• European University of Technology
• 10. No inequality close

In Ireland the policy has been to view childcare as parent's private responsibility resulting in a dearth of public provision, regulation or support for parents since the foundation of the state. Utilising current literature in the field, this paper discusses the need to develop a flexible and responsive childcare system for all children, with special consideration given to the preventive role of childcare for "at risk" children. The gradual emergence of state responsibility for childcare is explored as is the need that this be informed by parents and the often forgotten key stakeholder - children.

Since 2006, EU Kids Online – a thematic research network funded under the Safer Internet Programme - has sought to extend knowledge and inform policy regarding the opportunities that the internet affords children and young people, the risks they experience online, and the impact on children when they encounter difficulties. This paper seeks to locate EU Kids Online policy recommendations within the overarching European strategy and policy framework known as A Digital Agenda for Europe and to assess gaps in the current provision for internet safety. Originating with the Safer Internet Action Plan (1999-2004), the European Union has for over ten years promoted internet safety as a central element of Information Society policy. The underpinning objective is one of supporting an ‘Information Society for all’, fostering digital inclusion, better access and skills for all citizens, and crucially encouraging participation of young people in ICT activities. Within the terms of the Digital Agenda, it is recognized that a barrier to further e-inclusion is a lack of trust and confidence in online technologies, requiring on the part of the European Commission and member states reinforced efforts towards security, protection of privacy, and awareness of online safety. European policy in the main addresses adults’ (and parents’) concerns regarding security. Yet, as revealed in EU Kids Online research, children while mostly very confident in their approach to the online world, also have significant concerns regarding the availability of quality online content, trust, security, misuse of personal data and online support services. This paper outlines policy implications of research findings on this topic and argues for a child-centred approach towards confidence building.

BACKGROUND: The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG 5) established the goal of a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR; number of maternal deaths per 100,000 livebirths) between 1990 and 2015. We aimed to measure levels and track trends in maternal mortality, the key causes contributing to maternal death, and timing of maternal death with respect to delivery.METHODS: We used robust statistical methods including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) to analyse a database of data for 7065 site-years and estimate the number of maternal deaths from all causes in 188 countries between 1990 and 2013. We estimated the number of pregnancy-related deaths caused by HIV on the basis of a systematic review of the relative risk of dying during pregnancy for HIV-positive women compared with HIV-negative women. We also estimated the fraction of these deaths aggravated by pregnancy on the basis of a systematic review. To estimate the numbers of maternal deaths due to nine different causes, we identified 61 sources from a systematic review and 943 site-years of vital registration data. We also did a systematic review of reports about the timing of maternal death, identifying 142 sources to use in our analysis. We developed estimates for each country for 1990-2013 using Bayesian meta-regression. We estimated 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for all values.FINDINGS: 292,982 (95% UI 261,017-327,792) maternal deaths occurred in 2013, compared with 376,034 (343,483-407,574) in 1990. The global annual rate of change in the MMR was -0·3% (-1·1 to 0·6) from 1990 to 2003, and -2·7% (-3·9 to -1·5) from 2003 to 2013, with evidence of continued acceleration. MMRs reduced consistently in south, east, and southeast Asia between 1990 and 2013, but maternal deaths increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s. 2070 (1290-2866) maternal deaths were related to HIV in 2013, 0·4% (0·2-0·6) of the global total. MMR was highest in the oldest age groups in both 1990 and 2013. In 2013, most deaths occurred intrapartum or postpartum. Causes varied by region and between 1990 and 2013. We recorded substantial variation in the MMR by country in 2013, from 956·8 (685·1-1262·8) in South Sudan to 2·4 (1·6-3·6) in Iceland.INTERPRETATION: Global rates of change suggest that only 16 countries will achieve the MDG 5 target by 2015. Accelerated reductions since the Millennium Declaration in 2000 coincide with increased development assistance for maternal, newborn, and child health. Setting of targets and associated interventions for after 2015 will need careful consideration of regions that are making slow progress, such as west and central Africa.FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Research cannot reach its full potential when half the population is excluded from its activities”1. Women researchers in engineering remain a minority in both Higher Education and industry in Ireland. Recent statistics of women graduating in science and engineering indicated an increase (a slow increase) but the numbers moving through to completion of PhD and careers in academia or industry remain quite low. Statistics on women in professorial and senior positions within the engineering sector also remains low. The educated workforce produced in Ireland by its education system is acknowledged as a key factor in attracting international investment to the country and in the growth of the modern technological industries which has helped make Ireland one of the fastest growing economies globally. However, as a country Ireland would put this success at risk if it does not continue to develop its research and development capabilities. There has been much debate at national and European level ‘to boost gender equality in research through stimulating the participation of women in science and technological development; and fostering the integration of the gender dimension throughout European research.’ As a result, national and European research funding has been directed at this area. Two such project proposals have been submitted by the Technological University Dublin, one through Science Foundation Ireland and the other at European level, through the Sixth European Framework, this was submitted in conjunction with other European Partners. In this paper, we will discuss a number of primary obstacles that our research has found most of our female encountered in our survey and interviews – how to balance the choice you choose. Some initiatives on the proposal based on the statistics survey to support women in engineering will also present and share among the academic community; it is hoped that the measures proposed will be of practical use for other academic communities who are affected by the under-representation of women. The overarching aim is that potential research insights from women will be encouraged and not neglected so “no great research” is overlooked. This paper may be of value to an American audience by (i) informing them of the situation regarding representation of women in engineering and science roles in Ireland; (ii) outlining a self-assessment exercise conducted at Technological University Dublin into research participation by women in science and engineering and (iii) highlighting a comprehensive range of proposed measures to redress gender imbalance in science, engineering and technologically related disciplines in DIT.

Much of the writing on differences in educational attainment by different social classes in Ireland has started by accepting the use of the tenn 'educational disadvantage' and trying to define it afterwards (Kellaghan et at., 1995; Boldt and Devine, 1998). Others, like Drudy and Lynch have simply dismissed the use of the tenns out of hand, preferring instead to write about social class differences in education (1993, p 52). Far from discouraging the use of the term, this latter sort of intervention seems to have had no effect and the use of the tenn has continued to proliferate in this decade. The tenn is now widely used by agencies from the Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORl) to the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) to the Government of Ireland. It is used by researchers, teachers, policy makers and those who fund research. It appears that the tenn is here to stay. Despite a recent comprehensive review of research in the area (Boldt and Devine, 1998), it is still far from clear what is meant by educational disadvantage. In this paper I will look at the different definitions of educational disadvantage proposed. I will argue that the use of the tenn in Ireland has many similarities with the use of the tenn "at-risk" in the US and has similar problems. The at-risk model understands educational disadvantage as akin to a disease or a condition - it is something the individual has. I will argue that educational disadvantage should be seen as a series of active processes, rather than a condition. Such an approach to educational disadvantage has serious consequences for our attempts to research and to measure the phenomenon.

The Inquiry Report of the Roscommon Child Care Case (HSE, 2010) was the first Inquiry Report into intra-familial child abuse and neglect in the Irish context to explicitly identify a gender dimension to its findings. This paper seeks to build on these observations and argues that an analysis of the gendering processes that underlie understandings of and responses to neglect, violence and abuse can make child protection policy and practice more effective. The absence of an analysis which places gender at the core of policy and practice in child protection and family support raises serious questions about the differentiated responses to women and men who are subject to and perpetrators of violence, rape and abuse. Constructions of femininity and masculinity within child protection which systematically excludes fathers and mitigate sexual abuse by mothers must be addressed in order to enhance the support offered to parents and the quality of protection available to children. In addition a discourse of ‘mother-blaming’ which renders women responsible for matters over which they have little control and the reinforcement of men’s power when their abuse remains invisible in professional interventions are the unintended consequences of ignoring the gender dimension of work in this challenging field. The findings of this paper suggest that a gender lens may contribute to better practice in child protection and the greater likelihood that children will be protected and parents supported, each according to their need.

This paper analyses the phenomenon of mothers who sexually abuse their children, most specifically their sons. It defines the term Maternal Abuse, offers a review of the contemporary academic discourse on female sexual abusers, and presents a quantitative study of maternal abuse in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which appears to show that the existing statistics from Health Board and ISPCC reports (SEHB Section 8 Report, 1997; ISPCC National Report, 1997) significantly underestimate it's prevelence. It concludes by suggesting that though Ireland is considerably more aware of the phenomenon of sexual abuse than in the past, but that the incidence of this particular type of abuse is poorly recognised by the child protection and welfare authorities