CORA
Cork Open Research Archive (CORA) is UCC’s Open Access institutional repository which enables UCC researchers to make their research outputs freely available and accessible.
UCC Research Communities
Recent Submissions
Sufficientarianism, thresholds, and climate loss and damage
(EIPE, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2026-02-23) Mintz-Woo, Kian
With respect to climate Loss and Damage, Laura García-Portela adopts both a sufficientarian account of distributional justice and a Polluter Pays Principle whereby historical emissions are the basis for transfers. This paper makes three main claims. First, it argues that the way that García-Portela adopts a Polluter Pays Principle means that her sufficientarianism would be largely otiose for polluters. Second, it argues that her account of harm leaves questions unanswered about how to classify and respond to climate impacts above her threshold. Finally, it argues that, insofar as the basis for transfers are harms defined as falling below a threshold, an alternative account, the “Polluter Pays, Then Receives Principle” has a better practical and theoretical fit.
Drug use prevalence in Ireland: Findings from recent population studies and estimates of problematic use
(Health Research Board, 2025-10-01) Millar, Seán R.; Mongan, Deirdre
Problematic opioid use is a significant problem in Ireland and across the world. However, measuring the prevalence of opioid use is challenging. Given the nature of this population, a simple head count is not feasible and general population surveys are known to be ineffective at capturing this ‘hidden’ population. Because people who use drugs fear stigmatisation and are often marginalised in society, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) recommends the use of indirect approaches, such as the capture-recapture (CRC) method, to estimate the prevalence of problematic (high-risk) drug users. To date, one regional and four national CRC studies have been conducted in Ireland to estimate the prevalence of problematic opioid use. These studies provided estimates for the years 1996, 2000–01, 2006, 2011–2014, and 2015–2019.2,3,4,5,6 The 1996 regional study examined opioid use in Dublin only and used three data sources: the Health Service Executive (HSE) Central Treatment List (CTL), Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) scheme data from four Dublin hospitals, and the An Garda Síochána arrest database. The 2000–01 and 2006 studies were three-source CRC studies that used national data from the CTL, the HIPE scheme and the An Garda Síochána PULSE (Police Using Leading Systems Effectively) database. The 2011–2014 and 2015–2019 studies both used four national data sources: the CTL data were divided into three sources (treatment clinics, general practitioners (GPs), and prison data), and the Probation Service was the fourth data source. In 2020, the Health Research Board (HRB) awarded a contract to the School of Public Health at University College Cork to conduct a fifth study on the prevalence of opioid use in the Republic of Ireland for the years 2020–2022. The methodology and main findings from this study are discussed below.
Integrated care for frailty
(Springer Nature, 2024-05-29) Hendry, Anne; O'Caoimh, Rónán; Salem, Mohamed A.; Carriazo, Ana
Integrated care for frailty improves quality of life and may reduce adverse outcomes, though more high-quality research is required. This chapter explores key components of effective integrated care for frailty, drawing on learning from the European Frailty Prevention Approach, a collaborative joint action involving 23 countries. The integrated model spans the continuum of prevention and health promotion, acute treatment, rehabilitation, proactive chronic care, long-term care, palliative and end-of-life care. It requires a capable multidisciplinary workforce with knowledge, skills and competencies in relational practice and comprehensive assessment. Care should be collaborative, outcomes focused, based on what matters to the individual and their caregivers, and include behavioural health and restorative approaches that support self-management and optimise functional ability, particularly when transitioning between care settings. The challenge for all systems is to understand how to adapt this model to their local context and to create the conditions to scale-up and sustain integrated care.
A nightnography of food couriers: Precarity and inequality in after dark platform work
(Amsterdam University Press, 2025-10-01) MacQuarie, Julius Cezar; Sara, Brandellero; Krakowska Rodriguez, Kamila; Pardue, Derek; EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowship , PRECNIGHTS, 101063938
Food couriers working after dark are an under-researched group in "platform capitalism," remaining relatively invisible in digitized cityscapes due to the nature of their night-time work. Drawing upon multi-sited in-person and digital nightnography in London (UK) and Cork (Ireland) and employing impressionistic mini portraits, this chapter documents experiences of precarity and inequality. It argues that existing literature often disembodies platform work, whereas today's post-circadian capitalist era demands and extracts capital in traditional (bodily) ways through new denominations. Food couriers, especially those working after dark, are under duress from navigating traffic, waiting without getting orders, and staying alert. The chapter also highlights the gendered nature of platform work and contributes to debates on the digitalization of precarity and inequality.
Ringrose Atkins (1851–1898)
(Springer Nature, 2025-09-22) O'Caoimh, Rónán; Larner, Andrew J.