adaptNMT: an open-source, language-agnostic development environment for neural machine translation

adaptNMT streamlines all processes involved in the development and deployment of RNN and Transformer neural translation models. As an open-source application, it is designed for both technical and non-technical users who work in the field of machine translation. Built upon the widely-adopted OpenNMT ecosystem, the application is particularly useful for new entrants to the field since the setup of the development environment and creation of train, validation and test splits is greatly simplified. Graphing, embedded within the application, illustrates the progress of model training, and SentencePiece is used for creating subword segmentation models. Hyperparameter customization is facilitated through an intuitive user interface, and a single-click model development approach has been implemented. Models developed by adaptNMT can be evaluated using a range of metrics, and deployed as a translation service within the application. To support eco-friendly research in the NLP space, a green report also flags the power consumption and kgCO2 emissions generated during model development. The application is freely available (http://github.com/adaptNMT)

Introduction to the Sixth Annual Lifelog Search Challenge, LSC’23

For the sixth time since 2018, the Lifelog Search Challenge (LSC) was organized as a comparative benchmarking exercise for various interactive lifelog search systems. The goal of this international competition is to test system capabilities to access large multimodal lifelogs. LSC’23 attracted twelve participanting teams, each of whom had developed a competitive interactive lifelog retrieval system. The benchmark was organized in front of live audience at the LSC workshop at ACM ICMR’23. As in previous editions, this introductory paper presents the LSC workshop and introduces the participating lifelog search systems

School inspections: a rhetoric of quality or reality?

This study aims to explore the perspectives of school inspectors and leaders on the quality of school inspection in four countries with different inspection systems: Dubai, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The study also examines the general perceptions of school leaders and inspectors about the impact of quality assurance agencies on teaching and learning in these countries. Using semi-structured interviews of school leaders (n = 28) and inspectors (n = 14), the research found that school leaders’ experiences and perceptions of school inspection and evaluation were varied in and across all four countries. While some expressed dissatisfaction with the inspectors and the process, others regarded it as a beneficial endeavor that instilled a sense of vigilance and attentiveness toward the quality standards and inspection criteria. School leaders’ experiences and perceptions were mostly positive in Dubai and mixed in the cases of Ireland, New Zealand and Pakistan. Furthermore, the study found a negative correlation between the perception of school leaders and inspectors regarding the quality of inspection practices and their perception of the impact of inspection. Thus, it is imperative to establish improved avenues of communication to facilitate heightened awareness among school leaders regarding the efficacy of inspectors’ work and the comprehensive measures implemented by inspectorates to ensure the quality of their own practices. This initiative will foster enhanced trust between school leaders and inspectors, consequently amplifying the overall influence of school inspections

Exploring different visions of scientific literacy in Irish primary science education: core issues and future directions

This discussion paper focuses on the purpose of, and vision for, Irish primary science education prior to the redevelopment and publication of the primary science curriculum in 2024. Scientific literacy is broadly accepted as the goal of science education. Despite this, curricular analysis focusing on scientific literacy in Europe is scarce. There is no universally accepted definition of scientific literacy and the divergent perspectives of scientific literacy and its conceptualisation in terms of purpose and competencies warrant discussion. This paper details and critiques both the historical and current position of Irish primary science education against prominent policy documents and research in the field. It presents research informed recommendations required to transform a holistic vision of scientific literacy from curriculum documents into classroom practice. It is hoped that this discussion paper raises important questions for policy makers and educators highlighting the central role of science literacy education to meet the needs of all students in the twenty-first century

Lost boys and incel forums: mental health and masculinity in the age of loneliness

Incels are involuntarily celibate men who believe that they are unable to form romantic relationships as a result of factors outside of their control. The phenomenon has grown in recent years in terms of platform membership and has attracted increasing media attention. To date, much of the research on incels has relied on content analysis of incel forums. There is a dearth of scholarship which relies on firsthand accounts. This research is among the first studies to step into this gap. This research comprises 12 interviews with both current and former self-identified incels, investigating why some lonely men choose to identify as incels. Interviewees were asked to share their “blackpilling stories”, and invited to discuss experiences which they felt played an important role, so that common features could be identified. This research identifies three key points in an individual’s journey to “taking the blackpill”, which will be of benefit to those designing interventions targeted at incels. First, it is found many incels are socially isolated. A number of factors are found to contribute to this isolation, including being “off-time”, neurodivergence, and a belief that they are unfairly persecuted for their beliefs. The concept of the “Lost Boy” is introduced to describe young men who find themselves in this situation, and who may be at particular risk of radicalisation, as they seek answers to various complex questions at an especially vulnerable stage of their lives. Secondly, it is found that in the absence of supportive networks, Lost Boys resort to the internet for advice and guidance. At this point, it is likely they will be exposed to content that could reasonably be described as ‘Red Pilled’ – an ideology that is arguably less extreme than the blackpill, but supported by the same undergirding logic. However, a number of factors prevent the Red Pill from offering satisfactory answers or solutions to many of these ‘seekers’, and the typical trajectory observed is a progression to Blackpill ideology. Finally, this research finds that incel communities function as affective counterpublics, which reinforce and affirm member’s grievances, by consistently evoking negative emotions. Although this may provide some transitory community and catharsis, the torrent of negative content shared on these spaces only serves to instil feelings of hopelessness in members, as the community offers no vision of meaningful change at an individual or collective level

Re-designing the interaction of day-to-day applications to support sustained attention level

Digital distractions in decreasing people's attentional abilities have become a subject of increasing concern and scrutiny in recent years. Based on the existing literature regarding the negative impact of technology on attention, this paper examines various solutions, encompassing mostly reactive strategies. It also questions the prevailing design practices prioritising learnability and efficiency and proposes a shift towards designing interactions that minimise distractions and promote sustained attention while emphasising the negative consequences of distraction-prone interactions on users' attentional resources. As a proactive solution, we present a novel interaction strategy called "Attention mode," which selectively reduces distractions when using apps. We developed three prototypes that consistently incorporate this strategy, each used in a different application on a different device: a news website on a desktop, an e- book reading app on a tablet, and a video-watching app on a smartphone. We conducted usability testing with 13 participants to evaluate this design feature and address the implications of these in the interaction design knowledge and practice today. By advocating for considering users' attentional abilities in design, this work contributes to the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and calls for a balance between cognitive well-being and traditional usability criteria

Free movement of persons and social benefits in the EU: the case law of the EU Court of Justice in context

Article 20 TFEU establishes the citizenship of the European Union. A core element of EU citizenship is the right of all EU nationals to move and reside freely within the territory of EU Member States. The free movement of EU nationals brings with it the issue of their access to social benefits. The interaction between the two notions comes into play when a national of one Member State applies for or receives social benefits in a Member State other than that of his/her nationality. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which plays an important role in interpreting EU law provisions, has addressed the abovementioned issues in a number of judgments. However, the Court’s jurisprudence in this regard has changed throughout time from an EU citizen-friendly approach to a more Member State-friendly one, albeit with some recent changes of mind. This evolution has been taking place not in an isolated legal vacuum but rather in a specific socio-political context, which has been shaped by several factors. This thesis analyses the evolution of CJEU case law on free movement of persons and social benefits with the aim of contextualising its development. The thesis then examines several institutional, social and political dynamics, which provided the background for the developments in the Court’s jurisprudence. Particularly, the thesis suggests that the 2004 enlargement, the increase of intra-EU migration and the rise of Eurosceptic populism - most evident in the Brexit process - were the background of the CJEU jurisprudence and may play a role in explaining its evolving approach. By answering its research question through an interdisciplinary lens, employing the ‘law in context’ approach, this thesis argues that the Court’s case law developed in its socio-political context, and uses the example of the UK as a case study to support this argument

Primary school principals’ perceptions and practices of parental involvement and partnership with reference to their experience of Partnership Schools Ireland (PSI)

This research study explored primary school principals’ perceptions and practices of parental involvement and partnership with particular reference to their experience of the Partnership Schools Ireland (PSI) initiative. Specifically, it explores the motivations, practices, challenges and benefits associated with the partnership programme as experienced by primary school principals. The study aimed to expand the knowledge and understanding of research-based models of partnership in school communities. The rationale for the study was a response to impending legislation, the Student Parent Charter Bill (Oireachtas, 2021) which will increase the requirement for schools to strengthen stakeholder voice and improve the experiences of students and their parents (Department of Education and Skills, 2019b). Given the interchangeable and often ‘messy web’ (Goodall and Montgomery, 2014) of terminology relating to the subject, the literature review followed Jabareen’s (2009) process of selecting relevant empirical data, then categorising, identifying and naming key theories and concepts. This enabled the development of research questions and an overall conceptual framework for the study. Based on the literature review, parental involvement (PI) and partnership emerged as two distinct areas. PI is conceptualised as an accepted norm in education typified by school-led practices such as attending meetings, volunteering and fundraising. Partnership is associated with structured programmes and project-based activity designed to deliver shared goals in school communities. Parental engagement is the continuous connection that schools create with parents with a focus on the importance of home-based interactions to support learning. The study followed a qualitative research design using data gathered from semi-structured interviews with seven primary school principals who had participated in the PSI initiative. The interviews were coded following a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke, 2012) using Nvivo software which provided five overall themes. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems theory was employed as a lens through which to view the topic. The findings revealed benefits of the PSI programme, including integration with school self-evaluation and inclusion of parent and student voice in decision-making processes. This research shows that effective partnerships require an inclusive approach to school leadership based on strong communication and facilitation skills. Challenges to the operation of a successful partnership programme included workload and sustaining momentum for the initiative. Further research is warranted to capture the perspectives of parents, children and community representatives regarding family-school partnership programmes

Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion at model biomembranes

Light addressable machinery translation to lipid membrane structures is highly desirable for a variety of uses such as liposome drug or imaging agent delivery, membrane-bound photosynthesis analogues, etc., but little is known in this area. This thesis focuses on two objectives: the translation of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) to liposomal systems and the use of MSLBs as tools to interrogate the behaviour of photosensitizers in these systems using surface sensitive methods. TTA-UC produces high-energy photon from low- energy excitation via Dexter energy transfer mechanism between photosensitizer and annihilator. TTA-UC uses low-power non-coherent light sources to produce anti-Stokes emission. It thus holds significant potential for photoactivated drug delivery and biological imaging since it can be stimulated using low-frequency light that penetrates biological tissue. Incorporating molecular elements into liposomes and TTA-UC in cell membranes can help biological applications and treatment without harming other organs. However, TTA-UC in a liposome or cell membrane is difficult and requires appropriate photosensitizer and annihilator that can be co-confined to the membrane and where their collisional energy transfer is supported. This thesis explores TTA-UC in solution and lipid bilayer membrane using BODIPY- and Ru(II) complex-based photosensitizers. Using new BODIPY-perylene-based photosensitizers, heavy atom effects that increase intersystem crossing via spin-orbit coupling and other heavy atom-free photosensitizers that support triplet state formatting for efficient TTA-UC are investigated. TTA-UC efficacy in cell membrane models is assessed by incorporating the molecules into liposomes, which emit intense oxygen sensitive blue/violet emission upon green excitation. The liposome-based TTA-UC further expanded into various membrane compositions with varying membrane’s physicochemical properties to simulate the effects of viscosity/fluidity on TTA-UC. TTA-UC’s response to enzyme-catalysed membrane hydrolysis was examined. A thorough study using MSLB provides insights into the photosensitizer's lateral diffusion and membrane fluidity. MSLB's versatility is assessed for comprehending membrane fluidity responses to drugs and photosensitizers

Identifying key factors to distinguish artificial and human avatars in the metaverse: insights from software professionals

The Metaverse comprises a network of interconnected 3D virtual worlds, poised to become the primary gateway for future online experiences. These experiences hinge upon the use of avatars, participants' virtual counterparts capable of exhibiting human-like non-verbal behaviors, such as gestures, walking, dancing, and social interaction. Discerning between human and artificial avatars becomes crucial as the concept gains prominence. Advances in artificial intelligence have facilitated the creation of virtual human-like entities, underscoring the importance of distinguishing between virtual agents and human characters. This paper investigates the factors differentiating human and virtual participants within the Metaverse environment. A semi-structured interview approach was employed, with data collected from software practitioners (N=10). Our preliminary findings indicate that response speed, adaptability to unforeseen events, and recurring scenarios play significant roles in determining whether an entity in the virtual world is a human or an intelligent agent