Learning by Ear: Multimodal listening and the Embodiment of Irish Traditional Music and Dance

In Irish traditional music and dance, listening to other encultured performers is understood as being vital in embodying key stylistic and aesthetic traits of the tradition. In this sense, listening forms part of the broader processes of learning by ear and includes in-person experiences, listening to recorded music, and in more recent times 'cross-modal' listening on platforms such as YouTube - which also provide contextualising visual information. Perhaps because traditional music is conceptualised as being an aural art form, and because diAerent combinations of sensory information are present in each of the previously mentioned examples, 'listening' and 'watching' are often described as constituent parts of absorption, which can have the eAect of separating the senses. As recent thought on listening has shown, any real-life listening event is multimodal, where auditory, visual, haptic and other sensory input combine in informing a coherent experience. Rather than being reactive, the listeners' internal model of this experience is predicted, based on their prior experiential knowledge of the same sensory input. As such, listening experiences are not universal and are instead shaped by individual enculturation. For musicians and dancers in particular, this process of embodiment is inherently multimodal and so creates a heightened association between sound (gesture) and physical gesture. From this, it follows that even 'monomodal' sources such as audio recordings, are listened to from a multimodal perspective, one which positively correlates with the experiential knowledge of the listener

How can we research social movements? An introduction

This introductory chapter is written for beginning researchers, whether in movements or universities, for people from non-traditional academic backgrounds and non-native English speakers. We share some of our own complicated and messy routes to movement research. We also explain why researching social movements matters, and how it can genuinely help movements. This is the first methods handbook for movement researchers that takes a genuinely global perspective, rather than focussing on researchers and movements in the global North. Understanding movements means not being restricted to knowing about one movement or one academic discipline. The chapter introduces the book’s themes - the methodologies and politics of knowledge of movement research; different methods of data collection/analysis; and the uses of research for movements - followed by a chapter-by-chapter overview, highlighting the specific movements studied. The chapter concludes with reflections on the future of social movements research and a call for solidarity

Types, determinants, and outcomes of entrepreneurial behaviours during crises.

Entrepreneurs usually have several means at their disposal to deal with and overcome adverse circumstances, ranging from simple non-resourceful coping strategies to more elaborate resourceful behaviours. However, entrepreneurs who find themselves in conditions of prolonged adversity and disadvantage have few effective possibilities to withstand sudden adversity such as crises and income shocks. Based on these premises, we develop theory on the types, antecedents, and outcomes of entrepreneurial responses to adversity by investigating how entrepreneurs living in conditions of extreme poverty may behave resourcefully while facing two major crises in a short timeframe. Through an analysis of entrepreneurship in South-West Cameroon, we identify three behaviours entrepreneurs enact in response to crises: passive, hustling, and future-oriented, which differ with regards to activities, driving motivations, main objectives, approaches towards present and future adversity, and dominant focus concerning the use of resources. We also find that entrepreneurs’ enacted behaviours depend chiefly on the nature of the losses they incur and on the type of social capital they can avail of in the aftermath of a crisis. Lastly, we suggest that the different behaviours result in further changes in the entrepreneurs’ resource levels, which subsequently influence the likelihood that entrepreneurs will shift between behaviours

Long-Term Evolution of Significant Wave Height in the EasternTropical Atlantic between 1940 and 2022 Using the ERA5 Dataset

Studies on the variability in ocean wave climate provide engineers and policy makers with information to plan, develop, and control coastal and offshore activities. Ocean waves bear climatic imprints through which the global climate system can be better understood. Using the recently updated ERA5 dataset, this study evaluated the spatiotemporal distribution and variability in significant wave height (SWH) in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic (ETA). The short-term trends and rates of change were obtained using the Mann–Kendall trend test and the Theil–Sen slope estimator, respectively, and decadal trends were assessed using wavelet transformation. Significant, positive monthly and yearly trends and a prevailing decadal trend were observed across the domain. Observed trends suggest that stronger waves are getting closer to the coast and are modulated by the Southern and Northern Atlantic mid-latitude storm fields. These observations have implications for the increasing coastal erosion rates on the eastern coast of the Tropical Atlantic

UNITES Project: A National Vision for the Future. A Policy Briefing Paper

National policies such as Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (2015), First 5 – A Whole of Government Strategy for Parents and Babies (2019) and Supporting Parents: A National Model of Parenting Support Services (2022), recognise the importance of, and reflect a strong and enduring commitment to, supporting early childhood development and wellbeing through the provision of accessible, high quality and evidence-led supports. For instance, a key goal of ‘First 5’ is to develop strong and supportive families and communities, including a commitment to the development of universal parenting supports (also reiterated in the National Model of Parenting Support Services) and, importantly, in the context of the current study, an evidence-led approach to home visiting services across a continuum of need (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), 2022). Indeed, a wealth of both national and international evidence indicates that the home environment, and therefore services provided in the home, provide a crucially important context, and support, for healthy child development and wellbeing (e.g. Bradley & Corwyn, 2008)

What does well-being mean to me?’. Conceptualisations of well-being in Irish Primary Schooling

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the term well-being as conceptualised by parents, grandparents, principals and teachers in the Irish primary education system. Design/methodology/approach A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the nature and meaning of the phenomenon of well-being. Interviews were carried out with 54 principals, teachers, parents and grandparents from a representative sample of primary schools in Ireland. Each participant was asked the same, open, question: “What does well-being mean to you?” Responses were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis. Findings Three conceptualisations of well-being were identified (1) well-being is about being happy, (2) well-being is about being healthy and safe and (3) well-being is something you “do”. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge this paper is the first of its kind to describe how well-being is conceptualised by adults in Irish primary school contexts. In particular it highlights how neoliberal conceptualisations of well-being as a “thing”, a commodity exchanged on assumptions of individualism, moralism and bio-economism, have crept into the education of our youngest citizens

Responsive Synthetic Peptide Conjugates – From Sensors to Peptidomimetics

The importance of luminescent peptide sensors and peptidomimetics lies in their ability to address challenges in detection, imaging, drug development, and various other fields. More specifically, luminescent peptide-conjugates are often biocompatible and can detect analytes at trace-levels. This makes them effective tools for the visualisation of cellular processes and molecular interactions, while aiding in early diagnosis and monitoring disease progression. Indeed, peptidomimetics are designed to mimic the biological activity of peptides while often offering enhanced stability and bioavailability, overcoming some of the many limitations associated with native peptides. This thesis will focus on the use of modified synthetic peptide-conjugates as potential luminescent sensors for the visualisation of Caspase-3, and the design of a completely new peptidomimetic-scaffold based on Squaratides – a hybrid mix of squaramides and peptides. The thesis opens with a literature review (Chapter 1) documenting the therapeutic history of peptides and the inherent functionalities that facilitate their diverse chemistries, all the way up to the luminescent applications of peptide-conjugates for selective sensing/visualisation of specific disease-related enzymes. Chapter 2 details the design, synthesis, and characterisation of a ratiometric fluorescent caspase-3 probe. This novel peptide-conjugate was investigated as a potential probe for the visualisation of caspase-3 via UV-vis/Fluorescence studies, enzyme kinetic(s) experiments, and selectivity studies. The probe was shown to be highly selective towards caspase-3, with kinetic data comparable to others reported in literature, while benefiting from the advantages of ratiometric detection. The design of a potential red-emitting naphthalimide-peptide probe for caspase-3 visualisation is also discussed. Chapter 3 aims to build on the idea of fluorescent visualisation using traditional organic fluorophores, but instead employs lanthanide luminescence, with their prolonged luminescence lifetimes and tuneable emission colours. This chapter reports the synthesis and characterisation of a family of novel, water-soluble squaramide-based cyclen ligands with varying symmetry and substitution patterns, including one ligand that may have the potential to act as a lanthanide-based caspase-3 probe. The photophysical properties of each squaramide antenna was investigated, with preliminary metal-centred luminescence emission spectra being obtained for Eu3+ and Tb3+ complexes. The final section (Chapter 4) documents the attempted synthesis of a novel class of peptidomimetics featuring a squaramide motif. The aim was to investigate the use of squaramides as potential peptidomimetics, by generating synthetic analogues of a previous pharmaceutical drug – Cilengitide – with the hope of improving its overall stability. This chapter outlines a versatile synthetic methodology for the production of Nβ-Fmoc alkyl-amines (from their respective commercially available amino acids) and their incorporation into cyclic Squaratide peptidomimetics

SoMoSAT – Soil Moisture Estimates from Satellite-based Earth Observations. Report No 460

Soil moisture interactions for climate, and their relevance for understanding hydrological, agricultural and ecological processes are recognised and acknowledged as important. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of soil water observations globally. Even at the regional and country scale, only limited observations are available. This research uses machine learning with remote sensing data and data from deployed in-situ soil moisture sensors to derive a harmonised soil moisture product for Ireland. Based on independent tests of the models it was found to largely reproduce the available soil moisture measurements. A key output from the research was the deployment of a number of in situ soil moisture sensors, which will support a national initiative to deploy an integrated network of soil moisture sensors across Ireland. The research highlights the need for an integrated monitoring infrastructure to facilitate consistently measuring soil moisture in Ireland

The human MIF polymorphism CATT7 enhances pro‐inflammatory macrophage polarization in a clinically relevant model of allergic airway inflammation

High level expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been associated with severe asthma. The role of MIF and its functional promotor polymorphism in innate immune training is currently unknown. Using novel humanized CATT7 MIF mice, this study is the first to investigate the effect of MIF on bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) memory after house dust mite (HDM) challenge. CATT7 BMDMs demonstrated a significant primed increase in M1 markers following HDM and LPS stimulation, compared to naive mice. This M1 signature was found to be MIF-dependent, as administration of a small molecule MIF inhibitor, SCD-19, blocked the induction of this pro-inflammatory M1-like phenotype in BMDMs from CATT7 mice challenged with HDM. Training naive BMDMs in vitro with HDM for 24 h followed by a rest period and subsequent stimulation with LPS led to significantly increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα in BMDMs from CATT7 mice but not WT mice. Addition of the pan methyltransferase inhibitor MTA before HDM training significantly abrogated this effect in BMDMs from CATT7 mice, suggesting that HDM-induced training is associated with epigenetic remodelling. These findings suggest that trained immunity induced by HDM is under genetic control, playing an important role in asthma patients with the high MIF genotypes (CATT6/7/8)

The next frontier for climate change science – Insights from the authors of the IPCC 6th assessment report on knowledge gaps and priorities for research

As climate change impacts intensify globally in both frequency and magnitude, and with scientific consensus on what is yet to come if the world fails to act, the imperative to step up our collective response has never been more pressing. By providing the knowledge necessary to formulate effective mitigation and adaptation strategies, climate science serves as a critical enabler of climate action and a vital input to evidence-based policymaking. Bridging the knowledge gaps in climate change research is crucial for guiding the transition towards a low-carbon climate resilient future, for fostering consensus and alliances, for empowering global cooperation and for mobilising stakeholders across the society. This report draws attention to where additional research is required to effectively and adequately address climate change, aiming to inform future calls under the EU Horizon Europe R&I Programme and beyond