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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Psychosocial impact of sarcoma: challenges and adaptation, a meta-synthesis
(2026-07-07) Beghean, R.; O'Driscoll, L.; Ryan, E.; Carty, P.; Larkin, F.; O'Keeffe, F.
Objectives: Sarcoma is a rare and heterogeneous cancer frequently associated with significant psychosocial burden. This review aims to synthesise qualitative research to examine the psychosocial impact of sarcoma in adults, focusing on how individuals experience and make sense of disruption across diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship, the ways they adapt to these challenges, and the psychosocial needs they identify throughout the sarcoma trajectory. Methods: A preregistered systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42024571502) was conducted following PRISMA and ENTREQ guidance. Four databases were searched (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science), and peer-reviewed qualitative studies involving adults with sarcoma were included. Updated search conducted on 30/12/2025. Study quality was appraised using CASP, and data were synthesised using inductive thematic synthesis to integrate experiential accounts and generate analytical insights. Results: Forty studies published between 2008 and 2025 involving 538 participants were included, with most rated high methodological quality. Five themes captured sarcoma as a cumulative psychosocial disruption, beginning with diagnostic delay and uncertainty, intensifying through invasive treatment and prolonged recovery, and extending into enduring changes in body image, function, identity, and social participation. Adaptation emerged as a dynamic, ongoing process involving self-management, meaning-making, selective information engagement, and reliance on relational and professional support. Persistent unmet needs were identified, particularly regarding specialist, coordinated care and sarcoma-informed rehabilitation. Conclusions: Experiences of sarcoma as adults are characterised by prolonged psychosocial disruption requiring adaptation across all stages of the illness. Findings highlight the importance of specialist, continuous, and rehabilitation-focused sarcoma care to support long-term adjustment and wellbeing.
Binary mixtures of flufenamic acid and its chloro, difluoromethyl and fluoromethyl analogues; incorporation and distribution in flufenamic acid crystals
(2026-07-06) Bourke, Timothy; Chiarella, Renato A.; Moynihan, Humphrey A.; Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited; Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland
Impurities are a common feature of pharmaceutical process chemistry. For example, fluorine-containing drug substances are often found to have the corresponding desfluoro compounds as impurities which are difficult to remove by crystallization. Analogues of flufenamic acid in which the trifluoromethyl group was replaced by difluoromethyl, fluoromethyl or chloro groups were synthesized and examined as examples of such impurities. Investigation of the extent of incorporation and behaviour by PXRD and DSC were consistent with crystal lattice level substitution of flufenamic acid molecules with analogous impurities. Use of methanol or acetonitrile as crystallization solvent resulted in efficient incorporation of the impurities into flufenamic acid crystals. Examination of the distribution of the impurities within flufenamic acid crystals by partial dissolution methods showed that impurity inclusion was occurring throughout the crystal growth process. In each of the impurities studied, the trifluoromethyl group of flufenamic acid was replaced by a group with similar electronic and steric properties. Consideration of the crystal structure of the flufenamic acid polymorph obtained, i.e., form III, suggested that replacement of flufenamic acid molecules by those impurities could be accommodated within the flufenamic acid form III crystal lattice.
The impact of AI Automation, Blockchain and Big Data on sustainability and performance: a management control perspective
(Wiley, 2025-10-15) Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación, Junta de Andalucía; Universidad Pablo de Olavide
This paper examines how emergent technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Big Data, transform Management Control Systems (MCS) design and use, focusing on organizational performance and sustainability capabilities of firms. Using a qualitative, multiple-case approach, the study applies a thematic analysis on data collected from 10 semi-structured interviews with managers of companies from diverse sectors. Results indicate that these technologies reshape MCS use by enabling more timely and comprehensive information, strengthening risk management, and increasing flexibility in control practices. However, the findings also highlight significant resistance arising from behavioral, environmental, and technical factors, suggesting that successful technological integration requires both top-down strategic alignment and bottom-up, actor-level engagement. The paper contributes to existing theory by explicitly linking digital innovation, MCS, and change management frameworks with sustainability, responding to scholarly calls for empirical research into how control systems adapt in contexts of digital transformation. Practical implications for managers and policymakers underscore the importance of adaptive, transparent control structures in facilitating strategic development while providing accountability and ethical artificial intelligence use.
A climate services organization supporting coastal resilience: lessons from the Stone Living Lab
(2026-06-25) Dafforn, K. A.; Borrelli, M.; Bosma, K.; Byrnes, J. E.K.; Castro-Diaz, L.; Chen, R. F.; Christo, J.; Cook, D.; Peri, F.; Shoer, R.; Albert, M.; Bradley, K.; Firth, L.; Kent, D.; Knisel, J.; Lopez, D.; Morris, C. R.; Novelly, A.; Nurse, L.; Osgood, C.; Plesset, S.; Solomon, E.; Thornber, C.; Sosa, M. Torres; Zlevor, E.; Kirshen, P.
There is a growing recognition that effective climate adaptation requires organizations that can translate science into policy-relevant, place-based implementation. The Stone Living Lab (SLL) was established as a climate services organization to help bridge the gap between climate adaptation research and real-world application. In this paper, we present the Lab as a model for how universities and NGOs can partner with government agencies, Indigenous groups, and local communities to strengthen coastal resilience, highlighting the structures, guiding principles and lessons learned over the last five years. Four guiding principles shape and distinguish the Lab’s approach, extending beyond the traditional focus on science and engineering research to also include climate preparedness, education and outreach and policy engagement. These principles continue to evolve in response to experience, particularly in navigating complex partnerships and engaging with stakeholder networks, which require sustained coordination, clear communication, and intentional alignment of roles, expectations, and timelines. Other lessons highlight the importance of visible, place-based solutions, knowledge sharing and maintaining a clear mission focus while balancing short-term outcomes with long-term resilience goals. Our aim here is to provide practical insights for researchers, practitioners and managers seeking to design or strengthen similar climate services organizations.
Two Fridas, three dresses: Feminist representations of Kahlo’s “White Dress” from print to digital
(2026-06-01) de la Garza, Armida
The Two Fridas (1939) is considered the most ambitious work by Mexican painter and feminist icon Frida Kahlo, and dress is central to it. It famously depicts two versions of the painter sitting side by side with hearts visible and a vein bleeding, one wearing a traditional Tehuana costume, taken to stand for her Mexican identity, the other a white dress often described as “Victorian,” regarded as alluding to her European heritage. Based on McLuhan’s study of the way that communication technology affects cognitive organization, this article focuses on the white dress that has hitherto received less attention. Taking the dress as an index of the sensory environments McLuhan theorized, the article examines the versions of it on painting, photography and film, contrasting representations produced under print culture, and those crafted under electronic culture, highlighting the ways in which each illustrates McLuhan’s theories and in one case even enables new interpretations of Kahlo’s work.