Eoin – Page 148 – cearta.ie

Today, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, after a call for submissions and having taken evidence in public sessions, published its Report on Freedom of Expression. It is an extensive and well-written report, and will repay much further study. In the meantime, from the press release:

“The committee recommends that the current wording of the constitutional article on freedom of expression is unsatisfactory and drafted in such a way that the limitations on free speech are accorded undue prominence. The Joint Committee recommends that the freedom of expression as provided for in the constitution should be amended to be expressed along the lines of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which will ensure greater emphasis on the freedom of speech whilst allowing for proportionate and measured restrictions on that freedom”, said Deputy Ardagh [Chair of the Committee].

“However, given the development in case law and the jurisprudence which has emerged on freedom of expression since 1996, the Committee is of the view that amendment is not immediately necessary but recommends that change be made when an appropriate opportunity presents”, he added.

This is a good starting point, but it is a pity that the Committee didn’t go further.…

Blawg Review #164

16 June, 200811 June, 2018

| 16 Comments

| Blogging, data retention, Irish Society, James Joyce, Law

0. Prolegomenon, or Why me?
Today is Bloomsday, the centrepiece of a weeklong festival in Dublin celebrating the day in 1904 on which the events of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses unfold, which is the day Joyce first formally went out with Nora Barnacle (the story is told in the enthralling movie Nora; other movies with 16 June references include The Producers and Before Sunrise). In the novel, all human life is there; and Eamon Fitzgerald’s Rainy Day is currently by far the best guide to the important things in life: democracy, football, and technology. Expect a Bloomsday post today (this is last year’s; update: this is this year’s). Just like Oh Brother, Where art Thou?, the novel loosely parallels Homer’s Odyssey, and this blogpost will very very loosely parallel Joyce’s Ulysses (or at least his chapter headings).…

So is iTunes U good for you?

12 June, 200816 January, 2009

| No Comments

| Universities

I think the availability of university content in this way has been one of the simply fantastic developments online â€” itâ€™s giving university extension classes, and lifelong education opportunities, to anyone with a computer … Iâ€™ve watched the gradual increase in college content via iTunes with some delight and am off to go find some free â€˜classesâ€™ to attend incognito again.

But is it really such a good thing? Roger Clarke, guesting on the wonderful House of Commons blog writes:

The iTunes conditions appear to preclude the University from making material placed on iTunes U subject to an open content licence. It appears that the conditions apply not only to the version available through iTunes, but also to versions available through other channels … That would mean that anything that a university makes available through iTunes is locked-down and proprietised … Unless and until the iTunes U conditions are found to be different from what I fear (or they are changed), content-producers who want their materials to be openly available need to refuse permission for them to be made available through that channel.

…

What do University Presidents do all day?

5 June, 200816 January, 2009

| 2 Comments

| Universities

I’ve often wondered what my ultimate boss, John Hegarty, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, does all day. Now we mortals at the bottom of the academic ladder might actually find out what university presidents do all day. Ferdinand von Prondzynski, President of Dublin City University (DCU), has started a blog in which he promises to spill the beans on precisely this question. This is definitely a first for Ireland, and is ahead of the curve internationally. This is how he explains the big adventure on which he is embarked:

It is sometimes asked what value university Presidents add to the life and success of their institutions. I may not be the best person to suggest an answer, but in these notes I shall try to set out a little what in fact I do, from day to day, and how this may affect my own institution.

As a much more inconsequential university blogger, allow me to welcome Ferdinand to the wonderful world of blogging. I look forward very much to his comments and insights.…

Say No to Ageism

19 May, 2008

| 1 Comment

| Irish Society, Media and Communications

This week is Say No to Ageism Week. It is an initiative of the National Council for the Advancement of Older People, the Equality Authority, and the Health Service Executive; and it will be launched by today in the Equality Authority’s offices by Maire Hoctor TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Older People.

Ageism is discrimination against older people, whether by stereotyping or prejudice or by unjust differences in treatment. It often takes the form of attributing fixed and negative characteristics to older people regardless of the personal attributes and ambitions. Say No to Ageism Week is a national campaign seeking to raise awareness of ageism and its prevalence in Irish society and to encourage a commitment to change, espcially in the public sector. Good reasons to change are set out by Eleanor Fitzsimons in this morning’s Irish Times (sub req’d) [with added links]:

Putting an end to ageism and compulsory retirement in Ireland

How long should Charlie Munger (84), number two in the world’s most successful company, Berkshire Hathaway, wait for his boss Warren Buffet (78) to call it a day? Should Philip Roth (75) unplug his PC and stop mining the rich seam that has yielded some of his best work ever?

…

Universities and Patents

28 April, 200821 May, 2010

| 2 Comments

| Academic Freedom, Law, Universities

In Ireland, the law relating to patents is governed by the Patents Act, 1992 (here and here) as amended in 2006 (here and here). According to the Irish Patents Office, a patent

confers upon its holder, for a limited period, the right to exclude others from exploiting (making, using, selling, importing) the patented invention, except with the consent of the owner of the patent. A patent is a form of ‘industrial property’ [IP], which can be assigned, transferred, licensed or used by the owner.

The same site also clarifies that any person

may make an application for a patent; the right to a patent belongs to the inventor or the inventors’ successor in title. However, if an employee makes an invention in the course of his/her employment the right to the patent may belong to the employer.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, my employer (Trinity College Dublin) claims ownership

… of all IP created by College Staff in the course of their employment and/or in the fields of expertise in which they choose to work, and thus inventors are required to assign their rights to the College through Innovation Services. In return for this assignment, College contracts with the creators of the IP to share with them any financial benefits received, in accordance with College Regulations.

…

Data Privacy: Three Cautionary Tales

22 April, 200828 April, 2008

| 3 Comments

| Digital Rights, Privacy

On front page of this morning’s Irish Times, Karlin Lillington writes

Garda powers of request for internet data to be widened

THE RANGE of criminal investigations for which the Garda will be able to request e-mail and internet data retained by internet service providers has been broadened by the Government. … Under the draft statutory instrument, retained data would include names of those who sent and received e-mails, computer addresses, the location of computer users, the times a user logged on and off a computer, and the size of files and e-mails sent and received, but not the content of e-mails.

…

The Case of the Mistaken Flights

18 April, 200820 August, 2019

| 8 Comments

| advertising, Contract, Mistaken offers

Look up, it’s Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus used to know how to do public relations – in my youth a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, it had three very powerful advertising campaigns which had a profound effect on me. One used the Gallagher & Lyle song “Breakaway” (YouTube) featuring the lyric “breakaway, fly across your ocean / breakaway, time has come for you”. The second featured the musical tag line “Look up, it’s Aer Lingus, there’s a little piece of Ireland flyin’ by”, with a little girl playing in a field looking up at an Aer Lingus Boeing flying overhead – it gave rise to Aer Lingus’s most enduring slogan, which I have used at the head of this paragraph. And the third was called “You’re Home” (YouTube) and featured Gabriel’s Oboe; it never failed to induce a catch in the voice, a lump in the throat, and a tear in the eye. Judging by a controversy that has flared over the last day or two, however, they seem long since to have lost this knack for connecting with the Irish zeitgeist. Instead, they have flown into a tempest of controversy which they moved to abate only after two days of pressure amounting to a public relations debacle for the airline.…

cearta.ie

Author: Eoin

Finally, some sense on Article 40.6.1(i)

Blawg Review #164

So is iTunes U good for you?

What do University Presidents do all day?

Say No to Ageism

Universities and Patents

Data Privacy: Three Cautionary Tales

The Case of the Mistaken Flights