Category Archives: Technology

Among the most important relationships that the incoming Biden administration must nurture is with Japan. The two nations when teamed together are proven potent counterweights to the increasing military challenges posed by China, North Korea and Russia in both Asia and beyond,

Unlike other bilateral U.S. ties, the relationship between former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and soon-to-be former President Donald Trumps grew stronger over the past four years.

To respond to continued threats, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President-elect Joe Biden must find ways to continue this relationship moving forward. One way to do this is through closer coordination on procurement of weapons and weapon components.

Because of its Peace Constitution, Japan and the United States have traditionally worked together only on specific, one-off projects where Japanese companies have demonstrated expertise. For example, the anti-ballistic missile that shot down a mock North Korean ICBM last month was a joint product made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Raytheon.

According to an April study by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, other technologies that the two countries are working on together include: unmanned weapon systems, defense applications of artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles and space.

Where things can improve are in procurement of dual-use technologies, which are commercial technologies that can have a military application. Japanese firms have many such technologies, including microelectronics and 5G which are also U.S. defense priorities. But the ability to share these technologies has been limited due to stringent export control rules.

However, both sides have been chipping away at these restrictions during the past few years.

First, under the Abe administration, the Japanese government was increasingly willing to cooperate with the United States. This cooperation included partially embracing the right to collective self-defense through increased technology transfers.

In July, Kenji Wakamiya, Japans state minister for foreign affairs, said during a webinar hosted by the International Security Industry Council Japan that his government wanted the Pentagon to detail the specific technologies it was most interested in so that Japan could change its export control rules.

Abes successor, Suga, seems intent on continuing this policy.

On the eastern side of the Pacific, the U.S. has been taking steps to speed up developing new technologies in general and with Japan specifically,

For example, the U.S. Defense Department has been searching out and working with nontraditional defense partners in the technology community. One key to this effort has been to increase the use of a contracting tool known as other transaction authority (OTA) to get around Washingtons notoriously bureaucratic procurement policies. Under an OTA, the development time for weapons or weapon components is reduced from years to months.

As part of the OTA effort, the U.S. government has been removing barriers to allow Japanese companies to partner with U.S.-firms on dual-use contracts.

Further, U.S. policy is primed for a bilateral engagement on emerging technology with Japan. In October, the White House released a U.S. National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies (C&ET). The policy identifies that American C&ET leadership is no longer driven mainly by United States Government funding, and C&ET advances are increasingly taking place outside the United States.

Further, the C&ET recognizes the importance of international cooperation, stating Cooperation with allies and partners will not only promote a shared technological advantage, it will also prevent strategic competitors from obtaining unfair advantages.

The U.S. C&ET strategy specifically identifies a list of 20 priority technology areas of which Japanese firms have some of the leading technologies, such as advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and microelectronics and space technologies.

One area where Japan can especially help is space technologies, To make sure this happens, the Trump administrations National Space Policy identifies one goal as to identify and expand areas for international cooperation and interoperability. It states that, the heads of agencies shall identify potential areas for international cooperation across the spectrum of commercial, civil, and national security space activities.

Perhaps most important, the Policy recognizes the need for streamlining of export control regulation and policy, stating that it is the policy of the U.S. to make eligible for streamlined authorization the export of space-related items destined for certain allied or partner countries.

With legalities out of the way, it is now time for action.

On Japans side, the Suga government should instruct the Japan External Trade Organization to market OTA opportunities to Japanese innovators particularly in the areas of space, hypersonics, trusted microelectronics and additive technologies. Japans Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry should then issue the necessary export control waivers.

On the U.S. side, the Biden administrations incoming undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment should instruct agencies that use OTAs to reach out to organizations, such as the Hawaii-based Pacific International Center for High Technology Research. They should distribute targeted opportunities to Japanese technology partners.

By working closely together, Japan and the U.S. can better deter their mutual adversaries in the region.

Benjamin McMartin is Managing Partner of the Public Spend Forum, an international public procurement data firm. Bernice Glenn is a board member of the International Security Industry Council Japan.

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Asian security rests on forging closer U.S.-Japan science and technology cooperation - The Japan Times

If the industry has learned anything during 2020, its that technology and the online space have a much bigger role to play in real estate than ever imagined. With remote work trends becoming more popular, many brick-and-mortar brokerages are turning to work-from-home or hybrid models. And technology has infiltrated the industry at a transactional level as well, changing several elements from the ways agents communicate with their clients to the strategies they implement for their social media marketing.

During RISMedias inaugural Real Estates Rocking in the New Year event, co-presented by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) and being held virtually on Jan. 7 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, real estate professionals with first-hand knowledge of these changes and how to adapt will be presenting their actionable insights.

Click here to register and receive a 50 percent discount!All registrants will receive a complimentary digital copy of RISMedias Ultimate Team Guide as a holiday giveaway ($50 value).For an in-depth look into how the real estate environment has shifted, and continues to change, tune in to:Broker TrackHow to Compete in a Changing Brokerage LandscapeBoomer Foster, Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc.Dan Kruse, CENTURY 32 AffiliatedBill Watson, Watson Realty GroupThad Wong, @propertiesCandace Adams, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England, New York & Westchester Properties

Brick and Mortar vs. Virtual: Finding the Right Office StrategyDrew Coleman, The Hasson CompanyDan Forsman, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia PropertiesJosh Harley, Fathom RealtyJoe Horning, Shorewest, REALTORSJoan Docktor, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties Fox & Roach, REALTORS

Agent TrackFine Tuning Your Virtual Buyer ConsultationKathi Austin, Northrop RealtyMaurice Hampton, Centered International Realty CorporationCarrie Little, CarMarc Realty GroupPeter West, Bishop West Real EstateBrian Woods, Team Realty and Investment Solutions

Maximizing Your Virtual Value to ConsumersShannon Buss, Randall REALTORSNate Johnson, Real Estate Solutions Group Redkey Realty LeadersHolly Mabery, eXp RealtyGonzalo Mejia, Watson Realty Corp.Tamara Suminski, Beach Real Estate Group

More Than Just Likes: A Blueprint for Online SuccessSheena Baker, CarMarc Realty GroupWendy Forsythe, Fathom RealtyMark Lemons Ryhal, ReMarkiTable LLCLaura Ryan, The Mark Ryan GroupAndrew Velez, RE/MAX Advisors

Register now and receive 50 percent off your single-event ticket price.Event SponsorsDiamondNational Association of REALTORS Center for REALTOR DevelopmentReal Estate Webmasters

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MasterBerkshire Hathaway HomeServicesCentury 21 Real EstateLone Wolf TechnologiesRealtors Property Resource, LLCRE/MAX Holdings, Inc.HostAmerican Home ShieldHome Security of AmericaLeading Real Estate Companies of the WorldReal Estate ExpressRocket MortgageeXp RealtyInside Real EstateBrokermint

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Times Have Changed: Real Estate Event Highlights Reliance on Virtual Technology in a Shifting Environment - RisMedia.com

State-of-the-art technology will bring a new edge to the search and rescue potential of HM Coastguard (HMC) sites in Caithness.

Old copper-based cables are being replaced with fibre-based technology across 165 remote radio sites across the United Kingdom, which started with Weymouth last week and eventually including Noss Head, Thrumster and Dunnet Head.

Each radio site receives distress calls from UK waters and the replacement technology will bring improvements such as security and bandwidth.

Damien Oliver, commercial and programmes director for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: We are investing 175 million into this new national radio network, which is central in preventing the loss of life on the coast and at sea.

At a time when getting outdoors is pivotal to peoples mental health and wellbeing, it is essential that we can provide reassurance that we are here to respond to any emergency they may find themselves in, and this new network will enhance our ability to do that.

The new network is being built and maintained by Telent Technology Services Ltd.

Peter Moir, managing director of network services at Telent, said: This network may not be seen by many people, but its literally a lifeline for someone in distress at sea. Its important that this networks capability continues to support HMC in the vital lifesaving search and rescue work that it does.

The new fibre-based hybrid network will also make sure that HMC can continue to:

Coastguard issues safety advice for Christmas coastal dippers

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New technology will aid search and rescue around Caithness coast - JohnOGroat Journal

Olivia Colman as the Queen in The Crown

I wish I had Olivia Colman's confidence in the great viewing public. She says it's obvious to viewers that some scenes in the Netflix drama The Crown are made up, because who could know what happened between Charles and Princess Di behind closed doors? Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says the series ought to carry a disclaimer, pointing out it is part-based on fiction. Sounds reasonable. An historical drama should be either fact or fiction, otherwise we'd have the Spanish Armada conquering England or Ethelred being ready.

The only reason The Crown has any commercial value is that it is based on real people. If it were set in the court of Pomerania with Prince Hans and Princess Boompsy-Daisy, no-one would watch it. The power of The Crown is that it blurs reality and dissects real crises by creating unreal events. It's not fact, it's not fiction and it's certainly not fair.

Mind you, when it comes to bending facts, the Windsors have form. I remember in the build-up to the Charles and Di divorce how the Palace shamelessly and repeatedly lied to the media, and thus the people, by pretending all was well and that the Royal couple were still on good terms. Later we learned they couldn't bear to share the same room. In this little spat nobody has a monopoly on the truth.

Of course there will be a Brexit agreement. Why, only last week that darling of the Left, Polly Toynbee, declared: There will be a deal in these last days: a lousy, rotten, flea-bitten thing, but infinitely better than nothing. So if there were no deal, Polly would be wrong. And that would never do.

As I reported some days ago, hydrogen fired boilers are being touted as one possible replacement for gas boilers which are to be phased out of new homes from 2025. One phrase keeps cropping up. It is that clean, green hydrogen boilers produce no emissions apart from harmless water vapour. I bet something similar was promised 100 years ago as petrol engines began to conquer the world. (Emissions, squire? Maybe just a whiff of harmless smoke.)

And while a few thousand hydrogen boilers may be harmless, how about 10, 20 or 30 million? At what stage does harmless water vapour begin to affect the atmosphere and our climate?

We should be wary because once a new technology takes off, there is sometimes no stopping it. A sobering statistic is that at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the British Army possessed 80 motor lorries. By the Armistice four years later, it had 59,490.

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Peter Rhodes on naming a toadstool, harmless technology and why the truth is sometimes not obvious - expressandstar.com

BLUE BELL, Pa., Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has recognized the company as a leader in public-cloud solutions and services in its quadrant reports on the U.S., UK and Brazil.

The ISG Provider Lens "Public Cloud Solutions and Services 2020" report, published in the fourth quarter, summarizes the relative capabilities of public-cloud services providers. Positioning of providers is based on quantitative data and comprises survey data collected directly from providers, ISG internal data and/or data obtained through secondary research.

ISG singles out the Unisys cloud managed-service offering for secure digital transformation and cloud operations as a key strength in service delivery in each quadrant report, stating: "CloudForte is at the core of its cloud services offering, providing a comprehensive delivery model that leverages automation, AI and best practices."

In the U.S., ISG ranks Unisys as a "Leader" in: Managed Public Cloud Services for Mid-market and in Consulting and Transformational Services for Mid-market. The following are among the Unisys strengths the report cites:

ISG also named Unisys a Product Challenger in Managed Public Cloud Services for Large Accounts and in Consulting and Transformational Services for Large Accounts in the U.S.

In the UK, ISG ranked Unisys as a leader in Managed Public Cloud Services for Mid-Market. It also named Unisys s a Product Challenger in U.K. for Managed Public Cloud Services for Large Accounts, Consulting and Transformational Services for Mid-Market and Large Accounts. In France and Germany, ISG ranked Unisys as a Product Challenger in Managed Public Cloud Services for Large Accounts and in France as a Product Challenger in Consulting and Transformational Services for Large Accounts.

The Brazil report named Unisys as a leader in Consulting and Transformational Services for Large Accounts. Unisys also received the one Rising Star ranking in the report for Managed Public Cloud Services for Large Accounts.

"We are honored to be recognized by one of the leading global technology research and advisory firms for our cloud solutions and our Leader position confirms how our reputation and experience in cloud have grown dramatically over the past three years," said Eric Hutto, president and chief operating officer, Unisys. "Our commitment to delivering end-to-end hybrid-cloud solutions to our clients especially during these unprecedented times helps our clients transform their business processes so they can provide their customers with the best experiences."

To learn more on this research and why ISG recognizes Unisys as a Leader, click here.

About UnisysUnisys is a global IT services company that delivers successful outcomes for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include digital workplace services, cloud and infrastructure services and software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. Unisys integrates security into all of its solutions. For more information on how Unisys delivers for its clients across the government, financial services and commercial markets, visit http://www.unisys.com.

Follow Unisys on Twitter andLinkedIn.

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Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation.Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder.

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Leading Technology Advisory Firm ISG Recognizes Unisys as Global Leader in Public Cloud Solutions and Services - PRNewswire

By Dan Cicerchi, VP and general manager, transportation management at Descartes

Freight brokers of all sizes have always faced fairly common challenges in securing carriers, but it can be particularly tough in todays environment with rapidly changing volumes, shifting distribution models and a prolonged driver shortage. Add in COVID and other unexpected sources of supply chain disruption and brokers can find it exceptionally difficult to find the right carriers for new customers, lanes, modes and geographies. This environment can also make it tough to be strategic about the carriers you choose.

Seeking out capacity the old waycountless phone calls, spreadsheets, undocumented tribal knowledge, physical maps and word of mouth while scouring multiple carrier portals and load boards with stale or unverified data is chronically inefficient. Tendering and tracking loads once you do have a carrier is also time consuming. These outdated manual practices have long placed a drain on broker staff, hindering efficiency and growth. Cloud-based intelligent capacity sourcing solutions, however, provide brokers with tools and capabilities to overcome the traditional drawbacks of manual practices.

While some brokers jumped in early to adopt automated capacity sourcing solutions, some have stayed on the sidelines for various reasons. Change management may be disruptive or the learning curve may potentially create more work in the short term, especially if office staff is already spread thin. Theres also the added expense to consider.

Todays solutions, however, can and should be possible to implement cost-effectively, quickly and without disrupting your business. Best-in-class options integrate with existing transportation management systems (TMS) and offer flexible subscription models based on number of users and other factors. Additionally, like so many modern applications, they tend to be visually appealing, highly intuitive and easy to learn for users of all levels.

With the right technology partner, you can expect a relatively quick, seamless deployment. In fact, with proper advance planning, some organizations are up and running in a matter of weeks. Most brokers who go this route often wonder why they waited so long.

Just as industries like travel, real estate and others have been able to grow and become more efficient because of technology and connected sources of information, brokers and carriers alike can operate far more efficiently when they have access to consolidated, current transportation data from connected networks at scale.

Leading solutions today allow brokers to view capacity across multiple carriers at once, and then easily certify and onboard new, quality carriers that fit a companys lane specialties. Because capacity sourcing solutions are cloud-based and updated continually, youll know youre getting the most current data available. Leading technologies also provide brokers with the ability to:

Across the industry, brokers are seeing real business results. Connie Morgan, Director, TL Pricing and Procurement at third-party logistics (3PL) provider Sunset Transportation, explains the value of strategic capacity sourcing to the company: The Descartes MacroPoint capacity tool has been the biggest factor in keeping us ahead of the game, given the changes in the current carrier environment. Weve had wins finding carriers that were not set up in our system that turned out to be wonderful assets to use on big projects that we wouldnt have otherwise known existed.

John Sutton, Manager, Business Analysis at Sunset Transportation, adds: By exponentially expanding our trusted network through the carrier co-op, were using Descartes MacroPoint to cover as many as 12 loads per day and have activated approximately 4,500 carriers to date. We save time and money through better rates, fewer deadheads, and more backhauls.

For companies considering capacity sourcing technology, table stakes features and functions include:

Some brokers may be concerned aboutcompetitors having visibility into their customer information on a shared technology platform. They understandably dont want their prime carriers lured away by other brokers.

The fact is, however, that many brokers are already posting to load boards, blasting emails and updating multiple portals. So, they are already sharing data that isnt shielded from view. While data is valuable, its limited to transactions within your network. Pooling data in a secure network with trusted partners provides more chances for all participants to find opportunities, which leads to better rates.

The benefits can far outweigh the risks, especially considering the security features built into todays capacity sourcing solutions but be sure to do your homework. Ask specific questions to ensure strategic carriers will be protected and the data you contribute to the network is double-blind (e.g., shipper name/address and which broker is moving the load should be shielded with a few exceptions.)

You can also ask how the solution helps network participants protect their lanes and carriers and how information is shared selectively when coverage is more of a challenge. By asking these types of questions, you can better understand how your data is shared for your strategic benefit while still being protected appropriately.

Its a great time to step back, evaluate your current processes, and ask a few questions: Do you have some room to expand your toolkit? Are there areas where you could stand to modernize? Have you been sitting on the sidelines because you dread an implementation? Could you be managing your carrier relationships more strategically? Could your staff be focused on more important tasks?

The most successful brokers are taking full advantage of new capacity sourcing technologies to unlock previously trapped capacity, cover more loads, build stronger carrier relationships, and reduce costs. By making time to assess current practices and evaluating what the market has to offer, you can put todays technology to work for your business and be ready for whats next.

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Leveraging new technology to source and secure carrier capacity - FreightWaves

Digital technology was a lifeline for many educators this year, but it was also a source of frustration, bewilderment, and fatigue.

Videoconference platforms allowed teachers and students to stay in touch even when they couldnt set foot in the same room, but they also presented a host of privacy, logistical, and learning challenges.

Learning management systems and online repositories of course materials supplied teachers with tools for collecting student work and disseminating activities, but they proved daunting to some educators who hadnt used them before.

Wi-Fi hotspots and portable computers kept students and teachers connected from home, but the digital divide became more prominent than ever as longstanding inequities in technology access threatened to widen existing gaps in opportunity and achievement for students of color, students with disabilities, and students in other vulnerable and marginalized groups.

It was a dizzying, dramatic, devastating year that brought education technology to the forefront at an unprecedented scale and transformed the education landscape in ways that may only become clear with years of distance.

To help you make sense of the chaos and better understand how the past nine months will shape the use of technology in K-12 education for years to come, we turned back to the journalism Education Week reporters produced in 2020 and the related survey data from the EdWeek Research Center.

Due to COVID-19, millions of students have been learning from home since March or only attending school buildings part-time for a good portion of the current school year. Teachers have had to use videoconference platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as well as lower-tech alternatives such as phone calls and emails, to keep in touch with their students. Many teachers prioritized ensuring that their students were doing well emotionally, and that they were able to access instruction even when they couldnt go to school in person.

The nationwide closure of K-12 school buildings this spring, and the ongoing hybrid and remote learning in many districts this fall, has made keeping in touch with all students challenging. Last spring, in particular, schools struggled to reach significant portions of their student population. Those practices have improved, though, and recent EdWeek Research Center data shows the number of teachers interacting with all of their students every day has nearly doubled in recent weeks from the low points of the spring.

Key lessons have been learned about teacher-student interaction that will be relevant when students return to school buildings full time.

Prior to the pandemic, few U.S. schools had robust experience teaching most or all of their students virtually. Online instruction can take many different forms, some of which more closely resemble typical in-person instruction than others. Many online learning experts have urged schools to find ways within their limited resources to minimize live instruction time for their students, and to instead encourage self-directed and project-based learning.

But those massive shifts in instruction arent easy to pull off amid a crisis situation, especially for younger students. Many teachers this fall have found themselves in dual teaching mode, with some students in person and others at home. Teachers have found that juggling act difficult, and some schools have rearranged teaching assignments so that virtual students and in-person students can be assigned to separate groups of teachers.

Proponents of online learning have repeatedly cautioned education observers to avoid drawing neat conclusions about attitudes towards online learning based on how it looked for K-12 schools this year. Remote learning plans constructed during an unprecedented public health crisis will not look the same as efforts that are developed with years of deliberate planning and intensive training for teachers and other school staff.

Still, remote learning drew a wide range of passionate reactions this year, and a few notable trends emerged. Black and Latinx people, and people in districts where fewer than 30 percent of students are white, were more likely to support full-time remote learning in their districts than white people, and people in districts where more than 80 percent of students are white. The same is true for residents of urban areas, suburbs, and towns, who were more likely to support full-time remote instruction than residents in rural areas.

To begin to understand those trends, its worth noting that Black and Latinx people have suffered a disproportionate brunt of the pandemics tally of deaths and hospitalizations, and that rural areas continue to have major gaps in home internet access, which has been essential for students who cant enter school buildings to access instruction.

As the virus affected some areas of the country more severely than others at various points throughout the year, schools weighed the importance of keeping students and staff safe from COVID-19 exposure with the risks that extended building shutdowns would lead to social isolation and learning loss for students, particularly those in vulnerable groups like English language learners and students with disabilities.

Hybrid learning emerged as a somewhat more palatable alternativesmaller groups of students returning to school buildings for two or three days a week, with vulnerable students prioritized for in-person instruction, and remote learning continuing as a full-time option for those who didnt feel comfortable with any in-person contact.

One key question that was rarely asked in classrooms prior to the pandemic: Are we required to have our cameras on?

While students and teachers have been apart, the question of what constitutes class participation from home has come up repeatedly. Some students are reluctant to turn on their cameras while on videoconference sessions because theyre uncomfortable showcasing their surroundings. Some schools are reluctant to require that cameras be turned on for those reasons, while others have said students need to have their cameras on to prevent them from entering videoconference sessions without actively participating.

Hundreds of school districts have been working for years to get one laptop or tablet in the hands of each of their students. For many districts, those efforts accelerated rapidly this year, as the urgency of ensuring every student had equal technology access increased considerably. In the process, schools and the public could no longer ignore or minimize a decades-old problem that lacks an easy solution: Millions of Americans arent adequately connected at home to participate in remote learning without headaches or hiccups. The persistence of that problem, despite significant progress to address it, will remain a formidable challenge in the new year and beyond.

Learning from home is easier for some students and teachers than for others, but its clear from this years experiences that the U.S. education system has a lot of work to do before remote learning can be viewed as a viable option for most students. Teachers reported struggling to keep students engaged during videoconference sessions, dealing with technical snags that posed obstacles to consistent instruction, and slogging to keep up with an ever-growing mountain of phone calls and other interactions to ensure that students are staying on track.

With more widespread use of technology, especially outside of school buildings and away from school networks, came more vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and potential for violating privacy rules and norms. The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned that K-12 schools were among the most common targets of hackers, and a wave of school districts have experienced disruptive cybersecurity threats in the last few months alone. The term Zoombombing entered the lexicon, referring to incidents in which hackers disrupted virtual classrooms and school board meetings with profanities, slurs, and obscene imagery. The actions necessary to keep students safe were markedly different this year, and the threats came from a diverse array of sources.

Ed-tech experts are predicting that the increasing use of technology in K-12 education fueled those cyberattacks more than ever during COVID-19, but is likely to continue to be a big problem for schools even after the pandemic.

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Education Technology in 2020: 8 Takeaways From a Chaotic Year - Education Week

While animal empathy is still controversial considering our various lifestyle choices some people still know how to make a difference in their lives. One such person is Alpana Bhartia, an animal lover who is teaching people to care for animals by empathising with them.

This week on SocialStory, we saw a slew of stories of people and organisations trying to make it better for underserved and disadvantaged communities with their inclusive platforms, community development initiatives, and pandemic aid.

Here are the top Social Stories of the week:

Alpana Bhartia, Founder Trustee, People for Animals

An honourable animal welfare officer, Alpana Bhartia has been working in the field of animal welfare and conservation for the past 25 years. She is a constituted member of the Institutional Ethics Committee of the National Centre for Biological Studies (NCBS). In fact, she has been nominated by the Government of India to the committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals.

Being empathetic towards animals is something Alpana had learnt right from her childhood. Born in Kolkata in a traditional Rajasthani family, she had grown to become very fond of pets and animals as her father always kept dogs.

Vineet Saraiwala has built India's first-ever hiring platform exclusively for Persons with Disabilities

Vineet Saraiwala, a business executive with The Future Group, built Atypical Advantage Indias first-ever talent platform exclusively for PwDs. The IIM Bengaluru graduate discovered a gap when he was looking for a voice-over artist for a retail space designed for PwDs.

Atypical Advantages website already lists 16 categories of skills, including photographers, physiotherapists, graphic designers, models, dancers, singers, painters, and sign language interpreters.

The platform, which has over 200 people listed on it, encompasses a profile page of the individual with a short bio, a list of their talents, contact details, and the nature of their disability.

Who doesnt dread a Monday morning! Through our Monday Motivation series, SocialStory strives to remove the dread attached to Mondays by bringing you stories of inspiration and positivity, and arm you with the right attitude for the week ahead.

Despite being the year of the pandemic, 2020 saw several individuals from an IAS officer educating children in Jharkhand to an IRS officer going all out to help migrant workers during the lockdown going above and beyond the call of duty to help others.

Some of the volunteers who are a part of Project StepOne in Delhi

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased need for remote healthcare with hospitals becoming increasingly inaccessible. There was an urgent need to both contain the spread of the virus and assist people in need of physical and psychological care.

To fill this gap,a group of volunteers from a wide range of sectors medical, technical, marketing, and operations came together to form StepOne, a not-for-profit platform in June 2020.Their mission was to blend technology and human resources to provide healthcare access to those who most needed it.

By the first week of December 2020, the StepOne team had completed nine lakh teleconsultations, prevented five lakh contacts spreading the virus, and, in turn, impacted the lives of five million citizens.

Cranberry Analytics founder (L-R) Amit Deshmukh, Shishir Thakur and Onkar Gauridhar

Started in 2010 by Shishir Thakur, Amit Deshmukh, and Onkar Gauridhar, Pune-based Cranberry Analytics is a technology-enabled analytics startup that works in the area of water measurement.

It works with water utility companies and uses both on-ground and online tech solutions to map water use and water efficiency across its distribution and consumption cycle. Its primary focus is on getting water utilities to reduce cash burn and eventually turn cash-positive.

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From caring for wildlife to using technology for water distribution, here are the top Social Stories for the w - YourStory

Technology stocks have historically led market rallies, and this year has been no exception. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLK) has advanced about 40% year-to-date, with stocks levered to remote work and study makingstrong upward moves.

As an unusual year draws to a close, here are12 key technologiescompiled by Lux Researchthat will likely be in the spotlight in 2021.

Autonomous Vehicles: Increasing levels of vehicle automation, especially Level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles, will eventually remove the need for a driver in consumer and commercial vehicles, Lux Research said.

Investors can tap into emerging opportunities in areas such as sensors and connectivity for autonomous vehicles, the report said.

Some beneficiaries could be lidar solutionproviders such as Veoneer Inc (NYSE: VNE), ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ: ON), NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI), Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV), Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ: TXN) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Natural Language Processing: This is the branch of artificial intelligencethat helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language.Patents related to this technology, which powers devices such as voice assistants, machine translationand chatbots, have increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 44% annually over the last five years, Lux Research said.

Some of the key players in the segment include Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet Inc(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN) AWS, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE: HPE), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), IBM(NYSE: IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) and 3M Co (NYSE: MMM).

Plastic Recycling: This comprises of innovations that convert plastic waste into a variety of valuable products, serving the dual purpose of enabling a circular economy and avoiding pollution, Lux Research said.

In the last decade, 155 star-ups addressing plastic waste have been founded, the report said.

Stocks to play the trend include Loop Industries Inc (NASDAQ: LOOP).

AI-Enabled Sensors: AI techniques such as machine learning have provided methods to analyze and derive insight from sensor data, unlocking new sensor capabilities and applications, Lux Research said. Thisis being used in computer vision for analyzing image sensor data.

The firm also sees other sensor types such as mechanical, acoustic and even thermal sensors as being impacted by AI tools.

Bioinformatics: This is the application of computer technology to the understanding and effective use of biological and clinical data. Key applications of this technology include diagnostics, discovery, personalization, quality and optimization, risk assessment andsafety and traceability.

Roche Holdings AG Basel ADR Common Stock (OTC: RHHBY), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A Common Stock (NYSE: BIO) and Irhythm Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: IRTC) are among the bioinformatics plays.

Green Hydrogen: This technology is focused on producing clean hydrogen for energy, mobility and industrial uses.

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG), Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE: BE) and TM Power plc (OTC: ITMPF) are green hydrogen stocks to capitalize on this emerging trend.

Shared Mobility: Shared mobility is an innovative transportation strategy that allowsusers to gain short-term access to transportation modes on an as-needed basis.

The includes various forms of carsharing, bikesharing, ridesharingand on-demand ride services.

Shared mobility, according to Lux Research, is poised to disrupt the multibillion-dollar auto industry.

"Self-driving cars, zero-emission vehicles, connectivity, and innovative materials are defining the future of mobility," the report said.

Ride-hailing companies such as Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER), and LYFT Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT), robotaxi services such as Google's Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, Baidu Inc's (NASDAQ: BIDU) Apollo and electric vehiclestocks are avenues of staying invested in this promising arena.

Related Link: How Technology, COVID-19 Are Changing Financial Planning

Alternate Proteins: Demand for alternative proteins have been on the rise, supported by factors such as consumer preferencesand supply and environmental concerns, according to Lux Research. Alternative proteins are sourced from plants, insects, fungi or through tissue culture to replace conventional animal-based protein. This trend should work in favor of plant meat companies such as Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND).

3D Printing: 3D printing is an additive process in which aan object is created by laying down successive layers of material.

It is used in industries such as automotive, aviation, construction, consumer productsand health care.

Some of the listed 3D companies are HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ), Proto Labs Inc (NYSE: PRLB), Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS), Organovo Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: ONVO), Stratasys Ltd (NASDAQ: SSYS) and 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD).

Materials Informatics: It is a field of study that applies the principles of informatics to material science and engineering to better understand the use, selection, developmentand discovery of materials.

Precision Agriculture: It is an approach to farm management that uses information technology to ensure that crops and soil receive exactly what they need for optimum health and productivity with an objective of ensuring profitability, sustainability and protection of the environment.

Synthetic Biology: Synthetic Biology combines engineering principles and molecular biology techniques to produce novel biological solutions.

This multidisciplinary field brings together engineers and biologists, who are developing these solutions for useful purposes, across numerous areas including diagnostics, therapeutics, manufacturing and agriculture.

Twist Bioscience Corp (NASDAQ: TWST), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY), Amyris Inc (NASDAQ: AMRS) and Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS) are among the companies that are working on this technology.

Related Link: Tech Industry Vets At engin sciences Use AI To Fix Cannabis's Big Problem

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from:

12 Emerging Technologies To Watch In 2021 - Benzinga

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The MOCVD market is poised to grow by USD 84.93 mn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period.

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The report on the MOCVD market provides a holistic update, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis.

The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario and the overall market environment. The market is driven by an increasing focus on renewable energy.

The MOCVD market analysis includes end-user segment and geography landscape. This study identifies the entrance of multiple suppliers of SiC wafers as one of the prime reasons driving the MOCVD market growth during the next few years.

This report presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters.

The MOCVD market covers the following areas:

MOCVD Market SizingMOCVD Market ForecastMOCVD Market Analysis

Companies Mentioned

Related Reports on Information Technology Include:

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End-user

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

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The MOCVD Market 2020-2024- Featuring Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., Agnitron Technology Inc., AIXTRON AG, Among Others to Contribute to...