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Comment on ‘Analytical results for a Bessel function times Legendre polynomials class integrals’
Get PDFA result is obtained, stemming from Gegenbauer, where the products of certain Bessel functions and exponentials are expressed in terms of an infinite series of spherical Bessel functions and products of associated Legendre functions. Closed form solutions for integrals involving Bessel functions times associated Legendre functions times exponentials, recently elucidated by Neves et al(J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 39 L293), are then shown to result directly from the orthogonality properties of the associated Legendre functions. This result offers greater flexibility in the treatment of classical Heisenberg chains and may do
so in other problems such as occur in electromagnetic diffraction theory
Fathering from Prison : an exploration of the experiences and perceptions of a group of men in Mountjoy Prison
Get PDFThis study explores the experiences and perceptions of ten male prisoners who are fathers held in Mountjoy prison, in relation to the roles and responsibilities of fatherhood. It also investigates the factors that constrain or enables their involvement as fathers. Through a qualitative research design, ten male prisoners were interviewed using an in-depth, unstructured ‘conversational interview approach’ (Rubin and Rubin, 1995). The challenges of conducting research in a closed and secure environment are discussed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Ritchie et al’s (2003) ‘thematic framework’. This study will illustrate how addiction issues, fragility in co-partner relationships, and sporadic involvement as fathers were dominant experiences. Prisoners were highly dependent on co-partners to facilitate their involvement as fathers. Prisoners who felt secure in their co-partner relationships, referred to family life as a source of support in prison, while men in strained relationships displayed more divers, ambivalent and conflicting views in relation to their role. This study will show how prisoners managed to reconciled the stigma of imprisonment with the authority and status of a father. The dominance of the ‘nurturing’ model of fatherhood will also be illustrated as a cultural reference of ideal fatherhood
The effectiveness of a 12 month physical activity promotion intervention in members of An Garda Siochana in selected Garda Stations
Get PDFThe study examined the effects of promoting physical activity in the workplace, in An Garda Siochana.100 questionnaires were sent out to each of the participating Garda stations. All participants filled out a physical activity questionnaire followed by a fitness screening at pre and post intervention, 12 months apart. Specific objectives of the study were to examine the effects of physical activity promotion on: a) stage of readiness to participate in physical activity (Stage of Change) b) amount/frequency of physical activity undertaken, pre and post intervention and c) fitness levels pre and post intervention. There were three levels of intervention. The control group received no intervention (NI); an information only group (IO) received literature on a regular basis displayed on a dedicated bulletin board; and a targeted and tailored intervention (TT) received the same as the IO intervention and in addition had specific stage of change literature, guest speakers, targeted newsletters, medical checks and motivational interviewing/ goal setting. Results: The significance of association in non parametric tests (chi square tests on stage of change and physical activity frequencies) between pre and post intervention shows there is a significant association according to the type of intervention applied. There was a progression in participant’s stage of change. At post test there was an increase of n=10 (8%) of those in the active stages (action/maintenance). 48% of the group were regularly physically active at post test and the amount of people increasing their frequency of physical activity from once to three times weekly rose from n=12 (26%) to n=20 943.5%) at post test. In the parametric tests significant T tests on fitness scores are highlighted, which shows an association between pre and post intervention in a number of tests. This was seen in body weight, body composition, strength and flexibility scores. The reliability of the significant parametric test is supported by the significant association in the non parametric test. Therefore in conclusion for the sample subjects of the study it could be suggested that physical activity frequency benefits from greater intervention (TT). The benefits for fitness outcomes are more complex. They may be affected by gender and there is not strong evidence to show that they depended on the type of intervention applied
Mass sporting and physical activity events: are they bread and circuses or public health interventions to increase population levels of physical activity?
Get PDFBackground:
Large-scale, one-off sporting or physical activity events are often thought to impact population physical activity levels. This paper reviews the evidence and explores the nature of the effect.
Methods:
A search of the published and grey literature was conducted to July 2005 using relevant databases and web sources. Personal contacts yielded additional data. Impacts are described at the individual, societal and community, and environmental levels.
Results:
Few quality evaluations have been conducted. While mass sporting events appear to influence physical activity related infrastructure, there is scant evidence of impact on individual participation at the population level. There is some evidence that events promoting active transport can positively affect physical activity.
Conclusions:
The public health potential of major sporting and physical activity events is often cited, but evidence for public health benefit is lacking
Services of Living Labs and Their Networks
Get PDFIn order to quantify the value creation of Living Labs and their networks, a set of value-adding services has been derived. During the course of CoreLabs’ project activities in co-operation with emerging and established Living Labs, some pertinent questions regarding the service benefits of Living Labs were posed. Based on experiences and requirements of Living Labs and relevant experts, a classified set of appropriate services have been identified that can be used to steer new Living Labs or inspire established Living Labs. The classification of services is as follows: Collaborative Innovation, Validation & Demonstration, Stakeholder specific and Organisational. The methodologies used and detailed results of this service study are outlined as part of the paper
'Crucibles, Civitas, Provenance 1-3' in 'origin' - Group Exhibition
Get PDFThe relationship between art and archaeology is the main interest of this group of works, especially the different means of representation employed by both art practitioners and archaeological researchers.
This group of works addresses the ambiguity of artefacts and their provenance. Removed from its original context, an archaeological artefact loses its temporality, it becomes part of past and present alike. Depending on its interpretation, it can have functional, aesthetic, social or poetic meaning.
The artefacts presented here are created from two perspectives – from a functional context in “Crucibles”, and a lyrical response in “Civitas”.
The felt and thread works follow the notion of provenance of objects, mapping a site or explorative journey
Knowledge Management Within a Leading Irish Construction Organisation
Get PDFConsidered to be one of the most dynamic and complex industrial environments construction is a project-based
industry which is recognised as being poor at learning on a consistent basis, improving performance and is notoriously slow in adapting to progressive change. Traditionally labour-intensive organisations employing a full workforce of tradesmen and labourers, large main contractors have generally moved away from being a ‘building company’ towards directly employing a core professional and management team to lead teams of outsourced contractors. Two separate organisations; Engineers Ireland (EI), the country’s leading professional body and the Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA) a research partnership between industry and academia have identified KM as important to the future competitiveness of the
Irish construction industry. An in-depth case study of a leading Irish construction organisation has been conducted in order to identify and evaluate current and potential approaches to managing knowledge at individual, project and organisational levels. This consisted of a combination of interviews and surveys with a broad spectrum of management and professional staff, including a director, project managers, quantity surveyors, foremen and engineers. It was found that the company are committed to the provision of life-long learning opportunities for all staff through comprehensive continuing professional development (CPD) activities, which are accredited by EI. To fulfil the KM requirement for accreditation, a lessons learned database was implemented but has not been successful as initially anticipated. The lack of a working definition of
knowledge within the organisation and awareness of the importance and potential advantages of KM reflects a casual
approach, and indicates the need for further exploration of knowledge and KM-related issues. The potential for aligning
individual learning with wider organisational KM objectives also merits further investigatio
Process for QoS Aware IP Network Planning using Accounting Data and Effective Bandwidth Estimation
Get PDFIn this paper we describe QoSPlan – a generalized
process for preparing information relevant to QoS-aware IP
network planning. QoSPlan is designed to reduce the cost of
deployment and maintenance of traditional network monitoring
systems for service providers, while maintaining a sufficient
degree of precision. The process involves analysis of pre-existing
accounting data to estimate a network-wide demand matrix. Part
of this estimation process relates to the generalization of
QoS-related effective bandwidth measurements taken from a set
of collected packet traces. Based on experience, we offer
recommendations on how to appropriately realise QoSPlan to
maximise its accuracy and effectiveness when applied to different
network traffic scenarios