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.

A programmer's environment for music analysis

A model for representing music scores in a form suitable for general processing by a music-analyst-programmer is proposed and implemented. Typical input to the model consists of one or more pieces of music which are encoded in a file-based score representation. File-based representations are in a form unsuited for general processing, as they do not provide a suitable level of abstraction for a programmer-analyst. Instead, a representation is created giving a programmer's view of the score. This frees the analyst-programmer from implementation details, that otherwise would form a substantial barrier to progress. The score representation uses an object-oriented approach to create a natural and robust software environment for the musicologist. The system is used to explore ways in which it could benefit musicologists. Methodologies for analysing music corpora are presented in a series of analytic examples which illustrate some of the potential of this model. Proving hypotheses or performing analysis on corpora involves the construction of algorithms. Some unique aspects of using this score model for corpus-based musicology are: - Algorithms impose a discipline which arises from the necessity for formalism. - Automatic analysis enables musicologists to complete tasks that otherwise would be infeasible because of limitations of their energy, attentiveness, accuracy and time.

Student voice in Irish post-primary schools: a drama of voices

This research is an exploration of the expression of student voice in Irish post-primary schools and how its affordance could impact on students’ and teachers’ experiences in the classroom, and at whole-school level through a student council. Student voice refers to the inclusion of students in decisions that shape their experiences in classrooms and schools, and is fundamental to a rights-based perspective that facilitates students to have a voice and a say in their education. Student voice is essential to the development of democratic principles, active citizenship, and learning and pedagogy. This qualitative research, based in three post-primary case-study schools, concerns teachers in eighteen classrooms engaging in dialogic consultation with their students over one school year. Teachers considered the students’ commentary and then adjusted their practice. The operation of student councils was also examined through the voices of council members, liaison teachers and school principals. Theorised within socio-cultural (social constructivist), social constructionist and poststructural frames, the complexity of student voice emerges from its conceptualisation and enactment. Affording students a voice in their classroom presented positive findings in the context of relationships, pedagogical change and students’ engagement, participation and achievement. The power and authority of the teacher and discordant student voices, particularly relating to examinations, presented challenges affecting teachers’ practice and students’ expectations. The functional redundancy of the student council as a construct for student voice at whole-school level, and its partial redundancy as a construct to reflect prefigurative democracy and active citizenship also emerge from the research. Current policy initiatives in Irish education situate student voice in pedagogy and as dialogic consultation at classroom and whole-school level. This work endorses the necessity for and benefit of such a positioning with the author further arguing that it should not become the instrumental student voice of data source, accountability and performativity.

The analytical approach of the European Court of Human Rights in surveillance cases—the implications, justifications, and future of the Court’s reasoning, with a focus on the legislative impact in Ireland

A notable feature of the surveillance case law of the European Court of Human Rights has been the tendency of the Court to focus on the “in accordance with the law” aspect of the Article 8 ECHR inquiry. This focus has been the subject of some criticism, but the impact of this approach on the manner in which domestic surveillance legislation has been formulated in the Party States has received little scholarly attention. This thesis addresses that gap in the literature through its consideration of the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act, 1993 and the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act, 2009. While both Acts provide several of the safeguards endorsed by the European Court of Human Rights, this thesis finds that they suffer from a number of crucial weaknesses that undermine the protection of privacy. This thesis demonstrates how the focus of the European Court of Human Rights on the “in accordance with the law” test has resulted in some positive legislative change. Notwithstanding this fact, it is maintained that the legality approach has gained prominence at the expense of a full consideration of the “necessary in a democratic society” inquiry. This has resulted in superficial legislative responses at the domestic level, including from the Irish government. Notably, through the examination of a number of more recent cases, this project discerns a significant alteration in the interpretive approach adopted by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the application of the necessity test. The implications of this development are considered and the outlook for Irish surveillance legislation is assessed.

Health of the older worker in Ireland - occupational physical and psychosocial factors in the autumn of work life

Introduction: Worldwide, governments are striving to keep people in work to an older age. However, little is known about the effects of work on an older workforce. This thesis aims to investigate the importance of job characteristics to the antecedents and evolution of cardiovascular disease and functional limitations for the older worker (50+ years). Methods: Three studies were used in this thesis. The 5C (Cork Coronary Care Case- Control) Study investigated the association between job strain and a coronary event in males (n=208) 35-74 years old. The Mitchelstown Study examined the association between job characteristics and positive lifestyle behaviours and further, job characteristics and blood pressure for males and females 50-69 years (n=2,047). Finally, the Cork & Kerry Study investigated the physical effects of manual work and reported functional limitations/disabilities in a sample of 60-80 year olds (n=362). Results: Results from the 5C Study show a clear difference between younger (<50 years) and older (≥50 years) workers, with older workers who had a coronary event more likely to have high job strain and low job control. Data from the Mitchelstown Study showed workers with intermediate possibility for development or high quantitative demands (versus low) at work significantly more likely to have co-occurrence of positive lifestyle behaviours. Further, those who had high possibility for development were more likely to have high systolic blood pressure with no indication of recovery from this activation at night. Physically demanding work as reported by the participants of the Cork & Kerry Study was associated with functional limitations and activities of daily living disability for both the paid and unpaid worker. Discussion: The findings from this piece of work highlight the necessity to examine job characteristics and health outcomes in isolation for the over fifties. The challenge is to get this information into the workplace.

Comparing impacts of new cropping systems on biodiversity in traditional rural China

This study selected six geographically-similar villages with traditional and alternative cultivation methods (two groups of three, one traditional and two alternatives) in two counties of Henan Province, China—a representative area of the Huang-huai-hai Plain representing traditional rural China. Soil heavy metal concentrations, floral and faunal biodiversity, and socio-economic data were recorded. Heavy metal concentrations of surface soils from three sites in each village were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS, chromium, nickel, copper, cadmium, and lead) and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS, zinc). The floral biodiversity of four land-use types was recorded following the Braun-Blanquet coverage-abundance method using 0.5×0.5m quadrats. The faunal biodiversity of two representative farmland plots was recorded using 0.3×0.3m quadrats at four 0.1m layers. The socio-economic data were recorded through face-to-face interviews of one hundred randomly selected households at each village. Results demonstrate different cultivation methods lead to different impact on above variables. Traditional cultivation led to lower heavy metal concentrations; both alternative managements were associated with massive agrochemical input causing heavy metal pollution in farmlands. Floral distribution was significantly affected by village factors. Diverse cultivation supported high floral biodiversity through multi-scale heterogeneous landscapes containing niches and habitats. Faunal distribution was also significantly affected by village factor nested within soil depth. Different faunal groups responded differently, with Acari being taxonomically diverse and Collembola high in densities. Increase in manual labour and crop number in villages using alternative cultivation may positively affect biodiversity. The results point to the conservation potential of diverse cultivation methods in traditional rural China and other regions under social and political reforms, where traditional agriculture is changing to unified, large-scale mechanized agriculture. This study serves as a baseline for conservation in small-holding agricultural areas of China, and points to the necessity of further studies at larger and longer scales.

Health in the medieval world: Regionality and the bioarchaeology of Ireland and Britain

This study assesses regional health patterns in early medieval Ireland and Britain by analysing and interpreting palaeopathological indicators of stress. This was achieved by incorporating the results of demographic and palaeopathological study into the specific historical contexts. Although relatively small islands, both are home to unique and diverse cultural, physical, and political landscapes, which could potentially affect the general health of the population in different ways. To accurately answer the research question, a bioarchaeological survey of six regions within both islands was carried out, specifically analysing and comparing the demographic profile and general health trends within each region with one another. Results from the analysis have demonstrated statistically significant differences within and between the islands. Inferring that even the more subtle differences observed within the cultural, physical, and political landscapes, such as in the case of Ireland and Britain, can and do affect general health trends. The health of early medieval Ireland and Britain appears to be significantly affected by the physical landscape, specifically a north/south divide. The most northerly regions, Scotland South and Ireland North, manifested higher levels of stress indicators when compared to the more southerly positioned regions. Although it can only be hypothesised what factors within these regions are causing, enhancing or buffering stress, the study has established the potential and necessity for regional work to be continued when interpreting the historical past of these two islands.

Nihilism and emptiness: Nishitani's encounter with Nietzsche

In this thesis, I examine the relationship between the Kyoto School philosopher, Nishitani Keiji, and the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, focusing on the two thinkers’ respective approaches to the problem of nihilism. The work begins by positioning Nishitani’s interpretation of Nietzsche’s account of nihilism with reference to diverse readings of Nietzsche in Western scholarship. I then consider the development of Nishitani’s reading of Nietzsche from his lecture series on nihilism, The Self- Overcoming of Nihilism, through to his magnum opus, Religion and Nothingness. I make two key contributions to recent scholarly debate on Nishitani’s relationship to Nietzsche. The first is to emphasise the importance of Nishitani’s response to the idea of eternal recurrence for understanding his critical approach to Nietzsche’s thinking. I argue against the view, offered by Bret Davis, that Nishitani’s criticisms of Nietzsche are primarily based on the former’s negative assessment of the idea of will to power. The second contribution is to situate Nishitani’s critical approach to eternal recurrence within his broader attempt to formulate a Zen-influenced conception of temporality and historicity. I then argue for the necessity of this conceptual background for coming to grips with his conception of the ‘transhistorical’ grounds of historicity in emptiness (śūnyatā), as outlined in the later chapters of Religion and Nothingness.