An Examination of Broadening the Engineering Curriculum in Ireland

Short Abstract: This talk will explore whether and how undergraduate engineering programs in Ireland broaden the education of students through the inclusion of non-core engineering content, such as business subjects, in their curriculum in order to develop critical thinking skills and self-knowledge of what it means to be an engineer. Full Abstract: The goal of the paper is to provide a commentary on the level of interaction between business faculty and engineering faculty, in the design and delivery of engineering programs, and the results of that interaction. To this end a taxonomy of engineering enlightenment is proposed, and this is used to discuss evidence of broadening within Irish engineering curricula. We will explore how undergraduate engineering programs in Ireland broaden the education of students through the inclusion of non-core engineering content, such as business subjects, in their curriculum in order to develop critical thinking skills and self-knowledge of what it means to be an engineer. The approach adopted reviews all relevant engineering degree programs in Ireland, based on their publicly available program information; examines the accreditation reports for these same programs; and then surveys business deans to examine whether the business school is involved in the education of engineering students in the institution or university. A number of hybrid engineering programs of study are also explored, and their apparent strengths discussed, including hybridity limits, with a focus on one particular hybrid program within DIT

New materialism, object-oriented ontology and fictive imaginaries: new directions in energy research

This paper takes up the challenge set down by the review work of Hess and Sovacool (2020) and Sovacool et al. (2020) and joins the conversation about future research agendas where STS is aligned towards humanities and social science research of energy solutions. We identified two under-representations in these review papers: 1) New materialism and object-oriented ontological (OOO) approaches and 2) how fictive imaginaries develop the link between OOO and public engagement with energy challenges. We propose that ontology of objects and non- human worlds is central to cocreation work in energy research where there exist assemblages of the Anthro- pocene. We argue that an ethical, engaged, object-oriented ontology that links with fictive imaginaries is crucial whichever direction STS takes in energy researc

Leadership as Advocacy: Transformational Leadership in Action

poster abstractThis poster presents findings from a case study of a partnership between the IU School of Social Work and the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), focusing on leadership as a form of administrative advocacy. Key findings from key informant interviews and focus groups will demonstrate how current and former MSW students have utilized transformational leadership in their administrative positions at DCS as the agency seeks to reform itself to achieve safety, permanence and well-being for Indiana children and families

Fundamental statistical limitations of future dark matter direct detection experiments

We discuss irreducible statistical limitations of future ton-scale dark matter direct detection experiments. We focus in particular on the coverage of confidence intervals, which quantifies the reliability of the statistical method used to reconstruct the dark matter parameters, and the bias of the reconstructed parameters. We study 36 benchmark dark matter models within the reach of upcoming ton-scale experiments. We find that approximate confidence intervals from a profile-likelihood analysis exactly cover or over-cover the true values of the WIMP parameters, and are hence conservative. We evaluate the probability that unavoidable statistical fluctuations in the data might lead to a biased reconstruction of the dark matter parameters, or large uncertainties on the reconstructed parameter values. We show that this probability can be surprisingly large, even for benchmark models leading to a large event rate of order a hundred counts. We find that combining data sets from two different targets leads to improved coverage properties, as well as a substantial reduction of statistical bias and uncertainty on the dark matter parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure

Does reproduction cause oxidative stress? An open question

There has been substantial recent interest in the possible role of oxidative stress as a mechanism underlying life-history trade-offs, particularly with regard to reproductive costs. Several recent papers have found no evidence that reproduction increases oxidative damage and so have questioned the basis of the hypothesis that oxidative damage mediates the reproduction–lifespan trade-off. However, we suggest here that the absence of the predicted relationships could be due to a fundamental problem in the design of all of the published empirical studies, namely a failure to manipulate reproductive effort. We conclude by suggesting experimental approaches that might provide a more conclusive test of the hypothesis

Teagasc submission made in response to the Consultation Paper on Interim Review of Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation 2019

Teagasc SubmissionSubmission to governmentThis submission was made in response to the consultation process run jointly by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (DHPCLG) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) inviting views and comments on proposals for the Interim Review of Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation Programme in 2019. It has been prepared by Teagasc’s Water Quality Working Group in consultation with the Gaseous Emissions Working Group. These working groups have members drawn from both the Knowledge Transfer and Research Directorates of Teagasc. It was prepared following consultation with colleagues across Teagasc using their collective knowledge and expertise in agri-environmental science and practice and the implementation of the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Nitrates Derogation Regulations.https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2019/teagasc-submission-made-in-response-to-the-consultation-paper-on-interim-review-of-irelands-nitrates-derogation-2019.ph

The challenge of sustainability for Irish Agriculture

ASA Dairy Masterclass Johnstown Castle 2019Presentation Overview • Introduction to Johnstown Castle • Ireland’s GHG/NH3 challenge • Scenarios for future emissions (without mitigation) • Mitigation pathways • GHG • NH3 • Water quality challenge • ACP highlights • New Ag. Sustainability Support & Advisory Prog

Acute surgical wound-dressing procedure: Description of the steps involved in the development and validation of an observational metric

The aim of this study was to develop an observational metric that could be used to assess the performance of a practitioner in completing an acute surgical wound-dressing procedure using aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT). A team of clinicians, academics, and researchers came together to develop an observational metric using an iterative six-stage process, culminating in a Delphi panel meeting. A scoping review of the literature provided a background empirical perspective relating to wound-dressing procedure performance. Video recordings of acute surgical wound-dressing procedures performed by nurses in clinical (n = 11) and simulated (n = 3) settings were viewed repeatedly and were iteratively deconstructed by the metric development group. This facilitated the identification of the discrete component steps, potential errors, and sentinel (serious) errors, which characterise a wound dressing procedure and formed part of the observational metric. The ANTT wound-dressing observational metric was stress tested for clarity, the ability to be scored, and interrater reliability, calculated during a further phase of video analysis. The metric was then subjected to a process of cyclical evaluation by a Delphi panel (n = 21) to obtain face and content validity of the metric. The Delphi panel deliberation verified the face and content validity of the metric. The final metric has three phases, 31 individual steps, 18 errors, and 27 sentinel errors. The metric is a tool that identifies the standard to be attained in the performance of acute surgical wound dressings. It can be used as both an adjunct to an educational programme and as a tool to assess a practitioner's performance of a wound-dressing procedure in both simulated and clinical practice contexts