National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Safe Virtual Space: taking a practice turn in psychological safety, towards systemically viable and sustainable disability supports.
Get PDFDigitisation presents opportunities and challenges for enhancing disability
services. The onset of COVID-19 prompted a rapid move to virtual service
provision. Many organisations encountered challenges with the digital
divide, governance, internet access, technological skills or hardware. This systems
research project explored the potential of virtual services as an alternative
service model by exploring how some services in Ireland set up ad-hoc
virtual supports, often despite poor digital literacy amongst staff and disabled
people. The research developed a focus on safe virtual spaces as an emergent
cross-cutting issue, supported through adaptive innovation.
Soft Systems Methodology was used to design the research as an iterative
process across three cycles. The first cycle consisted of interviews with
service providers and educators to understand experiences of taking services
online. Themes generated using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) suggested
that services acted as Complex Adaptive Systems. Notable findings
included the transformation of traditional power dynamics, enhanced personal
agency and psychological safety. The second cycle was designed as
a World Café. Findings indicated that staff practices created the conditions
for safe virtual environments where meaningful connections were possible.
The concept of psychological safety – risk-taking and candour without retribution
– was reframed as a practice-led, systemic construct to include embodied
presence and meaningful connection, leading to a sense of mattering
and belonging. The final study assessed the staff practices and systemic
conditions that support safe virtual spaces. A real-time online Delphi survey
was conducted with an international group of experts. The Viable Systems
Model (VSM) was used to structure questions and analysis. The results suggested that developing Safe Virtual Spaces requires integration with the identity
and strategic governance processes within organisations. The research
identifies a need for more attention to balancing current and future needs, as
the demand for virtual services is expected to increase. Seven principles to inform
the systemic design of safe virtual spaces are proposed. The research
concluded that a focus on developing staff practices alongside appropriate
governance is needed to create and sustain viable Safe Virtual Spaces,
where a felt sense of safety forms the purpose of the space, within the context
of service improvements that are more resilient to future volatility
The Structure, Function, and Adaptation of Lower-Limb Aponeuroses: Implications for Myo-Aponeurotic Injury
Get PDFThe aponeurosis is a large fibrous connective tissue structure within and surrounding skeletal muscle and is a critical component of the muscle–tendon unit (MTU). Due to the lack of consensus on terminology and the heterogeneous nature of the aponeurosis between MTUs, there are several questions that remain unanswered. For example, the aponeurosis is often conflated with the free tendon rather than being considered an independent structure. This has subsequent implications when interpreting data regarding the structure, function, and adaptation of the aponeuroses from these studies. In recent years, a body of work has emerged to suggest that acute injury to the myo-aponeurotic complex may have an impact on return-to-sport timeframes and reinjury rates. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide a more detailed understanding of the morphology and mechanical behaviour common to all aponeuroses, as well as the unique characteristics of specific lower-limb aponeuroses that are commonly injured. This review provides the practitioner with a current understanding of the mechanical, material, and adaptive properties of lower limb aponeuroses and suggests directions for future research related to the myo-aponeurotic complex
The Impact of Crime Media on Peoples’ Perceptions of Crime, Perpetrators and Victims
Get PDFThis dissertation aims to analyse the potential negative impacts of crime-related media on
viewers’ perceptions about crime, perpetrators, and victims. It will be completed using
desk-based research as this is the most fitting and most practical method to answer the
research question. Using desk-based research allows me to compare and contrast various
perspectives on the same topic which will allow me to identify trends and patterns that
will allow me to answer my research question.
To conduct research for this dissertation I used Google Scholar, Scopus and EBSOhost
as my main sources of literature. Initial searches of “crime media” found around 3 million
results so I had to be more specific. Some of the search terms I used to utilise this search
engine and database more efficiently included: “crime media AND ethics” (approx. 1.86
million results), “crime media AND fear” (approx. 1.7 million results), “crime media
AND perpetrators” (approx. 270,000 results), “crime media AND police” (approx. 1.95
million results), “crime media AND race OR ethnicity” (approx. 870, 000), and “media
AND ideal victims” (approx. 440,000 results). Where appropriate, I also used both the
American English and UK English spellings of certain words (such as ‘sensationalization’
and ‘sensationalisation’, or ‘racialisation’ and ‘racialization’) to maximise the efficiency of
my searches.
Additionally, for the purposes of this dissertation I used some inclusion and
exclusion criteria to narrow down my searches to best fit my research question. I included
literature related to both fictional and non-fictional crime-related media; and media from
various sources, including television, newspapers, and true crime podcasts and
documentaries. When searching for literature I mainly limited myself to sources that were
written within the last four decades. I also limited myself to literature written in English.
While reviewing the existing literature I gathered to help me answer my research
question, I highlighted and took a note of the main findings of each relevant paper. This
allowed me to observe and keep track of common themes that emerge from the literature
in relation to this topic. These included: sensationalism in relation to ethics; biased
reporting; selective reporting that it at odds with official crime statistics; stereotyping; impacts related to police; impacts related to fear; differential treatment of minorities; and
typifying legitimate victims. Biased reporting involved either the over-representation or
underrepresentation of certain groups (Greer, 2007; Jewkes, 2015). Selective reporting
involved the overrepresentation of certain types of crimes (Jewkes, 2015; Grosholz &
Kubrin, 2007; Chermak, 1998; Greer, 2007), and victims and offenders (Grosholz &
Kubrin, 2007); as well as a focus on newsworthiness to create stories most appealing to
viewers (Dmitrieva, 2017; Greer, 2007). Stereotyping referred to stereotyping who
criminals are (including racial stereotyping and the racialisation of crime (Colburn &
Melander, 2018; Monk et al., 2007; Keating, 2002)) as well as stereotyping who victims
are (Christie, 1986; Dukes & Gaither, 2017). Impacts relating to police involved more
negative perceptions of police (Choi et al., 2020; Long, 2021); the impact of media on
perceptions of police efficiency (Dowler, 2002) and legitimacy (Jewkes, 2015); and the
link of perceptions of police to fear of crime (Choi et al., 2020). Impacts on fear of crime
examined the extent to which this occurs (Greer, 2007; Grabe & Drew, 2007; Choi et al.,
2020; Keating, 2002; Heath & Gilbert, 1996; Jewkes, 2015), including differences across
racial/ethnic groups (Callanan, 2012; Dowler, 2002). It also examined whether media
influences who one ‘should’ fear. Differential treatment of minorities examined the
overrepresentation of minorities as offenders (Callanan, 2012; Colburn & Melander,
2018), as well as minority victims and offenders being treated or portrayed differently and
more negatively (Dixon & Linz, 2002; Brennan & Vandenberg, 2009; Smiley & Fakunle,
2016; Long, 2021; Slakoff, 2018). The typification of legitimate victims focused on the
perpetuation of Nils Christie’s (1986) construct of ‘ideal victims’ in media (Long, 2021;
Greer, 2007), and how legitimate and illegitimate victims are treated differently (Slakoff,
2018; Lewis & Hamilton, 2021; DiBennardo, 2018). These themes will be further
elaborated on and explored throughout this dissertation
Stories in the Border Country. An autoethnographic exploration of narrative identity and re-storying.
Get PDFTaking 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
Iron Is Critical for Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cell Metabolism and Effector Functions
Get PDFMucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are a population of innate T cells that play a critical role in host protection against bacterial and viral pathogens. Upon activation, MAIT cells can rapidly respond via both TCR-dependent and -independent mechanisms, resulting in robust cytokine production. The metabolic and nutritional requirements for optimal MAIT cell effector responses are still emerging. Iron is an important micronutrient and is essential for cellular fitness, in particular cellular metabolism. Iron is also critical for many pathogenic microbes, including those that activate MAIT cells. However, iron has not been investigated with respect to MAIT cell metabolic or functional responses. In this study, we show that human MAIT cells require exogenous iron, transported via CD71 for optimal metabolic activity in MAIT cells, including their production of ATP. We demonstrate that restricting iron availability by either chelating environmental iron or blocking CD71 on MAIT cells results in impaired cytokine production and proliferation. These data collectively highlight the importance of a CD71-iron axis for human MAIT cell metabolism and functionality, an axis that may have implications in conditions where iron availability is limited
Migration to and from Ireland, 2011 to 2024: Known Facts and Data Gaps. (MUSSI Working Paper Series 23)
Get PDFIn May and June 2024, election literature from people campaigning in the local and European
elections was posted through letterboxes across Ireland. Some of this literature made
reference to migration, with claims that "Ireland is Full" (from the Irish Freedom Party) and
calls for "an immediate halt on mass immigration" (from the National Party), mass
deportations, and the refusal of any more applications for asylum (from a variety of
Independents). Underpinning all of these various assertions and claims was the belief that the
level of immigration to Ireland was unacceptable. Yet, the election literature did not quantify
the scale of immigration, preferring to focus on emotions rather than facts.
This paper outlines the known facts about migration to and from Ireland in the period from
2011 to 2024 (see Gilmartin 2012, 2013 for overviews of the period from 2000-2012). The
period covers the aftermath of the financial crash in Ireland and the subsequent (partial)
financial recovery, broader geopolitical instability, and a widespread international cost of
living crisis. The first section provides a brief overview of migrant stock – the numbers of
people living in Ireland at the date of the last Census. However, the main focus of the paper is
migration flows – the movements of people into and from Ireland. The second section details
migration to Ireland in the period between 2011 and 2024, and highlights the continuation of
more established migration patterns as well as the development of new patterns. The third
section presents migration from Ireland in the same period. In both sections, sources of
reliable information as well as the knowledge gaps that exist are discussed. The paper
concludes with a reflection on the state of migration to and from Ireland today
An ambivalent approach to disability in older age: evidence from reporting by states parties under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Get PDFIssues of ‘disability’ and ‘ageing’ are usually approached separately in theorising, activism and policy making. Yet people with disabilities age and many people will experience disability if they live long enough. Human rights approaches to disability enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are not often applied to older people experiencing disability. This article presents findings of a systematic qualitative analysis of reports made by 28 European states to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the independent body that monitors CRPD implementation, focusing particularly on Article 19 CRPD (‘Living independently and being included in the community’). While states’ reports refer to older people or ageing in different contexts, their approach can be characterised as ambivalent. Reports tend to constitute older people experiencing disability as ‘older’ rather than ‘disabled’; they do not demonstrate a thorough engagement with disability experienced in older age, and display a limited focus on people ageing with lifelong disability. Several reports detail exclusions of ‘older people’ from disability supports to live in the community and some exclude impairments associated with ageing from definitions of what ‘disability’ is. The reports provide almost no evidence of consultation with organisations working on ageing. The article concludes that while the CRPD’s potential to contribute to realising rights for older people with disabilities is under-recognised among scholars and non-governmental organisations, the fact that states refer to older people in their reporting under the CRPD provides a starting point for more engagement
Mesenchymal stromal cells dampen trained immunity in house dust mite-primed macrophages expressing human macrophage migration inhibitory factor polymorphism
Get PDFBackground: Trained immunity results in long-term immunological memory, provoking a faster and greater
immune response when innate immune cells encounter a secondary, often heterologous, stimulus. We have
previously shown that house dust mite (HDM)-induced innate training is amplified in mice expressing the
human macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) CATT7 functional polymorphism.
Aim: This study investigated the ability of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to modulate MIF-driven trained
immunity both in vitro and in vivo.
Methods: Compared with wild-type mice, in vivo HDM-primed bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs)
from CATT7 mice expressed significantly higher levels of M1-associated genes following lipopolysaccharide stimulation ex vivo. Co-cultures of CATT7 BMDMs with MSCs suppressed this HDM-primed effect, with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) being significantly decreased in a cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2)-dependent manner.
Interestingly, interleukin 6 (IL-6) was suppressed by MSCs independently of COX-2. In an in vitro training assay,
MSCs significantly abrogated the enhanced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by HDM-trained CATT7
BMDMs when co-cultured at the time of HDM stimulus on day 0, displaying their therapeutic efficacy in modulating an overzealous human MIF-dependent immune response. Utilizing an in vivo model of HDM-induced
trained immunity, MSCs administered systemically on day 10 and day 11 suppressed this trained phenomenon
by significantly reducing TNF-a and reducing IL-6 and C-C motif chemokine ligand 17 (CCL17) production.
Conclusions: This novel study elucidates how MSCs can attenuate an MIF-driven, HDM-trained response in
CATT7 mice in a model of allergic airway inflammatio
Being in Reference to the Person: Christos Yannaras and the Ecclesial Event.
Get PDFThe central aim of this dissertation is to offer a focused study on Christos Yannaras’ unexplored
response to Martin Heidegger’s onto-theological critique of metaphysics, with the further intention
of advancing Yannaras’ proposal as a possible way forward from the metaphysical impasse of
Western nihilism in the emerging field of Continental philosophy of religion. Accordingly, this
essay sets out to address the following questions: how and in what way can Yannaras’ response
overcome the metaphysical impasse of Western nihilism as illuminated by Martin Heidegger?
Further still, this inquiry gives rise to the following question: how in and what way does Yannaras’
response contribute to contemporary post-Heideggerian discourse? In response to the first
question, this essay will argue that Yannaras’ response to Heidegger’s critique is able to overcome
the metaphysical impasse of Western nihilism by A) arguing that the historical unfolding of
nihilism is an event that must be restricted to the Latin (Western European) philosophical tradition
alone, and thus neither accounts for nor applies to the non-Western, Hellenistic tradition of the
Christian East, which he summarizes as the philosophical tradition of the Greek Church Fathers.
Second, and for this reason, Yannaras is able to B) present the tradition of the Greek Church
Fathers as capable of successfully overcoming the nihilistic implications of Heidegger’s
fundamental ontology insofar as he believes it to offer a non-essentialist, testimonial metaphysics
of ecclesial existence which is not derived from the onto-theological structure of value-laden
metaphysics, but is capable of being known and validated through praxis, participation, and
intersubjective experience. In response to the second question, I will then argue that C) Yannaras’
ontological understanding of ecclesial existence offers a key methodological hermeneutic which
would allow for richer discourse amongst Christian thinkers within the post-Heideggerian field of
Continental philosophy of religion insofar as it would not restrict phenomenological discourse
within Christianity to theology or religion, but would open the possibility for Christian experience
to be discussed ontologically within the discipline of philosophy proper
Fostering Greater Conversion for Active Liturgical Participation: Exploring the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
Get PDFThe challenge before contemporary liturgical and sacramental theologians is to findnew means of explaining the notion of sacramental ef icacy, which would be suf icient
to sustain the Christian faith and enhance worship in our contemporary society. This
study argues that the complexities of the human person in today’s society have made the traditional categories and framework (like Thomas Aquinas’ theory of sanctifying grace) used to express the human person’s experience of God inadequate to enhance worship in contemporary times. It presents Bernard Lonergan’s approach as a more sustainable model that better elaborates on the position of Thomas Aquinas and The Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Lonergan attempts to understand the idea of grace offered in the sacraments by beginning with human experiences. Head vocates for a liturgical and sacramental theology that enables the human person to encounter God. For him, reflection on conversion is the foundation for that new theology