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

A comparison of two low grade heat recovery options

Low grade heat (LGH) recovery is one way of increasing industrial energy efficiency and reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions. The organic rankine cycle (ORC) and condensing boilers are two options that can be used to recover low grade heat (<250 °C). This paper assesses the lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction impacts and discounted payback periods associated with both technologies. Generation of electricity through the operation of the ORC saves approximately 11 kt of CO2 annually, but the high carbon intensity of the coking process means this has a negligible influence (<1 %) on the overall process lifecycle impacts. However, if the electricity generated offsets the external purchasing of electricity this results in favourable economic payback periods of between 3 and 6 years. The operation of a condensing boiler within a woodchip boiler reduces the fuel required to achieve an increased thermal output. The thermal efficiency gains reduce the lifecycle impacts by between 11 and 21%., and reflect payback periods as low as 1.5 to 2 years, depending on the condenser type and wood supply chain. The two case studies are used to highlight the difficulty in identifying LGH recovery solutions that satisfy multiple environmental, economic and wider objectives

Photochromic spiropyran monolithic polymers: Molecular photo-controllable electroosmotic pumps for micro-fluidic devices

A novel photo-controllable micro-fluidic electroosmotic pump based on spiropyran monolithic polymers is presented here for the first time. Photochromic monolithic scaffolds have been synthesised within poly(tetrafluoroethylene) coated fused silica capillaries. These monoliths have a photochromic spiropyran monomer incorporated in the bulk by thermally induced copolymerisation with a cross-linking agent (divinylbenzene) and were encased in micro-fluidic devices to function as photo-controllable electroosmotic pumps (EOPs). Due to the presence of the spiropyran the monolith can exist in two forms: a zwitterionic merocyanine (MC) form and an uncharged spiropyran (SP). As both forms bare a net overall zero charge, an acidic electrolyte was used to produce a stable anodic electroosmotic flow (EOF), while still retaining the ability to switch between the SP and the MC forms, which exhibit different charge distributions. It was confirmed that visible light, which produces the SP form, caused an increase in EOF while UV light, which generates the MC form, caused a decrease in EOF. In this way the EOF from the chip was modified by light and not by changing the electric field, temperature or buffer pH, some of the more common methods of altering the EOF

PROJECTIONS OF DEMAND FOR HEALTHCARE IN IRELAND, 2015-2030: FIRST REPORT FROM THE HIPPOCRATES MODEL. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 67 OCTOBER 2017

This report provides baseline estimates and projections of public and private healthcare demand for Irish health and social care services for the years 2015–2030. This is the first report to be published applying the Hippocrates projection model of Irish healthcare demand and expenditure which has been developed at the ESRI in a programme of research funded by the Department of Health. Development of the model has required a very detailed analysis of the services used in Irish health and social care in 2015. This is the most comprehensive mapping of both public and private activity in the Irish healthcare system to have been published for Ireland

A Search Theory of Dowry

Dowries have traditionally been viewed in economics as arising from a supply imbalance of the marriage market which disadvantages women. In this thesis, a different cause is proposed. Dowries are modelled as arising from an intertemporal bargaining process in a frictional search market, with differential aging in favour of men. This extends the insights of the standard model and is able to explain several puzzling stylised facts. Most notably, dowries may occur when there are more men than women in the market, and dowry and brideprice can coexist in the same market. The model is extended to include heterogeneous males of different quality