IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 18 May
18-05-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Apple to recruit 300 new staff in Cork | SFI awards EUR8.5m in research funds
The Irish Times reports that Invest NI, the North's regional economic development agency, secured STG686 million in new investment commitments in the 12 months to March. According to provisional figures, 6,575 jobs were either promoted or safeguarded in Northern Ireland as a result of the agency's work in the last financial year. Invest NI said its efforts had brought 4,300 new jobs to the North and helped retain 2,275 that might otherwise have gone elsewhere. Invest NI offered STG181 million in financial support packages to companies that made investment plans for the North during 2009 and 2010.
The Irish Independent says that Google has deleted data collected in Ireland through the scanning of wireless networks by cars taking photos for Google Earth. "We can confirm that all data identified as being from Ireland was deleted over the weekend in the presence of an independent third party," the company said, after admitting it had gathered private information from scores of homes and offices around Ireland. Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Gary Davis welcomed Google's fast reaction to the problem but said tighter controls were needed to make sure such privacy breaches didn't happen again.
The paper also says the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) has insisted there will be no disciplinary action taken against two senior academics who circulated defamatory comments about a lecturer. The college and its head of the School of Business, Larry Elwood, along with his deputy, Deirdre Lusby, were sued by Terry Casey, a lecturer in international marketing, in the first e-mail libel case in the High Court. Casey took the action after an e-mail attachment was circulated by Elwood and Lusby to 47 other GMIT staff members in January 2005. Following a settlement of the action, an apology was read on behalf of the defendants, and they agreed to pay Casey's damages and costs. "GMIT wishes to make it clear that there is no question of any disciplinary action arising against either Larry Elwood or Deirdre Lusby," the institute said in a statement.
In other news from the academic world, the Irish Examiner reports that University College Cork has expressed concern about how details of a sexual harassment complaint became public on the internet. The college is under pressure from academics around the world over claims it is unfairly punishing behavioural science lecturer Dr Dylan Evans, who showed a journal article about the oral sex habits of fruit bats to a female colleague. The controversy relates to sanctions against Evans after external investigators upheld a complaint that he sexually harassed his colleague. About 2,500 people have signed an online petition to revoke the sanctions following an article about the case on US website The Huffington Post, which featured an open letter from Evans to international academics. A video on YouTube shows internal UCC documents, including the original letter of complaint and the investigators' report. UCC said it views with the utmost gravity the posting of confidential documentation about the case to social media platforms.
The paper also says there has been a 500 percent increase in the number of teenagers engaging in live text conversations with the ISPCC's Childline Online service. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 had 13,666 individual conversations using Childline Online's TEENTXT service last year, compared to 2,704 in 2008. Some of the live text conversations would involve the sending of around 15 to 20 text messages over a two-hour period.
The same paper says that Apple has broken the 2,000 jobs mark for the first time at its facility in Hollyhill, Cork, where it plans to recruit up to 300 staff in the next 12 months. The new roles will follow the 500 or so staff hired in the past six months, most of whom have been in production and sales roles. Industry sources believe the bulk of the next 300 jobs will be in production of the Mac Pro, the company's high-end desktop computer. This recruitment drive places Apple among the larger employers in Munster and makes it one of the largest ICT employers in Ireland.
The paper also reports that EUR8.5 million has been awarded to 47 research projects in the latest phase of the Research Frontiers Programme, funded by Science Foundation Ireland. The funding will involve 105 college researchers taking on work in a range of areas, including cystic fibrosis, genetics, bacterial and viral infections, environmental monitoring, food safety, and the streaming of media over wireless networks. The funding covers research over three and four-year periods at UCD, TCD, NUI Galway, UCC, DCU, NUI Maynooth, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of Limerick, the Tyndall National Institute, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and the Institute of Technology Tallaght.
According to the Financial Times, mobile operator Vodafone has said it will return to revenue growth in the coming financial year although it will take a STG2.3 billion impairment charge in its full-year results. Revenues for the year to 31 March rose 8.4 percent to STG44.5 billion. Pre-tax profit rose 107 percent to STG8.6 billion as the group met its STG1 billion cost reduction targets a year ahead of schedule. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 1.7 percent, in line with expectations. "We are creating a stronger Vodafone, which is positioned to return to revenue growth during the 2011 financial year, as economic recovery should benefit our key markets," said Vittorio Colao, chief executive.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft has agreed to pay USD200 million to VirnetX Holding to settle a patent-infringement dispute, less than three weeks before a scheduled injunction hearing before a Texas judge. Under the settlement, the software giant will license VirnetX patents that secure communications on next-generation mobile phone networks. The amount is significant for the Californian company, which reported revenue of only USD26,306 for 2009.
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