Ireland

This course introduces the concepts behind the analysis of renewable energy systems. Choice awareness of energy systems are considered in the uptake of renewable energy systems. The fundamentals of generation, cogeneration, and tri-generation are explored for low-carbon/renewable energy systems. Methods and tools for hybrid energy systems integration and optimization to provide specified service loads (electricity, heating, and cooling) are applied considering energy flows, energy systems integration, and bases for sustainable energy systems. Design and analyses of renewables is based on special purpose computer tools with capability for integration of renewable energy resources and/or conversion technologies for multiple energy systems/sectors including energy demand and supply modelling.

This course investigates how earth scientists reconstruct past climates, and demonstrate, using selected case studies, what drives climate change and how ecosystems respond to these forcing factors. Upon successful completion of the course, students are able to understand the various sources of sedimentological, chemical, and biological data (proxies) earth and environmental scientists use to reconstruct ancient environments and climates, with particular emphasis on environmental reconstructions using microfossils and isotopic data; the basic principles of stratigraphy; how changes in sedimentary sequences over time record phenomena such as changes in sea level, and astronomical forcing of climate; and a series of key events involving global environmental change that are recorded in the geological record of Ireland (including snowball Earth events, carboniferous palaeoenvironments, and landscape evolution over the past few thousand years). This course is taught online. 

This course introduces students to key debates and texts in the field of postcolonial studies. The lectures are grouped together under headings relevant to historical and contemporary engagements with post coloniality. Each theme consists of two lectures: one that frames the conceptual, critical, and historical debates on the given topic, the other discussing a literary text. The critical and literary works scheduled for each lecture represent the focus of discussion, but related authors, themes, and texts are introduced and discussed alongside them, giving students direction for further study. In addition, and where appropriate, visual and audio material is used to illustrate as well as help generate debate.

This course explores transitions that occur in children's and adolescents' lives, including "vertical transitions," described as "developmental and predictable" and including moving on from one setting to another at the appropriate stage in education/life and "horizontal transition," described as the movement between activities during the course of a normal day. The course explores transitions that result from migration, changes in the family structure, and bereavement.

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.