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Winners of the Trinity Research Doctorate Awards supporting joint student and PI research projects have been announced! The Trinity Research Doctorate Awards support staff appointed in or since 2020-21 to recruit doctoral students in the academic year 2024-25.

Congratulations to the winners of the Trinity Research Doctorate Awards 2024-25

A Descriptive Grammar of the Classical Meitei Language as Attested in the Numit Kappa and the Cheitarol Kumpapa

Abstract:

The Meitei language of Manipur, Northeast India, has an ancient form that is currently undescribed in the linguistic literature. First attested in eighth-century inscriptions, Meitei is one of the earliest written languages in the Sino-Tibetan family. Thus, due to its closer temporal proximity to the common ancestral Sino-Tibetan language, Classical Meitei is useful for the comparative method, which uses regular sound correspondences to reconstruct the common ancestral language or ‘protolanguage’ of the family. Just as Latin or Old Irish are more useful for reconstructing their common source, Indo-European, than Italian or Modern Irish are, Classical Meitei is potentially of enormous value for reconstructing Sino-Tibetan, and thus indirectly shedding light on, for example, the history of Chinese.

Classical Meitei texts, rich in historical and religious content, are key to understanding medieval Manipur. In particular, the Numit Kappa sun-killing myth has parallels across Sino- Tibetan-speaking societies and will be useful for understanding indigenous Sino-Tibetan religion and comparative mythology. Unfortunately, since many texts remain untranslated and no comprehensive way exists for the linguistic community to access the language, scholarship on medieval Manipur is lacking.

The project will culminate in the production of a comprehensive descriptive grammar of Classical Meitei where each of its linguistic features, such as grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and writing system, will be catalogued alongside example texts and inscriptions. To do this, the many grammars of modern Meitei will be used to help interpret its ancient form. Likewise, comparisons with other older Sino-Tibetan languages provide aid. For example, the suffix -gi in Classical Meitei is clearly related to the Tibetan genitive (possessive) suffix -kyi, which is well-understood.

The long-term goals of this project are, in addition to making the language known to the academic community, providing Meitei people with an academically rigorous source with which they can learn the ancestor of their own language, as well as expanding the scope of the Trinity College Centre for Asian studies into Indian languages. Goal number 2 of the strategic plan of the SLSCS is to “target new markets for student recruitment”. Adding Classical Meitei to the languages studied at Trinity will attract students from India wanting to study the ancient history of their own language. Additionally, the project, by working on a language from the understudied region of Northeast India, will enhance ‘global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity’ (part of UN SDG #4) by disseminating information about Manipuri culture.

Can a B-theory of time explain the temporal value asymmetry?

Abstract:

There are temporal asymmetries in our attitudes towards the past and future: we dread future pains but feel relief once they are past; we attribute greater value to future experiences than to past ones.
There are different approaches to explaining these attitude asymmetries. According to some metaphysical theories of time, so-called ‘A-theories’, there are objective facts about which events are past, present and future and there is a genuine ‘flow’ or passage of time. It seems like these A-theories are best-placed to explain temporal asymmetries, as temporal asymmetries in our attitudes can reflect genuine features of time itself. The competitors to A-theories are so-called ‘B-theories of time’.

According to B-theories, while there are facts about what events are past, present and future relative to a certain point in time (in the same way that facts about what is ‘here’ are relative to a certain point in space), there are no fundamental objective facts about which events are past, present and future simpliciter. There is no privileged moment called “the present” which flows in a direction. If a B-theory is correct, explaining temporal asymmetries in our attitudes is not straightforward, as there are no genuine directional features of time itself which these attitude asymmetries might reflect. Yet, B-theories are the most compatible with our best current science.

My research aims to develop and defend an explanation of a temporal attitude asymmetry that is compatible with a B-theory. I will focus on the ‘Temporal Value Asymmetry’, an asymmetry that concerns how we value past and future events differently. This asymmetry has been recently verified by empirical work in psychology but has so far been rarely discussed in philosophy. Yet, understanding this temporal asymmetry is crucial for addressing broader questions about how our valuing of events depends on when they occur and whether such temporal dependence is rational—including understanding how and why we discount events in the far future (compared to the near future). This improved understanding is needed to address biases in how we assign compensation in judicial contexts, as well as address global challenges such as climate change and individual social challenges, such as planning for end-of-life care. Ultimately, developing a scientifically-based explanation of the Temporal Value Asymmetry will provide resources for understanding a range of temporal asymmetries and how such asymmetries can arise in a world that lacks an objective direction of time

Emic Gendering in Mesopotamian Laments against Environmental and Economic Disaster

Abstract:

This project analyzes the cultural construction of gender differences within a discrete corpus of religious lamentations in ancient Mesopotamia. These laments were used in religious rituals from the beginning of the second millennium BCE until the end of the first, and were intended to ward off ecological and economic disasters by pacifying divine anger. The corpus was divided into laments to male and female gods (the two types with different ancient labels). This emic gendering has the potential to yield a wealth of cultural information regarding the gender ideology within the Mesopotamian pantheon and the cultural politics which interlink gender to ecological and economic disaster.

The corpus I propose to study is a sub-section of the ritual laments within Mesopotamian religious literature, which is the largest of its kind in the ancient world. Rediscovered in the late 19th century, it comprises nearly 1500 manuscripts from Babylon, Nineveh, Ur, and other prominent cities in ancient Iraq.
To date, researchers’ efforts have been focused on editing (reconstructing, deciphering, and translating) the corpus, and there has been little investigation into these texts’ anthropological significance. My dissertation will open up this facet by investigating how different deities are gendered within these laments.

I will conduct my analysis on two laments, titled by the scribes úru ḫul-a-ke4, “He/she of the Destroyed City,” one addressed to a male and one to a female deity. I will target these ancient texts’ emic perspective on gender, from multiple points of view: the texts themselves will be analyzed on both a macro level (archival organization and textual structure) and micro level (individual words and effects), and will further contextualize them in terms of their ritual uses, and compare them to anthropological parallels. The issue of gender will further be examined in relation to themes of environmental change and disaster, which are prominent in the texts.

The project’s focus on the intersection of gender and environmental disaster in early religion further the goals of Trinity College’s sustainability policy. Environmental sustainability will further be promoted by using Digital Humanities research tools which are newly established within the field of Assyriology and Museum Science, such as the Electronic Babylonian Library, the electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, and the many Museum databases now available online. These tools will assist the linguistic understanding of the texts, helping to isolate rarities and other features of interest, rendering travel to museums unnecessary.

Psychological Effects of Coerced Hysterectomies among Female Sugarcane Cutters: Exploring the Link to Gender, Socioeconomic status and Labor

Abstract:

This project aims to investigate complex psychological effects of coerced hysterectomy among female sugarcane cutters in the Beed district of Maharashtra, the western region in India. Sugarcane cutter workers in the state of Maharashtra are backbone of India’s sugar Industry. Beed district is a hub of sugarcane cutters. Labourers from this region of Maharashtra seasonally migrate to various states in India in order to work, and because of the nature of their jobs and the lack of access to healthcare, they deal with a number of health-related challenges. In the last few years, the female sugarcane cutter workers, who primarily belong to underprivileged groups, have been coerced to have hysterectomies, mainly for the purpose of increasing their labour output. This has led to various mental and physical health related challenges.

Considering the socio-economic background, gender-based exploitation that they face and the disadvantaged geographical region that they come from which affects the labour practices, the objective of this study is to investigate the intricate relationship between hysterectomies, their psychological consequences, their effects on mental health, and factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, labour practices, and the reproductive health of women who work as cane cutters.

The research aims to employ a mixed methodology that integrates Ethnographic method along with case studies, observations, and semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions as well as quantitative methods in Psychology to compare different measures of the psychological effects. The participants in the study will be from the Beed District of Marathwada Regions in India. This project is significant not only to document the experience of hysterectomies of women labourers but to understand its overall impact on the body and mind and its relation to gender-based labour practices.

Ear-level electroencephalography for brain-machine interactions

Abstract:

Ear-EEG technology, a subset of hearables designed to monitor physiological functions, particularly brain activity, has emerged as a discreet and comfortable solution for long-term remote monitoring and diagnosis. This PhD project proposal aims to advance ear-EEG devices, with a focus on in-ear configurations, for measuring brain activity. The project aims to improve functionality, usability, and diagnostic capabilities through four primary objectives: the development of personalized, viscoelastic inear EEG devices; exploration of interface interaction methods, including neural imagery; investigation of monitoring and diagnosing applications; and proposing design improvements.

The development of in-ear EEG devices seeks to optimize skin-electrode contact quality and reduce motion artifacts. Personalized, viscoelastic devices offer a promising solution, although challenges related to cost and flexibility remain. Alternative materials, such as carbon-rubber mixtures, could offer sufficient conductivity and flexibility. Interface interaction methods involve incorporating earable input methods and active imagery paradigms, such as motor and visual imagery, to enhance user-device interaction and cognitive task performance. These methods hold promise for brain-based authentication and identification.

Monitoring and diagnosing applications of in-ear EEG devices include detecting event-related potentials (ERPs), epilepsy, and sleep disorders. ERPs, like P300 and MMN, show potential for diagnosing various neurological and psychological conditions. Design improvements, such as active electrodes and error correction regression frameworks, aim to improve signal quality and coverage area in real-world scenarios. The research plan spans four years, starting with device development and interface exploration, followed by refinement and integration of earable input methods and active imagery paradigms. Subsequent years focus on investigating diagnostic applications and implementing design improvements. In conclusion, this project proposes a comprehensive approach to advance ear-EEG technology, offering promising avenues for improved understanding and diagnosis of neurological conditions in both research and clinical settings.

Musicking for a global society: multicultural music education as an instrument for social justice

Absract:

The aim of this research is to develop and utilise authentic multicultural music education resources and pedagogies to promote tolerance and inspire actively anti-racist, empathetic and socially-just citizens. While Ireland is renowned for its musical output, there is wide understanding among music educators that our national music education system leaves much to be desired (Heneghan, 2001). The current music curriculum at post-primary level in Ireland is entirely Eurocentric with no inclusion of music styles outside of Western art or Irish traditional music. Additionally, Ireland's demographic has undergone much change in the last three decades, with more cultural diversity than the country has ever seen. Teachers in Ireland are now more likely to be teaching children who come from a different ethnic, linguistic or religious background to their own but lack the tools and resources to teach multicultural music and to teach multicultural students in a critically anti-racist and culturally responsive way. While Ireland may be at its most multicultural, many pockets of the country are falling prey to anti-immigrant rhetoric and attitudes that have largely been imported from Brexit era UK (Gannon, 2024).

This study focuses on the teaching of multicultural material to all students, fostering empathy and understanding for other cultures. The research aims to provide teachers with the skills and resources necessary to effectively teach multicultural music material using anti-racist pedagogies. Using intervention method as well as qualitative and quantitative methods including Implicit Bias and Ethnocultural Empathy tests, this study measures the change in attitudes and biases of students and teachers pre and post implementation of the multicultural pedagogy.

Given the current rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in Ireland, the need to tackle racism in schools is urgent, though remains inadequately addressed in the classroom. This research attempts to address this shortcoming through the power of the arts, igniting the potential of the music classroom to create more socially-just citizens and to prevent racist and anti-immigrant viewpoints developing in students.
This research therefore aligns with many local and global sustainability ambitions including reducing inequality and promoting quality education by developing music pedagogies and resources that actively inspire students to be anti-racist and inclusive. This directly contributes to the Trinity College Dublin's Sustainability Strategy's focus area of education which aims to inspire students to act with responsibility and compassion for themselves, each other and the planet (Trinity College Dublin, 2023).

Neural Networks for Scientific Computing

Abstract:

Over the last decade, the development and production of foundational AI models and their associated massive scaling have enabled a step-change in the ability of these systems to tackle complex issues. Natural language AI models are now capable of effectively recognising, translating and generating text to such a degree that the results can often be better than those produced by humans alone. However, these systems are not just limited to mimicking human interactions and behaviours; they can also be used to study and model the world around us. For example, recent work has demonstrated how data-driven approaches to studying weather systems are now competitive with, and in some cases outperform, classical deterministic modelling approaches employing supercomputers.
We are just at the beginning of understanding what is achievable using this technology and how it might potentially change how we do science. Ultimately, however, it’s not AI that will have the biggest influence over humanity in the coming centuries… its climate change. As a society we have no choice but to decarbonise and move towards a greener and more sustainable existence. Realistically, this means we need to transform how we operate in the world and shift towards the electrification of all sectors, including industry, transport and the home.
Electrification means that we convert devices from using a fossil fuel energy source to using electricity. If we take transport as an example, the car industry is currently undergoing an energy revolution. Here in a car, energy is now stored chemically, either in a fuel-cell or a battery, and converted into electrical energy which is then used to power the vehicle.
Electrification of society means we are going to need lots of different ways to store electricity and it’s imperative that these devices are as efficient as possible. Problematically, in the case of hydrogen based storage devices the best way to convert hydrogen into electricity is to use a platinum ‘electrocatalyst’. Platinum is a precious metal and it manufacturing requires mining, purification and processing, all of which are negative from a sustainability perspective.

This project is focused on answering the question, can we use AI to help us study, understand and find new electrocatalysts that are not reliant on precious metals?

Link to the McAuley Group

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