The economic returns to field of study and competencies among higher education graduates in Ireland

This paper looks at the economic returns to different fields of study in Ireland in 2004 and also the value placed on various job-related competencies, accumulated on completion of higher education, in the Irish labour market. In examining these issues the paper seeks to control for potential selection influences by ensuring through quantile regression that comparisons are made within sections of the wage distribution where ability differences are likely to be minimal. The impact that education-job mismatch, both education-level and field, has on earnings is also taken into consideration. The results derived indicate that, relative to the base case, there are higher returns to Medicine & Veterinary, Education, Engineering & Architecture, Science and Computers & IT. The quantile regression analysis reveals that the OLS estimates are not particularly affected by unobserved heterogeneity bias. Furthermore, this approach indicates that field specific returns diminish the more able the graduate. Small but significant returns were found for some of the competencies analysed, in particular technical skills

A freight transport demand, energy and emission model with technological choices. ESRI Working Paper 669 June 2020.

Reducing energy consumption and emissions from freight transport plays an important role in climate change mitigation. However, there remains a need for enhanced policymaking and research to explore a low carbon future of freight transport. This research establishes a freight transport model to simulate transport demand (tonne kilometre), energy consumption and emissions. The model incorporates macroeconomic factors, policy indicators, technological characteristics, detailed profiles of the vehicle stock and travel distances, and behavioural parameters with discrete based choices. This model is applied to the freight transport sector in Ireland with scenarios running out to 2050. The results show that overall freight transport demand increases substantially from 2015 to 2050. Economy-wide climate policies (i.e. carbon tax) and high fuel prices result in modest reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions in freight transport, compared to a baseline. Sectoral measures, such as European CO2 emission performance standards, that aim to improve new vehicle fuel efficiency/emission rates can potentially lead to significant reductions, but such measures face a lag in greening the goods vehicle stock in the short/mid term, and uncertainties in policy compliance and technical barriers in the long run. Notably, in spite of few commercially mature vehicle technologies, adoption of biofuel and alternative freight vehicles are expected to bring additional reductions in future energy consumption and emissions. In all, for a transition to a low carbon future for freight transport, a comprehensive and dynamic policy agenda should be developed to promote low or zero emission vehicles, especially for heavy goods vehicles

EVALUATION OF PLC PROGRAMME PROVISION. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 61 JANUARY 2018

Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses represent the largest component of full-time further education and training (FET) provision in Ireland, with over 32,000 learners enrolled in such courses in 2015–2016. Recent research on the FET sector as a whole highlighted concerns around its structures and responsiveness to labour market conditions, among other issues (McGuinness et al., 2014). The SOLAS FET Strategy (2014) subsequently pointed to the need for a stronger evidence base in order to inform future policy development in the sector. This study, commissioned by SOLAS, provides a more detailed evaluation of PLC provision. In order to undertake a comprehensive evaluation, our approach has been to combine a variety of research modes in order to examine the underlying processes, experiences and outcomes of PLC provision. This involved three complementary research strands. Firstly, a desk-based analysis of administrative data was used to document the type of provision in terms of field of study and the distribution of PLC places across the country. Secondly, a survey of PLC principals was carried out in order to explore their perceptions of goals, adequacy of existing facilities and the benefits and challenges of PLC provision. Thirdly, a survey of PLC and Leaving Certificate leavers was conducted to assess their labour market outcomes as well as their experiences while taking PLC and higher education courses. Together, these strands provide comprehensive evidence to inform the future development of the sector

Effect of N-chorotaurine on Aspergillus, with particular reference to destruction of secreted gliotoxin

The fungistatic and fungicidal activity of N-chlorotaurine (NCT), a long-lived oxidant produced by stimulated neutrophils, was investigated. Physiological concentrations (75â100 µM) of NCT showed clear fungicidal activity against a range of Aspergillus isolates. Moreover, killing by NCT was significantly increased in the presence of ammonium chloride, explained by the formation of monochloramine by halogenation of ammonium. One clinical isolate of Aspergillus fumigatus was characterized for the production of the immunosuppressive agent gliotoxin, and NCT was shown to cause destruction of gliotoxin, possibly via reduction of the disulphide bridge. Because of its endogenous nature and its high antifungal activity, NCT appears to be a good choice for topical treatment of Aspergillus infections, and the results of this study further substantiate its therapeutic efficacy

Effect of N-chorotaurine on Aspergillus, with particular reference to destruction of secreted gliotoxin

The fungistatic and fungicidal activity of N-chlorotaurine (NCT), a long-lived oxidant produced by stimulated neutrophils, was investigated. Physiological concentrations (75â100 µM) of NCT showed clear fungicidal activity against a range of Aspergillus isolates. Moreover, killing by NCT was significantly increased in the presence of ammonium chloride, explained by the formation of monochloramine by halogenation of ammonium. One clinical isolate of Aspergillus fumigatus was characterized for the production of the immunosuppressive agent gliotoxin, and NCT was shown to cause destruction of gliotoxin, possibly via reduction of the disulphide bridge. Because of its endogenous nature and its high antifungal activity, NCT appears to be a good choice for topical treatment of Aspergillus infections, and the results of this study further substantiate its therapeutic efficacy

21st century fisheries management: a spatio-temporally explicit tariff-based approach combining multiple drivers and incentivising responsible fishing

Abstract Kraak, S. B. M., Reid, D. G., Gerritsen, H. D., Kelly, C. J., Fitzpatrick, M., Codling, E. A., and Rogan, E. 2012. 21st century fisheries management: a spatio-temporally explicit tariff-based approach combining multiple drivers and incentivising responsible fishing. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 590–601. Traditionally fisheries management has focused on biomass and mortality, expressed annually and across large management units. However, because fish abundance varies at much smaller spatio-temporal scales, fishing mortality can potentially be controlled more effectively if managed at finer scale. The ecosystem approach requires more indicators at finer scales as well. Incorporating ecosystem targets would need additional management tools with potentially conflicting results. We present a simple, integrated, management approach that provides incentives for “good behaviour”. Fishers would be given a number of fishing-impact credits, called real-time incentives (RTIs), to spend according to spatio-temporally varying tariffs per fishing day. RTI quotas and tariffs could be based on commercial stocks and ecosystem targets. Fishers could choose how to spend their RTIs, e.g. by limited fishing in high-catch or sensitive areas or by fishing longer in lower-catch or less sensitive areas. The RTI system does not prescribe and forbid, but instead allows fishers to fish wherever and whenever they want; ecosystem costs are internalized and fishers have to take them into account in their business decisions. We envisage no need for traditional landings or catch quotas for the fleets while operating under the scheme. The approach could facilitate further devolution of responsibility to industry.</jats:p

Evaluating Post Leaving Certificate Provision in Ireland. The Economic and Social Review, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2019

This paper summarises the key findings of an evaluation of the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) Programme, the largest full-time further education (post-secondary non-tertiary) programme in Ireland. This programme has multiple purposes – preparing people for employment, acting as a bridge to higher education and serving as a second-chance route for adult learners. Based on evidence from both administrative data and a unique specially-designed learner survey, we find positive results for the estimated counterfactual impact of PLC provision on employment at 16 per cent relative to similar individuals who entered the labour market directly on completion of their (upper secondary) Leaving Certificate, with a corresponding positive estimate for transitions to higher education standing at 27 per cent. Nevertheless, the evaluation found that PLC courses were often poorly connected to the labour market and that reforms could further improve the labour market prospects of leavers