1522 research outputs found
Sort by
Gendered Violence and Cultural Forgetting: The Case of the Irish Magdalenes
No full textThe case of the Magdalene Laundries illustrates how the Irish state has shaped cultural narratives of gender and facilitated a persistent gendered violence toward women formerly incarcerated in the laundries. The vital role of cultural memory in constructing these gendered identities is considered in light of how shared silences and the restriction of archival material have omitted the Magdalene women from Ireland's dominant historical narrative, rendering them “invisible.” This championing of one version of events (in this case, one that silences Magdalene women) has implications for survivors. We argue that survivor oral histories (for example, those gathered as part of the Waterford Memories Project) provide a way to understand the meaning of what happened to the Magdalene women, establish an openly accessible record of these narratives, and validate survivors' experiences
Promoting Cancer and Screening Awareness in Women with Intellectual Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study [Volume 2]
Get PDFAcross the Borders: A Bespoke Pilot Library Programme for International Students Attending WIT in Collaboration with the International Office
No full textTowards a Model to Improve Best Practices and Successful Outcomes for Game-Based Learning in the Classroom
No full textThis thesis provides an analysis of gaming elements of engagement that influence learning of curriculum-based content, from data gathered through a systematic review, survey research, and a series of classroom observations. It discusses the implications of elements of engagement in games becoming such a critical component of game-based learning (GBL) for the successful delivery of curriculum-based content for classroom and extended learning. The thesis is divided into five chapters: introduction, literature review, pupil survey, case study, and discussion and conclusion. Systematic review data were gathered from a sample of 91 papers that studied GBL in primary education to analyse gaming elements of engagement that influence learning. This research adopted a mixed-methods design. Survey data were gathered from a convenience sample of 465 pupils across a school in the Republic of Ireland, and two schools in the Turks and Caicos Islands, regarding the pupils’ engagement with learning resources, which included reading materials (i.e. digital and paper-based materials) and classroom, online, and gaming activities. Case study data were gathered from a convenience sample of two teachers of the same school, who completed a set of teacher self-report questionnaires from a series of classroom observations of GBL implementation as planned by them within a period of three to four months. Thus, the findings were not generalizable, as the data analysis was to a great extent limited by the disadvantages of convenience sampling strategies and by the collection of observational data of teacher self-reports of their GBL plans and implementation. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that GBL environments for engagement and learning of curriculum content are best designed by considering gaming elements and features that provide opportunities for the participating pupils to explore and develop a sense of excitement and interest (i.e. promoting engagement) at the beginning of GBL, to get involved in tasks and activities that challenge their abilities (i.e. motivating engagement) during the gameplay, and to gain suitable feedback and reward for task completion (i.e. supporting engagement) during and probably after the gameplay. Primarily, an engagement strategy for the successful design and implementation of GBL in classrooms includes providing meaningful gaming and creating challenges to sustain engagement. Gaming components garnering top attention from pupils to become engaged learners within a GBL environment include a variety of interesting materials and guided activities, opportunities to perform, and task-relevant guidance and feedback. Ultimately, the thesis provides a useful source of information for best practices for teachers, game designers and developers, and other education stakeholders who are considering the use of GBL for classroom teaching/learning and extended learning. This thesis synthesizes the vast literature related to GBL, presents original materials related to gameplay and learning engagement within GBL environments, and offers several recommendations for best practices of game-based instructional design for engagement and learning
A Stage Model of Social Media Adoption
No full textThere is very little understanding of how organisations manage social media. In particular, there is no established path of activities that guide a company down the path of social readiness, and the management and organisation of social media is under-researched. Consequently, many organisations experience significant problems with their social media business profiles (SMBP). Stage of growth (SoG) models represent a picture of evolution, where the current stage can be understood in terms of history and future, providing an opportunity to identify the stages, paths of evolution, benchmark variables, and dominant problems experienced by organisations at each stage. Following a review of four decades (1974-2014) of SoG model research, and a review of existing social media research and practitioner insight across multiple domains, the authors adopt Gottschalk and Solli-Saether’s (2010) [1] five step Stage Modelling Process as a research methodology to develop a stage model of SMBP implementation and management. The paper analyses the findings from Step 1 (Suggested Stage Model) and Step 2 (Conceptual Stage Model) of the Stage Modelling Process, before concluding with the key findings. This research contributes to academia by enhancing the existing four decades of knowledge of SoG models, extending it to the management of social media in an organisational context. This research is also a critical piece of research from a practitioner perspective, as organisations struggle to devise tactics and strategies to manage social media adoption and use
Extending and improving the usability of an application to investigate the performance of ICT access control systems
Get PDFInformation Technology (IT) platforms enable digital artifacts such as spreadsheets and videos to be shared, but sensitive data such as trade secrets and personal information needs to be protected from unauthorised access. Security rules are checked whenever access is requested. Security checking can quickly become a bottleneck and make the IT platform much more difficult to use, so the Scalability Testbed for Access Control Systems (STACS) testbed has been built in TSSG (Butler et al., 2010) to make it easier to study the conditions where access control performance becomes unacceptable. To use the testbed, it is necessary to configure it to match the scenarios being studied. Butler and Jennings (2015) introduced the ATLAS framework that incorporates this testbed and adds extra components a) to configure it to undertake more complex performance experiments (notably, by generating suites of policies and requests with differing characteristics) and b) to analyse the results of these experiments. This dissertation describes work relating to the extension of the ATLAS system 1) to provide an easy-to-use GUI for specifying parameters relating to the generation of XACML policy and request sets and 2) for the support of XACML 3.0 as well as XACML 2.0. The key contributions are: 1. A workflow and GUI that breaks down the task of configuring the policy and request generator of ATLAS into easy steps using an attractive editing application with a focus on information design and usability; 2. Adding the option to export sets of policies and requests in the EXtensible Access Control Markup Language Version 3.0 (XACML3.0) standard, building upon the existing ATLAS infrastructure for exporting EXtensible Access Control Markup Language Version 2.0 (XACML2.0) policies and requests; 3. Adding an adapter to integrate a new implementation of PDP for evaluating requests based on XACML3.0 standard called BalanaPDP in STACS
The new ISO-standard on “Soundscape” - Maximizing the benefit for the Architectural design process
Get PDFThe new ISO 12913-1 introduces a conceptional framework for the ”Soundscape” approach and refers to ”factors relevant for measurement and reporting of soundscape studies, as well as planning, design and management of soundscape”. This emphasises a common ground to Soundscape for Acousticians and Architects/Urban Designers (among others): for Acousticians to investigate sound qualities in relation to their specific context, and for Architects/Urban Designers to pro-actively implement sound qualities into their designs.However, both professions usually come from fundamentally different perspectives: Acousticians rather act as ”analysts”: they observe specific environments in order to derive findings, such as patterns, generalisations or rules; Architects tend to do the exact opposite and act as ”synthesizers”: they use patterns, generalisations and rules, in order to integrate them into the design of a specific environment. Consequently, the expectations and outcome of a ”standardisation” approach may differ significantly. The paper discusses the underlying triangulation principle of the soundscape-approach based on ”people-context-acoustic environment” against a proposed similar triangulation of the Architectural/Urban design process based on ”programme-context-idea”. It explores the potentials of the Soundscape approach from an Architect’s view and the way it could be enhanced by an interdisciplinary approach as anticipated in the new ISO
Macular carotenoid supplementation and visual function in early age-related macular degeneration
Get PDFThe carotenoids (lutein [L], zeaxanthin [Z] and meso-zeaxanthin [MZ]) are found at the macula, where they are collectively known as macular pigment (MP). The macula is a specialized part of the retina responsible for central vision. MP acts as a blue light filter, and its constituent carotenoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. MP is believed to protect against progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world by protecting against oxidative stress. This PhD thesis answers three main research questions as follows: 1. what is the prevalence of AMD in the Republic of Ireland (ROI)? (research question 1); 2. what is the impact of supplementation using three different macular carotenoid formulations on MP and visual function in patients with non-advanced AMD over a three-year period? (research question 2); 3. Does the addition of MZ to the standard of care confer advantages or disadvantages to patients with non-advanced AMD in terms of visual outcomes and in terms of MP augmentation? (research question 3, main study). This thesis provides prevalence estimates of AMD in the ROI for the first time, and adds to the evidence with respect to the impact of macular carotenoid supplementation on visual function among patients with this condition
Pre-Apprenticeship, Apprenticeship, Journeyman & Master, An Historical Analysis.
Get PDFThis thesis examines the role of craftsmanship from the Mesolithic period to Postmodernism, with special emphasis on education and training, mainly from an Irish perspective. Historians always depend on the work of their predecessors, and this is especially the case in a wide-ranging study such as this. It is also a very personal journey into the world of apprenticeship. Ireland is gifted with monuments dating from the Stone Age and arts of metalwork dating from the La Téne era. Although an astonishingly large amount of material evidence from the Middle Ages has been excavated throughout Ireland, few written sources survive today. The early Irish law texts are a rich source of information on a wide variety of topics relating to Early, and even to Late Medieval Ireland. The bulk of these texts were, on the basis of linguistic evidence, written down in the 7th and 8th centuries. Later glosses and commentaries can provide considerable help in understanding the original laws. Each particular tract must be assessed in the context of the subject with which it deals. In the Old and Middle Irish law-texts, the Sáer was expected to be competent in many different areas of construction. Although Sáer will be translated here as ‘craftsman’ and referred to as ‘he,’ to avoid the encumbrance of constantly using ‘craftsman/craftswoman’ and ‘he/she.’ There is, however, a reference to Bansear, a craftswoman or ‘woman wright,’ indicating that not all craftspersons were male. The international composition of the population of medieval Dublin is very well reflected in its Guild Merchant Roll. While the document itself cannot give more than a glimpse of the town and its trade, it nonetheless provides the historian and the archaeologist with c. 8,500 names, the majority of which can be dated by the years they entered into the iii merchant guild. The international mix is very well represented, and includes merchants from Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, Scotland, Spain and Wales. An explosion and fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland, Four Courts, Dublin, during the civil war in 1922, destroyed nearly a thousand years of what must have been one of the finest medieval archives of Irelands historical and genealogical facts. Ironically, the documents were placed there for safe keeping. Most of what had not been transcribed or out on loan was lost. The prolific results of the large archaeological excavations undertaken in various cities and towns of Ireland since, have resulted in great advances being made in the understanding of the physical character of the towns of the late Viking age as well as of the contemporary crafts and occupations and commercial contact. From the 1960s, a general comparison of the physical attributes that survive in the archaeological record-location, layout, defences and building types shows that the later Viking-age towns shared many traits and the existence of the Hiberno-Norse town and the Dublin excavations, impressive though they are, need no longer be studied in isolation. The publication of Scully’s and Hurley’s report on the prolific Waterford sites allows of even greater comparison with the Dublin result. Materials were sourced at the National Museum of Ireland and at Waterford Museum of Treasures. The Author’s archive describes the unfolding of events of the role of the Social Partners in apprenticeship, Inter College Course Committees, FÁS, the Department of Education and Science. It may, therefore, be stated that the concept and structure of apprentice training and education which emerged in Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century wasn’t fixed but inexorably emerged from the flames of consecutive eras of craftsmanship
Using Competing Bacterial Communication to Disassemble Biofilms
Get PDFIn recent years, bacterial infections have become a major
public health concern due to their ability to cooperate between
single and multiple species resisting to various forms
of treatments (e.g., antibiotics). One form of protection is
through biofilms, where the bacteria produce a protective
medium known as the Extracellular Polymeric Substances
(EPS). Researchers are pursuing new multi-disciplinary approaches
to treating and kerb the evolving process of these
infections through the biofilms, to lower the humans' antibiotic
dependence that can result in the so-called \super-
bugs". Although various solutions have been proposed to
break biofilms, they are based on applying drugs or using
nanoparticles. In this paper, we propose an alternative
approach, where bacteria will cooperate and surround the
biofilms to consume the nutrients. By hijacking the nutrients
in the environment and blocking the
ow from reaching
the biofilms, this will lead to starvation, forcing them to
break their structure. Preliminary simulations show that a
small action radius of quorum sensing molecules is needed
to maximise bacteria attraction to a particular location and
create the protective wall. Therefore, this formation is capable
of speeds up biofilm dispersal process by two hours