Featured Articles

Inmarsat Deploys Redknee's Billing Solution For Prepaid Satellite Broadband Service

Inmarsat Deploys Redknee's Billing Solution For Prepaid Satellite Broadband Service

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

TORONTO, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Redknee continues to build momentum in the global satellite industry

Redknee (TSX /AIM: RKN), a leading provider of mission-critical software and solutions for communications service providers, today announces that Inmarsat, plc (Inmarsat), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has launched Redknee's real-time Turnkey Converged Billing solution to address the prepaid charging needs of its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service.

New Ideas To Harness Wave Power

New Ideas To Harness Wave Power

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

As early as 1890, people were beginning to think about harnessing the power of the ocean. During the twenty-year span between 1890 and 1910, there were wave power generation stations built all along the Southern California coast. The advent of cheap petroleum coming straight from the ground, however, has taken the focus off of energy generation solutions such as wave power for decades now, and as a result the only surviving wave motor from the large Southern California program is buried in the sand at the foot of the Manhattan Beach pier. Now, thanks to the huge push toward green energy sources and freeing the world from oil, wave power has seen a flurry of research and innovation in recent years.
Toolwire Selected As Finalist For Institute Of IT Training Award

Toolwire Selected As Finalist For Institute Of IT Training Award

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

PLEASANTON, California and LONDON, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Toolwire's innovative experiential distance learning solutions for on-demand, hands-on training selected for the 2009 'Innovation in Training Services' award.

Toolwire, a leading innovator of experiential distance learning solutions, announced that they have been chosen as a finalist by the Institute of IT Training (IITT) in their annual IT Training Awards. Following last year's selection as a finalist in the 2008 Training Company of the Year award, Toolwire has been recognized as a finalist for the highly acclaimed Innovation in Training Services award for 2009.

DMC Capital Funding Established To Provide Growth Financing And Advisory Services To Technology And Consumer Focused Companies

DMC Capital Funding Established To Provide Growth Financing And Advisory Services To Technology And Consumer Focused Companies

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

NEW YORK, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Private Equity Firm with a 30-Year Legacy in Consumer Products, Supply Chain Management to Help Foster Mid-Market Growth Amid an Uncertain Economy -

Distribution Management Consolidators, LLC today announced the launch of DMC Capital Funding, LLC a private equity growth capital firm.

Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank Selects Misys For Islamic Banking

Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank Selects Misys For Islamic Banking

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading Islamic Solution to Drive Innovation in Banking

Misys (LSE: MSY), the global application software and services company, announced today that Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank (ESFB) has chosen Misys Equation 3.9 for its 11 branches across Egypt. The solution is the latest version of the widely-used retail banking solution from Misys and will help ESFB to provide better and more innovative Islamic services to its customers.

More UK Businesses Choose NetSuite For End-To-End Business Automation

More UK Businesses Choose NetSuite For End-To-End Business Automation

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Companies Switch to NetSuite from Sage and salesforce.com to Increase Sales and Productivity

Appreciative Thinking

Appreciative Thinking

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

Ben Casnocha asks what I mean by appreciative thinking.

A good question, since I invented the phrase. To learn appreciative thinking is to learn to appreciate, to learn to see the value of things. More or less the opposite of critical thinking.

That I had to make up a phrase shows the problem. I have complained many times about an overemphasis on critical thinking at universities.   Sometimes I’d say, “Have you ever heard the term appreciative thinking?  No?   How many times have you heard the term critical thinking?”

When it comes to scientific papers, to teach appreciative thinking means to help students see such aspects of a paper as:


GSMA Elects New Board Members And Alexander Izosimov As Chairman

GSMA Elects New Board Members And Alexander Izosimov As Chairman

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Group CEOs of 14 Leading Mobile Operators on the Board

The board of the GSMA, the global body for the mobile industry, has elected Alexander Izosimov, the Group Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, as its new Chairman for a two-year term. As Chairman, he will help oversee the strategic direction of the GSMA, which represents more than 750 mobile operators worldwide. Bill Hague, Executive Vice President of ATT, was elected as Deputy Chairman.

Blinkx Introduces Enhanced Metadata Enrichment For Online Video; Automated, Intelligent Technology Maximizes Monetization For Publishers

Blinkx Introduces Enhanced Metadata Enrichment For Online Video; Automated, Intelligent Technology Maximizes Monetization For Publishers

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

SAN FRANCISCO, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Enhanced offering unlocks value of video assets by creating accurate, consistent, rich metadata

blinkx, the world's largest video search engine, today announced the availability of an Enhanced Metadata Enrichment solution for publishers, as part of the blinkx Advanced Media Platform. Based on technology that was perfected over 12 years at Cambridge University and is protected by 111 patents, the blinkx Advanced Media Platform enables media publishers and aggregators to manage and monetize video content to its greatest potential.

Salmon Seamlessly Integrates Data, Systems And Solutions For Halfords Limited

Salmon Seamlessly Integrates Data, Systems And Solutions For Halfords Limited

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

WATFORD, England, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Improving the Overall Customer Experience of Shopping at Halfords.com and Meeting the Needs of Customers Across Halfords' Multiple Shopping Channels

Salmon Limited (Salmon), a specialist in delivering eCommerce solutions, today announces the completion of a significant programme of work for Halfords Limited, where it has seamlessly integrated corporate data, corporate I.T. systems and third party software solutions to optimise the customer experience at Halfords.com and support the needs of its cross-channel customers.

Their Name Was LUCA, Not Adam Or Eve, And They Are The Ancestor Of Life On Earth - Study

Their Name Was LUCA, Not Adam Or Eve, And They Are The Ancestor Of Life On Earth - Study

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

An evolutionary geneticist from the Université de Montréal, together with researchers from the French cities of Lyon and Montpellier, say a new study presented in the recent issue of Nature characterizes the common ancestor of all life on earth, and it isn't called Adam or Eve, but rather LUCA, for Last Universal Common Ancestor. The 3.8-billion-year-old organism was not the creature usually imagined.
Twenty-Six Percent Of Workers Do Not Feel Loyal To Their Current Employer, Finds CareerBuilder.se Survey

Twenty-Six Percent Of Workers Do Not Feel Loyal To Their Current Employer, Finds CareerBuilder.se Survey

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

Employees may be feeling more loyal to their own career goals instead of their employers, as more than a quarter of employees (26 percent) do not feel loyal to their current employer and 21 percent said they are likely to leave their current position to change jobs in a year or less. This is according to CareerBuilder.se's latest survey of workers and employers in Sweden.

Forty Per Cent Of Workers Do Not Feel Loyal To Their Current Employer, Finds CareerBuilder.co.uk Survey

Forty Per Cent Of Workers Do Not Feel Loyal To Their Current Employer, Finds CareerBuilder.co.uk Survey

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

Employees may be feeling more loyal to their own career goals instead of their employers, as 40 per cent do not feel loyal to their current employer and 23 per cent said they are likely to leave their current position to change jobs in a year or less. This is according to CareerBuilder.co.uk's latest survey of more than 250 HR professionals and hiring managers and more than 600 employees.

Green, But Not Too Green - Unicellular Algae Growing Into Biofuel Of The Future

Green, But Not Too Green - Unicellular Algae Growing Into Biofuel Of The Future

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

In pursuing cleaner energy there is such a thing as being too green. Unicellular microalgae, for instance, can be considered too green.

In a paper in a special energy issue of Optics Express, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley describe a method for using microalgae for making biofuel. The researchers explain a way to genetically modify the tiny organisms, so as to minimize the number of chlorophyll molecules needed to harvest light without compromising the photosynthesis process in the cells. With this modification, instead of making more sugar molecules, the microalgae could be producing hydrogen or hydrocarbons.
Cosmic Rays Not The Source Of Global Warming - Study

Cosmic Rays Not The Source Of Global Warming - Study

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

It is sometimes claimed that changes in radiation from space, so-called galactic cosmic rays, can be one of the causes of global warming. A new study, investigating the effect of cosmic rays on clouds, says that the likelihood of this is very small. 

The study "Cosmic rays, cloud condensation nuclei and clouds – a reassessment using MODIS data" was recently published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. A group of researchers from the University of Oslo, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), CICERO Center for Climate and Environmental Research, and the University of Iceland, are behind the study. 
Scientific Red Cards - French Students Launch Online Registry Of Fraudulent Science Papers

Scientific Red Cards - French Students Launch Online Registry Of Fraudulent Science Papers

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

A group of French research students is launching an online register to flag up scientific papers that have been tainted by fraud and other types of scientific misconduct.

Claire Ribrault, a PhD student in neurobiology at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, unveiled the Scientific Red Cards project last month at a workshop on research integrity sponsored by the European Science Foundation (ESF). The idea is to identify papers that have been shown to be fraudulent but are still in circulation.
Noblesse Oblige In 2008 - Are Power And Compassion Mutually Exclusive?

Noblesse Oblige In 2008 - Are Power And Compassion Mutually Exclusive?

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

If you're a Spider-Man reader, you are certainly aware of “noblesse oblige” - the idea that with great power comes great responsibilities.   And you may believe that if you had great power you would use it compassionately - but it's unlikely you think anyone else wielding great power will act in a compassionate way.

The term was created because it is often perceived that increased power makes people - that is, other, less noble people - less likely to use compassion.   Psychologist Gerben A. van Kleef (University of Amsterdam) and his colleagues from University of California, Berkeley, examined how power influences emotional reactions to the suffering of others.
The Neuropsychological Connection To Selflessness (And Religion)

The Neuropsychological Connection To Selflessness (And Religion)

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

All spiritual experiences are based in the brain. That statement is truer than ever before, according to a University of Missouri neuropsychologist. An MU study has data to support a neuropsychological model that proposes spiritual experiences associated with selflessness are related to decreased activity in the right parietal lobe of the brain. The study is one of the first to use individuals with traumatic brain injury to determine this connection. Researchers say the implication of this connection means people in many disciplines, including peace studies, health care or religion can learn different ways to attain selflessness, to experience transcendence, and to help themselves and others.
Major Breakthrough Announced With ICrete's Patented 100-Year Durable Concrete Mixes For All Infrastructure Including Road Systems, Bridges, Ports And Dams

Major Breakthrough Announced With ICrete's Patented 100-Year Durable Concrete Mixes For All Infrastructure Including Road Systems, Bridges, Ports And Dams

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

LOS ANGELES, December 17 /PRNewswire/ --

* Governments and the private sector can now build public infrastructure with 100-year durability, at lower cost and with up to a 40 percent reduction in a project's carbon footprint.

* Developed in North America, iCrete Global 100 mixes are immediately available in the Gulf region where work is already underway on the world's tallest 'superscraper' buildings and green megacities in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

* iCrete creates the first truly global concrete, an infrastructure solution that dramatically reduces costs and can meet all building code standards anywhere in the world, featuring the highest strengths achievable.

Magnetic Crystals Are A 'Bacterial Compass', Say Researchers

Magnetic Crystals Are A 'Bacterial Compass', Say Researchers

Dec 17 2008 | comment(s)

Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh say they have shown that tiny crystals found inside bacteria provide a magnetic compass to help them navigate through sediment to find the best food and it provides fresh clues to explain biomagnetism – a phenomenon in which some birds, insects and marine life navigate using the magnetic field that encompasses the Earth.

Researchers say their study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, focuses on magnetotactic bacteria, which contain chains of magnetic crystals, called magnetosomes. They exist all over the globe, living in lake and pond sediments and in ocean coastal regions.