Precision biomechanical motion tracking and throw characterisation in professional darts

In professional sports there are in general three steps required to improve performance namely task definition, training and performance assessment. This process is iteratively repeated and feedback generated from quantitative performance measurement is in turn used for task redefinition. Task definition can be achieved in a number of ways including via video streaming or indeed and as is more common, by listening to coaching staff. However non-subjective performance evaluation is difficult due to the complexity of the movements involved. When considering the subset of sports where precision accuracy and repeatability are a necessity this problem becomes inherently more difficult to solve. Until recently sports such as martial arts, fencing and darts, where the smallest deviation from a prescribed movement goal can result in large outcome error, were deemed too difficult to characterise fully. Advances in technology, as illustrated by this study, now make this type of physiometry possible.

Trade-off between minimum number of wireless sensors and the accuracy of temperature profile in cold rooms: a model-based framework

Evaluation of temperature distribution in cold rooms is an important consideration in the design of food storage solutions. Two common approaches used in both industry and academia to address this question are the deployment of wireless sensors, and modelling with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). However, for a realworld evaluation of temperature distribution in a cold room, both approaches have their limitations. For wireless sensors, it is economically unfeasible to carry out large-scale deployment (to obtain a high resolution of temperature distribution); while with CFD modelling, it is usually not accurate enough to get a reliable result. In this paper, we propose a model-based framework which combines the wireless sensors technique with CFD modelling technique together to achieve a satisfactory trade-off between minimum number of wireless sensors and the accuracy of temperature profile in cold rooms. A case study is presented to demonstrate the usability of the framework.

The Irish credit union movement: member participation and organisational effectiveness

This thesis explores the relationship between organisational effectiveness and member participation in Irish credit unions. It is hypothesised that a positive relationship exists between both variables. Co-operative literature suggests that co-operatives require the involvement of the members in identifying and meeting their own needs in order to be effective organisations. Previous research studies into the issue across a variety of organisational types have shown mixed results. Related research into credit unions is sparse. The primary research undertaken is both quantitative and qualitative in approach. Organisational effectiveness is examined in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Member participation, being an organisational process, is examined in qualitative terms. Indicators of organisational effectiveness, specific to credit unions, are drawn up and form a framework through which effectiveness is examined. A typology and indicators of member participation are also developed and form a framework through which member participation is examined. The case study method is used primarily, to examine organisational effectiveness and member participation in Irish credit unions. A case study of a theoretical credit union, which is based on a composite of good practice in credit unions in Ireland and internationally, is also drawn up to develop the analysis further. The case studies allow an analysis of both organisational effectiveness and member participation, as well as an exploration of the relationship between the two. The findings support the hypothesis that there is a direct relationship between the two variables. In order to be effective, credit unions must involve their members in identifying their needs and in designing services to meet these needs. At present, they do not do this to any large extent. In order to continue to meet the needs of their members and to compete in the financial services sector, credit unions will need to find ways of involving members, drawing on good practice in other co-operatives. This will be critical to their continued success.

The corporate social responsibility movement and law's empire: Is there a conflict?

At the heart of corporate governance and social responsibility discourse is recognition of the fact that the modern corporation is primarily governed by the profit maximisation imperative coupled with moral and ethical concerns that such a limited imperative drives the actions of large and wealthy corporations which have the ability to act in influential and significant ways, shaping how our social world is experienced. The actions of the corporation and its management will have a wide sphere of impact over all of its stakeholders whether these are employees, shareholders, consumers or the community in which the corporation is located. As globalisation has become central to the way we think it is also clear that ‘community’ has an ever expanding meaning which may include workers and communities living very far away from Corporate HQ. In recent years academic commentators have become increasingly concerned about the emphasis on what can be called short-term profit maximisation and the perception that this extremist interpretation of the profit imperative results in morally and ethically unacceptable outcomes.1 Hence demands for more corporate social responsibility. Following Cadbury’s2 classification of corporate social responsibility into three distinct areas, this paper will argue that once the legally regulated tier is left aside corporate responsibility can become so nebulous as to be relatively meaningless. The argument is not that corporations should not be required to act in socially responsible ways but that unless supported by regulation, which either demands high standards, or at the very least incentivises the attainment of such standards such initiatives are doomed to failure. The paper will illustrate by reference to various chosen cases that law’s discourse has already signposted ways to consider and resolve corporate governance problems in the broader social responsibility context.3 It will also illustrate how corporate responsibility can and must be supported by legal measures. Secondly, this paper will consider the potential conflict between an emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the regulatory approach.4 Finally, this paper will place the current interest in corporate social responsibility within the broader debate on the relationship between law and non-legally enforceable norms and will present some reflections on the norm debate arising from this consideration of the CSR movement.

Challengers to provisional republicanism: the official republican movement, people’s democracy and the Irish republican socialist party, 1968–98

The Provisional IRA and its political wing Sinn Féin have attracted by far the greatest scholarly interest of all the players in the Northern Irish conflict. This emphasis is perfectly legitimate, given the centrality of the Provos to so many turning-points in the conflict, from the collapse of Stormont in the early 1970s to the hunger strikes of the following decade and the ceasefires which were followed by the Belfast Agreement. My project, however, looks at political groups that at one time or another challenged the Provos for leadership of the militant, anti-state constituency in Northern Ireland (chiefly based in the Catholic working class). Although never as large or influential as the Provisional republicans, groups such as the Official IRA and the Irish Republican Socialist Party sometimes had a discernible impact on the course of events which is overlooked by most studies, and often pioneered ideas and tactics that were later adopted by the Provos themselves. The idea that republicans should embrace political action and work in broad campaigning alliances was promoted by the IRSP and socialist groups such as People’s Democracy before it was taken up by Gerry Adams and his allies, while the Official IRA supported the principle of a settlement based on democratization of the Northern Irish state, which was later accepted by Sinn Féin in the form of the Belfast Agreement. The goal of my research is to provide a novel perspective on the conflict in Northern Ireland, while engaging with theoretical debates about its character.

The defining characteristics of alternative food initiatives in Ireland: a social movement battling for an alternative food future?

Alternative food initiatives (AFIs) have been described as an attempt to change and improve aspects of how the food system operates. They are focused around more traditional, local and sustainable food production and circulation. AFIs such as farmers’ markets, allotments and community gardens, share a desire to reduce the number of steps food goes through from production to plate. The role of these initiatives in the food system, and their potential to impact real change, has however been questioned. Working to better understand this issue is a central concern of this research. To do this a two tier analysis has been deployed. The first tier involves identifying the characteristics and general dynamics of AFIs. Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and the theories of field and capital, are the concepts applied. The research then uses these findings in the second tier of analysis concerned with relating AFI characteristics and dynamics back to their key traits, positive and negative, as well as arguments made about AFI’s role identified from previous research. Another part of this second tier of analysis is exploring if AFIs, the producers, consumers, organisations and groups that make up this phenomenon, can be considered a social movement. AFIs can be referred to collectively as a social movement, but are not often explored theoretically from this perspective. AFIs in Ireland provide the empirical context for this research. A series of qualitative interviews in four areas of Ireland, as well as evidence from primary and secondary sources are analysed. The research finds that AFIs can be understood as the potential beginnings of a lifestyle social movement. Leaders are of central importance to its development. It is also found that an important role of AFIs is revitalising, supporting and contributing to food culture.

Northern Ireland, America and the emerging church movement: Exploring the significance of Peter Rollins and the Ikon collective

The Emerging Church Movement (ECM) is a primarily Western religious phenomenon, identifiable by its critical ‘deconstruction’ of ‘modern’ religion. While most prominent in North America, especially the United States, some of the most significant contributors to the ECM ‘conversation’ have been the Belfast-based Ikon Collective and one of its founders, philosopher Peter Rollins. Their rootedness in the unique religious, political and social landscape of Northern Ireland in part explains their position on the ‘margins’ of the ECM, and provides many of the resources for their contributions. Ikon’s development of ‘transformance art’ and its ‘leaderless’ structure raise questions about the institutional viability of the wider ECM. Rollins’ ‘Pyrotheology’ project, grounded in his reading of post-modern philosophy, introduces more radical ideas to the ECM conversation. Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ and ‘marginal’ location provides the ground from which Rollins and Ikon have been able to expose the boundaries of the ECM and raise questions about just how far the ECM may go in its efforts to transform Western Christianity.

Improved kinematic sensing for motion control applications

New compensation methods are presented that can greatly reduce the slit errors (i.e. transition location errors) and interval errors induced due to non-idealities in optical incremental encoders (square-wave). An M/T-type, constant sample-time digital tachometer (CSDT) is selected for measuring the velocity of the sensor drives. Using this data, three encoder compensation techniques (two pseudoinverse based methods and an iterative method) are presented that improve velocity measurement accuracy. The methods do not require precise knowledge of shaft velocity. During the initial learning stage of the compensation algorithm (possibly performed in-situ), slit errors/interval errors are calculated through pseudoinversebased solutions of simple approximate linear equations, which can provide fast solutions, or an iterative method that requires very little memory storage. Subsequent operation of the motion system utilizes adjusted slit positions for more accurate velocity calculation. In the theoretical analysis of the compensation of encoder errors, encoder error sources such as random electrical noise and error in estimated reference velocity are considered. Initially, the proposed learning compensation techniques are validated by implementing the algorithms in MATLAB software, showing a 95% to 99% improvement in velocity measurement. However, it is also observed that the efficiency of the algorithm decreases with the higher presence of non-repetitive random noise and/or with the errors in reference velocity calculations. The performance improvement in velocity measurement is also demonstrated experimentally using motor-drive systems, each of which includes a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for CSDT counting/timing purposes, and a digital-signal-processor (DSP). Results from open-loop velocity measurement and closed-loop servocontrol applications, on three optical incremental square-wave encoders and two motor drives, are compiled. While implementing these algorithms experimentally on different drives (with and without a flywheel) and on encoders of different resolutions, slit error reductions of 60% to 86% are obtained (typically approximately 80%).

Study abroad and complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) development: a longitudinal investigation of French and Chinese Learners of L2 English

This longitudinal study tracked third-level French (n=10) and Chinese (n=7) learners of English as a second language (L2) during an eight-month study abroad (SA) period at an Irish university. The investigation sought to determine whether there was a significant relationship between length of stay (LoS) abroad and gains in the learners' oral complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF), what the relationship was between these three language constructs and whether the two learner groups would experience similar paths to development. Additionally, the study also investigated whether specific reported out-of-class contact with the L2 was implicated in oral CAF gains. Oral data were collected at three equidistant time points; at the beginning of SA (T1), midway through the SA sojourn (T2) and at the end (T3), allowing for a comparison of CAF gains arising during one semester abroad to those arising during a subsequent semester. Data were collected using Sociolinguistic Interviews (Labov, 1984) and adapted versions of the Language Contact Profile (Freed et al., 2004). Overall, the results point to LoS abroad as a highly influential variable in gains to be expected in oral CAF during SA. While one semester in the TL country was not enough to foster statistically significant improvement in any of the CAF measures employed, significant improvement was found during the second semester of SA. Significant differences were also revealed between the two learner groups. Finally, significant correlations, some positive, some negative, were found between gains in CAF and specific usage of the L2. All in all, the disaggregation of the group data clearly illustrates, in line with other recent enquiries (e.g. Wright and Cong, 2014) that each individual learner's path to CAF development was unique and highly individualised, thus providing strong evidence for the recent claim that SLA is "an individualized nonlinear endeavor" (Polat and Kim, 2014: 186).