Video conferencing solutions have enjoyed widespread adoption among larger organisations for some time now with a market perception, right or wrong, that these systems were simply beyond the financial and technical reach of their smaller counterparts. But that’s set to change as cloud-based, managed video services start to gain real traction in the Irish market, particularly with cash-strapped small businesses.
The most obvious and immediate benefit of video conferencing is the reduction in travel costs. There’s little doubt that this tangible, measurable gain appeals to financial directors in particular, who can tick the box for high-yield cost/benefit analysis with a certain degree of confidence. However, the video conferencing debate has moved beyond a simple question of cost reduction to encompass collaboration and teamwork and competitive differentiation.
Design fads come and go. Technologies develop and evolve. But in the world of the web, there’s always one constant: content is king. Understanding the central motivation behind a customer’s visit to your website is the key to building an effective online presence, which will encourage interaction with your business and add to bottom line.
It would be easy to write about HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in the all-too-familiar context of social disadvantage, hard core drug use and promiscuous sexual behaviour. But that would miss the point. HIV is like many serious illnesses or diseases, its onset triggered by what is euphemistically referred to as ‘risky behaviour’. Yet we all engage in ‘risky behaviour’ to a greater or lesser degree.
On March 26 1993, US citizen Annie McCarrick disappeared from her home in Sandymount. Chief investigators tell Deirdre Cashion why this cold case still haunts them 20 years later.
Easter Monday, April 12 1993. Brian McCarthy pulls up a bar stool at the Clontarf Castle Hotel in Dublin’s Northside. He’s just a stone’s throw from the seafront where the locals are enjoying a bright, clear, crisp day along the popular promenade. But dark clouds far away on the horizon threaten the dazzling warmth of the early afternoon sun.
It’s a familiar if not rare experience for many of us – waking with a sudden dart in the dead of night, heart pounding, pulse racing, brainwaves flooded with flashback images and an overwhelming sense of anxiety and confusion permeating our rousing consciousness.
While more common in children, adults can also suffer from persistent nightmares or night terrors from time to time. It’s a condition that can be very debilitating for those, whose sleep is regularly interrupted by spurious things that go bump in the night.