SAFEGUARDING AMATEUR ATHLETES AN EXAMINATION OF PLAYER WELFARE AMONG SENIOR INTER-COUNTY GAELIC PLAYERS. RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 99 December 2019

Following the publication of research into the commitments required of male Gaelic players to play senior inter-county, and knock-on effects of inter-county commitment (Kelly et al., 2018), the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic Players Association (GPA) established a working group to make an in-depth analysis of the report’s findings. One of the decisions taken by the working group was that further research was required to examine a range of issues that emerged from the original study. These included in particular: (i) the education and (ii) the professional career experiences of senior inter-county players, (iii) their engagement in risky behaviours (e.g. alcohol consumption), (iv) supplement usage, (v) players’ views on both provided and required supports, and (vi) what they would change about their experience of playing inter-county and the inter-county set-up

Motivating Students to Read through Project Based Learning

This study examined how Project Based Learning (PBL) motivated students to read content area texts. Data was collected though observations, student questionnaires, recordings of student presentations, and student created artifacts. The data shows that students were motivated to read content area texts because they were allowed to work collaboratively and given choices through PBL. Not only were students more motivated to read, they also used a variety of literacy skills such as comprehension and discussion throughout the process of creating their projects. The data also shows that students worked together and problem solved to successfully complete their projects. Teachers who implement PBL into their classrooms will see an increase engagement in their students while fostering the development of essential skills in their students

Molecular Cloning of Genes from the Bacteriophage, Phayonce

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria, and have one of the most vast and diverse global populations of all biological entities. Despite this immense population size, the roles, and functions of individual phage genes within their genome, are widely unknown. The first, and one of the most important steps, toward elucidating the function of a phage gene, is molecular cloning. Because gene expression is easily influenced by other genes, it is essential to isolate and clone each individual gene into a plasmid expression vector. Once a single gene insert is cloned into a plasmid, we can introduce the recombinant DNA into a bacterial host and purify it. Performing molecular cloning of a phage\u27s entire genome results in a sort of library of purified plasmids, that is an extremely valuable tool, needed for further investigation and downstream purposes. In our research we used genes from the Mycobacterium smegmatis phage, Phayonce, cloned into the plasmid vector, pExTra, and introduced to into the host bacteria, Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155. This beginning process is essential because without it, we could not definitively determine any phage gene functions because our gene of interest\u27s expression would likely change due to influences from outside factors, like expression and interactions of other genes

Endeavors in Solidarity: Lessons from Advantaged Group Members in Anti-Oppression Work

Systems of privilege and oppression operate throughout the United States and beyond, and affect all individuals in different ways and to varying degrees. The privilege (unearned access or advantages) experienced by one group of people is inherently linked to the oppression (systemic injustices or barriers) endured by another. Further, individuals can -- and most do -- experience both privilege and oppression in different aspects of their identity. Individuals experiencing oppression have long worked against the systems that harm them. Of interest in this exploration is the engagement of those who benefit from privilege. This study used an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework to examine what entices a person who is not directly affected by a systemic oppression to work towards its elimination. This study considered what motivates, supports, and sustains individuals in this work by drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine Advantaged Group Members engaged in anti-oppression activism. Furthermore, it investigated advocates’ origin stories, relationships with target group members, and mistakes made along the way, and interrogated the concepts of allyship and solidarity. Considerations of the commonalities and differences shared by activists working across different types of oppression, including racism, homelessness, incarceration, homophobia, colonialism, and more, were taken into account in this exploration. This study also examined the larger issue of how these lessons can be leveraged to encourage more people who experience privilege to join in their efforts by examining the ways in which Advantaged Group Members participate in this work

Digestive stability and transport of equol by Caco-2 cells

Equol has been reported to have greater estrogenic and antioxidant activity than daidzein, its isoflavonoid precursor in soy. However, only 30 - 50% of humans have intestinal microflora capable of converting daidzein to equol. We questioned whether dietary supplementation of equol represents a strategy to provide all individuals with its proposed benefits. Stability and bioaccessibility during simulated digestion, as well as uptake, transepithelial transport and efflux of equol by Caco-2 cells, were examined. Recovery of equol following digestion was 106% ± 6% with ≥ 93% partitioning into the aqueous fraction of chyme. Caco-2 cells were grown on culture dishes and transwell inserts to characterize uptake and transepithelial transport of equol, respectively. After 4 h, cellular equol content was proportional to the concentration in medium, and represented only 5 to 7% of the starting amount. Maximum cellular accumulation of equol occurred within 1 h and declined with increasing length of exposure. Decreases in cellular equol were associated with excretion of phase II conjugates across the apical and basolateral membranes. By 4 h, 85% of equol in cultures was present as phase II conjugates with 50 and 35% of the starting amount located in the apical and basolateral compartments, respectively. Free equol in the basolateral compartment increased to a maximum within 1 h, but continually declined thereafter. These data suggest that ingested equol has the potential to be absorbed and that individuals classified as “non-producers” may actually efflux equol conjugates into the intestinal lumen with high efficiency.OARDCUSDA IFAF

Close Reading, Teaching the Conflicts: Reading Reflectively in Korea

Teaching in a liberal arts college in Seoul, my most striking realization has been the need to teach students close reading. The difficulty they find in performing detail-oriented textual analysis is, in part, a product of their prior literature learning, which is significantly inflected by colonial history; their resistance to the method, moreover, can be traced to issues of neoliberalism and globalization, most concretely in the mismatch they perceive between “liberal learning” and the society and job market awaiting them. To enable students to determine for themselves the value of close reading, I argue, they need to be trained to reflect on their modes of reading. My most sustained effort in this regard has been a seminar called “Literature and Pedagogy,” inspired by Gerald Graff’s call for “teaching the conflicts.” In focusing on the critical debates that have shaped the discipline of English, most students gain significant appreciation for the virtues of active and reflective learning, while adopting a more critical stance vis-à-vis their prior literature learning and the university itself. Such a metacritical approach to English does not resolve the tensions impacting their educational lives, but it does give them the capacity to more critically and reflectively negotiate them

AN INITIAL EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTREO ACTIVATION REFORMS. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 81 MARCH 2019

This report presents results from an initial evaluation that the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has undertaken of the effectiveness of the most recent set of activation reforms that have been made to Ireland’s public employment services (PES). The modifications, which are known as the Intreo activation process reforms, were first introduced in 2012 for all newly unemployed Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) and Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) recipients only. The reforms have focused on making changes to how benefit and employment services are delivered to jobseekers as opposed to what types of employment services are delivered (i.e., job search assistance, training, education courses, etc.)

Features in the ion emission of Cu, Al, and C plasmas produced by ultrafast laser ablation

© 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. The bi-modal nature of charge integrated ion kinetic energy distributions, which result from ultrafast laser produced plasmas, is discussed in this paper. A negatively biased Faraday cup was used as a charge collector to measure ion distributions from three different solid targets that had been irradiated with an ultrafast laser in the fluence range 0.1-1 J/cm2. A bi-modal time of flight distribution is found for all three targets (C, Al, and Cu). In the case of the metallic targets (Al and Cu), high- and low-kinetic energy peaks exhibit quite different dependencies on laser fluence, whereas for the semi-metallic target (C), both peaks scale similarly with ultrafast laser fluence. The results are discussed within the framework of a one dimensional capacitor model resulting in ion acceleration

Boosting Upward Mobility: A Planning Guide for Local Action

Are you a member of local government who wants to increase upward mobility in your community? If so, this guide can help you better understand impediments to upward mobility and build a cross-sector team that can plan, advocate for, and implement a set of systems changes focused on bringing all members of your community out of poverty and creating more equitable results.We developed this guide with you—the user—in mind. It provides practical advice for people driven to boost mobility from poverty and asking, "Where do I start?" More specifically, this guide is intended for city and county government leaders who can plan, advocate for, and implement a set of policy and program changes—informed by the Mobility Metrics (explained in the next section)—that are focused on boosting mobility from poverty

Atrial fibrillation and survival in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Survival in colorectal cancer may correlate with the degree of systemic inflammatory response to the tumour. Atrial fibrillation may be regarded as an inflammatory complication. We aimed to determine if atrial fibrillation is a prognostic factor in colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective colorectal cancer patient database was cross-referenced with the hospital clinical-coding database to identify patients who had underwent colorectal cancer surgery and were in atrial fibrillation pre- or postoperatively. RESULTS: A total of 175 patients underwent surgery for colorectal cancer over a two-year period. Of these, 13 patients had atrial fibrillation pre- or postoperatively. Atrial fibrillation correlated with worse two-year survival (p = 0.04; log-rank test). However, in a Cox regression analysis, atrial fibrillation was not significantly associated with survival. CONCLUSION: The presence or development of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer is associated with worse overall survival, however it was not found to be an independent factor in multivariate analysis