[LINK] Three links on the problems of applied science in Canada

[rfmcdonald]

I thought that I'd share three news items coming out of Canada in the past day, each item demonstrating how, in different ways, applied sciences aren't doing well whether for political or economic resons.

The first is the CBC article "'I am not satisfied,' RIM CEO tells shareholders", referring to the new CEO's efforts to stop the slow-motion disintegration of Blackberry maker Research in Motion.

Research In Motion asked its weary shareholders for patience today as the company implements its turnaround plan on the back of the delayed BlackBerry 10 line of smartphones.

CEO Thorsten Heins and his executive team hosted the company's annual general meeting in Waterloo, Ont.

RIM sold more than 49 million smartphones worldwide in the last year and one million PlayBook tablet computers, Heins told shareholders near the start of his prepared speech. The company currently has 77 million paying customers worldwide.

But while he stressed the company's strength in some market segments, Heins acknowledged the company's weaknesses in the key North American smartphone market.

"I want to assure you that I am not satisfied with the performance of the company over the past year," he said.

[. . .]

Heins noted the company has the advantage of a strong cash reserve to help it ride out what it expects will be a lean few months. When it last reported results, RIM had $2.2 billion in cash or cash equivalents on hand.

Last month, RIM revealed it is planning 5,000 layoffs worldwide in a bid to cut costs. "This was an incredibly difficult decision to make but it is necessary," Heins said, noting the layoffs will be completed by the end of next year.

The CEO also noted the company's plans on streamlining their product portfolio. "We will focus on a smaller number of devices in the market at any given time," he said.

[. . .]
A major RIM shareholder echoed that tone, telling CBC News that while he's confident the company still has valuable assets — not to mention $2.2 billion in cash in the till — he has little faith in the board's credibility to manage it well.

"The problem with management and the board is it is all about optimism ... as opposed to results," Jaguar Financial CEO Vic Alboini said. "What shareholders want is results and they want the stock price to refect the valuable assets that RIM has. But those valuable assets will wither and die if the right strategic moves are not taken."

[. . .]

From a high of $148 in the summer of 2008, RIM shares have been on a steady descent ever since, as the company's share of the North American smartphone market was whittled down to roughly 10 per cent today.

This time last year, RIM shares were hovering in the $25 to $30 range, and then-CEO and founder Jim Balsillie was telling investors the BlackBerry 10 was the cure for what was ailing the stock at the time. A year later, there's a new man at the top, the shares are under $8 and BlackBerry 10 is still several quarters away.

Next comes Alexandra Posadzki's Canadian Press article "Candu Energy enacts contingency plans as workers hit the picket lines", talking about how disputes over benefits may lead to the dissipation of Canadian acumen in nuclear technology as skilled Canadian workers go elsewhere.

Candu Energy Inc. enacted a contingency plan Monday after about 800 nuclear scientists, engineers and technologists walked off the job on strike when negotiators failed to reach a deal by the deadline.

But the Society of Professional Engineers and Associates, which represents the workers, said there will be a noticeable effect on operations.

"There's not enough people to replace us, so work will definitely be impacted," union spokeswoman Michelle Duncan said.

Duncan said Candu employees have stopped the ongoing safety analysis that's performed on reactors, and are not available to make any repairs to the reactors.

"These guys have a design expertise," said Duncan. "Imagine how complex a nuclear reactor is. If something is irregular, you want to go back to the designers."

[. . .]

Candu is owned by Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC), and its employees design, build and service nuclear reactors that supply nearly half of Ontario's electricity and 16 per cent of Canada's overall electricity requirements.

The company has operations in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Reactors designed by Candu supply more than 22,000 megawatts of power at sites around the world.

The union has said the main sticking points in the labour dispute involved wages and seniority.

SPEA president Peter White said a key issue is what he calls the company's desire to move away from nuclear industry standards and compensate its employees differently from other workers in the field.

He said a full strike threatens the future of Canada's nuclear industry as it will almost certainly guarantee the loss of technological talent.

Senior engineers with years of expertise are choosing to leave the company, which could cause the design and service capabilities at Candu to decline, he said.

Finally, a brief Agence France-Presse article "Scientists march against 'death of evidence' in Canada" describing a unique protest in Ottawa at the Conservative government's apparent intentional neglect of sciences which produce politically unwanted results.

Scientists held a mock funeral march Tuesday marking the "death of evidence" in Canada, accusing the ruling Tories of muzzling government scientists to advance a political agenda that ignores research findings.

The procession of 200 scientists in lab coats lead by pallbearers carrying a coffin winded silently through downtown Ottawa's streets to Parliament, where a mock funeral service was held for scientific programs cut in recent budgets.

"We are here today to commemorate the untimely death of evidence in Canada," rally organizer and doctoral student in biology Katie Gibbs told a crowd.

Scientists from across Canada gave eulogies in praise of evidence, accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives of drawing an "iron curtain between science and society."

Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said: "What do you do if you want to kill the message? Well, just kill the messenger."

The scientists say the Harper government has denied research results, cut scientific programs and closed labs, effectively slimming climate, water and atmospheric research that produced data that could run counter to its ideologically-based "propaganda."

The government has also legislated changes to environmental standards with the aim of making it easier to develop natural resources, which activists say put the ozone, lakes and wildlife at greater risk.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel countered that in trying economic times, the government has actually increased funding for basic and applied research. "We understand the importance of investing in all stages of research," she told AFP.

Canada's research and development expenditures are now higher than any other Group of Seven country, as a percentage of GDP.

Canadian scientists have also published a record number of peer-reviewed studies in the last decade and commercialization of new technologies has ramped up.

"The prime minister has been clear that innovation is a cornerstone of Canada's long-term prosperity," Rempel said.

The service closed with a dozen scientists paying their respects, placing books into the open coffin, including Darwin's "The Origin of Species" and "Silent Spring."