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A case study of teacher beliefs and school culture in developing assessment literacy in Irish Post-Primary Schools
No full textThroughout the education system, assessment is a multi-faceted concept used in various forms and
for various purposes such as accountability and improvement (OECD, 2012). Post-Primary education
in Ireland has experienced significant changes to the curriculum and with that assessment reform.
This is evident in lower secondary, where we are now in steady state at junior cycle since the
introduction of the Framework in 2015, and in the upper secondary, where senior cycle reform is
underway with a number of new specifications fully published within the system. Central to this
change is the development of a learning outcome approach to teaching, learning, and assessment,
which places the learner at the centre of the assessment process facilitated by the teacher. Learner
voice and the rights of the learners are at the centre of teachers' practice. These recent changes have
provided a shift in the paradigm in relation to teaching, learning, and assessment across education,
as the approach to assessment places greater emphasis on the learner at the centre of this process.
The development of assessment knowledge and competency, known as teacher’s assessment
literacy, is a challenge for teachers particularly in the area of how to use assessment, and this
challenge is central to their beliefs and cultures. This doctoral study examines a case study of teacher
beliefs and school culture in developing assessment literacy in Irish Post-Primary Schools. The study
is conducted through the lens of a case study analysis with semi-structured interviews in a post�primary school. The aim of the research is to identify the role teachers’ beliefs and cultures play in
developing assessment literacy. Data was gathered across a number of semi-structured interviews
and an engagement with the teaching and learning group of the school across a six-month period.
This study was conducted during the school academic year 2021-2022. It will assist in contributing to
the research in Ireland relating to teachers’ beliefs and culture relating to assessment. This research
captures the importance of engaging with schools directly, to provide valid and meaningful evidence
relating to teachers practice over a period of time. In this instance, it is related to teachers’
assessment literacy and the role played by beliefs and cultures in developing this practice. By
engaging with the school on a one-to-one basis, the researcher was able to address the challenges
and concerns that the teachers were facing in the here and now, relating to curriculum change with a specific focus on the development of their assessment literacy.
Additionally, the study examines the role played by continuing professional development (CPD), the
continuum of education, teachers’ assessment literacy and the role that the participants experience
in teaching has on their own learning as teachers. The study concludes by outlining the implications
for the system and future research in the area of assessment literacy relating to teachers' beliefs and
culture
Numerical and experimental multi-linear modelling of wave energy devices
Get PDFThe escalating demand in global energy requirements and the soaring price of traditional
fossil fuels, in combination with global awareness to follow a pathway toward
decarbonisation, are fuelling research and development into novel technologies to
harness renewable energy sources. Ocean wave energy, a significant and untapped
source of renewable energy, if economically viable, can make a promising avenue for
sustainable energy generation. In the drive for the development and more efficient
operation of wave energy converters (WECs), effective control systems, which can
maximise converted energy for a given capital cost, are crucial. Model-based control
systems contribute to the majority of energy-maximising control systems of WECs,
with a need for a suitable mathematical model. Physics-based models, numerical
simulations, full-scale tests, or laboratory-scale tests can be used to develop WEC
models, each presenting distinct methodologies and challenges, yielding models
with a diverse range of accuracy. The effectiveness of model-based control relies on
the precision of the WEC model upon which the controller is based, given that WEC
controllers have shown considerable sensitivity to inaccuracies in their underlying
models. Among the distinct WEC modelling techniques, the determination of
models from data (using either physical or numerical experiments) is an effective
route to derive representative (linear and nonlinear) WEC models. In this thesis,
both numerical wave tank (NWT) and physical wave tank (PWT) experiments are
considered to estimate a range of adequate linear WEC models capable of meeting
the requirements of a control system by the employment of the proper test signals
(specific to each test setup) to cover the full operational space of the system. Many
uncertainty parameters in the data-driven models with sources differing significantly
in NWT and PWT experiments, may hinder accurate WEC model determination
for efficient (model-based) control strategies. Within this scope, the current study
considers the range of tests that can be performed, the uncertainty sources, and
the range of post-processing techniques that can be applied in NWT and PWT tests
for a point-absorber type system, with an aim to get the most realistic hydrodynamic
WEC models. Moreover, in NWT testing, a comprehensive representation of input
signal synthesis and characterisation is carried out, to provide sufficient fidelity
in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)- based NWT tests and, in PWT testing,
specific focus is directed towards the quantification of uncertainty and external
disturbance, specifically tailored to the PWT under study, with the corresponding
effects are mitigated by applying effective data-processing steps.
Multi-linear hydrodynamic WEC models (obtained either from NWT or PWT
testing), serve as a starting point for model-based linear WEC controller synthesis.
Finally, with a view to robust WEC control, a (single) nominal model and uncertainty
bound are quantified from multi-linear models obtained from NWT tests, and robust
control results are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the modelling and
control philosophy
Development and Characterisation of a Biosensor for the Simultaneous Measurement of Acetylcholine and Choline in the Mammalian Brain
No full textNervous system disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, are believed to effect approximately one in every six people. With most considered incurable, current treatment options are limited to addressing symptoms of the disease rather than acting as a cure. This will likely remain the case until the brain is better understood. An improved knowledge will facilitate the identification of new drug targets and development of current diagnostic methods leading to an overall better quality of life for patients, many of whom lose their ability to move or to speak and, often, their life to their disease.
Many of these disorders have been linked to abnormal concentration changes in specific analytes in the neurochemical environment and some of these changes can be detected, and monitored, electrochemically via the implantation of specific microelectrodes. These devices detect, qualitatively and quantitatively, an analyte of interest as a current change, a consequence of its oxidation or reduction at the surface of the microelectrode. The overall aim of this work was to develop and characterise, in-vitro and in-vivo, an analytical microelectrochemical biosensor capable of detecting real-time changes in the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) and its precursor/metabolite choline (Ch). Dysregulations within the mammalian cholinergic system has been linked to many diseased states including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. The presented device makes use of two enzymes, acetylcholinesterase and choline oxidase, and indirectly monitors our analytes of interest (ACh and Ch) by detecting analyte derived enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide at the surface of a platinum microelectrode. In-vivo, this biosensor is paired with a Ch specific biosensor allowing for a distinction between the two analytes and a better understanding of their individual functions within the cholinergic system. The presented bienzyme biosensor possesses a high sensitivity to both analytes with low oxygen dependence and good selectivity over potential endogenous interferents. ACh detection was shown to withstand fluctuations in expected parameters within the physiological environment (biocompatibility, pH, temperature) and possesses excellent stability, response time and limit of detections. Novel in-vivo experiments carried out in the striatum of freely-moving Wistar rats indicate a reliable ability to monitor distinct real-time changes in both ACh and Ch, as well as the real-time action of acetylcholinesterase and its inhibitors. Continued use of this combined device should facilitate an overall better understanding of the cholinergic system in both healthy and diseased states
‘Overcoming the fear’: the story of the Irish language in a programme promoting diversity in the primary teaching profession
Get PDFMaynooth University’s Level 6 Think About Teaching Foundation Certificate (Foundation Cert) is a central part of a widening participation project (Turn to Teaching) which provides preparation for, and pathways into, initial teacher education (ITE). A key dimension of the Foundation Cert has been the development of an alternative Irish language curriculum which provides support and equivalence to Leaving Certificate Irish for entry to primary ITE.
Drawing on the experiences of students and staff gleaned from open ended focus groups and biographical interviews, we, as members of a community of Higher Education staff, offer, as part of the project's cycle of evaluative research, a reflexive account and analysis on the diverse outcomes, issues and aspirations emerging from the on-going development of this innovative Irish language curriculum. We also draw on the project’s quantitative data on recruitment and retention to highlight the most visible signs of the Irish language programme’s efficacy.
It is clear from both qualitative and quantitative data that the programme’s communicative and critically reflexive approach to Irish language teaching and learning plays a pivotal role in transforming many students’ relationships with the language
Heterogeneous effects of blood pressure screening
Get PDFThis is the first study that investigates the heterogeneous effects of blood pressure (BP) screening on subsequent
changes in BP in a high-income country. We use data from clinical health assessments carried out in 2010
(baseline) and 2014 (follow-up) as part of a nationally-representative longitudinal study on ageing in Ireland.
We focus on individuals who at baseline do not report a previous hypertension diagnosis and employ a
Regression Discontinuity Design by comparing outcomes at follow-up on either side of the BP cutoff that
separates normal to abnormal BP at baseline. We find that the BP screening reduces BP at follow-up, with
larger and more precisely estimated effects for males, middle-age individuals (as opposed to older individuals),
and individuals without public health insurance coverage
New Cisalpine Celtic inscriptions from canton Ticino (CH)
Get PDFA presentation of two hitherto unpublished Cisalpine Celtic graffiti from Ticino, Switzerland
(LexLep TI·55 and TI·56).
During an autopsy trip to Ticino, Switzerland, for the research project Celtic Language and
Identity in Northern Italy and the Alpine Region in October 2023,1
I was shown two unpublished graffiti, written in the Lepontic alphabet, from find places in the canton – one in storage at
the Ufficio cantonale dei beni culturali in Bellinzona, one on exhibition in the Museo Castello
di Montebello.2 The present short paper presents the inscriptions, which have also been included
in the digital edition Lexicon Leponticum (LexLep) with the sigla TI·55 and TI·56
El chavismo en crisis: Desafiando desde abajo el giro neoliberal-autoritario del PSUV en Venezuela
Get PDFThis article sheds light on the current state of popular sector organizing in Venezuela, asking if, and to what extent, a movement organization or party has emerged with the capacity to challenge the PSUV - on the streets or via the urns. Drawing from data gathered during interviews with figures from the communes movement, activists, leftist party leaders, former and current PSUV figures, as well as active participants in consejo comunales and communas, the article details the challenges facing critical sectors today. Utilising an array of tactics including clien-telism, co-optation, and paralellism, in addition to legal and physical repression, the party-State has, to a large extent, controlled popular organization capacity to cha-llenge the PSUV. In a further bid to manipulate popular discontent, there have been numerous efforts to ensure that a rival party or candidate cannot challenge the PSUV at the ballot box - via legal impediments, the placing of loyal PSUV figures inside existing leftwing parties in an effort to foster schisms, as well as threats of physical violence. Moreover, the article discusses the Future Movement - a new party which has emerged from the PSUV. Some leading PSUV figures have suggested it may act as electoral option for critical chavistas who do not wish to vote for Maduro nor the opposition. However, our interviewees remain skeptical that it could represent a real challenge to the PSUV
Researchers at Risk: An Update on National-level Actions in Europe.
Get PDFAcademic freedom and institutional
autonomy are currently under pressure
in many countries around the world. The
initial Inspireurope mapping report and
the first report on national-level initiatives in Europe have already pointed out
that the number of researchers at risk
largely exceeds the available support
structures. In the last two years, the contributors to this report have witnessed
an increasing number of applications by
researchers at risk.
Attacks on the academic freedom of scholars and university students continue to curtail academic freedom by limiting what can
and cannot be said in and out of classrooms,
and additionally by encouraging self-censorship. They affect staff and students alike
and range from loss of life and liberty to loss
of professional standing, and employment.
In some countries, this results from war or
armed conflict, as in Ukraine, Sudan, or the
Middle East. In other countries, the attacks
follow in the trail of increasingly oppressive
and authoritarian regimes. Afghanistan, Iran
or Russia may serve as examples of countries where the risk of prosecution faced by
scholars and students, and, particularly by
female academics, has continued to be on
the rise