Category Archives: Technology

In the fight against COVID-19, alcohol is perhaps the most commonly utilized disinfectant and sterilization solution. But what if there was a way to achieve effective disinfection with something even more common? Perhaps something that comes from the turn of a faucet? Since 2016, Taiwanese startup ELECLEAN has produced disinfectant using water as its only reagent. By Using nano-catalysis electrochemical technology, water is directly transformed into "reactive oxygen species" (ROS) such as hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide radicals. ROS effectively destroy viruses and bacteria by oxidation. Delivered in the form of a portable and rechargeable device, ELECLEAN produces disinfectant from regular tap water in just 15 minutes at the touch of a button.

Moreover, ELECLEAN is safe and eco-friendly. Upon destroying the targeted pathogens, ROS simply transforms back into water. Throughout the process, no chemical additives or preservatives are utilized, which makes this disinfectant product non-toxic - unlike many traditional disinfectants. ELECLEAN has been certified by professional laboratories around the world, including Chang Gung University, SGS, SNQ, and more. In particular, ELECLEAN has been verified as effective against pseudomonas aeruginosa, pneumococcus, H1N1, candida albicans, E. coli, staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, black mold, and more.

A New Innovation for the Pandemic Era

In August of this year, the startup launched a new product called ELECLEAN 360 in response to the pandemic. ELECLEAN 360 is an intelligent disinfectant station that may be installed at entrances to buildings and other venues to provide full-body disinfection. The system effectively removes viruses, bacteria, and odors from those who walk through, significantly improving public health and safety in public spaces. ELECLEAN 360 has already been used for sanitation control of various venues and events, including the CHIMEI Museum, the National Library of Public Information's Read Exposition, National Geographic's 50th Anniversary of Earth Day Run, and more.

Inspired by the Need for Clean Water

After participating in various disaster relief programs in India and Southeast Asia, Dr. Chien-Hung Chen, Founder and CEO of ELECLEAN, found that clean water and disinfection were critical problems in need of solutions. Chen drew on his 13 years of water treatment research experience at the Material and Chemical Research Laboratory at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to invent a series of water purification modules to provide refugees with clean, potable water. After returning to Taiwan, Chen founded ELECLEAN with the mission to become the world's top-ranked professional disinfection appliance brand.

In addition to ELECLEAN's flagship disinfectant solution, our current line of products also includes ELECLEAN plus+, ELECLEAN share, and ELECLEAN 360. It is expected that other products will be released, including ELECLEAN tissue and E-cube, in the near future.

CES 2021 TTA-VR Pavilion: https://pse.is/393s2h

SOURCE ELECLEAN

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CES 2021 ELECLEAN Disinfectant Recognized by WHO Regional Office as an Innovative Technology in the Fight against COVID-19 - PRNewswire

Online banking services have greatly facilitated people in their personal and business transactions. However, every year cases of criminals misusing the technology are being reported. However, they are unable to avoid the long arms of law for long and their game is soon over. Following complaints by thousands of people from across the country that fraudsters had deprived them of large sums of money using stolen fingerprints, the FIA has arrested 30 such alleged criminals. Agency officials have said they have recovered more than Rs25 million from the arrested accused. The fraudsters stole the victims fingerprints from voter lists, national identity cards, B-forms and documents from union councils allegedly with the help of officials. The fingerprints are then replicated on silicone. They are then copied on X-ray films. Later, a fake fingerprints membrane is made with silicone and it is pasted on the fingers and thumbs of the cheats who withdraw the money from the accounts of those whose fingerprints have been stolen.

For obtaining mobile phone SIMs, fingerprints and thumbprints are used. Mobile SIMs obtained on the basis of stolen fingerprints are used for illegal activities. Fraudsters download online banking apps on such mobile phones. After downloading the apps, cheats get relevant information of users and withdraw money from their bank accounts. Upon questioning by FIA officials, the arrested accused revealed their modus operandi. The agency officials say that dishonest employees of banks and mobile phone companies were also involved in the scam as they provided the cheats personal information of bank customers. Through a downloaded app and with the help of stolen fingerprints, one can easily open bank accounts in the name of other citizens and can withdraw money from their accounts.

The FIA say they have informed the PTA and the SBP about the matter so that the trend of fake bank accounts could be stopped. Account holders should take utmost care to protect their personal data.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2021.

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Misuse of technology - The Express Tribune

PHOTO:NASA on Unsplash.

Digital workplace technology has transformed organizational systems into a connected ecosystem where people function in unison with technology. While some security challenges remain, tasks are now shared between the human workforce and computers, with positive results for productivity and business efficiency.

Here's how digital workplace technology evolved in the locked-down workplace and how experts expect it to continue as things open up again in 2021.

In a post-vaccine workplace, many of the safety protocols and technologies adopted in 2020 will likely phase out but the collaboration tools that made remote and hybrid workplace models viable during the pandemic are here to stay.

Many businesses aren't going to wholly adopt the work-from-anywhere approach long term, but all will need to be technologically compatible with it if only because every other business will be, said Andrew Gross, director of enterprise unified communications at Rockleigh, N.J.-based Crestron,a developer of audiovisual automation and integration equipment.

In 2021, he said, the unified communications industry will redouble its focus on digital collaboration technologies by merging its functionality into every other area of work. Even in a post-vaccine world where people can gather without worry, the most economical way to rapidly transform a room into a dynamic collaboration space is to bring audiovisual technology into it.

Think of videoconferencing platforms and enablement products as the modern equivalent of the AV cart except every room and every employee will have their own tools for the job, he said. There is also no reason to expect the move to digital collaboration tools to slow down and it no longer makes sense to build any room that is not considered accessible for remote participants.

Last year, companies were faced with many unforeseen challenges when the pandemic first prompted stay-at-home orders. From technical and security issues, to ensuring teams had the appropriate software and hardware technologies, to simply trying to manage team communication and efficiencies within a distributed workforce, they were forced to figure out a new way to work, and with little time to plan for it.

Related Article: 2021 Business Lesson: Don't Slack on Your Outage Backup Plan

With this increase in remote work and a hybrid workforce, organizations started looking for ways to invest in the most practical tools that enable team-wide communication and collaboration from anywhere, said Dana Corey, general manager at Wilsonville, Ore.-basedAvocor. This transition is forcing AV/IT managers to rely on data to support their plans for business continuity and return to the office.

She pointed out that workspace intelligence analytic solutions are a critical component to this movement as they allow these decision-makers to take immediate action to re-evaluate the meeting room, communications hardware and software ROI. This will also guide future planning, which is especially helpful for the return to office and hybrid work strategy planning happening right now.

The technology landscape across digital enterprises will change over 2021 in places that may not have needed changing until now, said Brandon Brown, CEO of Sacramento, Calif.-basedGrin.co, which develops marketing software for e-commerce brands. One place, in particular, that he sees this happening is through an increase in the use of blockchain technology for everyday transactions, through online currencies like a central bank digital currency.

This type of transaction would allow the user to see exactly where their transaction is going and ensure what theyre buying is legitimate, such as concert tickets from a third party. It also could help the ticket seller provide better security at their events because they can track where their tickets are going and ensure no unintended party is receiving one.

Related Article: Collaboration and Communication Platforms to Improve Employee Experience

What about the ongoing development and use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and related technologies?

Pablo Listingart, founder of Winnipeg, Canada-based ComIT, an IT training provider, said that it quickly became apparent that connected devices played a large role in COVID-19 strategies. Using the IoT, organizations were able to adapt across multiple sectors, from health care apps and wearable devices that facilitated better telemedicine capacities to the adoption of automated tools to fuel a more productive remote work experience.

While IoT devices and the connected approach were not new innovations of the COVID-era, the accelerated increase in connectivity is changing the future. He points to four ways this is going to impact the digital workplace:

Connected intelligence is helping many consumer-facing businesses make the seamless switch to virtual customer service. The IoT provides live access to any performance data. Connected devices can detect customer issues and clarify support operations by transmitting user data directly to the team that needs it, whether its a support team or a manufacturers customer service. In the future, these developments can help service providers and product retailers fix problems before they become problems.

When IoT devices partner with artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, huge amounts of data are able to be both gathered and processed quickly. As a result, a companys consumer-facing performance can reach new heights and they can make real-time, relevant recommendations based on what its found.

As remote teams continue to navigate their workday from home, day-to-day operations have never been so spread out. The reliable performance of remote-work equipment has become paramount. Productivity completely relies on cloud sharing platforms, video conferencing technologies and file sharing software. With IoT integration, company technicians can remotely monitor and troubleshoot performance of devices. The technology can report on its condition, usage and offer real-time data to a company associate. Even a faulty video-chat could be managed in real time.

IoT in the workforce can be used to facilitate safer food delivery, more efficient retail strategies and more distance-friendly access to essentials. While it works to keep us safe, there remains a lack of consumer confidence in IoT device security. IoT devices have undergone extensive trouble shooting but a connected world is more vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. As IoT technologies continue to see widespread use across new industries, the conversation around security, comfort and privacy will carry on through 2021.

There are two other IoT advantages for the digital workplace that will carry over into the future, according to Texas-based Austin Data Labs' Sachin Raja. They are:

This has been one of the strongest use cases for IoT in most industries. With the pandemic, there is no dispute over this being the top trend of the industry. Simple things, such as ensuring a strong facility access control system with real-time reporting on count and identity of personnel goes a long way. Additionally, thermal and visual screen tools are making it more efficient to follow local regulations while keeping the economy moving and individuals safe.

Maintenance downtime and cost create massive overhead for companies. Increasingly, large manufacturers are layering agile solutions over their ERPs to mine years of insight plus combining spatial data like sound, vision and air quality to proactively identify risk and convert unscheduled downtime to scheduled maintenance based on smart suggestions.

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How Digital Workplace Technology Will Continue to Expand After COVID-19 - CMSWire

Science is coming back to White House.

Over the last four years, particularly during the pandemic, both science and scientists have been under increasing attack. Disease experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci have found themselves dressed down by village idiots like election truther Peter Navarro, and competing for Trumps attention with such COVID-19 authorities as demon-sperm champion Dr. Stella Immanuel.

All this is about to change, a point Biden clearly emphasized on Friday with the announcement that his chief science advisor would be Eric Lander, the visionary geneticist who founded and leads the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and that the position will be elevated for the first time to the cabinet level. This will afford greater prominence and power to the White House-based Office of Science and Technology Policy, which Lander will lead.

One of Landers first tasks, Biden outlined in a letter, will be refreshing national science and technology policy, with a particular focus on the promise of digitization (particularly in public health), the need for sustainability, and the imperative for equity. Biden also emphasized the economic consequences of not maintaining global technological preeminence, highlighting competition from China.

Bidens ask of Landerto develop national science and technology strategy to set us on a strong course for the next 75 yearsis not lacking in ambition. It is especially telling that, in selecting Lander, Biden chose a technology-embracing biologist, domains whose effective integration represents the next scientific frontier.

Americas long national nightmare may soon be overwell, yes that one, but the pandemic as wellthanks to a powerful new technology, mRNA vaccines, that was regarded skeptically by experts a scant two months ago. The dramatic transition from promise to substance captures the transformative potential of emerging technologies, offers encouragement to those who pursue these risky endeavors, and highlights the unreasonable effectiveness of data in validating the arrival of a worthy new approach.

The approach that may serve as deliverance from the coronavirus.

Historically, vaccines against viruses required some physical version of the virus as a starting point. In the case of polio, for instance, the virus was either inactivated (the Salk vaccine) or a weakened (attenuated) strain (the Sabin vaccine). The idea for both is the same: By administering a benign version of the virus, the vaccinated person develops the ability to rapidly mount an immune response against the more dangerous actual virus.

Using traditional methods, the procedure of starting with a disease-causing virus and developing a testable vaccine has historically required years. In contrast, mRNA vaccines use an approach that profoundly accelerates the process of developing immunity by focusing immediately on the specific feature of the virus that the body must learn to respond to: a protein component of the virus surface called a spike. An mRNA vaccine does the equivalent of FedEx-ing this specific information to the body and telling cells to produce just this spike protein so the body can quickly learn to recognize it and respond.

In practice, this allows for an astonishingly fast process. A mere 48 hours after the viruss genetic information was posted by researchers in China in January 2020, mRNA vaccine scientists at Moderna and their collaborators at the National Institutes of Health had figured out the part corresponding to the surface spike they knew (based on previous work) would likely make the best vaccine, and Moderna had started the process of manufacturing it for initial testing. (BioNTech, who developed a similar vaccine with Pfizer, initially selected 20 potential molecules to test, before ultimately landing on the same one Moderna had selected.)

Just two months after the virus was originally identified, Modernas candidate vaccine was ready for human clinical trials. By years end, the FDA had authorized the use of both the Moderna and the BioNTech mRNA vaccines, based on the stunning efficacy each demonstrated in large, well-controlled clinical trials. Many health experts would have accepted a vaccine that protected half of recipients, and been delighted with one protecting two-thirds. Yet these mRNA vaccines, the data suggested, seemed to protect just about everybody.

Three prominent lessons emerge from this experience.

First, were reminded of the radically and rapidly transformative power of emerging technologies. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, Arthur C. Clarke famously observed. The ability to start synthesizing a vaccine against a novel pathogen two days after genetically identifying it, to start clinical studies in two months, and to start inoculating patients in less than a year feels about as magical as it gets.

Second, while the success of transformative technology can feel abrupt and singular, its development tends to be anything but, requiringas in the case of mRNA medicinesyears of incremental development, lots of capital, and champions with the resilience to persist through, and learn from, failure after failure after failure. The success of both Moderna and BioNTech can be attributed in large measure to their ability to integrate new thinking with deep experience and domain expertise. Modernas CEO, for example, is a seasoned pharma manager with deep roots in manufacturing and regulation, for example, while BioNTech was able to leverage Pfizers deep operational capabilities and established ability to execute at global scale.

Finally, and perhaps of particular importance in an era where facts have struggled to retain their salience, the mRNA vaccine success demonstrates the democratizing power of science at its best. When executed responsibly, science offers an objective forum, an established methodology where even the most audacious and visionary ideas can be considered and evaluated, and where compelling results, like the vaccine data, can persuade dubious skeptics.

As Lander takes up Bidens technology policy refresh challenge, he will certainly examine the devastation wrought by the pandemic and ask what we might have done differently. There will be many examples of things that didnt work. But the striking and unanticipated success of mRNA vaccines reminds us to also recognize the innovative triumphsthe audacious dreams that were, against all odds, fulfilled. An idea scrawled on a napkin ten years ago becomes a life-saving medicine, injected into millions of arms100 million in the next 3 months, Biden hopes.

In learning from what went right, Lander and his colleagues will need to consider not only how best to cultivate visionary science, but alsocriticallyhow to accelerate the efficient translation of science into what matters most: practice, and the real-world care of patients.

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Technology That Delivered - The Bulwark

During the 13th Five-Year Plan, for the purpose of accurately representing the formation rules of global innovation centers in science and technology and accelerating the construction of important carrier and innovation clusters, Caohejing Hi-Tech Park focused on the basic framework of an innovation ecosystem and built a science and technology innovation index system with "six forces" at its core. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted in areas of innovative economy growth, innovative resource aggregation, innovation outputs, innovative service improvement, innovative industry development and innovative environment construction. These studies objectively reflected the park's performance in building the science and technology innovation center, providing typical insight and experience.

The park's science and technology innovation index is calculated using 2011 as the base period (reference value of 60). According to the report, the index moved up to 186.8 as of the end of 2018 with 15.93% year-on-year growth. The compound annual growth rate during the 13th Five-Year Plan period was 13.55%. Across the measured indicators, six first-level indicators all saw rapid and steady growth. These indicators were: supporting force for science and technology innovation, demonstrating force of science and technology service, aggregating force of innovation platforms, pioneering force of innovation commercialization, leading force of emerging industries and benchmarking force of urban renewal.

Science and Technology Innovation Index PLUS

In 2020, the park adopted the concept of an "innovation map" in its science and technology innovation index. Indicator data and regional space resource distribution are combined to form the science and technology innovation enterprise map, innovative industry map, science and technology service technology, innovations map and fintech map, serving as the "instrument panel" and "navigator" for its innovation-driven development.

The index map focuses on science and technology innovation and future industry development, visually reflects the aggregation and interaction degree of various innovators and elements in the park and shows the independent innovation degree of enterprises and levels of high-tech products. In addition to this, it also represents the development of the park's economy featuring new technologies, industries, business types and development patterns. At the same time, the index map is committed to strengthening the park's brand by building an innovation information service center to guide the launch of innovation projects, distribution of innovation resources and participation of social capital.

SOURCE Caohejing Hi-Tech Park

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Caohejing Hi-Tech Park Releases Science and Technology Innovation Index Map for 2020 - PRNewswire

The crashes of online vaccine scheduling systems have become a sad symbol of how technology has hampered the nations COVID-19 vaccination campaign, leaving people unable to sign up or find out when and where they can get their shots.

But it doesnt have to be that way. The technology and expertise to schedule people and line them up according to priority levels is widely available, health data experts said. It just needs to be implemented based on a set of best practices, so that people can be moved through the system efficiently.

We have to rethink some of the existing strategies, David Rhew, a physician and chief medical officer at Microsoft, said during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week. We need to make sure were not setting it up so that all these people come, all at once. We have to understand how to be able to organize this.

But what does that system look like and whos responsible for getting it off the ground? During interviews with STAT, and in discussions at CES, where the vaccine distribution failures frequently came up, industry experts said an overhaul of the existing systems must be guided by the federal government, which they say should develop standards for scheduling vaccinations and tracking doses digitally as supplies increase in the months ahead.

On Thursday, President-elect Biden is scheduled to release new details on his plan for ramping up the vaccination campaign once he takes office next week. The transition to his administration offers an opportunity to hit the reset button on the lackluster efforts to date, and to incorporate better technologies, and the funding and command structure to support them in communities nationwide.

Several health information specialists said the federal government should make technology a core component of the vaccination campaign and take the lead on convening experts as soon as possible to devise quick solutions.

READ MORE: Bidens COVID-19 team reconsiders pandemic plan in light of more infectious coronavirus variants

What you need is national policy and guidelines that are setting the framework and template for how things get rolled out, said Ashwini Zenooz, a physician and chief medical officer at Salesforce, a provider of cloud computing services.

Many of the largest technology companies from Salesforce, to Apple, to Amazon are already employing physicians and health technology experts to build these types of products. Inviting them to devise fixes to the existing underperforming systems is a simple and obvious step. But its one that has not been done during the vaccine rollout.

There is no time to waste, said Zenooz. Big technology companies that have experience doing this need to sit at the table with federal health policy folks to say, This is what we can offer.

That type of effort could help establish criteria for how scheduling sites should be set up, how to make them accessible and easy to use, and how to ensure they reach and remove barriers for marginalized populations.

Many of the online portals created to schedule vaccinations in health systems and cities are running into problems because theyre not backed up with enough computing power. Thousands of people are converging on these sites at once, causing servers to crash under the weight of the stampede.

The solution, health data experts said, is to tap into widely available cloud computing infrastructure that is lacking in hospitals and local health departments that dont typically deal with such high traffic volumes. The same problem occurred earlier in the pandemic, when a sudden crush of telemedicine visits overwhelmed hospitals data systems.

Your best bet would be to have an experienced tech company thats using appropriate cloud-hosted technologies run a robust scheduling system, said Ken Mandl, director of the computational health informatics program at Boston Childrens Hospital. This would be a good opportunity to bring in some fully professionalized solutions.

Those arrangements typically bring with them options to introduce more modern tools, such as chatbots that rely on artificial intelligence to answer questions about the vaccines, their availability, and local prioritization rules.

Rhew said Microsoft is developing a system with a chatbot to help address vaccine hesitancy. Once the questions are addressed, he said, users could be directed into a pre-registration process whereby theyre put into a database and receive emails to help them schedule appointments based on their place in line.

That allows us to improve the workflow and throughput so we dont overwhelm the clinics and hospitals, he said.

Scheduling people to receive their first doses is only one part of the technology problem. States and local communities also must be able to track the available supply of multiple vaccines and match them with unvaccinated community members and those who are waiting for a second dose. They also need to be able to track crucial outcomes, such as whether vaccinated people, even if they dont fall ill with COVID-19, can still transmit the virus.

It is an extremely complex undertaking that has already exposed several shortcomings in public health technology.

Every state in the nation has a vaccine registry to help track immunizations. But those systems lack the bandwidth to be able to support the unprecedented demand posed by a pandemic. They also lack the ability to communicate easily with other software systems, making it in some cases impossible to share data about vaccinated individuals and their health outcomes across different platforms.

READ MORE: A side-by-side comparison of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines

Mandl said this problem is the consequence of a national health records infrastructure that is built around large hospitals, health systems, and registries that keep the data in their own silos, rather than giving control to individual patients whose data travels with them.

There is no easy way to fix that amid COVID-19, he said, but the solution might be to build a kind of digital wallet, or vaccination passport, that could be tied to individuals so their data can be kept secure and portable.

Wouldnt it be nice if there was a routine workflow that didnt rely on some very specific, vendor-managed state-run registry to help make this happen, he said. Couldnt this be a very lightweight set of transactions where were able to get a verified result and create an immunization report.

On Thursday, a coalition of health and technology players including Cerner, Epic, Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce announced a new effort called the Vaccination Credential initiative with those needs in mind. The group is working to give the public digital access to their own vaccination records in a secure, interoperable format.

Apple has also built technology to allow individuals aggregate and store health records from multiple institutions to their smartphones, so these capabilities do exist. Its just a matter of scaling them with federal leadership and investment that has been lacking for so long.

COVID uncovers the weaknesses in our system, Mandl said. I think we do have the opportunity to both work on the rapidly stood-up systems now to address the need, but also to plan much more durable systems as we go forward.

This story was published by STAT on January 14, 2021. You can find the original article here.

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Vaccine registration technology is failing. Heres how the Biden administration could fix it - PBS NewsHour

Welcome back to our short series on forming new habits in 2021. I hope you all were able to take the time to digest and truly think about implementing our first three habits at your law firms this year. If you missed out, go take a look at thefirst part of our new habits seriesand then come right back.

Today were going to talk a bit more about expanding the technical aspects of your firm in 2021, and how you can enhance what youve already learned throughout the trial and error of 2020.

Youre likely using several platforms or tools to run your practice and paying monthly SaaS fees for all of them. At some point in 2020 you likely looked at these expenses for opportunities to reduce your internal costs. This kind of regular belt tightening audit is important, but its even more important to make sure that youre using the right tech that will get you the most bang for your buck.

Conduct an analysis of all of the tools you are using and paying an associated monthly fee. Eliminate tools you havent used in the past 6 months. If youre using an all-in-one system, make sure youre using all the included functionality instead of 3rd party providers. Are you paying a separate monthly fee for a CRM or payments tool? Taking advantage of all of the features offered by your all-in-one practice management system can help you cut the fat and reduce overall expenses while increasing efficiency.

Next, start to think about your firms future over the next year, including your pipeline of new business and growth plans for your internal team. Do you know which 2020 referral sources were the most fruitful? Make sure to nurture those existing referral relationships heading into the new year. A small gift, handwritten note, or phone call to wish the contact a happy new year is a great way to thank them while staying on their radar for future referrals.

As for new business, now is the perfect time to brainstorm new marketing channels to test in 2021. If there is a specific practice area that was especially profitable in 2020 perhaps you can get more involved with that practice group within your local or state bar association. Or maybe there is an upcoming (virtual) conference where you can showcase an area of expertise as a conference speaker. Many firms have found great success by experimenting with a small online marketing budget to make their firms name appear higher in search results or serve ads for their firm to a targeted audience. If you need a refresher, heres our guide onSEO for lawyers.

With a plan to fill your referral and marketing pipeline in place, you should start preparing for growth. Construct a hiring roadmap and budget to create a clear plan to execute against your goals. Do you want to bring on a new partner with an existing book of business to help fill your client pipeline, or would it be best to hire and train an associate first? Do you need to hire new support staff like a receptionist or would it be more cost effective and efficient to use a virtual receptionist service? Being strategic in how youre thinking about what you want to accomplish a year from now, and setting a systematic plan to get there, can help you stay on track as the year continues and distractions inevitably arise.

Whether you like it or not, the way we practice law has changed due to COVID-19 restrictions and it will never be exactly the same as it once was prior to 2020.Just as medical professionals have adapted to the rise in telehealth, more lawyers than ever before have moved to practicing law virtually.While some billable tasks will return to normal in a post-COVID world, the industry as a whole is realizing that we can do many things virtually for increased productivity and profitability as part of the new normal.

Many clients will likely prefer to meet virtually moving forward because of the convenience, while others will still need to do so depending on geographic location and local restrictions for at least part of 2021. Its safe to assume that online video conference tools like Zoom arent going anywhere. If you didnt use it before COVID restrictions began, youve likely used it since, and if you already used it, you probably are using it much more frequently than you did before.

Youve also probably heard stories about some very embarrassing Zoom gafs over the past 10 months and wed like to do our part to make sure you dont become a cautionary tale. Remember, even though you are meeting with a client, colleague or co-defendant virtually, you still need to make a good impression and present as professionally as possible.

Make sure to dress as you would for an in-person meeting and make sure your visible work area is organized. Double check what your Zoom partner will see during the meeting when you turn on your video do you like the background the client will see behind you on the call or do you need to adjust? Do your best to limit interruptions like loud pets or children (no judgement, I have both). Check the lighting to make sure the video quality is good and ensure your internet connection is working properly (pro tip: if you share your network with others in the household ask them to log off the WiFi to improve the signal strength for your video call). If not, you might consider purchasing an inexpensive desktop Zoom light, increasing your internet speed, or adding WiFi boosters to help improve signal strength for areas furthest from your router.

Dont forget, most video conferencing tools have helpful built-in features that you may not be utilizing. If youre using Zoom, try the Touch Up My Appearance option in your Zoom Settings its like airbrushing for video calls and makes you look like you got 10 hours of sleep after a relaxing day at the spa. Lastly, if you are using Zoom for court appearances, mediations, or arbitrations, make sure youve got security settings like a virtual waiting room in place and learn how to properly use the break out room feature. Doing so will help you ensure client confidentiality is protected, even in a virtual setting.

While these habits arent revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination, they are tried and true tactics which only require some extra time and effort to implement. By reducing your technology costs, creating your marketing and hiring roadmaps, and investing in your virtual presence, youll be well on your way to a successful and productive year and will thrive in the new normal of 2021.

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How to Level Up your Law Firm Technology and Marketing in 2021 - The National Law Review

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Howteh Technology's (GTSM:3114) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Howteh Technology is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.11 = NT$122m (NT$2.2b - NT$1.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, Howteh Technology has an ROCE of 11%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 11%.

See our latest analysis for Howteh Technology

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Howteh Technology, check out these free graphs here.

We like the trends that we're seeing from Howteh Technology. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 11%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 29%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

All in all, it's terrific to see that Howteh Technology is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a staggering 180% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

On a final note, we've found 4 warning signs for Howteh Technology that we think you should be aware of.

While Howteh Technology isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. *Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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What Can The Trends At Howteh Technology (GTSM:3114) Tell Us About Their Returns? - Simply Wall St

HOUSTON- KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) announced today that it has signed an alliance agreement with Mura Technology Limited to offer Cat-HTRTM, an innovative advanced plastics recycling process.

Cat-HTR is a sustainability-focused, innovative technology that recycles end-of-life plastic such as thin plastic packaging, which would otherwise be combusted, sent to landfills or leaked into the environment. Cat-HTR converts these mixed plastics into an intermediate hydrocarbon feedstock that can be further refined to produce virgin polymers and chemicals. The technology is based on a patented hydrothermal upgrading process which utilizes supercritical water to produce stable hydrocarbon products from a wide range of mixed plastic waste.

Mura has invested over 10 years in the development of this technology and has proven its performance at a large-scale pilot plant inAustralia. Mura was awarded its first commercial license in 2020.

Under the terms of the alliance, KBR will be the exclusive licensing partner for Mura Technology and will provide studies, basic engineering, technical services, proprietary equipment and modules for the Cat-HTR technology to customers across the world.

"We are extremely excited to announce that KBR will offer Cat-HTR for license to clients so they can efficiently recycle end-of-life waste plastic and convert it into a reusable feedstock for plastics or other valuable chemicals production," saidDoug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. "This technology aligns with KBR's commitment to sustainability by reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and the volume of waste that enters landfills and the environment, while contributing to the growth of the plastic circular economy."

"We believe that aligning with KBR will make it possible to meet the strong global demand for a superior plastic recycling process," said Dr.Steve Mahon, CEO,Mura Technology. "Cat-HTR offers an innovative advanced recycling solution to one of the largest global pollution issues we face today, and we look forward to the commercial roll-out of our game-changing technology with KBR."

KBR has been a leader in petrochemical plant design, construction and technology development for more than 50 years.

Mura Technology's Cat-HTR technology is at the center of their global ambition for 1,000,000 annual tons of plastic recycling in operation or development by 2025.

About KBR

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 28,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in 40 countries.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long- term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visitwww.kbr.com

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KBR Furthers Sustainability Commitment with Innovative Plastics Recycling Process in Alliance with Mura Technology - waste360

The Netherlands physician Mark Post showcased the cooking of a hamburger using beef grown in his laboratory in London in 2013. An exponential increase in efforts to produce lab-grown meat followed, with some 60 companies currently engaged in it.

From the fictitious restaurant Bistro In Vitro, established in May 2015 by the Dutch artist and philosopher Koert Mensvoort, that offers slaughter-free rare meat delicacies including those from extinct animals and human celebrities, we now have The Chicken, a restaurant in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ness Ziona, which is bracing to serve Hero chicken burgers prepared from meat grown in a bioreactor, visible to customers through a glass partition.

In the first week of December, Singapore became the first country to permit the sale of lab-grown meat by allowing the San Francisco-based company Eat Just to serve nuggets prepared from chicken meat grown in reactors. The company started serving the lab-grown meat on December 19 in the restaurant 1800. Lab-grown meat, also called in vitro meat and clean meat, is produced by cellular agriculture in bioreactors, starting from a small number of specialised stem cells collected using painless biopsy from animals.

For centuries, philosophers and preachers attempted to convert people to animal lovers, but slaughter of wild and domestic animals continued. Technology, more than empathy, has, however, come to the rescue of animals.

During the early 19th century, whale oil was the principal source of lighting around the world. Bedford, Massachusetts was recognised as the city that lights the world, because of its innumerable fleets that slaughtered thousands of whales in the high seas.

Animal lovers raised big concerns about the ruthlessness of the whalers. But it was the commercialisation of kerosene by the Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner in 1854 that saved the whales from extinction.

Similarly, technology saved the horses that were widely used for transport in the U.S. up to the late 19th century. The number of horses in New York City was so large that it was feared in the 1880s that the city would be buried under their dung and urine and would cease to exist in 100 years. Abuse of the equines led Henry Bergh to campaign for several measures for their protection, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was established in 1866. However, it was Henry Fords automobile, not Berghs society, that saved the horses.

If lab meat crosses production hurdles and becomes acceptable as an alternative to animal meat, the world will surely be transformed into a more animal-friendly planet.

msaleemuddin47@gmail.com

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