“It’s that time when people reflect on the year gone by, lists of pivotal events, dead celebs etc. There are also lots of suggestions for ‘graph of the year’ going round. It’s pretty arbitrary of course since it depends on what people find interesting …” (more)
[Kevin Denny, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 28 December]
“Qualifications for new university lecturers are to become compulsory at a time when institutions will struggle to find the funding to support it, universities have warned …” (more)
[Rebecca Attwood, Times Higher Education, 23 December]
“… The old academic in me loathes cheating, so I would, at first blush, simply jam all cell phones in the exam room. But because I was a legal academic, the second blush informs me that cellphone jamming is illegal in both the US and Canada …” (more)
[Simon Fodden, slaw, 28 December]
“Forget social mobility. Education and hard graft will only get you so far while jobs are insecure and the middle class looks after its own …” (more)
[Lynsey Hanley, Guardian, 28 December]
“Both of NI’s universities have expressed concern about drop-out rates, especially among first year students. The University of Ulster loses 12% of its first years, while almost 6% of students at Queens University Belfast do not make it to second year …” (more)
[BBC News, 28 December]
“I heard with great sadness of the passing of Kevin Boyle whose courageous leadership in the human rights movement has placed so many in Ireland in his debt …” (more)
[Michael D Higgins, Labour Party Blog, 28 December]
“Economist Bruce Chapman of the Australian National University said the Greens’ proposal was ‘inequitable’ and ‘regressive’, and would not help lower income earners. He said using revenue from the controversial mineral resources rent tax to fund free university for students was ‘arguably one of the least fair ways to use the money’ …” (more)
[Joe Kelly, The Australian, 29 December]
“… Here’s what interests me more than any other facet: ‘For some they see this course as a competition. Is it? Should it be?’ Competition is healthy as well as harmful. I see third level education as an opportunity for students to discover complementary talent. For that kind of group dynamic to evolve, people need to appreciate diverse skill sets …” (more)
[Bernie Goldbach, Inside View, 28 December]
“It has been an exciting time for scientific progress. Tom Chivers selects the highlights …” (more)
[Daily Telegraph, 28 December]
“Professor Kevin Boyle, one of the founders of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, has died …” (more)
[RTÉ News, 28 December]
“University of Ulster researchers have discovered the Remains of a 410-year-old fort on the banks of the River Foyle. The bastion fortification was built by Sir Henry Docwra in 1600 at Dunnalong, near Strabane …” (more)
[University of Ulster, 28 December]
“It was one of the images of 2010. The Duchess of Cornwall in evening gown and jewels, mouth open, panic-stricken eyes, recoils in horror as the limousine carrying her and the heir to the throne strays into one of the biggest street protests staged in London for years …” (more)
[Katherine Butler, Belfast Telegraph, 28 December]
“Student teachers should be assessed on their reading, writing and numeracy skills before they qualify, a controversial report suggests …” (more)
[John Walshe, Independent, 28 December]
“There has been a surge in demand for courses offering English-language teaching qualifications, with record numbers of people leaving Ireland to seek jobs in education abroad …” (more)
[Pamela Newenham, Irish Times, 28 December]
“There is an interesting report in the US media about the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before I go into the details, let me just say that this is a well-known and highly respected American public university …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 28 December]
“Cambridge computer scientists have become embroiled in angry exchanges with Britain’s banks and credit card lenders, accusing them of bullying and trying to ‘censor’ a PhD student who was exposing flaws in chip-and-pin machines …” (more)
[Richard Garner, Independent, 28 December]
“… But even as the traditional dream of AI was freezing over, a new one was being born: machines built to accomplish specific tasks in ways that people never could. At first, there were just a few green shoots pushing up through the frosty ground. But now we’re in full bloom. Welcome to AI summer …” (more)
[Steven Levy, Wired, 27 December]
