IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 19 August
19-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Havok warns on lack of maths graduates | Facebook unveils location features
The Irish Times reports that Leaving Certificate students may be able to benefit from bonus points for higher-level maths within two years, according to Minister for Education Mary Coughlan. Speaking after bodies such as IBEC and the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland expressed renewed disappointment at the high failure rate in the subject in this year's Leaving Cert, Coughlan said she hoped the Government would be in a position to "encourage and entice" students into taking the higher level exam by 2012. "I would reiterate my view, and it is being listened to by the universities, that we would be in a position to introduce additional bonus points in 2012 for higher education mathematics," she said. More than 4,300 of the 58,000 students who sat the Leaving Cert failed maths, and only 16 percent sat the higher level paper.
In related news, the paper also says that the head of Emmy-award winning gaming company Havok has said that a lack of maths graduates is threatening the company's presence in Ireland. Havok managing director David Coghlan said: "Our preference is to keep our research and development facility in Ireland, but with a lack of maths graduates, it's a challenge." Coghlan, whose company is recruiting for maths graduates, said he was pleased with the calibre of Irish graduates "but it's the quantity that's the problem". Coghlan said the introduction of bonus points for honours maths was fair.
The paper also says that two former BT Young Scientist winners from Cork have also proved winners in their Leaving Cert results. Both Richie O'Shea and Aisling Judge scored strongly in the sciences and mathematics and both plan to study science and engineering in university.
The same paper reports that North Korea is using Twitter and YouTube to step up its propaganda struggle with South Korea and the US. Although curious web surfers have been checking out the isolated state's offerings, the North's intended message may not be getting through, with South Korea blocking links from northern tweets and some viewers posting mocking comments on the videos and messages. The US, however, welcomed North Korea's move to social media, with the State Department saying Pyongyang should allow its citizens free access to the sites. North Korea blocks internet access for most of its 24 million citizens.
The Irish Independent notes that Imagine's marketing people are determined to make inroads into the social media world. Since last October, Imagine Wimax has built up a following of more than 3,500 fans and is determined to hit the 5,000 mark by the end of September. "There's a perception in Ireland that all phone and broadband companies are quite rigid and difficult to get through to," said an Imagine marketing rep. "We're using Facebook and Twitter. . . so we can resolve customers' issues quickly."
The Irish Examiner reports that security experts have warned about the risks associated with creating a 'digital footprint' that allows people who place too much personal information online to become targets for cyber criminals. Following comments by Google chief Eric Schmidt, who said young people may one day have to change their names in order to escape their previous online activity, technical director at Irish security firm Espion Colm Murphy said users needed to understand that information they post is permanently stored and traceable. Individuals with a large digital footprint can be targets for identity theft, as cyber criminals are able to piece together enough details to masquerade as someone they are not, he said.
The paper also says that an Irish company has launched an iPhone app to help building firms clean up construction sites more efficiently and cheaply. SmartBuilder Software, based at NovaUCD, developed the Site Clean Up application after market research showed a demand for a practical solution for the problem of rubbish left behind by sub-contractors on building sites. This leads to untidy and potentially unsafe sites with main contractors having to employ additional staff to clean up the sites. Site Clean Up provides a way for site managers to use their iPhones once they spot infringements on a site. They can then record and order sub-contractors to clean up by a set date or face penalties. Sending warning notices ensures they act quickly to rectify the problem.
The Financial Times reports that Facebook has unveiled Places, a new feature that will allow users to broadcast their location and track their friends’ movements. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, said Places would allow Facebook users to "share where they are in a social way" and "see where your friends are around you". The service is optional, and will allow users to “check-in” to locations. Places may eventually open up new financial opportunities for Facebook through partnerships with retailers and restaurants, and location-specific advertising. But the launch will be scrutinised by privacy advocates concerned that the social networking company is increasingly reckless with sensitive user data. The service will be available first in the US through Facebook’s mobile website and a new iPhone application.
The paper also says that social networks and increasingly sophisticated mobile phones have made the UK a nation of media multi-taskers, new research shows. A fifth of all media is consumed at the same time as another form of communication, according to research compiled by Ofcom, with people spending almost half of their waking hours glued to a screen, on the phone to friends or listening to the radio. Although television is as popular as ever, almost one-fifth of the time spent watching TV is now accompanied by laptop or mobile activity. Younger people are leading the multitasking trend, Ofcom says. Those aged 15 to 24 squeeze nearly five hours’ worth of media consumption into two hours of real time -- mostly through a combination of mobiles, instant messaging and social networking.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 