“During the 1980s, US President Ronald Reagan promulgated a strategy for economic growth based on cutting the top tax bracket from 70% to 50% and then to 28%. ‘Trickle down’ economics or ‘Reaganomics’ argued that putting more money in the hands of the elite would create more jobs and lessen inequality …” (more)
[Ellen Hazelkorn, University World News, 31 July]
“Many have pointed out that massification and globalisation make university rankings inevitable. Ellen Hazelkorn argues correctly that the rankings have concentrated the attention of governments, some sections of the public and many universities on the top ‘world-class’ universities to the detriment of the rest of the complex and multifaceted academic systems that exist in almost every country …” (more)
[Philip Altbach, University World News, 31 July]
“Ellen Hazelkorn’s article ‘Do rankings promote trickle down knowledge?’ makes an interesting case for the link between international university rankings and the concentration of resources by governments in a handful of elite institutions. There is no doubt that having the best universities and attracting the best minds is a common goal of governments around the world …” (more)
[Danny Byrne, University World News, 31 July]
“Clayton Christensen introduced the concept of ‘disruptive innovation’ in the late 1990s. Since then, it has been used in multiple sectors to explain the rise and fall of organizations and how best to foster new strategies for increased value. Now, with co-author Henry Eyring, the concept is applied to higher education in ‘The Innovative University’. Below, Mr Eyring discusses some of the books more pertinent arguments for the readers of Higher Education Management …” (more)
[Higher Education Management Group, 31 July]
“NUI Maynooth has said that deletion of college research material from a camcorder recording, which is the subject of a continuing Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission investigation, was ‘inadvisable’. However, the university said it was ‘satisfied’ that the ‘individuals concerned’ – including academics at the college – were ‘acting out of concern for student welfare’ …” (more)
[Lorna Siggins, Irish Times, 30 July]
“Seán Teegan, who has died aged 87, was professor of spectroscopy at University College Cork and the author of several highly regarded walking guides to his native county. An only child of John Teegan and his wife Mary (née Mooney), he was reared by his maternal grandparents following the untimely death of his father when he was still a boy …” (more)
[Irish Times, 30 July]
“Harry Booker, who has died aged 92, was an accountant in Trinity College Dublin, an official with the Irish Rugby Football Union, a governor of the High School, Dublin, for over 50 years and a tireless community worker. A man of infectious enthusiasm, energy and organisational ability, he kept going at a pace for almost all of his 92 years that would have floored a man a third his age …” (more)
[Irish Times, 30 July]
“Investigators from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission warned academics at NUI Maynooth they risked acting illegally by deleting material from the so-called ‘rape tape’. The development comes as the university yesterday admitted that deleting the material was ‘inadvisable’ …” (more)
[Cormac O’Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 30 July]
“Ten years is a long time to carry the weight of expectation of over 20,000 students and staff. You can tell that Provost John Hegarty has felt the burden of this weight. For a decade now he has presided over Ireland’s best university. In that time he has made radical changes to the physical landscape of the college and, more importantly, changed the way college functions …” (more)
[Ronan Costello, University Times, 29 July]
“The government has announced reforms to the education system that will see several qualifications bodies merged into a single organisation. Under the proposals set out in the new legislation, the authority will take responsibility for the quality assurance of third-level establishments in the country, a function currently performed by the Irish Universities Quality Board …” (more)
[SchoolDays.ie, 29 July]
[The Bill is available on the Oireachtas website]
“The Bible tells Christians that ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4). The aphorism is echoed in the title and plot of Vladimir Dudintsev’s anti-Stalinist novel Not by Bread Alone. Now it is the main title of a recent book about the importance of higher education in developing modern societies …” (more)
[Eoin O’Dell, Cearta, 29 July]
“In early 2010 the Royal Institution, the body that raises awareness of science and promotes its research in the United Kingdom, decided to make its director redundant, almost without giving her any notice. The director in question was Susan Greenfield (Baroness Greenfield), and when the decision was announced the suspicion in many people’s minds was that the move may have been connected with her gender …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 29 July]
“The 43rd Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr John Hegarty completes his ten year term of office today (July 29th). Describing his tenure, Dr Hegarty said: ‘It has been a privilege to lead Ireland’s premier university and to have been able to interact with so many talented staff and students’ …” (more)
[Trinity College Communications Office, 29 July]
“… UKRC research suggests women scientists are stereotyped either as frumpy, glasses-wearing cartoon geeks or uber-sexy, Bond-film glamour pusses – who shake their hair out of their specs once they have split the atom …” (more)
[Hannah Richardson, BBC News, 29 July]
“Recent graduates and industry professionals planning their career in Ireland will now be able to study a dedicated copyright course following its launch at Griffith College Dublin. According to the college, the course, which was developed in consultation with industry lawyers, is the first of its kind in Ireland …” (more)
[Careersportal.ie, 29 July]
“MPs have recommended improvements to the way scientific papers are checked before they are published. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report said this ‘peer-review’ process of science journals should be more transparent …” (more)
[Daniel Boettcher, BBC News, 28 July]
“Ireland’s most famous manuscript and one of the State’s top-five visitor attractions will receive €2.7 million in grant aid to develop and update its tourism potential. The Book of Kells at Trinity College is one of four projects to benefit from the funding of almost €6 million, announced yesterday by Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar and Minister of State Michael Ring …” (more)
[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 29 July]
“This blog post is coming to you from California. This is a state that has a good few problems, including serious public funding issues. However, there is a widespread consensus that universities will need to continue to build up their programmes of postgraduate studies, both taught and by research …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 29 July]
“There’s work experience – and then there’s life experience. A new programme for third-year computer science students at the Dublin Institute of Technology offers an unconventional blend of both, sending them to Mzuzu in Malawi to work alongside charities and communities …” (more)
[Karlin Lillington, Irish Times, 29 July]
“The UK needs an independent regulator to oversee research integrity, a committee of MPs has concluded. The Commons Science and Technology Committee makes the recommendation in its report on Peer Review in Scientific Publications, published yesterday …” (more)
[Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 29 July]
