th annual graduate research symposium...muhammad irfan, dublin institute of technology temperature...

19th Annual Postgraduate Research Symposium

9th Annual Graduate Research Symposium

Event Programme

10.30 – 11.00 Registration

11.00 – 11.15 Welcome to the 9th Annual Graduate Research Symposium Professor Brian O’Neill, Director of Research, Enterprise & Innovation Services

11.15 – 12.15 Research Theme: Environment, Energy and Health Chair: Professor Mary McNamara, Head of the Graduate Research School Oluwasegun Oluwaseyi Seriki, Dublin Institute of Technology KeepingupwiththeJoneses:socialcontagionandknowledgeacquisitionin Irishconstructionprofessionalservicefirms Michael Chesser, Dublin Institute of Technology ThePositiveFeedbackCycleintheElectricityMarket:ResidentialSolarPV Adoption,ElectricityDemandandPrices Brian Henderson, Dublin Institute of Technology AptamersareAwesome

12.15 – 13.00 Lunch

13.00 – 13.40 Research Theme: Information, Communications and Media Technologies

Chair: Professor Brian O’Neill, Director of Research, Enterprise & Innovation Services Lucas Rizzo, Dublin Institute of Technology OnDemonstratingtheImpactofDefeasibleReasoningviaamulti-Layer Argument-basedFramework

Mariana Rocha, Dublin Institute of Technology Playingintheclassroom:thedevelopmentofaneducationalvideogame forMathematicslearning

2 9th Annual Postgraduate Research Symposium

13.40 – 14.40 Research Theme: Society, Culture & Enterprise Chair: Dr Matt Bowden, Head of Research, College of Arts & Tourism

Miriam O’Regan, Dublin Institute of Technology UnderstandingChildmindingasanEcoculturalNiche:aTaleofTwoStudies Sinead Hewson, Dublin Institute of Technology CommunicationattheCore:Assessingdecision-makingandresourceallocation wherecommunicationisattheheartofanorganisation’sstrategydevelopment Alan Kirby, Institute of Technology Tallaght ProgramTheory/LogicModelconductinganevaluationprocess

14.40 – 15.00 Coffee Break

15.00 – 16.00 Research Theme: New Materials & Devices

Chair: Professor Hugh Byrne, Head of FOCAS Research Institute Megan O’Shaughnessy, Dublin Institute of Technology Antibacterialactivityofmetalcomplexesincorporating1,10-phenanthrolineand dicarboxylateligands:activityagainstproblematicresistantclinicalisolates

Muhammad Irfan, Dublin Institute of Technology Temperatureresponsivediffractivestructures

Kangze Liu, Dublin Institute of Technology Anovelbottom-upinsitusynthesismethodofshapeandsizecontrollablegold nanoparticlesandtheirapplications

16.00 – 16.30 Prize Giving and Close


Abstracts of Oral Presentations

Environment, Energy & Health


Oluwasegun Oluwaseyi Seriki

Title: Keeping up with the Joneses: social contagion and knowledge acquisition in Irish construction professional service firms.

Authors: Oluwasegun Seriki; Roisin Murphy

Abstract

Thehighknowledge intensityofprofessional servicefirms (PSFs)hasbeenextensively researchedin industriessuchasmanufacturing;however, lesserattentionhasbeengiven toconstruction. Astheconstructionsector in Irelandcontinues in itspathofsustainedgrowth,knowledgeacquisitionis becoming a central issue for strategy researchers within the sector. While several authors haveexploredaspectsof the strategy inconstructionPSFs, knowledgeacquisitionasa tool fordrivingstrategyremains largelyunexplored.Previousstudieshaveappliedthetheoreticalunderpinningsofsocialcontagion(SC)tosectorssuchashealthcare,however,researchintoSCtheoryislackingwithinconstruction.Thispaper therefore,examines thesignificanceofsocialcontagion in theknowledgeacquisitionprocessofquantitysurveying(QS)firmsinIreland.TheaimofthisstudyistoshinenewlightonwhetherknowledgeacquisitioninPSFsisdeliberate,emergentordrivenbysocialcontagion.Byemployingaquantitativemethodofenquiry,thestudyfurtherilluminatesthelatenteffectofsocialcontagionindrivingknowledgeacquisitioninPSFs.Thestudyprovidesanimportantopportunitytoadvancetheunderstandingofsocialcontagiontheoryinconstructionbydemonstratingfirmsacquireknowledgespontaneouslytokeepupwithtrendsintheindustry,ratherthaninaplanned,deliberatesequence.


Michael Chesser

Title: The Positive Feedback Cycle in the Electricity Market: Residential Solar PV Adoption, Electricity Demand and Prices

Authors: Michael Chesser, Jim Hanly, Damien Cassells, Nicholas Apergis

Abstract

Micro renewable energy systems (MRES) such as Photovoltaic (PV) are an increasingly importantelementofNationalenergystrategies.However,thesuccessoftheseinstallationshasgivenrisetoapositivefeedbackcyclewherebyincreasedcustomeradoptionresultsinreduceddemandfromUtilityproviders.ThisleadstopriceincreasesandfurtherincentivescustomerstoadoptMRES.Thispaperinvestigatestheexistenceofapositivefeedbackcyclebydevelopingatheoreticalmodelbasedonsimultaneousequationsandestimating itusingthethreestage leastsquaresapproachusingdatafromtheUK,AustralianandIrishMarkets.Resultsindicatestrongsupportfortheideaofapositivefeedback cycle. This reinforces the need for stakeholders to consider this issue in framing futureenergypoliciestoensurethattheadoptionofsolarPVissupportedinasustainableway,whilenotpunishingnon-adopterswithhigherelectricityrates.


Brian Henderson

Title: Aptamers are Awesome

Authors: Brian David Henderson, Niamh Gilmartin

Abstract

NucleicAcidsare fascinatingmolecules, theyarewellknownfor theirability tostoreandtransportgenetic information but what is less known is their structural diversity, and in the world of themicroscopic,structure is function.Aptamers,astheyareknown,areonetypeof functionalnucleicacid, they are short single stranded sequences of DNA or RNA which bind with high affinity andspecificitytoatargetmolecule.Eachaptamerisselectedfromapoolofmanyhundredsofbillionsofnucleicacidsbyaprocessofguidedevolution.Inthesamewaythatoverbillionsofyearslifearrangedeverycombinationofaminoacidstoformthehighlyspecificproteinsandenzymeswhichmakeupour world today, so to can we artificially construct every combination of nucleotides possible andselectfromitanaptamerwithapplicationspecificcharacteristics.ThisselectionprocessisknownasSystematicEvolutionofLigandsbyExponentialEnrichmentorSELEXforshort.Usingthisprocessitispossibletoselectaptamerstovirtuallyanytargetbeitaprotein,peptide,smallmolecule,wholecellorevensingleatoms.Thesequalitiesmakeaptamersanattractivemolecularrecognitionelementforthedevelopmentofnovelbiosensors.



Information, Communication and Media Technologies


Lucas Rizzo

Title: On Demonstrating the Impact of Defeasible Reasoning via a multi-Layer Argument-based Framework

Authors: Lucas Rizzo, Luca Longo

Abstract

Argumentation theory (AT) isan importantareaof logic-basedartificial intelligence,whichprovidesthebasisforcomputationalmodelsofdefeasiblereasoning.Despitepromisingprogresseshavebeenmadeinseveralareas,demonstratingATasasolidtheoreticalresearchdisciplinefor implementingdefeasiblereasoninginpractice,thereareissuesforappliedresearch.State-of-the-artmodelsofATareusuallydomaindependent,notoftenbuiltuponallthelayersofanargumentativeprocess.Duetothisdiversity,aclearstructurethatcanbereplicatedandthatallowsmodelstobedesigned,built,evaluatedandcomparedhasnotemergedyet.Theaimofthisresearchistodesignanargument-basedframework (ABF), fromtheconstructionofarguments, to the resolutionofpossible inconsistenciesarising from their interactionsand thecomputationofa justifiableconclusionorclaim.ThisABF isproposedtobeevaluatedacrosspracticalapplicationsinthefieldsofknowledgerepresentationanddecision-making.InthisstudyitisbelievedthatsinceATisarelativelynewfieldtheproposalofamoregenerallyapplicablesolution,intheformofacomputationalframework,mightfacilitatecomparisonsacrossapplicationsendenablethedemonstrationoftheimpactofdefeasiblereasoning.


Mariana Rocha

Title: Playing in the classroom: the development of an educational videogame for Mathematics learning

Authors: Mariana Rocha, Brendan Tangney, Pierpaolo Dondio

Abstract

Educationalvideogamescanimprovestudent’smotivationtolearnandprovidehighercognitivegain.ThisprojectaimstodeliveravideogametobeimplementedinprimaryschoolMathematicsclasses.Thefirststepofthestudywastocomprehendwhatfactorsinfluenceteacherstoadoptgames.Datawascollectedthroughasurveyansweredby714schoolteachersandevaluatedusingLogisticRegressionand Decision Tree models. The results suggest that the adoption of videogames is influenced bystudents’primarylanguage,game’scurriculumcoverageandpedagogicalunderpinnings.Teachersthatdonotadoptgamesindicatedtheyfacebarrierslikethelackoftimeandtechnologicalresources.Wealsocollectedthenamesof66gamesusedby the teachersandconfrontedwitha taxonomythatclassifiesclassroomvideogames.Resultssuggestthatmostgamesareverysimilartotraditionallearning methods, such as paper exercises, and do not connect the classroom to the real-worldcontext.Weproposeanadventurepoint-and-clickgamewheretheplayerlearnsthroughthehistoryofMathematics.ThestudentvisitsvirtuallandsanditischallengedbycharactersfromancienttimestosolveMathematicspuzzles.Thegameintendstobeaweb-basedadaptiveenvironmentwithsimplegraphics,playedinlowspecificationscomputers.



Society, Culture and Enterprise


Miriam O’Regan

Title: Understanding Childminding as an Ecocultural Niche: a Tale of Two Studies

Authors: Miriam O’Regan

Abstract

ChildmindinginIrelandhasbeenneglectedinmainstreamECECpolicy,yet itcontinuestoflourish.Arelativelyunder-researchedfieldinEurope(Ang,Brooker,&Stephen,2016),thisresearchaimstoreconceptualisechildminding in itsdistinctivenurturingpedagogy (Hayes&Kernan,2008) fromanecoculturalperspective.ItisunderpinnedpredominantlybyEcoculturalTheory(Weisner,2002),whilealso referencing Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 2007) and Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Model ofHumanDevelopment(Rosa&Tudge,2013).

Followinganonlinesurveyandworldcaféforumwithchildmindersfocussedonprofessionalisation,this research shifted paradigm to use the qualitative Ecocultural Family Interview (EFI) (Weisner &Bernheimer,2004)specificallyadaptedforchildminding(Tonyan,Nuttall,Torres,&Bridgewater,2017).TheEFIfocussesondailyroutinetonarratethecomplexworldofchildminding,with


Sinead Hewson

Title: Communication at the Core: Assessing decision-making and resource allocation where communication is at the heart of an organisation’s strategy development

Authors: Sinead Hewson

Abstract

This investigation explores the link between the communications function and the creation anddevelopmentofstrategyinorganisations.Itconsiderswhethertheposition,territoryandscopeofthepublicrelationsfunctioninfluencesstrategicdecisions,tacticsandinturnresults.Scholarsarguethatcommunication (publicrelations) isan importantstrategicmanagement function (Grunig,1992)andhasastrategicroletoplay (Kitchen,1997).Yet, inspiteofmultiplerecommendationspublishedbyacademia,noprofoundnoruniversalstepchangeinthestatusofcommunicationsandcommunicationprofessionalsinorganisational,leadershipandstrategydevelopmenthasoccurred.


Alan Kirby

Title: Program Theory / Logic Model conducting an evaluation process.

Authors: Alan Kirby

Abstract

This research seeks to evaluate the outcome of the measures introduced in the 2012 stimuluspackage,ostensiblethesuccessoftheamendmentsmadetothePublicPrivatePartnershippolicy.ThemeasureswereintroducedtorejuvenatetheConstructionandPPPsector,followingtheeffectsofthefinancialcrisis.Todemonstratethis,thisstudyengagesProgramTheoryandLogicModelasaTheoreticalFramework.Therearetwokeyelementsthatmakeupprogramtheory,achangemodel,relatingtothecausalprocessandanactionmodelrelatingtotheactivitiesandinterventions.Thestudyacknowledgestheco-relationshipthatexistsbetweenprogramtheoryandlogicmodel,logicmodelisavisualaid,anassociateofprogramtheory.Logicmodeladoptsalinearcausalpathtodeterminethecriteriarelatingto,Inputs,Outputs,andOutcomesthatarenecessarytosteeranevaluation.

Programtheorycanaddressbothcomplicatedandsimpleinterventions.Thestudynotesthepresenceoftheblackboxsyndrome,beingtherelationshipbetweentheinitialinputandthedeterminedoutcomeofthelogicmodelprocess.Programtheoryisarealistmethodofintervention,limitationsassociatedwithprogramtheory,pertaintotheselectionprocessofinterventionfactors,politicalinterference,bias,andespousedtheory.



New Materials and Devices


Megan O’Shaughnessy

Title: Antibacterial activity of metal complexes incorporating 1,10-phenanthroline and dicarboxylate ligands: activity against problematic resistant clinical isolates

Authors: Megan O’Shaughnessy, Celine Herra, Pauraic McCarron, Sarah Fereirra, Malachy McCann, Michael Devereux and Orla Howe

Abstract

Antimicrobialresistance(AMR)hasbeencalledoneofthemajorhealthchallengesofourtimebyall193memberstatesoftheUNandisreferredtoasthenextgreatglobalchallenge.InEuropealone,itisestimatedthat390,000deathswillbeattributabletoAMReveryyearby2050.Thereisanurgentneedtodevelopnoveltherapeuticagentsthatcanovercomeantibioticresistancepreferablythroughalternativemechanisticpathways.

1,10-phenanthroline (phen) is a heterocyclic organic compound which is known to exert in vitroantimicrobialactivityagainstabroad-spectrumofbacteria.Thecoordinationofmetalionswithphencan increase their bioavailability through improved cell membrane permeability yielding significantimprovements in activity when compared to the free ions. The antibacterial activity of metal-phencomplexes (metal = Cu2+, Mn2+ and Ag+) incorporating various dicarboxylate ligands has beeninvestigated against common AMR pathogens. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing in accordancewithEUCASTstandards,wereperformedagainstapanelofATCCsusceptible isolatesandclinicalmultidrugresistantMethicillin-ResistantStaphylococcusaureus(MRSA,N=5),Vancomycin-ResistantEnterococci (VRE,N=6),Carabapenem-ResistantEnterobacteriaceae (CRE,N=3), and resistantP.aeruginosa(N=4)collectedfromarangeofIrishhospitals.

Overall, a superior toxicity was observed in compounds which incorporate the phen ligand whencomparedtotheactivitiesoftheirsimpledicarboxylatesalts.Furthermorethechelatesincorporating3,6,9-trioxaundecanedioicacid(3,6,9-tddaH2)werethemosteffectiveandtoxicityvarieddependingonthemetalcentre,Cu2+>Ag+>Mn2+.


Muhammad Irfan

Title: Temperature responsive diffractive structures

Authors: M. Irfan, S. Martin, I. Naydenova

Abstract

Among the recording media used in holography, smart materials that have hologram recordingcapabilityandadditionallyshowresponsetoenvironmentalchanges(e.g.temperature)areextensivelystudiedduetotheirpossibleapplicationasholographicsensors.Researchindicatesthatbothpurephotopolymersandnanocomposites(photopolymerdopedwithnanoparticles)canbeusedforthispurpose.

NIPA-basedphotopolymer(PNIPA)that isrecentlyoptimizedforholographicrecordingisprominentforitstemperaturesensitivityduetoitsphasetransitionoccurringatlowercriticalsolutiontemperatureat32oCforpurePNIPA.Althoughitstemperaturesensitivityisstudiedandreportedintheliterature,further research is required to fullyunderstandandeffectivelycontrol the temperature responseofholographicdiffractivegratingsrecordedinPNIPA.

Inthepresentwork,temperatureresponseofvolumetransmissiongratingrecordedwith532nminPNIPAwasinvestigatedintherangeof18-60oCbymonitoringthediffractedandtransmittedintensityofprobebeam633nm.Usingthetemperaturecontrolledstage(LinkamTHMS600),sampleswereexposed to temperaturewithdifferent ratesandexposure time.Results indicate that theobservedresponsemaybeutilisedtodesignasensor/indicatorforpackaging,showingthatthecontentofthepackagehasbeenexposedtoapredeterminedtemperaturelimit.


Kangze Liu

Title: A novel bottom-up in situ synthesis method of shape and size controllable gold nanoparticles and their applications

Authors: Kangze Liu, Furong Tian

Abstract

Intheflourishingfieldofnanotechnology,theuniquephysicalandchemicalpropertiesofnoblemetalnanoparticleswithspecialelectronicstructuresdifferentfromatomsorbulkstates,havelongbeenofinterestandwidelyexploitedindiversiformareassuchaselectronics,chemistry,optics,biomedicine.Amongthesematerials,goldnanoparticles(GNPs)havereceivedlotsofattentionparticularlyduetopotentialapplicationsinbio-relatedareas,andthereforecontinuedrefinementofsynthesismethodswhichcancontrolthesizeandshapeofGNPsisdesirable.Inourstudy:

•Wehavedevelopedanovelbottom-upinsitusynthesismethodofGNPsthatcancontrolthesizeandshapeofparticlessynthesized,whichincludesnanospheressizingfrom2.5-70nm,nanoplateswithwidthsof30-1000nm,andmostimportantly,ultra-smallnanoflowersdownto0.5-60nm.•Thecharacteristicsofthesenovelparticlessynthesizedhavebeenstudiedandcomparedtocurrentstateofart.ThetoxicitiesoftheseGNPsonfungihavealsobeenscreened,aimingtobeappliedinenvironmentprotection.•Awatermicrobepollutiondetectionsystemwasdevelopedbasedonthissynthesisprotocol,whichwascolorimetric,rapidanduser-friendly.•Otherpotentialapplicationsincludethedesignofchemicalpollutiondetection,GNP-basedSERSenhancing,GNP-baseddrugdeliveryandsoon.


Poster Competition

RESEARCH THEME: Environment, Energy and Health

1.AnevaluationintothesafetyofcyclinginDublincityandmeasurestoreducerisktocyclistby Niamh O Reilly, PhD Student, School of Surveying and Construction Management, Dublin

Institute of Technology.

2.Vegetationmappingofacoastaldunecomplexusingmultispectralimageryacquiredfromanunmannedaerialsystemby Chen Suo, PhD Student, School of Surveying and Construction Management, Dublin Institute of Technology.

3.RamanMicrospectroscopyforinvitromonitoringMesenchymalStemcelldifferentiationintodifferentlineagesandtheeffectofNanoparticlesondifferentiationprocessby Francesca Ravera, PhD Student, School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.

4.ComparisonofQualityIndicesforSedimentAssessmentinIrelandby Tayyaba BiBi, PhD Student, School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.

5. ICT-enabledChange&InnovationinHealthcareOrganisations:ExaminingImplementationPracticeby Selma Furtado, PhD Student, School of Management, Dublin Institute of Technology.

6.Reviewonthecurrentdesignsandoptimizationpossibilitiesregardinginfluentdistributioninuasbreactorsby Camila D’ Bastiani, PhD Student, School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.

7. Theacquisitionofsustainabilityexpertise:AnexploratorystudyoftheIrishArchitecture,EngineeringandConstruction(AEC)sectorby Emmanuella Twumasi, PhD Student, School of Surveying and Construction Management, Dublin Institute of Technology.

8.DevelopmentofNovelAnticancerAgentsTargetingGlioblastomaMultiformeby Kate Byrne, PhD Student, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology.

9.Hydrologyinpractice-anthropogeniceffectsonwaterqualityby Vivien Pohl, PhD Student, School of Transport Engineering, Environment and Planning, Dublin Institute of Technology.

10.Fosteringstakeholdercollaborationandknowledgetransferinprivatewellriskcommunication:Aqualitativeinterviewstudyofnationalandinternationalexpertsby Simon Mooney, PhD Student, School of Management, Dublin Institute of Technology.

11.Bio-refineryofmacroalgae:Exploitingdairyprocessingplatformtechnologiesforenrichmentofproteinandvalueaddedcomponentsby Jack O’Connor, MPhil Student, School of Biological Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.


12. WhatisthecurrentprovisionandaccesstomedicallynecessarycontactlensesinIreland?By Sean Keady, MPhil Student, School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences, Dublin Institute

of Technology.

13.TheApplicationofEnergyDispersiveX-rayFluorescenceSpectroscopyfortheRapidDeterminationoftheFiveMajorMinerals(Na,Mg,K,PandCa)inSkimMilkPowders–APilotStudyby William McCarthy, PhD Student, School of Biological Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.

14.Valueinhealthcare:comparingtraditionalandvirtualcliniccarepathwaysofRheumatoidArthritisinIrelandby Christina Kenny, PhD Student, School of Accounting and Finance, Dublin Institute of Technology.

15.FoodAllergyinIrelandandsaudiArabiaby Maha Alrashedy, MPhil Student, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology.

16.Understandingthedifferencesbetweenantimicrobialandcytotoxicpropertiesofplasmaactivatedliquidsby Evanthia Tsoukou, PhD Student, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology.


RESEARCH THEME: Information, Communication and Media Technologies

17.SocialInfluence:A21stCenturyThreatby Julie Murphy, MPhil Student, School of Informatics and Engineering, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.

18. TheTerrorNetworkindustrialComplexby James Usher, PhD Student, School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology.

19.ExploringLongDistanceDependenciesby Abhijit Mahalunkar, MPhil Student, School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology.

20.Entity-GroundedImageCaptioningby Annika Lindh, PhD Student, School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology.

21.TestbeddesignformeasuringpresenceinVirtualRealityby Krzysztof Szczurowski, PhD Student, School of Informatics and Engineering, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.

22.Collaborativeweb-basedtaggerfornamedentitiesinthetaskofinformationextractionby David Efrain Muñoz Morales, MPhil student, School of Science and Computing, Institute of Technology

Tallaght.

23.AvisuallanguageforAugmentedRealityby Nina (Katherina) Lyons, MPhil Student, School of Informatics and Engineering, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.


RESEARCH THEME: New Materials and Devices

24.Captureofbacterialcellsusingmicrocontactprintingby Megan Swan, PhD Student, School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.

25.Studyofmm-Wavemicrostrippatcharrayoncurvedsubstrateby Zeeshan Ahmed, PhD Student, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.

26.Ka-bandVivaldiAntennawithNovelCoreElementforHigh-Gainby Manh-Ha Hoang, PhD Student, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.


RESEARCH THEME: Society, Culture and Enterprise

27.ComplianceandappropriatenessofdrivervisionregulationsinIrelandby Ciara McHugh, MPhil Student, School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.

28.HowDoesEthnicityInfluenceEntrepreneurshipOpportunityFormationAmongstImmigrantEntrepreneursinIreland?By Kingsley Njoku, PhD Student, School of Marketing, Dublin Institute of Technology.

29.InterestRateCalibrationandParameterEstimationofAffineTermStructureModelsby Samyukta Venkataramanan, PhD Student, School of Mathematical Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology.

30.CommunityDevelopmentThroughanEffectualLensby Norah Cussen, PhD Student, School of Marketing, Dublin Institute of Technology.

31.FactorsAffectingtheProgressionofAccessFoundationStudentsintoUndergraduatesStudiesatDublinInstituteofTechnologyby Annette Forster, PhD Student, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology.


Notes

th annual graduate research symposium...muhammad irfan, dublin institute of technology temperature...

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