Ninth Level Ireland

“Throughout the last year, our research group here has given a number of talks to political parties, government agencies and voluntary groups. These have been conducted in formal settings such as the third crisis conference, as well as a substantial number of internal sessions conducted in Geary and outside, including briefings to the Commission on Taxation, IBEC, Gallup learn@lunch and a number of other forums …” (more)

[Liam Delaney, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 30 December]

“University College London, where Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was recently president of the Islamic Society, has been accused of being ‘complicit’ in the radicalisation of Muslim students by ‘failing grotesquely’ to prevent extremists from giving lectures on campus …” (more)

[Gordon Rayner, Daily Telegraph, 30 December]

“A NUI Galway PhD student has just returned home after working on a US Department of Homeland Security study involving the effects of contaminants in the wake of a terrorist attack or a major accident …” (more)

[Galway Independent, 30 December]

“The founding President of the University of Limerick, Dr Ed Walsh, has ruled himself out of the running as a possible candidate to chair the independent committee which will examine the possible extension of the city boundary …” (more)

[David Hurley, Limerick Leader, 30 December]

“Significant numbers of students are continuing to drop out of school before their Junior Certificate. Despite a range of initiatives to tackle educational disadvantage, early school leaving persists. And many of those who leave early regret their decision, new research has found …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 30 December]

“The US tax authorities, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), recently conducted a survey of higher education institutions in order to ascertain how well their finances are being managed. The conclusion was, on the whole, positive, and the IRS found that the institutions were prudent and responsible with the resources at their disposal. But the report does identify some ‘red flags’: chiefly these were concerned with the remuneration of management officials and some top academics …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 December]

“Less than 1,400 public servants are set to avail of the Government’s early retirement scheme. The Incentive Scheme for Early Retirement was announced by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in last April’s budget as a way of cutting the size of the public service in order to save the state money …” (more)

[Paul O’Brien, Irish Examiner, 30 December]

“I think Ninth Level Ireland has its aggregator net set too wide if it’ll grab tweets mentioning UCD or TCD or the NUI. http://bit.ly/7N0Yz1″ (tweet)

[Mark Dennehy, Twitter, 29 December]

[Um, too wide for what, Mark?]

“Why do so many terrorists have engineering degrees? Engineering is not a profession most people associate with religion. The concrete trade of buildings and bridges seems grounded in the secular principles of science. But the failed attack this Christmas by mechanical engineer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a reminder that the combination has a long history of producing violent radicals …” (more)

[Benjamin Popper, Slate, 29 December]

“I don’t miss UCD, there’s no food in the cupboard, no fire in the grate and no mammy making me toast” (tweet)

[Catriona Laverty, Twitter, 29 December]

“A child law clinic offering research and expertise to lawyers working on behalf of children is being established in the law department of University College Cork. It could become linked to a children’s law centre along the lines of that operating in Belfast, according to Dr Ursula Kilkelly, child law expert and law lecturer at UCC …” (more)

[Carol Coulter, Irish Times, 30 December]

“Trinity College gym doesn’t open again until January 4th. What on Earth?! Even DCU gym was back running as of yesterday.” (tweet)

[NoelRock, Twitter, 29 December]

“Just got an invite to speak in a debate on the Blasphemy legislation. The debate is in the University of Limerick on Tuesday 26th of January” (tweet)

[Jason Spratt, Twitter, 29 December]

“At first glance it looks like a typical student common room, with young men clustered around a dartboard. Then you notice the outfits – identical sports shirts and tracksuit bottoms – and the way the metal tips thud metronomically into a tiny zone around the treble 20 mark. This is the UK’s first professional darts academy …” (more)

[Peter Walker, Guardian, 29 December]

“… It turned out that University College Cork didn’t start classes until October and the class I was about to take was set up specifically to facilitate study abroad programs for American students. Knowing that American universities usually start in September, UCC created several month-long classes so American students could study abroad but still maintain their usual schedules. Sadly, it was going to be a whole thirty days before I got to meet the guys with the really cute accents …” (more)

[Sara Harding, Students in Europe, 29 December]

“I actually miss UCD.
I am lame.” (tweet)

[Bridget Fitzsimons, Twitter, 29 December]

“Funding for Mountbellew Agricultural College has been secured until 2012 at least, according to Galway East Fianna Fáil Dáil Deputy Noel Treacy TD. Deputy Treacy has been in discussions with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Brendan Smith TD and Teagasc regarding the future of the Mountbellew College for the past number of months, following the introduction of saving measures at Teagasc …” (more)

[Noel Treacy, Fianna Fáil Blog, 29 December]

“I’m delighted that Lord Mandelson’s department BERR has published a guide for parents of recent graduates who have returned to the family home, just in time for me to resume my blog from the comfort of my Mum and Dad’s house. I joined the boomerang generation six months ago, after I graduated and started a new job in Edinburgh …” (more)

[Kirsty Connell, Bread and Roses, 29 December]

“About 7,400 scholars of literature and language are attending the Modern Language Association convention here this week. Brian Croxall is not one of them. Mr Croxall is a visiting assistant professor in the English department at Clemson University. That makes him part of the uncomfortable majority of faculty members who do not have tenure-track jobs …” (more)

[Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 December]

“It may seem like just another flaky equation cooked up by an academy in the thrall of a dumbed-down media. But a scholar who developed a ‘formula for perfect parking’ has been praised for his rigour by a critic of serious-looking formulae that serve public-relations aims …” (more)

[Zoë Corbyn, Times Higher Education, 29 December]