Dochas is Duchas, Hope and Heritage Gaelscoileanna; Transforming Power and Linguistic Ideology

This thesis examines Gaelscoileanna in terms of the socio-historical, political, and ideological contexts from which the movement emerges, and their place in contemporary Irish society. Employing ‘machine theory’, the project examines the movement as both the product of, and also productive of power, desire, and competing social realities. Chapter one examines the position of the Irish language in Education throughout history, focussing on the marginalisation of the language, and current disparities of policy and practice that persist today. Gaelscoileanna emerge in response to the marginalisation of the Irish language in Education. Gaelscoileanna are both produced by and productive of social machinations involving power and desire, emerging to facilitate the reproduction of an Irish language community, not catered to by the state. Through ethnographic interviews, the emergence of Gaelscoileanna, and the structural barriers to their emergence, is examined. Chapter two explores the rationale for the discrepancies in State language policy that has provided Gaelscoileanna their impetus. Employing a cross-cultural, post-Colonial comparison, it is argued that the imperial structure of Irish education has been maintained as a means of legitimising the State, by producing citizens to the state. In so doing, the rationale for the marginalisation of the Irish language has also been maintained. In this way, it is argued that Gaelscoileanna represent an indigenous movement reacting against cultural imperialism, rather than a minority language initiative struggling against language shift. Gaelscoileanna represent a démocratisation of education, demanding the decentralisation of the primary means of socialisation - education - from state to people. This implies that the subjectivities created in Gaelscoileanna differ, then, from those produced by the state. The third chapter examines the transformation of education in ideological terms, exploring Gaelscoil subjectivity and the production and reproduction thereof, language acquisition, innovation and ownership. Thus, the production and products of Gaelscoileanna are examined, in the machine of their production

The Effect of Intensive Individual Short-Term Supportive Counseling on Mentally Retarded Students

This research examined two hypotheses involving mentally retarded students. The first hypothesis posited that an Experimental Group of subjects receiving intensive, individua~. short-term supportive counseling will display a higher rating score improvement on the five personality dimensions of confidence, maturity, self-discipline, assertiveness and independence following this counseling than will a Control Group of subjects receiving no such counseling. The second hypothesis posited that this same Experimental Group of subjects, aft~r receiving this counseling, will be distinguished by significantly higher job stability, defined as continuous and successful employment for six months following the end of counseling, than will the Control Group of subjects receiving no such counseling. To test these hypotheses, forty mentally retarded students were drawn at random from the Bobby Dodd Workshop for the Mentally Retarded; twenty were assigned to the Experimental Group, twenty to the Control Group, with members of both groups being matched as similarly as . . ~ Patricia A. Griffin possible regarding sex, age, I.Q. and race. At the beginning of this study, members of both the Experimental and Control Groups were rated by a qualified, independent rater on the five personality dimensions of confidence, maturity, self-discipline, assertiveness and independence. The ratinqs were made on a five point scale: a rating of 1 denoted poor; 2 denoted fair; 3 denoted average; 4 denoted good; and 5 denoted excellent. Following these pre-counseling ratings, subjects of the Control Group continued the normal training regimen of the Bobby Dodd Workshop. Subjects of the Experimental Group also con~inued this training,but in addition, underwent individual counseling twice a week for a six month period with a counseling psychologist who\u27s counseling approach dealt with the conscious affective concerns of the subjects in an understanding, specific and exploratory manner. Following the six month counseling period, members of both the Experimental and Control Groups were rated a second time on the five personality dimensions. Comparison of postcounseling group r~ting score increases over pre-counseling group rating scores on each of the five personality dimensio~s were then made between the two groups. This comparison disclosed that th~ Experimental Group displayed a much higher rating score improvement than the Control Group on each of the five personality dimensions, thereby supporting the first hypothesis tested. Following the second perso1~ality dimension rating, y \u27 P~tricia A. Griffin efforts were made to place the subjects of both groups in employment. Six months later, a follow-up study was made to discover which subjects were still employed. Each subject was rated a score of 2 if he was employed, 1 if he was not. The rating scores obtained by the subjects in each group were statistically compared using t -tests. There was a significant difference in the rating scores of the two groups of subjects in favor of the Experimental Group, thereby supporting the second hypothesi

Morphological characterisation of three isolates of Heterorhabditis Poinar, 1976 from the "Irish group" (Nematoda: Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae)and additional evidence supporting their recognition as a distinct species, H. downesi n. sp

The morphological variation of three representative isolates of the "Irish group" of Heterorhabditis was examined. First generation hermaphrodites were characterised by having a blunt and mucronate tail. Females (second generation) and third-stage infective juveniles were also distinguished by the morphology of the tail and the presence of a refractile projection in the tail tip. Males were characterised by the position of the excretory pore and by the value of ratio SW. These morphological features do not fit the description of currently recognised Heterorhabditis species, and provide additional evidence in support for the consideration of the Irish group as a new species. A description of this species, as H. downesi n. sp., is provided

Morphological characterisation of three isolates of Heterorhabditis Poinar, 1976 from the "Irish group" (Nematoda: Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae)and additional evidence supporting their recognition as a distinct species, H. downesi n. sp

The morphological variation of three representative isolates of the "Irish group" of Heterorhabditis was examined. First generation hermaphrodites were characterised by having a blunt and mucronate tail. Females (second generation) and third-stage infective juveniles were also distinguished by the morphology of the tail and the presence of a refractile projection in the tail tip. Males were characterised by the position of the excretory pore and by the value of ratio SW. These morphological features do not fit the description of currently recognised Heterorhabditis species, and provide additional evidence in support for the consideration of the Irish group as a new species. A description of this species, as H. downesi n. sp., is provided

Repairing Landsat Satellite Imagery Using Deep Machine Learning Techniques

Satellite Imagery is one of the most widely used sources to analyze geographic features and environments in the world. The data gathered from satellites are used to quantify many vital problems facing our society, such as the impact of natural disasters, shore erosion, rising water levels, and urban growth rates. In this paper, we construct machine learning and deep learning algorithms for repairing anomalies in the Landsat satellite imagery data which arise for various reasons ranging from cloud obstruction to satellite malfunctions. The accuracy of GIS data is crucial to ensuring the models produced from such data are as close to reality as possible. Reducing the inherent bias caused by the obstruction or obfuscation of reflectance values is a simple but effective way to more closely represent the reality of our environment with satellite data. Using clean pixels from previously acquired satellite imagery, we were able to model the bias present in each scene at different times and apply algorithms to fix the inconsistencies. The machine learning model decreased the mean absolute error by an average of 80.1% compared to traditional repair algorithms such as mosaicking

How outcome prediction could affect patient decision making in knee replacements : a qualitative study

Background There is approximately a 17 % dissatisfaction rate with knee replacements. Calls for tools that can pre-operatively identify patients at risk of being dissatisfied have been widespread. However, it is not known how to present such information to patients, how it would affect their decision making process, and at what part of the pathway such a tool should be used. Methods Using focus groups involving 12 participants and in-depth interviews with 10 participants, we examined how individual predictions of outcome could affect patients’ decision making by providing fictitious predictions to patients at different stages of treatment. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Our results demonstrate several interesting findings. Firstly, patients who have received information from friends and family are unwilling to adjust their expectation of outcome down (i.e. to a worse outcome), but highly willing to adjust it up (to a better outcome). This is an example of the optimism bias, and suggests that the effect on expectation of a poor outcome prediction would be blunted. Secondly, patients generally wanted a “bottom line” outcome, rather than lots of detail. Thirdly, patients who were earlier in their treatment for osteoarthritis were more likely to find the information useful, and it was more likely to affect their decision, than patients later in their treatment pathway. Conclusion This research suggest that an outcome prediction tool would have most effect targeted towards people at the start of their treatment pathway, with a “bottom line” prediction of outcome. However, any effect on expectation and decision making of a poor outcome prediction is likely to be blunted by the optimism bias. These findings merit replication in a larger sample size

GABAB receptor allosteric modulators exhibit pathway-dependent and species-selective activity.

Positive modulation of the GABAB receptor (GABABR) represents a potentially useful therapeutic approach for the treatment of nicotine addiction. The positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of GABABR GS39783 and BHF177 enhance GABA-stimulated [35S]GTP γS-binding, and have shown efficacy in a rodent nicotine self-administration procedure reflecting aspects of nicotine dependence. Interestingly, the structural related analog, NVP998, had no effect on nicotine self-administration in rats despite demonstrating similar pharmacokinetic properties. Extensive in vitro characterization of GS39783, BHF177, and NVP998 activity on GABABR-regulated signaling events, including modulation of cAMP, intracellular calcium levels, and ERK activation, revealed that these structurally related molecules display distinct pathway-specific signaling activities that correlate with the dissimilarities observed in rodent models and may be predictive of in vivo efficacy. Furthermore, these GABABR allosteric modulators exhibit species-dependent activity. Collectively, these data will be useful in guiding the development of GABABR allosteric modulators that display optimal in vivo efficacy in a preclinical model of nicotine dependence, and will identify those that have the potential to lead to novel antismoking therapies