Category: Social Lives

GoGreenRoutes: Near Nature: Green Space and Environmental Justice

Social Lives

Authors: GoGreenRoutes Academy Cluster Members – Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, PhD Researcher in the School of Business; Maynooth University, Cassandra Murphy, PhD Researcher in the Psychology Department of Maynooth University, Assisting Living and Learning Institute (ALL); and Alan Scarry, PhD Researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick. All authors are funded by the H2020 project GoGreenRoutes.

The GoGreenRoutes Academy 

Flyer of the Conference on Near Nature: Green Space and Environmental Justice
Conference on Near Nature: Green Space and Environmental Justice

Maynooth University, and ALL Institute project GoGreenRoutes (GGR) has a unique component referred to as an ‘Academy Cluster.’ Scientific Coordinator Professor Tadhg Macintyre established the academy at the start of the GGR project, and it has thrived over the past three years. Currently, Cassie Murphy, Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, and Alan Scarry, all PhD Researchers within the project, oversee the GGR academy. The Academy is a meeting forum for PhD Researchers and other Early Career Researchers to discuss progress and gaps in their individual learning. It was developed to give the researchers an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and develop new abilities from a range of outstanding speakers in a variety of sectors. The researchers themselves then took on the role of teachers, imparting their knowledge to any incoming academy members. Since the academy’s inception, each member has been given two distinct skill profiles: one for skills they seek to learn, the other for skills they wish to teach. Then, at this forum, each academy member has the chance to speak and acquire new abilities. Based on a method implemented by Professor John Gallagher, who works on the GGR project, researchers are urged to evaluate their own development. By assessing their own skills and identifying knowledge or education gaps that can be filled for professional advancement and personal growth, the researchers are also able to monitor the progress of their own research projects through participation in academy activities.

Continue reading “GoGreenRoutes: Near Nature: Green Space and Environmental Justice”

United Nations International Day of Education 24th January 2023 – How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Denies Access to Education for Millions of Ukrainians

Social Lives

Author: Matthew McKenna, PhD Researcher at Maynooth University’s Assisting Living and Learning Institute (ALL Institute), Research Funded through the Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies (ADVANCE CRT)

Matthew McKenna Profile Picture
Matthew McKenna

The 24th of January 2023 was the UN International Day of Education, whilst today, the 24th of February, represents the first anniversary of the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began a year ago as of this morning. This blogpost will address the unfathomable human rights crisis and tragedy that has befallen the Ukrainian people and the subsequent denial of access to education in wartime.

“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war” – Dr Maria Montessori.

Montessori, was an Italian medical doctor who pioneered the philosophy of education through her work with children with disabilities, starting in 1896. She delivered the above quote in the late 1930s while working on the ‘Education for Peace’ movement during her exile from Italy due to the anti-fascist ethos of her humanitarian work. Montessori believed that a lasting unity between nations and peoples could be achieved when the education of children was underpinned with the values of international peace and humanitarianism. Moreover, her work has had a profound impact on the gradual educational reforms that have slowly enabled persons with disabilities to enter education and has helped, albeit over time, to reduce the traditionally punitive and penal institutional approach to children experiencing learning difficulties. And as we marked the UN International Day of Education a month ago on 24th January 2023, her words sound just as relevant in today’s context as they were in the agitated pre-war climate of the late 1930s.

Continue reading “United Nations International Day of Education 24th January 2023 – How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Denies Access to Education for Millions of Ukrainians”

Lessons in Assistive Technology Policy from Australia: Dr Natasha Layton visits the ALL Institute

Social Lives

Author: Emma Smith, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute Member and Post-Doctoral Researcher; recipient of the prestigious Marie Sklowdowska Curie Actions Individual Fellowship

Emma Smith Profile Picture
Emma Smith

On Wednesday, October 12th, the ALL Institute was pleased to welcome Dr. Natasha Layton to our first ALL Brown Bag Lunch. Dr. Layton is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University’s Rehabilitation, Ageing, and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre in Australia. Dr. Layton drew from her experiences as an assistive technology provider, researcher, and consultant to key global organizations to share ‘what works’ in assistive technology provision on both a global and national scale.

While Dr. Layton spoke broadly about her experiences in assistive technology policy both nationally and internationally, I would like to highlight three key ideas which Dr. Layton talked about, which stood out as requiring further consideration and thought for us in Ireland, but also for those of us working globally.

Continue reading “Lessons in Assistive Technology Policy from Australia: Dr Natasha Layton visits the ALL Institute”

World Mental Health Day: Reflections on Access to Nature and Mental Health

Social Lives

Author: Ellen Staeglin Tucker, 3rd year BSc psychology intern of Dr Tadhg MacIntyre at Maynooth University

Autumn School on Our Future in Forestry Sustainable Management, Biodiversity and benefits for health nordic irish collaborations and pathways to policy 10-12 October Maynooth University Glenroyal Hotel
Autumn School on Our Future in Forestry

World Mental Health Day takes place on the 10th of October every year and has been running since 1992. The month of October is also World Mental Health Month. Every year a theme is highlighted around the topic of mental health today, as well as a general aim to spread awareness and gain support. The theme for 2022 is “Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority”. There are two important factors being highlighted this year; 1. the need for everyone, regardless of their circumstances, to have easy access to mental health services, and 2. the prioritisation of mental health and mental health services. For some, professional healthcare is vital to find ways of improvement and recovery, for a lot of people mental health services could go a long way in improving mental health. This is where a lot of the disparity in access lies. However, there are daily activities that nearly everyone can do at home to help improve their mental health.

Continue reading “World Mental Health Day: Reflections on Access to Nature and Mental Health”

Disability in Older Age – Do Definitions Matter?

Social Lives

Author: Ann Leahy, Post-doctoral Researcher, ERC Project DANCING, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University. Author of, ‘Disability and Ageing: Towards a Critical Perspective’, with Policy Press.

Disability and Ageing: Towards a Critical Perspective. Ageing in a Global Context. Autor: Ann Leahy. White Font. Book Cover image, Top blue background with white text. Bottom half colourful pastel esc brush strokes.
Disability and Ageing: Towards a Critical Perspective

The celebration of the United Nations (UN) International Day of Older Persons on 1 October 2022, may make some reflections on issues relating to disability and ageing appropriate. I suggest that looking at ageing and disability together is valuable, despite the fact that the fields of ageing and of disability usually tend to remain quite separate. At a most fundamental level, understandings of what ‘disability’ is may differ depending on when disability is first experienced across the lifespan. Older people experiencing impairments are not always considered ‘disabled’ and there are a range of consequences that flow from this. Specifically, ‘disability’ is approached separately from ageing within public policies, scholarship and activism, depending on whether it is first experienced early or late in life. Despite the ageing of our populations and how some 46% of older people worldwide have an impairment, it tends to be under-recognised that older people represent the majority of the overall population of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the strict separation between ‘ageing’ and ‘disability’ is paradoxical, given that people with disabilities age and that most people will experience disability if they live long enough.

Continue reading “Disability in Older Age – Do Definitions Matter?”

GoGreenRoutes: Malta Summer School’s European Vision

Social Lives

Author: Jack Hilliard, undergraduate, B.A. Psychology student at Maynooth University, working as an Intern under Dr Tadhg MacIntyre and Ph.D. researcher Cassandra Murphy as part of the SPUR (Summer Undergraduate Experimental Research) Programme.

Team Phoenix posing in the Lower Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta.
Team Phoenix posing in the Lower Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta.

The Go Green Routes Summer School Malta was an exciting three-day showcase of the consortium’s recent successes, which further integrated the transdisciplinary researchers from across Europe towards the common goal of nature connectedness through 360-health. This broadly aligns with the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute’s goals of developing appropriate technologies, person-centred systems and evidence-based policies which will empower people towards a greener future. Situated in the historic capital, it was hoped the setting would act as a microcosm for future nature-based solutions (NBS) across the Mediterranean as referred to by the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins.

Continue reading “GoGreenRoutes: Malta Summer School’s European Vision”

Access to Assistive Technology (AT); why we should not prioritise function over form and adopt a holistic approach

Social Lives

Author: Mohamed Maalim – PhD Researcher at the ALL Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, and Senior Occupational Therapist at Stewartscare

Mohamed Maalim
Mohamed Maalim

Persons with disabilities, people with functional limitations resulting from chronic conditions, and older adults often experience physical, psychological, and social challenges restricting their participation in society. Moreover, individuals with disabilities often experience direct and indirect societal discrimination, as mentioned in the report Disability and Discrimination in Ireland. The right of the person with disabilities to the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as to the protection and promotion of their inherent dignity and respect, is enshrined in Article 1 (Purpose) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

Continue reading “Access to Assistive Technology (AT); why we should not prioritise function over form and adopt a holistic approach”

Walk Me Back: Reminiscence and Physical Activity for Better Memory

Social Lives

Authors: Cassandra Dinius, Carmen Pocknell, Richard Roche, Department of Psychology & Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Maynooth University

Left to Right Carmen Pocknell, Richard Roche, Cassandra Dinius
L to R Carmen Pocknell, Richard Roche, Cassandra Dinius

Remember those life moments that you think are unforgettable and yet, are already blurred one year later. Our precious memories are fragile and can evaporate as rapidly as a blink of an eye. Memory loss has taken so many dreams away.

Keeping our brains active – especially our memories – can be life changing, and is comparable to revisiting our favourite, faded old book: by reading it again and again, we keep the moments alive…

Continue reading “Walk Me Back: Reminiscence and Physical Activity for Better Memory”

Bringing the Conversation on Digital Accessibility into the Mainstream

Social Lives

Author: Emma Smith, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute Member and Post-Doctoral Researcher; recipient of the prestigious Marie Sklowdowska Curie Actions Individual Fellowship

Emma Smith Profile Pic
Emma Smith

Our lives are increasingly digital. From the moment we wake up in the morning, to before we go to bed, we are connected. A recent report from the BBC suggests people are spending, on average, a third of their waking hours on mobile apps.  Even in lower income contexts, 30-50% of people have been reported to be connected to mobile ‘smart’ devices. Those of us living in higher income contexts, like Ireland, are also connected in other ways – through smart watches and health tracking devices like the Oura ring, smart homes, our cars, and of course our computers. The reality is that it is becoming more and more difficult to escape a digital world.

Continue reading “Bringing the Conversation on Digital Accessibility into the Mainstream”

Maynooth University’s Social Justice Week: Reflections on the Intersections between the DANCING project and the SDGs

Social Lives

Author: Léa Urzel, PhD Researcher ERC Project DANCING, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University

DANCING Logo

The Social Justice Week is currently taking place at Maynooth University. Thanks to the collaboration of staff, students and other agencies, an array of events has been organised to promote social justice and human rights. This year’s edition is dedicated to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adopted in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established ‘an action plan for people, planet and prosperity’ and introduced 17 SDGs to guide decisions of a wide range of stakeholders at State, regional and global level. Under this UN initiative, world leaders have committed to taking joint action to achieve the SDGs and the 169 associated targets over the next 15 years. Integrated and indivisible, the SDGs and its related targets address global challenges ranging from poverty, health, education, gender equality to clean water, sanitation, or climate action.

Continue reading “Maynooth University’s Social Justice Week: Reflections on the Intersections between the DANCING project and the SDGs”
Skip to content