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
An open-source tool for the design and simulation of multilayer induction microcoils
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026-09-25) O Donnell, Cian; Abomahmoud, Mohamed; Coombes, Sean Frank; Burke, Ray; O Hare, Daniel; Jaeger, Herman Alexander; Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland; Health Holland
Induction microcoils are valued for their simplicity, sensitivity, and cost effectiveness across a wide range of applications in biomedical instrumentation. The design of compact application-specific multilayer coils using permeable magnetic cores is a challenge that often requires multiple hardware iterations. This paper presents a simulation software tool for the evaluation of induction microcoil designs. Built upon the well known open-source Finite Element Method Magnetics software package, the tool allows users to rapidly simulate the magnetic and electrical characteristics of multilayer induction microcoils in response to a time-varying magnetic field. Simulated inductance, resistance and sensitivity measurements are acquired from the microcoil structures using a novel procedurally generated Helmholtz coil technique and ensures a uniform and homogenous flux density is applied to the microcoil under test. The tool is written in the python programming language and allows multiple simulations to be executed concurrently thus enabling the users to perform parameter sweeps of a coil design. The tool is validated against a set of custom induction microcoils with coil resistance, inductance and sensitivity simulated to within 3%, 22% and 11% of the experimentally measured values respectively. The tool is freely available on GitHub and PyPI software repositories.
Awareness and adoption of Open Research Practices in Ireland: A nationwide survey analysis
(2026-05-02) Lakhzoum, Dounia; Egan, Ciara; O'Hora, Denis; Creaven, Ann-Marie; Noone, Chris; Matvienko-Sikar, Karen; Callaghan, Fran; Dahly, Darren; Breen, Ellen; Niamh, Niamh; Canny, Geraldine; Dunne, Siobhán; Schwamm, Hardy; Fitzgerald, Brian; Green, James A; Hayes, Ashling; Healy, Patrick; Kane, David; Moerman, Kevin Mattheus; Carey, Áine; Morley, Fiona; O’Flaherty, Roisin; Palmer, Brendan; Quinn, Ciarán; Roche, Joseph; Santos, Flávia H.; Simpson, Andrew; Straube, Armin; Toomey, Elaine; Hassan, Umair Ul; Bowman, Sarah; Warntjes, Immo; Wride, Mike; Lynott, Dermot; National Open Research Forum (NORF)
In response to the reproducibility crisis, substantial and targeted efforts have promoted Open Research Practices (ORPs) to ensure research is rigorous, reliable and robust. To assess current needs, and following similar efforts in the UK and the Netherlands, we mapped levels of awareness and adoption of Open Research Practices (ORPs) in Ireland. Previous evidence points to a persistent gap between researchers’ awareness and actual adoption of open practices. To investigate this phenomenon, we implemented a two-part nationwide survey of the Irish research community using the Brief Open Research Survey (BORS) to gauge levels of awareness and adoption of Open Research Practices (ORPs), and the COM-B model of behaviour change to evaluate situational and psychological drivers of adoption. Results indicate that while awareness is consistently high across open practices, adoption levels show a significant relative drop. The COM-B model analysis revealed that Motivation, the extent to which Open Research is embedded as a routine element of researchers’ workflows, was the strongest predictor of adoption, followed by Capability (having the skills and knowledge) and Opportunity (time, resources and support), corroborating previous findings. These results highlight the need for the early integration of targeted, practical training to bridge the awareness-adoption gap and to foster open practices as a habitual way of doing research.
The living victims of homicide: accommodating the needs and concerns of the co-victims of homicide within the Irish criminal justice system
(University College Cork, 2009-10-01) McGrath, Anthony William; Fennell, Caroline; Kilcommins, Shane
The effects of homicide fan out from the loss of life at the centre of the criminal event to an array of individuals that include parents, siblings, spouses, offspring, significant others, extended family, and friends. Aside from dealing with the traumatic intrusion of homicide into their lives, these co-victims find themselves immersed in the unfamiliar world of criminal justice, confronted at every turn with a paucity of information and assistance, propelled through a series of transactions tightly harnessed to institutional procedures and agenda, where trials, sentencing, appeals, inquests, and parole hearings become part of a protracted journey strewn with impediments. Most report negative experiences, finding criminal justice a forum within which their individual needs are immaterial, their handling characterised at best by neglect and at times by insensitive or harsh treatment. This thesis illustrates how the overall impact of homicide on its co-victims is of such magnitude that they must properly be regarded as victims in their own right, and questions how the Irish criminal justice system can best accommodate their needs and concerns by assessing the reforms championed by Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVic), an organisation helmed by those bereft by homicide who, having experienced that system firsthand and found it to be lacking, are best positioned to identify and campaign for the interests of this particular set of victims. The reforms sought and examined include the lack Of general and case-specific information; the use Of victim impact statements; potential interaction procedures with the public prosecutor; the sentencing standards for murder and manslaughter and the long-term administration of those sentences; and the overall treatment of homicide co-victims by criminal justice professionals. This thesis also proffers a number of practical recommendations to help alleviate the nesvative impact the legal system has upon homicide co- victims.
Criminology on the fringes of war
(Springer Science + Business Media, 2025-08-27) Kaucz, Błażej; Kaucz, Błażej
This chapter offers a criminological perspective on the peripheral effects of war. The idea behind this chapter is not to take away attention from important subjects, like genocide, but rather to highlight other impactful matters related to war and its consequences (i.e., the misplacement of people). Some of these might potentially apply to other countries bordering conflict zones. Of importance was the examination of both the direct and indirect impacts of the war on society. This chapter focuses on the complex and often ambiguous nature of crime and security issues that arise in the broader context of war beyond direct combat activities. This highlights the need to understand and address these issues to fully grasp the impact of war on societies and individuals. To this end, it offers real-world scenarios rooted in Poland to illustrate how conflicts spill over into neighbouring regions while especially considering human and citizen rights violations, hybrid warfare, global surveillance, the infosphere, domestic and foreign interferences, shadow economies, surveillance architecture, safeguarding rights, new war geographies, financial tactics, cyber warfare, new warfare means, and grey zones.
Associations between ultra-processed food and drink consumption and mental health: A cross-sectional study of middle- to older-aged adults
(Elsevier Ireland Ltd, 2026-10-13) Hockin, Joshua D.; Millar, Seán R.; Perry, Ivan J.; Phillips, Catherine M.; Irish Health Research Board, HRC/2007/13
Background: Greater intake of ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPFDs) has been associated with increased risk of non-communicable diseases, yet associations with mental health outcomes, aside from depression, are unclear. Addressing this gap, we investigated UPFD relationships with depressive symptoms, well-being and anxiety among adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 1949 middle- to older-aged adults. Dietary data were collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire and UPFD weight ratios were determined using the NOVA classification. Depressive symptoms, well-being and anxiety were assessed using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Linear and logistic regression analyses assessed UPFD intake associations with mental health scores. Results: In crude and partially adjusted linear regression models, positive associations were found between UPFD intake and depression scores, and a negative association with well-being scores. The association with depression scores persisted after full adjustment (B = 0.059, p = 0.009). Results from logistic regression analyses also demonstrated higher intake of UPFDs to be associated with higher odds of mild to severe depressive symptoms (OR = 1.562, 95% CI: 1.057, 2.308. No associations with anxiety scores were observed. Sensitivity analyses suggested the ultra-processed meat/fish/poultry NOVA subgroup to be the main driver of observed associations between UPFD consumption and poorer mental health. Conclusions: This study demonstrates an association between UPFD intake and mental health, in particular with depressive symptoms. Further research which examines individual UPFD subgroup associations with mental health outcomes is warranted.