Muintir na Tire Seeks Funding for Rural Sociology in 1960s Ireland

working paperMuintir na Tire’s role in the emergence of the discipline of Sociology in Ireland is usually acknowledged with reference to the Limerick Rural Survey (1958-64) that it initiated, part-funded and published. In the first half of the 1960s the movement also put proposals to the Irish government and sought US foundation grants for a centre or institute that would operate in the field of rural sociology and form part of Muintir na Tire’s organisational structure. Although Taoiseach Sean Lemass was positively disposed towards these initatives, opposition from the Departments of Agriculture, Education and Finance prevailed against them and Muintir na Tire was ultimately to find itself completely excluded from participation in the state-resourced institutional arrangements for carrying out social/sociological research in Ireland

Neural indicators of fatigue in chronic diseases : A systematic review of MRI studies

The authors would like to thank the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust for their financial support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Vibrations of free and embedded anisotropic elastic spheres: Application to low-frequency Raman scattering of silicon nanoparticles in silica

Vibrational mode frequencies and damping are calculated for an elastic sphere embedded in an infinite, homogeneous, isotropic elastic medium. Anisotropic elasticity of the sphere significantly shifts the frequencies in comparison to simplified calculations that assume isotropy. New low frequency Raman light scattering data are presented for silicon spheres grown in a SiO2 glass matrix. Principal features of the Raman spectrum are not correctly described by a simple model of the nanoparticle as a free, isotropic sphere, but require both matrix effects and the anisotropy of the silicon to be taken into account. Libration, not vibration, is the dominant mechanism

Extracting fetal heart beats from maternal abdominal recordings: Selection of the optimal principal components

This study presents a systematic comparison of different approaches to the automated selection of the principal components (PC) which optimise the detection of maternal and fetal heart beats from non-invasive maternal abdominal recordings. A public database of 75 4-channel non-invasive maternal abdominal recordings was used for training the algorithm. Four methods were developed and assessed to determine the optimal PC: (1) power spectral distribution, (2) root mean square, (3) sample entropy, and (4) QRS template. The sensitivity of the performance of the algorithm to large-amplitude noise removal (by wavelet de-noising) and maternal beat cancellation methods were also assessed. The accuracy of maternal and fetal beat detection was assessed against reference annotations and quantified using the detection accuracy score F1 [2*PPV*Se / (PPV + Se)], sensitivity (Se), and positive predictive value (PPV). The best performing implementation was assessed on a test dataset of 100 recordings and the agreement between the computed and the reference fetal heart rate (fHR) and fetal RR (fRR) time series quantified. The best performance for detecting maternal beats (F1 99.3%, Se 99.0%, PPV 99.7%) was obtained when using the QRS template method to select the optimal maternal PC and applying wavelet de-noising. The best performance for detecting fetal beats (F1 89.8%, Se 89.3%, PPV 90.5%) was obtained when the optimal fetal PC was selected using the sample entropy method and utilising a fixed-length time window for the cancellation of the maternal beats. The performance on the test dataset was 142.7 beats2/min2 for fHR and 19.9 ms for fRR, ranking respectively 14 and 17 (out of 29) when compared to the other algorithms presented at the Physionet Challenge 2013

ICT, open government and civil society

Abstract This paper explores the rise of ICTs as instruments of government reform and the implication of their use from the vantage point of the relations between democratic governance, the aims of Buen Vivir, and the role of civil society. We discuss some of the contradictions inherent in the nature and organisation of ICTs, particularly in connection to such e-government projects as “smart cities” and participatory budgeting, and focus on the centrality of social relationships, political agency and the operations of social capital as elements that determine the success of these initiatives in the promotion of democratic practice. We also examine the relevance of social capital and user control to organisational structure and the ways in which structure relates to social innovation and the access, transfer and diffusion of knowledge as a common good. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of ICTs as instruments of civil empowerment and introduces the notion of “generative democracy” as a means of re-imagining and realigning the role and powers of the state and civil society for the social production of goods and services

Farm Management - Bugger the roots, where is the future?

The Farm Management discipline has long been closely aligned with agricultural economics. The question we raise is not where either discipline came from but where is Farm Management going. The impact of globalisation, the rising tide of deregulation and chain reversal mean that farm management professionals who have traditionally focused on optimisation of activities at a farm level are now commonly expected to use sociology and management science to explain economic organisation and performance on farms. They also are required to look at relationships in the value chain(s) in which the farm sits. This paper will analyse the implications of such change for Farm Management professionals.Farm Management, value chains, Farm Management,

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Study of the Essential Oils of Schinus longifolia (Lindl.) Speg., Schinus fasciculata (Griseb.) I. M. Johnst., and Schinus areira L.

The essential oil composition from the aerial parts of three Anacardiaceae growing in Bah¨ªa Blanca, Argentina was studied by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oils of S. longifolia and S. fasciculata have been studied for the first time. The major constituents were ¦Á-pinene (46.5%), ¦Â-pinene (15.1%) and ¦Á-phellandrene (10.1%) for S. longifolia and limonene (10.9%), ¦Â-phellandrene (6.16%) and ¦Á-phellandrene (5.6%) for S. fasciculata. The major components of the essential oil of S. areira were limonene (28.6%), ¦Á-phellandrene (10.1%), sabinene (9.2%) and camphene (9.2%) differing from the literature data. The essential oils from S. areira and S. longifolia exhibited a high biotoxicity in a brine shrimp assay with Artemia persimilis.Fil: Murray, Ana Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Frontera, Maria Eugenia. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Tomas, María A.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Mulet, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentin

Population Genomics of Selection in the Eastern Oyster Contact Zone

Intraspecific clinal systems are ideal for investigating the how divergence occurs in the presence of gene flow because they represent a balance between selection and gene flow prior to speciation. High dispersal marine species with clinal variation are particularly informative to test for divergent selection because selection likely is strong enough to counteract high gene flow. The degree of population structure varies considerably among loci, such that the genome acts as a sieve allowing gene flow at neutral loci and impeding it at selected loci, creating a genomic mosaic of differentiation. In this study, I examine genomic and geographic patterns of differentiation among parapatric populations of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) along their contact zone in Florida estuaries. The planktotrophic larval phase of this species gives it the potential for regular long-distance dispersal and genetically homogeneous populations. However Florida populations at the center of its range exhibit a sharp step cline at some loci, suggesting a role for divergent selection. Using 217 AFLP loci, including seven candidate loci for differential selection between the two populations, I genotyped 1,011 spat over two seasons and 274 adults at sites along the contact zone. I examined: (1) whether genome scans can detect divergent selection in a clinal system, (2) the genomic and geographic patterns of differentiation along the cline at neutral and selected loci, and (3) regional patterns of differentiation and genotypic distributions among the life stages. Results demonstrated: (1) candidate loci for regionally divergent selection, (2) a genomic and geographic mosaic of differentiation, (3) regional and localized selection at a non-trivial portion of loci, (4) lower recruitment and some mortality in the center of the cline, and (5) strong exogenous, post-settlement viability selection against intermediate and non-native-like genotypes. While a combination of neutral and adaptive processes likely shape genomic and geographic patterns of differentiation, this study revealed evidence for divergent selection in an estuarine species with high potential for gene flow. Overall, these results point to a major role for post-zygotic, environment-dependent selection in the maintenance of the contact zone between Atlantic and Gulf-type oyster populations