Press Releases & News

Christmas is a prime time of year to show your partner exactly how much you care. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the time to lavish extravagant gifts on your partner, in fact, the value of a well-thought present is often far greater than an excessive or clichéd offering, as the perfect gift can reveal a lot more about your relationship.

Dr. Gian Gonzaga, a senior research scientist at the Pasadena-based eHarmony research labs, advises that the gift you give your partner can mean so much more than an on-the-surface level exchange of tokens of your affection. He notes that “when you pick the right gift it can show your partner how in tune you are with them and your relationship and signal that you understand what they like and want.” This is crucial for the formation of any lasting relationship as “understanding is one of the major pillars of creating intimacy in a relationship and an indicator of how good a partner you are across the long haul, therefore the gift you give should reflect how well you understand your partner and your relationship.” Yet according to Dr. Gonzaga and the UK branch of the eHarmony online dating service, eHarmony.co.uk, there is a way to make sure that your gift this Christmas will say all the right things to your long-term soul mate or prospective partner.

Putting the science back into couple compatibility and the spark back into just about any relationship, eHarmony.co.uk has prepared the following suggestions for finding the ideal gift for your partner. Whether you’re in a long-term relationship or things are just getting started for colleagues or friends dating, the process of gift giving is a crucial moment to express what you truly feel about a person. Luckily enough, it’s fairly straightforward to pick out a perfect present, if you consider these four simple steps:

1. Plan: While “last-minute” might be the buzzwords for booking cheap hotel accommodation for a romantic weekend away, they don’t make for stress-free and productive Christmas shopping. Leave your Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve, and you’ll only be stuck in the frantic crowds and possibly left with the last thing on the shelf. Nothing says thoughtless like a last-minute gift, and that’s not the signal you want to give off with your Christmas gift.
2. Pay attention: Listen to what your partner is saying, especially when they express an interest in something in the months or weeks before Christmas, and you’ll be surprised how often they let slip a mention of something they really want – and even before they’ve realised they want it! Just make the effort to commit it to memory, and your partner will be pleased that you’ve shown such an interest. Even the most selfless person gives off hints of what they’d like for themselves, which brings us to the next point…
3. Be selfless: We’re not talking any high and mighty concept here, but just a plain and simple suggestion for gift giving. Don’t get something that you’d secretly like to use later down the track! It’s not about buying a gift for yourself, but for someone else, and keep in mind their interests, likes, or needs when purchasing the gift.
4. Go the extra mile: Be creative in what you’re offering, and your thoughtfulness will be recognised. Unique gifts stand out in people’s minds and memories, and a handmade or innovative gift will be the type of gift that’s remembered forever. It can also be surprising how easy it is to track down a particularly rare or creative present these days, thanks to the internet. Ordering limited release or international versions of books or music is simple if you’re organised in time, and you’re able to cater your choice to pick something special rather than something ordinary or everyday. Your efforts will be appreciated and your relationship stronger as a result.

Always Liguria is a region where the trade were fundamental steps and always very active, given its favorable geographical position.

In fact it is the geographical position that makes a nerve center of the Italian system, but also at European level.

Thanks to one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean and its position on the border with France and also the proximity to Europe is often used to direct the unloading of goods across Europe.

Precisely for this reason the government has allocated through the CIPE, the capital of the great works that will be more to Liguria near the big cities of the Po Valley and Europe.

The first work commissioned, which will begin in early 2010, although the sites are already open and ready-made hydraulic excavator and crushing machines, will be the third cross, which will connect Genoa with Po valley.

The work will consist almost entirely of a tunnel that will cross the Apennine Mountains that divide the city of Genoa to the Po valley, allowing to quickly connect the Ligurian city of Turin and Milan.

In addition to this work which have been allocated by the CIPE, already 500 million and will have the total cost of 5 billion euros budgeted hours, we will define other minor works that will improve the function of the transit in the region.

Time.com (www.times.com), the online edition of the prestigious American weekly newspaper, has recently published a ranking of the 10 best iPhone applications of this year.

At the first place we find Tweetie 2 app, the version for iPhone of the Twitter client. Immediately following ranks Yelp, an app that allows users to orient their self  among the local restaurants and places of particular interest. In the third place we find Slaker, a web radio that offers to users over 100 music stations.

The remaining apps that didn’t manage to win a place on the podium are: Flight Track Pro (an app that allows you to monitor the status of flights), Mint (an app useful for the finance administration and management), Sling Player Mobile (that allows you to watch some television broadcasts directly from your iPhone), The Small Chair (exclusive contents of the famous publishing group Mc Sweeney), RunKeeper the perfect application for runners, Photoshop.com Mobile (the mobile version of the known editing software) and finally Locavore (an app that will keep you updated on everything you need to know to eat locally).

Omniplex, a leading provider of e-Learning solutions, has expanded its operations by opening a North American office, in Montreal, Canada.

This expansion comes at a time of sustained growth for the company. Matthew Lloyd, managing director of Omniplex, said: “As well as growing our business across the Americas, we have enjoyed increased sales in both the UK and European markets. Importantly, this move in North America has also allowed us to offer greater support to our international clients.”

Omniplex will be offering the same comprehensive portfolio of e-learning solutions in North America that has proved so popular in Europe.

Omniplex’s Vice President of North American Operations, Susan Morin, commented: “There is a real need throughout North America for a true e-learning solutions provider: a supplier that can recommend, supply and support the full range of technologies that organisations need to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by online learning.

“At Omniplex, we strive to build long-term relationships with our clients. We become a trusted resource they can turn to, in the knowledge that, as we are not tied to any one particular technology, we will give unbiased advice on which they can rely.”

The e-learning solutions supplied by Omniplex address the full value-chain of technology-based learning, including authoring tools and services, learning management systems, as well as innovative solutions for learning re-enforcement.

Matthew Lloyd commented “We have excellent relationships with the leading technology providers in the industry, including established authors such as Articulate and OutStart, as well as ground-breaking solutions such as Absorb LMS from Blatant Media and Cameo from the Yukon Group. By being the single source for all the different components of an e-learning solution, we can provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for implementation, training and technical support – ensuring our clients get a system ‘that just works’!”

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About Omniplex

Omniplex is a leading provider of e-learning authoring, delivery, tracking and reinforcement products and services. Based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in the UK, Omniplex supports clients across Europe and North America.

Further information on Omniplex can be found at www.omniplex.co.uk and www.omniplex.biz

Further information from:

Matthew Lloyd, Omniplex Ltd, +44 (0)1442 275304 / 08444 120550; matthew.lloyd@omniplex.co.uk

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405; bob.little@boblittlepr.com

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) today published its response to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)’s proposals for the new Research Excellence Framework (REF), urging HEFCE to adopt clear guidelines to ensure that interdisciplinary fields such as learning technology are properly judged in the REF.
In its response to the HEFCE consultation, ALT warns that many of its members – as with many others in interdisciplinary areas – are located in departments, units and centres that are not themselves responsible for compiling submissions. For this reason it is important that the REF does not systematically militate against individuals working on learning technologies being entered into the REF in appropriate units of assessment.
On the vexed subject of “impact”, learning technology is a discipline whose impact can be judged: but the most informative accounts of impact may well be based on changes to ‘host’ institutions. For this reason the REF should include among indicators of impact the impact within a researcher’s own institution.
Concerning interdisciplinary research, of which learning technology research is an example, ALT warns that many HEIs are likely to discriminate against interdisciplinary research being reported in the REF and against researchers representing themselves as interdisciplinary. This is already having an impact on the work of individual researchers as they bid for project funding and write research outputs. Already ALT detects that advice is being given to our members in their institutions to make sure that they have the right number of “mainstream” outputs rather than those that are interdisciplinary in character. A commitment to ensure that major interdisciplinary groups are represented on panels and to a more open process needs to be articulated very early in the cycle so as to be credible.
Professor John Cook, Chair of the ALT Research Committee, and Professor of Technology Enhanced Learning at the Learning Technology Research Institute said:
“The basic premise of our submission is that steps need taking to ensure that interdisciplinary fields like learning technology are supported rather than thwarted by the REF.
“Collaboration between institutions in research and development areas such as learning technology is a particularly strong part of Government policy. It is regrettable that this emphasis on collaboration is not as strongly reflected in the REF, and this issue needs to be addressed.
“In particular, vigilance by panels and clear guidelines from the funding councils will each be needed to curtail the tendency for institutions to discriminate against interdisciplinary research being reported in the REF, and against researchers describing their work in the REF as interdisciplinary.
“In order to save burden on the system, we urge HEFCE to delay the REF being finalised to 2011, and for it take place in 2014, since activities timetabled for 2010 may need to be significantly reworked, in the light of the likelihood of new funding strictures, and to allow time for the new-style REF to be fine tuned to take account of responses to the current consultation.”
ALT’s response was submitted on 10 December. For a full copy of the submission, please go to http://repository.alt.ac.uk/683/.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new (to be implemented under current proposals in 2013) system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). In previous years, research quality has been assessed periodically through the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).
The REF will focus on three elements, which together reflect the key characteristics of research excellence. These are:
• Outputs The primary focus of the REF will be to identify excellent research of all kinds. This will be assessed through a process of expert review, informed by citation information in subjects where robust data are available (for example, in medicine and science).
• Impact Significant additional recognition will be given where researchers build on excellent research to deliver demonstrable benefits to the economy, society, public policy, culture and quality of life. Impacts will be assessed through a case-study approach that will be tested in a pilot exercise.
• Environment The REF will take account of the quality of the research environment in supporting a continuing flow of excellent research and its effective dissemination and application.
The consultation, which closes on 16 December 2009, sets out proposals for all key aspects of the framework.
About ALT
The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) is a professional and scholarly association which brings together those with an interest in the use of learning technology. It has over 200 organisational members and over 650 individual members, including academic and other researchers who are creators of educational digital content as well as contributors to research and policy. Visit http://www.alt.ac.uk/ and http://www.alt.ac.uk/ALT_2009_Research_Strategy.html.

ALT organises an annual conference. In 2010 the theme will be: “Into something rich and strange” – making sense of the sea-change. It will take place in Nottingham, UK from 7-9 September 2010 and will discuss the structural and pervasive shift in the nature of the Internet and its impact on education.

Association for Learning Technology, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP
Tel: +44 (0)1865 484 125 Fax: +44 (0)1865 484 165 Email: admin@alt.ac.uk
URL: http://www.alt.ac.uk/

ALT is a Registered Charity in the UK, number: 1063519

For media information on ALT, images, or to apply for a press pass for ALT-C 2010, please contact:
Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd
Tel: 01883 650434 or 0794 166 9925
Email: Catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com

Ref: TA588 14 December 2009

As part of its commitment to ‘transforming performance, leading change’ within the UK’s healthcare sector, the quality, innovation and productivity organisation, Amnis is running two Accelerated Lean Skills Programmes (ASLPs).

These three-day, fast-paced interactive masterclasses designed to give those who have little or no experience of ‘Lean’ the skills to participate in their first Lean events, take place in Oxford on 2^nd to 4^th February and Cottingham on 13^th to15^th April.

Delegates also complete a post-programme project to demonstrate how they have turned their knowledge into action. Combining training with practical exercises designed to reinforce learning, each ALSP is delivered by expert Lean practitioners in a supportive and interactive environment.

According to Amnis’s Mark Eaton: “This programme will appeal to both the complete beginner and those with some experience of Lean who are looking to consolidate their knowledge through a formal training programme.”

One former ALSP delegate – Simone Akuffo-Akoto, the Service Improvement Lead at Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust (PCT) – commented: “This is an excellent programme. It does exactly what it says it will – and gives you both the knowledge and the opportunity to apply the principles of Lean in your organisation.”

Coined by Jim Womack’s research team at MIT in the 1990s, ‘Lean’ means doing more with less. The core idea behind ‘Lean’ is to maximise customer value while minimising waste; thus, a Lean organisation understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continually meet those needs.

Amnis’ ALSP programme covers:

• Understanding Lean principles
• How to make Lean work in practice
• Practical Value Stream Mapping
• Exploring the core Lean toolkit
• Running different types of Lean events
• Creating a Lean implementation plan
• Managing Lean programmes and change
• Structuring your organisation to go Lean

Delegates receive all the relevant materials, exercises and a Lean book, along with telephone and email coaching support.

“The ALSP is a module in the Lean Leader Programme and is also approved by the Institute of Healthcare Management,” Eaton pointed out. “Successful graduates of the programme receive an endorsed certificate and CPD points.”

More information is available from Ruth Bodman on +44 (0) 870 446 1002.

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About ‘Lean’

Coined by Jim Womack’s research team at MIT in the 1990s, ‘Lean’ means doing more with less. The core idea behind ‘Lean’ is to maximise customer value while minimising waste. A Lean organisation understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continually meet those needs.

About Amnis Limited

Working with both public and private sector organisations, Amnis is a consultancy which specialises in innovation, transformation and organisational improvement, helping clients plan and deploy strategies for successful transformation. Its goal is to help clients not only deliver sustainable change but also to develop their capability to tackle their next challenges.

Providing both consultancy and training services, Amnis’ team includes specialists in Lean/Six Sigma, organisational development, strategic planning, change management and systems thinking.

Further information from:

Ruth Bodman, Amnis, 00 44 (0) 870 446 1002; ruthbodman@amnis.uk.com

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 00 44 (0)1727 860405; bob.little@boblittlepr.com

IXFIBER PRESENTS NEW FIBERS FOR LASER AND GYROSCOPE AT PHOTONICS WEST NEXT MONTH

Chicago, December 11, 2009 (word count: 194)

IXFiber develops and produces specialty fibers and components based on fiber Bragg grating technology. The company will be presenting its newest products in these categories at Photonics West 2010 in San Francisco from Jan. 26 to 28, on the French Pavilion at booth 1723.

or:

FRENCH TECHNOLOGY PRESS OFFICE
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3740
Chicago, IL 60601
Fax: (312) 327-5261
E-mail: contact.ftpo@ubifrance.fr

SUNRISE, FLORIDA — December 11, 2009 – Learn.com^®, the leader in cloud-based workforce development and productivity, announced a partnership today with Toolingu.com, the leading provider of online training for manufacturers.

Through the partnership, Learn.com will host, deliver and track 19 job profiles developed in cooperation with Toolingu.com in specific industry segments such as Aerospace, Medical Equipment, Construction and Natural Gas. The content can be accessed on the Learn.com Global Content Exchange, http://my.learn.com. In addition, the portal will provide a variety of curricula to the general consumer such as Machining, Maintenance, Assembly and Welding & Fabrication.

“We needed a way to reach out to the general consumer instead of the entire business as we do now. Learn.com provides us with that vehicle. Now we can offer job-specific courses that are mapped to desired skills and then use Skill Score® to directly measure and track the end user. We’re very excited because individuals will be able to prepare for NIMS [National Institute for Metalworking Skills] certification and CEUs [continuing education units] or just fill in basic shop skills with quality content,” said Chad Schron, Vice President of Toolingu.com.

To become a partner of the Learn.com Global Content Exchange, email partner@learn.com or visit http://my.learn.com.

About Toolingu.com
Toolingu.com is the leading provider of web-based training content for manufacturers, with training packages for machinists, maintenance professionals, welders, and assemblers. All of Toolingu.com’s content can be organized into job-specific competencies that tie online theory with hands-on tasks. Toolingu.com’s customers can use “off the shelf” competencies as a starting point, and then customize each competency to specific roles within their organization.

In addition to their standard training catalog, Toolingu.com also offers custom content development solutions, as well as a range of services that help customers organize training programs, boost training usage, and manage the account access and data reporting of a training program. Toolingu.com’s customers range from Fortune 500 manufacturers, small “job shops,” distribution companies and educational institutions.

For more information about Toolingu.com, visit www.toolingu.com or contact a TU sales representative at 1-866-706-8665.

About Learn.com
Learn.com^® is the worldwide leader in on-demand workforce development and productivity with more than 50 million end users around the globe. Our broad suite of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications can fully automate the employee development lifecycle from pre-hire to retire^® within organizations of all sizes, from the growing business with fewer than one hundred employees; to the global enterprise managing internal and external initiatives with millions of users in multiple languages. Learn.com’s unwavering commitment to understanding client needs, goals and objectives allows us to partner with our clients to help them realize low TCO and high ROI.

The Learn.com family of solutions includes the award-winning LearnCenter^® learning and talent management suite, the WebRoom^® Web conferencing suite, the PeopleCenter^®, Application Builder, FormFlow^® Custom Form Creation and the 1,000 title Learn2.com^® online course library.

Press Contacts
Don Cook
Learn.com
954-233-4000 x5192
don@learn.com

Chloe Foster
Learn.com
954-233-4000 x5726
chloe.foster@learn.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information please visit www.learn.com or call 954-233-4000.

Learn.com, its logo, LearnCenter, WebRoom, PeopleCenter, FormFlow, Skill Score, and Learn2 are registered trademarks of Learn.com. All other trademarks are respectfully acknowledged.

CORDOUAN WILL PRESENT A NEW ALL-IN-ONE ANALYZER AT PHOTONICS WEST NEXT MONTH

Chicago, December 11, 2009 (word count: 269)
CORDOUAN Technologies is a start-up that develops, manufactures, and markets a full range of optoelectronic analyzing instruments based on innovative and patented technology transfers. These transfers result from privileged partnerships via collaborative contracts with well-established R&D laboratories where these technologies are created.

Therefore, one of the first instruments developed results from a collaborative work with the optics laboratory of the French Atomic Energy Commission Pierrelatte. It is a new innovative and comprehensive solution dedicated to laser metrology: the MIROMA^© analyzer.

At the Photonics West 2010 trade show, to be held from January 26 to 28 in San Francisco at the French Pavilion, booth 1723, CORDOUAN Technologies will present MIROMA^©. This “All-in-One” analyzer performs high-resolution wavefront characterization, real-time analysis of laser beam profile, instantaneous M² measurement and near-field far-field propagation predictions with high resolution. Thanks to its conception, MIROMA^© is achromatic, vibrations insensitive and calibration free, thus making it perfectly adapted to the characterization of high power and ultrashort pulse lasers and to the diagnosis in laser amplification chains.
For more information, please contact:

About CORDOUAN Technologies:
Established in late 2007 and employing 11 people, CORDOUAN Technologies is located in the new “Cité de la Photonique” (Photonics City) based in Pessac near Bordeaux. It has its headquarters in a new 1,000-sq. m. building equipped with clean rooms, production facilities and R&D laboratories.

CORDOUAN TECHNOLOGIES
Patrice Nagtegaele
Optics Division Manager
Cité de la Photonique
11, avenue de Canteranne
33600 Pessac
FRANCE
Tel.: +33 5 56 15 80 45
E-mail: patrice.nagtegaele@cordouan-tech.com
Web: www.cordouan-tech.com

or:

FRENCH TECHNOLOGY PRESS OFFICE
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3740
Chicago, IL 60601
Fax: (312) 327-5261
E-mail: contact.ftpo@ubifrance.fr

Please click the thumbnail below to open a high-resolution image. Photo: Seestream logo

Chicago, December 11, 2009 (word count: 488)
For its 10th anniversary celebration with its partners, Tetco-Voxpilot has unveiled its new strategy marked by a new name: Seestream. A software vendor specialized and established in unified communication, open-standards open media platform, interactive voice and video servers, interactive video production studio, videoconferencing, videostreaming and more, the Tetco Group enjoys a history of successful and innovative initiatives. Now known as Seestream, the company celebrates 10 years of business and unveils its new positioning, with a new name for a new step.

For over a decade, the Tetco Group has become one of the leading players in unified communication, with its data, voice and video bundles deployed over 300 customers worldwide. Indeed, video solutions are currently booming given the intense pressure on costs and smartphone deployment. In this context, Seestream is launching its videoconferencing solution, Videofy, based on a totally new concept. Always watching out for the needs of telecoms providers and businesses alike, Seestream anticipates any problems that could impact the use of video services. It provides all the necessary tools for fast video production thanks to its Videofy studio solution.

Following the acquisition of Voxpilot in September 2008 and of innovative video technologies, the Tetco Group decided to change its brand name in order to align it to the company’s offer. The name Seestream illustrates this new positioning. The brand strategy is to offer convergence solutions to manage audio and video streams. The logo will retain the same font and it is adorned with a rounded “S” and energetic colors. Seestream’s stance is definitely turned towards the future, spearheaded by innovation.

“Seestream is currently positioned as a key player in the IP, 2G and 3G networks value-added services,” says Tristan Dessain-Gelinet, Seestream CEO. “We wanted a dynamic name,  reflecting the quality of our support and our know-how in the research for new products, which meet our partners’ and customers’ needs, but which also pave the way for opportunities brought about by the video business, a business with a very bright future.”

Seestream is the new brand name for the Tetco Group, formerly called Tetco-Voxpilot. The company is based in France and is established throughout the world with a team of experts and an international network of qualified partners to distribute and support its solutions. Every year, the Tetco Group invests 20% of its turnover in research and development in order to provide its customers with ever more efficient solutions.

For further information, please contact:

Fatou Aïdara
Marketing Manager
E-mail: f.aidara@seestream.com
Web: www.seestream.com

SEESTREAM

or:

FRENCH TECHNOLOGY PRESS OFFICE
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3740
Chicago, IL 60601
Fax: (312) 327-5261
E-mail: contact.ftpo@ubifrance.fr