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Warrior Networks: Elite Soldiers and their Transition to Civilian Life.
Get PDFThe aim of this research is to explore the transition of Special Forces soldiers from
elite military units to civilian life. There is a large social-scientific literature on
transition, which emphasises adjustment challenges and negative outcomes for
mental health and violence. But what factors determine successful transition? A
number of recent studies conclude that successful transition is a matter of “cultural
competences,” but the term culture is deployed without analytical precision.
Moreover, other social-scientific studies worry about the excessive power of
“culture” in the form of informal networks and guilds, which may well be the
source of the competences that lead to success. The scholarly discussion about
transition from military to civilian life, then, is dominated by anthropological
concerns and disciplinary concepts – most obviously culture and its synonyms –
but no reference is made to anthropological theory or to ethnographic research.
This research is an anthropological exploration of the cultural space
between the military and civil society. It is grounded in an ethnographic study that
tracks the transition of individuals from a comparative sample of key military
units. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the focus is on military-civil fields,
on habitus, and on capital, in order to develop a more nuanced, anthropological
understanding of “cultural competence”. The project also makes an empirical
contribution by focusing on the understudied world of elite Special Forces. As yet,
there has been no in-depth study of the transition of soldiers from this elite and
high-stakes world to civilian roles. Over the lifetime of this project, I will follow
the transition of individuals from several units, focusing on field, habitus and
capital, to provide an anthropological perspective on military-civil transitio
What is it that I seek? An autoethnographic exploration of my self-care needs as a helping professional.
Get PDFThis work is an attempt to write my way out of a dilemma I’ve had for quite some time. I say write, but to write I have had to search and research and re-search. I’ve read and re-read and listened. I’ve sat, I’ve stood, I’ve watched, I’ve observed, I’ve thought. I’ve walked and wandered and wondered. I’ve written a bit. I’ve agonised. I’ve written another bit. Deleted most of it, agonised again and started again. The process of writing about self-care this year mirrors my various attempts to identify sustainable self-care practices for over thirty years. Experimentations this year have been a series of starts and stops, learnings and un-learnings or re-learnings. My hope is that when I get to The End, it will also be the beginning of a new phase in self-care as a helping professional, one that is in keeping with my uniqueness, my nature and my interests
How do we think in movements? Learning, knowledge and struggle
Get PDFIn June 2003, I was standing over a photocopier running off programmes for an activist
get-together in inner-city Dublin. Over that weekend, perhaps 150 activists crowded
into the rooms of an old Georgian house, now a trade union social club, to share their
experiences of organising – how to carry out direct action, how to make alliances
between movements, how to deal with burnout, how to work with internal diversity,
how to build alternative media, in the fifth of a series of “Grassroots Gatherings
Inference for extreme spatial temperature events in a changing climate with application to Ireland
Get PDFWe investigate the changing nature of the frequency, magnitude, and spatial extent of extreme temperatures in Ireland from 1942 to 2020. We develop an extreme value model that captures spatial and temporal non-stationarity in extreme daily maximum temperature data. We model the tails of the marginal variables using the generalised Pareto distribution and the spatial dependence of extreme events by a semi-parametric Brown-Resnick r-Pareto process, with parameters of each model allowed to change over time. We use weather station observations for modelling extreme events since data from climate models (not conditioned on observational data) can over-smooth these events and have trends determined by the specific climate model configuration. However, climate models do provide valuable information about the detailed physiography over Ireland and the associated climate response. We propose novel methods which exploit the climate model data to overcome issues linked to the sparse and biased sampling of the observations. Our analysis identifies a temporal change in the marginal behaviour of extreme temperature events over the study domain, which is much larger than the change in mean temperature levels over this time window. We illustrate how these characteristics result in increased spatial coverage of the events that exceed critical temperatures
What does well-being mean to me?’. Conceptualisations of well-being in Irish Primary Schooling
Get PDFPurpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the term well-being as conceptualised by parents, grandparents, principals and teachers in the Irish primary education system.
Design/methodology/approach
A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the nature and meaning of the phenomenon of well-being. Interviews were carried out with 54 principals, teachers, parents and grandparents from a representative sample of primary schools in Ireland. Each participant was asked the same, open, question: “What does well-being mean to you?” Responses were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis.
Findings
Three conceptualisations of well-being were identified (1) well-being is about being happy, (2) well-being is about being healthy and safe and (3) well-being is something you “do”.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge this paper is the first of its kind to describe how well-being is conceptualised by adults in Irish primary school contexts. In particular it highlights how neoliberal conceptualisations of well-being as a “thing”, a commodity exchanged on assumptions of individualism, moralism and bio-economism, have crept into the education of our youngest citizens
Reimagining Effectiveness in Youth Justice: The Necessity of Moving Towards the Holistic Child
Get PDFThe aim of this research is to look at effectiveness and its relevance and definition within the
context of youth justice. Although ‘effective’ is frequently used to describe the success of youth
justice policies, interventions and systems, its precise definition remains elusive. In order to
explore the concept of effectiveness, and its use in the area of youth justice, an extensive review
of the literature was undertaken, establishing a theoretical framework which provided the basis
for a thematic analysis of Irish policy documents. This approach offered a detailed exploration
and comprehensive insights into where the understanding of effectiveness within these
documents sits in relation to the literature in the area. This analysis revealed that ‘effectiveness’
is a highly fluid and adaptable term, which is capable of meaning many things to many different
stakeholders. It often serves as a catch-all phrase that is shaped by political, social, and
ideological contexts. As a result, the concept is difficult to pin down and is open to
interpretation depending on the perspective of the evaluator. While its position within youth
justice remains the same, its meaning is everchanging and is not captured easily. There is a
clear need for a more consistent and streamlined definition of effectiveness, with further
research required in the area
Evaluation of Machine Learning Approaches for Precision Farming in Smart Agriculture System: A Comprehensive Review
Get PDFIn the era of digital data proliferation, agriculture stands on the cusp of a transformative
revolution driven by Machine Learning (ML). This study delves into the intricate interplay between
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and conventional agriculture, emphasizing the role
of ML in reshaping farming practices. With the ongoing data tsunami impacting data-driven businesses,
the fusion of smart farming and precision agriculture emerges as a beacon of innovation. ML algorithms,
analyzing historical and real-time environmental data, soil conditioning, predicts suitable crop for maximum
yields, detect diseases, and optimize irrigation in smart farming, facilitating informed decision-making.
Precision agriculture benefits from autonomous vehicles and drones, driven by ML, ensuring precision
in planting, harvesting, and crop monitoring. Resource efficiency increases as ML optimizes energy
consumption, manages fertilizer application, and promotes climate-resilient practices. This comprehensive
assessment underscores ML’s pivotal role in maximizing productivity, minimizing environmental impact,
and navigating the complexities of modern agriculture
Coastal sea-level changes driven by oceanic and atmospheric circulation
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the coastal sea-level changes driven by oceanic
and atmospheric circulation, with a focus on three ocean basin boundaries
in the northern hemisphere: the northeast Atlantic, the northwest Pacific
and the northwest Atlantic.
In a first part, the focal point is on the northeast Atlantic and
the European shelf and coastal sea level. Observations of the oceanic
circulation in the northeast Atlantic are presented, using altimetry
observations and in-situ measurements from moored instruments deployed
in the last thirty years. Together, these recent observations showcase a
poleward flow to the west of Ireland and Scotland: the Rockall Slope
Current. In contrast, I find no evidence of an upstream continuation to the
Rockall Slope Current which would form a continuous slope circulation
circumnavigating Europe. The spatial distribution of sea level induced
by an idealised eastern boundary slope circulation, representative of the
Rockall Slope Current, is then derived. Both bottom friction as well as
the joint effect of baroclinicity and relief are considered in this theoretical
study. I demonstrate how the large-scale poleward dynamic height decline
in the North Atlantic is mediated to the shelf and eventually affects the
coastal sea level thanks to the transport divergence generated by bottom
Ekman currents. Through this process, the poleward slope circulation is
slowed down. Finally, the sub-annual variability in sea level and currents is
investigated. The shelf sea-level changes are found to reflect the alignment
of the winds with the along-isobath direction. Analysis of the in-situ
current data reveals the build-up of sea level on the shelf leads to changes
in along-isobath currents on the outer-shelf and upper-slope.
In a second part, the focal point shifts to the links between subtropical
western boundary currents and sea-level variability in the northern
hemisphere. The role of the Gulf Stream and of the Kuroshio in driving
interannual changes in nearby coastal sea level are conjointly investigated.
It is found that the sea level on the Japanese and American coasts is
strongly affected by the variability of these major western boundary
currents. In particular, path changes of the western boundary currents
are responsible for important coastal sea-level variations. Coastal sea-level
changes reflect meridional shifts of western boundary currents downstream
of their separation from the continental slope. In the northwest Pacific,
meandering of the Kuroshio in the region upstream its separation point
is also a strong driver of coastal sea-level changes
MicroRNA-155 contributes to epithelial dysfunction in eosinophilic oesophagitis
No full textEosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE) is a chronic allergen-mediated disease of the oesophagus with a
rising incidence which represents an increased clinical burden associated with disease. During EoE
chronic inflammation, eosinophils and other leukocytes migrate into the oesophageal epithelium and
consume available oxygen at a higher rate than the surrounding epithelium. This reduction in the
oxygen tension places an increased metabolic demand on the epithelium and induces an extended
inflammatory hypoxia in the EoE oesophagus. Previous studies showed that this extended hypoxic
microenvironment is concordant with a decrease in HIF-1α signaling, whereby HIF-1α was repressed
in active EoE and shown to regulate the barrier forming tight junction claudin-1. Pharmacologic HIF�1α stabilisation restored the HIF-1α/claudin-1 regulatory axis and highlighted the barrier protective
role of HIF-1α in the oesophageal epithelium.
With reference to upstream regulators associated with oesophageal epithelial reactive changes,
microRNAs (miRNAs) were an attractive avenue of exploration which were previously researched in
EoE, however their impact on the oesophageal epithelium has not been fully elucidated. Previous
research has defined a coordinate negative feedback loop with the elevation of miR-155 and the
destabilisation of HIF-1α signaling in response to extended experimental hypoxia, however the
functional impacts of miR-155 in the oesophagus had not yet been fully identified. Using in silico
analyses we highlight an enrichment of miR-155 regulated pathways within the EoE transcriptome and
suggest the action of miR-155 in hypoxic pathways and epithelial barrier regulation.
Furthermore, we show via in situ hybridisation an elevation in miR-155 in oesophageal biopsies
of active EoE patients, whereby miR-155 was shown localised to basal and suprabasal layers of the
epithelium. In concordance with the literature, we defined an elevation of miR-155 in EPC2-hTERTs
cultured in extended experimental hypoxia, which was inversely correlated with the decrease in HIF�1α signaling. Using miR-155 stably overexpressing (miR-155OE) EPC2-hTERTs we reported a
dysfunctional epithelial barrier in 3-dimensional physiologic cultures measured by transepithelial
electrical resistance (TEER). qRT-PCR and western blot analysis identified a selective decrease in claudin-7, with immunofluorescence staining further confirming a decrease in expression and
mislocalisation of claudin-7. In silico analysis did not identify miR-155 binding sites in claudin-7 mRNA,
however we propose that miR-155 induces dysfunctional epithelial barrier through indirect
attenuation of claudin-7.
Molecular characterisation studies have shown a dysregulation in the basal-stem cell
compartment in the EoE epithelium. Studies have highlighted a decrease in CD73 and CD104
expressing basal-stem cells in response to EoE inflammation which was associated with reduced
epithelial renewal. Further studies have also associated an elevation in quiescent progenitorstem cells
in EoE pathology, however the impact of miR-155 on the epithelial basal-stem compartment has not
been fully explored. We identified that miR-155OE cultures have an acute elevation of proliferation
and basal stem markers, followed by a reduction at extended timepoints. This was concordant with
reduction in suprabasal keratin-13 and keratin-4, and elevation in late-differentiation markers keratin�16 and involucrin. We propose that miR-155 is associated with destabilisation of CD73, dysregulates
other basal stem-like cells and induces an accelerated maturation phenotype in organoid cultures.
Collectively, these findings suggest that miR-155 is an epithelial miRNA elevated in EoE pathology.
MiR-155 elevation is concordant with the extended hypoxic microenvironment and attenuation in HIF�1α, moreover we highlight that miR-155 impairs barrier integrity by the indirect attenuation of
claudin-7 which may contribute to EoE pathophysiology. MiR-155 elevation was also associated with
the decrease in basal CD73, and in the induction of an accelerated maturity phenotype characterised
by an atrophy of adequate stratification processes indictive of EoE pathology
Antimicrobial Resistance in Irish Private Drinking Water Supplies and Novel Treatments
No full textAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is jeopardising the efficacy of current and future antimicrobial
agents, with the environment as a reservoir for AMR being notably underrepresented in the One
Health framework. However, drinking water has emerged as a potential environmental route of
transmission of AMR. Irish private drinking water supplies (PDWS) are particularly vulnerable
to AMR contamination due to poorer microbiological quality than public supplies. An absence of
guidelines that recognise AMR bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs) as contaminants of drinking
water has limited our knowledge on the contribution of PDWS in the spread and persistence of
AMR. Furthermore, AMR plasmids are particularly concerning within One Health, as they can
independently mobilise between and across species, and ecosystems.
With the support of citizen science, we investigated the bacterial reservoirs of AMR in Irish
PDWS and explored the potential of alkyl α-D-mannopyranosides to reduce the transmission of
MDR plasmids via inhibition of biofilms amongst Escherichia coli.
Irish PDWS were confirmed reservoirs of both commensal and clinically relevant ARB. Bacteria
resistant to last-line antimicrobials were identified as carbapenem-resistant H. alvei and linezolid�resistant Enterococcussp. Opportunistic and potentially pathogenic isolates of E. coli, E. cloacae,
Enterococcus casseliflavus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Serratia rubidaea harboured
MDR phenotypes. In E. coli, this was attributed to conjugative plasmids, IncP-1α, IncFIA and
IncFIB. Whole genome sequencing of two E. coli isolates harbouring IncFIB revealed virulence
factors and clinically relevant ARGs such as phenicol- (floR, catI), aminoglycoside- (apha�variants), and β-lactam- (blaTEM-1) resistance genes. Exogenously captured plasmids also
harboured IncF, IncQ and Col-plasmids. In addition to the ARGs identified in E. coli, these plasmids additionally encoded clinically relevant ARGs such as the methyltransferase (cfrA),
tetracycline efflux (tetB) and broad-spectrum β-lactamase (blaTEM-116).
Investigations into a biofilm-inhibiting, next generation antimicrobial, revealed previously
unexplored conjugation inhibitor (COIN) activity against MDR F-plasmids. Heptyl α-D�mannopyranoside inhibited biofilms of a broad range of biofilm-forming E. coli strains at µg/mL
concentrations, with only a small impact on bacterial viability. In addition, heptyl α-D�mannopyranoside significantly reduced the transmission of MDR IncF plasmids of both clinical
(pEK499) and environmental (pEN154, pEN500) background. However, limitations were
identified due to an increase in the conjugation of the R388 (IncW) plasmid.
Heptyl α-D-mannopyranoside failed to inhibit conjugation in the absence of FimH, demonstrating
the significance of FimH interactions. Further, the COIN potency of heptyl α-D-mannopyranoside
was determined – in large – by the plasmid host. We also uncovered COIN potential for the
galactose analogue, heptyl β-D-galactopyranoside, which demonstrated comparable COIN
activity on pEK499 (IncFIA/IncFII), but this was limited by concentration.
Overall, this thesis provides evidence that Irish PDWS are reservoirs of AMR. By accumulating
information regarding the movement and persistence of ARB and ARGs, efforts can be made to
mitigate the potential risk this poses to the Irish population. Moreover, the novel and promising
findings have unveiled a new class of COINs for the control of MDR plasmids amongst E. coli.
The work suggests that lectins may be used as an alternative target for COINs, a promising starting
point for future COIN studies