Digital Commons Network^™

Biosensing With Back-Gated Graphene Field Effect Transistors, Benjamin O'Driscoll

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The widespread existence of the heavy metal lead in the environment is a severe threat to the health of humans. Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates over time in the body restricting the cognitive, behavioural and psychological development of children. Since water is one exposure route for chemical hazards like Pb2+ it is envisioned that monitoring drinking water sources with low-cost, sensitive and field-suitable devices is one way that human exposure can be limited. Herein presents graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) functionalised with aptamers as bioreceptors, for the specific detection of Pb2+ ions in water. Functionalising GFETs with bioreceptors facilitates …

Development Of A Novel Antibacterial Silver Nanocoating To Reduce Nosocomial Infections, James Butler

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Nosocomial infections (those that are hospital-acquired) lead to patient morbidity and mortality, and are further complicated by the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Wastewater plumbing systems (WPS) are bacterial reservoirs and vehicles for bacterial transmission. Sink traps form a barrier between users and the WPS, but breaches can lead to contamination and have been implicated in outbreaks of infections. This project sought to address the need for a novel antimicrobial nanocoating to reduce bacterial colonisation and biofilm formation in sink traps. A nanocoating was developed by embedding silver nanoparticles in a matrix of commercially-available and low-cost pipe cement, applied to …

Optimisation Of Wireless Disaster Telecommunication Network Based On Network Functions Virtualisation Under Special Consideration Of Energy Consumption, Auberlin Paguem Tchinda

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A working communication network is a key element in saving human lives after a disaster event. However, analysis of past disaster events shows significant damage to common communication network infrastructures such as the mobile network or landline. Consequently, a new communication network (Emergency Communication Network (ECN)) must be established immediately after the disaster to support rescue operations (e.g., civil protection, police, and volunteers) and to enable communication between the affected people. The established network is subject to several requirements. These requirements can be divided into infrastructure and service requirements. Infrastructure requirements include rapid deployment of the communication network, complete coverage …

A New Approach To Self-Assessment Of Community Engagement: A Case Study Of Technological University Dublin., Emma O'Brien, Martina Brophy, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

Building upon existing international tools, the TEFCE (Towards a European Framework for Community Engagement of Higher Education) Toolbox for community engagement represents an innovative, robust, and holistic framework to support universities in reflecting upon their community engagement. Through a case study approach, this paper highlights the piloting of the TEFCE Toolbox at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Through an inclusive and participatory methodology, the process facilitated the recognition of community engagement achievements and the identification of potential areas for improvement.

Behavioural Determinants Of Human And Planetary Health: The Role Of Nature Contact And Nature Connectedness., Leanne Martin

School of Psychology Theses

The benefits of natural environments for health and wellbeing are well-established, but less is known about their links human behaviour. This thesis presents a conceptual model proposing that increased contact with - and psychological connection to – nature will be associated with: a) a lower prevalence of health risk behaviours, and b) greater engagement with pro-environmental behaviours, via positive affect, negative affect, community cohesion and temporal discounting. Studies 1-3 used representative cross-sectional datasets to systematically investigate the associations between different types of nature contact, nature connectedness and behavioural outcomes. Study 4 used a bespoke cross-sectional survey to test the full …

Life-Cycle Assessment Of Non-Domestic Building Stocks: A Meta-Analysis Of Current Modelling Methods, Julian Bischoff, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Building stock models (BSMs) are essential for simulating the contributions of regional and national building sectors to climate change under different policy scenarios, and for identifying pathways to climate change mitigation. To date, BSMs have focused on the operational life-cycle impacts of domestic dwellings; there has been less emphasis either on non-domestic buildings (NDBs) or full life-cycle analysis. This paper provides a first review of the theory and practice of NDB stock modelling which considers life-cycle energy, emissions and costs. A meta-analysis of the literature was undertaken involving a structured search of relevant articles in key scientific repositories. 98 in-scope …

Perceived Social Support And Stress: A Study Of 1st Year Students In Ireland, Lavinia Mclean, David Gaul, Rebecca Penco

Articles

Social support is consistently associated with positive outcomes for students, in terms of wellbeing and academic achievement. For first year students, social support offers a way to deal with stressors associated with the challenge of transitioning to university. The current research was conducted with a range of first year students (n = 315) early in their first semester in university. Both male and female students reported moderate levels of social support and perceived stress, while those with higher levels of social support reported lower levels of stress. Gender differences were apparent in both the levels and sources of social …

A Micron-Range Displacement Sensor Based On Thermo-Optically Tuned Whispering Gallery Modes In A Microcapillary Resonator, Zhe Wang, Arun Kumar Mallik, Fangfang Wei, Zhuochen Wang, Anuradha Rout, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

A novel micron-range displacement sensor based on a whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcapillary resonator filled with a ne matic liquid crystal (LC) and a magnetic nanoparticle- coated fiber half-taper is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed device, the tip of a fiber half-taper coated with a thin layer of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) moves inside the LC-filled microcapillary resonator along its axis. The input end of the fiber half-taper is connected to a pump laser source and due to the thermo-optic effect within the MNPs, the fiber tip acts as point heat source increasing the temperature of the LC material in …

What, So What, Now What? Covid-19 As A Critical Incident In Practice., Claire Mcavinia, Muireann Okeeffe, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

A Multimodal Framework For Supporting Academic Writer’S Perspectives, Practice And Performance, Roisin Donnelly, Ita Kennelly, Claire Mcavinia

Journal Articles

Supporting writing remains an important dimension to the work of academic developers particularly for early career academics and doctoral candidates. A small qualitative case study was undertaken on an academic writing module to explore participants’ needs and evaluate a new multimodal writing framework which sought to enhance publication opportunities while supporting the development of writing practice. The framework introduced the modes of reading, writing and reviewing as distinctive dimensions of the writing process and introduced practical activities to build participants’ confidence and skills working in each mode. It also prompted participants to acknowledge, adopt and shift between the perspectives of …

Exploring Pedagogic And Practical Intersections Of Academic Writing Support For Faculty In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly, Maria-Jose Gonzalez

Journal Articles

This is a case study of Faculty perceptions of the nature and effectiveness of academic writing provision and practice in a university in Ireland. It is presented in tandem with a case study of student persecptions from an Academic Writing Centre and taken together, both discuss the pedagogical approach adopted by the two pan-university initiatives. The focus of this case study is a Professional Development module for Faculty designed with a dual purpose - to support them to develop their own professional writing for publication, and enabling them to use the same strategies to support and reinforce their students’ academic …

Exploring The Concept Of The Digital Educator During Covid-19, Ana Schalk, Claire Mcavinia, Pauline Rooney

Journal Articles

In this paper, we explore academic identity, specifically the identity of the educator in higher education and academics’ conceptualisations of the digital educator. We suggest that the concept of a digital educator is not only about technology, tools and uses. The context for this exploration is academics’ participation in an online professional development module, Digital Education, and the “pivot online” (Weller, 2020a) during campus closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Through qualitative research, we explored participants’ sense of teaching identity, whether they had or have a concept of being a digital educator and the extent to which these …

Use And Awareness Of Heated Tobacco Products In Europe, Silvano Gallus, Alessandra Lugo, Xiaoqiu Liu, Elisa Borroni, Luke Clancy, Giuseppe Gorini, Maria José Lopez, Anna Odone, Krzysztof Przewozniak, Olena Tigova, Piet A. Van Den Brandt, Constantine Vardavas, Esteve Fernandez, Tackshs Project Investigators

Articles

Background: Heated tobacco products (HTP) are new forms of tobacco consumption with limited information available on their use among the general population. Our objective was to analyze the prevalence and associations of use of HTP across 11 countries in Europe.

Methods: Within the TackSHS Project, in 2017-2018 we conducted a cross-sectional study with information on HTP use in the following countries: Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. In each country, face-to-face interviews were performed on a representative sample of around 1,000 subjects aged ≥15 years, for a total of 10,839 subjects.

Results: Overall, 27.8% …

The Locus Algorithm: A Novel Technique For Identifying Optimised Pointings For Differential Photometry, Oisin Creaner, Kevin Nolan Mr, E. Hickey, N. Smith

Articles

Studies of the photometric variability of astronomical sources from ground-based telescopes must overcome atmospheric extinction effects. Differential photometry by reference to an ensemble of reference stars which closely match the target in terms of magnitude and colour can mitigate these effects. This Paper describes the design, implementation, and operation of a novel algorithm – The Locus Algorithm – which enables optimised differential photometry. The Algorithm is intended to identify, for a given target and observational parameters, the Field of View (FoV) which includes the target and the maximum number of reference stars similar to the target. A collection of objects …

Search For Higgsinos Decaying To Two Higgs Bosons And Missing Transverse Momentum In Proton-Proton Collisions At √S = 13 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, A. Tumasyan, W. Adam, J. W. Andrejkovic, T. Bergauer, S. Chatterjee, K. Damanakis, M. Dragicevic, A. Escalante Del Valle, R. Frühwirth, M. Jeitler, N. Krammer, L. Lechner, D. Liko, I. Mikulec, P. Paulitsch, F. M. Pitters, J. Schieck, R. Schöfbeck, D. Schwarz, S. Templ, W. Waltenberger, C. E. Wulz, V. Chekhovsky, A. Litomin, V. Makarenko, M. R. Darwish, E. A. De Wolf, T. Janssen, T. Kello, A. Lelek

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV in channels with two Higgs bosons, each decaying via the process H → bb ¯ , and large missing transverse momentum. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb⁻¹ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The search is motivated by models of supersymmetry that predict the production of neutralinos, the neutral partners of the electroweak gauge and Higgs bosons. The observed event yields in the signal regions are found to …

Educator Handbook For Designing Inclusive Entrepreneurship Courses In Higher Education, Deirdre Mcquillan, Sylvia Gavigan, Antonio Juan Briones, Iulia Clitan, Dimitra Milioni, Vlad Muresan, Panayiota Polykarpou

Books/Book Chapters

This handbook is developed for educators in entrepreneurship within universities and other higher education institutions. The aim of the handbook is to help underrepresented student groups within their courses. It is also useful for academics who want to develop entrepreneurship courses for specific minority groups. The notion of who underrepresented entrepreneurship students are may differ across institutions and across countries. At a global level, the OECD identifies six important cohorts: women, youth, seniors, the unemployed, immigrants, and people with disabilities (OECD, 2021)

Detecting Road Intersections Automatically From Satellite Images Using A Deep Learning Approach, Fatmaelzahraa Eltaher Ph.D, Luis Miralles-Pechuán, Jane Courtney, Susan Mckeever

Datasets

Automatic detection of road intersections is an important task in various domains such as navigation, route planning, traffic prediction, and road network extraction. Road intersections range from simple three-way T-junctions (degree 3) to complex large-scale junctions with many branches. The location of intersections and their complexity is an important consideration in route planning, such as the requirement to avoid complex intersections on pedestrian journeys. This is relevant to vulnerable road users such as People with Blindness or Visually Impairment (PBVI) or children. Route planning applications, however, do not give information about the location or complexity of intersections as this information …

Social Identity Processes Involved In The Acceptance And Collective Actions Regarding Large-Scale Energy Technologies: The Case Of Deep Geothermal Energy In Cornwall, Wales And Scotland., Francesca Ausilia Tirotto

School of Psychology Theses

Deep geothermal energy has been recognised as an important contributor to future energy demand. However, the development of renewable energy technologies has seen public disagreement hindering the implementation of such technologies. The present study investigated social dimensions underlying public acceptance of deep geothermal energy. Adopting a social identity approach, the present research consisted of four studies. The first was a qualitative study which aimed to understand which socio-psychological dimensions were relevant in the acceptance of the first deep geothermal energy plant in Cornwall, UK. Based on this study and existing theory, a theoretical framework was developed which identified two possible …

The Overcoming Disadvantage In Early Childhood Study: Evaluation Of The Australian Literacy And Numeracy Foundation’S Early Language And Literacy Program. Final Report, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson

Early Childhood Education

The Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood (ODEC) study is a longitudinal evaluation of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s (ALNF) Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) program. The study was designed to answer the research question: What is the effect of the EL&L program on the development of language and literacy skills in preschool aged children? An integral component of this study was to develop a new measure of oral language and literacy - the Early Language and Literacy Developmental Index (ELLDI). The ELLDI was developed in recognition of the need for a best practice measure of oral language and literacy …

Unstacking The Matryoshka Nesting Doll: A Self-Study Of Playful Language Instruction For Adult Second Language Learners, Marine Pepanyan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In the recent three decades teaching second language (L2) vocabulary has expanded from sentence-level morphosyntactic features and pragmatics to the promotion and advancement of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Nevertheless, the L2 instructors are constantly seeking alternative strategies for vocabulary teaching and assessment due to a superficial level of vocabulary memorization and lack of student engagement. As an instructor-practitioner, I undertook a self-study of the process of implementing Playful Language Instruction (PLI) of L2 vocabulary in an Intensive English Program. In this self-study I combined conceptual lenses of theories of play, CLT, and the Adult Learning Theory to examine how playful …

Are Socially Responsible Exchange-Traded Funds Paying Off In Performance?, Ya Dai, Liang Guo, Steve Liu, Hongxian Zhang

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study examines the Socially Responsible (SR) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by comparing their risk-adjusted performance with a matched group of conventional ETFs in the U.S. equity market. In contrast to prior studies that focus on actively managed mutual funds, we find that the risk-adjusted returns of SR ETFs are significantly lower than those of conventional ETFs during the 2005–2020 period. Such underperformance is only observed in non-crisis periods but not in economic crisis periods (i.e., the 2020 pandemic recession and 2008 financial turmoil). We attribute the observed underperformance of SR ETFs during the non-crisis periods to their limited diversification of …

Noise Resilient Learning For Attack Detection In Smart Grid Pmu Infrastructure, Prithwiraj Roy, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Sahar Abedzadeh, Sajal K. Das

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Falsified data from compromised Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in a smart grid induce Energy Management Systems (EMS) to have an inaccurate estimation of the state of the grid, disrupting various operations of the power grid. Moreover, the PMUs deployed at the distribution layer of a smart grid show dynamic fluctuations in their data streams, which make it extremely challenging to design effective learning frameworks for anomaly-based attack detection. In this paper, we propose a noise resilient learning framework for anomaly-based attack detection specifically for distribution layer PMU infrastructure, that show real time indicators of data falsifications attacks while offsetting the …

Targeted Content-Sharing In A Multi-Group Dtn Application Using Attribute-Based Encryption, Xiaofei Cao, Shudip Datta, Ram Charan Bolla, Sanjay Kumar Madria

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In a battlefield, multiple groups operate with different missions, but their missions and groups can dynamically change based on the evolving situation. Due to the unavailability of network infrastructure after deployment, group members form a Delay Tolerant Network (DTN) which is prone to security attacks. Hence, based on the mission attributes, group memberships, nodes' interests, and data tags determination, targeted contents need to be distributed in a secure fashion to different users. Though existing Attributes Based Encryption (ABE) can provide security of information, revoking a member from a group is always an issue in DTN as the Attribute Authority (AA) …

Look-Up Table Based Fhe System For Privacy Preserving Anomaly Detection In Smart Grids, Ruixiao Li, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Sajal K. Das, Hayato Yamana

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), the customers' power consumption data is considered private but needs to be revealed to data-driven attack detection frameworks. In this paper, we present a system for privacy-preserving anomaly-based data falsification attack detection over fully homomorphic encrypted (FHE) data, which enables computations required for the attack detection over encrypted individual customer smart meter's data. Specifically, we propose a homomorphic look-up table (LUT) based FHE approach that supports privacy preserving anomaly detection between the utility, customer, and multiple partied providing security services. In the LUTs, the data pairs of input and output values for each function required …

Open Education Exploration Grant: Michelle Cowin Gibbs, Michelle Cowin Gibbs

Ames Library Awards

No abstract provided.

Values Engagement As A Predictor Of Eating Disorder Severity In Female Adolescents With Eating Disorders, Julie M. Petersen, Jennifer L. Barney, Tyson S. Barrett, Tera S. Lensegrav-Benson, Benita Quakenbush-Roberts, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Values are freely chosen life directions and/or qualities of being that can motivate behavior change. There is nascent support for the utility of values work as a part of the therapeutic process across treatments, particularly in third wave therapy approaches (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy). However, therapeutic values work is underresearched in clinical samples of youth. The aim of the present study is to examine the role of the two distinct values processes (engagement and obstruction), body image inflexibility, alongside other common comorbid symptoms of eating disorders (anxiety, depression) in a sample of female adolescents with eating disorders attending a …

Intensive Outpatient Acceptance And Commitment Therapy With Exposure And Response Prevention For Adolescents, Julie M. Petersen, Patricia Zurita Ona, Moorea Blythe, Clara M. Möller, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Intensive treatments for youth obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are important and underresearched. This study used three adolescent cases to assess the preliminary efficacy of an intensive treatment combining acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD. Participants received intensive treatment for 15 hours per week for three weeks. Assessments were collected at pre-treatment, weekly during treatment, and at posttreatment. All participants ended treatment in the mild range of OCD severity with 32-60% reductions in symptoms. Participants also reported notable improvements in psychological flexibility and ended treatment in the non-clinical range of depression, anxiety, and stress. These …

Examining A Mediation Model Of Body Image-Related Cognitive Fusion, Intuitive Eating, And Eating Disorder Symptom Severity In A Clinical Sample, Jennifer L. Barney, Tyson S. Barrett, Tera Lensegrav-Benson, Benita Quakenbush, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Purpose: This study sought to explore the associations between Intuitive Eating (IE), eating disorder (ED) symptom severity, and body image-related cognitive fusion within a clinical sample. IE was also examined as a possible mediator in the relationship between body image-related fusion and ED symptoms.

Methods: This study includes cross-sectional analyses with data from 100 adult females and 75 adolescent females seeking residential treatment for an ED. Self-reported demographic information, ED symptoms, IE behaviors, and body image-related cognitive fusion were collected from participants within the first week of treatment following admission to the same residential ED treatment facility.

Results: …

Regulation, Targets And Functions Of Chk, Shudong Zhu, Rong Sun, Xialing Guo, Yuanwu Bao, Dianzheng Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Works

Src family kinases (SFKs) play pivotal roles in multiple signaling pathways (Yeatman, 2004). SFK activity is inhibited by phosphorylation at its C-terminal tyrosine, by CSK (C-terminal Src kinase) and CHK (CSK-homologous kinase). CHK expression is restricted to normal hematopoietic cells, brain, and colon tissues. Downregulation of CHK in brain and colon tumors contributes to tumorigenicity in these tissues. CHK does not phosphorylate Src efficiently, however, in contrast to CSK, CHK inhibits Src kinase activity allosterically. Although the functions of CHK are still largely unknown, potential substrates of CHK including β-synuclein, α-tubulin, α-spectrin, 14-3-3, and Hsp90 have been identified. CHK is …

China Maritime Report No. 18: Chinese Special Operations In A Large-Scale Island Landing, John Chen, Joel Wuthnow

CMSI China Maritime Reports

PLA special operations forces (SOF) would likely play important supporting roles in an amphibious assault on Taiwan. Their capabilities and training are geared towards several missions undertaken during the preparatory and main assault phases of the landing, including infiltration via special mission craft and helicopter, reconnaissance and targeting, obstacle clearance, strikes and raids, and extraction missions. While PLA SOF have made progress in recent years, several longstanding challenges could affect their performance in an island landing: integrating advanced special mission equipment for complex and dangerous missions, coordinating their operations with non-SOF supporting and supported forces, and overcoming the Chinese military’s …