PLAYING SENIOR INTER-COUNTY GAELIC GAMES: EXPERIENCES, REALITIES AND CONSEQUENCES. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 76 September 2018

Given the developments that have taken place in Gaelic games over the past decade, particularly at the senior inter-county level, there is a concern that the demands that today’s games are placing on players are having negative effects on their lives. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) have introduced a number of measures to ensure that players’ needs are taken care of and that those who play enjoy their experience. Nevertheless, questions continue to be raised. Given this, the GAA and GPA jointly commissioned the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to conduct an independent examination of the commitment required to play senior inter-county, and the impact that this has on players’ personal and professional lives and club involvement. The research was primarily conducted through senior inter-county player workshops and a survey of 2016 players. Workshops were also conducted with 2016 senior inter-county managers, County Board Secretaries and third-level Games Development Officers (GDOs). What follows is a summary of the principal findings arising from the study, consideration of their implications for both player welfare and policy in this area, and some discussion on future directions

Dynamic performance of detuned ridge waveguide AlInGaAs distributed feedback laser diodes

The dynamic behavior of AlInGaAs ridge waveguide distributed feedback lasers is reported in this work covering five detuned wavelengths between 1291 nm and 1326 nm for a laser active layer optical peak gain design centered at 1310 nm at room temperature. The detuning is achieved by modifying the laser grating pitch that performs the mode selection within the laser cavity simultaneously across a single processed wafer. The dynamic behavior is evaluated using the resonance frequencies of the detuned lasers measured at a range of injection currents for heatsink temperatures of 25°C and 85°C. The results confirm that a speed improvement can be achieved at 25°C by detuning the laser to shorter wavelengths. However, the results also show that a lower direct modulation bandwidth at 85°C makes the shorter wavelength design less attractive. For communications applications such as 10 Gbps uncooled operation, this trade-off between detuning and modulation bandwidth imply an optimum around −2 nm to +8 nm detuning (measured at 25°C)

A Practice-Based Inquiry Into the Correlation Between Nursing Retention Rates and Resiliency

Nurses are the frontline in the security of the United States. Their wellbeing and retention in the workforce is of the utmost of importance. Nurses are leaving at increasing levels with just over 27% turnover rates across the nation in 2021. Organizations are experiencing increasing fiscal losses and the average loss for a nurse leaving is just over $46,000. The prioritization of nurses’ wellbeing and taking steps to address policy that promotes the sustainability of this very valuable workforce has the potential to pay high dividends for nurses individually, the security of the nation, and the good of the organization. The researcher utilized a survey to examine the correlation between nursing retention rates and resiliency to provide evidence to guide best practices in nursing retention initiatives and interventions for increasing nursing resilience. The researcher used two tools, the Casey-Fink Nurse Retention Survey and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, along with a demographic section designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data to hear the nurse, gain insight, and discover interventions to meet those needs. This survey through SurveyMonkey was disseminated to members of the Army Nurse Corps and 96 returned the survey. The participants were tenured nurses with a mean years of nursing of 18.26 years. Projected outcomes include interventions for a more prepared, healthier, more resilient workforce that can meet the current and future demands or threats against our nation. Outcomes also included improved value-based care, increased nursing retention, and decreased fiscal loss at the organization-level. From evidence gained through surveying nurses, the data were analyzed using Kendall rank correlations to examine the strength of the correlation between resilience and retention variables. The findings displayed high levels of stress in this workforce, with 67.25% of nurses stating high levels of stress and only half of them having a mentor. The findings indicate the need for work conditions conducive to a healthier work-life balance, such as iv the positive correlation between the availability of shorter shifts and increased retention. The current healthcare environment calls for an immediate and drastic change to care for and retain the nursing workforce and has the potential to lower costs for organizations and provide quality, value-based care, holistic health and wellness for nurses, and better patient outcomes because of their wellness. Keywords: nursing retention, resiliency, nursing welfare, attrition, nurse advocacy, work- life balanc

The Role of the Cell Adhesion Molecules N-cadherin, MCAM, and Beta 3 Integrin in Human Melanoma

Melanoma, which accounts for only 4% of all skin cancers, but 75% of skin cancer-related deaths, continues to rise at an alarming rate worldwide. When a melanoma is detected and resected at an early stage, the cure rate for patients is favorable. However, the response rate of patients with metastatic melanoma to chemotherapy is less than 15%, and biological therapies have limited efficacy. Therefore, identification of genes that can serve as therapeutic targets for advanced-stage melanoma is crucial. The cell adhesion molecules N-cadherin, MCAM, and Beta3 integrin have been postulated to represent melanoma progression markers; yet, little is known regarding whether they may constitute valuable therapeutic targets for the disease. Furthermore, no studies conducted to date have examined the expression and function of these three molecules in concert in melanoma. The results of our whole-genome and tissue microarray profiling illustrate N-cadherin, MCAM, and Beta3 integrin expression in the distinct stages of melanoma progression. We demonstrate that N-cadherin and Beta3 integrin are melanoma progression markers, but MCAM is not. Furthermore, greater than 95% of metastatic melanomas analyzed in our study express at least one of the three adhesion molecules, and 50% express all three. Our next objective was to determine whether inhibition of N-cadherin, MCAM, or Beta3 integrin impairs melanoma cell proliferation, migration, and/or invasion. We hypothesized that due to redundancy in the functions of N-cadherin, MCAM, and Beta3 integrin, simultaneous inhibition of all three molecules may elicit the most effective therapeutic response. We demonstrate that inhibiting expression of N-cadherin, MCAM, or Beta3 integrin decreases melanoma cell proliferation. However, inhibiting their expression in parallel does not augment the anti-proliferative effect. In contrast, downregulation of N-cadherin, MCAM, and Beta3 integrin in parallel inhibits melanoma cell migration and invasion to a significantly greater extent than targeting each gene alone. Our results indicate that of the three adhesion molecules, MCAM and Beta3 integrin play the most pronounced role in migration and invasion, and therefore, in combination, may represent the most promising therapeutic targets. The data presented in this dissertation provide the foundation for future clinical studies that target adhesion molecules in advanced-stage melanoma patients

System-level Prototyping with HyperTransport

The complexity of computer systems continues to increase. Emulation of proposed subsystems is one way to manage this growing complexity when evaluating the performance of proposed architectures. HyperTransport allows researchers to connect directly to microprocessors with FPGAs. This enables the emulation of novel memory hierarchies, non-volatile memory designs, coprocessors, and other architectural changes, combined with an existing system

Developing understanding of triangle

As children develop concepts of shape they move from a visual understanding to a property based approach to classification. In this study two cohorts, one a longitudinal study from grade 1 to 4 and the other a sample across a school from pre-school to grade 8, were asked to identify triangles. The resulting data shows errors of inclusion are greater than errors of exclusion and suggests an order in which particular properties are attended to as children learn

Laser Based Underwater Communication Systems

We report on recent progress in the field of visible light communications including direct modulation of blue laser devices at data rates beyond 10 Gbit/s, and the transmission of 2.5 Gbit/s OOK data through water. We also discuss the advantages of operating with single mode laser devices and matched filtering at the receiver in the context of applications with significant solar background. The system performance for two types of direct-detection receivers, a PIN detector and less conventional silicon Photomultiplier technology will be presented

Spacelab Data Processing Facility (SLDPF) quality assurance expert systems development

Spacelab Data Processing Facility (SLDPF) expert system prototypes were developed to assist in the quality assurance of Spacelab and/or Attached Shuttle Payload (ASP) processed telemetry data. The SLDPF functions include the capturing, quality monitoring, processing, accounting, and forwarding of mission data to various user facilities. Prototypes for the two SLDPF functional elements, the Spacelab Output Processing System and the Spacelab Input Processing Element, are described. The prototypes have produced beneficial results including an increase in analyst productivity, a decrease in the burden of tedious analyses, the consistent evaluation of data, and the providing of concise historical records

EVALUATION OF PLC PROGRAMME PROVISION. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 61 JANUARY 2018

Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses represent the largest component of full-time further education and training (FET) provision in Ireland, with over 32,000 learners enrolled in such courses in 2015–2016. Recent research on the FET sector as a whole highlighted concerns around its structures and responsiveness to labour market conditions, among other issues (McGuinness et al., 2014). The SOLAS FET Strategy (2014) subsequently pointed to the need for a stronger evidence base in order to inform future policy development in the sector. This study, commissioned by SOLAS, provides a more detailed evaluation of PLC provision. In order to undertake a comprehensive evaluation, our approach has been to combine a variety of research modes in order to examine the underlying processes, experiences and outcomes of PLC provision. This involved three complementary research strands. Firstly, a desk-based analysis of administrative data was used to document the type of provision in terms of field of study and the distribution of PLC places across the country. Secondly, a survey of PLC principals was carried out in order to explore their perceptions of goals, adequacy of existing facilities and the benefits and challenges of PLC provision. Thirdly, a survey of PLC and Leaving Certificate leavers was conducted to assess their labour market outcomes as well as their experiences while taking PLC and higher education courses. Together, these strands provide comprehensive evidence to inform the future development of the sector

Digital library economics : aspects and prospects

A review of the issues surrounding the economics of and economic justification for, digital libraries