Ireland

Organizations of one form or another play an important part of society and serve many important needs. They vary greatly in size, complexity and the activities they undertake. To achieve organisational goals people working in organisations have to be managed. This requires understanding the behaviour of the individual in the workplace. The course explores three key areas. Firstly, the factors that influence individuals such as personality, attitudes, perception, motivation, learning, communication and job satisfaction. Secondly, the factors that influence the nature of groups and teams and the importance of leadership. Thirdly, the course explores the nature of organizations by analyzing issues such as goals, structure, design, control, culture and development.

In this course, students learn the fundamentals of spatial information, spatial querying, spatial information systems, and geometric problems involved in a spatial information system. They learn details about the spatial data formats (raster and vector), spatial relations (with particular emphasis on topological relations), spatial data structures, digital terrain modelling, geometric problems arising in spatial information systems, and algorithms to solve them. They develop a critical understanding of the different approaches to storing and manipulating spatial data: the loosely coupled approach of classical GIS versus the integrated approach of spatial database management systems. Students also analyze the Oracle Spatial object-relational model for storing and indexing spatial data. These notions complement their knowledge of other types of information systems seen in other computer science courses.

Arguably, no events had a greater impact on Irish history than the Great Famine. This course explores the social and economic conditions that led to famine, the way the Famine unfolded in Ireland, state and individual responses to the crisis, the experience of eviction and emigration, and the way the Famine’s memory shaped Irish identity and nationalism in the latter half of the 19th century. 

Students are constantly challenged by ethical dilemmas: about the future use of technology and artificial intelligence; about the possibilities of genetic and biomedical engineering; about the culture and behavior of global financial institutions; about who decides who should pay for what; about the environment, about migration, about political leadership. Citizens of a democratic society need to make ethically informed decisions about these issues.  The EthicsLab is an innovative way to explore ethical issues, where students learn from professors in different subjects across the university, and engage with leading thinkers about how the major global challenges can be addressed.  Students debate the importance of values and their prioritization, ethical biases and blind-spots, intentions and consequences, and they do this in a lab-environment where everyone is involved in designing solutions for the ethical issues of the day. 

For much of the 20th Century, Ireland lagged behind other states in Northern Europe in terms of economic development and average standard of living. Yet in the last decade of the century Ireland’s economic fortunes changed dramatically with the advent of the "Celtic Tiger." Ireland experienced rapid economic, social and cultural change over a short period of time that continues to unfold. Rapid population and demographic change and liberalization of social attitudes and values have all contributed to this change. Such changes have reinvigorated debates about what it means to be Irish, the values, lifestyles, and identities associated with such changes and the institutional practices, occupational structures, and the political priorities evident in Irish society. Yet there are continuities that can be traced back in Irish history that underpin and also help explain the dynamics of Irish society. This course utilizes theories of social change to explore what type of society Ireland is. It critically evaluates theories of development that have been used by academics and experts in Ireland to explain Ireland’s conversion from a "late modernizer" to a "knowledge society." Finally, it locates Ireland’s societal change in the context of Europe and globally.

The Finance function is a critical aspect of any organization.  The success or failure of a firm may be influenced significantly by how it manages its finances.  It is therefore important for both managers and employees to understand the principals of financial management for firms operating in any industry. This course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of financial management. It focuses on analyzing and evaluating financial products using various techniques. It covers several topics related to financial management such as debt policy, dividend policy, maximizing corporate value and financial risk. Throughout this course, students will become familiar with the basic concepts of corporate finance and financial language used within academic literature and the media.

This course provides an introduction to ocean properties and processes. Topics include processes that exchange energy and water within the Earth system; main sources, sinks, and pathways of material; temperature, salinity, and density structure; temperature-salinity diagram; waves and tide generation; Eulerian and Lagrangian co-ordinate systems; hydrothermal circulation; biogeochemical cycling of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients; biogenic sediments; volume transport and fluxes of material; and instrumentation used in oceanography.

This course focuses on key concepts in evolutionary biology including the mechanisms operating on molecules, on populations and those involved in the formation of new species. It will also include topics on macroevolution, such as the role of mass extinctions, ​radiations, and biological constraints and biases in shaping evolutionary patterns.

This course provides an introduction to 20th Century Irish literature in English and the Irish language (in translation). It considers how writers have participated in the negotiation of modern and contemporary Irish identities. Through a close critical reading of key selected texts, it investigates the ways in which writers have imagined and reimagined Ireland and Irishness from the literary and cultural revival of the late 19th and early 20th centuries through to the new millennium. Issues to be addressed include Ireland’s transition from a traditional to a modern society, language, gender, and the connections between literary production and the imagined "nation." Knowledge of Irish is not necessary for this course, as all Irish language texts are studied in English translation.