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
Landscape as Gallery, Nature as Curator: biofilms, biomineralisation, microbiolites and Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970)
(University College Cork, 2026-05-26) Whelan, Barney; Kelly, Mary; Boggi, Flavio
This thesis examines Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970) as an environmentally contingent and temporally unfolding work whose materiality is actively shaped by the hydrological, chemical and biological systems of the Great Salt Lake. Its central argument is that the biogeochemical processes operating at Rozel Point, salt accretion and dissolution, microbial pigmentation, fluctuating water levels and long-term hydrological decline, are not incidental forces acting upon a stable sculptural object but constitutive agencies through which the work continuously exists and is encountered. The thesis advances the framework of Landscape as Gallery, Nature as Curator, arguing that the lake exercises material agency over the work through three curatorial functions: selection, organisation and continuous shifts.
The project addresses three research questions: how microbial growth, biomineralisation, halite accretion, water level and fluctuating salinity have reshaped the material and sensory conditions of Spiral Jetty since 1970; how the environmental monitoring data of the Great Salt Lake can be transformed into sonification and what that process reveals about the work's ecological history; and in what ways the resulting sonification solidifies our understanding of nature as curator and what curatorial obligations this creates.
Chapter 1 grounds the argument in the biogeochemical specificity of the Great Salt Lake, examining salinity fluctuation, microbial life, biomineralisation and hydrological change as aesthetic forces that actively shape the work's material condition. Chapter 2 develops environmental sonification as a practice-based methodology, translating six decades of ecological monitoring data, lake elevation, salinity, conductance, temperature, sulphate and chlorophyll-a from Utah Geological Survey stations RD2 and FB2, into structured auditory form through independently normalised pitch mapping, Aeolian scale quantisation and Logic Pro rendering. Chapter 3 establishes listening as a legitimate art-historical method, demonstrating how sonic documentation can register ecological temporality and environmental duration in ways that static visual documentation cannot. Chapter 4 articulates the curatorial implications of nature's agency for institutional responsibility and ecological ethics, developing a framework for distinguishing between constitutive transformation and preventable anthropogenic deterioration.
The thesis proposes sonification as a third archival mode, alongside site encounter and visual documentation, capable of preserving relational environmental change as structured auditory duration. It demonstrates that Spiral Jetty should be understood not as a static monument to Land Art but as a continually evolving index of environmental transformation, and argues that art-historical method must expand its evidentiary range and ethical horizon wherever art and environmental systems are genuinely entangled.
Alexithymia: methods of assessment, and experiences post-treatment
(University College Cork, 2026-04-28) Manning, Stephanie; Ryan, Christian; Larkin, Fionnuala; Hume, Sarah
Alexithymia, characterised by difficulties identifying and describing emotions alongside externally oriented thinking (Taylor et al., 1997), has been linked to impairments in emotional processing, interpersonal functioning, and psychological engagement (Lumley et al., 2007). Despite growing interest in the construct, questions remain regarding both its measurement, and its manifestation across different contexts, particularly within forensic populations where prevalence rates are elevated (Chen et al., 2017; Mattila et al., 2008). The current thesis presents two complementary empirical studies addressing these gaps.
The first study examined the measurement of alexithymia in a community sample, looking at two self-report measures, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS 20) and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ), and a performance-based measure, the Alexithymia Provoked Response Questionnaire (APRQ). A sample of 132 adults completed all measures online. Results showed strong positive correlations between TAS-20 and PAQ, indicating convergent validity, whereas APRQ scores showed weak negative associations with both self-report measures.
Linguistic indicators were similarly weakly related to self-reported alexithymia. PAQ scores demonstrated slightly stronger associations with behavioural indices than TAS-20. Males reported higher alexithymia on both self-report measures. Findings suggest self-report instruments primarily capture perceived emotional difficulty, whereas behavioural measures may better reflect emotional expression and granularity. Overall, results highlight divergence between assessment methods and underscore the importance of multi-method approaches, including consideration of emotional valence and linguistics in alexithymia assessment contexts.
The second study explored the lived experiences of men following an alexithymia intervention within an Irish prison context using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Semi-structured interviews with seven participants identified five key themes: Institutionalisation and Social Context, Negotiating Vulnerability, Emotional Regulation, Self-Identity, and Future
Orientation: Anticipating Emotions Post-Release. While participants reported increased emotional awareness, the expression and application of these skills were constrained by institutional norms, safety concerns, and relational dynamics.
Taken together, the findings highlight that alexithymia is a multifaceted construct encompassing both measurable emotional deficits and contextually shaped emotional practices. The research demonstrates that different assessment tools capture distinct dimensions of emotional functioning, while also illustrating how environmental factors, particularly within custodial settings, shape the experience and expression of emotion. These findings underscore the importance of integrating multimethod assessment approaches and adopting contextually informed, trauma aware interventions to better support emotional development and psychological outcomes.
Participatory action research: an examination of how critical (digital) pedagogies can impact hybrid learning spaces for global refugee communities
(University College Cork, 2026-06-30) O'Hare, Kathy; Murphy, Orla; Irish Research Council
Set against the backdrop of “Fortress Europe”, mainstream media often produces dichotomising narratives of “villain” or “hero”. This minimising effect, without nuance or depth, presents a picture of Agamben’s theory of the state of exception and the strippedbare human who has lost their political voice in transit. This research examines power relations between nation-states, the European Union and the Stateless Refugee. Their stories are silenced from mainstream media and other public records. With 100 million people now globally displaced, how can these communities withhold identity, culture and heritage as something tangible? How can these communities preserve their stories, cultural understandings, and experiences? The Soundseekers Audio Festival attempts to counter these marginalising myths by creating a safe learning environment where participants can develop radio, digital storytelling, and broadcasting skills, enabling creativity and ownership of their stories. These stories are archived and contribute towards shaping a cultural identity of refugees’ experiences in Europe during what is known as the “Century of the Refugee”.
The Soundseekers Audio Festival is an online and FM broadcast series multimedia festival with 40 broadcasting partners that aims to inspire conversations with community radio broadcasting and European audiences with the aim of critical engagement and reflection on issues of international displacement. This research examines the ability of Refugee/Asylum/Migrant/Undocumented communities to participate and engage in culturally immersive projects in multi-mediated spaces to create their narratives.
The use of digital and social media tools allows for this project to transcend geographical boundaries and allows for those seeking asylum to share skills, knowledge, and ideas with other groups of asylum seekers. The project uses a participatory action research approach allowing for both facilitators and participants to evolve and create together. Refugee/Asylum/Migrant/Undocumented communities engage in 21st-century skills of creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking, allowing these communities to represent themselves through community radio platforms. The research attempts to go beyond the “capacity building” of digital skills and transgresses into evolving critical consciousness for participants and facilitators. The project’s pedagogical approach is deeply rooted in a Freirean understanding that “education is not neutral”. The research sits at the juncture of critical digital pedagogy, community radio, and participatory action research and ultimately ends up as an archive for future generations that contributes towards shaping and identifying narratives that capture a moment in time. The approach selected for narrative analysis is voice centred relational method.
Results emerging from the project include a pedagogy of care in reflective practice and 31 audio documentaries ranging from topics such as gender-based violence, LGBTQ issues, war, and other social justice topics which participants felt were important. The project won a gold CRAOL award in Ireland, was nominated in Best Digital Category at Prix Europa, Berlin and one of our stories was selected for IFC-Audio in Iceland. Furthermore, and more importantly participants that engaged in the project demonstrated political agency in the real world, from attending protests, to engaging in other performances and challenging mainstream perceptions on the refugee experience.
Is capacity to consent to healthcare a uniformly defined concept? Insights from a document analysis of laws and national guidelines across six European countries
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-09-01) Feiring, Ingvild Hjorth; Pedersen, Reidar; Kirkevold, Øyvind; Surr, Claire; De Sabbata, Kevin; Steyaert, Jan; Rouch, Isabelle; Bada, Hanane; Nordberg, Gunilla; Donnelly, Mary; O’Keeffe, Shaun; Gove, Dianne; Lichtwarck, Bjørn; Sykehuset Innlandet HF
Background Capacity to consent or decision-making capacity to healthcare is a key prerequisite for a valid informed consent. A clear understanding of this concept is important to protect patients’ autonomy. Without it, clinical assessments may vary, jeopardising patients’ participation in decisions about their care and increasing the risk of delayed, denied or harmful treatment. Despite substantial international debate and reforms concerning norms on capacity assessment, there remains a paucity of scholarly literature comparing national approaches, which could enable countries to learn from one another. This study aimed to explore how the concept of capacity to consent to healthcare and the assessment is described in documents, guiding healthcare professionals, issued by health authorities in: Norway, England and Wales, Belgium, France, Sweden and Ireland. Methods Explorative qualitative document analysis of health laws, national guidelines and recommendations published by national health authorities in each country. Results There is no uniform description of the concept of capacity to consent to healthcare across all countries, although some commonalities exist, such as the functional approach and some countries are more conceptually aligned. The level of descriptive detail on the assessment varied, and in some countries the documents did not include such descriptions. Discussion/conclusion To protect patients’ autonomy, it is important that healthcare professionals are provided with a comprehensive guidance document to support their understanding of the concept of capacity to consent to healthcare and how to assess this capacity. The findings indicate that several countries lack such provisions. This could threaten patient safety and wellbeing and make research and clinical practice development more challenging.
Basic care, pain relief, and advance healthcare directives in Ireland
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-08-24) O'Keeffe, Shaun T.; Donnelly, Mary
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (ADMCA) provides a legislative basis for advance healthcare directives (AHDs) in Ireland. AHDs offer important benefits to patients, including preserving autonomy and allowing for greater control over end-of-life care. However, they can also create difficult ethical dilemmas, especially in respect of AHDs refusing basic care, pain relief and palliative symptom management. We use a hypothetical case study to interrogate how such directives should be addressed under the ADMCA and identify some uncertainties and ambiguities within the ADMCA concerning refusal of palliative care and pain relief. We argue that these dilemmas can only be properly understood by looking at the entirety of the legislative framework and not just at definitional issues around basic care. Although many ambiguities can be addressed within the framework of the ADMCA, including through consultation with the directive-maker's decision making representative, if there is one, or family members, this will not always be the case and so we have also advanced an argument that, when palliative care is refused, even if the healthcare professionals conclude that the AHD is valid and applicable, there is still a case for referral of the matter to court.