NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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‘We did what needed to be done’: Cherish, the first support group for unmarried mothers in Ireland
No full textHistorically, unmarried mothers have suffered greatly in Irish
society. Advocacy for unmarried mothers began in the 1970s with
the emergence of the women’s movement in Ireland. ‘Cherish’
became one of the first organisation in Ireland to push for rights
for unmarried mothers. This article is the first comprehensive
study into the organisation exploring its establishment and
development throughout the late twentieth century. Against the
backdrop of the larger women’s movement, this article focuses
on the early years of the campaign incorporating the push for
unmarried mothers allowance; accommodation assistance offered;
advice on legal issues including maintenance; as well as lobbying
politicians on legislative change. It incorporates the organisation’s
connection with the Catholic Church whilst simultaneously and
unapologetically challenging Archbishop Dermot Ryan on
prejudices against unmarried mothers. In the 1980s, the group
faced new challenges as more women with unplanned
pregnancies sought information on abortion. The organisations
link with the Catholic Church diminished throughout the 1980s as
Cherish began to direct women to abortion information helplines
and openly supported the Defend the Clinics Campaign, despite
their receipt of state funding. The establishment of Cherish and
its commitment to advocacy for women in crisis pregnancy has
been somewhat overlooked in the historical analysis of the Irish
women’s movement
A 5000-year record of relative sea-level change in New Jersey, USA
No full textStratigraphic data from salt marshes provide accurate reconstructions of Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) change and necessary constraints to models of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), which is the dominant cause of Late-Holocene RSL rise along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. Here, we produce a new Mid- to Late-Holocene RSL record from a salt marsh bordering Great Bay in southern New Jersey using basal peats. We use a multi-proxy approach (foraminifera and geochemistry) to identify the indicative meaning of the basal peats and produce sea-level index points (SLIPs) that include a vertical uncertainty for tidal range change and sediment compaction and a temporal uncertainty based on high precision Accelerator Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating of salt-marsh plant macrofossils. The 14 basal SLIPs range from 1211 ± 56 years BP to 4414 ± 112 years BP, which we combine with published RSL data from southern New Jersey and use with a spatiotemporal statistical model to show that RSL rose 8.6 m at an average rate of 1.7 ± 0.1 mm/year (1σ) from 5000 years BP to present. We compare the RSL changes with an ensemble of 1D (laterally homogenous) and site-specific 3D (laterally heterogeneous) GIA models, which tend to overestimate the magnitude of RSL rise over the last 5000 years. The continued discrepancy between RSL data and GIA models highlights the importance of using a wide array of ice model and viscosity model parameters to more precisely fit site-specific RSL data along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast
Burnout and counterproductive workplace behaviours among frontline hospitality employees: the effect of perceived contract precarity.
No full textPurpose – This study aims to investigate affective commitment (ACS) and leader–member exchange (LMX)
as resources mitigating against burnout and counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs) in the hospitality
sector, and examines the effect of zero-hour contracts on these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach – Through conservation of resources theory, this study tests a
framework exploring ACS and LMX as resources against burnout and CWBs, using a data set of 260 frontline
hospitality employees working in Ireland, considering zero-hour contracts as a moderator.
Findings – Findings indicate that burnout is associated with CWB, and ACS and LMX are resources
against burnout and CWB. Furthermore, zero-hour contract perceptions moderate the resource effect of ACS
and LMX. Yet, zero-hour contract perceptions do not moderate the relationship between burnout and CWB,
indicating these employees may be caught in a resource-loss spiral.
Practical implications – This study proposes mechanisms to enhance resources against burnout, with
specific strategies to support young employees who are more likely to experience burnout. As findings
suggest unique negative impacts of burnout for employees on zero-hour contracts, this paper also provides
guidance to support these vulnerable employees.
Originality/value – This study provides unique insights into hospitality employees’ ability to harness
resources against burnout and CWB consequences of burnout. The results indicate that perceived precarity
does not moderate these relationships, suggesting that burnout affects this cohort differentl
Factors Associated with Experiences of Gender-Affirming Health Care: A Systematic Review
No full textAbstract
Purpose: Transgender people often pursue gender-affirming health care (GAH), such as hormone therapy
and/or surgeries. While research has begun to explore influences on general health care for transgender individuals, less is known about the experiences of GAH specifically. We aimed to systematically review the factors
associated with experiences of GAH.
Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were systematically searched for relevant literature
using a predetermined search strategy. Studies were screened by two researchers to determine whether they fit
the inclusion criteria. Following quality appraisal and data extraction, results were thematically analyzed.
Results: Thirty-eight studies were included in the review. Factors associated with experiences of GAH were
broadly categorized as follows: (i) sociodemographic factors, (ii) treatment-related factors, (iii) psychosocial factors, and (iv) health care interactions, with health care interactions, in particular, being strong determinants of
experience.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that experiences of GAH may be determined by a number of diverse factors,
which have implications for understanding how to better support those undergoing transition. In particular,
health care professionals play a key role in determining how transgender people experience treatment,
which should be considered when providing care for this populatio
An analysis of barriers for successful implementation of municipal solid waste management in Beijing: an integrated DEMATEL-MMDE-ISM approach
No full textPurpose – With rapid industrialization and urbanization, municipal solid waste (MSW) management has
become a serious challenge worldwide, especially in developing countries. The Beijing Municipality is a
representative example of many local governments in China that are facing MSW management issues.
Although there have been studies in the area of MSW management in the literature, less attention has been
devoted to developing a structured framework that identifies and interprets the barriers to MSW management
in megacities, especially in Beijing. Therefore, this study focuses on identifying a comprehensive list of barriers
affecting the successful implementation of MSW management in Beijing.
Design/methodology/approach – Through an extensive review of related literature, 12 barriers are
identified and classified into five categories: government, waste, knowledge dissemination, MSW management
process and market. Using an integrated approach including the decision-making trial and evaluation
laboratory (DEMATEL), maximum mean de-entropy algorithm (MMDE) and interpretive structural modeling
(ISM), a conceptual structural model of MSW implementation barriers is constructed to provide insights for
industrial decision-makers and policymakers.
Findings – The results show that a lack of economic support fromthe government, imperfect MSW-related laws and
regulations, the low education of residents and the lack of publicity of waste recycling knowledge are the main barriers
to MSW management in Beijing. Combined with expert opinions, the paper provides suggestions and guidance to
municipal authorities and industry practitioners to guide the successful implementation of MSW management.
Practical implications – The findings of this study can provide a reference for MSW management in other
metropolises in China and other developing countries.
Originality/value – This study proposes a hybrid DEMATEL-MMDE-ISM approach to resolve the
subjectivity issues of the traditional ISM approach and it analyzes the barriers that hinder MSW management
practices in Beijing
Targeting Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens through Novel Glycoconjugate-based Anti-Virulence Strategies
No full textNumerous strategies have been developed to treat both bacterial and fungal
infections. Of these strategies, the anti-adhesion strategy is of particular relevance
to this work. Novel approaches to treat these infections are of particular importance
due to the rapidly increasing prevalence of both bacterial and fungal resistant strains.
Anti-virulence strategies are of interest due to an inherently lower selective pressure
for resistant strains.
This thesis builds on previous work in our group and presents the synthesis of novel
derivatives of lead compounds developed through a combination of synthetic
carbohydrate chemistry and Copper-catalysed Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition (CuAAC).
Chapter 2 describes the study of the structural requirements for an interesting
intramolecular cyclisation reaction in cis-Norbornene compounds: this reaction can
lead to the development of potential pH-responsive compounds. Novel anti�adhesion compounds designed to combine anti-adhesion and anti-biofilm activity
based on this scaffold are discussed. Chapter 3 describes the development of
glycoconjugates with covalent crosslinking abilities in combination with inherent
anti-adhesion activity for C. albicans, along with toxicity testing against several
Candida spp. Chapter 4 describes a structure-activity-relationship (SAR) study of our
lead compound, which included replacements with heterocycles, aromatic
substituents and sp2
-glycomimetic analogues. Some of these derivatives exhibit
comparable activity to this lead compound and open the door to the use of
glycomimetics as anti-adhesion compounds in fungal infections. Additionally, a
derivative of the lead compound was functionalized for resin modification and
identification of the target lectin. This will ultimately allow for more efficient design
of high affinity analogues. Chapter 5 describes the synthesis of a number of
glycoconjugates exhibiting exciting dual anti-conjugation and anti-biofilm activities.
These compounds are promising due to the key roles bacterial conjugation plays in
the spread of AMR through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Currently, preparation of
fluorescently-labelled derivatives of these compounds is underway and it is hoped
that this may help elucidate the mechanism of action of these compounds
Dedicating Cellular Infrastructure for Aerial Users: Advantages and Potential Impact on Ground Users
No full textA new generation of aerial vehicles is hopeful to be the next frontier for the transportation of people and goods, becoming even as important as ground users in the communication systems. To enhance the coverage of aerial users, appropriate adjustments should be made to the existing cellular networks that mainly provide services for ground users by the down-tilted antennas of the terrestrial base stations (BSs). It is promising to up-tilt the antennas of a subset of BSs for serving aerial users through the mainlobe. With this motivation, in this work, we use tools from stochastic geometry to analyze the coverage performance of the adjusted cellular network (consisting of the up-tilted BSs and the down-tilted BSs). Correspondingly, we present exact and approximate expressions of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR)-based coverage probabilities for users in the sky and on the ground, respectively. Numerical results verify the analysis accuracy and clarify the advantages of up-tilting BS antennas on the communication connectivity of aerial users without the potential adverse impact on the quality of service (QoS) of ground users. Moreover, it is unveiled that there exists an optimal value of the up-tilted/down-tilted BS density ratio for maximizing the coverage probability of the aerial or ground users
Stochastic-Geometry-Based Analysis of Multipurpose UAVs for Package and Data Delivery
No full textUsing drones for communications and transportation is drawing great attention in many practical scenarios, such as package delivery and providing additional wireless coverage. However, the increasing demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from industry and academia will cause aerial traffic conflicts in the future. This, in turn, motivates the idea of this article: multipurpose UAVs, acting as aerial wireless data relays and means of aerial transportation simultaneously, to deliver packages and data at the same time. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of using drones to collect and deliver data from the Internet of Things (IoT) devices to terrestrial base stations (TBSs) while delivering packages from warehouses to residential areas. We propose an algorithm to optimize the trajectory of UAVs to maximize the size of collected/delivered data while minimizing the total round trip time subject to the limited onboard battery of UAVs. Specifically, we use tools from stochastic geometry to model the locations of the IoT clusters and the TBSs and study the system performance with respect to energy efficiency, average size of collected/delivered data, and package delivery time. Our numerical results reveal that multifunctional UAVs have great potential to enhance the efficiency of both communication and transportation networks
Six Tiles : From Collatz Sequences to Algorithmic DNA Origami
No full textWe tile a path from the theoretical world of Collatz sequences, which are fascinating, seemingly undecipherable
mathematical objects, to the experimental wet lab world of algorithmic DNA origami, which is
our proposed technique to run algorithms using self-assembling DNA nanostructures. The common thread
throughout these seemingly unrelated worlds is the use of tile self-assembly models to reason about the
problem at hand.
In the case of Collatz sequences (also known as 3x+1 sequences), we study 6 Wang tiles, which give this
thesis its name, that assemble Collatz sequences in tilings. These Collatz tilings provide a microscope for
studying Collatz sequences symbolically in many bases (base 2, 3, 6, and more) and allow us to interpret
known results in our 2D tiling framework, as well as partially characterising the complexity of predicting
Collatz iterations, Chapter 1.
We then use these 6 tiles to visualise a conjecture by Erdős on powers of two that we encode as the
halting problem (from blank tape) of a 15-state 2-symbol Turing machine. This construction implies that
knowing the busy beaver value BB(15) is at least as hard as solving Erdős’ conjecture, which seems to put
BB(15) out of reach since the conjecture has been open for decades, Chapter 2.
We go on to show that our 6 tiles can simulate arbitrary Boolean circuits in a model of tile assembly
that we introduce: the Maze-Walking Tile Assembly Model. This is when our journey starts entering the
realm of wet lab experiments, as we argue that our Maze-Walking TAM is suited to DNA nanostructure
implementation, Chapter 3.
We make this claim concrete in Chapter 4 by introducing the Scaffolded DNA Computer, a thermodynamically
favoured model of computation very close in spirit to the Maze-Walking TAM. In the wet lab
we implement eight DNA-based programs for this computer (corresponding to over 100 DNA program
executions), including a 7-bit adder running within a DNA origami, or, as we call it, an algorithmic DNA
origami
On data-based control-oriented modelling applications in wave energy systems
No full textThe development of effective energy-maximising control strategies has a crucial role in the empowerment of wave energy technology, and in its improvement towards economic viability. Within the state-of-the-art, most of the strategies adopted to maximise the absorbed energy exploit a model of the wave energy converter (WEC) to be controlled, i.e. they are model-based. These models attempt to replicate the WEC dynamics with a sufficient degree of fidelity, trying, at the same time, to minimise their associated computational burden. However, due to the presence of the hydrodynamic effects , which inherently characterise wave energy systems, simultaneously achieving high-fidelity and computational efficiency is not trivial. Oversimplification of the problem through, for example, linearity assumptions, could lead to non-representative models and/or large uncertainty levels. To overcome these issues, in the last decade, several approaches based on data have been proposed in the wave energy field. These approaches, falling under the umbrella of system identification techniques, exploit data coming from experimental tests or high fidelity simulations, and build control -oriented models with a pre-defined level of complexity. In this paper, we analyse the different strategies that have been adopted in the literature to build data-based control-oriented models for WECs, highlighting the characteristics of each approach, together with their opportunities and inherent drawbacks. An analysis of eventual “partial” data-based modelling of WEC subsystems (e.g. moorings, PTO, or hydrodynamics only) is also reported. Moreover, considerations on the choice of inputs and outputs depending on the WEC type are reported, in an attempt to highlight the different issues that characterise the system identification problem depending on the WEC technology. Finally, conclusions are drawn regarding the capabilities that this type of approach has in (at least partially) solving the modelling issues that affect WEC control system design, and the pitfalls that pure adoption of these strategies has when applied on larger scales, or in the operational stage