NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Model-based inexact graph matching on top of DNNs for semantic scene understanding
No full textDeep learning based pipelines for semantic segmentation often ignore structural information available on annotated images used for training. We propose a novel post-processing module enforcing structural knowledge about the objects of interest to improve segmentation results provided by deep neural networks (DNNs). This module corresponds to a “many-to-one-or-none” inexact graph matching approach, and is formulated as a quadratic assignment problem. Our approach is compared to a DNN-based segmentation on two public datasets, one for face segmentation from 2D RGB images (FASSEG), and the other for brain segmentation from 3D MRIs (IBSR). Evaluations are performed using two types of structural information: distances and directional relations that are user defined, this choice being a hyper-parameter of our proposed generic framework. On FASSEG data, results show that our module improves accuracy of the DNN by about 6.3% i.e. the Hausdorff distance (HD) decreases from 22.11 to 20.71 on average. With IBSR data, the improvement is of 51% better accuracy with HD decreasing from 11.01 to 5.4. Finally, our approach is shown to be resilient to small training datasets that often limit the performance of deep learning methods: the improvement increases as the size of the training dataset decreases
Mathematical Modelling of a TENG-Powered Data Buoy
No full textTriboelectric nanogenerators, or TENGs, are prominent among power take off (PTO) systems being researched for use in specifically small scale wave energy converters (WECs). The low power requirements, and modest size of data buoys, suggests TENGs as an ideal PTO for this small-scale wave energy application. However, a physics-based model of the relationship between the movement of the buoy and the performance of the onboard TENG is difficult, particularly for rolling-ball-type TENGs. This paper develops three multiple input single output system identification (SI), black-box models for a rolling-ball-type TENG. The SI models are identified, and validated, using input-output data gathered from real wave tank tests on a 1:8 Froude-scaled model of a navigation buoy. The models described in this paper, relate the TENG’s current output to the displacement, in 6 degrees of freedom (DoFs), of the buoy to which it is mounted, across a range of wave conditions. The SI models used include linear autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX), and nonlinear Kolmogorov-Gabor polynomial (KGP)
Tidal barrage operation optimization using moment-based control
No full textAs decarbonization of energy systems becomes imperative and the deployment of intermittent
renewables increases, the operation of electrical grids becomes challenging. In this sense, tidal barrage schemes can
supply clean and predictable energy with more flexibility
than the more traditional wind and solar plants. However,
the high infrastructure costs associated with tidal barrage
plants, together with ecological and environmental issues,
hinder their deployment. An optimal operation is key to
maximise energy output and assure project feasibility.
Recently, Ringwood and Faedo [1] introduced a novel
approach to tidal barrage control by applying moment-based optimal control, previously used to solve wave energy control problems, with promising results. The model
consists of a two-way tidal barrage scheme, where an
analogy is made between latching/declutching algorithms
applied in WEC control and holding/sluicing from tidal
barrage operation. This preliminary study has a number
of simplifying assumptions, leaving a pathway to further
examine the optimal control problem.
This paper extends the results of the analysis from
[1] by adding enhancements to the model. Minimum
and maximum head values are added to account for the
turbine’s operational limits. The basin is modelled such
that the surface area is a polynomial function of the water
level, instead of assuming a constant surface area, which
will affect the operational head of the optimal solution.
Furthermore, a weighted cost function is introduced to
penalise the parasitic energy consumption of the sluice
gates, with an analysis of the impact of different weights
The Codification of the Directors Duty to Consider the Interests of Creditors in Irish Company Law
No full textThis blog post considers the codification of the directors' duty to consider the interests of creditors. Although it is well-established as one of the fiduciary duties of directors, the duty to have regard to the interests of creditors when the company is insolvent or is approaching insolvency was only placed on a statutory footing in 2022 and is now provided for in Section 224A of the Companies Act 2014. This blog post will consider the background to the new statutory provision as well as its contents and its implications for practice. It will also consider briefly whether guidance on the operation of the newly codified duty can be drawn from recent jurisprudence of the UK Supreme Court concerning a similar directors’ duty in English law
Early maladaptive schemas and ICD‐11 CPTSD symptoms: Treatment considerations
No full textObjectives: Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) can result from adverse interpersonal traumatic experiences. The ICD-11 updated the concept of disorders following traumatic experiences with the new disorder of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). There is now a need to develop and test interventions for CPTSD. An essential step in identifying interventions that are particularly relevant to the treatment of CPTSD is to explore psychological constructs associated more closely with CPTSD compared to PTSD. The current study explored the associations of EMS with PTSD and CPTSD. Design: The sample consisted of 603 adults (mean age = 41.65, SD = 13.8), recruited through social media and e-mails, and who responded to an online questionnaire. Methods: Participants completed measures of demo-graphic, traumatic life events, EMS, PTSD and CPTSD symptoms. Results: Overall, results suggest that participants with CPTSD present with higher schema elevations across all schemas compared to those with PTSD or no diagnosis. Secondly, the schemas of emotional deprivation, abandonment/instability, social isolation/alienation, defective-ness/shame, enmeshment/undeveloped self, subjugation, emotional inhibition and insufficient self-control/self-discipline were significantly associated with the symptom clusters of CPTSD. Finally, results indicate that different schemas form significant associations with the individual symptom clusters of CPTSD. Conclusions: Although results require replication in clinical samples, initial findings suggest that specific EMS may be important psychological correlates of CPTSD symptoms. Wider treatment considerations of these findings are discussed
A survey of Mathematics Learning Support in the United States
No full textMathematics Learning Support (MLS) has been widely available in Higher Education Institutions in the United States (US) for decades. However, until recently, there has been little research that considered the extent of provision. In this paper, we present the results of a survey of MLS with responses from 268 institutions across the US, which indicate that such support is well established across responding institutions. To place these results in context, we compare them to other recent international surveys of provision. We discuss what these findings mean and the collaborative opportunities that are available for US and international practitioners and researchers in this area
Census and sustainability: school provision, urban teenagers, and unequal access to active transport in the Republic of Ireland
No full textThis paper analyses adolescent active transport (AT) to education in Ireland. In Ireland, there is broad consensus that commuting by walking and cycling can be advantageous to health, learning, and reducing traffic congestion and transport emissions. Thus Irish decision-makers, building on academic literature that claims that AT follows population size and density without considering the placement of schools, frequently propose ‘behavioural change’ among urban children as the primary means to overcome low AT. However decision-makers rarely investigate children's actual behaviour as commuters to education, consult children's commuting data, or consider the impact of school provision on AT. This paper challenges these approaches. Employing data reported by Irish teenagers to Census 2016 and 2011, it shows that AT does not follow population size or density but does follow educational provision including the provision of inclusive schools not segregated by religion, gender, or ability to pay
Through a Glass Darkly: Introduction to Research Cluster
No full textThe study of suicide is an emerging and important interdisciplinary field in central and east European Studies. The importance of the topic is self-evident. Suicide is literally a matter of life and death, important in its own right; but the study of suicide is also a means of addressing larger questions in the history, culture, and politics of the region. Suicide is almost always an object of grave concern whenever and wherever it occurs, thus prompting a wealth of statistical and discursive documentation and information. It is a supremely individual act—arguably the supreme individual act—but also one that implicates and involves the community or society in which it occurs. This is especially true during times of seeming or actual spikes in the occurrence of self-killing, so-called “suicide epidemics” that demand immediate attention and explanation. But the reasons for suicide are also often highly elusive, creating what Irina Paperno has termed a “black hole” into which is drawn the explanations, rationalizations, and justifications of all those proximate to the act. In this way, to study suicide in its social context is also to study the attitudes and the anxieties of the society in question. It is to look through a glass darkly: to see a reflection of contemporary concerns and attitudes that might otherwise have gone unseen
Arts-based methods for researching digital life
No full textThis paper provides an overview of the use of arts-based methods for undertaking research on the relationship between digital technologies and society. It first details the approach of research-creation in which research is conducted using of arts-based methods. This is followed by a discussion of specific arts-based methods used in research-creation: creative writing, artistic methods, and creative data stories. Next, it sets out ways in which research undertaken using traditional social science methods can be disseminated in creative ways using creative non-fiction and fiction, film and exhibitions. It closes by noting some critiques of arts-based approaches