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A smart solution for restoring independence to wounded veterans

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from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Reliance_Smart_Client.jpg Smart homes represent a new level of convenience with the added cool factor of “look what I can do with this technology.” But for people who have limited mobility or prosthetics in place of limbs it can mean reclaiming an independent life. That’s why the  Gary Sinise Foundation , created by actor Gary Sinise, launched the  RISE program . Read more in  Smart Homes Restore Independence for Veterans

Getting the healing power of music to more patients

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from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maroper_Music.jpg  When Bob Marley said, "When good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain," he was on to something that researchers are now bringing to light. In "Music as Medicine," the American Psychological Association named numerous studies that documented the benefits patients derive from music. It promotes healing in a number of ways: It can alleviate anxiety, reduce stress, lower blood pressure, mitigate pain, and even boost the immune system. Given the obvious benefits to patients—as well as to caregivers and staff ,who also get a lift from hearing the music—Griffin says that hospitals want to be included in the organization's program. However, the organization's growth has been fairly slow due to the manual processes involved in recruiting volunteers and matching up musicians and guide volunteers with the hospitals. Read more in   Software Helps a Nonprofit Bring Music to Pat

Identifying the caterpillars the will become butterflies

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Photo by Ariella Brown on https://www.pinterest.com/writewaypro/ As Wayne Gretzky famously observed, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." What holds for sports also applies to business opportunities. If you don't look into new market areas, you won't disocver new areas for expansion. But how to do so intelligently? That's where predictive analytics comes into play. Whereas almost all large companies are already using predictive analytics in some form, not all have tapped into the power of anticipatory analytics, which can identify changes in companies before they happen. Recent developments in the anticipatory analytics space fuel a business solution Dun & Bradstreet refers to as "material change"—the ability to identify "the caterpillars that will turn into butterflies," Nipa Basu, chief analytics officer at Dun & Bradstreet explains. Read more in http://www.baselinemag.com/analytics-big-data/benefits-of-predicti

Location, location, location with a dash of analytics

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"Location, location, location.” That’s the mantra of the real estate profession. It sounds simple enough, but the question is what is one looking for to identify a desirable location? Now data analytics can provide a clear answer for at least one type of market: those who seek homes within commuting distance of jobs that provide a living wage. Opportunity Score  is a data-driven tool built by the real estate company  Redfin  in partnership with the  White House Opportunity Project . It identifies which residential areas offer affordable housing and are within a 30 minute carless commute of jobs that pay at least $40K a year. In its blog, Redfin explained what went into powering Opportunity Score.... Considering a move, or just curious about how your own city ranks? You can plug it in to get the score. Just don’t expect to find a perfect 100. As Redfin explains, a city can start out with the 100 because of the number of jobs that meet the criteria, but then be knocked

Up, up, and away the way it's done today

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Hindenburg_burning,_1937.jpg When we think of transport for cargo, we tend to picture metal planes, ships or trains. We don’t think of using lighter than air transport, which seemed to go up in flames nearly 80 years ago with the  Hindenburg disaster . But this generation is seeing a whole new kind of airship capable of speeds of about 60 miles an hour that can carry cargo to places that might otherwise be unreachable. The French have been advancing airships in the Flying Whalesa program. Airships are a key component of the “ Nouvelle France Industrielle : plans for future transport. As explained   here ,  the concept behind the plans that were confirmed in April 2015 was to incorporate “nine strategic solutions” aimed at reindustrializing France, including the Disney Park-sounding “Transport of tomorrow.” As part of the national strategy, French airships are not just viewed as a novelty but as a practical solution “for developi

The problematic assumptions of resume advice

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"Would you tell a prospective employer that you detest people and would rather be left alone in a cubicle all day? " In truth many people would prefer the privacy and solitude  to allow them to  focus on their work. It's not that they detest people necessarily but that they do their best work without the distraction of others talking to them. That's the case for introverts who really do tend to be detail-oriented and careful about their work. What many businesses and schools fail to grasp is that you can't usually get social butterfly and efficient on one's own in the same person. That's the comment I wrote on  5 Words You Should Never Use In Your Resume . Actually I've seen a number of job descriptions that demand both a teamplayer and someone who can work autonmously. Sure, many people can do both, but they would have a preferred mode, just like I can use my left hand but would be using my right most of the time. related posts:  http://writewayp

SHIELD counters counterfeits

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  Like the weather, everyone talks about the problem of counterfeiting but few really do anything about it. That’s why the government is stepping in with its call for a solution backed by millions in investment. The electronic supply chain is plagued by counterfeit parts, and even the US military is not immune. That’s why in February 2014 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the SHIELD program. Unlike in the  Marvel universe , the acronym does not stand for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division but for Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics Defense. The program’s goal, according to the  title of the announcement and call for proposals , is to find a “tiny, cheap, and foolproof” solution for authenticating electronic components. When they said cheap, they really meant it.  Kerry Bernstein , DARPA’s program manager, was quoted as saying that the cost should be “less than a penny per unit” while functioning well enough t

A supercomputer for more efficient oil extraction

The low oil prices we've seen lately present a challenge for the energy industry. To maximize output, global energy company Total upgraded its supercomputer. The global energy company Total draws on the power of supercomputers for advanced 4D modeling to locate and simulate the behavior of oil reserves under the surface. 4D seismic consists of repeating 3D seismic surveys over time across the same area. Total's geophysicists and reservoir engineers develop models based on complex physics by working with advanced algorithms that require a great deal of computational power. - See more at: http://www.baselinemag.com/infrastructure/supercomputer-delivers-for-energy-sector.html#sthash.aOCcz9YP.dpuf