial flooding. We then present a three step workflow to: (1) spatially downscale daily rainfall from grid-to-point resolutions; (2) temporally scale from daily series
to sub-daily extreme rainfalls and; (3) test methods of temporal scaling of extreme rainfalls within Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulations under changed climate conditions. Critically, we compare the methods of moments and of parameters for temporal scaling annual maximum series of daily rainfall into sub-daily extreme rainfalls, whilst accounting for rainfall intermittency. The methods are applied to Kampala, Uganda and Kisumu, Kenya using the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM), two RCM simulations covering East Africa (CP4 and P25), and in hybrid form (RCM-SDSM). We demonstrate that Gumbel parameters (and IDF tables) can be reliably scaled to durations of 3 h within observations and RCMs. Our hybrid RCM-SDSM scaling reduces errors in IDF estimates for the present climate when compared with direct RCM output. Credible parameter scaling relationships are also found within RCM simulations under changed climate conditions. We then discuss the practical aspects of applying such workflows to other city-region
Caregivers of children feel confident about using the Internet for health information
No full textBackground: Caregivers of children may rely on internet sources, health care
providers, peers or family for health information.
Objective: To examine the impact of sociodemographic factors on the use of
the internet for health information by caregivers of children, and the impact
on self-efficacy, effort and frustration.
Methods: Using data from the 2019 Health Information National Trends
Survey, the effects of information source on self-efficacy, effort and frustration
was examined using the complex samples module of SPSS.
Results: The internet was the most common source of health information for
caregivers of children (n = 247), with high confidence, low frustration and effort
reported. Younger, higher educated and higher income caregivers were significantly more likely to use the internet for health information. Information from
Health Care Providers (HCPs) was associated with greater confidence, and
information from peers associated with lesser effort and frustration. No significant effects on self-efficacy, effort or frustration for online health information
was noted compared to other sources.
Conclusions: Efforts to reduce barriers to online health information may be
required for some groups of caregivers, and health care providers may have a
role to play in this
The Case for Experts By Experience in Irish Mental Health Policy and Practice: A Qualitative Approach
No full textThis exploratory qualitative research analyses the concept and role of the Expert By Experience
(EBE), and their relationship with Irish mental health policy and practice. Informed by a
combined Foucauldian/Gramscian theoretical framework, the research critically analyses Irish
mental health policy and practice through the lens of power-knowledge and hegemony
(Gramsci, 1971). This critical analysis identifies how power-knowledge (Foucault, 1977) has
traditionally been exercised in Irish mental health policy and practice, and which institutions
and actors have been included in and excluded from its exercise. Power-knowledge is found to
have primarily been exercised by the medical and statutory stakeholder spheres, through the
functions and apparatus of the biomedical model of mental illness. The social model of
disability and the biopsychosocial model of mental health are also found to be influential. A
Vision for Change (Government of Ireland, 2006) espoused a biopsychosocial model of mental
health, and is found to be the only piece of Irish mental health legislation not drafted from a
biomedical perspective. A gap is identified in service-user inclusion in Irish mental health
policy and practice. Through the parallel research strands of autoethnography and in-depth
EBE interviews with five EBEs, the views, experiences, and insights of EBEs on Irish mental
health policy and practice are gathered and thematically analysed. This analysis identifies a
distinct journey taken by respondents in becoming EBEs, distinguished by the novel ‘step’ of
‘individual professionalisation’. An EBE stakeholder sphere in Irish mental health policy and
practice comprised of EBEs who possess the distinct ‘dual’ traditional and experiential
expertise gained through ‘individual professionalisation’ is proposed to address the gap in
service-user inclusion in Irish mental health policy and practice. The research’s
autoethnographical methodology, and its exploration of how individuals with subjugated
knowledges have legitimised (Weber, 1922) their expertise, hold global implications for
methodologies and knowledge generati
Digital placemaking, health & wellbeing and nature-based solutions: A systematic review and practice model
No full textTechnology implementations in the urban environment have the potential to reshape how communities experience places, specifically providing a potential enhancer for nature-based solutions in the city. Urban spaces are facing a number of challenges from climate mitigation to negative effects on communities. In this context, nature-based solutions aim to promote nature as an answer to the current climate challenge, linking positive outcomes for society in a cost-effective way. Urban nature could benefit from the implementation of technology to enhance nature experiences and nature's impact on the community. This study aims to review and synthesise existing literature focusing on the associations between digital placemaking, mental health and wellbeing impact and the use of green and blue spaces while exploring successful case studies. Hundred and seventeen studies met the eligibility criteria, most of them used qualitative methods. The findings provide insights into the potential impact of digital placemaking practices for urban nature on citizens’ wellbeing and mental health. Our results indicated an absence of agreement on the concept of digital placemaking, and a lack of blue space research while nature was presented as a context and passive element. Mental health and wellbeing are mostly approached without specifically examining health indicators or assessing the health impact of these practices. Our study proposes a model offering insights into the broad range of best practices for implementing digital placemaking for nature and wellbeing and represents a key contribution to understanding the innovative application of augmenting NBS through digital placemaking impacting the wellbeing of citizens
Modelling Variations in Data Lifecycles – demonstrated in a Smart City Context
No full textThe complexity of data management is increasing, posing additional problems to organizations as they need to gain insights from a large amount of information at their disposal in order to make better decisions and add value to their services or products.
Data lifecycles models include the phases and activities that data must go through from creation to disposal. There are several benefits of using these models. They are used to reduce complexity of planning and handling data, to assist stakeholders in better understanding of the data available to them, and to comprehend how data is transformed into knowledge. Different data lifecycle models are necessary to process data and to meet different processing requirements and objectives. Despite the benefits of data lifecycle models, the modelling needs to be improved in order to reflect these necessary variations and provide pertinent information to the involved stakeholders, and support them in decision-making.
Data lifecycle models are frequently incorporated into enterprise models to allow expressing the alignment of data lifecycles with services and technical infrastructures. A common approach to model enterprises is Enterprise Architecture (EA), which is a conceptual blueprint that presents a holistic view of an organization's business processes and IT assets, as well as their relationships. Data lifecycle models can
be applied in several domains, for example research, semantic web, open data, and smart cities.
With the increasing complexity of data exchanges, understanding data lifecycles has become increasingly important in the last few years. For instance, this is particularly noticeable in smart cities, which are a dynamic ecosystem that faces many challenges in order to meet the needs of its citizens. These challenges include managing various stakeholders, gathering data from various sources, integrating heterogeneous data, and needing different processing times. According to the literature, smart cities can be viewed as urban enterprises with complex systems that must be integrated across multiple domains.
A data lifecycle is relevant to manage business data throughout its lifecycle while taking into account the constraints of business processes and allowing data requirements to be identified. Existing EAs for smart cities do not identify concepts for describing and modelling data lifecycle variations, which are required to process data.
This study suggests a metamodel for improving the modelling of data lifecycles. By designing the proposed metamodel, the elements of a data lifecycle, its variations, and design requirements are identified. Furthermore, the concepts and their relationships identified to model variations in data lifecycles are demonstrated and evaluated in two case studies in this thesis.
As a result, this study contributes to a better understanding of the data lifecycle variations and their requirements