Qld: Beattie to target Indigenous problems at meeting of mayors

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2007
Qld: Beattie to target Indigenous problems at meeting of mayors

Queensland Premier PETER BEATTIE is considering to meet Aboriginal mayors every year
to solve some of the health .. education and crime issues that plague Indigenous communities.

Mr BEATTIE will meet the mayors of the state's Aboriginal communities in Atherton tomorrow
to discuss a damning report on the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in
Queensland.

The report says they are significantly more disadvantaged than others in almost every
indicator of wellbeing.

Mr BEATTIE says the results are depressing .. and he hopes tomorrow's meeting will
be the beginning of a new partnership.





The PARTNERSHIPS QUEENSLAND BASELINE REPORT 2006 found Indigenous children are statistically
much more likely to be assaulted .. neglected or abused .. or charged by police.

They're more likely to contract a sexually transmitted infection .. and drop out of
school than other children.

Adults aree less likely to be employed in a professional occupation .. and more likely
to be on government benefits.

AAP RTV jmm/wz

KEYWORD: INDIGENOUS QLD (BRISBANE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Tas: Feds to blame for wind turbine factory closure: Aird

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2006
Tas: Feds to blame for wind turbine factory closure: Aird

The closure of a wind turbine factory in north-west Tasmania is being blamed on the
federal government.

Tasmanian Treasurer MICHAEL AIRD has accused the federal government of abandoning renewable
energy .. and he says the government's narrow minded refusal to extend the Mandatory Renewable
Energy Target is damaging the state.

Danish manufacturer Vestas announced yesterday it will close its nacelle factory in
Wynyard .. near Burnie .. 345 k's north-west of Hobart.

The 15 million dollar plant employs 65 people and manufactures blade hubs and nacelles
.. structures that house electricity generating components .. for wind turbines.

It opened only three years ago.

Mr AIRD says the government's failure to support renewable energy means Vestas has
less projects than it thought it would when it established the factory.

He says the Tasmanian government's working with the company's local management to try
to keep the factory open.

JOHN HOWARD will be in northern Tasmania today.

AAP RTV jrd/ce/crh/bart

KEYWORD: WIND TAS (HOBART)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Luxury car owners face ATO probe

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2006
Fed: Luxury car owners face ATO probe

Owners of luxury cars face an audit by the tax office to determine if they're avoiding
paying tax.

The Australian newspaper reports the tax office will announce a nationwide investigation
today .. into people who buy fancy cars.

Tax auditors will use data-matching technology to compare a list of Australia's luxury
car owners against their declared incomes.

The tax office won't comment on the investigation .. but unnamed sources have told
the newspaper the audit will target the owners of cars worth more than 55 thousand dollars.

It says auditors believe some convicted tax evaders try to hide their money in luxury vehicles.

AAP RTV dcr/goc/

KEYWORD: TAX CARS (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Appeal over 'sustainable' traveling

         MOTORISTS are being urged to do their bit to mark a sustainable transport campaign event.
        TravelWise Week, which runs until Sunday, aims to encourage people to think about how much they travel and whether they can do so more sutainably.
In Sandwell motorists keen to get involved have two options.
        They can register for free on-line at a national website, www.liftshare.com, and make a pledge to adopt a more sustainable method of transport.
        Alternatively, they can register with the local version of the Liftshare website - www.carsharesandwell.com.
Under this scheme, drivers can register the start and finish points of their regular journeys, for example to and from work.
        They are then matched to people who can either give or want a lift, from work, home or along the route.
There is no fee to pay and people share travel costs.
        The www.carsharesandwell.com website can be accessed from home, at work, internet cafes or one of Sandwell's libraries. 

The Igneous Group, Inc. Announces Availability of New IGSite Service.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2003

IGSite Designed to Help Small and Medium Sized Businesses Accelerate

Revenue, Enhance Customer Loyalty, and Decrease Costs

The Igneous Group, Inc. (Igneous), an eBusiness solutions company dedicated to infusing the Web into business strategy, today announced the availability of its newest service offering, IGSite. Leveraged from Igneous' IGXEC (pronounced ig-'zek) product, the IGSite service provides consulting, a customized Web site, and hosting services in one package. IGSite empowers users to create Web sites that work the way they do, and gives non-technical business users complete control over Internet, intranet, or extranet sites. What makes IGSite different from other eBusiness solutions is Igneous' skill in blending over 13 years of experience in Web technology with highly customized Web consulting services to help businesses, regardless of industry or market segment, maximize the Web to accelerate sales revenue, enhance customer loyalty, and decrease costs.

"In the past couple of years, many businesses have de-emphasized Web projects, and this has led to missed opportunities," said Geoff Caras, CEO of Igneous. "We think the Web is a vital part of business strategy. The key is to identify how to put it to work for you -- that's what Igneous does."

International consulting firm, The Meyer Group, is using IGSite for critical customer tasks. "The most important component of our site is the ability to get the right information posted quickly and easily," said Peter Meyer, Principal. "Geoff and his team have made the whole process simple and painless. With less time, less money and less hassle, The Meyer Group has a better site and happier customers. We want the Web to work for us, not vice versa, and Igneous makes that happen."

"The Web is still the least expensive form of promoting your marketing message, and visionary businesses are finding that the Web can contribute in other ways as well," said Geoff Caras. "For example, some businesses are using Web-based communities to build customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. Others are finding the Web to be an efficient and effective way to provide self-serve customer service which, when done right, can increase customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs at the same time. Still other businesses are using internal Web sites to automate business processes, making staff more efficient."

IGSite works by building management tools directly into Web sites, enabling users to enter content and publish updates easily and quickly, without the need for programmers, Web masters, expensive consultants, or customized management tools. Ideally suited to small businesses seeking control and ownership over Web site management, as well as medium-sized businesses looking to integrate business strategies into their Web sites, IGSite delivers a complete eBusiness platform in a hosted environment. With IGSite, customers get:

 -- Recommendations for how the Web can best support business strategies, and how to set up sites to support those strategies;  -- Differentiation through the ability to create an unlimited number of Web pages to visually convey a company's unique image and competitive advantages;  -- Control to update their Web site at any time, and to securely share updating responsibilities amongst staff members;  -- Security in knowing that their Web site is housed in a world-class data center with redundant Internet connections, backup power, and round-the-clock monitoring; and  -- Flexibility to update their Web site with new applications, as needed. 

About The Igneous Group, Inc.

The Igneous Group, Inc. (www.igneous.com) is a privately held, self-funded company dedicated to infusing the Web into business. Igneous' clients include growing enterprises such as Granite Construction, Nonprofits' Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC), University of California, and University of Southern California. The company's IGXEC (IGneous eXtensible Ebusines Core) product helps large enterprises create Web sites, intranets, and extranets that can be managed by non-technical users. IGSite, the company's newest service, is designed for small to medium-sized businesses. Igneous' work on the UC Gateways portal earned an IBM Best Practices Award for Student Services. Igneous is a Macromedia (Nasdaq:MACR, www.macromedia.com) partner and an IBM (NYSE:IBM) development partner. Founded in 1990, Igneous is located in Santa Cruz, California.

DANA AND RIKEN FORM EUROPEAN JOINT VENTURES FOR PISTON RINGS.

PR Newswire, London, September 12. This press release is transmitted on behalf of Dana Corporation.

Toledo, Ohio -

Dana Corporation (NYSE: DCN) and Riken Corporation announced today their agreement to form piston ring sales and manufacturing joint ventures in Europe. The joint ventures will offer high-technology solutions to meet the advanced piston ring requirements of global engine platforms for both diesel and gasoline engines.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA)

"Dana's Perfect Circle and Riken are strong brand names, with complementary product lines and technology," said Dan Moody, vice president of Dana's worldwide engine products group. "Together, we will offer the European market best in class in research and development, manufacturing and distribution."

Kunihiko Oguchi, president of Riken, said, "Riken's and Perfect Circle's engineering capabilities are recognised by our global customers. These joint ventures will have equal ownership of both companies and will provide broad coverage of product lines and technology."

This latest understanding expands the current global relationship between the two companies. Perfect Circle and Riken have worked together for more than 12 years in a joint venture supplying parts to North American OE transplant operations, and Riken has extended a licensing agreement to Perfect Circle in South America for the past two years. In May 2000 the companies agreed to study a global alliance for the development of advanced piston ring technology, and to study the potential for the European joint venture.

Riken Corporation is one of the world's foremost piston ring makers. Founded in 1927 and based in Tokyo, Japan, the corporation employs 4,400 people and has 11 overseas subsidiaries and affiliates. Riken's Internet address is http://www.rikencorp.com.

Dana Corporation is one of the world's largest independent suppliers to vehicle manufacturers and their related aftermarkets. Founded in 1904 and based in Toledo, Ohio, the company operates some 300 major facilities in 34 countries and employs approximately 75,000 people. The company reported sales of US dollars 12.3 billion in 2000. Dana's Internet address is http://www.dana.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA

AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org

PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/226839.html

Web site: http://www.rikencorp.com

http://www.dana.com

Online Security Solutions Providers Enjoying Unprecedented Boom.

The explosion of business to business (B2B) e-commerce and Internet ventures is expanding the information security solutions market, industry sources said.

The online security market is forecast to double to 200 billion won this year if the current online fever continues unchecked.

To capitalize on the sudden boom, security solution providers are scrambling to form a consortium to achieve economies of scale and link up with foreign partners.

Fueling the drive is rising demand from state-run agencies, financial institutions, cyber apartment complexes and Internet data centers.

Currently, government organizations and financial outfits make up a big chunk of security solution customers but the trend is likely to change in the second half of this year when cyber apartment and Internet data centers will put up online security measures.

Security solution developers are expecting demand from cyber apartment complexes to take off around June when the government finalizes specific security standards and regulations.

Although new entrants are debuting with innovative solutions, the so-called first generation of security providers is faring well with the biggest market share.

Future System Co., a leader in the VPN (virtual private network) field offering multimedia networks for corporate clients, scored a turnover of 3.5 billion won in the first quarter.

The company is expected to make around 35 billion won in total revenue this year on the strength of the rising demand for VPNs from government organizations.

SecureSoft, a pioneer in system security solutions, earned 6.4 billion won from its security consulting and package sales.

Dr Ahn's Anti-Virus Laboratories Inc., well known for its V3 anti-virus software lineup, jacked up its revenue for the first quarter to 3.3 billion won, six times bigger than that of latecomer Hauri Co.

The first-generation companies are boosting their standing and brand recognition through KOSDAQ listing or direct investment from overseas partners.

Meantime, password and CA (certification authority) providers stand out in the e-commerce security market, where shopping malls and online banking operators need a reliable protection system for their Web services.

SoftForum ranked top in password certification, generating around 3 billion won in the first three months of this year. The company installed the certification systems at major commercial banks and Internet sites.

Initech, the second biggest firm in password certification solutions, had a turnover of 2.1 billion won in the same period. The firm recently strengthened its sales network and formed an alliance with RSA Security.

Penta Security System came in third with 1.4 billion. The venture company owns both password certification and network security solutions.

Security solution startups such as Coconut and CyberPatrol are also expected to perform strongly in the second quarter when the security service market is forecast to take off.

Call-centre chaos as actor's death sparks riots in India.

       FUMING British customers were left on hold yesterday after the death of a Bollywood screen idol plunged Indian call centres into chaos.
       Riots erupted in Bangalore as tens of thousands of grieving Rajkumar fans stayed away from work, leaving hundreds of helplines unmanned.
       The violence left at least four people dead and caused the city to grind to a halt.
Rajkumar - star of over 200 films - died of a heart attack on Wednesday, aged 77.
       In Britain, Onetel customer Bob Arnold, 62, said: 'I waited in all day for a call and it did not come.
       'Eventually I was told no one had got back to me because an actor has died.
       It is unbelievable. These Indian call centres are bad enough but I have never heard of that excuse.
       'I mean, when David Niven died I still went into work.' The phone company - owned by               Carphone Warehouse - admitted 80 per cent of its staff did not go to work.
       Internet service provider Be shut down its operation in Bangalore indefinitely.
       In an email sent to customers on Wednesday evening, the company said: 'We have just been informed that there is a 24-hour government enforced curfew in Bangalore due to local civil unrest and, as a result, we are unable to handle any calls or tickets from there.' Travellers were concerned that National Rail Enquiries could be affected, as some of its call centres are in Bangalore.
       But callers were not hit by long delays because most of its phone operators are still based in the UK.
       A spokesman said: 'If India were to drop off the map tomorrow we still have the capability to answer customers' calls in the UK.
'       People should not worry about not getting through to us just because of the death of a Bollywood actor.' 

Consumers with Workplace Internet Access Spend More Time in a 24-Hour Day Online than Watching TV.

         New Study from the Online Publishers Association Examines Media
         Consumption, Behaviors and Attitudes of Consumers with Workplace
         Internet Access; Finds that Daytime is "Prime Time" on the Internet
         The Online Publishers Association (OPA) announced today the results of a media consumption study undertaken with Millward Brown IntelliQuest in November 2001.
         The study profiles consumers who had accessed the Internet from work in the past 30 days ("At-Work Users"), and contrasts them with Internet users who hadn't ("Non-Work Users").
         The U.S. at-work Internet audience numbered 52.8 million in 2001, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. This new research suggests that these users have highly desirable demographics. They are significantly more likely to be aged 18-34 (45% vs. 26%), are more likely to be highly educated (70% have at least a bachelor's degree vs. 50%) and have considerable spending power (45% have household income greater than $75,000 vs. 22%) in comparison to Non-Work Users. Seventy-nine percent of At-Work Users report that the Internet has made them more productive workers, and 69% indicate that it helps them balance their personal and professional lives.
         The vast majority of At-Work Users (91%) also log on from home. The study investigated the overall media usage of At-Work Users during a typical 24-hour day. Interviews conducted Tuesday through Saturday asking about yesterday's media consumption revealed that this affluent, highly educated group now spends more time on the Internet on a typical Monday-Friday than they spend watching television. (Use of the Internet for e-mail was specifically excluded in the questionnaire.) Thirty-four percent of total media minutes are spent on the Internet, while 30% are spent watching television and 26% are spent listening to the radio. Even among Non-Work Users, the amount of time spent on the Internet during the workweek is second only to TV.
         The study also confirmed that daytime is prime time for the Internet. While Internet usage is notably strong throughout the day in comparison to other media, the Internet completely dominates daytime media use in the same way that television dominates evenings. (Usage was consistently defined for all media.)
"Busy working people now spend more time on the Internet than they spend either watching television, listening to the radio, or reading newspapers or magazines," said Michael Zimbalist, acting executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "It is clear that the Internet is an extremely positive force in these users' lives. Its value extends from productivity enhancement to information retrieval on high-quality media sites, making these sites a particularly compelling way for advertisers to reach their customers."
         On a series of attitudinal questions comparing online advertising to advertising in other forms of media, the survey revealed that At-Work Users consider Internet ads to be more rich in information than ads in traditional media. They further indicated that online advertising was their preferred way to receive marketing messages about new products and information about companies. Most significantly, online advertising was cited as the number one form of advertising that helps them decide what to buy.
Zimbalist continued: "The buying power of At-Work Users, coupled with their clear indication that online ads help them make purchase decisions more than ads in traditional media, makes a strong case for all major advertisers to include online in their media mix."
         The research was conducted on a sample size of 1,022 Internet users, of which 755 had accessed the Internet from work in the past 30 days, and 272 had accessed the Internet from somewhere other than work in the past 30 days. The sample was recruited throughout the day from the Lightspeed web panel.
A more detailed summary of findings from this study will be available later this afternoon at the Online Publishers Association Web site at www.online-publishers.org. A white paper containing the full results will be available next month. Further OPA/Millward Brown IntelliQuest research on the effectiveness of online media in conjunction with television advertising is also underway, and results should be available this spring.
About Millward Brown IntelliQuest
         Millward Brown IntelliQuest is the technology research center of the Millward Brown Group. A leading provider of marketing research to technology companies and Internet marketers, Millward Brown IntelliQuest provides marketing research services enabling clients to understand and improve the strategic position of their brands, products, media or channels. It offers custom research solutions, market and brand tracking, media research and business-to-business online marketplace tracking. Millward Brown is a member of The Kantar Group, the research and consultancy arm of WPP Group.
About the Online Publishers Association
         Founded in June 2001 by twelve of the Internet's leading content brands, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the highest standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.
         For the purposes of this study, the total day was divided into the following dayparts:


    EASTERN & PACIFIC/CENTRAL & MOUNTAIN
    6am-9am / 5am-8am = Morning
    9am-1pm / 8am-12pm = Daytime I
    1pm-4:30pm / 12pm-3:30pm = Daytime II
    4:30pm-6pm / 3:30pm-5pm = Early Fringe
    6pm-7pm / 5pm-6pm = Early Fringe II
    7pm-11pm / 6pm-10pm = Prime Time
    11pm-1am = Late Fringe
    1am-6am / 12am-5am = Late Night

Sourcing foreign IT.

Scandal, slower profits and promises of job creation at home in the US could hit the outsourcing industry hard India's software sector, reeling from a huge accounting fraud in one of its flagship companies, faces further problems as US firms scale back in a troubled global business environment, analysts said. Two of India's top IT companies - Infosys Technologies and Wipro - have acknowledged that their revenues are under pressure. Meanwhile, India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) saw its third-quarter net profit rise by a lower-than-expected 1.57 per cent from a year earlier because of the global economic slowdown. It traditionally gives no guidance. The flurry of dismal earnings news and a $1 billion false accounting scandal at Satyam Computer Services earlier this month has combined to cool investor sentiment towards the once red-hot sector, which employs two million workers in India. "We're seeing a clear slowdown for the IT giants [in the latest quarter] and it's not a surprise," said Apurva Shah, head of research at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. Brokerage firms and analysts say the outlook appears bleak for the top IT companies for at least the next two quarters. "The near-term outlook for India's IT sector is cautious and uncertain," said Harit Shah, software analyst at Angel Broking. "Revenue visibility has become hazier than ever. With the US economy likely to undergo an extended period of painful transition, any recovery is likely to take some while." Infosys chief executive S Gopalkrishnan said last week the budgets of overseas clients would be clearer by mid-February and they were expected to be "slightly less or flat". TCS does not forecast revenues but admitted it was "operating in a challenging environment". Infosys Technologies and Wipro said they lowered revenue guidance in their latest earnings forecasts because of the global economic situation. Infosys' full-year dollar guidance was cautious with revenues expected in the $4.67 billion to $4.71 billion range - representing growth of 11.8 to 12.8 per cent, a far cry from earlier growth of more than 30 per cent. Meanwhile Wipro this week lowered its revenue guidance for the next three months to $1.04 billion - below the $1.12 billion it notched up in the three-months to December last year. "While Infosys has twice cut its annual guidance in the year to March, Wipro commented on the difficulty in giving guidance even for a quarter," said analyst Abhiram Eleswarapu of BNP Paribas. Meanwhile, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) lobby group has now delayed its growth forecast for India's IT sector for the year to March 2010 due to the Satyam scandal. India's business community has been rocked by Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju's declaration on January 7 that he had fudged the company's accounts for years and that $1 billion in cash on its books was non-existent. Uncertainty in the sector's future business volumes could be compounded if outsourcing laws undergo a change now that Barack Obama has been installed as US president. During his election campaign, Obama said he would offer incentives to companies that created jobs at home and halt tax breaks to those that ship work abroad. Close to four-fifths of the world's biggest companies outsource work to India, with about 60 per cent of the contracts coming from the US. However, India's IT firms have brushed off concerns that Obama would formally seek to curtail outsourcing.

2009 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

AT&T Government Solutions Connects Military Servicemen and Women With Family and Friends.

AT&T Government Solutions* announced it has been awarded a series of task orders worth up to $48 million to provide satellite-based voice, video, and Internet services to deployed military service personnel overseas. The task orders were awarded through a 2009 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Marine Corps MWR Business Operations Division.

Through the task orders, AT&T, along with its partners, uses its network management, professional services, and satellite communication capabilities to design, deploy, and maintain a satellite and IP-based, mobile communications network to support the U.S. Marine Corps' Morale Portable Satellite Communications (MoraleSat) program. MoraleSat allows forward-deployed military personnel in Southwest Asia to communicate with family and friends.

The MoraleSat equipment suite includes the L-3 GCS Cheetah™ auto-acquire flyaway VSAT system and the MissionMobility Modular Communications Suite, allowing military personnel access to voice, video, and web-based services through readily-deployed mobile communication satellite terminals and IP router components. The MoraleSat suites use satellite bandwidth, Internet, and VoIP services provided through UltiSat, Inc. UltiSat also provides Tier II support to the AT&T Tier I helpdesk. Through MoraleSat, military personnel can access social media and networking sites, such as Facebook, iTunes, and Skype, which are not accessible on military data networks.

"The ability for military personnel serving in remote locations to communicate with family and friends back home is vital to their morale and well-being," said Thomas Harvey, Senior Vice President, AT&T Government Solutions. "AT&T is honored to deploy and maintain MoraleSat and provide a secure and reliable network, and portable communication terminals, to help soldiers stay connected while they serve our country overseas."

"The U.S. military needed a global network that could handle large volumes of morale-type voice, video, and data traffic that did not affect mission-critical networks," said John Klebonis, Vice President, AT&T Government Solutions. "AT&T's solution provides the U.S. Marine Corps and other U.S. military services with access to commercially-available services, supported by around-the-clock maintenance and support."

The MoraleSat IDIQ contract has a one-year base period and four option years.

*AT&T Government Solutions is a business unit within AT&T Corp., an affiliate of AT&T Inc. AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Keywords: AT&T Inc., Asia, China, Defense, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Military.

This article was prepared by China Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, China Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

CITY OPENS HOMEWOOD 'COOLING CENTER' TODAY.

PITTSBURGH, PA -- The following information was released by the office of the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

The City's Homewood Healthy-Active Living Center will be open until 7 p.m. today in order to provide seniors with cooling stations as "real feel" temperatures are predicted to soar above 90 degrees.

Refreshments will be provided during the extended hours. In addition to games hosted by activity directors, seniors can enjoy a game of pool, access the Internet, or utilize exercise equipment.

"It is our goal to provide a cool, fun and safe environment for our most at-risk citizens during dangerous heat waves," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

When "real feel" temperatures reach 90 degrees or more as reported by the National Weather Service, the Homewood Healthy-Active Living Center will extend their weekday hours of operation from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for residents 60 years of age or older. "Real feel" temperature measures a combination of temperature and humidity.

The Mayor also reminds residents, especially the young and elderly, to stay hydrated and reduce or eliminate outdoor activities during heat waves.

"High temperatures pose a public safety hazard for many of our residents," Ravenstahl said. "Like Pittsburghers always do, I strongly encourage residents to check on their elderly neighbors and family."

Location: Homewood

7321 Frankstown Avenue

412-244-4190

FREE SPRAY PARKS - The City of Pittsburgh's spray parks in Beechview and Troy Hill offer three-dimensional worlds of water for children of all ages. The Beechview facility, located next to Vanucci Playground on Orangewood Street, opened for the season on May 29 and now operates daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Troy Hill facility, located next to Cowley Playground on Goettman Street, will open on today and will also operate daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The City's 19 pools will open June 16. For a listing of pools and information on purchasing pool passes, please visit www.citiparks.net, or call 412-323-7928

Sarah Houghton-Jan: the rock star of librarians.

At the recent Australian Library and Information Association Conference in Sydney, Sarah Houghton-Jan, a celebrity in the librarian world, was on hand to present a keynote titled, Digital Libraries: The Phoenix Rising from the Ashes. In fact, her keynote was the only one given by a practicing librarian, and most delegates acknowledged that it was one of the best picks of the conference.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Renowned throughout the international librarian community for her Librarian in Black blog, Houghton-Jan has developed a well-earned reputation for sharing her candid views on all things publishing and scholarly.

Several conference delegates referred to her as "the rock star of librarians," and it's easy to see why. In person, she's intelligent, compassionate, and refreshingly open about her views on the publishing world. She has a persona (and an avid following) that made me understand why her blog fans compare her to a rock star.

Her blog, a concept that she describes as "a little bit out there," was conceived in 2003. "It started as more of a personal journal," says Houghton-Jan, "and I didn't think anyone would read it." Today, it has a readership of more than 10,000 and growing. She believes that the reason for its popularity is simple: "I'm willing to say it as it is. I don't pull punches for anyone or anything. I'm not afraid to start fights or point out injustice, product flaws, or unfair practices."

In her keynote, Houghton-Jan relayed her views on the current and future state of the online publishing industry that offers insights into the re-emergence of digitized content that modern-day librarians need to consider. Focusing heavily on new and emerging technologies, Houghton-Jan appealed to the audience to consider the "actual sociological meaning" of the technologies in their libraries and communities and among friends and family.

Facts and Figures

She threw down the gauntlet for librarians to use technologies in a fashion that reaffirms a library's core values that include the following:

* Complete and balanced information

* Education, entertainment, and self-improvement

* Research assistance

* Freedom of information access

* Information privacy and security

Encouraging members of the audience to contemplate their "fragmented online life," Houghton-Jan pointed to the shifting landscape in the physical versus digital library space in the modern age. The bricks-and-mortar library has diminished to 10% of overall usage.

The following recent Nielsen figures reflected trends in internet usage in Australia:

* 80.1% of Australians are regular internet users.

* 90% use social networks.

* 63% use Facebook.

* 23% use Twitter.

* City residents are 10 times more likely to use Twitter.

* Australian internet users spend most of their time in social networking channels, which amounts to 7 hours, 19 minutes per month.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

She described how mobile computing is growing and how it has grabbed an especially strong foothold in Australia:

* 43% of Australians online own smartphones.

* 73% of smartphone users regularly search the web.

* 18% use Twitter on mobile (half of those use it daily).

* 18% use YouTube on mobile.

* 66% of mobile social networkers are younger than 35.

Houghton-Jan then described the "explosion" in digital content access at her own San Jose Public Library (California) from 2010 to 2011: Ebook downloads are up 43%, digital reference questions have increased 450%, and catalog use is up 140%.

To best differentiate from the growing do-it-yourself information retrieval, Houghton-Jan pointed to possibilities with extended collections available to libraries that can make use of digitized local materials, technology loans, and provision of nontraditional content. "Why not advertise all of the wonderful free ebooks out there to your communities," she said. "Why not collect stories from your community and make those part of your digital collection?"

While some of the conference presenters were describing 21st-century information retrievers as impatient and specific (wanting delivery of just the content they seek, anywhere, anytime), Houghton-Jan said, "Serendipity still has value in information sourcing. Users can choose what they want to see in their own time."

As for the future, Houghton-Jan shared the views of other speakers that mobile computing and augmented reality are likely to become more important in the months and years to come. "Web services will be big," she said. "Free and open source technology will continue to grow, and solutions to information overload will grow in importance too."

Houghton-Jan acknowledged users' growing dependence on technology. "We already carry around hugely powerful computers in our pockets, and most of us feel naked without access to our smartphones," she said. Going forward, smartphones and computer tablets will boost their capabilities and storage capacities, while touchscreen technology will take on a powerful presence.

Houghton-Jan acknowledged and applauded the role that librarians are taking in changing the world. "We are all awesome," she said.

Ray Lewis is a freelance writer based in New Zealand. His email is rlewisnz@hotmail.com. Send your comments about this article to itletters@infotoday.com.

Report from Europe Smart card use grows in healthcare sector

         By TOM CLARK BBI European Correspondent Smart card use worldwide is forecast to be more than 2.5 billion by the year 2000. The digital mobile communications market has developed sophisticat-ed smart cards with security authentication, memo-ry storage, personalized information and the ability to be remotely updated or downloaded. In the European healthcare sector, ORGA Card Systems (Flintbeck, Germany) already is deeply involved in supplying smart cards, fixed and mobile terminals, software development and consultancy to a number of national healthcare organizations. Included in them are the German Health Scheme, involving 80 million cards and 110,000 terminals; Sesame Vitale in France with 15 million cards so far, a trial run for the Czech Republic Health Scheme with 30,000 cards and a Russian trial in Tula using 500,000 cards. ORGA also has installed in Europe dental smart card systems, cards for use in commu-nity care, cardiac patient cards and primary physi-cian referral scheme cards. For the home care nursing sector, ORGA recent-ly launched the Care 820 mobile system for record-ing time and performance. It provides verifiable data statements of working hours and patient data and also nursing insurance data statements. Healthcare information system developments Microsoft (Redmond, Washington) has organized in Europe the MS-HUGE (Microsoft Healthcare User Group Europe) Club, which was launched at the recent Hopital Expo meeting in Paris. The European club plans to work closely with its American MS-HUG colleagues to establish compatibility standards among all health sector platforms. Chantal Barbier, marketing manager-healthcare at Microsoft France, said that in France all specialized clinical laboratory software has been developed through Synapse Applications (Saint Raphael, France), using Windows as a base and interfaced with the social health net-work, Internet and Intranet. Siemens Healthcare Services (Bracknell, England) is a new company that combines the strengths of Siemens Nixdorf computers, the Siemens Hospital Build team and the Sienet PACS clinical networking solution operation from the Siemens Medical Engi-neering division. The aim is to focus on the provision of long-term managed technology services from tradition-al information technology and medical equipment maintenance to multi-million-dollar hospital building projects that integrate a wide range of medical equip-ment and technologies. Sienet has developed new Sienet MagicView 300 software for teleradiology use and archiving on CD-ROM. It runs under Windows NT. Streets Heaver Computer Systems (Lincoln, Eng-land) has launched Compucare Advantage, a private hospital administration system based on Microsoft Windows, as well as an upgraded version of Clinical Manager, its departmental system currently in use in 70 NHS Trust hospitals in Britain. Millenium Bar Codes (Sleaford, England) has developed with the Glenfield Hospital (Leicester, Eng-land) an automated Orthodontic Audit System based on barcodes, Symbol scanners and Percon software. The system provides automated clinical data collection for research, and for forward planning and resources. Phase 2 of the project will be to develop a system to record treatment and progress of individual patients. Rogan (Huis Ter Heide, the Netherlands) has added web-browsing capabilities to the NT-based HyperPACS teleradiology system. Using the Medweb web server, the new browser allows selection and delivery of imaging and HIS reports to physicians by e-mail. Physicians can open and display images using tools such as measurement, scale, annotation, win-dow/ level and magnify/zoom. Data General (Westborough, Massachusetts) has developed and installed at Leicester General Hospital (Leicester, England) a new PACS system for the radi-ology department in less than 18 months. The PACS system allows all X-ray images to be accessed by clin-ical staff via 81 desktop workstations distributed throughout the hospital. They are electronically linked to imaging equipment in the form of 11 diagnostic workstations used by the radiology department, with all images stored digitally. This eliminates the need to use and store hard-copy radiology film, while improv-ing the availability of images to clinical staff. STC (Wokingham, England) has developed Data-Gate interface technology which has been used at the 1,000-bed Royal Gwent Hospital (Newport, Wales) and in two nearby hospitals at Caerphilly and Ponty-pool. NHS Trust management, which administers the three sites and seven others, estimates that by using DataGate technology, database development times have been considerably shortened as well as significant cost savings made by avoiding the use of a traditional complex HISS database and expensive hardware. The NHS Trust aims within two years to extend the system to install workstations on the desktops of primary care physicians in the area, as well as inter-connecting with community nursing, child health and therapy services. Carl Zeiss Jena (Jena, Germany) has produced a high-sensitivity microscope image analysis software package, KS-Elispot, which performs rapid and reli-able examination and evaluation of spots developed in the Elispot assay. This technique uses nitrocellulose membrane-based 96 well microplates and can gener-ally be used in all applications where ELISA measure-ments are currently employed. The Elispot technique typically is 10 to 200 times more sensitive than ELISA. Breast implant leakage detection Silicone-filled breast implants have been used in Europe since 1962. The long-term integrity of these implants has been investigated by Werner Beekman and his team at the Academisch Ziekenhuis (Ams-terdam, the Netherlands). Beekman pointed out that there may be problems from diffusion of the gel through a macroscopically intact implant envelope, as well as an actual rupture of the implant. Beekman also reported that mammography plus ultrasound does not provide a reliable indicator for breast implant failure, since gel diffusion cannot be detected. He said that MRI should be considered the gold standard in the detection of silicone-gel filled breast implant failure. However, minor silicone gel leakage cannot be detected, even by MRI, and MRI is both expensive and not widely available. Preventing HIV infection of neonates Agroup of 133 HIV-positive women in France pre-vented disease transmission to newborns by elective Caesarean delivery prior to the onset of labor and in combination with zidovudine (AZT from Glaxo Well-come; London) therapy during pregnancy. Laurent Mandelbrot of the Cochin-Port Royal Hospital (Paris) and his colleagues found that only one child was infected with HIV-1 out of 133 delivered by elective Caesarean from mothers treated with AZT. In mothers who did not receive AZT therapy, the method of delivery made very little difference. Mandelbrot said that this form of treatment should be considered as part of routine clinical care but added that the benefit over risk ratio is extremely difficult in less-developed countries where Caesareans may not be feasible. Implantable urinary incontinence devices A magnetically controlled valve is the operative part of an implantable device developed by Spanish urologists at the Puerta de Hierro Clinic and physi-cists at the Salvador Velayos Institute for Applied Magnetics (both in Madrid). The device, which is implanted in the urethra just below the bladder, is a valve formed by a plastic cuff and an internal magnet which closes the orifice. Pass-ing a hand-held magnet over the abdomen moves the magnet down, opening the valve and permitting uri-nation. Moving the magnet upward closes the valve. Initial animal trials have been successful and the developers are now attempting to solve problems such as salt deposits interfering with the valve action, and the risk of exposure to unexpected magnetic fields.
         Drug testing and road accidents In France, it is very difficult to calculate the preva-lence of driving under the influence of illicit or of ther-apeutic drugs because few studies have been pub-lished. Dr. Mura of the Centre Hospitalier Universi-taire (Poitiers, France) presented at a recent meeting of the French Society of Analytical Toxicology (SFTA) the best estimates currently available. He said that over the past two years the number of drivers in acci-dents who have tested positive for cannabis has dou-bled and is now running at 5.6% of all road accidents. Another 3.7% are positive for opiates and 1% to 2% for cocaine and for amphetamines. This implies that in about 10% of all accidents the driver causing the acci-dent has tested positive for a drug of abuse. Yves Gallard of Toxlab (Paris) said that the SFTA recommends a two-step testing approach - first, urine screening by immunoanalysis and subsequently, quantification in blood samples using gas chromatog-raphy coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or liq-uid chromatography/mass detector technology. He warned, however, that while immunoanalysis of urine samples was rapid and effective for cannabis and cocaine, it was not specific or sensitive enough for opiates or for newer "designer drugs." Paul Kintz of the Institut de Medecine Legale (forensic medicine) at Strasbourg, France, reviewed cur-rent testing procedures to confirm continued abstinence from drugs for drivers whose license has been sus-pended. In Germany and in Italy, for example, such dri-vers must produce evidence of abstinence from drugs and submit to a review to evaluate the risk of recidi-vism. He recommended the use of GC/MS testing on hair samples. The drugtaking diary of the patient can be established by segmenting the hair into 1 cm lengths (each represents one month) prior to testing. He said that hair treatments such as bleaching or permanents reduce drug concentrations by 40% to 70%, but enough remains to produce satisfactory test results. ERCP and biliary pancreatitis Rolf Nitsche and Ulrich Folsch at the University Clinic (Kiel, Germany) recently published results of a prospective, randomized multicenter trial (238 patients in 22 German centers) that aimed to establish whether ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreaticography) should be performed urgently. Their study concluded that patients with biliary pan-creatitis, but without complications like obstructive jaundice or biliary sepsis, do not benefit from early ERCP, i.e., within 72 hours after the beginning of pain. They propose that urgent ERCP should only be performed in cases of obstructive jaundice, biliary sep-sis or persisting biliary cramps. The problem, accord-ing to Nitsche, is that a valid diagnosis of pancreatitis in a couple of hours is nearly impossible. The longer one waits, the more precise the prognosis will be. On the other hand, some gastroenterologists emphasize the need of urgent ERCP as soon as possible, especially in severe predicted cases. There are here two conflicting desires - if one wishes to perform ERCP as soon as possible, it is not possible to wait for a precise diagnosis; on the other hand, if one needs to stratify therapy according to prognosis, time is required. European deals and mergers Alliance Unichem (London) the international drug distributor group, will increase its holding in Safa Galencia, the second-largest Spanish distributor, from 36% to 96%, at a price of $ 37.6 million. Safa holds an 11% share of the Spanish drug-distribution market. Last year's profits of $4 million were on revenues of $120 million. Alliance Unichem's Italian subsidiary, Allianza Salute, plans to take control of its rival, Uni-forma Distribuzione, for an undisclosed sum. Cortecs (Isleworth, England) has spun out an independently funded biopharmaceutical company which will develop novel products for the prevention and treatment of allergies and autoimmune diseases through the process of tolerization. Cortecs will retain 75% of the new company, Oratol. Galen Holdings (Craigavan, Northern Ireland) is talking merger with Ferring Pharmaceuticals (Paris). A merger - or more likely a reverse takeover - would triple the size of Galen, which unveiled interim prof-its of $12 million, up 31% over last year. The deal is driven by growth opportunities, rather than cost cut-ting, since it will give Galen's hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products market access without the need to negotiate licensing deals. Galen's first HRT applications for an intravaginal ring are likely to be filed in Europe later this year. SmithKline Beecham (Brentford, England) has sold its Bencard Allergy (Worthing, England) sub-sidiary to a management team. The group, led by SKB's former U.K. corporate development director, Tony Berry, has formed a new company, Allergy Therapeutics, with a $34 million loan and credit facil-ity from BHF Bank. Bencard Allergy develops and produces desensi-tizing vaccines. The technique of allergy desensitiza-tion is practiced more widely in certain countries like Germany and Canada, Bencard's key markets, than in others, but its use is growing steadily. The world aller-gy market - including asthma, hay fever and skin irri-tation - is estimated at about $12 billion per year. Smith & Nephew (S&N; London) has acquired Exu-Dry Wound Care Products (New York) for an undisclosed sum. The Exu-Dry line of absorbent top-ical dressings will be marketed as a package with Smith & Nephew's Dermagraft TransCyte artificial skin product. They will also be used in the US clini-cal trials for S & N's other artificial skin graft prod-uct, Dermagraft.
         Pfizer finishes spin-offs with Howmedica sale Undeterred from its previously announced strate-gy of focusing on pharmaceuticals - and only phar-maceuticals - Pfizer (New York) has unveiled a major deal in each of the last three months, most recently agreeing to sell its orthopedic unit, Howmedica (Rutherford, New Jersey), to Stryker (Kalamazoo, Michigan). Overall, Pfizer has announced or completed the sale of four former units in its medical technology group this year. The first came with the January sale of Valleylab (Boulder, Colorado) to U.S. Surgical (USS; Norwalk, Connecticut). Next, in mid-June, the company said it had agreed to sell its Schneider Worldwide unit to Boston Scientific (Natick, Massa-chusetts) for $2.1 billion in cash. That deal will bolster Boston Scientific's cardiovascular pipeline, the key assets involved being Schneider's patents covering "rapid exchange" catheters and angioplasty balloons, acquisitions that will put Boston Scientific in direct competition with Johnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, New Jersey) in this area. (The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act allowing that purchase expired July 31, with a third-quarter closing expected.) That purchase agreement was followed by Pfiz-er's July announcement that it will sell its American Medical Systems unit (AMS; Hopkins, Minnesota), a maker of urological devices, to the global investment firm E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. (New York). The $130 million to be paid for AMS is small change com-pared to the Schneider divestiture and the second blockbuster spin-off announced in mid-August - the sale of Howmedica for $1.9 billion. As with the Schneider divestiture, this spin-off creates another strong competitor for J&J, this time in the orthopedic arena. By buying Howmedica, Stryker will end up going head-to-head with J&J, which in early August moved to bolster its own offerings in the orthopedic sector through the purchase of DePuy (Warsaw, Indiana) from Roche (Basel, Switzerland). If the J&J/DePuy and Stryker/Howmedica deals are approved, the two new giants in a generally frag-mented market will divide up from 40% to 45% of the orthopedic devices and supplies market worldwide. A struggle for the No. 1 position is expected to ensue. For Stryker, the acquisition appears a bit out of character, since the company will have to take on about $1.6 billion in debt to consummate the pur-chase, and it will go through a period of approxi-mately 18 months during which its profits are expect-ed to dip below its historical annual growth rate of around 20%. Stryker President and CEO John Brown maintained, however, that the company couldn't con-tinue to produce that 20% rate of profit increase with-out the purchase. Consolidation of hospitals and the development of large purchasing groups had pro-duced significant leverage to negotiate lower prices, and Brown said the company had to counter that strategy by producing its own economies of scale. He said the merger would create a "larger, more efficient operation" and also establish the necessary broad platform for the launch of new products. American Medical Systems and Howmedica are the final medical technology units to be divested by Pfizer, thus giving the company total focus on what it now considers its core drug-making interests. Circon takeover saga nearing end? Reports out of California indicate that an end may be in sight in the two-year attempt by U.S. Surgical Corp. (USSC; Norwalk, Connecticut) at the hostile takeover of Circon (Santa Barbara, California). The Los Angeles Times reported that Circon "has begun shopping itself to prospective buyers because of declining sales, intense competition and an upcoming shareholders meeting that could give . . . U.S. Surgi-cal control of its board." Until now, Circon has been saying it is not for sale. USSC made its initial, unso-licited bid for Circon on Aug. 2, 1996, offering $18 a share. The offer has changed several times in reflec-tion of Circon's financial performance, and now is pegged at $16.50 a share, or about $220 million over-all, with the tender offer extended to mid-September. Having previously won two seats on Circon's seven-member board, U.S. Surgical may be eyeing the two seats that will be up for grabs at the Santa Bar-bara company's next annual meeting, which must be held before Nov. 24. "I can't imagine that Circon would prevail at the next meeting," an unnamed source told the Los Angeles newspaper. A majority of Circon shareholders at last year's meeting voted in favor of a non-binding resolution to sell the company. Complicating the situation is the acquisition of U.S. Surgical by Tyco International (Exeter, New Hampshire), announced in May. Tyco, widely known as favoring only friendly acquisitions, has not indicat-ed if it wants to buy Circon, a maker of surgical prod-ucts for urology and gynecology. Advanced Tissue continues Dermagraft trials Attempting to bounce back from an FDA decision that its Dermagraft product is non-approvable, Advanced Tissue Sciences (ATS; La Jolla, California) said it will carry out new trials it hopes will lead to eventual product marketing approval. ATS said it plans to complete another clinical trial for Derma-graft, its bioengineered skin implant for diabetic foot ulcers. Dermagraft is a metabolically active material derived from discarded foreskin tissue. In June, the FDA set aside an advisory panel's recommendation and turned down the company's premarket approval application, saying a retrospective analysis of a clini-cal trial was not enough to support it. (See BBI News, June 18, 1998) Enrollment for the new trial will begin soon, said Jack Strube, director of finance for ATS. "It's taken us this long to work out the protocol with the FDA," he said. "The plan is finally in place." He said an inter-im analysis will be done after 180 patients are enrolled. If that analysis proves encouraging, ATS could submit another PMA within about a year of the trial's start. The delay sets Dermagraft's launch back about two years. "We'd be looking at a potential launch in early 2000," Strube said. "We had originally hoped to launch in the second quarter of 1998." ATS also is preparing an investigational device exemption appli-cation for Dermagraft, which would let physicians use it on a patient-by-patient basis prior to formal FDA approval. ATS also has expanded its joint venture with Smith & Nephew plc (London) to include marketing Dermagraft-TC for burns in the U.S., beginning in October. The original deal, signed in 1996 and valued at $70 million, allowed Smith & Nephew to market the product for all wound care applications outside the U.S. and for all wound applications except burns in the U.S. Under the expanded joint venture with ATS, Smith & Nephew will market and sell Derma-graft- TC in the U.S. for full and partial-thickness burns. Dermagraft-TC is designed to act as an artifi-cial epidermis layer, the "TC" standing for "transi-tional covering." The product will be renamed Trans-Cyte to differentiate it from Dermagraft and to indi-cate its ability to allow migration of keratinocytes (the primary cells in the upper layer of skin) in partial-thickness wounds. Voxel reorganization fails, buyer sought Following a judgment of nearly $2 million against it earlier this year and the failure to develop a work-able reorganization plan, Voxel (Laguna Hills, Cali-fornia) has halted operations and terminated its 20- person work force. It is seeking seek a purchaser for all of its assets. The company has been developing a system for combining multiple MRI or computed tomography scans of the body to create holographic images that could be used in medical diagnosis and treatment (see BBI News, April 2, 1998). That development was ham-pered in 1997 by $6 million in losses and then, earlier this year, the company was hit with a judgment requiring it to pay $1.9 million to General Scanning (Watertown, Massachusetts), a company Voxel had contracted with to produce the system. General Scan-ning argued that it had developed a workable proto-type and charged that Voxel had refused payment for engineering services. General Scanning attempted to obtain rights to Voxel's technology, but the company rejected that proposal and then failed to develop a plan to pay the judgment. Subsequently, the company sought pro-tection in bankruptcy proceedings, but creditors - among them General Scanning - refused to accept the plan of reorganization. Subsequently, a bank-ruptcy court judge in Santa Ana, California, ruled that the company would have to liquidate its assets, with a trustee appointed to oversee the process. According to an attorney representing the company, the trustee will attempt to hire a limited staff of engi-neers and continue company operations while seek-ing a buyer. 

Where Witches Talk: Pagans Tonight Radio Reaches 500th Episode.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 27, 2011

Ever wonder what Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans think about?

Every night on the show Pagans, Witches, Wiccans and Magickal folk share their views and speak their minds about a variety of subjects. Fans can listen live, join in the chat room discussions, and call in with their questions and ideas as well. The Internet Radio Show Pagans Tonight covers all the issues and subjects that intrigue and fascinate their listeners. On April 26th, 2011 Pagans Tonight will broadcasted their 500th episode. This show continues to add new hosts and interesting guests that offer an insider's look at the Pagan community today.

Episodes on Blog Talk Radio, Pagans Tonight cover an amazing array of subjects. Topics range from how to use magick and the ethics of spell casting, to lifestyle issues such as relationships, polyamory, and discrimination against Pagans, gays and trans-genders. Other discussions include arts and crafts, gardening, music, and interviews at live events. Every subject that touches the Pagan community is open for discussion by the Pagans Tonight hosts, and listeners are encouraged to write in with topics they want to hear more about.

Past shows from Pagans Tonight have featured amazing guests and interviews with dignitaries of the community including Oberon Zell, Selena Fox, Patrick McCollum, Raven Digitalis, Raven and Stephanie Grimassi, Lady Brigid Eldar, Bronwen Forbes, Phaedra Bonewits, Jason Pitzl-Waters, Raven Kaldera, Lon Milo Duquette, David Wood, Lori Dake, Terry 'The Stone Lady' Milton and many more. The show offers insights into how these leaders interact with not only members of the Pagan community, but also with other religious leaders worldwide. Pagans Tonight is constantly offering the views of Pagans from across the community, and allows their audience a way to interact with people they read and learn about through books and the Internet, allowing for a more intimate conversation.

This nightly look at all things Pagan is the work of an amazing group of hosts, who bring a diversity of views and practices to the show. The team is led by Traci Wood and Ed Hubbard, and also includes Larry 'Zaracon' Sodders, Maryann Kay, Rev. Don Lewis, Liz Hamilton, Terry Powers, Shauna Aura, Mark Mandrake and Daniel Young. They come to live from locations throughout the United States including Chicago, Salem, Mass., and even from a hidden bunker in the state of Wyoming. Many of the hosts travel to other locations to bringing the very latest news from Pagan events as they happen. Together this team brings their global news, great guests, and fascinating interviews.

To hear the show and discover the world from a Pagan point of view, tune in to our nightly conversation of everything Pagan. The show airs at 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm Central at PagansTonight.com. Every one of the 500 shows is available at WitchSchool.com. To become a guest or find out more about the show, please send an email to: Paganstonight(at)gmail(dot)com .

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Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/4/prweb8338723.htm

Digital Music Forum Elevates Music to the Cloud.

Annual Music Leaders' Conference, Oct. 6-7 at Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Media Wire today announced its finalized speaker list, keynotes and agenda for the 6th Annual Digital Music Forum West (www.digitalmusicforum.com/west), to be held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles on October 6-7, 2010.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090319/LA86400LOGO)

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"The music industry finally finds itself in a forward-moving fashion embracing technology to increase digital sales as CD sales continue their decade long decline," said Ned Sherman, publisher and CEO of Digital Media Wire. "To help make sense of this shifting landscape, Digital Music Forum West features top thought leaders and pioneers from the digital music revolution to address the latest trends of how to monetize music in the cloud, which mobile apps make a difference and real world DIY for artists."

Ever mindful of the fact that this conference was built on people's passion for music, for the first time, it is offering sponsored registration to working artists on a case-by-case basis. Working artists may apply for free registration by sending us their details at music@digitalmediawire.com.

The two-day event is the industry's only comprehensive digital music conference focused on the evolution and future of digital music. The conference agenda, which includes senior participants from major labels, leading indie labels, social networks, online music retailers, mobile companies, artists and association heads, includes top keynotes, discussions and panels on topics including mobile apps, the state of the digital union, the future of Internet radio, online video, digital innovation, investments, the digital copyright debates, rights management, social networking and touring.

Attendees are over 300 senior decision-makers from record labels, music publishers, producers and distributors, technology companies, wireless companies, rights organizations, industry bodies, radio, advertising, attorneys, artists, investors and venture capitalists.

Confirmed speakers include:

Rick Alden, Founder & CEO, SkullCandy

Tom Silverman, Founder & Chairperson, Tommy Boy Records

Chris Tsakalakis, General Manager, StubHub/eBay Tickets

Eric Garland, CEO, BigChampagne

Russ Crupnick, VP & Sr. Entertainment Industry Analyst, The NPD Group

Michael Papish, Product Development Director, Rovi Corporation

Ty Roberts, CTO, Gracenote

Jeff Price, CEO, Tunecore

Brad Navin, CEO, The Orchard

David Del Beccaro, CEO/Founder, Music Choice

Ted Mico, EVP, Interscope Geffen A&M (Universal Music Group)

Ted Cohen, Managing Partner, TAG Strategic

Albhy Galuten, VP, Media Technology Strategy, Sony Network Entertainment

Michael Robertson, CEO, MP3Tunes

David Hyman, CEO & Founder, MOG

Chris Phenner, EVP of Business Development, Thumbplay

Aydin Caginalp, Partner, Ent & Media, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

Mitch Rotter, SVP, Marketing & Product Dev., Universal Music Group

Jim Rondinelli, SVP, Strategic Development, Slacker

Jason Gates, Director, Business Development, Pandora

Arvind Venkateswaran, SVP, WW Bus Dev / GM - Americas & Asia, Geodesic

Brock Batten, Creative Director, Mobile Roadie

Steve Bradbury, Vice President, GoTV Networks

Adam Satariano, Reporter, Bloomberg News

Kurt Hanson, Publisher, RAIN / CEO, AccuRadio

Johnie Floater, GM of Media, Live365

David Porter, CEO & founder, 8tracks

Colin Rushing, Senior Counsel, SoundExchange

Larry Kenswil, Of Counsel, Loeb & Loeb LLP

Fred Goodman, Author, Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis

Cecily Mak, VP & General Counsel, Rhapsody International Inc.

Patrick Sullivan, CEO, RightsFlow

Pierce Stacy, Director of Business & Legal Affairs, IODA

Les Watkins, SVP, Bus. Affairs & Bus. Development, Music Reports

Fred Beteille, Senior Director of Strategic Technology, The Harry Fox Agency

David Oxenford, Partner, Davis, Wright, Tremaine

John Rudolph, CEO, Bug Music

Samantha Murphy, Singer/Songwriter and Founder, The Highway Girl

Michael Petricone, SVP, Gov't Affairs, Consumer Electronics Association

Jon Potter, Consultant / Former Exec. Dir., Digital Media Association

Mike Spinella, Director, Label Relations AOL Music Network

Tom Gates, Artist Manager, Bill Silva Entertainment

Jack Isquith, SVP, Digital Music, Warner Bros. Records

Jeff Pollack, CEO of Global Media & Entertainment, Pollack Media Group

Luke Kallis, VP of West Coast Sales, VEVO

Celia Hirschman, Host, KCRW's On the Beat

Abe Burns, Digital / Online Marketing, Career Artist Management (Frontline)

Jan D'Alessandro, VP, Bus. Dev. & General Counsel, Topspin Media

John Boyle, President, Hello Music

Jennifer Elias, Director, Bus. Development, Bandcamp

John Davi, Director, Engineering, Cisco

Asya Shein, CEO, Fusicology

Claes Loberg, CEO, Guvera

Adam Wolf, Senior Creative Director, pigFACTORY Music, USA

Jeff Bronikowski, Head of Music, Yahoo!

Tim Scanlin, CEO & Founder, Brandracket & BrandsForBands

Vickie Nauman, VP, North America, 7digital

Syd Schwartz, Founder & CEO, Linchpin Digital

Nic Adler, Owner, The Roxy

Shannon Connolly, VP, Digital Music Strategy, MTV Networks Music Group

David Marcus, SVP, Strategic Initiatives, Warner Bros. Records

Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful

Aaron Grosky, President, Control Room

Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group

Event sponsors and media partners include Manatt Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Loeb & Loeb LLP, RightsFlow, Rovi, Cisco, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, NVPR, A2IM, Mashable, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Aquarium Drunkard, New Music Tipsheet, EMF, KCRW.com, Music Connection, Fusicology, Mary-Margaret Network, AFTRA, Filter Magazine, Billboard and PR Newswire

For complete agenda, registration and event details please visit: http://www.digitalmusicforum.com/west.

Other prominent Digital Media Wire events include the LA Games Conference; NY Games Conference; Future of Television East; Future of Film Summit; Digital Music Forum East; Digital Media Conference East and West; and Digital Media Insider @ CES. Digital Media Wire is also a programming partner for the annual

Canadian Music Week.

About Digital Media Wire, Inc.:

Digital Media Wire is an events, news, and publishing company serving the digital entertainment & media industry since May 2000. Digital Media Wire produces executive forums featuring the leading executives in digital media and entertainment. Digital Media Wire also publishes an authoritative daily email newsletter and industry directory. For more information, please visit www.dmwmedia.com.

SOURCE Digital Media Wire

Ground Control and GeoData Publishers Provide TDI-Brooks International With Fleet Broadband - Delivering Constant Communications While at Sea.

Ground Control Systems, Inc. and strategic partner GeoData Publishers, Inc. announced they teamed together to provide TDI-Brooks International (TDI-BI) with state-of-the-art maritime satellite communications. TDI-BI provides scientific services on a global basis via its marine research vessels.

GeoData Publishers, TDI-BI's partner for data management and IT services, relied on Ground Control, a leader in the Fleet/BGAN sector, to provide satellite equipment, satellite bandwidth and a management portal to TDI-BI's fleet of five research vessels operating worldwide. Utilizing Inmarsat's Fleet Broadband network with the Sailor 250 Fleet Broadband antenna, Ground Control delivered a satellite communications solution, enabling GeoData Publisher's system integration techniques to keep TDI-BI's fleet of research vessels connected across the globe.

The Sailor 250 provides TDI-BI the ability to monitor and manage critical assets 24/7 from corporate headquarters without paying the high cost of comparable technology. Requiring a constant connection, with limited data transmission requirements, TDI-BI is accessing Fleet Broadband's "always on" connection for a minimal monthly service charge and pays on a per megabyte basis.

"With the Sailor units in place and a custom designed network with data management tools from GeoData Publishers, TDI-BI now has a cost effective fleet broadband solution with the ability to manage multiple units from anywhere in the world", said Jeff Staples, CEO of Ground Control. "Remote management for this onboard solution eliminates the investment required for additional onboard IT staff, resulting in dramatic cost savings for TDI-BI."

About Ground Control Systems, Inc.

Ground Control is a full-service satellite Internet provider that offers high-speed fixed, mobile, portable and maritime solutions for organizations throughout the world. Ground Control manufactures the MSS mobile satellite systems as well as provides connection services for all of our product offerings. Our clients include federal, state and local governments, educational institutions, oil & gas, emergency and disaster services, fortune 1000 businesses, small businesses, professionals, and RVers.

About GeoData Publishers, Inc.

GeoData Publishers is a group of IT professionals that have been managing and publishing data since 1985. We have expertise in information science, research methods, data collection, interpretation, and publication. Geodata Publishers works with private and public companies, government institutions and private industry.

Keywords: Ground Control Systems, Inc., Bandwidth, Broadband, Broadband Network, Conservation, Data Management, Data Transmission, Ecology, Electronics, Environment, Government, Information Science, Information Technology, Local Government, Marine Research, Networks, Politics, Technology

This article was prepared by Information Technology Newsweekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Information Technology Newsweekly via VerticalNews.com.

November is Home Staging Awareness Month.

Professional Home Stagers Gather to Discuss Industry News and Promote Home Staging

STOCKTON, Calif. -- The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the Trade Association for Professional Home Stagers, has announced that November is Home Staging Awareness Month. RESA's goals are to facilitate positive interactions within the home staging industry, provide support to professional stagers in addition to promoting the benefits of home staging to the consumer. The Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (IRIS), and American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners (ASHSR) are also partnering with RESA as National Co-Sponsors of Home Staging Awareness Month in a unified effort to bring industry professionals together. All professional stagers are invited to attend and participate in this ground breaking event.

These leading Staging Professional Organizations have partnered with members of "Stage it Forward" (SIF) a powerful internet blogging community that is hosted by the Real Estate Blogging website called Active Rain. (www.ActiveRain.com) SIF is conducting "Home Staging Round Table Discussions" throughout North America during the month of November, "Home Staging Awareness" month, in order to bring home stagers together to discuss vital industry issues. If you would like to attend a Round Table Visit www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com and click on the event calendar to find a location near you.

Other industry partners such as BEKINS PODS, IKEA, THE PLANT ATRIUM, CORT FURNITURE RENTAL, BROOK FURNITURE RENTAL, KELLER WILLIAMS and THE ENERGIZED SELLER, are sponsoring the events. For a full list of industry partners and sponsors please visit www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com and click on the SIF button on the menu.

RESA has released "The Consumers Guide To Real Estate Staging", free publication that explains the benefits of staging and how to choose a professional stager. The publication is available to homeowners and Real Estate Professional. To download a free copy visit www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com.

For more information on home staging, or to join a Round Table, find a professional stager, or sponsor a future event, please contact one of these organizations: RESA -The Real Estate Staging Association visit www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com or call 888-201-8687 speak to Shell Brodnax; IRIS - Interior Redesign Industry Specialists www.WeReDesign.com or call 877-674-8667 speak to Sandy Dixon; ASHSR - American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners www.ASHSR.com or call 888-563-9271 and speak to Audra Slinkey.

Internet Captures 63 Percent Growth in the Past Two Years, According to Nielsen//NetRatings; Fifty-Eight Percent of All Americans Have Access to the Web.

           The Internet ratings report for the month of July 2001 from Nielsen//NetRatings, the world's fastest growing Internet audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen eRatings.com and NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTRT), revealed that Internet growth at-home spiked 63 percent in the past two years (see Table 1). The U.S. Internet population increased 16 percent from July 2000 to July 2001. By comparison, the population grew 41 percent the previous year from 1999 to 2000.
           "Despite a troubled economy and slumping PC sales, adoption of the Internet continues to grow at double-digit annual rates," said Sean Kaldor, vice president of analytical services, NetRatings. "The Web long-ago captured early adopters and is now reaching the latter half of mainstream America. Going forward, Internet growth is being driven by late adopters and by more aggressive use from the enormous existing Internet population."

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings Year-Over-Year Internet Growth (U.S., 

Home) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Time Period             Active Internet    Active Internet    Percent 

                        Universe (000)     Universe (000)     Growth 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

July 1999-July 2001             62,752          102,077            63% 

July 1999-July 2000             62,752           88,193            41% 

July 2000-July 2001             88,193          102,077            16% 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, July 2001 

      Active Internet Universe is the total number of users who accessed 

the Web at least one time for the given time period. 

Internet Penetration Posts Double-Digit Growth in the Past Two Years
           Fifty-eight percent of all Americans had Internet access in their homes in July 2001, as compared to 52 percent last year. In July 1999 only 39 percent of all Americans had access to the Web (see Table 2).
Overall, surfers are spending more time online and logging on more frequently. Web users spent an average of 10 hours and 19 minutes online during the month of July 2001, rising seven percent from nine hours and 41 minutes spent in July 2000. Surfers also accessed the Internet more often, jumping 11 percent in the past year.
           "Compared to other communications and media technology, Internet adoption has reached nearly three out of five homes almost overnight," added Kaldor. "While PC and Internet penetration have far exceeded many other types of consumer devices, there is still ample room to grow before reaching the 98 percent penetration levels of telephones and TVs."

Table 2. Nielsen//NetRatings Internet Penetration (U.S., Home) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Month           Current Internet             Census           Internet 

                  Universe (000)   Population (000)        Penetration 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

July, 1999               106,370            272,691                39% 

July, 2000               143,959            275,130                52% 

July, 2001               165,181            284,870                58% 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, July 2001 

      Current Internet Universe is the total number of users who had 

access to the Web during the month, but did not necessarily log on 

during the given time period. 

      July Internet Audience Ratings 

      The following set of at-home and at-work information includes: Top 

25 Web Properties and Average Web Usage for the month of July 2001. 

           Nielsen//NetRatings: Top 25 Web Sites by Property 

                          Month of July 2001 

              Ranking of the Most Visited Web Properties 

Top 25 Properties, Combined Home & Work 

Property                                Unique             Time Per 

                                      Audience               Person 

                                         (000)           (hh:mm:ss) 

 1.   AOL Time Warner                   77,430              1:11:34 

 2.   Yahoo!                            68,994              2:10:56 

 3.   MSN                               62,027              1:44:58 

 4.   Microsoft                         40,116              0:12:51 

 5.   Lycos Network                     31,128              0:19:58 

 6.   Excite@Home                       28,366              0:41:37 

 7.   About-Primedia                    24,674              0:13:41 

 8.   Amazon                            24,228              0:18:32 

 9.   eBay                              23,445              1:59:20 

 10.  Walt Disney Internet Group        21,896              0:47:40 

 11.  InfoSpace                         19,568              0:10:55 

 12.  CNET Networks                     19,082              0:18:01 

 13.  Vivendi Universal                 18,547              0:18:02 

 14.  Google                            15,942              0:30:43 

 15.  ClassMates Online                 15,387              0:11:09 

 16.  eUniverse Network                 15,025              0:23:09 

 17.  Ask Jeeves                        14,324              0:10:19 

 18.  NBC Internet                      13,163              0:17:21 

 19.  AT&T                              12,548              0:27:16 

 20.  GoTo.com                          12,086              0:05:14 

 21.  Viacom International              11,831              0:23:14 

 22.  CitySearch/Ticketmaster Online    11,756              0:22:29 

 23.  Real Networks                     11,604              0:08:28 

 24.  Weather Channel                   10,544              0:11:51 

 25.  EarthLink                         10,259              0:20:27 

      Example: The combined home and work data indicate that nearly 10.3 

million home & work Internet users visited at least one of the 

Earthlink-owned sites during the reporting period, and each person 

spent, on average, a total of 20 minutes and 27 seconds at one or more 

of their sites. 

      Notes: Rankings are based on audience measurement of people who 

have access to the Internet at-home and at-work. Work rankings are 

based on persons at-work who have access to a non-shared personal 

computer. A property is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains 

and URLs owned by a single entity. Reach is a measure of the 

unduplicated audience that visits a property. The data are expressed 

as the percentage of the total universe of Internet users who logged 

onto the Internet at least once during the reporting period. 

   Nielsen//NetRatings: Average Internet Usage Combined Home & Work 

                          Month of July 2001 

      Data below represent activity for the average Internet user 

at-home and at-work during the month. 

                            Home & Work,   Home & Work,     % Change 

                                    July           June    from June 

Number of Sessions 

 per Month                            33             32         +3.1 

Number of Unique Sites 

 Visited                              21             21            0 

Page Views per Month               1,170          1,114         +5.0 

Page Views per Surfing 

 Session                              36             35         +2.9 

Time Spent per Month            17:35:57       16:29:14         +6.7 

Time Spent During Surfing 

 Session                         0:32:05        0:31:02         +3.4 

Duration of a Page viewed        0:00:53        0:00:53            0 

Active Internet Universe 

 (actually surfed)         112.6 million  112.9 million         -0.3 

Current Internet Universe 

 Estimate (had access, 

 but did not necessarily 

 go online)                171.6 million  173.6 million         -1.2 

About Nielsen//NetRatings
           Nielsen//NetRatings, the audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., collects real-time data from more than 70,000 panel members in the United States. The U.S. panel sample consists of 62,000 at-home users and 8,000 at-work users. These panels collectively represent the largest representative media research sample of Internet users in the industry. Worldwide, Nielsen//NetRatings services are provided via a partnership with ACNielsen eRatings.com, a venture between ACNielsen and NetRatings, Inc., (Nasdaq:NTRT) and measure the Internet experiences of more than 225,000 Internet users.
           Nielsen//NetRatings services use unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the global marketplace. Nielsen//NetRatings services leverage proprietary data-collection technology from NetRatings, Nielsen Media Research's 50 years of expertise in research and audience measurement, and ACNielsen's international leadership in supplying market research information covering more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.