Towards a critical realist theory of labour market information

Despite the importance of Labour Market Information (LMI) to career practice, there is a surprising lack of theory that focuses on LMI and how it supports career guidance. Building on previous work, especially by Staunton and Rogosic (2021), this paper will argue for a move toward a critical realist account of LMI that sees it as historically and politically positioned, rather than objectively verifiable on its own terms. This opens up new possibilities for how career practitioners can make use of LMI and fresh avenues for theory and research

Examination of Production Systems for Mushroom Cultivation in Ireland

End of Project ReportThe plastic bag growing system used in Ireland is very labour intensive requiring considerable manual labour input. This has several very undesirable consequences. It was because of these considerations that it was considered important to examine possible feasible alternatives to plastic bag production for the Irish Mushroom Industry. This project was set up at Kinsealy Research Centre to examine possible alternatives. Part of this consisted of examining commercial systems both at home and abroad

Synergies, tensions and challenges in HIV prevention, treatment and cure research: exploratory conversations with HIV experts in South Africa

Background: The ethical concerns associated with HIV prevention and treatment research have been widely explored in South Africa over the past 3 decades. However, HIV cure research is relatively new to the region and significant ethical and social challenges are anticipated. There has been no published empirical enquiry in Africa into key informant perspectives on HIV cure research. Consequently, this study was conducted to gain preliminary data from South African HIV clinicians, researchers and activists. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted on a purposive sample of fourteen key informants in South Africa. Audiotaped interviews were transcribed verbatim with concurrent thematic analysis. The perspectives of HIV clinicians, researchers and activists were captured. Analyst triangulation occurred as the data were analysed by three authors independently. Results: The rapid evolution of HIV cure research agendas was prominent with participants expressing some concern that the global North was driving the cure agenda. Participants described a symbiotic relationship between cure, treatment and prevention research necessitating collaboration. Assessing and managing knowledge and expectations around HIV cure research emerged as a central theme related to challenges to constructing ‘cure’ - how patients understand the idea of cure is important in explaining the complexity of cure research especially in the South African context where understanding of science is often challenging. Managing expectations and avoiding curative misconception will have implications for consent processes. Unique strategies in cure research could include treatment interruption, which has the potential to create therapeutic and ethical conflict and will be perceived as a significant risk. Ethical challenges in cure research will impact on informed consent and community engagement. Conclusions: It was encouraging to note the desire for synergy amongst researchers and clinicians working in the fields of prevention, treatment and cure. Translation of complex HIV cure science into lay language is critical. Moving forward, RECs must be adequately constituted with scientific expertise and community representation when reviewing cure protocols. It is hoped that knowledge and resource sharing in the context of collaboration between research scientists working in cure and those working in treatment and prevention will accelerate progress towards cur

Supports for Offenders with Learning Disabilities in the Irish Judicial System: A Critical Review

There is increasing focus on the prevalence of learning disabilities in the criminal justice system. The aim of this paper is to examine the supports and resources currently in place to support people with learning disabilities through each stage of the Irish judicial process. A review of international literature regarding people with disabilities was conducted specifically in relation to the methods used to identify those who are risk of becoming offenders, the process in place when an individual comes in contact with the criminal justice system, other professionals and practitioners who undertake criminal work, their incarceration into a rehabilitation setting and the supports in place to successfully integrate offenders back into their own community. As a result of this review, the present paper highlights the prevalence of learning disabilities among offenders and the pre-existing risk factors that identify a person with a disability in their pathway to becoming an offender. The existing literature calls for the introduction of training and education in relation to disabilities for those working in the judicial system in addition to more appropriate rehabilitation settings and effective support in assisting those returning to their own communities. Overall, this paper finds that a multidisciplinary and multi-agency approach is vital and should be governed by national guidelines

Chemical and biological control of mushroom pests and diseases.

End of Project ReportThis study set out to determine the occurrence of diseases and pests in Irish mushroom units and their method of control using chemical, biological and other means of control. It also examined the role of a combination of these methods to enable control with minimal pesticide input. It was found that pesticides alone will never give effective disease and pest control and that they should only be considered an adjunct to the implementation of other methods. They include: (1) Exclusion (2) Containment of spread (3) Elimination. A major factor in good disease and pest control was found to be the implementation of a good programme of hygiene which must be followed from the time of filling a tunnel to the time of emptying after cropping. Biological systems offer good potential for control but at present are not as effective as the best chemical control methods.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

Simulation of a finishing operation : milling of a turbine blade and influence of damping

Milling is used to create very complex geometries and thin parts, such as turbine blades. Irreversible geometric defects may appear during finishing operations when a high surface quality is expected. Relative vibrations between the tool and the workpiece must be as small as possible, while tool/workpiece interactions can be highly non-linear. A general virtual machining approach is presented and illustrated. It takes into account the relative motion and vibrations of the tool and the workpiece. Both deformations of the tool and the workpiece are taken into account. This allows predictive simulations in the time domain. As an example the effect of damping on the behavior during machining of one of the 56 blades of a turbine disk is analysed in order to illustrate the approach potential

International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) Annual Review 2022

This publication offers a brief insight into the wide range of activities the iCeGS team are involved with over the year. It explores our contribution to policy, research and practice within the career development sector both in the UK and wider afield. iCeGS Annual Review also gives the team an opportunity to reflect on our many achievements over the last year. This year, like other years, we feel particularly proud of several activities

The onset of magnetic order in fcc-Fe films on Cu(100)

On the basis of a first-principles electronic structure theory of finite temperature metallic magnetism in layered materials, we investigate the onset of magnetic order in thin (2-8 layers) fcc-Fe films on Cu(100) substrates. The nature of this ordering is altered when the systems are capped with copper. Indeed we find an oscillatory dependence of the Curie temperatures as a function of Cu-cap thickness, in excellent agreement with experimental data. The thermally induced spin-fluctuations are treated within a mean-field disordered local moment (DLM) picture and give rise to layer-dependent `local exchange splittings' in the electronic structure even in the paramagnetic phase. These features determine the magnetic intra- and interlayer interactions which are strongly influenced by the presence and extent of the Cu cap.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

The temperature dependence of FeRh's transport properties

The finite-temperature transport properties of FeRh compounds are investigated by first-principles Density Functional Theory-based calculations. The focus is on the behavior of the longitudinal resistivity with rising temperature, which exhibits an abrupt decrease at the metamagnetic transition point, $T = T_m$ between ferro- and antiferromagnetic phases. A detailed electronic structure investigation for $T \geq 0$ K explains this feature and demonstrates the important role of (i) the difference of the electronic structure at the Fermi level between the two magnetically ordered states and (ii) the different degree of thermally induced magnetic disorder in the vicinity of $T_m$, giving different contributions to the resistivity. To support these conclusions, we also describe the temperature dependence of the spin-orbit induced anomalous Hall resistivity and Gilbert damping parameter. For the various response quantities considered the impact of thermal lattice vibrations and spin fluctuations on their temperature dependence is investigated in detail. Comparison with corresponding experimental data finds in general a very good agreement