510 research outputs found
Murphy_SupplementalMaterial_rev – Supplemental material for False Memories for Fake News During Ireland’s Abortion Referendum
No full textSupplemental material, Murphy_SupplementalMaterial_rev for False Memories for Fake News During Ireland’s Abortion Referendum by Gillian Murphy, Elizabeth Loftus, Rebecca Hofstein Grady, Linda J. Levine and Ciara M. Greene in Psychological Science</p
Murphy_OpenPracticesDisclosure_rev – Supplemental material for False Memories for Fake News During Ireland’s Abortion Referendum
No full textSupplemental material, Murphy_OpenPracticesDisclosure_rev for False Memories for Fake News During Ireland’s Abortion Referendum by Gillian Murphy, Elizabeth Loftus, Rebecca Hofstein Grady, Linda J. Levine and Ciara M. Greene in Psychological Science</p
Welfare: A Reply to Fred Powell and to Charles O'Sullivan and Ciara Fitzpatrick
No full textThank you for both your responses, your respectful engagement with the
paper and positive comments on its significance. Professor Fred Powell claims
I have made a courageous attempt to address welfare state convergence in
Northern Ireland and Ireland, but that my assessment of the core models as
‘broadly neoliberal in character’ is fundamentally erroneous. My assessment
of some convergence (albeit with obvious divergence) is limited to an assessment of social security arrangements—the focus of my paper and of Ciara
Fitzpatrick and Charles O Sullivan’s recent ARINS paper.
Fake memories:A meta-analysis on the effect of fake news on the creation of false memories and false beliefs
No full textFake news can affect people in negative ways. A recent line of research has demonstrated that when people are exposed to fake news they can form false memories for the events depicted in the news stories. We conducted a meta-analysis to obtain an estimate of the average rate of false memories elicited by fake news. Thirteen articles were included in the final analysis, revealing that nearly 40% and 60% of the participants reported at least one false memory and belief (respectively) after fake news exposure, while each participant remembered or believed 22% of the total number of fake news presented. Individual differences may affect the rate of false memory formation following exposure to false memories. We therefore examined moderating effects of individual difference variables assessed in the included studies. Participants with better analytical reasoning skills and a high level of interest in the news topic were least likely to report false memories for fake news, with level of interest being also a facilitating factor in remembering true news. No effect was detected for cognitive ability and objective knowledge. Our results provide insightful and practical information in the context of world-wide misinformation dissemination and its impact on people’s beliefs and memories
Co-authoring in Academic Research:From quarter-baked intuition to publication
No full textDr Ciara Hackett (QUB School of Law) and Prof Harry Van Buren (the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Honorary Professor, QUB School of Law) speak with Dr Ciarán O’Kelly about co-authoring in academic research.They ask how accurate and, indeed, how healthy it is to think of academics as solitary actors. They discuss both the merits of and the challenges involved in collaboration and co-authoring. Who ought one co-author with? What workflows work best? What ethical issues emerge
Co-authoring in Academic Research:From quarter-baked intuition to publication
No full textDr Ciara Hackett (QUB School of Law) and Prof Harry Van Buren (the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Honorary Professor, QUB School of Law) speak with Dr Ciarán O’Kelly about co-authoring in academic research.They ask how accurate and, indeed, how healthy it is to think of academics as solitary actors. They discuss both the merits of and the challenges involved in collaboration and co-authoring. Who ought one co-author with? What workflows work best? What ethical issues emerge
Symbolic planning in belief space
No full textThesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (page 32).SASY (Scalable and Adjustable SYmbolic) Planner is a flexible symbolic planner which searches for a satisfying plan to a partially observable Markov decision process, or a POMDP, while benefiting from advantages of classical symbolic planning such as compact belief state expression, domain-independent heuristics, and structural simplicity. Belief space symbolic formalism, an extension of classical symbolic formalism, can be used to transform probabilistic problems into a discretized and deterministic representation such that domain-independent heuristics originally created for classical symbolic planning systems can be applied to them. SASY is optimized to solve POMDPs encoded in belief space symbolic formalism, but can also be used to find a solution to general symbolic planning problems. We compare SASY to two other POMDP solvers, SARSOP and POMDPX_NUS, and define a new benchmark domain called Elevator.by Ciara L. Kamahele-Sanfratello.M. Eng
Study 2: A qualitative exploration of adversity and trauma experienced by Irish Travellers
No full textTo address the current health inequalities experienced by the Traveller community, it is important to understand the attitudes and beliefs of this population towards health. The health-related attitudes and beliefs of Irish Travellers were explored through a systematic review and thematic synthesis of the existing literature. 16 studies were included in the synthesis and three themes were generated: (i) the role of silence, (ii) factors impacting physical and mental health, and (iii) the characteristics of positive and negative support. Avoidant coping strategies were employed to ensure Travellers maintained a sense of control despite experiencing health difficulties, to protect individuals from stigma attached to these difficulties, and due to superstitious beliefs, such as discussing health difficulties can have a negative impact on prognosis. Environmental, social, and cultural factors which impact health were discussed. Characteristics of positive and negative support experienced by Travellers in healthcare services were highlighted. The clinical implications of these findings, and future directions for research are discussed.
The relationship between mental health and trauma is increasingly being recognised. Irish Travellers experience higher levels of anxiety, depression and frequent mental distress in comparison to individuals from the settled population. The suicide rate of Irish Travellers is also six times higher than that of the general population. To date, no study has explored experiences of trauma with this population. This study aimed to investigate Irish Travellers’ experiences of adversity and trauma from the perspective of Irish Travellers. 12 participants (nine women, three men) with a mean age of 35.6 years (range = 24-66), took part in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data from these interviews was analysed using a six-step reflexive thematic analysis approach. Analysis generated four over-arching themes: (1) concealing identity, (2) victimisation, (3) a life of fear, and (4) the impact of trauma. Travellers conceal their identity at times to protect themselves from discrimination and this was linked by participants to a range of mental health difficulties. Participants reported experiencing victimisation by a range of organisations and services and having internalized somewhat negative stereotypes assigned to them by these groups. Participants also reported an ongoing sense of fear which related to different issues for each participant, including anticipated discrimination. These processes of internalizing stereotypes and anticipating discrimination were also associated with mental health difficulties by participants. The Traveller community and culture was seen as a protective factor, as participants were not discriminated against in their own community, allowing them to embrace their identity without the need for concealment. Traumatic experiences were largely linked to experiences of discrimination and racism. The results of this study indicate that race based traumatic stress is a major factor in the significantly higher level of mental health difficulties experienced by Irish Travellers in comparison with the general population. This highlights the need for culturally sensitive services which understand and embrace Travellers. Further clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed
Death in the lanes: tuberculosis in Limerick City
No full textDeath in the Lanes: Tuberculosis in Limerick City is an online exhibition co-curated by Ciara Breathnach, Stuart Clancy and Rachel Murphy.
The multimedia exhibition examines pulmonary tuberculosis in Ireland between 1864 and 1949. Using digital artefacts such as manuscript facsimiles, photographs, video, maps and sound, it introduces the viewer to some of the key themes relating to this infectious disease.
It is organised into four main sections. Beginning with a timeline, it traces developments in the fight against the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis in Ireland, 1864-1949. It outlines some of the subsequent public health initiatives that were taken in Ireland to treat and raise awareness of the disease. It emphasises the importance of the legal framework to control infectious diseases alongside advances in medical science. Until 1882, when German physician, Robert Koch, discovered it was a bacterial and therefore a preventable disease, it was a poorly understood pathogen. That discovery dispelled miasma (bad air) theory, and gave rise to many medical innovations in prevention and treatment. The early twentieth century saw a decline in mortality from tuberculosis in most European countries, but In Ireland it remained high until the 1940s. Section two provides an overview of pulmonary tuberculosis in early twentieth-century Ireland, focusing particularly on Limerick. Using data from the General Register Office (GRO) transcribed by students on the MA History of Family (2022/23) disease hotspots naturally emerged. GRO data underpins the maps, which identify the spatial location of those who died from the disease. Although most deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis occurred in the Limerick Workhouse, the data shows that the poor went there to die and the locus of contagion was in fact the Limerick lanes. Many experimental cures and treatments were developed to combat pulmonary tuberculosis, and these are considered in section three, along with methods of prevention. Here we used excerpts from Voyage to Recovery (Turas Téarnaimh) a short bilingual (Irish/English) public awareness film commissioned by the newly-established Department of Health to provide advice on diagnosis and therapeutics. Its primary aim was to reduce stigma. The final section of the exhibition comprises a short film of Frank McCourt’s Limerick. It uses extracts from his Pulitzer Prize winning biography Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir to show how poverty and the spectre of pulmonary tuberculosis permeated social life in the city of his youth. Narrated by Professor Joseph O’Connor, it describes the damp and crowded laneways of Limerick – conditions which aided the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis.
The exhibition was built in Adobe After Effects, and output in MP4 video format for preservation purposes.
Research Ethics Approval Reference no. 2020_05_02_S&E.
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The role of SPINT molecules in placentation and placental insufficiency
No full text© 2025 Ciara Niamh MurphyUndetected fetal growth restriction notoriously increases the chance of stillbirth. Despite this, current clinical methods of identifying at-risk pregnancies have limited success. Even when accurately diagnosed and monitored, FGR contributes to perinatal morbidity and mortality as a culmination of suboptimal conditions in utero. Commonly, FGR arises from placental insufficiency, wherein aberrations in the development of the placenta culminate in pathological defects. At present, there is no means to rescue placental function, thus FGR can be treated only with expectant management and potential iatrogenic delivery to mitigate the ill-effects of prolonged gestation with a failing placenta. Therefore, biomarkers of placental dysfunction are being investigated as a possible means to augment current diagnostic methods, serial symphysis-fundal height and sonographic measurements for estimation of fetal growth trajectories.
Serine peptidase inhibitor type 1 (SPINT1) has emerged as a promising such biomarker, being deranged in the maternal circulation of pregnancies with poor placental function manifesting in FGR. This protein is also reduced in the placenta, thus further investigation into this likely biomarker may inform greater understanding of placental pathogenesis, particularly that which culminates in FGR. Numerous studies in mice have elucidated the importance of SPINT1 in the development of the placental labyrinth, analogous to the villi of the human placenta. Additionally, dysregulated SPINT1 expression is also well-characterised in an array of metastatic epithelial cancers, which share the invasive phenotype of the developing placenta.
At a cellular level, SPINT1 regulates the activity of a number of transmembrane substrates, maintaining proteolytic homeostasis on the cell surface. These interactions implicate SPINT1 in a variety of downstream functions, including proliferation, migration and differentiation. Coincidentally, these cellular functions are crucial characteristics of the trophoblasts which comprise the placenta. SPINT1’s roles are supplemented by SPINT2, a similar protein which has comparable functions and expression to SPINT1 and has likewise been studied in mouse placentation.
This thesis investigates the biomarker potential of SPINT2 by characterising its expression and regulation in the placenta and further delineates the association of circulating SPINT1 levels to FGR in a number of cohorts. It further explores the cellular regulation and functions of SPINT1 in vitro and in vivo. Utilising a human trophoblast stem cell line, it identifies the regulation of SPINT1 expression by hypoxia and other mechanisms of reduced circulating levels in placental insufficiency. Further, it links SPINT1 functioning to the proliferation and differentiation of placental trophoblasts through inhibition of substrates like matriptase and prostasin. A mouse model was also embarked upon with the aim of modelling placental-specific, conditional SPINT1 amelioration using Cre-Lox methodology to provide in vivo insight. The findings contribute to the pre-clinical, scientific rationalisation for the implementation of SPINT1 measurement in antenatal blood tests to better identify pregnancies at risk
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