Staidéar agus Athbhreithniú Leantach ar Chur bhfeidhm Shonraíochtaí Gaeilge na Sraithe Sóisearaí (T1 & T2). Tuarascáil Eatramhach: Céim a hAon. Study and Continuing Review of the Implementation of Junior Cycle Irish Specifications (T1 & T2). Interim Report: Phase One.

Tá sé mar aidhm ag an taighde staidéar agus athbhreithniú leantach a dhéanamh ar chur i bhfeidhm Shonraíochtaí Gaeilge na Sraithe Sóisearaí (T1 agus T2) i scoileanna iar-bunleibhéil i réimse an teagaisc, na foghlama agus an mheasúnaithe. Díríonn an taighde go háirithe ar chur i bhfeidhm an leagan de na sonraíochtaí Gaeilge a cuireadh ar fáil i Meán Fómhair 2023 agus leanfaidh an taighde cohórt scoláirí i scoileanna cás-staidéir a thosaigh sa chéad bhliain in 2024-2025. Mar sin féin, is próiseas diaidh ar ndiaidh atá in aon athrú curaclaim agus tugann cuid de na sonraí a bailíodh léargais ar thaithí agus ar thuairimí a bhain leis na leaganacha 2017 de na Sonraíochtaí Gaeilge T1 agus T2. Mar a cuireadh i láthair san iarratas ar thairiscintí, tabharfaidh an taighde léargais spéisiúla ar gach gné de na sonraíochtaí, agus cruthófar deis do rannpháirtithe réitigh fhéideartha a mholadh d’aon chonstaicí atá ann do chur i ngníomh na sonraíochtaí (CNCM, Iarratas ar Thairiscintí, lch. 21). Breathnófar go háirithe, ar an taithí atá ag scoileanna ar an múnla idirdhealaithe don Ghaeilge sa tSraith Shóisearach, chomh maith leis na hathruithe sa chleachtas de bharr Chreat na Sraithe Sóisearaí (2015). The aim of the research is to continue the study and review of the implementation of Junior Cycle Irish Specifications (T1 & T2) in post-primary schools in the area of teaching, learning and assessment. In particular, the research focuses on the enactment of the September 2023 version of the specifications, and follows a cohort of students who began First Year in 2023-2024. However, due to the gradual nature of curriculum change some data collected will refer to experiences and opinions regarding the 2017 T1 and T2 specifications for Irish. As set out in the research for tender, the study will provide interesting insights into all aspects of the specifications, allowing for the natural emergence with participants of possible solutions to challenges met in the enactment of the specifications (NCCA Tender, p.21). Particular consideration will be given to schools’ experiences of the model of differentiation for Irish at Junior Cycle, as well as the changes in practice brought about by the 2015 Junior Cycle Framework

Corruption and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All

This chapter explores the relationship between corruption and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) – ensuring clean water and sanitation for all. We begin by reviewing key literature on the impact of corruption in the water and sanitation sector. We then use a case study of the wastewater sector in Bangkok’s Extended Metropolitan Region (EBMR) to illustrate these issues in practice. Through interviews with key stakeholders, the chapter examines how corrupt practices, weak governance, and regulatory fragmentation hinder access to clean water and sanitation, exacerbating social inequalities. Finally, we offer recommendations aimed at improving transparency, strengthening regulatory frameworks, and empowering local groups to combat corruption and promote sustainable water management

‘Don’t do anything special for us coming’: the mental health impact of Ofsted inspections on teacher educators in England

Ofsted inspections of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers aim to enhance training quality for pre-service teachers in England. However, research rarely examines the impact of these inspections on the wellbeing of Teacher Educators (TEs) based in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This study, part of a broader investigation into burnout among HEI-based TEs in Ireland and the UK, focuses on the English context, where the inspection practices of Ofsted have been identified as significant stressors. Drawing on data from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), open-ended survey questions and interviews, this study provides preliminary insights into the mental health effects of Ofsted inspections on TEs. It reveals that inspection processes contribute to anticipatory stress, increased workload, and performative pressures, negatively impacting TEs’ professional morale and wellbeing. The paper recommends reforms such as predictable inspection schedules, streamlined documentation, and dedicated mental health support for TEs during the inspection period

Impact of the EuroPsy: A European Benchmark for Psychology Education and Training

The EuroPsy is a set of standards for education and training in psychology, overseen by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA) since 2010 and currently implemented in 28 countries across Europe. This paper examines how the EuroPsy certification process has impacted psychology in Europe. Methods: We reviewed data from individual countries, including annual reports, approval and reapproval applications, and minutes of annual meetings over the 13-year period from 2010 to 2023. We conducted a small number of interviews online where clarification was needed. Results: Three key areas have been impacted by the EuroPsy process: University psychology programmes across Europe have been revised in line with the EuroPsy curriculum; supervised practice has now been accepted as a core component of training; and many countries have revised their legislation on licensing in psychology to be consistent with the minimum standards outlined in the EuroPsy regulations. Conclusion: Contrary to expectations, the impact of the EuroPsy is reflected less in the number of certificates issued and more in the recognition of the certificate as a hallmark of quality, representing a benchmark that has influenced education, training, and legislation at a systemic level in European countries

Mapping Gender Bullying Through the Lens of Intra‑actions in a Private Day and Boarding School

This paper maps a socio-ecological approach to gender bullying as part of a participatory action research project which took place in a private day and boarding school in Ireland. It applies the new defnition of bullying proposed (and recently published in 2024) by UNESCO and the World Anti-Bullying Forum (2022) and explores the networks of relationships in the school and the underpinning social norms and power imbalances therein. The core research question asks: Does gender bullying happen at this school? Through active engagement with students as co-researchers, school staff as steering group members, and two university researchers, this question was explored through a qualitative research design using focus group interviews and a Digital Dropbox. The application of Barad’s (1998; 2007; 2011) concept of agential realism is proffered to help unravel the entanglement and complexity of gender bullying. We propose that the mapping of the intra-actions of human beings with different discourses, objects, materials, spaces, and time, assists in making sense of the normativity of gender expectations and its complex array of inclusions and exclusions

Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Mobility Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 3: Eco-efficient Mobility Systems

The book series Lecture Notes in Mobility (LNMOB) reports on innovative, peer-reviewed research and developments in intelligent, connected and sustainable transportation systems of the future. It covers technological advances, research, developments and applications, as well as business models, management systems and policy implementation relating to: zero-emission, electric and energy-efficient vehicles; alternative and optimized powertrains; vehicle automation and cooperation; clean, user-centric and on-demand transport systems; shared mobility services and intermodal hubs; energy, data and communication infrastructure for transportation; and micromobility and soft urban modes, among other topics. The series gives a special emphasis to sustainable, seamless and inclusive transformation strategies and covers both traditional and any new transportation modes for passengers and goods. Cutting-edge findings from public research funding programs in Europe, America and Asia do represent an important source of content for this series. PhD thesis of exceptional value may also be considered for publication. Supervised by a scientific advisory board of world-leading scholars and professionals, the Lecture Notes in Mobility are intended to offer an authoritative and comprehensive source of information on the latest transportation technology and mobility trends to an audience of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and advancedlevel students, and a multidisciplinary platform fostering the exchange of ideas and collaboration between the different groups

Exploring the trie of rules: a fast data structure for the representation of association rules

Association rule mining techniques can generate a large volume of sequential data when implemented on transactional databases. Extracting insights from a large set of association rules has been found to be a challenging process. When examining a ruleset, the fundamental question is how to summarise and represent meaningful mined knowledge efficiently. Many algorithms and strategies have been developed to address issue of knowledge extraction; however, the effectiveness of this process can be limited by the data structures. A better data structure can sufficiently affect the speed of the knowledge extraction process. This paper proposes a novel data structure, called the Trie of rules, for storing a ruleset that is generated by association rule mining. The resulting data structure is a prefix-tree graph structure made of pre-mined rules. This graph stores the rules as paths within the prefix-tree in a way that similar rules overlay each other. Each node in the tree represents a rule where a consequent is this node, and an antecedent is a path from this node to the root of the tree. The evaluation showed that the proposed representation technique shows significant value. It compresses a ruleset with no data loss and benefits in terms of time for basic operations such as searching for a specific rule, which is the base for many knowledge discovery methods. Moreover, our method demonstrated a significant improvement in graph traversal time compared to traditional data structures

Herding unmasked: Insights into cryptocurrencies, stocks and US ETFs

Herding behavior has become a familiar phenomenon to investors, with potential dangers of both undervaluing and overvaluing assets, while also threatening market stability. This study contributes to the literature on herding behavior by using a recent dataset, covering the most impactful events of recent years. To our knowledge, this is the first study examining herding behavior across three different types of investment vehicle and also the first study observing herding at a community (subset) level. Specifically, we first explore this phenomenon in each separate type of investment vehicle, namely stocks, US ETFs and cryptocurrencies, using the Cross-Sectional Absolute Deviation model. We find mostly similar herding patterns for stocks and US ETFs. Subsequently, the same experiment is implemented on a combination of all three investment vehicles. For a deeper investigation, we adopt graph-based techniques including the Minimum Spanning Tree and Louvain community detection to partition the combination into smaller subsets to detect herding behavior for each subset. We find that herding behavior exists at all times across all types of investment vehicle at a subset level, although perhaps not at the superset level, and that this herding behavior tends to stem from specific events that solely impact that subset of assets. Lastly, we explore herding by examining the financial contagion effects between these types of investment vehicle. Results show that US ETFs not only have a tendency to propagate similar trading behaviors in stocks and especially cryptocurrencies but also show self-reinforcing herding behavior, acting as drivers of their own trends