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.
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Recent Submissions
Ultra-low dose CT for suspected physical abuse
(Elsevier, 2026-01-31) Mohammed, Ahmed; Mahon, Eimear; Moore, Niamh; Sweetman, Lorna; Murphy, Mary J.; Beagan, Louise; Maher, Michael M.; England, Andrew; Precht, H.; McEntee, Mark F.; European Federation of Radiographer Societies; European Society of Radiology; EFRS Research Hub
Introduction
Ultra-low dose CT (ULDCT) of the whole-body is a promising technique to replace radiography for the diagnosis of suspected physical abuse (SPA). This study aims to compare the image quality and radiation dose of ULDCT to standard dose CT (STDCT) in cases of SPA.
Methods
In this phantom-based study, two sets of newborn, whole-body, anthropomorphic phantom images were acquired using STDCT and ULDCT protocols on a GE Revolution Apex scanner with Deep Learning Iterative Reconstruction (DLIR). The effective dose (ED) of both protocols was calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. Observers then assessed image quality (IQ) at an international radiology congress. The evaluation captured data on demographics, visualisation of the bony anatomy of all body parts with STDCT and ULDCT, and confidence in diagnosis using either protocol. Visual grading analysis (VGA) was used on an absolute scale for IQ rating and comparison.
Results
Forty-six observers were included in this study, 38-radiographers and eight-radiologists. The percentage ED difference between protocols was 93.5 % (STDCT=0.56mSv vs ULDCT=0.04mSv) and 97.8 % of the observers underestimated the dose reduction when questioned. For the bony anatomy of all body parts, STDCT showed significantly higher IQ than ULDCT (AUCVGA=0.75, asymmetric 95 % CI 0.69–0.8).
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that 41 % of observers were confident using ULDCT protocol for SPA diagnosis and that ULDCT is a promising technique which may compete with projection radiography. Further work is needed to improve the ULDCT protocol and increase confidence while maintaining an ultra-low dose. ULDCT should be considered as a potential addition to radiographic skeletal survey (SS) in the investigation of SPA.
Implications for practice
ULDCT provides substantially lower radiation dose with acceptable image quality in a phantom model. While not directly compared with radiographic SS, ULDCT shows potential as a complementary tool for SPA imaging, and further protocol optimisation and evaluation are required before clinical implementation.
A substantive view of social enterprises as neo-endogenous rural development actors
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-01-20) Olmedo, Lucas; O’Shaughnessy, Mary; H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Social enterprises are recognised as relevant rural development actors. The specific features of social enterprises operating within rural areas (i.e. their relational, socially innovative and multi-stakeholder character and their focus on integrated development) concur with the principles of the neo-endogenous approach to rural development, which stress the potential role of third sector organisations as development actors within governance frameworks. In order to study this phenomenon, that links social enterprises and rural development, we propose a conceptual and methodological framework drawing from Polanyi’s socio-economic theory, complemented with the concepts of place, spatial scale and corporate agency. Through the proposed framework, we advocate for a plural vision of the economy, socio-spatial and geopolitical sensitive concepts and overcoming methodological individualism for the study of an increasingly relevant phenomenon such as the participation of third sector organisations like social enterprises in the (neo-endogenous) development of rural areas.
Acorn School Completion Programme - SCP Operational Framework from practice-based research
(Maynooth University, 2025-09) Crean, Tom; Crean, Mags; Hyland, Áine
The School Completion Programme (SCP) was introduced in Ireland in the early 2000s to support children and young people at risk of early school leaving and educational disadvantage. There are currently 121 SCPs in Ireland but there is no currently agreed framework model that explains how they operate. The operational framework suggested in this document has been developed by SCP Coordinator, Tom Crean, in collaboration with two researchers, Mags Crean and Áine Hyland and is being shared and disseminated as an example of good practice.
The critical contribution of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) to the global governance paradigm
(Brill Nijhoff, 2025-12-03) McIntyre, Owen
For several decades, the environmental and social safeguard policies adopted by International financial institutions (IFIs), along with the related accountability frameworks provided by the Independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) established by each, have been at the very forefront of a global movement to extend good environmental and social governance values to international development finance. The standards of institutional conduct required under the safeguard policies of Multilateral development bank (MDBs) in the assessment and implementation of the projects or activities they fund exemplifies the variety of transnational environmental and social regulatory activity which has proliferated in recent years. These regulations comprises an almost endless assortment of codes, standards, and assessment and certification processes, many of which are non-State-led and essentially voluntary, though they generally tend to reflect the values enshrined in more formal national and international legal frameworks.