Digital Commons Network^™

Late-Career Unemployment Has Mixed Effects In Retirement, Wendy C. Birmingham, Maren Wright Voss, M Beth Merryman, Lisa Crabtree, Kathy Subasic, Lori Wadsworth, Man Hung

Faculty Publications

Paid work forms a pattern of occupational engagement that shifts during both unemployment and retirement. Similar to unemployment, the occupational disruption associated with involuntary retirement has been linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes. To better understand the health impact of work transitions during the pre- and post-retirement years, 24 retired individuals with late-career unemployment were interviewed at the Huntsman World Senior Games in October 2016. Demographic data were collected. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach was utilized to thematically analyse the interview data and interpretations were evaluated against existing theory. Themes identified included struggle, freedom, and transition, followed by …

Engineering Skills Requirements For Sustainable Development And Achieving The Sdgs - Outcomes Of Focus Groups Held In Ireland, France, Denmark And Finland As Part Of A-Step 2030 Project Activity 1: Task 2, Una Beagon, Brian Bowe

Reports

No abstract provided.

Review Of Carbonaceous Annealing Effects On O2 And Co2 Coal Reactivity, Troy Michael Holland, Thomas H. Fletcher, Osvalda Senneca

Faculty Publications

Coal is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, a critical energy production resource. Advanced models of coal conversion behavior in air and oxy-coal environments enhance the boiler operational efficiency and design optimization. Although coal conversion models have continuously improved over decades of research, not all aspects of coal particle heating and conversion have received equal treatment. Coal particle annealing is one aspect of the coal conversion process that is simultaneously highly sensitive to the conversion environment, exceptionally impactful on coal chemistry, and frequently neglected in coal models. However, the current body of literature has explored numerous aspects of coal …

Correlations Of The Elemental Compositions Of Primary Coal Tar And Char, Andrew P. Richards, Colson Johnson, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Simulations of large-scale coal combustors rely on accurate submodels to describe the chemical and physical changes in coal during reaction. Typically, simplified empirical submodels are tuned to experimental data to reduce the computational complexity. When data are not readily available, simplifying assumptions are used, which can create inaccuracies and biases in a large simulation. One such simplifying assumption in coal research is how to describe the elemental composition of primary pyrolysis products. This paper explores several different empirical model forms to predict the dry, ash-free fractions of C, H, O, N, and S in both the char and tar, using …

Pyrolysis Kinetics Of Live And Dead Wildland Vegetation From The Southern United States, Elham Amini, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

The fundamental combustion behavior of live wildland vegetation is not fully understood. Since the combustion process during wildland fire starts with pyrolysis, there is a need for better understanding of pyrolysis to develop improved wildland fire models. The kinetics of pyrolysis of live and dead wildland vegetation has not been explored in detail. In this study, the pyrolysis kinetics were determined for 14 different plant species (live and dead) which are all native to the forests in the southern United States. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) under inert conditions at 5 different heating rates ranged …

Listeners’ Ability To Identify The Gender Of Preadolescent Children In Different Linguistic Contexts, Christopher Dromey, Shawn Nissen, Sharalee Blunck, Anita Dromey

Faculty Publications

This study evaluated listeners’ ability to identify the gender of preadolescent children from speech samples of varying length and linguistic context. The listeners were presented with a total of 190 speech samples in four different categories of linguistic context: segments, words, sentences, and discourse. The listeners were instructed to evaluate each speech sample and decide whether the speaker was a male or female and rate their level of confidence in their decision. Results showed listeners identified the gender of the speakers with a high degree of accuracy, ranging from 86% to 95%. Significant differences in listener judgments were found across …

An Intensive Book Camp Approach To The Remediation Of Speech Sound Disorders: A Case Report, Shawn L. Nissen, Melanie E. Peris, Kristine Tanner

Faculty Publications

Background: Understanding treatment dose is essential to optimizing therapeutic frequency and intensity for speech sound disorders. Intensive therapies, known as boot camp approaches, have proven efficacious in certain speech therapy contexts such as voice disorder treatment. However, few data exist regarding intervention intensity for developmental speech sound disorders. Method: This investigation examined the effects of an intensive boot camp speech therapy approach to remediate interdental /s/ production over two consecutive days. Treatment occurred in morning and afternoon blocks for a total of 5.5 h per day. Auditory-perceptual ratings were used to evaluate /s/ productions pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, and one week …

International Student Support Groups: Learning From Experienced Group Members And Leaders, Nathan` Page, Mark Beecher, Derek Griner, Timothy B. Smith, Aaron Jackson, Klint Hobbs

Faculty Publications

Adjustment to college can be particularly difficult for international students. A multi-site qualitative study investigated the experiences of six group leaders and 10 group members who participated in seven different university counseling center international student support groups. Analyses of interview data using hermeneutic interpretation resulted in nine major themes and ten sub-themes organized into four sections: (1) Recruitment and group design, (2) Experiences of group members, (3) Experiences of group leaders, and (4) Additional considerations. College and university counseling centers can effectively work with international students by providing outreach and support groups.

Reward Type And Performance: An Examination Of Organizational Wellness Programs, William G. Heninger, Steven D. Smith, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We examine organizational control in the context of wellness programs—organizational initiatives designed to improve the physical and mental health of employees. In a field study setting, we examine the associations of three different types of incentives (cash, gift cards, and tangible rewards) with wellness program performance. We find that employees who successfully complete program challenges are associated with greater weight loss. We also find participants choosing gift cards are associated with the greatest program success, even though cash rewards are selected more than twice as often as gift cards. Tangible rewards are the least frequently selected reward and are associated …

The Value Relevance Of Taxes: International Evidence On The Proxy For Profitability Role Of Tax Surprise, Jon Kerr

Faculty Publications

Despite evidence that tax surprise is incrementally value relevant, the literature has done little to broaden the investigation beyond the United States or examine circumstances that affect informativeness. After extending to the international setting, I examine the impact of tax enforcement. I report strong results of greater value relevance when tax enforcement is high and that the value relevance of tax surprise is mostly contained within its interaction with tax enforcement. These findings highlight the importance of tax enforcement in determining the information content of tax surprise and suggest that extant and future discussions should be broadened to include it.

Barnacle Cover Modifies Foraging Behaviour Of The Intertidal Limpet Patella Vulgata, Giacomo Santini, Richard C. Thompson, Stuart R. Jenkins, Guido Chelazzi, Richard G. Hartnoll, Suzanne M. Kay, Stephen J. Hawkins

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractLimpets and barnacles are important components of intertidal assemblages worldwide. This study examines the effects of barnacles on the foraging behaviour of the limpet Patella vulgata, which is the main algal grazer in the North-west Atlantic. The behaviour of limpets on a vertical seawall on the Isle of Man (UK) was investigated using autonomous radio-telemetry, comparing their activity patterns on plots characterized by dense barnacle cover and plots from which the barnacles had been removed. Limpet behaviour was investigated at mid-shore level, but two different elevations were considered. This experiment revealed a significant effect of barnacle cover on the activity …

A Century Of Change In North Sea Plankton Communities Explored Through Integrating Historical Datasets, Abigail Mcquatters-Gollop, Jacob Bedford, David Johns

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Y2O3 Optical Constants Between 5 Nm And 50 Nm, Joseph B. Muhlestein, Benjamin D. Smith, Margaret Miles, Stephanie M. Thomas, Anthony Willey, David D. Allred, R. Steven Turley

Faculty Publications

We report optical constants of e-beam evaporated yttrium oxide Y₂O₃ thin films as determined from angle-dependent reflectance measurements at wavelengths from 5 to 50 nm. Samples were measured using synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source. The experimental reflectance data were fit to obtain values for the index of refraction and thin film roughness. We compare our computed constants with those of previous researchers and those computed using the independent atom approximation from the CXRO website. We found that the index of refraction near 36 nm is much lower than previous data from Tomiki as reported by …

Auditions And … More Auditions, John Matthews, Guevara Vl De

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Measuring Emissions From The On-Road Vehicle Fleet In West Los Angeles, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Three Decades Of On-Road Mobile Source Emissions Reductions In South Los Angeles, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

In May of 2018, the University of Denver repeated on-road optical remote sensing measurements at two locations in Lynwood, CA. Lynwood area vehicle tailpipe emissions were first surveyed in 1989 and 1991 because the area suffered with a large number of carbon monoxide (CO) air quality violations. These new measurements allow for the estimation of fuel specific CO and total hydrocarbon (HC) emissions reductions, changes in the longevity of emission-control components, and the prevalence of high emitters in the current fleet.

Since 1989 CO emissions decreased approximately factors of 10 (120 ± 8 to 12.3 ± 0.2 gCO/kg of fuel) …

The Manufacture And Testing Of Self-Sensing Cnts Nanocomposites For Damage Detecting Applications, Mohammed Al-Bahrani

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Composite materials are widely used in various important applications due to their good engineering properties. However, these properties can be reduced when subjected to different type of loads. This thesis experimentally, theoretically and statistically investigates the possibility of using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a filler to fabricate self-sensing nanocomposites for fracture and damage sensing applications. Self-sensing composite based MWCNTs can be used to diagnose early stage damage in order to prevent a fatal fracture that could occur in the structure during its working life. Here, different concentrations of MWCNTs were evenly distributed either in an epoxy resin using high …

Un(Der)Employed Youth: From Precariousness To Resilience, Alia Weston, Miguel Imas, Jennifer Manning, Paul Donnelly, Kudzayi Ngwerume

Articles

In this paper, we explore the experiences of Irish and Zimbabwean youth who live and work in precarious economic conditions. We study these youths’ experiences in a manner that traverses contexts under the question: How do un(der)employed youth in the Global South and Global North enact resilience and agency while navigating economic precarity? The paper builds on youth literature from both the Global North and Global South, emphasizing socio-economic precarity, youth agency, and resilience. We collected our data from interviews conducted in Ireland and Zimbabwe. Methodologically, the paper follows a postcolonial narrative approach to study these experiences. Our findings show …

Towards Supporting Academic Authors, Researchers And Phd Students In Higher Education, Eileen O'Donnell, Liam O'Donnell

Books/Book Chapters

Academic authors, researchers, PhD, Doctoral, and Master’s students, write articles for journals, books, book chapters for inclusion in edited books, papers for conferences and conference proceedings, and so forth as a method of communicating and sharing scholarly research findings. This chapter reviews the supports necessary to learn how to effectively undertake research and successfully publish the findings. These supports could satisfactorily be provided through an e-learning portal or an e-learning platform. An e-learning module could be used to facilitate collaboration amongst staff, researchers, PhD, and post graduate students, who share similar research interests. Staff and students should be encouraged to …

Re-Assessing The Place Of The “Silent Period” In The Development Of English As An Additional Language Among Children In Early Years Settings, Ruth Harris

Articles

This paper explores the acceptance of a “silent period” as a stage in second language development for children acquiring English as an Additional Language in Early Years settings. Current views suggest that it is normal for children to very quickly stop using their mother tongue and enter a period of silence. A positive perspective on this is that children may be using this time to observe and grow in understanding of the second language. However, there may also be negative effects, as children may become withdrawn and miss out on opportunities to develop relationships and language. It is the argument …

The Design And Manufacture Of A Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (Gfrp) Bolted Flange Joint For Oil And Gas Applications, Muhsin Ali Marie Aljuboury

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Metallic bolted flange and pipes both have been increasingly replaced by fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials in many applications which deal with extreme harsh environments such as oil, gas, marine, chemical etc. However, only a handful of research works have been conducted regarding the bolted flange joint (BFJ) made of FRP materials. Also, the availabilities of standards and codes are very limited for the composite BFJ. Hence, the design guidelines for fabrication methods and dimensional considerations of bolted FRP flange are yet to be optimised fully. For instance, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section X, does not include …

Entrepreneurship Book Of Vietnamese Cases, Thomas M. Cooney, Vũ Thế Dũng, Trần Hoàng Hải, Vũ Văn Thiệu, Lê Hà Như Thảo, Huỳnh Thị Kim Hà, Tạ Hùng Anh, Đinh Nguyễn Khánh Phương, Huỳnh Minh Nhựt

Books/Book Chapters

This publication ‘Entrepreneurship Book of Vietnamese Cases’ is part of the ‘Supporting Entrepreneurial Development in ICT in Vietnamese HEIs – ICTentr’ project, an initiative which aims to support the national goals of Vietnam to modernise higher education systems and improve skills in ICT through capacity development. The overall objective of this project is to provide ICT students with an entrepreneurial mindset, soft skills and a professional attitude when graduating from the university. The activities are targeted both to students and teachers involved in enhancing innovation. The project is coordinated by the University of Turku (UTU), Finland. The consortium is also …

Implementing A Two-Tiered Model Of Optometry Training In Mozambique As An Eye Health Development Strategy, Diane Van Staden, James Loughman, Kovin Naidoo

Articles

Background: The global burden of vision impairment has been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation as a public health challenge. In order to scale up the production of eye health personnel in developing countries, a tiered model of optometry training was explored in Mozambique.

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis Of Saliva For The Diagnosis Of Oral Cancer: A Systematic Review, Genecy Calado, Isha Behl, Amuthachelvi Daniel, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng

Articles

Abstract Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and new protocols for routine and early detection are required. Raman spectroscopy is an optical based method that can provide sensitive and non-invasive real time detailed information on the biochemical content of a sample like saliva, through the unique vibrations of its constituent molecules and this is sensitive to changes associated with disease. A comprehensive systematic review of the available scientific literature related to Raman spectroscopy of human saliva for diagnosis of OSCC was performed. The 785 nm laser line was most applied wavelength along with …

The Bullet In The Brick: The Materiality Of Conflict In Museum Objects, Siobhan Doyle

Articles

Tangible traces of conflict in visual artefacts can take viewers uncomfortably close to the realities of war—violence, destruction and fatalities. This article questions the evidential force of objects associated with conflict and their eventual display in exhibitions. Through a study of the display of a brick in which is embedded a bullet that is said to have passed through the body of Francis Sheehy Skeffington when he was executed by firing squad during the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, this article explores the historical configuration of the brick and analyses its public display in the National Museum of Ireland …

Calculating Restaurant Failure Rates Using Longitudinal Census Data, J. J. Healy, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

Articles

Failure rates in the restaurant industry are popularly perceived to be far higher than they actually are. This paper calculates failure rates in the Irish Food and Drinks Sector (IFDS), for the first time, using longitudinal census data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in Ireland, which follows the European statistical classification of economic activity (NACE). The results are compared with previously published literature on restaurant failure rates in the United States of America. This study also compares IFDS failure rates with other industry sectors in Ireland (construction, manufacturing). Drawing on Stinchcombe’s ’liability of newness’ theory, the informal fallacies theory …

Automatic Misogyny Detection In Social Media: A Survey, John Cardiff, Elena Shushkevich

Conference Papers

This article presents a survey of automated misogyny identification techniques in social media, especially in Twitter. This problem is urgent because of the high speed at which messages on social platforms grow and the widespread use of offensive language (including misogynistic language) in them. In this article we survey approaches proposed in the literature to solve the problem of misogynistic message recognition. These include classical machine learning models like Sup-port Vector Machine, Naive Bayes, Logistic Regression and ensembles of different classical machine learning models and deep neural networks such as Long Short-term memory and Convolutional Neural Networks. We consider results …

Towards Linked Data For Wikidata Revisions And Twitter Trending Hashtags, Paula Dooley, Bojan Bozic

Conference papers

This paper uses Twitter as a microblogging platform to link hashtags, which relate the message to a topic that is shared among users, to Wikidata, a central knowledge base of information relying on its members and machine bots to keeping its content up to date. The data is stored in a highly structured format, with the added SPARQL Protocol And RDF Query Language (SPARQL) endpoint to allow users to query its knowledge base. Our research, designs and implements a process to stream live Twitter tweets and to parse existing Wikidata revision XML files provided by Wikidata. Furthermore, we identify if …

Noise Reduction In Eeg Signals Using Convolutional Autoencoding Techniques, Conor Hanrahan

Dissertations

The presence of noise in electroencephalography (EEG) signals can significantly reduce the accuracy of the analysis of the signal. This study assesses to what extent stacked autoencoders designed using one-dimensional convolutional neural network layers can reduce noise in EEG signals. The EEG signals, obtained from 81 people, were processed by a two-layer one-dimensional convolutional autoencoder (CAE), whom performed 3 independent button pressing tasks. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the signals before and after processing were calculated and the distributions of the SNRs were compared. The performance of the model was compared to noise reduction performance of Principal Component Analysis, with …

Bc(A)R Compliance - The Colander Effect, Seamus Harrington

Other Resources

The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations of 2014 has sought to leave the days of self-regulation in the past. However, the opt-out clause has created a two-tiered regulatory structure that questions if the regulations are fit for purpose?

This presentation takes an in depth look at the current regulatory structure and questions if there is a requirement for the introduction of a top-down Local Authority lead approach to Building Regulation Control, similar to that currently utilised throughout the UK and Northern Ireland in respect of all building projects?