NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 19 November
19-11-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Jobs to go at Sykes and AOL | Health ICT Group presents report
There was more fear of job losses in Clare on Thursday with up to 100 positions at risk at Sykes Enterprises. The Shannon-based company, which operates a call-centre, is expected to make 100 workers redundant over the next two months. Eighty jobs were cut at the firm last summer after the company lost a Dell outsourcing deal, and previous job losses followed the loss of a deal with Motorola. Sykes has been a key employer in the region for over two decades.
Internationally, AOL is expected to cut a third of its workforce, or 2,500 staff, after its formal split from Time Warner next month. AOL's chief executive Tim Armstrong will surrender his 2009 bonus as well, which was expected to be between USD1.5 million and USD4 million.
Major cost savings and significant improvements in patient care could be achieved through better use of ICT in Irish healthcare, a new report has said. Seventeen ICT companies based in Ireland presented Minister for Health Mary Harney with the report, which examines the role that ICT can play in delivering a world class health system in Ireland. The Health ICT Group said the correct use of ICT could result in EUR195 million in savings by treating chronic illnesses at home and a further EUR79 million in savings through electronic patient records. The report also claimed that ICT could result in 292 fewer diabetic deaths annually.
The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Conor Lenihan has announced the launch of the European Space Education Resource Office. The EUR475,000 project is supported by the European Space Agency to promote the wider study of science using space as a theme in schools. The office will provide assistance for primary and secondary school teachers to teach the explorative approach to science education as part of the new curriculum.
Tanaiste Mary Coughlan has praised the role the life sciences sector plays in the economy at the launch of a Forfas report entitled Health Life Sciences in Ireland – An Enterprise Outlook. Coughlan noted the role technology had played in developing the industry in Ireland. “Investments made in research and development in areas directly relevant to the sector, together with our depth of capabilities in ICT and engineering will continue to serve us well as we shift towards increasingly innovative and research intensive activities,” she said.
Equinome, a new biotech company, has won NovaUCD’s 2009 start-up award and a EUR5,000 prize after being named overall winner of the NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme. Equinome is developing genetic tests to optimise decision-making in the breeding and racing of thoroughbred horses. The firm was founded earlier this year by Dr Emmeline Hill, a horse genomics researcher in UCD’s School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, in partnership with Irish race horse trainer Jim Bolger.
According to reports travel software firm Datalex has seen its revenues drop by 19 percent to USD5.4 million in the third quarter. The business is now expected to post full year losses of around USD3 million. There was some good news for the Dublin firm as its transaction revenue has continued to grow. Third-quarter transaction revenue showed a 22 percent increase on the same period last year.
ComReg has announced the conclusion of its recent Fixed Wireless Access competition for 118 MHz of spectrum in the 3.6 MHz band. ComReg awarded 39 licences to seven different operators: Airspeed Communications, Digiweb, Fastcom, Imagine Group, Last Mile Wireless, PermaNet and Regional Broadband. These new licences, which cover a large area of the country, address the demand for more spectrum by some operators. Fixed Wireless Broadband serves over 112,000 households and businesses, representing almost 9 percent of all broadband connections.
Finally the internet was abuzz on Thursday with fans chiming in on Thierry Henry's handball, which led to the crucial French goal in Paris. Irate fans resorted to tactics such as online petitions and Wikipedia page hacking to express their anger. Irish blogger Adrian Russell has a summary of the best of the online reaction here. Before checking that out, readers of a certain age should be reminded that there was one handball they all likely cheered for a couple of decades ago.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 