The effect of high school rank in English and math on college major choice. ESRI Working Paper No. 650 January 2020

Using unique data on preference rankings for all high school students who apply for college in Ireland, we investigate whether, conditional on absolute achievement, within school-cohort rank in English and math affects choice of college major. We find that higher rank in math increases the likelihood of choosing STEM and decreases the likelihood of choosing Arts and Social Sciences. Similarly, a higher rank in English leads to an increase in the probability of choosing Arts and Social Sciences and decreases the probability of choosing STEM. The rank effects are substantial, being about one third as large as the effects of absolute performance in math and English. We identify subject choice in school as an important mediator – students who rank high in math are more likely to choose STEM subjects in school and this can partly explain their subsequent higher likelihood of choosing STEM for college. We also find that English and math rank have significant explanatory power for the gender gap in the choice of STEM as a college major--they can explain about 36% as much as absolute performance in English and math. Overall, the tendency for girls to be higher ranked in English and lower ranked in math within school-cohorts can explain about 6% of the STEM gender gap in mixedsex schools and about 16% of the difference in the STEM gender gap between mixedsex schools and same-sex schools. Notably, these effects occur even though within-school rank plays no role whatsoever in college admissions decisions

THE PREVALENCE AND EFFECT ON HOURS WORKED OF THE MINIMUM WAGE IN IRELAND. Research Series Number 93, December 2019 A SECTORAL AND REGIONAL ANALYSIS

This study examines the extent to which the profile of minimum wage (MW) employees, and the impacts of the 2018 increase in the national minimum wage rate, varies by sector and region in Ireland. The research highlights variations in the importance of MW employment across regions and sectors. It also highlights the potential importance of considering regional and sectoral issues in any process used to determine the appropriate MW rate

Choosing differently? College application behaviour and the persistence of educational advantage. ESRI Working Paper 666 June 2020.

We use administrative data from Ireland to study differences in college application behaviour between students from disadvantaged versus advantaged high schools. Ireland provides an interesting laboratory for this analysis as applicants provide a preference-ordering of college programs (majors) and marginal applications are costless. Also, college admission depends almost completely on grades in the terminal high school examinations. Thus, we can compare the application choices of students who have equal chances of admission to college programs. Conditional on achievement and college opportunities, we find that students from advantaged high schools are more likely to apply to universities and to more selective college programs. They are also more likely to have preferences that cluster by program selectivity rather than by field of study. Our results suggest that, alongside differences in achievement, differences in college application behaviour also cause persons from advantaged high schools to be more likely to enrol in selective colleges and enter more selective programs. Importantly, we find that enrollment gaps for equally qualified applicants are smaller than differences in application behaviour; the relatively meritocratic centralized admissions system based on achievement undoes much of the effect of the differences in application behaviour

How Gender and Prior Disadvantage Predict Performance in College

Much research has shown that having a better class of degree has significant payoff in the labour market. Using administrative data from Ireland, we explore the performance in college of different types of students. We find that post-primary school achievement is an important predictor: Its relationship with college performance is concave for college completion, approximately linear for the probability of obtaining at least second class honours, upper division, and convex for the probability of obtaining a first class honours degree. We find that females do better in college than males, even after we account for their greater prior achievement, and this is true in both non-STEM and STEM fields. Disabled students, students from disadvantaged schools, and students who qualify for means-tested financial aid are less likely to complete and less likely to obtain first class honours or a 2.1 degree. However, once we control for post-primary school achievement, these students actually perform better in college than others. We also find that, conditional on prior achievement, students from private exam-oriented “grind” schools and from Irish-medium schools are less likely to finish a degree and less likely to perform well in college, possibly because their school exam results are high relative to their abilities. Our results suggest that current college policies that lower entry requirements for disabled students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds may be justified on efficiency as well as equity grounds. They also suggest that college performance might be improved by increasing entry requirements for students who come from school types that convey advantages in the post-primary exams that determine college entry

How gender and prior disadvantage predict performance in college. ESRI Working Paper 667 June 2020.

Much research has shown that having a better class of degree has a significant payoff in the labour market. Using administrative data from Ireland, we explore the performance in college of different types of students. We find that post-primary school achievement is an important predictor: Its relationship with college performance is concave for college completion, approximately linear for the probability of obtaining at least second class honours, upper-division, and convex for the probability of obtaining a first-class honours degree. We find that females do better in college than males, even after we account for their greater prior achievement, and this is true in both non-STEM and STEM fields. Disabled students, students from disadvantaged schools, and students who qualify for means-tested financial aid are less likely to complete and less likely to obtain first-class honours or a 2.1 degree. However, once we control for post-primary school achievement, these students actually perform better in college than others. We also find that, conditional on prior achievement, students from private exam-oriented “grind” schools and from Irish-medium schools are less likely to finish a degree and less likely to perform well in college, possibly because their school exam results are high relative to their abilities. Our results suggest that current college policies that lower entry requirements for disabled students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds may be justified on efficiency as well as equity grounds. They also suggest that college performance might be improved by increasing entry requirements for students who come from school types that convey advantages in the post-primary exams that determine college entry

Immunosuppressive drug interactions and resistance in mononuclear cells from renal transplant patients

Existing anti-rejection drug regimes are inadequate since patients receive drugs despite serious side effects and poor response. New drugs are being developed which ultimately may allow for prescribing of rational, patient-specific immunosuppressive drug protocols. During this thesis the investigation of lymphocyte responses from renal transplant recipients to the immunosuppressant drugs Cyclosporin A (Cy A), FK506 and SDZ RAD were explored to understand the variation in sensitivity of lymphocytes to Cy A and FK506, the development of drug resistance, including resistance mechanisms, and the interactions between FK506 and SDZ RAD. Cy A and FK506 are substrates for P-glycoprotein (P-gp), the product of the multidrug-resistance (MDR1) gene in man. A hypothesis established during this thesis was that P-gp dependent mechanisms explain variations in lymphocyte sensitivities to Cy A and FK50. Lymphocytes from renal transplant recipients were assessed for their sensitivity to Cy A and FK506 and subsequently for P-gp expression and functional activity by flow cytometry. In further lymphocyte cultures the effect of the specific P-gp inhibitor, PSC 833 on sensitivity was investigated. Finally, the effects of the combination of FK506 and SDZ RAD in lymphocyte cultures were analysed. Results demonstrate a wide range in lymphocyte sensitivity to both Cy A and FK506, with the development of selective resistance to the drug used for treatment. All patients demonstrated P-gp functional activity but P-gp expression was not demonstrable. P-gp function did not account for the variation in lymphocyte sensitivity. There was no evidence of antagonism of effect of SDZ RAD in combination with FK506. In conclusion, these results suggest that non-P-gp mechanisms account for variations in lymphocyte sensitivity to Cy A and FK506. Combination therapy with SDZ RAD and FK506 is unlikely to be antagonistic in future treatment protocols

Independent particle descriptions of tunneling from a many-body perspective

Currents across thin insulators are commonly taken as single electrons moving across classically forbidden regions; this independent particle picture is well-known to describe most tunneling phenomena. Examining quantum transport from a different perspective, i.e., by explicit treatment of electron-electron interactions, we evaluate different single particle approximations with specific application to tunneling in metal-molecule-metal junctions. We find maximizing the overlap of a Slater determinant composed of single particle states to the many-body current-carrying state is more important than energy minimization for defining single particle approximations in a system with open boundary conditions. Thus the most suitable single particle effective potential is not one commonly in use by electronic structure methods, such as the Hartree-Fock or Kohn-Sham approximations.Comment: 4+ pages, 4 figures; accepted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communication