15234 research outputs found
Sort by
Oscillatory neural correlates of police firearms decision-making in virtual reality
No full textWe investigated the neural signatures of expert decision-making in the context of police training in a virtual reality–based shoot/don’t shoot scenario. Police officers can use stopping force against a perpetrator, which may require using a firearm and each decision made by an officer to discharge their firearm or not has substantial implications. Therefore, it is important to understand the cognitive and underlying neurophysiological processes that lead to such a decision. We used virtual reality–based simulations to elicit ecologically valid behavior from authorized firearms officers (AFOs) in the UK and matched novices in a shoot/don’t shoot task and recorded electroencephalography concurrently. We found that AFOs had consistently faster response times than novices, suggesting our task was sensitive to their expertise. To investigate differences in decision-making processes under varying levels of threat and expertise, we analyzed electrophysiological signals originating from the anterior cingulate cortex. In line with similar response inhibition tasks, we found greater increases in preresponse theta power when participants inhibited the response to shoot when under no threat as compared with shooting. Most importantly, we showed that when preparing against threat, theta power increase was greater for experts than novices, suggesting that differences in performance between experts and novices are due to their greater orientation toward threat. Additionally, shorter beta rebounds suggest that experts were “ready for action” sooner. More generally, we demonstrate that the investigation of expert decision-making should incorporate naturalistic stimuli and an appropriate control group to enhance validity.Eranda FoundationRAC Research Foundation and Rees Jeffreys Road FundWolfson FoundationAston University (Aston)University of Nottingha
Design and Analysis of Advanced Polar-Coded Communication Systems
No full textPolar codes are a category of error-correcting codes which have excellent performance and have been used in the control channel in the fifth-generation (5G) communication systems standard. They are expected to also be used in the next-generation massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems where sparse coding, low-complexity decoding and optimum resource allocation are the main focus. In this thesis, we have considered three main areas in the context of next-generation communication systems where the design and analysis of polar codes could enhance the system performance. These areas are: spatial modulation (SM) with multilevel coding (MLC), specifically, low complexity soft-cancellation (SCAN) decoding with deep neural network (DNN) assisted bit flipping, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) assisted wireless communications. This is the first work to apply multilevel polar code design to multiple-antenna index modulation schemes such as space-shift keying (SSK) and SM. First, we propose a multilevel polar code design for an SSK-modulated MIMO system. Polar codes have been shown to perform excellently when used with the MLC design paradigm, as the rate allocation of the component polar codes follows the natural polarization inherent in polar codes. We use the capacity rule to evaluate the bit-level ergodic capacities of SSK modulation. The proposed MLC-based polar-coded system outperforms the corresponding system that uses bit-interleaved polar-coded modulation. Next, we address the problem of low-complexity polar decoding for next-generation communication systems. Bit-flipping has recently been applied to the low-complexity SCAN decoder using a fixed list obtained from heuristic bit-flip probability data. This fixed bit-flip list may lead to bit-flip positions with a high probability of error incorrectly given a low flipping probability for a given received codeword. To mitigate this problem, we propose to use a DNN to identify the positions of flipped bits in the soft output of the SCAN decoder that are incorrectly classified for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Finally, we propose a semi-analytical method to design polar codes for the RIS-assisted channel with Rayleigh fading on each wireless link, while also providing an approximate closed-form expression for its word error rate (WEP) as a function of the number of RIS elements. We introduce an exponential approximation to determine closed-form expressions of the bit-channel transition probabilities that are independent of the SNR and the number of RIS elements, which can be tracked throughout the design process. This allows the core design process to be independent of the SNR and the number of RIS elements, enabling rapid determination of the WEP for any combination of RIS elements and SNR. The proposed method accurately determines the number of RIS elements required to achieve a target WEP for a specific SNR and can be used to optimize resource allocation in multi-user scenarios, surpassing traditional exhaustive search methods
Regressing away common neural choice signals does not make them artifacts: Comment on Frömer et al. 2024
No full textFrӧmer et al. (2024, Nature Human Behaviour) apply a deconvolution method to correct for component overlap in the event-related potential. They report that this method eliminates signatures of sensory evidence accumulation from response-aligned measurements of the centro-parietal positivity (CPP), suggesting that these signatures arise artifactually. Here, we argue that the analysis and interpretation of their perceptual choice data are critically flawed. We demonstrate with simulations that the deconvolution analyses used by the authors are not designed to reliably test for the presence or absence of bounded accumulation signals.Wellcome Trust -- Submitted for publication after 1 Jan 2021: 0m embargo and CC-BY licenseScience Foundation IrelandEuropean Research Counci
Commodifying public utilities: EU’s new governance prescriptions for rail and water
No full textIn the mid-2000s, the Single Market Program and European Monetary Union lost momentum, as public services advocates increasingly succeeded in tempering attempts to liberalize public utilities through legislative amendments and Court of Justice rulings. After the 2008 crisis, however, the EU's shift to a new economic governance (NEG) regime provided EU executives with a new tool to advance their objectives. Unlike EU directives, country-specific NEG prescriptions require neither the approval of the European Parliament nor their transposition into law, making it more difficult for social forces to contest them. Our analysis of NEG prescriptions for public utilities in two sectors (rail and water) and four countries (Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania) across 10 years (2009–2019) shows that the shift to NEG provided EU executives with new extra-parliamentarian and extra-juridical tools that allowed them to revive their stalled commodification agenda; at the price of accentuating the EU's democratic and justice deficits.European Research CouncilEuropean Commission Horizon 2020Open access funding provided by IReLUniversity College Dublin. School of Busines
Town Centre Living Initiative. Six Pilot Towns: Synthesis Report
No full textThe report records the findings of the Department of Rural and Community Development's Town Centre Living Initiative using primary data received directly from the 6 pilot towns and participants. In the final section, the authors synthesise the findings and put forward suggested key actions.Department of Rural and Community Developmen
Alcohol marketing as a commercial determinant of health: daily diary insights from young women in Kampala
No full textAlcohol marketing, as a commercial determinant of health, presents an emerging threat to global health and is of particular importance in low-resource settings. This study is composed of data from ‘The Onward Project On Wellbeing and Adversity’ (TOPOWA) project, a multicomponent prospective cohort study examining the mechanistic pathways of adverse mental health conditions among women aged 18 to 24 years living in the Kampala slums in Uganda. The cohort consists of 300 women recruited in 2023 from three study sites (i.e., Banda, Bwaise, and Makindye). In this study, we deployed an underutilized tool, daily diaries, for assessing the exposure to alcohol marketing and an alcohol-promoting environment among young women living in the urban slums of Kampala, Uganda to spur new research and action. At baseline, participants completed a 5-day daily diary and an interviewer-administered survey. Findings show that alcohol-related neighborhood features were most frequently reported, including bars (Mean = 3.88 days), people drinking alcohol (Mean = 3.75), alcohol selling points (Mean = 3.45) and alcohol ads on TV (Mean = 2.51). Women who were exposed to bars (PR = 1.31) and alcohol ads on billboards (PR = 1.14) in a day were more likely to report alcohol use. Similarly, those exposed to alcohol ads on billboards (PR = 1.76) and bars (PR = 2.02) every day were more likely to report alcohol use. Higher cumulative exposure to different alcohol-related features was associated with a greater likelihood of alcohol use, particularly in the group with the highest exposure level. These findings underscore a need to develop alcohol counter-marketing strategies and harm reduction approaches. Daily diaries proved to be a feasible strategy in capturing real-time exposure data, which could in turn support prevention measures and the evaluation of intervention strategies
Proceedings of the 2nd Geogames Symposium: Connecting Communities Through Games and Play
No full textProceedings of the 2nd Geogames Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, 9-10 June 2025We are pleased to present the Proceedings of the 2nd Geogames Symposium, comprising 43 peer-reviewed short papers, 7 geogame demonstrations, and 3 workshops. The symposium reflects the growing scholarly interest in geogames as a multidisciplinary field, integrating research, implementation, and innovation. Geogames are games that concentrate on the well-being and regeneration of planet Earth. They are designed with a purpose in mind that is more than just fun and entertainment. They provide opportunities for learning, co-creation and communication. Geogames can be analogue, digital or hybrid mixing analogue and digital principles. We are particularly proud of the international diversity represented this year, with contributions from researchers and practitioners in Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Scotland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.University College Dublin (UCD
Community voices on alcohol harm in Sierra Leone: Perceptions of prevention needs
No full textObjective: The research purpose is to determine alcohol prevention needs in Sierra Leone. Methods: We analyzed a cross-sectional survey from fall 2020, distributed by the West African Alcohol Policy Alliance to their partners across nine West African countries. The survey included questions on perceptions of alcohol harm, research priorities, and capacity and reach of the organizations represented. Only participants from Sierra Leone were included (n = 33). Results: When asked if they thought measures taken to prevent alcohol-related harm in their country have been adequate, 66% answered inadequate (n = 32). Asked if heavy drinking of commercial alcohol is a concern in their community, 96% said yes (n = 25), and 92% said heavy drinking of traditional brew or distilled spirits is a concern in their community (n = 24). Finally, 91% said that their organization would be interested in implementing an alcohol counter-marketing campaign (n = 23). Conclusions: Based on the perception of survey participants, efforts to prevent alcohol-related harm thus far are inadequate in Sierra Leone where heavy drinking is a critical concern. CBOs and NGOs already engaged in alcohol harm prevention are eager to support and adopt new strategies. Innovation: This is the first research to seek direct input from CBOS and NGOs about alcohol harm prevention in Sierra Leone.University College Dublin (UCD
Beo, Raja agus Éifeacht an Fhéileacáin
No full textTá feithidí na hÉireann an-tábhachtach! Tá Ambasadóir Pailneoirí á lorg againn a bhfuil spéis aige/aici i mbithéagsúlacht
Lohnschutz EU debattiert Trucker-Streik
No full textAm 18. April 2023 veröffentlichte der österreichische EU-Abgeordnete Lukas Mandl seinen Entwurf für einen Parlamentsbericht zu den Verhandlungen der EU mit der Schweiz. Darin verlangte er eine Schwächung der flankierenden Massnahmen zum Lohnschutz, da sich die schweizerischen Bedenken, die es früher auch in anderen Staaten gegeben habe, «nicht bewahrheitet haben». Dumm nur, dass am selben Tag alle Rednerinnen und Redner in einer EU-Parlamentsdebatte dieser falschen Behauptung Mandls einhellig widersprachen.Unia Trade Unio