A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Almost 50% of Irish teens claim to buy music online regularly
In a study by online PR and marketing agency Mulley Communications, 46 per cent of Irish teenagers surveyed claim to purchase music regularly online. The research, which surveyed 101 teenagers last November, found that Nokia was the brand of mobile phone most likely to be used by teenagers but Apple’s iPhone would be the preferred choice of two-thirds of respondents if money was no object.
The study found that despite 97 per cent of the teenagers using Facebook, mobile phones and text messaging are still the preferred form of communications. The mobile phone was cited as the most treasured item by 41 per cent of teens while 56 per cent preferred texting to communicate with friends.
Bord Gáis invests 2m in tidal farm
State energy company Bord Gáis Energy has invested €2 million in tidal energy firm OpenHydro and the two firms have formed a joint venture to develop a large-scale tidal farm off the Irish coast. OpenHydro will receive an initial €1 million with a further €1 million invested on the achievement of certain goals relating to the development of the tidal farm.
OpenHydro has now raised €15.4 million in the last year from new and existing investors. In conjunction with SSE Renewables, it is developing a 200MW tidal farm off Scotland.
Research institute wins IT contract
The Innovation Value Institute (IVI) at NUI Maynooth has been awarded a contract by the European Commission to carry out research intended to “strengthen and further professionalise” the role of chief information officers and IT professionals in business, public sector and academic organisations.
Based on interviews with professionals in the field, IVI will develop a framework for IT professionalism, which will improve practices in the profession and make it easier for people to move roles, and will also create a European training programme for IT managers.
IVI director Prof Martin Curley said the appointment reflected an awareness of the “vital role ICT plays in driving modern business”.
