IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 6 May
06-05-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Dublin student stages Wiki hoax | EA to go back to black
The Irish Times reports that a Wikipedia hoax by a 22-year-old Dublin student resulted in a fake quote being published in newspaper obituaries around the world. The quote was attributed to French composer Maurice Jarre, who died at the end of March. It was posted on the online encyclopedia shortly after his death and later appeared in obituaries published in the Guardian, the London Independent, on the BBC Music Magazine website and in Indian and Australian newspapers. Shane Fitzgerald, a final-year undergraduate student studying sociology and economics at UCD, said he placed the quote on Wikipedia as an experiment when doing research on globalisation.
The paper also says that closer collaboration between third-level institutes is vital if Ireland is to build on its position as a global centre for research and learning, according to Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe. The minister said successful bids for research funding must demonstrate close co-operation and efficient resource sharing. He said the EUR300 million investment under cycle five of research funding for third level was the largest single investment by the State in research.
The paper also notes that two new websites have been launched that aim to help Irish voters engage with the European Parliament elections. The sites, CandidateWatch.ie and VoteMatch.eu, are intended to increase voter participation. CandidateWatch allows voters to question candidates about a range of topics. On VoteMatch.eu, users are invited to answer 25 questions on EU policies. Based on their answers, a screen shows which party's policies best mirror the voter's own views.
The same paper says that Microsoft Ireland is seeking 60 redundancies but is also hiring 40 staff, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.
The Irish Independent says that maths and science teachers are not "passionate" enough about their subjects, according to secondary school students. As a result, pupils are less inspired and more likely to lose interest, which may have a negative impact on their performance in the subjects, says a research study by Ipsos MORI. The report found that maths was seen as a "staid" subject with a curriculum that had remained static for a long time. The study also suggests that too many students limit their options by dropping science subjects for the Leaving Cert and switching from higher to ordinary level maths.
The paper also says that British pay-TV company Virgin Media has posted a decline in first-quarter profit as the company gained fewer new TV and broadband customers. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and other charges fell to STG312.3 million from STG323.5 million a year earlier. Sales dropped 1.2 percent to STG935.7 million. In November, Virgin Media said it would cut 15 percent of its workforce by 2012.
The same paper reports that Apple's attempt to sell the iPhone in China may falter, as operators argue over distribution rights and the government seeks to remove Wi-Fi from the handset. Many people had assumed that the iPhone would be available in China by the end of last year, according to Toni Sacconaghi, a New York-based analyst. Now he gives the device an 80 percent chance of reaching the country in 2009.
The Irish Examiner reports that the Department of Agriculture's website has received over 19,000 hits in the last few days as the public accessed the list of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payment recipients. Ireland is one of 26 EU countries to have published the list, in accordance with new EU transparency regulations.
The Financial Times says that loss-making video game publisher Electronic Arts has forecast a return to profitability for its current fiscal year. EA posted a loss of USD0.37 a share, excluding certain items, for its fourth quarter, beating Wall Street expectations of USD0.43, according to Reuters Estimates. The loss for the 2009 fiscal year was USD0.30 a share, compared with a profit of USD1.06 in 2008. EA predicted a profit of USD1 a share for 2010. The company hopes to get a boost from the release of its 'Sims 3' game next month. EA also said it expects the life of current consoles to be extended and was not investing in development for a new generation.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the US government is struggling to keep up with the increasing number of attacks on its computer networks, senior officials have said. At several hearings on Capitol Hill, officials from each branch of the armed forces said the cyber defences were being challenged like never before by sophisticated, well-organised attempts to disrupt important systems and steal classified information. "Threats in cyberspace move at the speed of light, and we are literally under attack every day as our networks are constantly probed and our adversaries seek to exploit vulnerabilities," Lt Gen William Shelton, the Air Force's chief information officer, told a House Armed Services Committee panel.
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