“Ireland, May 1969, and St Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Co Kildare, was causing a stir. An Irish Times journalist paid a visit to the seminary, founded in 1795, and now separate to what became Maynooth University …” (more)
[Una Mullally, Irish Times, 20 August]
“Minister John Halligan has urged scientists to use the next general election to put pressure on politicians to commit to investing in research ahead of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. Mr Halligan also spoke of how he wants Ireland join European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) …” (more)
[Cormac McQuinn, Independent, 19 August]
“Some highly cited academics seem to be heavy self-promoters – but researchers warn against policing self-citation. The world’s most-cited researchers, according to newly released data, are a curiously eclectic bunch …” (more)
[Richard Van Noorden and Dalmeet Singh Chawla, Nature, 19 August]
“During Easter Week 1916 Michael Taaffe, a medical student, was part of the small garrison that defended Trinity College from insurgent attack. Half a century later he wrote down his memories of those turbulent days. ‘I had a nightmare vision of a last stand at the Library windows, ammunition spent, while a horde of rebels with fixed bayonets swept in line across the Fellows’ Garden’. This extract from Defending Trinity College Dublin explores how close Taaffe’s nightmare came to being realised …” (more)
[Rory Sweetman, Irish Times, 1 August]
“Minister for Health Simon Harris TD has today published the General Scheme of the National Research Ethics Committees Bill confirming plans to develop a streamlined, regulated and fit-for-purpose model for the ethical review of health research projects. The Bill will modernise the current system, will support more consistent and more efficient decisions for research studies and will mean better results for patients …” (more)
[Department of Health, 30 July]
“I caused unease on Twitter this week when I criticised a piece in the Times Higher Education on ‘How to win a research grant’. As I explained in a series of tweets, I have no objection to experienced grant-holders sharing their pearls of wisdom with other academics: indeed, I’ve given my own tips in the past …” (more)
[BishopBlog, 20 July]
“Want to be a first author on a scholarly paper? A Russian company has you covered – starting at about $500. The company claims to have added the names of more than 10,000 researchers to more than 2,000 published articles in scholarly journals over the past three years. Think eBay – or perhaps StubHub – for unscrupulous scientists …” (more)
[Retraction Watch, 18 July]
“Carl Malamud is on a crusade to liberate information locked up behind paywalls – and his campaigns have scored many victories. He has spent decades publishing copyrighted legal documents, from building codes to court records, and then arguing that such texts represent public-domain law that ought to be available to any citizen online …” (more)
[Priyanka Pulla, Nature, 17 July]
“Having spent the last year exploring the topic of researcher development and research leadership in the social sciences my main surprise has been how little research has been undertaken on what professors do or why they do it …” (more)
[Matthew Flinders, Wonkhe, 18 July]
“The language of Open Access (OA) is littered with so many colours, metals, and precious stones, that you would be forgiven for losing track. The proliferation of these ‘flavours’ of OA has been a useful analytical tool for those that study scholarly communication, but it has also complicated the discussion about what academics can do to realise the ‘unprecedented public good’ of opening access to research that was at the heart of the Budapest Open Access Initiative …” (more)
[Juan Pablo Alperin, Esteban Morales and Erin McKiernan, LSE Impact Blog, 17 July]
“RTÉ has netted as much as €271,000 from publishing articles written by universities without identifying the articles as sponsored content, according to a report in the Sunday Business Post today. RTÉ allows academics from universities to write articles for its website as part of an initiative called Brainstorm …” (more)
[Cormac Watson, University Times, 14 July]
“The Minister for Education and Skills invites applications from the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Academic Community to fill 3 vacancies on the Irish Research Council. Candidates must demonstrate in their application evidence of the following at an appropriately senior level: …” (more)
[StateBoards.ie, 12 July]
“A new government framework on ‘open research’ states that all Irish scholarly publications resulting from publicly funded research are to be made openly available from 2020. The framework was launched by Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development John Halligan and contains a set of initiatives designed to change the culture of Irish academia …” (more)
[Finn Purdy, Trinity News, 11 July]
“The question of whether – and, if so, to what degree – Sci-Hub and similar pirate portals will lead (or are already leading) libraries to cancel journal subscriptions has been a fraught one for some time, and the debate doesn’t seem likely to settle down anytime soon …” (more)
[Rick Anderson, The Scholarly Kitchen, 3 July]
“Trinity have announced this morning the establishment of a new Centre for Middle Eastern Studies and a strategic alliance between Trinity and the Al Maktoum College of Higher Education. Trinity is to appoint four new professors in Middle Eastern Studies to work in what will be known as the ‘Al Maktoum Centre for Middle Eastern Studies in Trinity College Dublin’ …” (more)
[Finn Purdy, Trinity News, 1 July]
“Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of call 2 of the disruptive technologies fund; her plans for holding an information event on the fund in County Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 27 June]
“The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has unveiled a new book repository with state of the art safety features following devastating fires at cultural institutions such as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the National Museum of Brazil in recent years …” (more)
[Colin Gleeson, Irish Times, 27 June]
“Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the estimated cost of associate membership and full membership of CERN; if membership has been considered; and if she will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 26 June]
“Last month, Springer Nature announced the publication of their first machine-generated book – an experimental proof of the efficacy and impacts of algorithmically curated scholarly resources. In the age of ‘robot reporters’ and auto-generated novels, Springer intends to lead the way in seriously examining the value of machine learning to aid readers at all levels …” (more)
[Lettie Y Conrad, The Scholarly Kitchen, 25 June]
“AMBER, Ireland’s materials science research centre, announced the creation of 350 jobs today as part of their second phase of research. The new research positions will be created between 2019 and 2025. This research will focus on the creation of new materials and technologies that minimize environmental impact, improve health, and build a sustainable future …” (more)
[Áine Kenny, Independent, 24 June]
