The Development of the Centre for Migration Studies Irish...

The Development of the Centre for Migration Studies Irish Emigration Database In 1988 the Ulster American Folk Park (UAFP) near Omagh in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland began to set up a computerised Irish Emigration Database (IED) in its library. This was a ground-breaking project at that time and was immediately beset by problems of all kinds, the details of which will be explained later. By 1997 the Folk Park’s library had expanded to become the Centre for Emigration Studies and eventually the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS). The latter is now funded jointly by the Scotch-Irish Trust of Ulster in partnership with DCAL (Department of Culture, Arts Leisure) and the five Education and Library Boards of Northern Ireland. In this paper†¦show more content†¦The late John Winters (who sadly died in May 2002) managed the Database project at UAFP and then subsequently became Database Manager at CMS. As Database Collection Manager, I have managed the Project in Belfast from its inception until the present day. Des McMorrow was in post as ICT Manager f rom October 2003-March 2004. A new ICT Manager is to be in place by July 2004. SETTING UP AND STAFFING The British Council funded Ms Joan Reedy, from Boston, Massachusetts, to work on the project in Belfast during 1989/90 and Dr Katharine Brown from Virginia, and Ms Maureen Macauley, also from Boston, during 1991/92. They all did some excellent work for the Database and were a tremendous asset to the project. All other workers have been appointed via unemployment training schemes. After a year initially working at PRONI a new government training scheme was introduced to replace the old Ace Scheme. This entailed recruiting trainees who would earn only  £10 per week, on top of their unemployment benefit. The prospects of recruiting well-qualified people to process the documents looked bleak. However, after a short while we began to build up a number of trainees who were interested in the work. The main Training and Employment Agency was Enterprise Ulster - http://www.enterpriseulster.co.uk - whose head office is in Belfast. During the early years when unemployment was high there could be 12–13 trainees at a time working at our Belfast office.Show MoreRelated Editorial: Ireland’s Past? Essay2614 Words   |  11 Pagesleft beyond is endorsed by a variety of perspectives. Emigration has made such a huge impact on Irish history that the Irish diaspora and its descendants far outnumbered the inhabitants of the Ireland of Ireland itself, and many of those outside Ireland who claim Irish descent remain emotionally attached to a conception of the â€Å"old country,† whose image in their minds is strongly associated with the distant experiences of their ancestors. The Irish tourist industry, conscious of the lucrative marketRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesthe American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992 Printed in the United States of America 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 C ONTENTS Introduction Michael Adas 1 1 World Migration in the Long Twentieth Century †¢ Jose C. Moya and Adam McKeown 9 †¢ 2 Twentieth-Century Urbanization: In Search of an Urban Paradigm for an Urban World †¢ Howard Spodek 53 3 Women in the Twentieth-Century World Bonnie G. Smith Read MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pages22/10/2007 11:54 Page 597 CASE STUDIES ECS8C_C01.qxd 22/10/2007 11:54 Page 598 ECS8C_C01.qxd 22/10/2007 11:54 Page 599 Guide to using the case studies The main text of this book includes 87 short illustrations and 15 case examples which have been chosen to enlarge speciï ¬ c issues in the text and/or provide practical examples of how business and public sector organisations are managing strategic issues. The case studies which follow allow the reader to extend