Posts tagged ‘ICT’
ICT:Biometrics & consent
Friday, July 9th, 2010With the new UK Government’s commitment to “outlaw the fingerprinting of children at school without parental permission” in England, Meadhbh Monahan checks out the situation in Northern Ireland. Seventeen of Northern Ireland’s 1,096 schools use biometric technology, mostly in their canteens, according to the five education and library boards’ official records. The boards are aware of other schools, under CCMS control also using the system but CCMS does not hold this information. In light of the UK Government’s tough stance, agendaNi asked the Department of Education to outline...[full story]
ICT:Streamlined care
Friday, July 9th, 2010Health care can be improved by taking paper out of the system, whether in records or referrals, according to Hugh Mullen. As the Health and Social Care Board’s outgoing Director of Performance Management and Service Improvement, Mullen updated delegates on how ICT is modernising and transforming health services at an agendaNi seminar in April. Health service management was a late adopter of ICT compared to other sectors, Mullen remarked, and the service was “still doing an awful lot with pieces of paper.” The global banking sector spends 6.9 per cent of its budget in ICT while...[full story]
ICT:Effective environments
Friday, July 9th, 2010Developing ICT infrastructure in schools is essential for an effective learning environment according to Anne Casey, education ICT advisor for Partnerships for Schools (PfS). Rather than drawing up a list of ICT equipment that they would like, school principals who are considering re-vamping their ICT systems should garner an understanding of the ways in which new technologies can improve their schools’ educational provision, according to Anne Casey. Lessons learned from her role as ICT advisor for PfS can be applied to Northern Ireland, she claimed. An umbrella body responsible...[full story]
ICT:Joined-up surgery
Friday, July 9th, 2010Delays or overruns in surgery can distress patients and hold up an expensive part of the Health Service. Karen O’Loan explained how the Theatre Management System is improving surgery at our ICT in health seminar. The Health Service’s Theatre Management System (TMS) is making surgery more streamlined, according to Karen O’Loan who has been leading the system’s implementation over the last two years. O’Loan is the Health and Social Care Board’s Assistant Director of Performance Management and Service Improvement and has worked in healthcare ICT since 1991. An Audit Office report...[full story]
ICT:Best laid plans
Monday, April 5th, 2010Businesses can take their emergency plans for granted until trouble hits. agendaNi finds out what makes for better preparation from the Continuity Forum’s Russell Price. The adage common sense is not so common is surprisingly true when it comes to how businesses plan for crises. In fact, many do not. A recent agendaNi seminar on managing risk heard from Russell Price, who chairs the Continuity Forum, an NGO helping companies become more resilient. As he explained in an interview before his talk, business continuity is about applying experience not red tape and good planning is necessary...[full story]
ICT:Quantifying data
Monday, April 5th, 2010An information explosion is well under way. Peter Cheney looks at its causes and effects. The near-collapse of the world’s banking systems, in the not too distant past, was partly triggered by vast amounts of financial data being misread by the computer models designed to analyse risk. Such a major crisis illustrated the scale of data in today’s world and also the problems when the information is not handled properly. Digital information is now increasing tenfold every five years as more is accumulated, stored and shared through the internet. The number of blogs alone is also thought...[full story]
ICT:Data & democracy
Monday, April 5th, 2010How open government and data releases make opportunities for developers, citizens and journalists. Data release is not a natural vote-winner but for governments on both sides of the Atlantic, it is increasingly a way to demonstrate openness, a quality clearly valued by voters. The state has long been the largest collector of statistics but has been traditionally less keen on releasing them to its citizens in a way they can understand. Barack Obama’s first presidential memorandum committed his administration to being transparent and open. In particular, information would be disclosed...[full story]
